Start here: Core, Extended and the papers | IGCSE Biology 0610

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📄Two tiers, three papers each

Core (grades C–G): Paper 1 multiple choice (45 min, 40 marks, 30%) + Paper 3 theory (1 h 15 min, 80 marks, 50%)

Extended (grades A*–G): Paper 2 multiple choice (45 min, 40 marks, 30%) + Paper 4 theory (1 h 15 min, 80 marks, 50%)

Everyone: Paper 5 practical test (1 h 15 min, 40 marks, 20%) or Paper 6 alternative to practical (1 h, 40 marks, 20%)

The Extended papers examine the Core content plus the Supplement. On these pages, Supplement material is marked EXTENDED; everything else is Core, which Extended candidates need too. The multiple-choice papers have 40 four-option questions; the theory papers have short-answer and structured questions, all compulsory. The practical papers are covered on their own page.

🎯What the marks are for

AO1 knowledge with understanding — 50% of the qualification

AO2 handling information and problem-solving — 30%

AO3 experimental skills and investigations — 20% (Papers 5 and 6 only)

A large part of every theory and multiple-choice paper is AO2: graphs, tables, photographs and unfamiliar organisms that you have to reason about using what you know. Practise reading data, not only recalling facts. Nothing is printed in the paper to help you — there is no formula list — so learn the few equations the syllabus uses (magnification, percentage change, the word and symbol equations for photosynthesis and respiration).

💬Command words

State / Give / Identify: a short answer, no explanation

Define: the precise meaning — learn the syllabus definitions word for word (diffusion, osmosis, enzyme, …)

Describe: say what happens or what something is like; with a graph, give the trend and quote figures

Explain: give reasons or causes — “because”

Compare: similarities and/or differences, both things in each point

Outline: the main points only

Suggest: apply what you know to a situation you have not met; several answers may be right

Calculate / Determine: work it out from the information, showing the working

Predict: say what will happen, from the information given

Evaluate: judge the quality or importance of something

Sketch: a simple freehand drawing showing the key features, taking care over proportions

The meanings above are our summaries; the syllabus has the full list.

📅Which syllabus?

These notes follow the 0610 syllabus for 2026, 2027 and 2028 (version 3, August 2026) and were checked against the syllabus for 2029, whose subject content is identical. Cambridge’s change notes say there are no significant changes that affect teaching: version 3 only updated the assessment overview page, and version 2 a weblink. Textbooks endorsed for examination from 2023 are still suitable, and past papers from 2023 onwards test what these notes cover.

🧭How to use these notes

Work through the topics in order the first time — later topics use cells (2), diffusion and osmosis (3) and enzymes (5).
Redraw the diagrams from memory and label them: most theory questions start from a diagram.
Cover the answers and do every practice question; then check them against the answer and the method.
Core candidates can skip anything marked EXTENDED. Extended candidates cannot skip anything.
Before the exam, do timed past papers: about 1 minute per multiple-choice question and a mark a minute on theory papers.