The Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) May/June 2026 papers and mark schemes are out, and they’re free. All six papers, 0610/12 to 0610/62, can be downloaded and printed on the Tutopiya Learning Portal. Below is a breakdown of what each paper tested and how the mark scheme gave marks, taken from the papers themselves.

Key points from the 2026 0610 papers

• Ecology and conservation carried the most weight. Biodiversity, food chains, habitat loss or endangered species appeared on every one of the four written papers.
• Blood glucose control came up on three papers: glucagon and diabetes on Paper 4, insulin on Paper 3 and a blood glucose graph on Paper 2.
• Maths skills were spread everywhere: a rate calculation, a percentage increase, a magnification to two significant figures, a unit conversion to µm and even a circumference using π.
• Papers 5 and 6 shared the same practical contexts, so if you sat one, the other is the best practice you can get.
• The long answers are points-based. Six separate, precise points score six marks. A well-written but general paragraph may score two.

All May/June 2026 0610 papers

Paper	Code	Duration	Marks	Who sits it
Paper 1 Multiple Choice (Core)	0610/12	45 minutes	40	Core
Paper 2 Multiple Choice (Extended)	0610/22	45 minutes	40	Extended
Paper 3 Theory (Core)	0610/32	1 hour 15 minutes	80	Core
Paper 4 Theory (Extended)	0610/42	1 hour 15 minutes	80	Extended
Paper 5 Practical Test	0610/52	1 hour 15 minutes	40	Core and Extended (either 5 or 6)
Paper 6 Alternative to Practical	0610/62	1 hour	40	Core and Extended (either 5 or 6)

Timings and marks are taken from the front cover of each 2026 paper. Each paper comes with its official Cambridge mark scheme. For the full list of syllabus content, see the Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 syllabus.

Which variant is this? Cambridge sets different versions of each paper (variants) for different time zones. The papers here are variant 2: 0610/12, /22, /32, /42, /52 and /62. All variants cover the same syllabus at the same difficulty, so variant 2 is just as good for practice as the one your school sat.

Download the 0610 May/June 2026 papers →

What came up in 0610 Paper 4 (Extended Theory), May/June 2026?

Paper 4 had six questions worth 80 marks. One question, on fish farming and conservation, was worth 23 marks, close to a third of the paper.

Question	Topic	Marks
1	Transpiration: a potometer experiment with a fan at different wind speeds, rate calculation, other factors affecting transpiration	10
2	Sustainable resources: tilapia fish farming, sunlight and producers, nitrate and protein, eutrophication, net mesh size, why species become endangered (6 marks), artificial insemination and IVF in captive breeding	23
3	Male reproductive system: labelling structures and functions, why meiosis matters in the testes	9
4	Carbohydrates and homeostasis: liver and stomach, glucagon and adrenaline, comparing glucose curves for people with and without diabetes, treating type 1 diabetes	13
5	Osmosis in onion cells in two salt solutions (6 marks), mitosis and stem cells in roots, magnesium and chlorophyll, active uptake of mineral ions	14
6	A heart-lung machine: naming heart valves and structures, the septum, vena cava, coronary arteries, double circulation	11

What made it hard: two 6-mark explanations, on endangered species and on osmosis. Both reward long lists of separate points. Question 1 also asked you to describe a graph pattern that wasn’t a straight line, which catches many students out (see the mark scheme section below).

What came up in 0610 Paper 3 (Core Theory)?

Paper 3 had seven questions worth 80 marks, and most of them were short answers.

Question	Topic	Marks
1	Enzymes: pectinase and temperature (optimum, active site, denaturing), pectinase in fruit juice, bacteria in biotechnology	12
2	Diet: scurvy and rickets, vitamin D, balanced diet, percentage increase calculation, tooth enamel and types of teeth	14
3	Transport in plants: xylem and phloem, root cross-section, radius and circumference of a root, water pathway from soil to leaf	10
4	Nervous system: nervous compared with hormonal control, CNS, ordering a reflex arc, synapse	8
5	Female reproductive system: ovary, oviduct and uterus, ovulation day, probability of XX offspring, menstrual cycle, egg cell structure	14
6	Biodiversity: genus of the great cormorant, bird features, overfishing herring in a food chain, plastic in birds’ nests (data analysis), habitat destruction	15
7	Insulin, structure of a bacterial cell (plasmid, ribosome), genetically modified crops and herbicides	7

Watch for: the maths on this paper went beyond the usual. Students had to halve a diameter and then use 2πr, as well as work out a percentage increase.

What came up in 0610 Paper 2 (Extended Multiple Choice)?

Paper 2 has 40 questions across the whole syllabus. The 2026 paper leaned on data and diagrams: a bar chart of arthropods, an amylase graph, thorax volume during breathing, a day’s blood glucose curve, a population growth curve and a cat pedigree for polydactyly.

• Cells, molecules and enzymes: mitochondria, magnification in µm, potato cylinders in sugar solutions (osmosis), DNA base pairing, enzyme action.
• Plants: photosynthesis pathway, leaf layers, xylem and phloem in a root, why transpiration happens, translocation (source and sink).
• Humans: villi and fatty acids, double circulation, pulmonary vein, passive immunity, cholera, breathing, aerobic and anaerobic respiration, glomerulus, synapses, blood glucose, placenta.
• Genetics and reproduction: pollination, protein synthesis, haploid chromosome number, inheritance of a dominant allele, selective breeding of wheat, artificial insemination.
• Ecology and biotechnology: denitrifying bacteria, population growth, herbicides, biodiversity, the order of events in eutrophication, washing-powder enzymes, inserting human genes into other organisms.

What came up in 0610 Paper 1 (Core Multiple Choice)?

Paper 1 also has 40 questions. It tested definitions and diagrams more than data:

• Classification and cells: characteristics of living things, the binomial system, mammal features, plant cell organelles, a magnification calculation, diffusion.
• Biological molecules: the building blocks of cellulose, the biuret test for protein, enzymes.
• Plants: nectar, a leaf section, a celery stem in red stain (xylem transport), a bean plant grown in the dark.
• Humans: milk composition and diet, the alimentary canal, blood vessels carrying oxygenated blood, phagocytosis, hygiene and body defences, the path of oxygen into the blood, respiration, the excretory system, the CNS and endocrine glands.
• Disease, reproduction and genetics: antibiotics, the stamen, sperm compared with egg cells, phenotype, sex inheritance, continuous variation.
• Ecology: food chains and webs, the carbon cycle, community, populations and biodiversity, a percentage reduction in cow methane, genetically modified herbicide-resistant crops.

What came up in 0610 Papers 5 and 6 (Practical)?

Paper 5 (practical test) and Paper 6 (alternative to practical) used the same two investigations. Each had a 23-mark first question and a 17-mark second question.

Question	Both papers	Paper 5 only (you do it)	Paper 6 only (you analyse it)	Marks
1	Estimating vitamin C with iodine solution and starch, Benedict’s test for reducing sugars, a graph of vitamin C in kiwi fruit against drying time	Make up the dilutions, carry out the tests and record your own results	Read syringe volumes from a diagram, calculate a mean, judge the effect of reusing one syringe, explain why measuring volume beats counting drops	23
2	Draw beans in a pod, calculate magnification to two significant figures, variables in a germination experiment, plan a catalase investigation (6 marks)	—	—	17

What this means for you: the planning question was about catalase and the age of beans, measuring the oxygen given off. It’s a direct match for the enzyme-investigation skills in the syllabus. Practise writing a plan with all the parts the mark scheme credits (listed below).

How the 0610 May/June 2026 mark scheme gives marks

Reading the 2026 mark schemes side by side shows a consistent marking style. Knowing it is often worth more marks than extra revision.

1. Long answers are a list of marking points, not a level grid. The Paper 4 endangered-species question (6 marks) lists 17 specific marking points plus “any valid point”, including climate change, named examples of habitat destruction, overharvesting, named pollutants, invasive species and disease. Each point is worth one mark. So make six separate, specific points (for example, “deforestation for farmland” rather than “humans damage habitats”) and link each to a drop in population size.

2. “State two…” means only your first two answers count. Under Cambridge’s list rule, a wrong answer still uses up one of your two places, and two answers that contradict each other score nothing. Don’t write a list of five in the hope that two are right.

3. Spelling counts when two words could be confused. The mark scheme names glucagon and glycogen as an example, and Paper 4 Question 4 asked about exactly that hormone. If your spelling could be read as either word, you lose the mark.

4. Describing a graph needs the trend and its shape. In Paper 4 Question 1, the first mark was for “transpiration increases as wind speed increases”. The second was for saying the relationship is not linear: the rate rises much faster at higher wind speeds. It’s easy to stop after the first mark and miss the second.

5. Calculations use error carried forward (ecf). If an earlier value is wrong but you use it correctly, you still get the later marks. For the Paper 5 and 6 magnification there were three separate marks: measuring the line, the calculation, and rounding to two significant figures. Always show your working.

6. Practical tables have strict rules. Units go in the column headings (e.g. “volume of iodine solution added / cm³”), never in the data cells. You need at least two columns with a header line, and every reading must match its heading.

7. The planning question has a set checklist. The 2026 catalase plan gave up to six marks from nine points: at least two bean ages (the independent variable), how to extract the enzyme, adding hydrogen peroxide, how to collect the gas, three controlled variables (e.g. temperature, pH, volume and concentration of hydrogen peroxide), repeats, and a safety precaution such as goggles.

8. Alternative wording is accepted, wrong science is not. “AW” in the scheme means any wording that is scientifically the same is fine. “ora” means the reverse argument also scores, for example explaining what happens in solution B instead of solution A in the osmosis question.

Which papers should you sit?

• Extended candidates: Paper 2, Paper 4, and either Paper 5 or Paper 6.
• Core candidates: Paper 1, Paper 3, and either Paper 5 or Paper 6.

Not sure whether your school entered you for Paper 5 or Paper 6? Do Paper 6 anyway. It tests the same planning, recording and analysis skills, and in 2026 it used the same investigations as Paper 5.

How to use the 2026 papers as a mock

1. Keep them for last. Use older 0610 papers for topic practice and save May/June 2026 for a full mock two to four weeks before your exam.
2. Sit your papers in one go, timed. Do the multiple choice paper first, then the theory paper, with only a short break, as on exam day.
3. Mark strictly with the mark scheme. Give a mark only when your answer contains the point in the scheme.
4. Log every lost mark. Note whether it was missing knowledge, a misread command word (describe, explain, suggest) or a careless slip, and revise in that order.
5. Rewrite your 6-mark answers as a list of separate points, then compare them with the marking points in the scheme.

More IGCSE Biology resources

• IGCSE Biology past papers (Cambridge and Edexcel, all years)
• IGCSE past papers 2026: all subjects

🔍 Looking for a specific past paper? Use our free Past Paper Finder to search by subject, year and exam board.

Need help with a 0610 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE Biology tutor →

Frequently asked questions

Are the 0610 May/June 2026 past papers free? +

Yes. All six question papers (0610/12 to 0610/62) and their official mark schemes are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

What topics came up in 0610 Paper 4 May/June 2026? +

Paper 4 (0610/42) had six questions: transpiration and wind speed, sustainable fish farming and conservation (the largest question, 23 marks), the male reproductive system and meiosis, blood glucose control and diabetes, osmosis in onion cells and mineral uptake by roots, and a heart-lung machine question on heart structure and double circulation.

Were Paper 5 and Paper 6 the same in May/June 2026? +

They used the same contexts: estimating vitamin C with iodine solution and starch, drying kiwi fruit, drawing beans in a pod with a magnification calculation, bean germination and a catalase planning question. Paper 5 has you do the practical; Paper 6 gives you the results to analyse.

Why can't I find 0610/41 or 0610/43 for 2026? +

Only variant 2 of the May/June 2026 papers is on the portal at the moment. Cambridge sets different variants for different time zones; variants 1 and 3 test the same syllabus in the same format, so variant 2 prepares you just as well.

How are the 6-mark questions in 0610 marked? +

They are points-based. The mark scheme lists many creditable points (17 specific points plus any other valid point for the endangered-species question on Paper 4) and you get one mark per correct, relevant point up to six. There is no level-of-response grid, so six precise, separate points beat one long general paragraph.

When will the October/November 2026 0610 papers be available? +

Cambridge usually releases the October/November papers in the new year. We add them to the Learning Portal once they are published.

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