Primary 3 · Science · Diversity: Classification

Diversity: Classification questions for Primary 3 Science

10 questions to work through online, 2 of them written out the way the paper asks. Answer and you get the working straight away, then a score at the end. No sign-up, and you can retake it as often as you like.

Why we classify
Choosing a characteristic
Reading a key
Reading a tick table
Grouping by what is shown
Odd one out
More than one right grouping
Naming the characteristic
Writing a key question

0 of 10 answered

Question 1 of 10Why we classify

Two objects have been put into the same group. What must be true of them?

Question 2 of 10Choosing a characteristic

Which of the following can be used to sort a pile of buttons into groups?

A: the colour of each button
B: the number of holes in each button
C: how pretty each button is
D: the material each button is made of

Question 3 of 10Reading a key

A key sorting four animals, P, Q, R and S.

Based on the key above, which animal could P be?

Question 4 of 10Reading a key

Same picture as the question above.

Using the same key, what do R and S have in common?

Question 5 of 10Reading a tick table

Table of Can grow, Can reproduce, Needs food and water for S, T
Thing	Can grow	Can reproduce	Needs food and water
S	✗	✗	✗
T	✓	✓	✓

✓ means the characteristic was observed, ✗ means it was not.

Based on the table, which pair could S and T be?

Question 6 of 10Grouping by what is shown

Six objects were sorted into two groups.

Which statements about the grouping shown above are correct?

A: The objects were grouped by their shape.
B: A tennis ball would belong in Group 1.
C: A matchbox would belong in Group 2.

Question 7 of 10Odd one out

Ravi sorted four things into a group: a car, a bus, a bicycle and a lorry. He then said a boat belongs in the group too. What was his group based on?

Question 8 of 10More than one right grouping

A teacher gave her class a red plastic cup, a red metal spoon, a blue plastic plate and a blue metal fork. Which of these groupings could the class NOT use?

A: red things and blue things
B: plastic things and metal things
C: things for eating and things for drinking
D: heavy things and light things

Question 9 of 10Naming the characteristic

Table of Lets light through, Made of glass for window pane, clear plastic ruler, wooden door, metal tray
Object	Lets light through	Made of glass
window pane	✓	✓
clear plastic ruler	✓	✗
wooden door	✗	✗
metal tray	✗	✗

✓ means yes, ✗ means no.

Using the table above, one characteristic puts the window pane and the ruler in the same group.What is that characteristic? It lets ______ through.

Question 10 of 10Writing a key question

You want to separate a butterfly and a bee from a spider in one step.Write the number that finishes the question: How many ______ does it have? (Answer with a number.)

Answers and explanations for all 10 questions

Every answer with the reasoning behind it. Worth reading after you have tried the set — or on its own, if you are a parent marking it.

Two objects have been put into the same group. What must be true of them?
Answer: They share at least one characteristic.
Grouping is based on something held in common. Two things in a group share at least one characteristic, though they may differ in every other way.
Which of the following can be used to sort a pile of buttons into groups?
Answer: A, B and D only
A characteristic can only be used to classify if everyone would sort the pile the same way. Colour, holes and material can be seen and counted; prettiness is an opinion.
Based on the key above, which animal could P be?
Answer: a pigeon
P is reached by answering yes twice: it has a backbone and it has feathers. A pigeon is the only one of these with feathers.
Using the same key, what do R and S have in common?
Answer: Neither of them has a backbone.
R and S both sit below the 'no' branch of the first question, so neither of them has a backbone. Everything below that point shares that answer.
Based on the table, which pair could S and T be?
Answer: S: a bicycle, T: a rabbit
T does all three, so T is living; S does none of them, so S is non-living. A bicycle and a rabbit is the only pair that fits that way round.
Which statements about the grouping shown above are correct?
Answer: A, B and C
Group 1 is the round things and Group 2 is the flat-sided things, so the grouping is by shape. That makes all three statements right: a tennis ball is round, and a matchbox has flat sides. Size cannot be the rule, because a coin and an orange sit together.
Ravi sorted four things into a group: a car, a bus, a bicycle and a lorry. He then said a boat belongs in the group too. What was his group based on?
Answer: things that carry people from place to place
The rule has to fit every member. Once the boat is added, the only rule that fits all five is that they are things that carry people from place to place.
A teacher gave her class a red plastic cup, a red metal spoon, a blue plastic plate and a blue metal fork. Which of these groupings could the class NOT use?
Answer: D only
The same four objects can be grouped correctly in several ways — by colour, by material, or by what they are used for. Only D fails, because nobody is told how heavy any of them is.
Using the table above, one characteristic puts the window pane and the ruler in the same group. What is that characteristic? It lets ______ through.
Answer: light
Both the window pane and the clear ruler let light through, so that is the characteristic they share.
You want to separate a butterfly and a bee from a spider in one step. Write the number that finishes the question: How many ______ does it have? (Answer with a number.)
Answer: 6
A butterfly and a bee are insects and have 6 legs, while a spider has 8, so asking how many legs it has splits them in one step.