year 9 science entrance assessment practice paper a

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Year 9 Science Entrance Assessment Practice Paper A Answer all questions in the spaces provided. There are 71 marks available. Write your name in the space provided at the top of this page Leave time to check your work. The use of calculators is permitted 60 minutes


Q1. The diagram below shows six pieces of equipment.

a) Linda investigates how quickly sugar dissolves in water.

(i) Which piece of equipment does she use to weigh 5 g of sugar? Tick the correct box.


(ii) Which piece of equipment does she use to measure out 90 cm3 of water? Tick the correct box.

(b) Linda heats the water in a beaker. (i) Which piece of equipment shown is a beaker? Tick the correct box.

(ii) Which piece of equipment shown is used to heat water? Tick the correct box.

(c) Linda adds 5 g of sugar to the hot water.

(i) She measures the time it takes for the sugar to dissolve. The equipment used for timing is not shown in the diagram. What piece of equipment is used to measure the time taken?

...................................................... 1 mark


(ii) The equipment used to measure the temperature of the water is not shown in the diagram. What piece of equipment is used to measure temperature? ......................................................

1 mark maximum 6 marks

Q2. Sally pulls a sledge in the snow.

a) (i) Draw an arrow on the rope to show the direction of the force of the rope on the sledge. Label the arrow R.

(ii) Draw an arrow on the diagram to show the direction of the force of gravity on the sledge.

Label the arrow G. 2 marks


(b) Force F is the friction between the sledge and the snow. Sally then pulled the sledge over a concrete path. Friction is less on snow than on concrete. Give the reason for this. ................................................................................................................


Q3. Anna has a can of deodorant that she uses once each day. Before she uses the deodorant she measures the mass of the can.

(a) Her results are shown in the graph below.


(i) What was the mass of the can of deodorant on day 1? .............. g

1 mark (ii) How did the mass change as Anna used the deodorant? ...............................................................................................................

1 mark (iii) Anna did not use the deodorant on day 6. How can you tell this from the graph? ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

1 mark

(b) The deodorant can has a warning sign on it.


(c) A deodorant contains a solution of perfume and alcohol. What happens to the perfume when it is mixed with the alcohol? Tick the correct box.

(d) Anna sprayed the liquid deodorant under her arms. After a few minutes, her skin had dried. What happened to the liquid? Tick the correct box.


Q3. The diagram shows a plant cell.

(a) Give the name of part A. ............................................................. Give the function of part A. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................

2 marks (b) Give the name of part E. .............................................................. Give the function of part E. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................

2 marks (c) Give the letters of two parts that are present in plant cells but not in animal cells. .................. and .................. 1 mark


(d) How can you tell that the cell in the diagram is from a leaf and not from a root? ................................................................................................................


Q4. The list below shows properties that different elements can have.

• magnetic • can be compressed • very high melting point • very low melting point • good conductor of heat • poor conductor of heat • good conductor of electricity • poor conductor of electricity

(a) Which two properties from the list above make aluminium suitable for saucepans? 1. ................................................................................................................. 2. .................................................................................................................

2 marks (b) Which property in the list above explains why: (i) copper is used in the cable of a television? .............................................................................................................

1 mark (ii) a lot of oxygen gas can be pumped into a very small container? .............................................................................................................

1 mark Maximum 4 marks


Q5. Tom is doing a bungee jump from a bridge.

He is attached to one end of an elastic rope. The other end of the rope is attached to the bridge. Tom jumps from the bridge. (a) (i) What force makes Tom fall towards the ground? .........................................................

1 mark (ii) Tom does not hit the river below the bridge. What makes Tom stop falling before he hits the river? ......................................................... 1 mark


(b) The next person to do a bungee jump is Jill. Jill weighs less than Tom. Complete the sentence below using words from the box.

When Jill jumps, the rope will stretch ........................................................... it did when Tom jumped.

1 mark (c) Jill’s dad watches her doing the bungee jump. He is standing a long way from the bridge. Jill shouts ‘bungee’ at the same time as she jumps off the bridge. Jill’s dad sees her jump before he hears her shout.

(i) Why does Jill’s dad see her jump before he hears her shout? .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 1 mark


Q6. Kiran lit a candle. She placed a 100 cm3 glass jar over the candle. The candle flame went out after 2 seconds.

(a) Why did the flame go out? ...................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................

1 mark

(c) Kiran put different sized jars over a lit candle. She measured the time it took for the flame to go out each time. She recorded her results in a table.


(i) Plot Kiran’s results on the graph paper below. The first one has been done for you.

1 mark

(ii) Draw a line of best fit. 1 mark

(iii) What conclusion can you make from her results? ............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................

1 mark

(c) What should Kiran keep the same in this experiment to make it a fair test? ...................................................................................................................... 1 mark


(d) Suggest one way for Kiran to make her results more reliable. ......................................................................................................................


Q7. The diagrams show an animal cell and a bacterial cell.

(a) (i) Structures A and B are found in both the animal cell and the bacterial cell. Use words from the box to name structures A and B.

A ............................................................ B ............................................................

(2) (ii) Both cells contain genetic material. Name the structure in the animal cell that contains genetic material. ............................................................ (1)


(b) List A gives three structures found in animal cells. List B gives four functions of cell structures. Draw one line from each structure in List A to its correct function in List B.

Q8. This question is about four chemical elements.

(a) The melting points and boiling points of the four elements are shown in the table. Complete the table to give the physical state, solid, liquid or gas, of each element at room temperature, 21°C.


(b) Bromine can be a solid, a liquid or a gas depending on the temperature. In which physical state will 10 g of bromine store the most thermal energy? ....................................................................................................................

1 mark (c) Is bromine a solid, a liquid or a gas when the arrangement of particles is: (i) far apart and random? .......................................................................

1 mark (ii) close together but random? ...............................................................

1 mark (iii) close together in a regular pattern? ...................................................

1 mark Maximum 8 marks


Q9. Paula made a pendulum from a ball attached to a piece of string.

She counted the number of swings the ball made in 10 seconds. She repeated the experiment with different lengths of string.


The table below shows Paula’s results.

(a) What happens to the number of swings when the string gets longer? ......................................................................................................................

1 mark (b) Paula drew a graph of her results. (i) Write the labels on both axes of the graph below. Use the table to help you.


(ii) Paula made a pendulum from a piece of string that was 15 cm long. How many times would this pendulum swing in 10 seconds? Use the graph to help you. .......................

1 mark (iii) Paula made a pendulum from a piece of string that was 60 cm long. Estimate the number of swings the pendulum makes in 10 seconds. Use the graph. Tick the best answer.

(c) After some time the pendulum stops moving. What force makes the pendulum stop moving? .........................................................


Q10. In the eighteenth century, scientists had different ideas about what happens when metals burn in air.


(a) Imagine you want to investigate the ideas of Priestley and Lavoisier. Assume you have been given three pieces of different metals. In a laboratory, metals are heated to high temperatures in crucibles.

You would also have access to all the usual laboratory equipment. In your plan you must give: • the one factor you would change as you carry out your investigation (the independent variable); • one factor you would observe or measure to collect your results (the dependent variable); • one of the factors you would keep the same as you carry out your investigation; • the evidence that would support Lavoisier’s idea. ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... 4 marks


(b) In the box below, draw and label a table you could use to record your results.


Q11. Sickle-cell anaemia is an inherited disease which can be fatal. People with sickle-cell anaemia have sickle-shaped red blood cells.

(a) Sickle-shaped red blood cells can become tangled together. Suggest one consequence of this. ……….……………………………………………………………………………… ……….………………………………………………………………………………

1 mark (b) Red blood cells contain a chemical called haemoglobin. People with sickle-cell anaemia produce an abnormal form of haemoglobin which crystallises at low oxygen concentrations. Explain why the abnormal haemoglobin is likely to crystallise as the blood flows through the tissues, such as muscle. ……….……………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… 1 mark


(c) Malaria is another disease which can be fatal. The micro-organism which causes malaria spends part of its life cycle inside human red blood cells. The table shows how a person’s type of haemoglobin affects their chances of getting malaria.

The type of haemoglobin a person makes is an inherited characteristic. In areas where malaria is common, there are more people in each successive generation with a mixture of both normal and abnormal haemoglobin. Explain why. ……….……………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… ……….………………………………………………………………………………

2 marks Maximum 4 marks


Q12. The diagrams represent the arrangement of atoms or molecules in four different substances, A, B, C and D.

(a) (i) Which substance is a compound? …………

1 mark (ii) Which substance is a mixture? …………

1 mark (iii) Which two substances are elements? ………… and …………

1 mark (iv) Which two substances could be good thermal conductors? ………… and ………… 1 mark


(v) Which substance could be carbon dioxide? …………

1 mark

(b) The following experiment was set up. Test-tubes containing substances B and C were placed together as shown. The substances did not react. They were left for five minutes.

(i) How many molecules are there in the mixture compared to the total number in substances B and C? ……………………………………….……………………………………….

1 mark (ii) Complete the diagram which is a model of this experiment.

year 9 science entrance assessment practice paper a

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