IGCSE Biology Tutors Online

Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 is tiered, and all candidates take three components. Core candidates sit Paper 1, Paper 3 and either Paper 5 or Paper 6, and can be awarded grades C to G. Extended candidates sit Paper 2, Paper 4 and either Paper 5 or Paper 6, and can be awarded grades A* to G. Paper 1 and Paper 2 are multiple-choice papers of 45 minutes and 40 marks, carrying 30% of the qualification, each with 40 four-option questions. Paper 3 and Paper 4 are theory papers of 1 hour 15 minutes and 80 marks, carrying 50%, using short-answer and structured questions. The practical element is a choice of two papers: Paper 5 is a Practical Test of 1 hour 15 minutes, and Paper 6 is an Alternative to Practical paper of 1 hour, each worth 40 marks and 20%. Every paper is externally assessed, and grades overall run A* to G, where A* is the highest and G is the lowest. The content is the most finely divided of any IGCSE science, across 21 topics: characteristics and classification of living organisms, organisation of the organism, movement into and out of cells, biological molecules, enzymes, plant nutrition, human nutrition, transport in plants, transport in animals, diseases and immunity, gas exchange in humans, respiration, excretion in humans, coordination and response, drugs, reproduction, inheritance, variation and selection, organisms and their environment, human influences on ecosystems, and biotechnology and genetic modification.

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology 4BI1 is untiered, so every student sits the same two written papers, and practical work is assessed inside them rather than in a separate practical exam. Paper 1 is a 2 hour examination worth 110 marks and 61.1% of the total, and it assesses the core content that is not in bold and does not carry a B reference. Paper 2 is a 1 hour 15 minute examination worth 70 marks and 38.9%, and it assesses all of the content, including the bold and B material. Together the papers carry 180 marks. Question styles include multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, calculations and extended open-response questions, and a calculator may be used in both papers. Papers are available in November and June, and the first assessment was in June 2019. The content is compressed into five areas: the nature and variety of living organisms, structures and functions in living organisms, reproduction and inheritance, ecology and the environment, and use of biological resources. The specification also names individual practicals, including food tests for glucose, starch, protein and fat, enzyme activity against temperature and pH, diffusion and osmosis, photosynthesis and the evolution of oxygen, the energy content of a food sample, respiration in seeds, the effect of light on net gas exchange from a leaf, breathing in humans, the conditions needed for seed germination, and population size using quadrats.

OxfordAQA International GCSE Biology 9201 is linear, with two question papers taken in the same examination series. It is not tiered. Paper 1 and Paper 2 are each a 1 hour 30 minute written exam worth 90 marks and 50% of the qualification, and each uses structured and open questions. Content from any part of the specification may be assessed on either paper, so topics are not divided between them. There is no separate practical exam; the specification lists required practicals that students cover as part of the content and which are examined inside the written papers. They include investigating the effect of different concentrations of solutions separated by a partially permeable membrane, how variables affect the rate of photosynthesis, how temperature and pH affect the rate of digestion, the effects of exercise on the human body, and the effect of disinfectants and antibiotics on cultures of microorganisms. The qualification is graded in line with UK GCSEs on a nine-point scale from 1 to 9, where 9 is the best grade. The content is organised into six areas: organisation, bioenergetics, ecology, organisms' interaction with the environment, inheritance, and variation and evolution.