What IGCSE Biology Paper 4 actually tests

Every Cambridge 0610 Paper 4 (Theory, Extended) from 2021 to 2026 — 35 papers, 1169 question parts, 2800 marks — classified by chapter. Revise in this order.

Mr Hosni revising the whole IGCSE Biology syllabus with a single mind map

Save hours revising for your IGCSE Biology exam with this mind map — the chapters below are the ones to map first.

Share of marks by chapter — top 10

  1. Coordination and response 10.3%
  2. Transport in animals 8.5%
  3. Characteristics & classification of living organisms 7.5%
  4. Reproduction 7.1%
  5. Biological molecules & enzymes 7.1%
  6. Human nutrition 6.4%
  7. Transport in plants 6.3%
  8. Plant nutrition & photosynthesis 6.2%
  9. Organisms and their environment 5.9%
  10. Human influences on ecosystems 5.1%

Least examined

  1. Excretion in humans 2.6%
  2. Respiration 2.2%
  3. Movement into and out of cells 1.8%
  4. Drugs 0.5%
34%
of parts say "State" — one-line recall
34%
"Explain" or "Describe" — where marks are lost
21%
of parts are high-difficulty

Command words, most to least common

State (403), Explain (210), Describe (185), Complete (98), Suggest (61), Identify (45).

What this means for you

Three chapters — Coordination and response, Transport in animals, and Classification — carry about a quarter of all Paper 4 marks. "Explain" and "Describe" questions are where B-grade students drop to C: the answer is right but not in mark-scheme words. Every question in the solved papers is written in those words.

See the solved Paper 4 questions 2026–2028 syllabus checklist

About this analysis. Mr Hosni's team classified every question part of Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 Paper 4 (Extended Theory) set in the February/March, May/June and October/November series from 2021 to March 2026 — 35 papers and 1169 parts — by syllabus chapter, command word and difficulty. Percentages are shares of the 2800 marks available across all papers. The same classification drives the By-Topic mode of the Chem Bio solved-papers plugin, where each question opens to a full model answer with the figure. Updated after each new series.

How to ace the IGCSE exams

Inspiring lessons

IGCSE is a rigorous program that emphasises understanding and critical thinking. Always try to find stimulating lectures that are straight to the point. When the explanation is good enough, you will spend less time learning the content. I design my lectures to include all the details from the syllabus in an easy way with great emphasis on solving past exam papers and practical simulations

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Solve & Solve..

Practice makes perfect, solving past papers right while learning is the key. Your teacher should model solving exam questions during the lesson, and you should also have answers written by an expert because the mark scheme is not clear enough. I  provide my students with detailed answers for every topic

Check The Model Answers

Short but complete notes

You don’t have time to read textbooks, you’d rather practice past papers instead. You need notes that are up-to-date with the latest syllabus, they should be straight to the point without extra information that you wouldn’t need in the exam. I designed my notes around exam mark schemes so that they're highly reliable. Students love to study from my books because they're written clearly with illustrations that help to remember the content 



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Test yourself

You need to check your understanding with regular quizzes, which can be done with automated multiple-choice questions that I provide for each topic. You still need to practice the written answers, which count for a larger percentage of your exam. This can only be done with the help of a teacher who is an expert in exam marking techniques. I provide my students with model answers written by me. Students can also reach out to me via WhatsApp or email to show me their answers 

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