PLMGS(S) Mock Paper S1 G3 2026 ANSWERS

Suggested Answers 1 (a) Study Source A. What does the source suggest about the contributions of street hawkers in Singapore during the 19th century? Explain your answer. [4] The source suggests that the street hawkers contributed in providing food for the poor migrants (inference). This can be seen in the conditions in which the food is sold and eaten, where the migrants are squatting by the roadside, eating out of a bowl (evidence from source). The migrants are also very skinny and quite shabbily clothed, while the street hawkers are selling their wares in make-shift stalls (more evidence from source). This suggests to me that the food is cheap and the customers, who are the migrants, are having simple meals that they can afford, without any tables or chairs, provided by the street hawkers in a convenient place, on a street (explanation). (b) Study Sources B and C. How similar are these two sources? Explain your answer. Write only 1 similarity and 1 difference. Both sources are similar in showing that Malays attended their own schools which were run separately (similarity). As seen in Source B, “ I can’t remember seeing many Malay children because they had their own schools, which were different and run by other people .” (evidence from Source B) As seen in Source C, “The early Malay schools were relatively modest, with lessons conducted in Malay in the rural areas and attended by only Malay children.” (evidence from Source C). This shows me that the Malays attended schools that were created for them, and did not have much interactions with children from other schools in early Singapore. (explanation of the overall similarity observed). OR Both sources are different in whether the teachers were trained (criteria for difference). Source B tells me that the teachers were trained but Source C tells me that the teachers were not. (explanation of the difference) As seen from Source B , “The teachers received teacher education in Singapore from the best among the European masters. Many of them had themselves passed secondary education.” (evidence [6] Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) MOCK PAPER Secondary 1 (G3)

2 from Source B) As seen from Source C, “There was a lack of qualified teachers.” (evidence from Source) Section B: Structured Questions [20m] Study Questions 2 and 3 carefully. Complete both questions and answer all parts of the question. Start Section B on a new piece of paper. 2 This question is about Singapore’s growth as a port city from 1819 to 1942. a) Describe two types of economic developments under British rule from the 19th century to early 20th century. Write 2 paragraphs, one on each type of economic development. In paragraph 1, identify the 1st economic development made under the British rule, followed with 2 additional details. In paragraph 2, identify a 2nd economic development made under the British rule, followed with 2 additional details. The first economic development made under the British was to ensure Singapore’s free port status (identify the 1st economic development) . British put this in place in 1819 (relevant detail 1). This meant that traders could trade freely without having to pay taxes (relevant detail 2) on the goods they imported to or exported from Singapore. This means that traders could increase their profits from trading in Singapore compared to other countries (relevant detail 3). This was an attractive feature of Singapore to traders as most other ports in the regions continued to charge taxes on goods traded there. (relevant detail 4) The second economic development was the expansion of port facilities (identify the 1st economic development). The process started in the 1850s, as Singapore’s trade expanded and it welcomed the arrival of steamships (relevant detail 1). The Old Harbour had become overcrowded, hence in 1852, a New Harbour (relevant detail 2) was built in the strait between the southern coast of Singapore island and Pulau Brani and Belakang Mati (relevant detail 3). [5] b) Explain how the opening of the Suez Canal and the expansion of the tin and rubber industry impacted Singapore as a port city. Write 2 paragraphs, one on each external development that impacted Singapore as a port city. In paragraph 1, describe the opening of the Suez Canal with 2 relevant details and explain how it impacted Singapore as a port city. In paragraph 2, describe the expansion of the tin and rubber industry with 2 relevant details and explain how it impacted Singapore as a port city. [5]

3 The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 replaced the long and dangerous journey around the Cape of Good Hope (detail 1) . The journey from London to Singapore decreased from 120 to 50 days (detail 2). The Suez Canal became one of the world’s busiest waterways in the world (detail 3). Singapore benefitted greatly from the opening of the Suez Canal. It shortened the time for people, mail and cargo to travel from Europe to Singapore. This meant lower shopping costs because of the savings in distance and time. Hence, this brought more profit to Singapore and this led to the growth of Singapore as a port city (explanation of the impact on Singapore). The expansion of the tin industry impacted Singapore as a port city because it allowed for more tin to be exported from Singapore to the rest of the world (explanation of the impact on Singapore). The expansion in the tin industry began with the increase in demand of tin after it was discovered that food stored in tin cans could last a long time (detail 1) . Tin came from the hinterland in Malaya, which was mined and transported to Singapore to be refined (detail 2). This increased Singapore’s importance as a trading port because all tin mined in Malaya need to be processed in Singapore before being exported (detail 3). This attracted traders from all over the world to come to Singapore to export tin to their countries, leading to Singapore’s growth as a port city (explanation of the impact on Singapore) . OR The expansion of the rubber industry led to the growth of trade between Malaya and Singapore (explanation of the impact on Singapore). Singapore, with a more clearly defined land-based hinterland in Malaya, had gradually become the port from which Malayan commodities such as rubber were processed and exported to the rest of the world (detail 1). The expansion of the car industry in the USA resulted in the increase in the demand for rubber for making tyres (detail 2). This growing trade added a great deal to the volume of trade that Singapore was already conducting with other parts of the world (explanation of the impact on Singapore) . Hence, this brought more trade to Singapore and led to the growth as a port city. 3 This question is on the role people in Singapore played in its development as a port city from 1819 to 1942. a) Describe the contributions of traders in Singapore in the 19th century. Write 2 paragraphs, one on each type of trader. In paragraph 1, identify the 1st type of trader in Singapore, followed with 2 additional details. In paragraph 2, identify the 1st type of trader in Singapore, followed with 2 additional details. [5]

4 European traders (identify) set up agency houses (detail 1), which were companies that helped European manufacturers to sell their goods, such as opium and tea (detail 2), to other traders in exchange for goods from Southeast Asia, such as spices and birds nests (detail 3). Bugis traders (identify) were skilled at boatbuilding (detail 1) and made ships that were used to ferry goods to neighbouring islands (detail 2). They contributed to a thriving shipbuilding industry. One of the decendents of Bugis, Haji Amboo Sooloh, became one of the founders of Utusan Melayu