Q&A - P3 Science

[AnnT2009]

Hi Tony,


Thanks for your reply, that was the same answer selected by my girl. Her school marked her wrong, answer given was (3).

I read up all reference books on my shelf but could not find any that says fungi could be found everwhere. Do you mind to explain?

TIA.

[atutor2001]

AnnT2009:

Hi Tony,


Thanks for your reply, that was the same answer selected by my girl. Her school marked her wrong, answer given was (3).

I read up all reference books on my shelf but could not find any that says fungi could be found everwhere. Do you mind to explain?

TIA.

Hi Ann

Thank you for posting this question. Fungus can be found on land, in water/sea and air. Perphaps that is what is meant by \"can be found everywhere.\" I also didn't realise this until I saw your post and googled for more information.

This forum is indeed very enlightening.

[Full.010894Cream]

perhaps school shd avoid posting answers which are vague…like in this case, how do we define ‘everywhere’? if we can find a somewhere where there’s no fungus, does it mean it’s no longer ‘everywhere’?

[atutor2001]

The problem with this question is that it involves "English" because of the word "everywhere"


The word "everywhere" can refer to only "lots of places" not necessary every single place. So the school cannot be faulted for phrasing option (D) that way.

[elkniwt]

Hi,


I am new to this site. Hope I post it correctly. (forgive my blurness)

Can I ask a qn? (P3 science) ... Is a schoolbag a system?? What about a book?? (My dd just asked me this afternoon. ) Thanks for any help.

[tony]

Hi AnnT2009,


Sorry for the late reply. Like your daughter, I had a double take on (d) - They are found everywhere.

My thinking was/is - fungi need to feed on rotting matter. Not all fungi need reduced sunlight/darkness to survive, but they do need rotting matter to grow on. Since rotting matter is not everywhere, fungi can't be everywhere. For example within the walls of a vacuum flask, there is nothing. In fact, I relied on the absolute nature of the wording to arrive at the conclusion.

Atutor2001, I thought \"everywhere\" means literally everywhere, like every single place? Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary has \"Everywhere\" defined as \" in every place or part\", and \"Every\" is defined as \"being each individual or part of a group without exception\".

AnnT2009, there's definitely enough doubt to query the teacher. The question is poorly worded for sure. After thinking of vacuums on earth, surely there can't be dead matter and therefore fungi everywhere. Let us know what the teacher says!

[tianzhu]

Hi


In P3 Science, students learn that mushrooms, moulds and yeast are classified as fungi. So if we include mould, it’s not wrong to say that fungi are found everywhere.

You may find out more about fungi by following these links.
http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/microfungi.htm
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/crypfungi.html
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/molds/

Of course, it’ll be interesting to find out more about the answer from your child’ teacher.

Best Wishes

[atutor2001]

tony:

Hi AnnT2009,


Atutor2001, I thought \"everywhere\" means literally everywhere, like every single place? Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary has \"Everywhere\" defined as \" in every place or part\", and \"Every\" is defined as \"being each individual or part of a group without exception\".

\"Everywhere\" can have a few uses. For example, \"Trees are found everywhere in Singapore.\" would mean that trees can be found in alot of places but not every single place. Similarly, \"There was blood everywhere at the crime scene\" cannot imply that every inch of the place is covered by blood.

Maybe you can try checking with \"Collin Cobuild\". I like this dictionary because it gives the most comprehensive examples on different uses for each word.

[Lynn2]

Hello All


I have a science question from the following link, question 5
http://www.wendykoh.com/06/primary4-rgs-science.pdf

May I know what is the relationship between the number of sumberged plant and the amount of soil being washed into the pond.

Can someone explain to me what they are looking for when talking about soil being washed into the soil?

thanks

rgds
Lynn2

[tianzhu]

Hi


Under the old science syllabus, a little bit of water pollution is covered under the topic on Water in P4.I am not sure about the current syllabus.

Concept
When soil is washed into the pond, water becomes muddy or cloudy. It blocks sunlight from reaching the submerged water plants; therefore they cannot carry out photosynthesis to make food. They may wilt and eventually die, leading to decrease in the number of submerged water plants.

Use the concept
Figure 1 shows that the number of submerged water plants decreases as the amount of soil washed into the pond increases. Therefore it is correct.

In figure 2, the number of submerged water plants is not affected by the amount of soil washed into the pond. Hence it is incorrect.

Figure 3 is offside. It shows that the number of submerged water plants increases as the amount of soil washed into the pond increases.

Figure 4, at any number of submerged water plants, the amount of soil washed remained constant. Hence, it’s wrong.

Option(1) is the correct answer. Hope this helps.