Q&A - P3 Science

[shurley197323]

My girl in P3 scored 95.5 in SA1 esp all correct in MCQ. I thk it because I had print out more than 20 past school exam papers for her to practice & she had done 3 to 4 assessment books to improve herself. No matter how bad, I still think that practice made perfect.

[snowz]

…

[Puffer]

Qn (1): Answer (3). All apply as functions of a peacock’s feathers.


Qn (2): Answer (1). A molly is a freshwater fish which is a live bearer. Other common fish which gives birth to young alive are: swordtail, guppy.

[scenic98]

feels better to know other parents are facing the same problem .

Honestly, if we parents are here discussing about all these science questions meant for 9 to 10 yr olds, can we imagine what is going through the minds of our kids? what is MOE trying to proof by raising the level of science (and math) to such a level that is almost killing the kid's interest?

I think what is being taught is fair, but the way the questions are asked, it's beyond the cognitive level of a 9/10 year old.

if the only way of mastering the subject is by doing 30 to 40 past test papers and assessment books, MOE has to realise that the original intention of getting our kids to think critically has failed.

any idea how we can have a dialogue with MOE? going through the schools is useless. :?:

pardon my mini outburst here.

[Puffer]

Hi, questions from NYPS P4 CA1 2007. Can anyone pls help:


Q1. Group A: cotton towel, plastic box, paper bag
Group B: bicycle, watch, umbrella

Which one of the following pairs of items matches Group A and Group B respectively?

(1) Group A: metal spoon ; Group B: television
(2) Group A: hammer ; Group B: clay pot
(3) Group A: plastic watering can ; Group B: handkerchief
(4) Group A: porcelain vase ; Group B: paper carton

*** ***
Q2. Which of the following properties of metal make it suitable for making gates?

(1) strong and waterproof
(2) waterproof and transparent
(3) strong, waterproof and good conductor of heat
(4) strong, transparent and good conductor of heat

TIA

[tianzhu]

Puffer:

Hi, questions from NYPS P4 CA1 2007. Can anyone pls help:


Q1. Group A: cotton towel, plastic box, paper bag
Group B: bicycle, watch, umbrella

Which one of the following pairs of items matches Group A and Group B respectively?

(1) Group A: metal spoon ; Group B: television
(2) Group A: hammer ; Group B: clay pot
(3) Group A: plastic watering can ; Group B: handkerchief
(4) Group A: porcelain vase ; Group B: paper carton

Hi

I can't think of any heading to describe the cahracteristics of the materials.
Option 3 and 4 are out.

Between 1 and 2, I'll go for (1).At this juncture, I can't think of any science concepts to back up my answer.

[tianzhu]

Puffer:

Hi, questions from NYPS P4 CA1 2007. Can anyone pls help:


Q2. Which of the following properties of metal make it suitable for making gates?

(1) strong and waterproof
(2) waterproof and transparent
(3) strong, waterproof and good conductor of heat
(4) strong, transparent and good conductor of heat

Option (3) is a logical choice.A metal gate has to be strong, able to withstand the environmental conditions, and should be able to conduct heat so that it would be comfortable for us to touch.

[mrswongtuition]

tianzhu:

Puffer:

Hi, questions from NYPS P4 CA1 2007. Can anyone pls help:


Q1. Group A: cotton towel, plastic box, paper bag
Group B: bicycle, watch, umbrella

Which one of the following pairs of items matches Group A and Group B respectively?

(1) Group A: metal spoon ; Group B: television
(2) Group A: hammer ; Group B: clay pot
(3) Group A: plastic watering can ; Group B: handkerchief
(4) Group A: porcelain vase ; Group B: paper carton

Hi

I can't think of any heading to describe the cahracteristics of the materials.
Option 3 and 4 are out.

Between 1 and 2, I'll go for (1).At this juncture, I can't think of any science concepts to back up my answer.

I'm not sure if I'm right, but this is my conclusion:

Answer: Option 1
Reason:
Items in group A are all made of ONE MATERIAL ONLY (stated specifically for each item):
cotton towel - cotton
plastic box - plastic
paper bag - paper
Metal spoon is made of 1 material only (as stated specifically, METAL spoon).

Items in group B are made of 2 or more materials:
bicycle - metal, rubber
watch - metal, plastic, sometimes glass
umbrella - metal, fabric (nylon)
Television is made of more than 1 material (metal parts, plastic, glass)

Hope my answer is logical

[mrswongtuition]

tianzhu:

Puffer:

Hi, questions from NYPS P4 CA1 2007. Can anyone pls help:


Q2. Which of the following properties of metal make it suitable for making gates?

(1) strong and waterproof
(2) waterproof and transparent
(3) strong, waterproof and good conductor of heat
(4) strong, transparent and good conductor of heat

Option (3) is a logical choice.A metal gate has to be strong, able to withstand the environmental conditions, and should be able to conduct heat so that it would be comfortable for us to touch.

I beg to differ (but I may be wrong!).

Option 1 is my choice. Though option 3 is a real strong fight.

My reason:
Gates (assuming they are out in the sun/rain & not the type in HDB flats that hardly see 'sunlight') should not be able to conduct heat well.

Imagine this:
Hot day, sun beating down on the gate. The gate is a good conductor of heat, therefore will absorb heat energy fast. When you come home & decide to open the gate, it is HOT & you can't open it without 'burning' your hands.

The questions asks for SUITABLE PROPERTIES. Therefore, we should choose properties that are most desirable.

However, in real life, our gates are made of metal which is a good conductor of heat. But is that a desirable property? Do we love it when our gates are hot to touch & opening it is like 'torture' (you know it's hot but you just have to touch it!).

A poor conductor of heat will not be so hot & will not heat up so quickly also

[mrswongtuition]

scenic98:

feels better to know other parents are facing the same problem .

Honestly, if we parents are here discussing about all these science questions meant for 9 to 10 yr olds, can we imagine what is going through the minds of our kids? what is MOE trying to proof by raising the level of science (and math) to such a level that is almost killing the kid's interest?

I think what is being taught is fair, but the way the questions are asked, it's beyond the cognitive level of a 9/10 year old.

if the only way of mastering the subject is by doing 30 to 40 past test papers and assessment books, MOE has to realise that the original intention of getting our kids to think critically has failed.

any idea how we can have a dialogue with MOE? going through the schools is useless. :?:

pardon my mini outburst here.

Actually it depends alot on how the kids are taught. When I tutor my students, I do not force them to memorise. They are taught how to THINK & analyse experiments. What MOE wants to develop are THINKING MINDS.

However, there are of course basic facts they must memorise. The main topics which I feel needs alot of memorisation are Plants, Life Cycles, Solar System (P5 topic), Human Systems and Pollution (P6 topic). The other topics are generally 'easier' to tackle if the kids can use logical thinking to think through the experiments given.

Knowing the science is one part. The next part is being able to answer the questions the 'scientific way'. I have students who give answers which are logical, but their wording & phrasing is not the 'scientific way' that the teaching is looking out for, therefore they do not get the marks.

Example:
Why did John use a plant of the same type & size?

Answer given by student:
So that we can compare the two plants after the experiment without wondering which plant was bigger first.

Answer expected by the teacher:
To ensure a fair test as different plant sizes at the start of the experiment would affect the final results of the experiment.

In this case, the child understood the concept of making it a fair test, but could not phrase his answer properly and resulted in the loss of marks.


The topics that are tested are suitable for cognitive level of 9/10 yo. Many kids do not have trouble understanding or applying the concepts (sometimes the questions are also not phrase clearly).

The main problem is how they answer the question. Not all children have strong linguistic skills to answer the question to the teacher's expectations.

Due to this, I also include 'ideal phrases' commonly expected in answers when revising with my tutees. & with these 'ideal phrases', they score better (although they told me sometimes they really do not know the answer, so they just try the 'ideal phrase' which they think is most applicable to the question instead of leaving blank).

& another problem is that there are many science TBs in the market now. All of which have varying content. There is not 'standard' content to follow & it makes it really hard as some books really do not cover much & if the teacher is not hardworking in creating their own extra notes for the students, the students really lose out! In the past we only had ONE science TB (I remember the first P3 topic was MATTER!). It was much easier then as all we had to do was make sure we knew the content from that textbook!

Even if you take a look at MOE's syllabus, it is not specific. One example would be the type of plants which are flowering plants. We can't expect the child to know ALL the flowering plants in the world! There should be a fixed list of plants which they must know (maybe the common ones in SG/Asia for a start).