PSLE is challenging for both students and parents as it tests the child's academic aptitude, stress management levels, and resilience. Many students consider PSLE Science tough and complex out of all the other subjects as the assessment combines both creative and theoretical elements. The PSLE Science syllabus uses the inquiry method as its approach to make students gain knowledge. However, besides learning the concepts, students must make a few calculations, use analytical skills, make critical investigations, explain phenomena and contribute creatively to do well in the examination.

A Brief Summary of PSLE Science Questions & Topics

The five main science topics for PSLE are diversity, cycles, systems, interactions, and energy. Students get confused while differentiating the concepts of energy and forces. In most cases, they tend to use terms interchangeably. Thus, students must have a strong understanding of the definition and concept of energy and forces to prevent any confusion.

All You Need to Know About Energy

Energy is the ability to do work, and it refers to activities like running, walking, eating, etc. Work can denote life processes like blood flow in our bodies and beating of the heart. Humans can't live without energy. It is essential for life. The six forms of energy are:

• Kinetic energy
• Potential energy (Gravitational, Chemical & Elastic)
• Heat energy
• Sound energy
• Electrical energy
• Light energy

All You Need to Know About Force

Force is the most fundamental concept in physics. It is defined as the push or the pull that we apply to an object. The things which we can do with force are:

1. Move a stationary object.
2. Speed up, change the direction of motion or slow down speed.
3. Stop a moving object.
4. Change the shape of an object.

Difference Between Energy & Force

Students find it challenging to differentiate between the concepts of force and energy. The main difference is:

• Force is external and acts on an object by transferring energy.
• Energy is internal and stored in an object which activates things.

Also Read : How to Rectify Student's Mistakes in PSLE Science & Score Better?

Ways to Approach Difficult PSLE Science Questions

The most effective PSLE answering technique for energy and force topics is to follow the guidelines given below.

• Read the questions with concentration.
• Study the chart, figure, or diagram if given.
• Identify and highlight the key subject terms like heat, magnetic force, energy, etc.
• Identify and highlight the key question terms like what, why, explain, when, identify, etc.
• Identify and highlight the key concept.

The simple ways to answer the questions are:

1. Start with the key subject.
2. Elaborate on the evidence identified in the question or diagram.
3. Link the concept and explain the phenomena.

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Tips to Solve PSLE Science Energy Questions

In energy-based questions, students must identify the type of energy used in the process. Your child will need to apply the CUE framework. C stands for choose, U for data, and E for explaining data. Mathematics subject knowledge is mandatory to calculate energy using formulas. When the questions are based on kinetic energy, you should make your child understand that they can have only one changed factor, and the other factor will be unchanged. The object's mass will be the same and not affect the quantity of energy used.

Students must find whether the variables used are dependant or changing in an energy conversion question. The changing variable is independent and it does not affect other variables. The measured variables are affected by the changing variables and vice versa. On the contrary, as its name suggests, the dependant variable is affected by other variables.

Tips to Solve PSLE Science Force Questions

PSLE Science exams do not only evaluate students' knowledge about individual forces which act independently on objects. Instead, the questions will be based on two or more forces acting on the same object and interacting. Thus, students must analyse the type of force provided in the question and then structure their answers accordingly. When there are two or more forces, there are a few PSLE Science tips for students to follow. They are:

1. Identify what the type of force is.
2. Identify the direction of the force.
3. Group the forces based on their direction of action.
4. Identify the stronger force.
5. Explain the answer in a structured form with scientific terms.

Endnote

By reading the above article, you would have understood that memorising the contents in energy and force topics will not help answer the questions in the PSLE Science examination. Instead, you must train your child to apply scientific concepts and acquired knowledge to tackle the questions and score high. Study Smart Singapore is an AI-powered app offering excellent learning help for PSLE with excellent resources on previous year's question papers and answer banks.