O W L S M A R T.

S G

MUST-KNOW
KEY CONCEPTS IN PSLE SCIENCE
 Contents Page

Foreword 3

Diversity
Living and Non-Living Things 5
Animals 6
Plants 7
Fungi and Micro-organisms 8
Materials 8

Cycles
Water 10
Reproduction in Plants 11
Reproduction in Animals 12
Life Cycles of Plants and Animals 13
Matter 13

Systems
Electricity 15
Plant Transport System 16
Respiratory System 16
Circulatory System 17
Digestive System 18
Cells 19

Interactions
Forces 21
Adaptations 22
Web of Life 23
Environment 24
Man and Environment 25

Energy
Energy and Sun 27
Energy Conversions 28
Heat Energy 29
Light Energy 30

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Forward

Have you heard many times from your child’s Science teachers or tutors that Science is all about
keywords or key concepts? Sounds familiar?

The truth is it takes more than that to excel in PSLE Science.

Your child needs to learn how to apply key concepts onto different scenarios given.

Your child also needs to master some basic answering techniques in tackling open-ended ques-
tions.

On top of that, he or she must learn different process skills such as inferring, analyzing, evaluat-
ing, etc, in order to “dissect” and answer different types of Science question confidently.

Lastly, your child needs to be exposed to a wide variety of questions with unfamiliar context so
that he or she can learn to apply key concepts even in those unfamiliar situations.

Having said all these, to equip oneself with correct understanding of scientific key concepts is
the first step to do well for PSLE Science. It is fundamental to doing well for PSLE Science!

As such, I have compiled some basic must-know concepts pertaining to each topic in the primary
Science syllabus and I hope that you will find this ebook useful!

Regards,

Mr Ng Yeo Heng
From OwlSmart Team

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DIVERSITY

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Living and Non-Living Things

1) The great variety of things around us is called diversity.

2) Living things need air, food and water to stay alive.

3) Living things grow.

4) Living things move by themselves.

5) Living things respond to changes around them.

6) Living things reproduce.

7) Living things die.

8) Classification means placing things into groups.

9) Living things can be classified into animals, plants, fungi and bacteria.

10) Non-living things are things that do not show the characteristics of living
things. For example, a non-living thing does not reproduce.

11) To classify things, we must find out their similarities and differences.

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Animals

Animals can be classified into mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects.

Live on land and in water

Breathe through moist skin and lungs in the adult stage
Amphibians The young usually live in water and they have gills. When
they grow into adults, they have lungs for breathing.
Cold-blooded

Have feathers (unique characteristics of birds)

Birds Have a beak and a pair of wings
Not all the birds can fly. Ex, chicken, emu, ostrich

Have scales
Use gills for gases exchange in water
Fish Have fins
Most of the fish lay eggs but some fish give birth to young
alive, ex guppies.
Animal

Have 3 pairs of legs (or 6 legs)

A pair of feelers
Insects
Have 3 body parts
Lays eggs

Have hair/fur
Produce milk for their young
Mammals
Give birth to young alive (except platypus and spiny
anteater)

Have dry skin covered with scales

Reptiles
Cold-blooded

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Plants

1) Plants can make their own food during photosynthesis.

2) They need Sunlight + Water + Carbon dioxide to carry out photosynthesis.

3) Plants provide us with oxygen.

4) Plants are made up of different plant parts.

• Roots take in water and mineral salts from the soil. They anchor the plants firmly to the
ground.

• Stem supports the branches and leaves and is usually found above the ground. Plants
with weak stems need support to reach out for more sunlight.

• Leaves of different plants are different in size, shape, colour and texture.
They contain chlorophyll which is important (essential) for plants to make food.

• Flowers can grow singly (one by itself) or in cluster (groups). They help plants to
reproduce.

• Fruits are developed from flowers. Not all fruits are edible.

• Function of fruits is to protect the seeds and they help in the dispersal of seeds. Seeds
help the plants to reproduce.

5) Germination of seeds requires water + oxygen + warmth

6) Plants that grow in water are water plants. They can be floating, partially submerged or
completely submerged plants.

7) Plants which produce flowers are called flowering plants. Not all plants are flowering. Plants
can be classified as flowering or non-flowering plants.

8) Ferns and mosses are examples of non-flowering plants. They reproduce by spores which
are found in the spore bags under the leaves.

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Fungi and Micro-Organisms

1) Fungi are NOT PLANTS.

• They do not have chlorophyll and hence they cannot make food.
• Fungi feed on plants and animals, whether dead or alive.

2) Fungi absorb the nutrients which they break down into simpler substances, causing their
food to decay (Decomposition is the process of breaking down into simpler substances).

3) Fungi reproduce by producing spores.

4) Fungi can feed on living and dead things.

5) Dampness, warmth and oxygen promote the growth of decomposers like fungi and
bacteria.

6) Bacteria and yeast are examples of micro-organisms.

7) Not all micro-organisms are harmful to people. Good bacteria can help in digestion of food,
in medication, etc.

Materials

Materials can be classified based on their properties:

• how much light they allow to pass through them

• whether they are magnetic or non-magnetic
• whether they are good or poor conductors of heat
• whether they are electrical conductors or insulators
• strength
• flexibility
• ability to sink or float in water

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CYCLES

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Water and Changes of State

1) Water freezes into ice at 0°C. This is the Freezing Point of water.

2) Ice melts into water at 0°C. This is the Melting Point of water.

3) When ice is melting, temperature of the ice remains at 0°C till the whole ice has melted.

4) Water boils and produces steam at 100°C. This is the Boiling Point of water. When water
boils, temperature of water will remain at 100°C.

5) Water evaporates into water vapour at a wide range of temperature (above freezing point).

6) Steam or water vapour condenses to become water droplets.

7) For condensation to take place, there must be a cooler surface for water vapour/steam to
condense on.

8) The 3 factors that affect the rate of evaporation.

• Temperature of surrounding air or water
• Presence of Wind
• Amount of exposed surface area of water

9) Ice gains heat to melt into water.

10) Water loses heat to freeze into ice.

11) Water gains heat to evaporate into water vapour/ boil into steam.

12) Water vapour/steam loses heat to condense into water.

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Reproduction in Plants

1) The four processes in sexual reproduction of plants are pollination, fertilisation, seed
dispersal and germination.

2) Flowering plants grow from seeds.

3) Flowers need to be pollinated and fertilised before they can develop into fruits and seeds.

4) Stigma, style, ovary and ovule are the female parts of the flower.

5) Anther, filament and pollen grains are the male parts of the flower.

6) Pollination is the transfer of the pollen grains from the anther (male part) to the stigma
(female part).

7) Plants cannot move about and they need wind or animals to transfer the pollen grains.

8) Flowers can be wind or animal-pollinated and they have different characteristics.

9) Fertilisation is a process whereby the male reproductive cell in a pollen grain fuses with the
female reproductive cell inside the ovule.

10) After fertilisation, the ovary swells into a fruit and the ovules develop into seeds. Other
flower parts wither and drop off. The fruit protects the seeds.

11) Seed dispersal is the scattering of seeds to a further place by wind, water, animals, or
splitting of fruit.

12) Seed dispersal enables plants to colonise new places for growth and reproduction. This
prevents overcrowding and reduces competition among young plants for water, space,
sunlight and nutrients.

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Reproduction in Animals

1) Living things reproduce to ensure the continuity of their kind.

2) In sexual reproduction, the female produces female reproductive cells (eggs) and the male
produces male reproductive cells (sperm).

3) The eggs are produced in the ovaries while the sperms are produced in the testes.

4) Fertilisation is the process where the nucleus of a male reproductive cell fuses with a female
reproductive cell.

5) The fertilised egg develops in the womb in the female reproductive system.

6) The fertilised egg undergoes cell division many times and takes about nine months to fully
develop into a baby ready to be born.

7) Heredity is the passing on of the characteristics (traits) from the parents to their offspring
through genes.

8) Livings things always resemble their parents after they have fully grown into adults because
they have inherited the characteristics from their parents.

9) In human beings, attached or detached ear lobes, eye colour and hair colour are
examples of inherited characteristics.

10) Hereditary characteristics that are passed down from the parents to their offspring are
found in the nucleus of a cell.

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Life Cycles of Plants and Animals

1) A pattern that repeats itself again and again is called a cycle.

2) All living things go through life cycle.

3) There are stages of growth in the life cycle.

4) There are similarities and differences in the life cycles of living things.

Matter

1) Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space.

2) Mass refers to the amount of matter a thing has.

3) Volume refers to the amount of space a thing occupies.

4) The three states of matter are solid, liquid and gaseous states.

5) A solid has definite volume and definite shape.

6) A liquid has definite volume but no definite shape.

7) A gas has no definite volume and no definite shape.

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SYSTEMS

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Electricity

1) An open circuit has a discontinuous path which does not allow electricity to flow through.

2) A closed circuit has a continuous path that allows electricity to flow through.

3) A bulb is made up of the filament, glass bulb, metal casing and metal tip.

4) The filament is a conducting part that produces heat, glows and gives off light when
electricity flows through it.

5) The brightness of two bulbs in a series circuit:

• If one of the bulbs fuses then the other bulb will not light up as there is only one
path for the current to flow.
• When the number of bulbs increases, the current flowing through the circuit
decreases and the bulbs get dimmer.

6) The brightness of two bulbs in a parallel circuit:

• If one of the bulbs fuses, the other bulb will still light up as there are more than one
path for the current to flow.
• Brightness of bulbs in parallel remains the same even when more bulbs are added
to the circuit.

7) The advantages of having bulbs in parallel circuit:

• The bulbs can be operated independently of one another,
• If one of the bulbs fuses, the others still can be operated.
• Brightness of bulbs remains the same.

8) The factors that affect the brightness of a bulb in a circuit are:

• The arrangement of dry cells and bulbs (series or parallel)
• The number of dry of cells and bulbs

9) Electrical conductors allow electricity to flow through them.

10) Electrical insulators do not allow electricity to pass through them.

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Transport System in Plants

1. Water and mineral salts are transported upwards from the roots through the water-carrying
tubes to all parts of a plant.

2. Food that is made in the leaves is transported to other parts of the plant through the
food-carrying tubes.

Respiratory System

1. The respiratory system takes in oxygen into the lungs and removes carbon dioxide from the
lungs.
2. Different organisms exchange gases with the surrounding air in different ways:

Plants –> Through stomata. Water vapour is also given out through the stomata.
Fish –> Through gills. Water enters the mouth and flows over the gills before leaving the fish.
As water passes over the gills, oxygen in the water is absorbed by the gills while carbon diox-
ide given out by the fish is removed in the water.
Mammals –> Through lungs
3. The nose, windpipe and lungs make up the human respiratory system. They work together
to enable us to breathe.

4. The windpipe branches into two air tubes, one in each lung. These air tubes branch into many
smaller air tubes that end in millions of air sacs. These air sacs are surrounded by many tiny
blood vessels.

Oxygen in the air that is breathed in passes from the air sacs into the blood. Carbon dioxide
passes out from the blood into the air sacs and is breathed out. (Note that air sacs is not in
the syllabus)

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Circulatory System

1) Our circulatory system carries digested food, water and oxygen in the blood to all parts of
our body.

2) It also carries waste material such as carbon dioxide in the blood away from different parts
of the body to the lungs to be removed.

3) The main parts of the system are the heart, blood and blood vessels.

Heart Pumps blood to all parts of the body

Human circulatory Blood vessels Tubes through which blood flows

system
Transports digested food, oxygen, carbon
Blood
dioxide and other materials

4) When we exercise, our hearts need to work harder to pump more blood rich in digested food
and oxygen to all parts of the body so that we have more energy. That is why our pulse rate
and breathing rate increase.

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Digestive System

No Digestive Organs Functions Digestion

Begins here
• Teeth cut and grind food intosmaller pieces
(Digestion takes place the
• Saliva moistens and helps digest the food.
1. Mouth least here compared to
• Tongue rolls food into a ball to
stomach and small
enable easy swallowing
intestine.)

• Muscular tube connecting mouth to No digestive juice is pro-

2. Gullet
stomach duced here

3. Stomach • Digestive juices added to digest the food

• More digestive juices added to digest food

further.
• Most of the digestion takes place here. Digestion is completed
4. Small Intestine
• Completely digested food absorbed into here
bloodstream to be transported to all parts
of body.

• Food that cannot be digested are found

here
Water + Mineral salts
5. Large Intestine • Water and mineral salts are absorbed
absorbed here
• Undigested food solidify and stored at
rectum

6. Anus • Faeces passed out of the body via anus Faeces pass out

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Cells

1) A cell is a single unit of life.

1) All living things are made up of cells. Non-living things do not have cells.

2) Yeasts, Paramecium and bacterium are some examples of unicellular organisms.

3) Plants, fishes, birds, insects and mammals are multicellular organisms.

4) A plant cell can have nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, cell wall and chloroplasts.

5) Only leaf cell has chloroplasts while other plant parts like root cell, fruit cell, etc, do not
have chloroplasts.

6) An animal cell has nucleus, cytoplasm and cell membrane, but not chloroplasts and cell wall.

7) Nucleus contains hereditary materials which is passed down from one to another
generation. It also controls all activities of the cell.

8) Cell membrane is a thin partially permeable layer that controls the movement of materials
in and out of the cell.

9) Cell wall is a fully permeable structure made of a tough material called cellulose. It supports
the plant cell and gives it a regular shape.

10) Chloroplasts are disc-like structures that contain chlorophyll which traps light for making
food.

11) Cell division takes place continually to produce new cells. This is necessary for growth and
replacement of old or damaged cells.

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INTERACTIONS

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Forces

1) A force is a pull or a push.

2) The effects of forces are:

• Make a stationary object move
• Speed up, slow down or stop an object
• Change the direction of a moving object
• Change the shape of an object

3) Gravitational force is a force that pulls all objects downwards towards the centre of the
Earth. It acts on objects all the time and can act at a distance.

4) Elastic spring force is a force that a spring exerts when it is stretched or compressed.

5) Frictional force or friction is produced when two surfaces rub against each other. It acts
in the opposite direction of a moving object.

6) Examples of factors affecting the amount of friction between 2 surfaces:

• Smoothness/roughness of surfaces in contact.
• Weight of object moving on a surface

7) Magnetic force is a pull or a push exerted by a magnet.

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Adaptations

1) An adaptation is a characteristic that helps an organism survive in its environment.

2) A structural adaptation is a physical trait that can help an organism survive in its
environment, or help it to reproduce.
E.g. the frog has webbed feet to allow it to swim well.

3) A behavioural adaptation is a behaviour displayed by an organism that can help it to

survive or to reproduce.
E.g. desert animals like lizards and snakes learn to stay in the shade of plants and rocks, to
avoid gaining too much heat from direct sunlight.
4) Living things are adapted to cope with physical factors such as temperature, air, light and
water.
5) Some adaptations allow animals to obtain and also help them eat their food. Tigers and
wolves have sharp pointed teeth called fangs, to help them tear the flesh of their preys
into pieces.
6) Animals adapt to escape from predators by:
Examples:
• Appear bigger or fiercer
• Having warning colours or patterns
• Using camouflage
• Appearing to look like another organism (Mimicry)

7) Animals also adapt to hunt for preys by:

Examples :
• Speed (ex. Cheetah)
• Hunting in groups (hyena)
• Look like another organism
• Sharp senses (eyes of an owl)

8) Animals have behavioural or structural adaptations to attract and find a mate.

9) Plants have adaptions for sexual reproduction. E.g. Flowers that are colourful, scented and
produce nectar to attract pollinators.

10) Plants have adaptations for seed dispersal. E.g. wind-like structure, fibrous husks,etc

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Web of Life

1) Plants are food producers. They convert light energy from the Sun into chemical potential
energy.

2) Animals are food consumers. They eat other organisms to get energy.

3) Predators are animals that hunt and eat other animals.

4) Preys are animals that are eaten by other animals. Plants are not preys.

5) Food chains are linked to form food webs. Food webs show the transfer of energy from
food producers to food consumers as well as predator-prey relationships.

6) Animals that eat only plants are called plant-eaters. Animals that eat only meat are called
animal-eaters. Animals that eat plants and animals are called plant-and-animal eaters.

7) The two main decomposers are bacteria and fungi. Decomposers break down dead
organisms into simple substances like nutrients, carbon dioxide and water.

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Environment

1) The environment of the surroundings is made up of all the factors that can affect the growth
and survival of organisms living in those surroundings.

2) Factors affecting the survival of organisms in the environment:

• Physical characteristics
o Temperature
o Amount of water available
o Amount of light
o Availability of minerals
o The type of soil

• Availability of food
• Presence of other organisms such as plants, animals, bacteria and fungi
• Loss of habitats due to natural disasters, drought or fire
• Diseases

3) Unfavourable environments can be caused by droughts, floods, fires or introducing new

organisms into the surroundings.

4) When an environment becomes unfavourable, the organisms living in the environment will
die, move away or adapt to the change.

5) A population is made up of the same species of organisms. A population is made up of

both the young and the adults.

6) A community is made up of different populations of organisms living together in a

habitat.

7) A habitat is the place where an organism lives and reproduces. It provides air,
water, food, light shelter and protection to organisms.

8) Reproduction, death and migration affect the size of the population of organisms.

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Man and his Environment

1) Man’s activities can have both positive and negative effects on the environment.

2) Deforestation is the clearing of forests by cutting down or burning trees.

3) Deforestation leaves fewer plants to produce food and oxygen. It also means that useful
organisms would lose their habitats and they would die out.

4) Some gases released (ex. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc) by burning trees and fossil
fuels trap the Sun’s heat and prevent it from escaping into space. As more trees and
fuels are burnt, more of these gases are released. As a result, the temperature on the Earth
is increasing (Global warming).

5) Water pollution can be caused by oil from oil tankers, untreated waste water discharged
into sea and litter washed into drains or rivers.

6) Land pollution is caused by careless disposal of biodegradable and non-biodegradable

refuse. Excessive spraying of pesticides makes the soil unsuitable for growing plants and
can lead to food chain poisoning.

7) Man interacts with the environment and makes observations and develop things that help
him to better satisfy his needs.

For example, Biotechnology makes use of living organisms to make useful products to
improve our lives.

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ENERGY

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Energy and Sun

1) Main source of energy is the Sun.

2) All living things need energy to stay alive.

3) We get this energy from the food we eat.

4) All sources of energy can be traced back to the Sun.

5) Sun ->Light Energy

• It enables animals to see
• Plants obtain the light energy from the sun and use this energy to make food (in the
form of sugar) using carbon dioxide and water by a process called photosynthesis)
energy from the sun
Carbon dioxide + Water Sugar + Water
(photosynthesis)
6) Sun -> Heat Energy
• It keeps living things warm so that they can survive.
• Without the Sun, the Earth would be too cold for living things to survive
• Heat from the Sun is also necessary for water cycle to happen as the heat changes the
state of water (evaporation). Without water cycle, there will be no fresh water for
living things to survive on.

7) Excess sugar is stored in plants as starch.

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Energy Conversions

1) Kinetic energy is the form of energy a moving object possesses. The faster an object
moves, the greater the kinetic energy.

2) The kinetic energy of an object depends on its mass and on how fast the object moves.

3) An object has potential energy when it stores energy.

4) Chemical potential energy is energy that is stored in food and fuels. When energy is needed,
this chemical potential energy can be used.

Examples:
The chemical potential energy in a dry cell is converted into electrical energy when the cell is
used in a closed circuit.

During photosynthesis, green plants change light energy into chemical potential energy that
is stored in the plants in the form of food.

5) Gravitational potential energy is the type of energy stored by objects due to their positions
from the ground.

Examples:
A wagon on top of a roller coaster track
A box on a table

6) The gravitational potential energy of an object depends on its mass and on its height from
the ground.

7) Elastic potential energy is the stored energy an object possesses because it is being bent,
stretched or compressed.

Examples:
A stretched rubber band
A plastic ruler that is bent
A stretched or compressed spring

Note that pupils only need to know potential energy and do not need to know specific terms
like chemical potential energy, elastic potential energy and gravitational potential energy.

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Heat

1) Heat is a form of energy.

2) The Sun is our main source of heat.

3) We use our sense of touch to tell if an object is cold or hot but we use a thermometer to
measure temperature as it is more accurate.

4) Heat always travels from an object with a HIGHER temperature to an object with a LOWER
temperature.

5) When an ice cube is placed into a glass of warm water:

a. Ice cube melts as it GAINS heat from the warm water.
b. Warm water becomes cooler ( It LOSES heat to the ice )

6) Good conductors of heat allow heat to pass through them easily (gain and lose heat easier
and more quickly)

7) Poor conductors of heat do not allow heat to pass through them easily.

8) When a matter is heated gains heat, it can increase in temperature, expands or change in
state.

9) When a matter loses heat, it can decrease in temperature, contracts or change in state.

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Light

1) Light is a form of energy.

2) Light travels in a straight line.

3) Sources of light
• The Sun (main source of light) and other stars
• Some living organisms like fireflies give off light of their own.
• Burning fuels such as coal and wool gives off light.
• Electric bulbs and lamps are also sources of light when they are part of a closed circuit.

4) Reflection of light
• When light falls on an object, some of it is reflected.
• We are able to see an object when light reflects from it into our eyes.

5) Shadows are formed as light travels in a straight line and some or all of the light cannot pass
through the objects.

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