IGCSE Biology Practice Test 5 – 60 Questions with Answers (Cambridge 0610)
This final test revisits every topic once more, so treat it as a full revision check before the real exam.
Characteristics and classification of living organisms
Q1. Which life process removes waste products made by metabolism?
- (A) Nutrition
- (B) Growth
- (C) Sensitivity
- (D) Excretion
Show Answer
Answer: D – Excretion removes metabolic waste such as urea and carbon dioxide.
Q2. Which group of vertebrates lays eggs and has scales and a three-chambered heart?
- (A) Fish
- (B) Amphibians
- (C) Reptiles
- (D) Birds
Show Answer
Answer: C – Reptiles have dry scales and mostly three-chambered hearts.
Q3. Which fungus is used to make bread rise?
- (A) Yeast
- (B) Amoeba, a single-celled protoctist that moves by changing its shape
- (C) Mould on bread
- (D) Mushroom
Show Answer
Answer: A – Yeast ferments sugars in dough, releasing carbon dioxide that makes the bread rise.
Organisation of the organism
Q4. Which level of organisation is the stomach?
- (A) Cell
- (B) Organ
- (C) Tissue
- (D) System
Show Answer
Answer: B – The stomach is an organ made of several tissues working together.
Q5. Which structure is present in plant cells and gives support?
- (A) Cell wall
- (B) Nucleus
- (C) Ribosome
- (D) Mitochondrion
Show Answer
Answer: A – The cellulose cell wall supports the plant cell shape.
Q6. Which organelle makes proteins?
- (A) Vacuole
- (B) Chloroplast
- (C) Cell membrane
- (D) Ribosome
Show Answer
Answer: D – Ribosomes assemble amino acids into proteins.
Movement into and out of cells
Q7. Oxygen diffuses from air into a cell. Which condition speeds this up?
- (A) A smaller surface area for diffusion
- (B) A steeper oxygen gradient
- (C) A thicker membrane
- (D) A lower temperature
Show Answer
Answer: B – A larger concentration difference increases net diffusion rate.
Q8. Which process moves mineral ions from soil into root hair cells when the soil concentration is lower?
- (A) Diffusion, which moves particles from a higher concentration to a lower concentration
- (B) Osmosis
- (C) Active transport
- (D) Transpiration
Show Answer
Answer: C – Root hair cells use energy to take up mineral ions against a concentration gradient by active transport.
Q9. Why do plant cells not burst in pure water?
- (A) They have no vacuole
- (B) The cell wall resists turgor pressure
- (C) They pump water out actively
- (D) They stop osmosis completely
Show Answer
Answer: B – The rigid wall prevents further expansion once the cell is turgid.
Biological molecules
Q10. Which food molecule is tested with Benedict’s solution?
- (A) Starch
- (B) Protein
- (C) Reducing sugar
- (D) Fat
Show Answer
Answer: C – Benedict’s test detects reducing sugars such as glucose.
Q11. Which element is found in proteins but not in carbohydrates?
- (A) Carbon
- (B) Hydrogen
- (C) Oxygen
- (D) Nitrogen
Show Answer
Answer: D – Amino acids contain nitrogen, while carbohydrates contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
Q12. Which carbohydrate is used for energy storage in animals?
- (A) Glycogen
- (B) Cellulose
- (C) Sucrose
- (D) Starch
Show Answer
Answer: A – Animals store glucose as glycogen in liver and muscle.
Enzymes
Q13. Which enzyme digests starch to maltose?
- (A) Protease
- (B) Amylase
- (C) Lipase
- (D) Maltase
Show Answer
Answer: B – Amylase breaks starch into maltose in the mouth and small intestine.
Q14. At very low temperatures, enzyme activity is low because:
- (A) Enzymes are denatured by cold
- (B) Substrates are destroyed
- (C) Water freezes inside enzymes
- (D) Collisions are too slow and infrequent
Show Answer
Answer: D – Low kinetic energy means fewer successful collisions with substrates.
Q15. Which pH is closest to the optimum for pepsin?
- (A) pH 2
- (B) pH 7
- (C) pH 9
- (D) pH 12
Show Answer
Answer: A – Pepsin works in the acidic stomach at around pH 2.
Plant nutrition
Q16. Which mineral is needed to make proteins in plants?
- (A) Magnesium
- (B) Iron
- (C) Nitrate
- (D) Potassium
Show Answer
Answer: C – Nitrates supply nitrogen for amino acids and proteins.
Q17. What is the main product of the light-independent stage of photosynthesis?
- (A) Glucose
- (B) Oxygen
- (C) Water
- (D) Carbon dioxide
Show Answer
Answer: A – Carbon dioxide is fixed into sugars such as glucose.
Q18. Which structure allows carbon dioxide to enter a leaf?
- (A) Vein
- (B) Cuticle
- (C) Stoma
- (D) Palisade cell
Show Answer
Answer: C – Stomata are pores that let gases diffuse in and out.
Human nutrition
Q19. Which part of the digestive system absorbs most nutrients?
- (A) Mouth
- (B) Stomach
- (C) Oesophagus
- (D) Ileum
Show Answer
Answer: D – The ileum is lined with villi for absorption into blood and lacteals.
Q20. What does bile do to fats?
- (A) Digests them to glycerol
- (B) Emulsifies them into small droplets
- (C) Absorbs them into blood
- (D) Stores them in the liver
Show Answer
Answer: B – Emulsification increases surface area for lipase action.
Q21. Which nutrient is the main source of energy in a balanced diet?
- (A) Vitamins needed in small amounts
- (B) Minerals
- (C) Carbohydrates
- (D) Water
Show Answer
Answer: C – Carbohydrates are broken down to glucose for respiration.
Transport in plants
Q22. Water moves up a plant mainly because of:
- (A) Active transport in leaves using energy
- (B) Transpiration pull and cohesion
- (C) Root pressure alone
- (D) Gravity pulling sap down
Show Answer
Answer: B – Evaporation from leaves pulls a continuous water column upwards.
Q23. Which cells transport sugars in a plant?
- (A) Sieve tube elements in phloem
- (B) Vessel elements in xylem carrying water
- (C) Guard cells in epidermis
- (D) Mesophyll cells only
Show Answer
Answer: A – Sieve tubes carry dissolved sugars from sources to sinks.
Q24. A plant wilts on a hot day even though soil is moist. Why?
- (A) Roots stop absorbing water
- (B) Photosynthesis stops completely
- (C) Stomata open wider than ever
- (D) Water loss exceeds water uptake
Show Answer
Answer: D – Rapid transpiration can outpace uptake, so cells lose turgor.
Transport in animals
Q25. Which chamber of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs?
- (A) Right atrium
- (B) Right ventricle
- (C) Left ventricle
- (D) Left atrium
Show Answer
Answer: D – Pulmonary veins deliver oxygenated blood to the left atrium.
Q26. What is the function of haemoglobin?
- (A) Transporting oxygen in red blood cells
- (B) Clotting blood at wounds
- (C) Fighting infection in plasma
- (D) Carrying urea to kidneys
Show Answer
Answer: A – Haemoglobin binds oxygen in the lungs and releases it in tissues.
Q27. Which vessel carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs?
- (A) Aorta
- (B) Vena cava
- (C) Pulmonary artery
- (D) Pulmonary vein returning to the heart
Show Answer
Answer: C – The pulmonary artery is the exception: an artery carrying deoxygenated blood.
Diseases and immunity
Q28. Which statement about antibodies is correct?
- (A) They are made by red blood cells
- (B) They bind to specific antigens
- (C) They kill all microbes on contact
- (D) They are passed only by injection
Show Answer
Answer: B – Each antibody shape matches one antigen type.
Q29. Why does a second infection with the same pathogen cause milder illness?
- (A) The pathogen becomes weaker over time
- (B) The body temperature rises faster
- (C) Memory cells give a rapid antibody response
- (D) Skin becomes thicker after illness
Show Answer
Answer: C – Memory cells from the first infection speed up the second response.
Q30. Which disease is caused by a bacterium spread in droplets from coughs?
- (A) Malaria
- (B) Tuberculosis
- (C) AIDS
- (D) Athlete’s foot
Show Answer
Answer: B – Tuberculosis bacteria spread through airborne droplets.
Gas exchange in humans
Q31. Which gas diffuses from blood into alveoli?
- (A) Oxygen
- (B) Nitrogen from the blood plasma
- (C) Argon
- (D) Carbon dioxide
Show Answer
Answer: D – Blood arriving at the lungs is high in carbon dioxide, which diffuses out.
Q32. What causes air to enter the lungs?
- (A) Pressure in the lungs falls below atmospheric pressure
- (B) Pressure in the lungs rises above atmospheric pressure
- (C) The trachea actively sucks air in
- (D) The alveoli contract strongly
Show Answer
Answer: A – Air flows down the pressure gradient into the lungs.
Q33. Which muscles are used in forced exhalation?
- (A) Internal intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles
- (B) Diaphragm only
- (C) External intercostals only
- (D) Heart muscle
Show Answer
Answer: A – These muscles actively reduce chest volume during forced breathing out.
Respiration
Q34. Which process releases energy for active transport?
- (A) Photosynthesis
- (B) Digestion
- (C) Diffusion
- (D) Respiration
Show Answer
Answer: D – Respiration supplies the energy all active cell processes need.
Q35. What is produced by anaerobic respiration in yeast?
- (A) Lactic acid and water from muscle cells
- (B) Ethanol and carbon dioxide
- (C) Oxygen and glucose
- (D) Urea and water
Show Answer
Answer: B – Yeast fermentation yields ethanol plus carbon dioxide.
Q36. Which word describes respiration without oxygen?
- (A) Aerobic
- (B) Photosynthetic
- (C) Anaerobic
- (D) Excretory
Show Answer
Answer: C – Anaerobic means in the absence of oxygen.
Excretion in humans
Q37. Which part of the nephron filters the blood?
- (A) Glomerulus
- (B) Loop of Henle
- (C) Collecting duct
- (D) Bladder wall
Show Answer
Answer: A – The glomerulus is a knot of capillaries where filtration begins.
Q38. Which substance is excreted in sweat?
- (A) Glucose
- (B) Protein
- (C) Urea and salts
- (D) Bile
Show Answer
Answer: C – Sweat contains water, salts and small amounts of urea.
Coordination and response
Q39. Which neurone connects sensory and motor neurones in the CNS?
- (A) Motor neurone
- (B) Relay neurone
- (C) Sensory neurone
- (D) Effector cell
Show Answer
Answer: B – Relay neurones in the CNS link sensory and motor neurones.
Q40. Which hormone controls blood sugar by promoting storage as glycogen?
- (A) Adrenaline
- (B) Thyroxine
- (C) Testosterone
- (D) Insulin
Show Answer
Answer: D – Insulin from the pancreas lowers blood glucose after meals.
Drugs
Q41. Which effect is linked to long-term alcohol misuse?
- (A) Stronger immune response
- (B) Improved liver function
- (C) Sharper coordination
- (D) Liver damage
Show Answer
Answer: D – Excess alcohol over time damages liver cells and function.
Q42. What is drug addiction?
- (A) Occasional use with no harm
- (B) A strong dependence that is hard to stop despite harm
- (C) Taking medicines as prescribed
- (D) Avoiding all drugs completely
Show Answer
Answer: B – Addiction involves craving and continued use despite negative effects.
Reproduction
Q43. Where does fertilisation occur in humans?
- (A) Oviduct
- (B) Uterus where the embryo implants
- (C) Ovary
- (D) Cervix
Show Answer
Answer: A – Sperm meets the egg in the oviduct, then the zygote travels to the uterus.
Q44. Which process produces haploid cells in flowering plants?
- (A) Mitosis in roots
- (B) Growth of pollen tubes
- (C) Meiosis in anthers and ovaries
- (D) Germination of seeds
Show Answer
Answer: C – Meiosis halves the chromosome number to form gametes.
Q45. Which is an advantage of asexual reproduction for a farmer?
- (A) Crops vary widely each year
- (B) Desirable traits are preserved exactly
- (C) New gene combinations appear
- (D) Seeds are always produced
Show Answer
Answer: B – Clonal offspring keep the parent’s useful characteristics.
Inheritance
Q46. What is meant by a recessive allele?
- (A) An allele that only shows its effect when two copies are present
- (B) An allele that is expressed even when only one copy is inherited from a parent
- (C) A whole chromosome
- (D) A protein molecule
Show Answer
Answer: A – A recessive allele is masked by a dominant allele, so its effect appears only in homozygous organisms.
Q47. In a monohybrid cross, what does the 1:2:1 ratio describe?
- (A) Phenotype ratio only
- (B) Chromosome number ratio
- (C) Genotype ratio in Aa x Aa offspring
- (D) Sex ratio in offspring
Show Answer
Answer: C – Aa x Aa gives AA, Aa and aa in a 1:2:1 ratio.
Q48. Which condition is caused by an extra chromosome 21?
- (A) Sickle cell anaemia
- (B) Cystic fibrosis
- (C) Haemophilia
- (D) Down’s syndrome
Show Answer
Answer: D – Trisomy 21 results from non-disjunction during meiosis.
Variation and selection
Q49. Which factor causes variation within a species?
- (A) Identical genes only
- (B) Cloning only
- (C) Mutation and sexual reproduction
- (D) Asexual reproduction only
Show Answer
Answer: C – Mutation creates new alleles, and sexual reproduction recombines them.
Q50. Which statement about continuous variation is correct?
- (A) It is controlled by genes only
- (B) It shows a range of values with no clear groups
- (C) It is caused by mutation only
- (D) It always gives two distinct phenotypes
Show Answer
Answer: B – Continuous traits such as height vary smoothly across a range.
Q51. Why do some bacteria survive antibiotic treatment?
- (A) They hide from the drug
- (B) They grow larger than normal
- (C) They stop reproducing entirely
- (D) They carry resistance alleles selected by the drug
Show Answer
Answer: D – Selection favours bacteria with resistance genes.
Organisms and their environment
Q52. Which organism is a consumer in a food chain?
- (A) A rabbit feeding on grass
- (B) A green plant that makes its own food by photosynthesis using light energy
- (C) A fox
- (D) A fungus
Show Answer
Answer: A – Consumers gain energy by feeding on other organisms, and a rabbit feeding on grass is a primary consumer.
Q53. What is a population?
- (A) All the organisms of every species living together in one particular habitat
- (B) All organisms of one species in a habitat
- (C) A population count method using quadrats
- (D) A stage of decomposition
Show Answer
Answer: B – A population is a group of organisms of the same species living in the same place at the same time.
Q54. Why does energy decrease along a food chain?
- (A) Energy is lost in respiration, excretion and movement
- (B) Producers make less energy over time
- (C) Consumers eat too much food
- (D) Decomposers store all the energy
Show Answer
Answer: A – Only a small fraction of energy transfers to the next trophic level.
Human influences on ecosystems
Q55. Which human activity causes eutrophication?
- (A) Planting hedgerows
- (B) Recycling glass
- (C) Excess fertiliser running into lakes
- (D) Creating nature reserves
Show Answer
Answer: C – Nitrate runoff feeds algal blooms that deplete oxygen when they decay.
Q56. Which gas contributes most to the greenhouse effect from burning coal?
- (A) Oxygen
- (B) Nitrogen from the atmosphere
- (C) Hydrogen
- (D) Carbon dioxide
Show Answer
Answer: D – Burning fossil fuels releases stored carbon as carbon dioxide.
Q57. What is sustainable development?
- (A) Using resources as fast as possible
- (B) Banning all farming and fishing
- (C) Replacing forests with cities
- (D) Meeting present needs without harming future generations
Show Answer
Answer: D – Sustainability balances human needs with long-term environmental health.
Biotechnology and genetic modification
Q58. Why is penicillin produced using Penicillium fungus?
- (A) It grows only in humans
- (B) It kills all bacteria instantly
- (C) It naturally produces the antibiotic compound
- (D) It needs no nutrients to grow
Show Answer
Answer: C – The fungus secretes penicillin, which is harvested and purified.
Q59. Which is an example of biotechnology in food production?
- (A) Using yeast to make bread rise
- (B) Grinding wheat into flour
- (C) Washing vegetables before sale
- (D) Freezing leftover meals
Show Answer
Answer: A – Yeast fermentation is a traditional biotechnological process.
Q60. What is a genetically modified organism?
- (A) An organism bred only by natural selection
- (B) An organism whose genetic material has been altered
- (C) An organism grown without any genes
- (D) An organism cloned from a single cell only
Show Answer
Answer: B – Its DNA has been changed, for example by adding a useful gene.
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