All 21 sections of the 0610 syllabus - explained, diagrammed and self-marked. Free, no login, works on any device.
Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 is twenty-one syllabus topics, studied in this order: 1 Characteristics and Classification of Living Organisms, 2 Organisation of the Organism, 3 Movement Into and Out of Cells, 4 Biological Molecules, 5 Enzymes, 6 Plant Nutrition, 7 Human Nutrition, 8 Transport in Plants, 9 Transport in Animals, 10 Diseases and Immunity, 11 Gas Exchange in Humans, 12 Respiration, 13 Excretion in Humans, 14 Coordination and Response, 15 Drugs, 16 Reproduction, 17 Inheritance, 18 Variation and Selection, 19 Organisms and Their Environment, 20 Human Influences on Ecosystems and 21 Biotechnology and Genetic Modification. Every one of them has its own revision page on this site, in Cambridge's own order.
All candidates take three components, and which three depends on the route your school enters you for. The route also sets the highest grade you can be awarded, so it is worth knowing which one you are on before you revise.
| Route | Papers you sit | Grades open to you | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | Papers 1, 3 and 5 or 6 | grades C to G | For candidates who have studied the Core subject content, or who are expected to achieve a grade D or below. Paper 1 is multiple choice on the Core content only, Paper 3 is short-answer and structured questions on the Core content, and the practical paper is Paper 5 or Paper 6. |
| Extended | Papers 2, 4 and 5 or 6 | grades A* to G | For candidates who have studied the Core and Supplement content, or who are expected to achieve a grade C or above. The same three components as the Core route, examined on the Core and Supplement content together. |
Paper 1 or Paper 2 is 30% of the qualification, Paper 3 or Paper 4 is 50%, and the practical paper is 20%.
| Paper | Time | Marks | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 - Multiple Choice (Core) | 45 min | 40 marks | 40 four-option multiple-choice questions. Core content only. AO1 and AO2. |
| Paper 2 - Multiple Choice (Extended) | 45 min | 40 marks | 40 four-option multiple-choice questions. Core and Supplement content. AO1 and AO2. |
| Paper 3 - Theory (Core) | 1 h 15 min | 80 marks | Short-answer and structured questions on the Core content. AO1 and AO2. |
| Paper 4 - Theory (Extended) | 1 h 15 min | 80 marks | Short-answer and structured questions on the Core and Supplement content. AO1 and AO2. |
| Paper 5 / 6 - Practical | 1 h 15 min | 40 marks | Practical Test or Alternative to Practical, on the experimental skills in Section 4. AO3. |
Within the written papers the split is 63% AO1 to 37% AO2, in both the multiple-choice papers and the theory papers; the practical paper is 100% AO3. Every question on this site's IGCSE Biology pages is tagged AO1, AO2 or AO3, so you can see which one you are practising.
The full topic list, with every topic linked to its revision page, is on the IGCSE Biology syllabus page. Work through the areas below in order, or jump straight to what you need tonight.
Work through them in order or jump straight to what you need tonight. Each topic page teaches the content, then tests it.
Biology begins by deciding what counts as alive and how organisms should be grouped. It covers the seven characteristics of living organisms, the species definition and t...
9 questions · 26 marks
Revise this topicThe cell is the basic unit of every living organism, and this topic is about what is inside it. You need the structures of plant, animal and bacterial cells, the function...
9 questions · 27 marks
Revise this topicDiffusion, osmosis and active transport are the three ways substances cross a cell membrane. Cambridge tests the direction of movement, the energy involved and the effect...
8 questions · 25 marks
Revise this topicBiological molecules are the large molecules built from smaller ones: carbohydrates from glucose, proteins from amino acids, and fats and oils from fatty acids and glycer...
8 questions · 25 marks
Revise this topicEnzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts, speeding up the reactions that keep an organism alive. This topic covers the lock-and-key model, the specificity of...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicPhotosynthesis is how plants make their own food: they use light energy, trapped by chlorophyll, to turn carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. Cambridge wants...
9 questions · 26 marks
Revise this topicNutrition is about getting the right nutrients in the right amounts, then breaking them down so the body can absorb and use them. This topic covers a balanced diet and th...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicPlants have no pump, yet water reaches the top of the tallest tree. This page covers the xylem and phloem, how water is taken up by the roots and pulled up the plant, tra...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicEvery cell needs oxygen and food delivered and waste removed, and in large animals diffusion alone is far too slow. This topic covers how the body solves that problem: th...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicA pathogen is a disease-causing organism, and a transmissible disease can be passed from one host to another. This topic covers the four types of pathogen and how they sp...
9 questions · 27 marks
Revise this topicGas exchange is where oxygen diffuses from the air into the blood and carbon dioxide diffuses out, in the alveoli of the lungs. You need the features of an efficient gas ...
8 questions · 25 marks
Revise this topicRespiration is the chemical release of energy from nutrient molecules inside cells - not the same thing as breathing. You need the word and balanced equations for aerobic...
8 questions · 24 marks
Revise this topicExcretion is the removal of the waste products of metabolism and of substances in excess of requirements - not the same thing as egestion. Cambridge wants the lungs and k...
9 questions · 27 marks
Revise this topicCoordination and response covers how the body detects stimuli and reacts to them. You need the nervous system and the reflex arc, the synapse, the structure and working o...
9 questions · 28 marks
Revise this topicA drug is any substance taken into the body that modifies or affects chemical reactions in the body. This topic covers antibiotics and why they kill bacteria but not viru...
9 questions · 26 marks
Revise this topicReproduction passes genes on to the next generation. Asexual reproduction makes genetically identical offspring from one parent, while sexual reproduction fuses two gamet...
8 questions · 25 marks
Revise this topicInheritance is how genetic information passes from generation to generation. Genes are lengths of DNA that code for proteins, and different alleles of a gene produce diff...
8 questions · 25 marks
Revise this topicVariation is what makes every individual of a species slightly different, and it is the raw material of natural selection. This topic covers continuous and discontinuous ...
8 questions · 23 marks
Revise this topicOrganisms do not live alone: they share a habitat, feed on one another and recycle carbon through the air, the soil and their own bodies. This topic covers energy flow fr...
9 questions · 29 marks
Revise this topicHuman beings have increased food production with machinery, fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and selective breeding - but the same methods pollute water and air, and c...
9 questions · 27 marks
Revise this topicBiotechnology uses microorganisms to make useful products, from bread and beer to insulin and biofuels. This topic covers fermentation, the fermenter and the conditions c...
8 questions · 25 marks
Revise this topicKnowing the content and scoring marks are two different skills. These tools train the second one.
Every command word Cambridge uses, what it actually means, and what the examiner wants to see. Includes a trainer that shows you the difference between a 1-mark and a 2-mark answer to the same question.
OpenEvery question on the site in one place. Filter by topic, command word, marks or AO1/AO2, then build a set and mark yourself against the scheme.
OpenReal student answers that score badly, the exact reason each one loses marks, and the version that scores. This is where most marks are quietly thrown away.
OpenTen random questions. Get a score, a breakdown by area, and a focused follow-up set built from whatever you were weakest on.
OpenYour Learn / Practise / Test / Mastered status for every topic, saved in this browser. Shows exactly what is left.
OpenPick the time you actually have. The plan changes to fit it.
No packs to buy, no subscription and no login. Every topic, every question and every diagram is open to any student who needs it.
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