IGCSE Biology 0610 Paper 2 Practice Paper (Extended Multiple Choice) — 40 questions, 45 minutes, answers and explanations

Original IGCSE Biology 0610 Paper 2 (Extended multiple choice) practice paper: 40 questions, 40 marks, 45 minutes, all 21 syllabus topics, with full answers.

Syllabus areas and marks

Questions (40 items, 1 mark each)

1.　Which feature is shown by all living organisms?

A　Excreting metabolic waste

B　Containing chloroplasts

C　Having a vertebral column

D　Carrying out photosynthesis

2.　Which scientific name is written correctly under the binomial system?

A　homo Sapiens

B　HOMO SAPIENS

C　Homo Sapiens

D　Homo sapiens (genus capitalised, species lower case, italic)

3.　Which structure is found in plant cells but not in animal cells?

A　Mitochondrion

B　Ribosome

C　Cell wall

D　Cell surface membrane

4.　Which sequence of organisation is correct?

A　organ → tissue → cell → organ system

B　cell → tissue → organ → organ system

C　tissue → cell → organ system → organ

D　cell → organ → tissue → organ system

5.　A substance diffuses 30 mm in 2 minutes. What is the mean rate in mm per minute?

A　15

B　60

C　7.5

D　0.25

6.　A plasmolysed plant cell is placed in pure water and water enters. Why?

A　The cell wall pushes water into the cell

B　Water moves in from the side with lower water potential

C　The cell pumps water in by active transport

D　The cell sap has a higher solute concentration, so water moves in from pure water, which has a higher water potential

7.　Benedict’s solution is used to test for reducing sugar. What is seen after heating?

A　A white emulsion forms

B　Bubbles turn limewater milky

C　A blue solution turns to a brick-red precipitate

D　A colourless solution turns purple

8.　A 250 g food sample contains 18% protein. What mass of protein does it contain?

A　4.5 g

B　45 g

C　18 g

D　138 g

9.　Above the optimum temperature the rate of an enzyme reaction falls. Why?

A　The enzyme denatures, so its active site changes shape and the substrate no longer fits

B　The substrate molecules are all used up

C　The enzyme is broken down and immediately rebuilt

D　The active site enlarges and the substrate leaves too quickly

10.　An enzyme produces 96 cm³ of gas in 4 minutes. What is the mean rate in cm³ per minute?

A　92

B　384

C　12

D　24

11.　A photosynthesis rate against light intensity graph levels off at high light intensity. What does this show?

A　The plant has stopped respiring

B　Water uptake has suddenly increased

C　Another factor, such as carbon dioxide concentration or temperature, is now limiting

D　All the chlorophyll has been destroyed

12.　A leaf of area 25 cm² produces 0.8 cm³ of oxygen in one hour. How much oxygen per cm² per hour?

A　0.0032

B　0.032

C　31.25

D　0.8

13.　Where in the alimentary canal is starch digested to maltose?

A　Mouth (salivary amylase) and small intestine (pancreatic amylase)

B　Stomach and large intestine

C　Oesophagus and rectum

D　Small intestine only

14.　A meal contains 60 g carbohydrate and 20 g fat. Using 17 kJ/g and 38 kJ/g, what energy does it provide?

A　1 020 kJ

B　760 kJ

C　3 400 kJ

D　1 780 kJ

15.　Which condition increases the rate of transpiration?

A　Decreased temperature

B　Stomata closing

C　Increased wind speed

D　Increased humidity

16.　A potometer bubble moves 84 mm in 3 minutes. What is the uptake rate in mm per minute?

A　81

B　28

C　252

D　14

17.　Which blood vessel carries oxygenated blood at the highest pressure to the body?

A　Aorta

B　Pulmonary artery

C　Vena cava

D　Pulmonary vein

18.　Stroke volume is 70 cm³ and heart rate 75 beats per minute. What is the cardiac output in dm³ per minute?

A　52.5

B　0.525

C　145

D　5.25

19.　Which is a first line of defence preventing pathogens from entering the body?

A　Platelets engulfing bacteria

B　White blood cells carrying oxygen to tissues

C　Intact skin and mucus with cilia in the airways

D　Red blood cells producing antibodies

20.　Vaccination gives long-term immunity mainly because:

A　the vaccine replaces white blood cells

B　memory cells are produced and make antibodies quickly on later infection

C　the vaccine kills all pathogens directly

D　the vaccine thickens the skin

21.　Which is NOT a feature of alveoli that aids gas exchange?

A　Cartilage rings supporting the trachea

B　Walls one cell thick

C　A dense capillary network around each alveolus

D　Very many alveoli giving a large total surface area

22.　Tidal volume is 500 cm³ at 14 breaths per minute. What is the pulmonary ventilation rate in dm³ per minute?

A　70

B　0.7

C　514

D　7.0

23.　Anaerobic respiration in muscle produces:

A　lactic acid and a large amount of energy

B　carbon dioxide and water

C　lactic acid and less energy

D　ethanol and carbon dioxide

24.　A person releases 480 kJ in 8 minutes. What is the mean rate in kJ per minute?

A　30

B　60

C　3 840

D　472

25.　Which substance is normally absent from the urine of a healthy person?

A　Glucose

B　Urea

C　Water

D　Mineral salts

26.　The kidneys filter 180 dm³ of fluid a day, 99% of which is reabsorbed. What volume of urine is produced daily?

A　18

B　178

C　0.18

D　1.8

27.　What is the order of a reflex arc?

A　receptor → motor neurone → brain → sensory neurone → effector

B　spinal cord → receptor → effector → motor neurone

C　receptor → sensory neurone → spinal cord → motor neurone → effector

D　effector → motor neurone → spinal cord → sensory neurone → receptor

28.　A nerve impulse travels 0.9 m in 0.015 s. What is the speed in m/s?

A　0.6

B　60

C　0.0135

D　6

29.　Alcohol is a depressant. Which effect most directly impairs driving?

A　Slowing reaction time

B　Speeding up reflex actions

C　Constricting the pupil and raising alertness

D　Improving muscle coordination

30.　Why are antibiotics ineffective against viruses?

A　Viruses are too large for the antibiotic to enter

B　Viruses use antibiotics as nutrients

C　Viruses occur only outside the blood

D　Viruses have no bacterial cell wall or bacterial metabolism for the antibiotic to act on

31.　What is the main function of the placenta?

A　Storing the fetus’s urine

B　Producing sperm

C　Allowing nutrients and oxygen to diffuse from maternal blood to fetal blood

D　Producing eggs

32.　Human gestation is about 38 weeks. How many days is that?

A　304

B　266

C　380

D　245

33.　Two heterozygous tall pea plants (Tt × Tt) are crossed. What phenotypic ratio is expected?

A　tall : short = 3 : 1

B　tall : short = 1 : 1

C　tall : short = 9 : 1

D　all tall

34.　A test cross Aa × aa produces 400 offspring. About how many show the recessive phenotype?

A　100

B　300

C　400

D　200

35.　Which is an example of continuous variation?

A　Sex

B　Ability to roll the tongue

C　Body height

D　ABO blood group

36.　What is the core of Darwin’s theory of natural selection?

A　The environment directly rewrites DNA base sequences

B　Individuals with advantageous alleles are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass those alleles on

C　Organisms change their genes during life because they need to, and pass the changes on

D　All individuals have exactly the same chance of survival

37.　Producers fix 60 000 kJ. If 10% of energy passes to each trophic level, how much reaches the third trophic level?

A　600

B　6 000

C　60

D　6

38.　Which process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

A　Respiration

B　Burning fossil fuels

C　Decomposition

D　Photosynthesis

39.　Which is an application of genetic engineering?

A　Using Penicillium to produce penicillin

B　Using Lactobacillus to make yoghurt from milk

C　Inserting the human insulin gene into bacteria so that they produce insulin

D　Using yeast to ferment sugar into ethanol

40.　Fertiliser runoff into a lake kills fish. What is the main mechanism?

A　The fertiliser makes the water much warmer

B　Algal blooms die and decompose, and bacteria use up the dissolved oxygen

C　The fertiliser is directly toxic to fish

D　Algae remove all the carbon dioxide so fish cannot breathe

Answers and explanations

Q1　A　Excretion is one of the seven shared life processes. Chloroplasts and photosynthesis occur only in some plants, and a vertebral column only in vertebrates.

Q2　D　The binomial system requires a capitalised genus, a lower-case species epithet, and italics or underlining.

Q3　C　A cellulose cell wall is unique to plant cells; membranes, mitochondria and ribosomes occur in both.

Q4　B　Cells form tissues, tissues form organs, and organs form organ systems.

Q5　A　Rate = distance / time = 30 / 2 = 15 mm per minute.

Q6　D　Water moves from higher to lower water potential by osmosis; no energy is required.

Q7　C　Reducing sugar gives a brick-red copper(I) oxide precipitate. Purple indicates protein with biuret reagent.

Q8　B　250 × 18 / 100 = 45 g.

Q9　A　Heat breaks the bonds holding the tertiary structure, so the active site loses its shape; denaturation is irreversible.

Q10　D　96 / 4 = 24 cm³ per minute.

Q11　C　The plateau shows light is no longer limiting; another factor limits the rate.

Q12　B　0.8 / 25 = 0.032 cm³.

Q13　A　Salivary amylase starts in the mouth and pancreatic amylase continues in the small intestine; acid in the stomach stops amylase.

Q14　D　60 × 17 = 1 020 kJ plus 20 × 38 = 760 kJ gives 1 780 kJ.

Q15　C　Wind removes water vapour from around the leaf, steepening the diffusion gradient.

Q16　B　84 / 3 = 28 mm per minute.

Q17　A　The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood into the aorta at the highest pressure.

Q18　D　70 × 75 = 5 250 cm³ per minute = 5.25 dm³ per minute.

Q19　C　Skin, mucus and cilia are non-specific first-line defences; antibodies come from lymphocytes.

Q20　B　Vaccination triggers a primary response and leaves memory cells, so the secondary response is faster and larger.

Q21　A　Cartilage rings support the trachea; they play no part in the exchange surface.

Q22　D　500 × 14 = 7 000 cm³ per minute = 7.0 dm³ per minute.

Q23　C　Muscle anaerobic respiration gives lactic acid with far less energy; ethanol is produced by yeast.

Q24　B　480 / 8 = 60 kJ per minute.

Q25　A　All glucose is reabsorbed in the tubules, so healthy urine contains none.

Q26　D　180 × 0.01 = 1.8 dm³.

Q27　C　The impulse passes receptor to sensory neurone to spinal cord to motor neurone to effector, bypassing the brain.

Q28　B　0.9 / 0.015 = 60 m/s.

Q29　A　Depressants slow synaptic transmission, lengthening reaction time; stimulants do the opposite.

Q30　D　Antibiotics target bacterial cell walls or bacterial protein synthesis, which viruses lack.

Q31　C　The placenta is an exchange surface; the two blood systems do not mix and materials move by diffusion.

Q32　B　38 × 7 = 266 days.

Q33　A　A Punnett square gives TT, Tt, Tt, tt, so 3 tall to 1 short. A 1 : 1 ratio comes from a test cross.

Q34　D　Half the offspring are aa, so 400 / 2 = 200.

Q35　C　Height varies smoothly over a range and is polygenic; blood group, sex and tongue rolling are discontinuous.

Q36　B　Natural selection is differential survival and reproduction acting on existing variation.

Q37　A　60 000 × 0.1 × 0.1 = 600 kJ.

Q38　D　Photosynthesis fixes carbon dioxide; respiration, combustion and decomposition release it.

Q39　C　Only the insulin example transfers a gene between species; the others are traditional fermentation.

Q40　B　This is eutrophication: nitrate and phosphate cause an algal bloom, decomposers use up oxygen, and fish suffocate.

Quick answer key

Grade guide (out of 40)

Suggested timing (45 minutes)

Notices

•　This paper has 40 four-option questions, 1 mark each, 40 marks in 45 minutes. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so answer every question.

•　Choose exactly one option per question; multiple or blank responses score 0.

•　Unless stated otherwise, use SI units; 1 dm³ = 1 000 cm³ = 1 litre.

•　Answers and explanations are in the answer PDF. Sit the whole paper before checking.

•　All questions are original and are not Cambridge past-paper questions; the grade bands are this paper’s own guide.

Related papers | 0610 Paper 2 exam technique and past-paper questions | 0610 Paper 4 theory paper | 0610 Paper 1 multiple choice (Core)

Find a tutor — free

This is original TutorZone practice material, not Cambridge past-paper content. The paper structure quoted (45 minutes, 40 four-option questions, 40 marks, 30% weighting) is taken from the Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 syllabus for 2026–2028, “Details of the assessment”.