Science
Stage 9
Paper 2 2023
Year 8 4 / 3 / 2024
45 minutes
No additional materials are needed.
INSTRUCTIONS
• Answer all questions.
• Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
• You should show all your working on the question paper.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 50.
• The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
3146_02/6RP
© UCLES 2023
2
1 Priya investigates the effect of nitrate ions and magnesium ions on the growth of barley
seedlings.
Priya does three experiments.
In each experiment she puts one barley seedling and 3 cm3 of a mineral solution into a test-tube.
barley barley barley
seedling seedling seedling
mineral solution mineral solution mineral solution
containing nitrate containing containing nitrate
ions and magnesium ions ions and no
magnesium ions and no nitrate ions magnesium ions
After four weeks Priya dries the seedlings in an oven and measures their dry mass.
Here are her results.
dry mass of the
experiment barley seedling
in g
mineral solution containing nitrate ions and magnesium ions 3.8
mineral solution containing magnesium ions and no nitrate ions 1.9
mineral solution containing nitrate ions and no magnesium ions 2.8
Describe and explain the effect of nitrate ions and the effect of magnesium ions on the growth of
barley seedlings.
Use information from the table in your answer.
[4]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02
3
2 Dilute hydrochloric acid reacts with calcium carbonate.
Blessy plans an investigation to find out the effect of concentration of acid on the rate of this
reaction.
The diagram shows the equipment she uses.
measuring
delivery tube
cylinder
gas
conical
flask water
dilute hydrochloric acid
calcium carbonate
(a) (i) Identify the independent variable in this investigation.
[1]
(ii) Describe how Blessy measures the dependent variable in this investigation.
dependent variable
how it is measured
[1]
(iii) Identify two variables that Blessy must control.
2
[1]
(b) Identify one safety risk in the investigation and describe how to control the risk.
safety risk
how to control the risk
[2]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02 [Turn over
4
3 The diagram shows the range of frequencies of sound waves that different animals hear.
1000 000
100 000
10 000
frequency
1000
in Hz
100
10
1
goldfish raccoon mouse bat
animal
(a) Write down the lowest frequency of sound a racoon hears.
Hz
[1]
(b) Estimate the range of frequencies a mouse hears.
Hz
[1]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02
5
(c) Look at the graph showing the waveforms of two sound waves.
Waveform A and waveform B have different frequencies and different amplitudes.
waveform B
waveform A
displacement
4
in cm
0
time
–2
–4
(i) Describe how increasing the frequency of a sound wave changes the sound we hear.
[1]
(ii) Describe how increasing the amplitude of a sound wave changes the sound we hear.
[1]
(d) (i) Calculate how many times bigger the amplitude of waveform B is than waveform A.
[1]
(ii) Calculate how many times bigger the frequency of waveform A is than waveform B.
[1]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02 [Turn over
6
4 This question is about the population of cheetahs and sea turtles.
(a) Look at the graph showing the change in the number of cheetahs since 1900.
120 000
100 000
80 000
number
60 000
of cheetahs
40 000
20 000
0
1900 1940 1980 2020 2060 3000
year
(i) Describe the change in the number of cheetahs between 1900 and 2020.
[1]
(ii) Draw an extension to the line of best fit to the x-axis.
Estimate the year when the cheetah becomes extinct.
year [2]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02
7
(iii) The change in the number of cheetahs may be due to natural selection.
Describe the theory of natural selection.
[2]
(b) Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are linked to increased Earth surface temperature
and rising sea levels.
Sea turtles live in the ocean and come to shore to build nesting sites in the sand.
The sex of the sea turtle offspring is linked to the surface temperature of the sand.
At warmer temperatures more of the offspring are female than male.
(i) The population of the sea turtles might change because of an increase in the surface
temperature of sand.
Complete the sentences.
The population of sea turtles might increase because
The population of sea turtles might decrease because
.
[2]
(ii) Suggest how the rising sea level will affect the population of the sea turtles.
Write down two reasons for your answer.
effect on the population
reason 1
reason 2
[2]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02 [Turn over
8
5 Chen measures the mass and volume of some substances.
He calculates the density of each substance.
The table shows his results.
mass volume density
substance
in g in cm3 in g / cm3
A 395 50 7.9
B 0.22 100 0.0022
C 452 40 11
D 328 45 7.3
E 340 38
(a) Calculate the density of substance E.
Give your answer to two significant figures.
density of substance E = g / cm3 [3]
(b) Which substance in the table is a gas?
Explain your answer.
substance
explanation
[2]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02
9
6 Perspiration is a watery liquid produced by the skin.
The water evaporates to cool the skin.
Explain the cooling effect of evaporation.
Use ideas about particles.
[3]
7 This question is about the carbon cycle.
(a) Draw a straight line to match the process to its correct description.
process description
carbohydrate moves from one
combustion
organism to another organism
the breakdown of dead and
decomposition
decaying waste material
feeding the burning of fossil fuels
the release of energy from the
photosynthesis
breakdown of glucose
the formation of glucose and
respiration
oxygen by green plants
[4]
(b) Name the process in the carbon cycle that decreases the amount of carbon in the
atmosphere.
[1]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02 [Turn over
10
8 The Earth’s crust is split into large pieces of rock.
These large pieces of rock float on top of the molten magma in the mantle.
(a) Write down the name of these large pieces of floating rock.
[1]
(b) Convection currents in the mantle cause these floating rocks to move.
(i) Look at the diagram showing the formation of volcanoes.
Draw arrows on the diagram to show the pathway of the convection currents in the mantle.
crust
mantle
[1]
(ii) Look at the diagram showing the formation of a mid-ocean ridge.
Draw arrows on the diagram to show the pathway of the convection currents which
cause the formation of the mid-ocean ridge.
mid-ocean ridge
crust
mantle
[1]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02
11
(c) Look at the map showing the position of active volcanoes and the boundaries of floating rock
in the Earth’s crust.
North Europe Asia
Asia
America
Atlantic
Ocean
Africa
Pacific
Ocean South Indian
America Ocean
Indian
Ocean Australia South
Africa
Atlantic
Ocean
Antarctica
key
active volcano
boundary of floating rocks
(i) Why are active volcanoes used as evidence for the location of the boundaries of the
floating rocks?
[1]
(ii) Suggest why there are no active volcanoes near South Africa.
[1]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02 [Turn over
12
9 Copper oxide reacts with dilute nitric acid to make a salt and water.
(a) What is name of the salt made in this reaction?
[1]
(b) The mass is conserved during this reaction.
What is the meaning of the words mass is conserved?
[1]
(c) Water molecules are made in this reaction.
Name and describe the type of bond present in a water molecule.
name
description
[2]
© UCLES 2023 3146_02
13
10 Look at the diagram showing a model to help explain how an electrical circuit works.
pump
pipe
hot water
radiator
(a) The radiator in the model represents a lamp in the circuit.
What is represented in the electrical circuit by the pump and the hot water?
pump
hot water
[2]
(b) Write down one strength and one limitation of this model of an electrical circuit.
strength
limitation
[2]
Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge Assessment
International Education Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced annually and is available to download at
https://lowersecondary.cambridgeinternational.org/
Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of Cambridge Assessment. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is a department of the University of Cambridge.
© UCLES 2023 3146_02 [Turn over
The Periodic Table of Elements
© UCLES 2023
Group
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2
H He
hydrogen helium
Key 1 4
3 4 atomic number 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be atomic symbol B C N O F Ne
lithium beryllium name boron carbon nitrogen oxygen fluorine neon
7 9 relative atomic mass 11 12 14 16 19 20
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
sodium magnesium aluminium silicon phosphorus sulfur chlorine argon
23 24 27 28 31 32 35.5 40
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
potassium calcium scandium titanium vanadium chromium manganese iron cobalt nickel copper zinc gallium germanium arsenic selenium bromine krypton
39 40 45 48 51 52 55 56 59 59 64 65 70 73 75 79 80 84
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
14
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
3146_02
rubidium strontium yttrium zirconium niobium molybdenum technetium ruthenium rhodium palladium silver cadmium indium tin antimony tellurium iodine xenon
85 88 89 91 93 96 – 101 103 106 108 112 115 119 122 128 127 131
55 56 57–71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
lanthanoids
Cs Ba Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
caesium barium hafnium tantalum tungsten rhenium osmium iridium platinum gold mercury thallium lead bismuth polonium astatine radon
133 137 178 181 184 186 190 192 195 197 201 204 207 209 – – –
87 88 89–103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118
actinoids
Fr Ra Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Nh Fl Mc Lv Ts Og
francium radium rutherfordium dubnium seaborgium bohrium hassium meitnerium darmstadtium roentgenium copernicium nihonium flerovium moscovium livermorium tennessine oganesson
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
lanthanoids La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
lanthanum cerium praseodymium neodymium promethium samarium europium gadolinium terbium dysprosium holmium erbium thulium ytterbium lutetium
139 140 141 144 – 150 152 157 159 163 165 167 169 173 175
89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
actinoids Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
actinium thorium protactinium uranium neptunium plutonium americium curium berkelium californium einsteinium fermium mendelevium nobelium lawrencium
– 232 231 238 – – – – – – – – – – –
