Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610/52 is the May/June 2026 Paper 5 (Practical Test), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour 15 minutes, is worth 40 marks and is sat by Core and Extended candidates whose school enters them for the practical rather than Paper 6. It had two questions: a 23-mark vitamin C practical with a graph, and a 17-mark question on beans that ended in a 6-mark planning task. This guide goes through the paper part by part and shows what the official mark scheme gave marks for. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all six 0610 papers from this series, see IGCSE Biology 0610 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

Paper 5 and Paper 6 share the same contexts this year. Question 2 asks the same parts on both, with the same mark scheme, and Question 1 uses the same vitamin C test and kiwi fruit data. If you sat one, the 0610/62 Alternative to Practical guide is the closest practice you can get.

0610/52 at a glance

Question	Topic	Marks	Main command word
1(a)	Vitamin C dilutions tested with starch and iodine solution: results table, variables, sources of error	10	Prepare, calculate
1(b)	Estimating vitamin C in drink D; Benedict’s test for reducing sugars	5	Complete, describe
1(c)	Graph of vitamin C in kiwi fruit against drying time	8	Plot, describe and explain
2(a)	Drawing three beans in a pod; magnification	7	Draw, calculate
2(b)	Variables in a bean germination experiment	4	Identify, suggest
2(c)	Planning a catalase investigation using beans of different ages	6	Plan
	Total	40

Question-by-question walkthrough

Question 1: vitamin C and kiwi fruit (23 marks)

You made three dilutions of a 0.6% vitamin C solution, added each to starch suspension, and dripped in iodine solution from a 5 cm³ syringe until the blue-black colour stayed. The more iodine needed, the more vitamin C in the sample.

• Concentration in V3 (1 mark): 4 cm³ of 0.6% solution in a total of 12 cm³ gives 0.2%.
• Results table (4 marks): one mark each for: a table with at least two columns and a header line; headings with units for the percentage concentration and for the volume of iodine solution remaining (or used) in cm³; all three concentrations and three volumes recorded to match the headings; and a sensible trend, with the lowest concentration leaving the largest volume of iodine solution in the syringe. Units in the data cells were rejected. You had to record to the nearest 0.1 cm³, and an empty syringe was recorded as 0.0.
• Volume added (1 mark): 5.0 minus the volume remaining, worked out correctly for all three test-tubes.
• Dependent variable (1 mark): the volume of iodine solution added (or remaining, or used).
• Why blue-black appeared (1 mark): starch is present, and iodine solution turns blue-black with starch.
• One error and an improvement (2 marks, as a matched pair): contamination, fixed by washing the syringe between tests; a hard-to-judge or overshot end-point, fixed by repeats, a colour standard or a white tile; uneven shaking, fixed by standardised shaking or a stirring rod; or running out of iodine solution, fixed by refilling the syringe or not limiting it to 5 cm³. “Not repeated” on its own was ignored as an error, although repeating was accepted as an improvement.
• Estimating vitamin C in drink D (2 marks): one mark for recording the volume remaining and calculating the volume added correctly, and one for a concentration that matches your own results. There is no single right number: it depends on your readings.
• More confidence in the estimate (1 mark): use smaller intervals of concentration, or use more than 5 cm³ of iodine solution.
• Testing for reducing sugars (2 marks): use Benedict’s solution and heat it.
• Plotting the kiwi fruit graph (4 marks): axes labelled with units (drying time / hours and vitamin C concentration / mg per 100 g); a linear scale using at least half the grid in both directions; all five points plotted to within half a small square; and a suitable line. A ruled dot-to-dot line or a smooth curve both count, but neither may extend beyond the first and last points, and thick or feathered lines were rejected.
• Describe and explain (2 marks): the concentration increases and then levels off; it rises because water is being lost, or levels off because the fruit has lost all the water it can.
• Reading the graph at 10 hours (2 marks): one mark for showing the reading line on your graph and one for a value that matches your own line to within half a small square. The table gives 185 at 8 hours and 230 at 12 hours, so a ruled line between them puts 10 hours roughly halfway.

Question 2: beans, germination and catalase (17 marks)

• Drawing the beans in the pod (4 marks): a single clear, unbroken outline; at least as large as the photograph; the gap between the top and middle beans smaller than the gap between the middle and bottom beans (touching was accepted); and the top bean touching or overlapping the edge of the pod. Shading, ruled lines, or a drawing that runs into the text were all rejected.
• Magnification (3 marks): line PQ measures 33 mm (32 to 34 mm accepted). With the bean’s actual length of 19 mm, 33 ÷ 19 = 1.74, which is ×1.7 to two significant figures; 34 mm gives ×1.8. One mark each for the measurement, the calculation and the rounding, with ecf. Writing mm on the magnification answer line was rejected, because magnification has no units.
• Independent variable (1 mark): temperature.
• A controlled variable (1 mark): the volume of water, the number of beans, or how often the beans were watered.
• Why so many beans (1 mark): to identify anomalies or reduce their effect, to get a representative sample, or in case some beans do not germinate. “To prevent anomalous results” was rejected, because more beans cannot stop an anomaly happening.
• Apparatus for 45 cm³ of water (1 mark): a measuring cylinder.
• Planning the catalase investigation (6 marks, any six of nine points):
  • at least two different ages of bean (the independent variable)
  • break up or blend the beans to extract the catalase
  • add them to hydrogen peroxide
  • a described or drawn way to collect the oxygen, such as a gas syringe or an upturned measuring cylinder over water
  • three controlled variables, one mark each, from: type of bean, collection time or volume, temperature, pH, mass or size of beans, volume of hydrogen peroxide and concentration of hydrogen peroxide
  • at least three trials
  • a relevant safety precaution, such as goggles or gloves

Where the marks are on 0610/52

• Recording and presenting data carried 12 marks: the results table (4), the graph (4) and the drawing (4). These follow fixed rules, so they are the most reliable marks on the paper.
• The command words: plan 6; prepare (the table) 4; plot 4; draw 4; calculate 4; identify 4 (including the error-and-improvement pair); complete 3; describe 3; state 2; describe and explain 2; estimate from the graph 2; explain 1; suggest 1. Together they make 40.
• The planning question is the single biggest part, at 6 marks. It is marked against a checklist, so a list that covers all nine points can score full marks even if it is not elegantly written.
• Calculations and values carried 7 marks: the 0.2% dilution, the volumes added, the drink D estimate and the magnification.
• Only 5 marks needed biology knowledge directly: the starch test, Benedict’s test and the drying explanation. The rest is practical skill.

How to self-mark 0610/52 with the mark scheme

1. Learn the abbreviations first. A semicolon separates marking points, a slash shows alternatives for the same point, A means accept, R means reject, I means ignore, ecf means error carried forward and AVP means any other valid point.
2. Check your table against each rule in turn. Count the columns, look for a header line, check that every heading has a unit after a slash, and make sure no unit appears in a data cell.
3. Check your graph with a ruler. Does the scale fill half the grid each way? Is every point within half a small square? Does the line stop at the first and last points?
4. Mark your drawing against the four points, especially the spacing of the beans and the top bean touching the pod. Shading costs the outline mark.
5. Tick the planning checklist. Count how many of the nine points your plan contains and stop at six. Three controlled variables are three separate marks.
6. Remember your own results are the reference for the drink D estimate and the 10-hour graph reading: mark them against your own data, not someone else’s.

Sit 0610/52 as a timed mock

The paper allows 75 minutes for 40 marks. Question 1 includes hands-on work, so it needs more time per mark than Question 2. A workable plan:

Block	Marks	Time
Question 1(a): draw the table, do the practical, answer the parts	10	27 minutes
Question 1(b): drink D and Benedict’s test	5	9 minutes
Question 1(c): graph and its questions	8	11 minutes
Question 2(a): drawing and magnification	7	10 minutes
Question 2(b): germination variables	4	5 minutes
Question 2(c): catalase plan	6	10 minutes
Check tables, units and the graph	–	3 minutes

The paper tells you to draw your results table before you start the practical, so do that first. If you can’t do the practical at home, sit 0610/62 instead: it uses the same investigations with the results supplied.

Other May/June 2026 0610 papers

• 0610 Paper 12 (Core Multiple Choice)
• 0610 Paper 22 (Extended Multiple Choice)
• 0610 Paper 32 (Core Theory)
• 0610 Paper 42 (Extended Theory)
• 0610 Paper 62 (Alternative to Practical)

Practise and download

• Download 0610/52 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 0610 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free IGCSE Biology quiz

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

Frequently asked questions

What practicals were on 0610 Paper 52 May/June 2026? +

Question 1 was estimating vitamin C with starch and iodine solution, comparing a drink with known dilutions, then a Benedict's test and a graph of vitamin C in drying kiwi fruit. Question 2 was drawing three beans in a pod, a magnification calculation, a germination experiment and a plan for a catalase investigation.

How many marks is 0610/52 and how long is it? +

It is out of 40 marks and lasts 1 hour 15 minutes. Question 1 is worth 23 marks and Question 2 is worth 17.

What was the magnification answer on 0610/52? +

Line PQ measures 33 mm (32 to 34 mm accepted) and the bean is 19 mm long, so the magnification is 33 ÷ 19 = ×1.7 to two significant figures. A 34 mm measurement gives ×1.8. Units on the answer line, such as mm, were rejected.

What did the catalase planning question on 0610/52 need? +

Up to six marks from nine points: at least two bean ages, extracting the catalase, adding hydrogen peroxide, a way of collecting the oxygen, three controlled variables, at least three trials and a safety precaution such as goggles or gloves.

Is 0610/52 the same as 0610/62? +

They share the same investigations, and Question 2 is the same on both. Paper 5 has you carry out the vitamin C practical and record your own results; Paper 6 gives you the readings from a diagram to analyse, and lasts 1 hour instead of 1 hour 15 minutes.

Where can I download 0610/52 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 past papers page.

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