Free Year 6 Physical science Quiz — 10 Questions, Instant Results

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Physical science in Year 6 science

Here is the ground the questions cover. In Year 6 physical science covers electrical energy, simple circuits, energy transformations and energy sources.

The items are tagged to the Victorian Curriculum for Year 6, so a score here reflects the standard a Year 6 class is working to, not a generic online level.

Mistakes we see most often in physical science

A wrong answer is more useful than a right one if you know why it happened. In sessions with Year 6 students, these are the patterns our tutors see most:

• Electricity is used up in a circuit.
• Heat and temperature are treated as the same thing.
• Light is thought to come from our eyes.

None of these is a sign of low ability. Each is a reasonable idea that worked in an earlier year and needs replacing, which is exactly what a good explanation, or a tutor, does.

Ways to build physical science at Year 6

If the quiz shows a gap, more of the same worksheets rarely fixes it. Try these instead:

1. Make shadows with a torch and measure how they change.
2. Test which objects a magnet attracts.
3. Build a simple circuit with a battery, bulb and wires.

Middle primary science is best learned by doing and explaining. Simple home investigations, a results table and a one-sentence conclusion build the habits the curriculum wants.

About the questions on this page

The 10 questions are drawn from 27 eligible items on physical science in our Year 6 science bank, all at the easy and at-level tiers. The selection is fixed for this address so a shared link shows the same quiz; press New set of questions or add ?seed= to the address for a different mix. Options are shuffled, no two questions share a stem, and the answer key is fetched from our server only after you submit, so it is not hidden in the page.

Because every question here is on physical science, a low score is a clear signal and a high score is genuinely reassuring for this topic. What it cannot tell you is whether the other Year 6 science topics are equally secure, or how far above the year level the student can go; the free Skills Check covers both.

The quiz: 10 questions

Choose one answer for each question, then press Mark my answers. Set 10381 · New set of questions →

Question 1

Physical science

Which of these is the best example of stored (potential) energy?

A moving fan Sound coming from a radio A running dog A stretched rubber band ready to fire

Question 2

Physical science

Sound is made when objects…

Vibrate Freeze Melt Glow

Question 3

Physical science

Two magnets are brought together and push each other apart. What does this tell you?

The magnets are made of plastic Opposite poles are facing each other One magnet has lost its magnetism Like poles are facing each other

Question 4

Physical science

A hockey puck slides across ice and travels much further than the same puck sliding across a wooden gym floor. Which statement best explains the difference?

The wooden floor pushes back harder against gravity, slowing the puck. Gravity is stronger on the wooden floor than on the ice. The puck has more stored energy on the ice than on the wooden floor. The ice surface produces less friction on the puck than the wooden floor does.

Question 5

Physical science

A student connects a battery, two wires, and a globe in a circuit. The globe lights up. She then adds a second identical globe in series (one after the other). What happens to the brightness of the first globe?

It stays the same brightness because the battery is the same. It gets brighter because there are now two globes producing light. It gets dimmer because the current is now shared between two globes. It goes out completely because circuits can only power one globe.

Question 6

Physical science

Two students do an experiment. Student A plucks a guitar string gently. Student B plucks the same string much harder. Both strings vibrate at the same speed (frequency). How do the sounds differ, and why?

Student B's sound is higher in pitch because she applied more force. The sounds are identical because the string is the same and the frequency is the same. Student B's sound is lower in pitch because the string is pushed further down. Student B's sound is louder because the string vibrates with a larger back-and-forth movement (amplitude).

Question 7

Physical science

A shadow forms when light is…

Blocked Heated Reflected fully Coloured

Question 8

Physical science

A ball is dropped and a feather is dropped from the same height in a normal classroom. Why does the ball usually land first?

The feather has no gravity acting on it Gravity is stronger on the ball The ball is attracted to the floor by magnetism Air resistance slows the feather more

Question 9

Physical science

Which of these materials would allow an electric current to flow through it in a circuit?

A rubber band A plastic ruler Copper wire A wooden pencil

Question 10

Physical science

What force pulls objects towards the ground?

Electricity Friction Magnetism Gravity

Mark my answers →

Your result

0 / 10

Take the free full Skills Check →   Try another set

How to read a score out of 10

9 or 10 out of 10

The easy and at-level content is secure. The useful question now is how far above the year level the student can go, which a ten-item quiz cannot show. The free Skills Check adds stretch and challenge questions on every topic so you can see the ceiling as well as the floor.

7 or 8 out of 10

Solid, with one or two specific gaps. Look at which topic the incorrect answers came from (the results panel names the weakest topic) and spend a week on that topic before re-testing with a different seed.

5 or 6 out of 10

Some core ideas are shaky. The pattern matters more than the score: two misses in the same topic is a gap; misses scattered across topics usually means reading the question too fast. Either way, the Skills Check will tell you which.

4 or fewer out of 10

Foundations from an earlier year are probably missing, which is common and fixable. Try the quiz one year level down to confirm, then talk to a tutor about a short catch-up plan rather than more of the same practice.

What to do with the result

Questions? Call 03 9509 3293 or book a free consultation. RHZ Tutoring, 17/47 Apex Drive, Truganina VIC 3029.

Frequently asked questions

Other Science topics for Year 6

Mixed Year 6 Science quiz (all topics) →

Physical science in other year levels

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