Sc
Science sampling test
KEY STAGE
2
LEVELS
3–5
Test B
First name
Middle name
2012
Last name
Date of birth Day Month Year
Please circle one Boy Girl
School name
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PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE
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INSTRUCTIONS
Read this carefully.
You have 45 minutes for this test.
Answers
This pencil shows where you will need to put
your answer.
For some questions you may need to draw an
answer instead of writing one.
Do not write in the grey margins.
Do not write on or near the bar codes.
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1 Pond life
(a) Tom is finding out about pond life. He holds a glass bowl in the
water and watches the pond life underneath.
glass
bowl
pond
water
What property of the bowl allows Tom to see the pond life?
The glass bowl is .................................................................................. (1 mark)
(b) The pictures below show some of the things Tom sees underneath
the bowl.
pondweed
water beetle
stickleback
fish
The stickleback fish is a predator.
Tick ONE box to show why the stickleback fish is a predator.
It eats other
It eats plants.
animals.
It hides near It gets eaten by
pondweed. other animals. (1 mark)
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(c) The pondweed is a producer.
Write true or false next to each of the following statements
about producers.
True or false?
Producers are at the start of the food chain. .......................
Producers catch their food from the water. .......................
Producers use sunlight to make new
materials for growth. ....................... (1 mark)
(d)
Tom
(i) Explain why Tom cannot see the micro-organisms in
the water.
...................................................................................................... (1 mark)
(ii) Why does it help to have some micro-organisms living in
the pond?
......................................................................................................
...................................................................................................... (1 mark)
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2 Triangles
(a) Paul hits a triangle with a metal rod.
The triangle makes a sound.
What happens to the triangle for Paul to hear a sound when it
is hit?
..................................................... (1 mark)
(b) The size of a triangle affects how high or low the sound is.
Paul has four triangles.
Write the letters A, B, C, and D to order the sound the triangles
make from highest to lowest.
.................. .................. .................. .................. (1 mark)
Highest Lowest
(c) What scientific term is used to describe how high or low a
sound is?
...................................................... (1 mark)
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(d) Paul takes one triangle. He investigates how the volume of the
sound changes when he hits the triangle with different amounts
of force.
He uses a sound sensor to measure the volume.
He repeats his test three times for each force.
Complete each row of the table to show how hard the triangle
was hit. Use the words in the box below.
gently quite hard very hard
How hard the triangle Volume (units)
was hit Test 1 Test 2 Test 3
............................................ 12 15 14
............................................ 8 10 6
............................................ 16 19 21
(1 mark)
(e) Explain why Paul repeats his test three times for each force.
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
(f) Paul hit the triangle gently three times.
The volume was not the same each time.
Explain why the volume of the sound was not the same each time.
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
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3 Dandelion
(a) Class 5 want to compare dandelions growing in short grass and
dandelions growing in long grass.
They collect 20 dandelions from each place.
They measure the length of the dandelion stems.
dandelion
This table shows the number of stems at each length in short grass
and long grass.
Length of Length of dandelion stem (cm)
grass 3–6 7–10 11–14 15–18 19–22
Short 4 12 4 0 0
Long 0 1 6 11 2
Tick ONE box to show the most common length of dandelion
stems in long grass.
7–10 cm 11–14 cm
15–18 cm 19–22 cm
(1 mark)
(b) In the table, how many dandelions had stems of 15 cm and longer?
..................................................... (1 mark)
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(c) Before the test, the children made some predictions about the
dandelions in short and long grass.
Tick ONE box in each row to show whether each prediction is
supported by the evidence from their table of results.
Supported by Not supported
Prediction
the evidence by the evidence
Where dandelions grow makes
a difference to the stem length.
There will be more dandelions in the
short grass than in the long grass.
(1 mark)
(d) Dandelion stems need to be longer than the grass they grow in to
help the seeds disperse.
Look at the picture of
the dandelion seed.
dandelion seed
How is the dandelion seed usually dispersed?
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
(e) Seed dispersal is part of a life process of the dandelion plant.
Tick ONE box to show which life process seed dispersal is part of.
pollination nutrition
reproduction growth
(1 mark)
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4 Identifying solids
(a) Mia has four different solids.
Her teacher asks her to find out what the solids are.
Mia mixes a teaspoon of each solid into different beakers of water.
She records her observations in Table 1.
Table 1
Solid Observation after mixing with water
Most solid floats on top of the water.
A The solid turns the water misty.
The solid cannot be seen.
B The liquid is clear.
C The solid cannot be seen.
The liquid is clear.
D Some solid sinks to the bottom.
The solid turns the water cloudy.
What is the name of the process that has happened to solids
B and C?
..................................................... (1 mark)
(b) Mia tries to separate a mixture of solids A and D using a sieve.
Mia records her observations in Table 2.
Table 2
Solid Observation after sieving
A The solid stays in the sieve.
D The solid goes through the sieve.
Describe ONE difference between solids A and D that stops
solid A going through the sieve.
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
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(c) Next Mia puts a teaspoon of solid B into a beaker of vinegar.
Then she puts a teaspoon of solid C into another beaker of vinegar.
She records her observations in Table 3.
Table 3
Solid Observation after mixing with vinegar
B The solid cannot be seen.
The liquid is clear.
C The mixture bubbles and fizzes.
(i) Which solid has a non-reversible change when mixed
with vinegar? Tick ONE box.
solid B solid C
(ii) What evidence shows the change to the solid you chose
is non-reversible?
...................................................................................................... (1 mark)
(d) The teacher tells Mia the names of the four solids.
Draw FOUR lines to match each solid to its name.
Use the information in Tables 1, 2 and 3 to help you.
Solid A B C D
Name of bicarbonate
flour coconut salt
solid of soda
(2 marks)
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5 Celery
(a) Sandeep has some celery.
leaves
Water can travel up the stem
of the celery to the leaves.
stem
Celery
Give ONE function of the leaves for the celery plant.
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
(b) Sandeep puts a stick of celery in
a glass of red-coloured water.
red
water
When the water reaches the leaves, the leaves turn red.
Sandeep wants to find out if the temperature affects how quickly
the water gets to the leaves.
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Think about an investigation you could do to find out if the
temperature affects how quickly the water gets to the leaves.
Answer the questions below about your investigation.
The variable I will change in my investigation is:
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
(c) The equipment I will use to measure the time it takes for the red
water to get to the leaves is:
..................................................... (1 mark)
(d) TWO variables I will keep the same to make my investigation
fair are:
1 .............................................................................................................
2 ............................................................................................................. (1 mark)
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6 Jack’s shadow
(a) Class 3 are investigating shadows in the playground.
It is a bright sunny day.
Susie measures the length
of Jack’s shadow at 9 am.
2m
Then she measures the length of Jack’s shadow at midday.
Jack stands in the same position in the playground.
Which picture shows Jack’s shadow at midday? Tick ONE box.
0.25 m 0.25 m
(1 mark)
2m
2m
(b) Explain why a shadow forms on the ground when the sunlight
shines on Jack.
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
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(c) At 3 pm Jack stands in the same place in the playground. Susie
measures Jack’s shadow again. His shadow has changed position.
What movement in space causes Jack’s shadow to change
position?
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
(d) The class observed Jack’s shadow on a sunny day.
Tick ONE box to show why the class should not do their test on
a cloudy day.
On a cloudy day...
Jack’s shadow is Jack’s shadow is
very dark. difficult to see.
Jack’s shadow does Jack’s shadow is
not change position. very big. (1 mark)
(e) Susie has some ideas about shadows.
Write true or false under each idea about shadows.
(2 marks)
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7 Rolling marble
(a) John and Ravinder are investigating a marble rolling down a ramp.
marble
ramp
height
of ramp distance
measured
Photograph A Photograph B
They change the height of the ramp.
They measure how far the marble rolls from the bottom of
the ramp.
They repeat their test with the ramp at different heights.
What equipment could be used to measure the height of the ramp?
.................................................... (1 mark)
(b) Tick ONE box in each row of the table to show how they should
do their investigation to make sure their test is fair.
Must be Must be Makes no
Variable the same different difference
surface of the ramp
height of the ramp
size of the marble
mass of the marble
(2 marks)
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(c) John and Ravinder must decide what
heights they should put the ramp at.
Look at this photograph.
John says, ‘This ramp is too steep.
It will not give good results.’
Photograph C
Explain why the ramp in photograph C is too steep to get
good results.
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
(d) Ravinder plots a graph to show their results.
Draw a cross on the graph to show the distance the marble
would roll if the ramp was 0 cm high.
(1 mark)
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8 Candles
(a) Justine lights a candle.
Justine
Complete the table to show if the observation is evidence of a
reversible or a non-reversible change. Tick ONE box in each row.
This is evidence of This is evidence of a
Observation
a reversible change. non-reversible change.
The wax melts.
Smoke is given off.
(1 mark)
(b) Justine has candles of different
heights but the same width.
She wants to burn them all down
to a height of 1 cm.
Describe the relationship between the height of the candle and
the time it takes the candle to burn down to 1 cm.
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................. (1 mark)
(c) Justine has three new candles.
They are the same height
but have different widths.
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Justine wants to find out if the width of the candle affects the time
it takes to burn down.
She times how long it takes for each candle to burn down to 1 cm.
The graph below shows Justine’s results.
Candle C burnt down the quickest.
How many minutes did it take candle C to burn down to 4 cm?
................................................. minutes. (1 mark)
(d) Justine has another candle.
It is thinner than candle C but it is the same height.
Draw a line on the graph to show how quickly the new candle
will burn down to 1 cm. (1 mark)
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© Crown copyright 2012
STA/12/5593 (Pupil pack)
STA/12/5591 (Mark schemes pack)
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