Singapore · SEABSyllabus
Combined Science syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Singapore Combined Sciencesyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Biology: Cells and Human Physiology
Module overview →- What are the parts of animal and plant cells, what do they do, and how are cells organised into organisms?Identify the structures of animal and plant cells and their functions, compare the two cell types, and describe the organisation of cells into tissues, organs and systems9 min answer →
- How do substances move into and out of cells by diffusion, osmosis and active transport?Describe and compare diffusion, osmosis and active transport, and explain their importance in living organisms9 min answer →
- How do cells release energy from glucose, and how does breathing supply the oxygen they need?Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration, describe the role of breathing and gas exchange in the lungs, and relate respiration to energy release9 min answer →
- How does the digestive system break down food into small molecules the body can absorb and use?Describe the human digestive system, the role of digestive enzymes in breaking down food, and the absorption of digested food in the small intestine9 min answer →
- How does the heart and blood system carry oxygen, food and wastes around the body?Describe the human circulatory system including the structure of the heart, the blood vessels and the components of blood and their functions9 min answer →
Biology: Genetics and Ecology
Module overview →- What is DNA, where are genes kept, and how do cells divide to grow and to make gametes?Describe the structure and role of DNA, genes and chromosomes, and compare mitosis and meiosis as types of cell division9 min answer →
- How does energy flow through an ecosystem, and how is carbon recycled between organisms and the air?Describe the flow of energy through food chains and food webs, explain why food chains are short, and outline the carbon cycle9 min answer →
- How do human activities pollute and damage the environment, and what can reduce that impact?Describe the effects of human activity on the environment including pollution, the enhanced greenhouse effect and deforestation, and outline ways to reduce the impact9 min answer →
- How are characteristics passed from parents to offspring, and how do we predict the results of a genetic cross?Use the terms gene, allele, dominant, recessive, genotype and phenotype to explain monohybrid inheritance, and use genetic diagrams to predict the offspring of a cross10 min answer →
Biology: Plants and Nutrition
Module overview →- What are enzymes, how do they speed up reactions, and how do temperature and pH affect them?Describe enzymes as biological catalysts, explain the lock and key model and enzyme specificity, and describe the effects of temperature and pH on enzyme activity9 min answer →
- What nutrients does the body need, what does each do, and what happens if the diet is unbalanced?Describe the nutrients needed in a balanced human diet, the function and food sources of each, and the use of food tests to identify nutrients9 min answer →
- How do plants make their own food from light, and how is the leaf adapted for the job?Describe photosynthesis as the process that makes glucose using light energy, state its equation and limiting factors, and relate leaf structure to its function9 min answer →
- How do plants move water and food around, and how is water lost through the leaves?Describe the roles of xylem and phloem, explain the uptake and transport of water and transpiration, and state the factors affecting the rate of transpiration9 min answer →
Chemistry: Atoms, Bonding and the Mole
Module overview →- What is an atom made of, and how does its structure explain the periodic table?Describe the structure of the atom, define proton number and nucleon number and isotopes, and relate electronic configuration to the position of an element in the periodic table8 min answer →
- How do atoms join together, and how does the type of bond explain a substance's properties?Describe ionic and covalent bonding in terms of electron transfer and sharing, and relate bonding to the properties of ionic compounds and simple molecules8 min answer →
- How does the particle model explain the states of matter and how they change?Describe the arrangement and motion of particles in solids, liquids and gases, and explain changes of state, diffusion and the kinetic particle theory8 min answer →
- How do we count atoms by weighing, and how do we use the mole to work out reacting masses?Define relative atomic and molecular mass and the mole, and use moles to calculate reacting masses and amounts from balanced equations9 min answer →
Chemistry: Metals and Organic Chemistry
Module overview →- How are ethanol and ethanoic acid made and used, and how are they linked by oxidation and esterification?Describe the alcohols and carboxylic acids as homologous series, including the production and reactions of ethanol and ethanoic acid and the formation of esters10 min answer →
- What is a homologous series, and how do the bonding and reactions of alkanes and alkenes differ?Describe alkanes and alkenes as homologous series, compare their bonding and reactions, and use the bromine test to distinguish saturated from unsaturated hydrocarbons10 min answer →
- Why is iron extracted by heating with carbon but aluminium by electrolysis, and how does reactivity decide the method?Relate the method of extracting a metal to its position in the reactivity series, describing reduction of iron in the blast furnace and extraction of aluminium by electrolysis10 min answer →
- How do we order metals by how reactive they are, and how does that order predict displacement reactions?Place metals in order of reactivity from their reactions with water, acids and oxygen, and use the reactivity series to predict displacement reactions9 min answer →
Chemistry: Reactions, Acids and Salts
Module overview →- What makes a substance an acid or a base, and how does the pH scale measure how acidic or alkaline it is?Describe the properties of acids and bases in terms of hydrogen and hydroxide ions, classify oxides, and use the pH scale and indicators to measure acidity and alkalinity9 min answer →
- Why do some reactions warm their surroundings and others cool them, and how do bond changes explain it?Describe exothermic and endothermic reactions in terms of temperature change and bond breaking and forming, and interpret simple energy level diagrams9 min answer →
- What controls how fast a chemical reaction goes, and how do we explain it using colliding particles?Describe and explain the effects of concentration, temperature, surface area and catalysts on the rate of reaction using collision theory9 min answer →
- What products form when acids react with metals, carbonates and bases, and how does neutralisation work?Describe the characteristic reactions of acids with metals, bases and carbonates, and explain neutralisation in terms of hydrogen and hydroxide ions9 min answer →
- How do we choose a method to prepare a pure, dry sample of a salt, and how does solubility decide that choice?Describe the preparation of soluble and insoluble salts by titration, excess solid and precipitation, using the solubility rules to select the method10 min answer →
Physics: Measurement, Forces and Energy
Module overview →- How is energy stored, transferred and conserved, and how do we measure work and power?State the principle of conservation of energy, describe energy stores and transfers, and apply the equations for work, kinetic and potential energy, power and efficiency9 min answer →
- How do forces change the motion of an object, and how do we describe that motion?Describe speed, velocity and acceleration, interpret distance-time and speed-time graphs, and apply Newton's laws and the equation F = ma to simple situations9 min answer →
- How do turning forces balance, and how does a force spread over an area create pressure?Define the moment of a force and apply the principle of moments, and define pressure and apply p = F/A including pressure in liquids8 min answer →
- How do we measure physical quantities accurately and express them with the correct units and prefixes?State the SI base quantities and units, use common prefixes, distinguish scalars and vectors, and select suitable instruments to measure length, time and other quantities8 min answer →
Physics: Waves, Electricity and Magnetism
Module overview →- How do current, voltage and resistance relate in a circuit, and how do series and parallel circuits differ?Define current, potential difference and resistance, apply Ohm's law V = IR, and analyse series and parallel circuits and electrical power9 min answer →
- How do waves carry energy, and how does light reflect and refract?Describe transverse and longitudinal waves and the wave equation, and apply the laws of reflection and refraction of light8 min answer →
- How do magnets and electric currents interact, and how is this used in everyday devices?Describe magnetic fields and the magnetic effect of a current, and explain electromagnets, the motor effect and electromagnetic induction8 min answer →
- How is thermal energy stored and transferred, and what happens during a change of state?Distinguish temperature and thermal energy, describe conduction, convection and radiation, and explain melting and boiling using the particle model8 min answer →