Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) Past Papers: Grade Thresholds and Examiner Report Notes

This page is a guide to Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) past papers for nine series: March, June and November in 2022, 2023 and 2024. For each series you get the grade thresholds, copied from Cambridge’s official grade-threshold documents, and our notes on what the examiners said, written in our own words from Cambridge’s Principal Examiner Reports for Teachers. We do not host any papers. Every paper, mark scheme and report comes from Cambridge’s own website, linked below.

Where to get the official papers

• Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) syllabus page
• Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) past papers page

Cambridge publishes recent papers, mark schemes, examiner reports and grade thresholds on the syllabus’s past-papers page; older series are available to schools through the School Support Hub.

Use the three documents together. Sit the paper first, with no notes and a timer. Mark it with the mark scheme, which tells you what earned each mark. Then read the examiner report for that series. It tells you where candidates lost marks, which is often where you lost them too.

The papers summarised here (2022 to 2024) were set on earlier versions of the 0610 syllabus. The current syllabus is for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Check the syllabus version on the paper’s front cover against the current syllabus before you rely on any question. Under the current syllabus, Core candidates sit Papers 1 and 3 (grades C to G) and Extended candidates sit Papers 2 and 4 (grades A* to G); both tiers also sit one practical paper, either Paper 5 (Practical Test) or Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical). A two-digit number such as 42 means Paper 4, variant 2: Papers 41, 42 and 43 are different versions of Paper 4 set in the same series.

Series index

Series	Papers (components) examined	Examiner report notes	Grade thresholds
November 2025	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
June 2025	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
March 2025	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
November 2024	11–13, 21–23, 31–33, 41–43, 51–53, 61–63	Notes	Tables
June 2024	11–13, 21–23, 31–33, 41–43, 51–53, 61–63	Notes	Tables
March 2024	12, 22, 32, 42, 52, 62	Notes	Tables
November 2023	11–13, 21–23, 31–33, 41–43, 51–53, 61–63	Notes	Tables
June 2023	11–13, 21–23, 31–33, 41–43, 51–53, 61–63	Notes	Tables
March 2023	12, 22, 32, 42, 52, 62	Notes	Tables
November 2022	11–13, 21–23, 31–33, 41–43, 51–53, 61–63	Notes	Tables
June 2022	11–13, 21–23, 31–33, 41–43, 51–53, 61–63	Notes	Tables
March 2022	12, 22, 32, 42, 52, 62	Notes	Tables
November 2021	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
June 2021	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
March 2021	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
November 2020	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
June 2020	Cancelled by Cambridge because of COVID-19	Not summarised here	Not summarised here
March 2020	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
November 2019	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
June 2019	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here
March 2019	Not summarised here	Not summarised here (Cambridge past papers)	Not summarised here

In each threshold table, a row is one entry option and the Components column shows the three papers that option combines. Core options show no A*, A or B thresholds because Core is graded C to G.

What examiners keep saying

Recurring errors by topic

• Movement into and out of cells. Osmosis is the movement of water, not of solutes or “the solution”, and it goes down a water potential gradient. Answers slipped into “water concentration”, said osmosis goes against a gradient, or left out the partially permeable membrane. November 2022, June 2023, November 2023, June 2024.
• Biological molecules. Starch and glycogen are both built from glucose, which many did not know (June 2022, November 2023). Food tests cost marks in most series: Benedict’s solution must be heated (June 2023, March 2024, June 2024, November 2024); vitamin C is tested with DCPIP (March 2022, June 2023, March 2024); the emulsion test for fats was vague or unknown (June 2023, November 2023, June 2024); a positive starch result is blue-black, not “blue” or “black” (June 2022, November 2024), and iodine solution on its own is yellow-brown, not yellow or orange (November 2024).
• Enzymes. The active site is complementary to the substrate, not the same shape (June 2022, June 2023, November 2024). Enzymes are not used up or killed (November 2022, November 2023, June 2024), and cooling does not denature them (June 2024, November 2024). Amylase breaks starch into maltose, not glucose (March 2023). Name the specific substrate, not “carbohydrate” or “food” (June 2023, November 2023).
• Human nutrition. Bile is made in the liver, not the gall bladder or pancreas (March 2024, June 2024). Know where each digestive enzyme is made and where it acts, and give the one the question asks for (March 2022, November 2022, November 2024). Absorption and assimilation are different steps (November 2023). Enamel and dentine were confused, and decay was not linked to acid from bacterial respiration (November 2022).
• Transport in plants. Water evaporates from the surfaces of mesophyll cells, then water vapour diffuses out through the stomata. These two steps were blurred again and again, and stomata were said to take water in. November 2022, March 2023, June 2023, November 2023, November 2024. Sugar, not starch, moves in the phloem (March 2022, November 2024), and translocation is not transpiration (November 2024).
• Transport in animals. Fibrinogen is converted to fibrin, not the reverse (March 2022, June 2022, June 2024). Atria, ventricles and the pulmonary vessels were mixed up (March 2022, November 2023). When asked about artery or vein structure, link each feature to blood pressure instead of listing features (March 2023, June 2024).
• Diseases and immunity. Antigens, antibodies and antibiotics were confused in many series: March 2022, June 2022, November 2023, November 2024. Antibiotics do not work on viruses (November 2022, March 2024), and not every pathogen is a bacterium (June 2022, March 2024). Keep active and passive immunity apart (November 2023, November 2024).
• Respiration. Energy is released, never “produced” or “made”, and mitochondria are the site of aerobic respiration, not a “powerhouse”. November 2022, November 2023, June 2024, November 2024. The anaerobic products in yeast and in muscle are different (March 2022, March 2024), and plants respire too (March 2024).
• Excretion in humans. Urea is made in the liver, by deamination of excess amino acids, then removed by the kidneys. Answers placing urea formation in the kidney are reported in June 2022, November 2022, June 2024 and November 2024. Urea and urine are not the same thing (June 2023).
• Coordination and response (tropisms and nerves). Auxin gathers on the shaded side of a shoot, and a phototropism experiment needs a light source (June 2022, March 2023, June 2023). Learn which neurone comes first, second and third in a reflex arc, and recognise a motor neurone (March 2023, November 2023, November 2024).
• Coordination and response (hormones and homeostasis). Glucose, glycogen and glucagon look alike on the page; spell and use each one precisely. Insulin lowers blood glucose. June 2022, June 2024, November 2023, November 2024.
• Inheritance. Gene and allele, genotype and phenotype, were used as if they meant the same thing (June 2022, March 2024, November 2024). Split each parent’s genotype into gametes before filling a Punnett square (June 2022, November 2022, June 2024). Learn the syllabus definition of a gene word for word (March 2023, March 2024, June 2024); in March 2023, definitions lost marks for not saying that a gene codes for a protein. Use the allele symbols the question gives you, not blood-group or sex-linked notation (March 2023, June 2023).
• Variation and selection. Antibiotics do not cause mutations, organisms do not mutate on purpose, and the body does not “become resistant”: random mutations already exist and the resistant bacteria survive and reproduce. March 2022, November 2022, June 2023, November 2023, November 2024. Continuous and discontinuous variation were confused or misclassified (March 2023, November 2023, March 2024, June 2024). Selective breeding is not genetic modification (June 2022, June 2024).
• Organisms and their environment. The Sun, not the producers, is the source of energy for a food web (March 2024, June 2024). Know the definition of a population (June 2022, November 2024). Decomposers do not sit at the top of a food chain (June 2023).
• Human influences on ecosystems. Write “enhanced greenhouse effect” when you mean the human-caused increase (June 2023). A sustainable or renewable resource is not the same as a recyclable or reusable one (March 2023, March 2024). Carbon dioxide is not linked to the ozone layer (March 2024). In eutrophication, oxygen falls because of respiration by bacteria, not because of less photosynthesis (June 2022).

Exam technique the reports repeat

• Describe and explain are different tasks. To describe data, quote values with units. To explain, give the biological reason. The reports return to this again and again, most directly in June 2022, March 2022, June 2023, March 2024, June 2024 and November 2024.
• Read the whole stem, including graph axes, keys and any conditions such as darkness, and answer in that context. Rehearsed answers to a similar question score little (March 2022, June 2023, March 2023, November 2024).
• Let the marks decide how many points you make. Do not offer a list of possible answers, because only the first is marked (November 2024), and watch for labelling questions that have no answer lines (June 2024, November 2024).
• Calculations. Show your working and round as told. Significant figures are not decimal places (June 2022, March 2022, June 2023, November 2023, November 2024).
• Practical planning. Repeats let you spot anomalies; they do not prevent them or make results more accurate (June 2022, March 2023, June 2023, November 2024). Control temperature with a thermostatically controlled water-bath, not just “a water-bath” (June 2022, March 2022, November 2022, March 2023). Write volume or concentration, not “amount”, and do not confuse a control experiment with a controlled variable (March 2022, November 2023, June 2024, November 2024). Match each safety precaution to a real hazard.
• Tables and graphs. Units go in column headings, not in the cells (March 2022, November 2022, June 2024). Choose a scale that fills at least half the grid and do not extrapolate unless asked (March 2023, June 2023, March 2024, June 2024).

November 2024

November 2024 covered a lot of ground: transport in plants and animals, where digestive enzymes act, breathing, excretion and blood glucose control, synapses, cholera and immunity, sex-linked and codominant crosses, variation, nutrient cycles, biotechnology, and food tests in the practical papers. The Extended theory reports kept asking candidates to apply knowledge to the situation shown instead of reciting it. Strong scripts used exact syllabus definitions, followed each description with an explanation and obeyed every instruction. Weak scripts wrote all they knew about a keyword, described data that needed explaining, used everyday language, spelled similar terms ambiguously and gave bullet points too short to make sense.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11–13: believing one sperm cell carries both an X and a Y chromosome; placing amylase in the stomach; thinking starch moves in the phloem.
• Papers 21–23: describing the active site as the same shape as the substrate; confusing nitrogen fixation with denitrification; calling antibiotic resistance artificial selection.
• Papers 31–33: saying mitochondria produce energy; saying the antibiotic or the patient becomes resistant rather than the bacteria.
• Paper 41: missing osmosis into root hair cells or evaporation from mesophyll surfaces; describing a whole reflex arc when the question was about events at a synapse.
• Paper 42: saying protein is reabsorbed by the kidney, when it is too large to be filtered at all; mixing up glucose, glycogen and glucagon.
• Papers 52 and 62: blaming human timing error when the real problem was judging a colour end-point by eye.

Grade thresholds – November 2024

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BX	21, 41, 51	200	163	140	117	95	81	68	56	44
BY	22, 42, 52	200	170	147	124	101	87	73	60	47
BZ	23, 43, 53	200	152	131	110	89	78	67	55	43
CX	21, 41, 61	200	164	141	118	96	82	68	56	44
CY	22, 42, 62	200	172	148	124	101	87	73	60	47
CZ	23, 43, 63	200	153	132	111	90	78	67	55	43
FX	11, 31, 51	200	–	–	–	116	101	87	73	59
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	120	103	86	69	52
FZ	13, 33, 53	200	–	–	–	109	96	83	68	53
GX	11, 31, 61	200	–	–	–	117	102	87	73	59
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	120	103	86	69	52
GZ	13, 33, 63	200	–	–	–	110	96	83	68	53

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

June 2024

June 2024 drew on enzymes, diffusion and osmosis, digestion, circulation, homeostasis, the eye and nervous system, transpiration, photosynthesis and limiting factors, inheritance, selection, immunity, food webs, conservation and food tests. The Paper 42 report notes that straight recall went far better than applying knowledge to diagrams or results. Strong scripts matched the command word, used syllabus terms, quoted data with units and read every condition in the question. Weak scripts described when told to explain, repeated what the question already said, mixed up pairs such as fibrin and fibrinogen or lag and log phase, and said organelles make energy instead of releasing it.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11–13: naming the urethra as the organ that excretes urea; thinking enzymes get used up; placing bile production in the gall bladder; not knowing that insulin lowers blood glucose.
• Papers 21–23: confusing turgid, flaccid and plasmolysed cells; thinking maternal and fetal blood mix.
• Paper 41: describing one organism when a comparison was asked for; describing graph data instead of receptors, impulses and effectors; saying transpiration stops when its rate levels off.
• Paper 42: calling mitochondria a powerhouse instead of naming aerobic respiration; not linking carbon dioxide uptake to the indicator’s pH change.
• Paper 43: leaving out how the base sequence sets the order of amino acids; writing about genetic modification when selective breeding was asked for.
• Papers 51–63: forgetting to heat Benedict’s; confusing a control experiment with a controlled variable; plotting points that fill less than half the grid.

Grade thresholds – June 2024

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BX	21, 41, 51	200	162	134	106	79	69	59	49	39
BY	22, 42, 52	200	173	146	119	92	78	64	51	38
BZ	23, 43, 53	200	157	132	107	83	72	62	50	38
CX	21, 41, 61	200	163	135	107	80	69	59	49	39
CY	22, 42, 62	200	172	145	118	91	77	63	50	37
CZ	23, 43, 63	200	158	133	108	84	73	63	51	39
FX	11, 31, 51	200	–	–	–	115	100	85	68	51
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	116	104	92	78	64
GX	11, 31, 61	200	–	–	–	116	100	85	68	51
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	115	103	91	77	63
GZ	13, 33, 63	200	–	–	–	113	100	88	75	62

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

March 2024

March 2024 centred on photosynthesis and limiting factors, enzymes and digestion, the heart and blood, the eye, hormones of the menstrual cycle, tropisms, food webs and energy pyramids, sustainability and climate change, genetic modification, and practicals on yeast respiration and osmosis. Command words come up again and again in the report. Strong candidates gave figures when asked to describe, gave reasons when asked to explain, knew definitions word for word and rounded calculations as instructed. Weak candidates restated the question, confused near-identical terms (gene and allele, concentration and volume, genus and species) and wrote vaguely about “the environment”.

Where marks were lost

• Paper 12: not knowing a positive DCPIP result; thinking Benedict’s tests for protein; believing plants do not respire; thinking antibiotics kill viruses.
• Paper 22: saying bile is made in the gall bladder; treating falling oxygen, rather than rising carbon dioxide, as what speeds up breathing; getting nitrogen fixation backwards.
• Paper 32: describing a trend when an explanation was needed; naming chlorophyll instead of the organelle; saying insulin “controls” blood glucose rather than lowering it.
• Paper 42: not explaining an enzyme’s optimum through collisions or enzyme-substrate complexes; saying auxin causes growth rather than cell elongation; not explaining why energy is lost between trophic levels.
• Papers 52 and 62: varying volume instead of concentration in an osmosis plan; measuring the liquid rather than the tissue; using the wrong divisor after discarding an anomalous result.

Grade thresholds – March 2024

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BY	22, 42, 52	200	161	142	123	105	90	75	58	41
CY	22, 42, 62	200	163	144	125	106	90	75	59	43
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	115	102	90	76	62
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	116	103	90	77	64

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

November 2023

November 2023 focused on osmosis and water potential, digestion and absorption, transpiration, circulation, coordination, homeostasis, immunity, variation and enzymes. Strong scripts kept close to syllabus definitions, answered both halves of describe-and-explain questions and named exact structures. Weak scripts emptied out everything they knew about a keyword, described graphs without explaining them, and used loose terms such as “water concentration”, “energy produced” and “germs”. Paired terms were swapped: atrium and ventricle, antibody and antigen, vasoconstriction and vasodilation. On the practical papers, the problems were unqualified control variables, awkward graph scales and thin food-test knowledge.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11–13: the Benedict’s colour change; which elements are in proteins and fats; the direction of impulses in a reflex arc.
• Papers 21–23: features of prokaryotes; not converting mm to micrometres; confusing active and passive immunity.
• Papers 31–33: confusing absorption with assimilation; saying stomach acid breaks food down instead of providing the optimum pH; mixing up continuous and discontinuous variation.
• Paper 41: describing a bar chart instead of explaining it; treating mutation as a deliberate change that helps an organism adapt.
• Paper 42: starting with water potential, then drifting back to “water concentration”; giving antibodies active sites.
• Papers 61–63: plotting uneven intervals as if they were even; offering a thermometer as a way to control temperature.

Grade thresholds – November 2023

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BX	21, 41, 51	200	166	141	116	91	77	63	51	39
BY	22, 42, 52	200	161	138	115	93	80	68	56	44
BZ	23, 43, 53	200	145	125	105	85	71	58	45	32
CX	21, 41, 61	200	166	141	116	91	77	63	51	39
CY	22, 42, 62	200	161	138	115	93	80	68	56	44
CZ	23, 43, 63	200	145	125	105	85	71	58	45	32
FX	11, 31, 51	200	–	–	–	118	102	87	73	59
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	123	106	89	73	57
FZ	13, 33, 53	200	–	–	–	113	97	81	65	49
GX	11, 31, 61	200	–	–	–	118	102	87	73	59
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	123	106	89	73	57
GZ	13, 33, 63	200	–	–	–	113	97	81	65	49

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

June 2023

June 2023 leaned on osmosis and water potential, transpiration, enzymes, limiting factors in photosynthesis, circulation, excretion, tropisms and energy flow. Strong scripts read the whole question, spotted conditions such as darkness, used syllabus terms precisely and explained graphs instead of just describing them. Weak scripts gave a prepared answer to a different question and confused similar words: urea and urine, immunity and resistance, hazard and precaution. On the practical papers, marks went on vague variables, poor graph scales and muddled rounding.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11–13: saying diffusion needs energy; forgetting the colour changes of hydrogencarbonate indicator; working out actual size the wrong way round in a magnification calculation.
• Papers 21–23: thinking auxin collects on the lit side of a shoot; not knowing where deamination happens.
• Paper 41: sketching a symmetrical curve for enzyme activity against temperature; not seeing that light, carbon dioxide and temperature each limit different parts of a rate graph.
• Paper 42: saying water, rather than water vapour, diffuses out of the leaf; saying antibiotics cause mutations.
• Paper 43: muddling filtration with reabsorption and urea with urine; working out percentage change as a ratio.
• Papers 51–63: concluding about bubble counts instead of rate of respiration; not knowing the reagent for vitamin C; adding Benedict’s at the start of an enzyme experiment.

Grade thresholds – June 2023

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BX	21, 41, 51	200	165	137	109	82	69	57	46	35
BY	22, 42, 52	200	164	140	116	93	79	65	51	37
BZ	23, 43, 53	200	164	137	110	84	71	59	48	37
CX	21, 41, 61	200	166	138	110	82	69	57	46	35
CY	22, 42, 62	200	164	140	116	93	79	65	51	37
CZ	23, 43, 63	200	164	137	110	84	71	59	48	37
FX	11, 31, 51	200	–	–	–	123	105	87	68	49
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	112	99	86	72	58
GX	11, 31, 61	200	–	–	–	123	105	87	68	49
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	112	99	86	72	58
GZ	13, 33, 63	200	–	–	–	110	96	83	69	55
P1	50	90	72	63	54	45	38	31	24	17

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

March 2023

In March 2023 candidates were confident on magnification, food tests and teeth. They lost ground on exact syllabus definitions (excretion, gene, species), on plant transport (water vapour leaving the stomata, sources and sinks in the phloem), on phototropism and on genetics notation. The theory papers rewarded answers that used the data or diagram provided, linked ideas from different parts of the syllabus and made as many points as there were marks. Weak scripts reused learnt answers that did not fit, wrote loose words such as “food” or “grow”, and skipped instructions in the question. The practical papers showed confusion over variables, over errors versus hazards, and over rounding.

Where marks were lost

• Paper 12: confusing excretion with egestion; calling the loss of water vapour through stomata evaporation instead of diffusion; expecting phototropism with no light source.
• Paper 22: thinking the gene itself leaves the nucleus instead of mRNA; giving xerophyte features to hydrophytes.
• Paper 32: using blood-group style notation for a single-gene cross; defining a gene without saying it codes for a protein; confusing renewable with reusable.
• Paper 42: blaming pressure changes in arteries on the arteries instead of the heart; saying amylase produces glucose; saying the cornea focuses light rather than refracting it.
• Papers 52 and 62: swapping independent and dependent variables; confusing hazards with sources of error; suggesting a water-bath with no thermostatic control.

Grade thresholds – March 2023

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BY	22, 42, 52	200	153	133	113	94	80	67	54	41
CY	22, 42, 62	200	153	133	113	94	80	67	54	41
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	113	97	82	68	54
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	113	97	82	68	54

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

November 2022

November 2022 drew on human nutrition and teeth, plant transport, gas exchange, excretion, coordination, antibiotic resistance and ecology, with practicals on enzymes, food tests and respiration. On the multiple-choice papers, candidates did not know how much oxygen is in expired air, confused the stages of transpiration and put urea formation in the wrong organ. Strong scripts used precise terms such as water potential and “releasing energy”, made direct comparisons and quoted data with units. Weak scripts repeated the question, described results instead of drawing a conclusion, used everyday wording and contradicted the information they had been given.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11–13: giving root hair cells chloroplasts; weak recall of tooth structure and decay; thinking antibiotics treat viral infections.
• Papers 21–23: not linking movement against a gradient to a need for oxygen; misreading indicator colour changes in light and dark.
• Papers 31–33: swapping features of mitosis and meiosis; thinking osmosis goes against a concentration gradient; saying the kidney makes urea.
• Paper 41: claiming bacteria mutate on purpose, or that antibiotics trigger mutation; thinking inspired air is all oxygen and expired air all carbon dioxide.
• Paper 42: treating mechanical digestion as the breakdown of molecules; giving the septum a pumping or valve role.
• Papers 51–63: calling an anomaly a “wrong result” instead of one that does not fit the trend; writing volume where concentration was varied.

Grade thresholds – November 2022

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BX	21, 41, 51	200	151	130	109	88	75	63	51	39
BY	22, 42, 52	200	154	134	114	94	80	66	52	38
BZ	23, 43, 53	200	147	126	105	85	72	59	46	33
CX	21, 41, 61	200	151	130	109	88	75	63	51	39
CY	22, 42, 62	200	156	135	114	94	80	66	52	38
CZ	23, 43, 63	200	147	126	105	85	72	59	46	33
FX	11, 31, 51	200	–	–	–	114	99	85	71	57
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	113	98	83	68	53
FZ	13, 33, 53	200	–	–	–	111	97	83	69	55
GX	11, 31, 61	200	–	–	–	114	99	85	71	57
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	113	98	83	68	53
GZ	13, 33, 63	200	–	–	–	111	97	83	69	55
P1	50	90	68	59	50	42	34	26	18	10

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

June 2022

June 2022 leaned on cells, biological molecules, enzymes, transport, gas exchange, excretion, coordination, reproduction, inheritance, ecology and human impacts, plus practical planning. Across the multiple-choice papers, two gaps kept appearing: that starch and glycogen are made of glucose, and what a population is. Strong scripts read the stimulus closely, explained data instead of just describing it, used exact terms and laid out genetic diagrams clearly. Weak scripts answered a question they had made up, mixed pairs such as antibody and antibiotic, rods and cones, or insulin and glucagon, and ignored instructions such as the number of significant figures or the number of lines to draw.

Where marks were lost

• Papers 11–13: misreading food test results; not knowing where evaporation happens in a leaf; placing the receptors that monitor blood temperature in the skin rather than the brain.
• Papers 21–23: predicting auxin distribution wrongly; reversing fibrinogen and fibrin.
• Paper 31: calling the pathogen that causes HIV a bacterium; putting parental genotypes into the gamete boxes of a genetic diagram.
• Paper 41: blaming oxygen loss in eutrophication on less photosynthesis rather than on bacterial respiration; treating an inherited condition as infectious.
• Paper 42: placing alleles on the Y chromosome in a sex-linked cross and getting the probability wrong.
• Papers 51–63: giving “blue” or “black” instead of blue-black for starch; suggesting more repeats when narrower intervals were needed to find an optimum.

Grade thresholds – June 2022

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BX	21, 41, 51	200	156	130	104	79	66	54	42	30
BY	22, 42, 52	200	157	132	107	83	68	54	40	26
BZ	23, 43, 53	200	143	122	101	80	68	57	44	31
CX	21, 41, 61	200	157	131	105	79	66	54	42	30
CY	22, 42, 62	200	157	132	107	83	68	54	40	26
CZ	23, 43, 63	200	143	122	101	80	68	57	44	31
FX	11, 31, 51	200	–	–	–	108	94	81	68	55
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	110	94	78	62	46
FZ	13, 33, 53	200	–	–	–	110	95	81	67	53
GX	11, 31, 61	200	–	–	–	108	94	81	68	55
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	110	94	78	62	46
GZ	13, 33, 63	200	–	–	–	110	95	81	67	53
P1	50	90	68	59	50	42	34	26	18	10

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

March 2022

March 2022 drew on cell structure, food tests, photosynthesis and leaf structure, transport in plants and in the heart, gas exchange, enzymes, reproduction including fertility treatment, antibiotic resistance, conservation and practical planning. Recall of enzymes, mammal features, magnification and DNA structure was good. Strong scripts answered exactly what was asked and used precise words: alveoli rather than lungs, cell membrane rather than cell wall, allele rather than antibody. They explained data instead of describing it. Weak scripts wrote everything linked to a keyword, used vague phrases, confused similar terms, and dropped marks through careless graph reading, loose significant figures and shaded drawings.

Where marks were lost

• Paper 12: taking the cell wall to be the partially permeable layer; not knowing the vitamin C test; thinking starch moves in the phloem.
• Paper 22: reversing the change from fibrinogen to fibrin; picking the wrong limiting factor on the rising part of a rate graph.
• Paper 32: not knowing the septum or coronary arteries; saying a valve controls flow without saying it stops backflow.
• Paper 42: claiming antibiotics cause mutations; writing about lung volume instead of thorax volume; muddling IVF with artificial insemination.
• Paper 52: offering gloves or supervision as safety precautions, which were not accepted; shading drawings and using broken lines.
• Paper 62: putting units in the body of a results table; writing “amount” instead of volume or concentration.

Grade thresholds – March 2022

Option	Components	Max	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
BY	22, 42, 52	200	144	125	106	88	76	64	52	40
CY	22, 42, 62	200	144	125	106	88	76	64	52	40
FY	12, 32, 52	200	–	–	–	119	101	84	67	50
GY	12, 32, 62	200	–	–	–	119	101	84	67	50

Official documents: past papers, mark schemes and examiner report

How to use this page

1. Find your gaps first. Take the free Core diagnostic or Extended diagnostic (all our diagnostics are listed on the diagnostics page), then tick through the 0610 topic checklist.
2. Sit a full paper under timed conditions. Download it from Cambridge’s past-papers page and check the syllabus version on the front cover. Check the exam calendar to see how many weeks you have left.
3. Mark it with the official mark scheme. Be strict: if your wording is looser than the mark scheme’s, do not give yourself the mark.
4. Read our notes for that series on this page. Compare the “Where marks were lost” bullets with your own errors, then scan What examiners keep saying for the same mistake in other years.
5. Fix the topic, not just the question. Revise it from the IGCSE Biology hub, check command words on the command words page, then practise with the 0610 self-check question bank.
6. Re-test a week later with a paper from a different series, and compare your total with that series’ thresholds. June 2026 thresholds for our flagship syllabuses are on the grade thresholds page.
7. Get help if the same errors keep coming back. Book a free trial lesson.

About these notes

The grade thresholds on this page are copied from Cambridge International’s grade-threshold tables, and the examiner notes are our own summaries of Cambridge’s Principal Examiner Reports for Teachers for the March, June and November series of 2022, 2023 and 2024. Everything is written in our own words; read the full reports on Cambridge’s website. Thresholds change every series and must never be used to predict future ones. If you spot an error, please report a correction.