Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

Unit 1 Starting science

A Multiple-choice questions

1 Which of the following procedures requires us to put on a pair of safety goggles

in the laboratory?
A Preparing a sugar solution.
B Heating a liquid in a test-tube.
C Transferring a salt solution from a reagent bottle to a beaker.
D Measuring the rate of heartbeat.
B

2 Which of the following equipment can be found in the laboratory to put out a
fire?
(1) Fire blanket
(2) Fire extinguisher
(3) Sand bucket
(4) Fire hose
A (1) and (3) only
B (2) and (4) only
C (1), (2) and (3) only
D (2), (3) and (4) only
C

3 When something gets into the eye of a student during an experiment, he/she
should
A use a bandage to cover his/her eye.
B wash his/her eye with the eye-wash bottle.
C put on a pair of safety goggles to protect his/her eye.
D wash his/her eye with disinfectant.
B

© Oxford University Press -2-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

4 What is the use of the following piece of apparatus?

A To hold a test-tube.
B To hold a dropper.
C To hold a flask.
D To hold a measuring cylinder.
A

5 To transfer 1.5 mL of a liquid, which of the following piece of apparatus would

be the most suitable?

D
A

© Oxford University Press -3-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

6 The minimum number of box of drink on the left that can fill up the bottle on
the right is

250 mL 1L

A 2.
B 4.
C 6.
D 8.
B

7 Which of the following symbols are the unit(s) of temperature?

(1) oC
(2) oF
(3) L
(4) m
A (1) and (2) only
B (2) and (3) only
C (1), (2) and (3) only
D (1), (2) and (4) only
A

8 The first step to use a Bunsen burner is to

A open the air hole.
B close the air hole.
C light a match.
D turn on the gas tap.
B

© Oxford University Press -4-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

*9 To find out the factors which affect the falling speed of a parachute, several
experiments were done. Which of the following experiments can help us draw a
conclusion?

plastic parachutes
plastic parachutes

50 g 30 g 50 g 30 g

A B

plastic parachute cotton parachute plastic parachute cotton parachute

50 g 50 g 50 g 30 g

C D

*
E10 If the result of an experiment does not agree with the prediction, the scientist
should
A change the result to fit the prediction.
B change the design of the experiment and test again.
C change the observation.
D give up.

© Oxford University Press -5-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

© Oxford University Press -6-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

B True or false questions

1 We may do experiments according to the procedures designed by

ourselves without getting our teacher’s permission.
F

2 We should put on a pair of safety goggles when we enter a laboratory

only if we have short sight.
F

3 Hazard warning labels on the reagent bottles are used to show the
names of the chemicals contained in the bottles.
F

4 A tripod is used to support the Bunsen burner.

F

5 When using the Bunsen burner, the laboratory should have good
ventilation.
T

© Oxford University Press -7-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

C Fill-in-the-blanks

1 We should take all to avoid accidents when

doing experiments.
safety precautions

2 Before we use a chemical, we should read the

on the reagent bottle first and then use it carefully.
hazard warning label

3 To boil a beaker of water, a should be placed under the

beaker to let it stand on the tripod.
wire gauze

4 The volume of an irregular object can be measured by a

.
measuring cylinder

5 When the shape of the Bunsen flame is irregular, the colour of the flame should
be .
yellow

© Oxford University Press -8-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

D Short questions

1 Write down the meaning of each of the following hazard warning labels.

(a) (b) (c)

(a)
(b)
(c)

Answer:
(a) Flammable
(b) Corrosive
(c) Toxic

*2 Describe how you would use the following apparatus to transfer 52 mL of water
to a reagent bottle most accurately. (You may not need to use all of them.)

© Oxford University Press -9-

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

Answer:
Use the beaker to hold water at the beginning. Use the measuring cylinder to measure
50 mL of water and pour it into the reagent bottle. Then use the syringe to draw 2 mL
of water and put/squeeze it into the reagent bottle.

© Oxford University Press - 10 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

E3 What is happening as shown in the following Bunsen burner? What is the cause
of this?

Answer:
It is striking back.
It occurs because the air hole is fully opened when the Bunsen burner is lit.

*4 Match the following statements with the five steps involved in a scientific
investigation:
(a) Perhaps air spaces of the soil are filled by rainwater so that the
earthworms cannot breathe and they come out.
(b) The earthworms always come out from the soil after rainfall.
(c) Take some soil with the earthworms as the sample. Add water to the soil
sample until it is full of water.
(d) Why do the earthworms come out from the soil after rainfall but not on a
sunny day?
(e) If there is rainfall, the soil will be flooded with water. This causes the
earthworms to come out from the soil.

(a)

© Oxford University Press - 11 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Answer:
(a) Making hypothesis
(b) Making observation
(c) Doing experiments
(d) Asking questions
(e) Making conclusion

*5 The following experiment aims at studying the factors that can affect the time of
a parachute takes to reach the ground. Suggest any three of these factors.

parachute

string

fixed weight

Answer:
Material to make the parachute, size of the parachute, shape of the parachute, length
of the pieces of strings (any THREE or other reasonable answers)

© Oxford University Press - 12 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

E Long questions

1 We use science apparatus to do experiments. Refer to the photos below and

answer the questions that follow.

(1) (2)

(3)

(4) (5)

a What are the above five pieces of apparatus? What is the use of each of
these pieces of apparatus? Complete the following table.

Name(s) of the piece(s) of apparatus Use(s) of the piece(s) of apparatus

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

© Oxford University Press - 13 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

(5)

b Some laboratory apparatus can be represented by simple line drawings.

Prepare simple line drawings for apparatus (2), (4) and (5) in the spaces
provided below.

(2) (4) (5)

c Use some pieces of apparatus shown above, use simple line drawings to
show how you heat up a beaker of water in the space provided below.
Label all apparatus in your diagram.

© Oxford University Press - 14 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

Answer:
a
Name(s) of the piece(s) of apparatus Use(s) of the piece(s) of apparatus
(1) Test-tube holder To hold a test-tube when heating.

(2) Beaker To contain solids or liquids.

(3) Stand and clamp To fix the position of apparatus.

(4) Bunsen burner and insulating mat The Bunsen burner is used to heat
objects. The insulating mat is used to
protect the bench from over-heating.

(5) Wire gauze and tripod The wire gauze is used to support
apparatus. The tripod is used to
support the wire gauze.

b
(2) (4) (5)

© Oxford University Press - 15 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

© Oxford University Press - 16 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

**2 Tom had found that a glass vase with a water plant placed near a window had
many gas bubbles stuck on its wall. The number of gas bubbles was the greatest
around noon to two o’clock. He designed an experiment to find out whether the
number of gas bubbles was affected by the light intensity. He placed a lamp in
front of the water plant and changed the light intensity. The result was recorded
in the following table.

water
gas bubble

glass vase
water plant

Degree of light intensity 1 2 3 4 5

(the greater the number, the
higher the light intensity)
Number of gas bubbles 9 16 21 27 32

a Suggest a method to change the light intensity of the lamp.

b Use the data in the above table, plot a graph in the space provided below
to show the relationship between light intensity and the number of gas
bubbles.

© Oxford University Press - 17 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

c Suggest a condition that should be kept the same throughout the

experiment.

d What conclusion can you draw from this experiment?

Answer:
a The lamp could be placed at different distances from the plant. The light
intensity decreased with increase in distance of the lamp from the plant.

b The effect of light intensity on the number of gas bubbles released by the water plant

© Oxford University Press - 18 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

c Temperature, amount of water in the glass vase (any ONE or other reasonable
answers)
d The number of gas bubbles increases with increase in light intensity.

© Oxford University Press - 19 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

**3 A student wanted to test the brightness of two light bulbs of different brands. He
connected each light bulb to a battery as shown in the following diagrams.

Set-up 1 Set-up 2
light bulb of light bulb of
brand A brand B

new battery old battery

Then for each set-up, he placed a glass plate with a mark on it at 2 cm above the
light bulb. He put pieces of white paper on top of the glass plate until the mark
could not be seen. The number of pieces of white paper was recorded.

observe from above pieces of white paper

2 cm
card with a mark
glass plate with a
mark placed above
the bulb

a The test designed by the student was not a fair test. Why?

© Oxford University Press - 20 -

Living Science (Second Edition) Supplementary Exercise Unit 1

b How could the test be improved to become a fair test?

c Suggest two factors which should be kept the same throughout the test.

d If the number of pieces of white paper used for Set-up 1 was 12 and that
for Set-up 2 was 8, which brand of light bulb was brighter?

Answer:
a The batteries used for the two bulbs were not the same.
b Use new batteries of the same brand for the two bulbs.
c Distance between the glass plate and each of the two bulbs, thickness of the
piece of white paper, glass plate used for the two bulbs (any TWO or other
reasonable answers)
d Brand A

© Oxford University Press - 21 -