M1.

          (a)     Award ONE mark for:

                   

1

(b)     Award ONE mark for:

 
all clay D
mostly clay, some sand A
mostly sand, some clay B
all sand C

(c)     Award ONE mark for a bar (or bar line) drawn for small stones
which is more than 250cm and less than or equal to 300cm
3 3

(d)     Award ONE mark for:

•    the long roots (they) take in/absorb/obtain water/moisture/dampness.

Allow:

•    they anchor it/keep it in place.

Do not  give credit for:
•    drink/suck (water);
•    produce water.
1
[4]

Page 1
M2.          (a)     Award ONE mark for:

   

• permeable  

(b)     Award ONE mark for both:

•    sandstone;

and

•    limestone.
1

(c)     Award ONE mark for:

•    granite.
1

(d)     Award ONE mark for a response that includes an appropriate interpretation of
the table, indicating that the hardest rock made a mark on all of the other rocks
and/or could not be scratched by any of the rocks:

•    the granite scratched the slate, the sandstone and the limestone;

•    the granite was the only rock that scratched all of the other rocks;

•    the other rocks could not scratch the granite.

          Allow:

•    it scratched all the others;

•    it scratched more rocks than the others;

•    none of the others could scratch it.

Do not give credit for an insufficient answer that does not
refer
     to the table:
•    I know that granite is a hard rock.
Page 2
 Do not give credit for an insufficient response:
•    it said ‘no’ three times on the table;
•    it has three ‘yes’ on the table.
1
[4]

M3.          (a)     Award ONE mark for:

•    sea lettuce.

1

(b)     Award ONE mark for an unambiguous indication of:

•   

    
1
[2]

M4.          (a)     Award ONE mark for:

•    an observation.
1(L4)

(b)     Award ONE mark for identifying both the independent variable
[the (kind of) paper towel] and the dependent variable
[how much water it holds]:

•    how much water is soaked up by each paper towel?

Page 3
 •    how much water does each paper towel hold?

•    how much water was absorbed in each paper towel?

Allow:

•    which towel soaked up most water?

•    what type of paper soaks up most water?

•    the amount of water soaked up by each paper towel.

Allow:

          statements which are not framed as questions:

•    the amount of water different kinds of paper towels hold.

Do not give credit for an insufficient response:
•    which paper towel is best?
Do not give credit for questions which identify an incorrect
independent variable or dependent variable:
•    which size of towel soaks up most water?
•    which towel will not tear?

Do not give credit for an insufficient response that gives a

conclusion:
•    thicker paper towels hold more water.

Do not give credit for an insufficient response that suggests

that causal factors are being investigated:
•    why do different paper towels soak up different amounts
     of water?
1(L4)

Page 4
 (c)     Award ONE mark for a recognition of the independent variable as the
paper towel:

•    the (type of) paper towel.

Allow:

•    towel;

•    paper;

•    tissue;

•    material.
Do not give credit for an insufficient response that indicates
an investigation of a factor not mentioned in the table:
•    strength of towels;
•    thickness of towels;
•    softness of towels.
Do not give credit for an insufficient response that gives the
dependent variable:
•    how much water was soaked up.
1(L4)
[3]

M5.          (a)     Award ONE mark for both correct:

          The change is non-reversible. 

          The bubbles evaporate.            

1(L5)

(b)     Award ONE mark for all three materials correctly classified:
 
Material Solid, liquid or gas?

inside the bubble gas

vinegar liquid

Page 5
chalk rock solid

1(L4)

(c)     Award ONE mark for:

•    limestone;

•    pumice.

          Allow:

•    chalk.
1(L4)
[3]

M6.          (a)     Award ONE mark for:

•    talc.
1(L3)

(b)     Award ONE mark for a response indicating that granite was the only rock
not to be scratched by the objects:

•    none of the objects were able to scratch granite, but some could scratch
the other rocks;

•    all the other rocks were scratched by at least one object;

•    fewer objects/tools could scratch granite than the others.

Allow:

          an absolute response that does not describe whether the other rocks were
scratched:

Page 6
 •    no object could scratch granite;

•    it could not be scratched.

Do not give credit for an insufficient response that does not
interpret the table:
•    it only has crosses, where the other rocks have at least
     one tick.
1(L4)

(c)     Award ONE mark for all the rocks written in the correct place:

1(L4)

(d)     Award ONE mark for:

 

It was difficult to scratch each

rock with the same force.

1(L5)

(e)     Award ONE mark for identifying that granite feels rough and is not
permeable:

•    granite is rough/not smooth; and

•    granite is not permeable/water cannot pass through granite.

Do not give credit for a response that includes incorrect
science:
•    water can pass through granite.
Do not give credit for an insufficient response describing the
results of the scratch test:
•    granite is hard to scratch.
1(L4)
[5]

Page 7
 

M7.          Award TWO marks for correctly identifying all five rocks:

•         chalk              marble           obsidian

                                              

•                graphite            granite

                                    
2(L4)

or

          If you are unable to award two marks, award ONE mark for any three or four
rocks correctly identified.
1(L4)
[2]

M8.          (a)     Award ONE mark for a response between 8.5 and 9.5 cm exclusive.
1 (L5)

(b)     Award ONE mark for:

   

Soil B is more
•
absorbent than soil A.

1 (L4)

(c)     Award ONE mark for a response naming sieves.

Do not give credit for an insufficient response:
•    colander

Page 8
 •    net.
1 (L4)

(d)     Award ONE mark for both conclusions correctly classified:

Soil A has more small particles than soil B.                ........True........

Soil B has more large particles than soil A.                ........True........

1 (L4)
[4]

Page 9
 

E1.          This question (Soil) required children to add a bar to the bar chart to indicate how
much water would pass through small stones in five minutes. About 40% of children were
able to do this successfully. Many of those offering an incorrect response drew answers
on the horizontal grid lines. This could indicate that children did not understand the
question or they had little experience of working with values between those of the grid
lines on a graph.

The question was successfully answered by most children with almost 90% being able to
identify which of the four soils allowed least water to pass through.

E2.          Examining rocks

(a)     This question asked children to choose the word which describes a rock water
soaks into. Three quarters gained the mark for selecting permeability from the four
options. This knowledge was well established amongst those achieving level 5 with
few children suggesting any of the distracters. However two thirds of those
achieving level 3 and a third of those achieving level 4 failed to gain the mark. The
most common incorrect choice, made by a third of those at level 3 and a sixth of
those at level 4, was translucent. Opaque was suggested more often than flexible by
those achieving level 4 however at level 3 both opaque and flexible were selected
roughly equally. One tenth of those achieving level 3 omitted the question.

(b)     This question was the first in a series of three that tested understanding of the
hardness of rocks. This question asked children to interpret information in a table
about which rocks the slate scratched. To gain the mark children had to name both
limestone and sandstone. Approximately two thirds gained credit, a quarter of those
at level 3, two thirds of those at level 4 and almost all of those at level 5

(c)     This question asked children to use the table to decide which rock was the hardest.

Page 10
 Approximately two thirds gained credit for suggesting granite, two fifths at level 3,
two thirds at level 4 and almost all at level 5. One quarter of children wrongly
suggested limestone. The table indicated that limestone did not leave a scratch on
any of the other three rocks. Children failing to gain credit may have misinterpreted
the table, perhaps wrongly assuming that limestone was not scratched by any of
these three rocks. Almost one quarter of those achieving level 3, over a third of
those achieving level 4 and almost a tenth of those achieving level 5 made this error.
About a quarter of those achieving level 3 omitted the question.

(d)     In this question children had to use the information in the table to explain how they
decided which rock was the hardest. To gain this mark children had to identify which
piece or pieces of evidence in the table suggested granite was hardest. Two thirds
of the children gave the evidence for this judgment. This suggests some children
have difficulty discriminating between the evidence and the idea it supports. In this
question children achieving level 5 located the evidence in the table. However, only
one tenth of those achieving level 3 gave the correct evidence from the table
compared with almost two fifths at this level who correctly identified granite as the
hardest rock. Amongst those achieving level 4 almost a half gave the evidence
compared with two thirds who correctly identified granite.

E3.          (a)     This question asked children to identify the producer in a food chain from four
organisms in a rock pool. Four-fifths of children, including one half at level 3, four-
fifths at level 4 and almost all at level 5, gained credit for choosing ‘sea lettuce’. The
most common incorrect answer was ‘shore crab’, chosen by over one tenth of
children. The few children who selected ‘star fish’ or ‘jelly fish’ were largely among
those gaining level 3.

(b)     This question asked children to select one word from five to describe a rock that
stops water draining away. Just over a half, including a third of those at level 3,
almost half at level 4 and about four-fifths at level 5 correctly selected
‘impermeable’, ‘permeable’ and ‘absorbent’ were each selected by about a fifth of
children.

 
Page 11
 

E4.          (a)     four-fifths selected ‘an observation’ from four options to describe the statements
made by the children in the illustration. Only two-fifths at level 3, three-quarters at
level 4 and almost all at level 5 responded correctly. A third of children at levels 3
and 4 selected ‘a prediction’. About a tenth of those achieving level 3 chose ‘a plan’
or ‘a measurement’.

(b)     required children to write down the question that was being investigated. Over four-
fifths gained credit by giving a question or creditworthy statement including a
relevant independent variable and relevant dependent variable. Half of those
achieving level 3, four-fifths at level 4 and almost all those achieving level 5 gained
the mark. A small proportion gave only the dependent variable - the amount of water.

(c)     almost three-quarters identified the independent variable - the type of paper towel
correctly. Less than a quarter of those achieving level 3, two-thirds at level 4 and
over four-fifths at level 5 gained credit. About a tenth suggested ‘how much soaked
up’, which was the dependent variable.

##

          Acid rain

(a)     Less than half of pupils answered this correctly (true and false). Over two-thirds of
pupils were able to say correctly that the change occurring was non-reversible.
However, just over half of pupils thought that the bubbles do evaporate. Almost one-
quarter of pupils gave the response ‘true, true’. The most common incorrect
response (given by just under one-third of pupils, half of whom were assessed at
level 3) was ‘false, true’, which is incorrect for both statements.

(b)     Pupils demonstrated a good understanding of a gas, a liquid and a solid. The most
Page 12
 common mistake, made mainly by pupils assessed at level 3, was to confuse the
liquid and the gas, or to give both the inside of the bubble and the vinegar as liquid.
Nearly all pupils (97%) correctly identified the chalk rock as solid.

(c)     This question asks pupils to identify the rock that the statue is made from. The most
frequently chosen response was limestone, the first correct response in the table.
One-quarter of pupils gave pumice and a tiny proportion of pupils responded with
chalk which was not in the table but was allowed as a correct response. A small
proportion of pupils assessed at level 3 incorrectly named another material not given
in the question e.g. cement.

E6.          Hardness of rocks

(a)     This question asks pupils to read a table and was answered correctly by the majority
of pupils indicating that this is a skill that most have mastered to some degree.

(b)     This question asks pupils to interpret the table and decide what evidence was
necessary to identify granite as the hardest rock. Of the pupils answering the
question correctly, the majority identified that the granite was not scratched by the
objects they used in the test. Far fewer pupils gained credit by comparing the ease
of scratching the other rocks with granite. Nearly a fifth of pupils assessed at level 3
gave an insufficient response describing the table, rather than interpreting it (‘it only
has crosses where the other rocks have at least one tick’).

(c)     Question (c) asks the pupils to order the rocks by hardness, again by interpreting
the information in the table. The vast majority of pupils were able to place the rocks
in order of hardness, using the information. Of those pupils who did not gain credit
on this question, most seem to have incorrectly ordered sandstone and marble, the
two middle entries.

Page 13
 (d)     This multiple choice question asks the pupils to look critically at the method used in
the investigation and select the reason why the investigation was difficult to control.
Given the nature and challenge of the question, it is pleasing to note that nearly two-
thirds of pupils answered the question correctly. The incorrect option that drew most
pupils (‘some objects were harder than others’) identifies the independent variable in
this investigation.

(e)     In question (e), pupils are presented new information about the rocks in a new table.
They are asked about the properties of granite as presented in this table. Just over
two-thirds of all pupils were able to identify this information. Approximately one-tenth
of pupils referred back to the scratch test as one of their answers, and therefore did
not gain credit. This response was far more prevalent amongst pupils assessed at
level 3. Only a small proportion of the sample gave two similar answers.

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