Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Cambridge IGCSE™ / IGCSE (9–1)

Biology 0610 / 0970

For examination from 2023

Version 1
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Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4
Assessment at a glance ....................................................................................................... 5
Question 1 ........................................................................................................................... 6
Question 2 ......................................................................................................................... 10
Question 3 ......................................................................................................................... 14
Question 4 ......................................................................................................................... 19
Question 5 ......................................................................................................................... 22
Question 6 ......................................................................................................................... 25
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Introduction
The main aim of this booklet is to exemplify standards for those teaching Cambridge IGCSE / IGCSE (9-1)
Biology 0610 / 0970, and to show examples of very good answers.
In this booklet, we have provided answers for all questions with examiner comments where relevant. This
paper requires candidates to answer short-answer and structured questions and candidates are awarded
maximum of 80 marks for this paper and the mark scheme provides the answers required to gain the marks.
In some cases, the question and answer is followed by an examiner comment on the candidates answer.
Additionally, the examiner has set out a number of common mistakes that occur when candidates answer
the questions. In this way, it is possible to understand what candidates have done to gain their marks and
how they could improve their answers and avoid errors.
The mark schemes for the Specimen Papers are available to download from the School Support Hub at
www.cambridgeinternational.org./support

2023 Specimen Paper 4 Mark Scheme

Past exam resources and other teaching and learning resources are available on the School Support Hub
www.cambridgeinternational.org/support

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Assessment at a glance
The syllabus for Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 is available at www.cambridgeinternational.org
All candidates take three papers. Candidates who have studied the Core syllabus content, or who are
expected to achieve a grade D or below, should be entered for Paper 1, Paper 3 and either Paper 5 or Paper
6. These candidates will be eligible for grades C to G.
Candidates who have studied the Extended syllabus content (Core and Supplement), and who are expected
to achieve a grade C or above, should be entered for Paper 2, Paper 4 and either Paper 5 or Paper 6. These
candidates will be eligible for grades A* to G.

Core assessment
Core candidates take Paper 1 and Paper 3. The questions are based on the Core subject content only:
Paper 1: Multiple Choice (Core) Paper 3: Theory (Core)
45 minutes 1 hour 15 minutes
40 marks 30% 80 marks 50%
40 four-option multiple-choice questions Short-answer and structured questions
Externally assessed Externally assessed

Extended assessment
Extended candidates take Paper 2 and Paper 4. The questions are based on the Core and Supplement
subject content:
Paper 2: Multiple Choice (Extended) Paper 4: Theory (Extended)
45 minutes 1 hour 15 minutes
40 marks 30% 80 marks 50%
40 four-option multiple-choice questions Short-answer and structured questions
Externally assessed Externally assessed

Practical assessment

All candidates take one practical paper from a choice of two:

Paper 5: Practical Test Paper 6: Alternative to Practical

1 hour 15 minutes 1 hour
40 marks 20% 40 marks 20%
Questions will be based on the experimental Questions will be based on the experimental
skills in Section 4 skills in Section 4
Externally assessed Externally assessed
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 1
Question 1(a)(i)

They absorb digested nutrients, such as glucose, which goes into

the blood.

Mark awarded = 1 out of 1

Examiner comment
This is a recall question asking only for a brief statement.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 1(a)(ii)

It has a layer of cells on its surface that have microvilli on them which

increase their surface area so nutrients can be absorbed more quickly.

There are blood capillaries and a lacteal inside the villus, to absorb the

nutrients.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
The answer gets a mark for reference to the microvilli, another for the blood capillaries and a third mark for
the lacteal.

Common mistakes
The candidate has included unnecessary information in the answer which goes beyond describing the
structure. There is no credit for saying what the structures do. No marks are lost for this, but a little time has
been wasted that might be better spent on other answers.

Question 1(b)(i)

plasma

Mark awarded = 1 out of 1

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

Question 1(b)(ii)

assimilation
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Mark awarded = 1 out of 1

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

Question 1(b)(iii)

enzymes

haemoglobin

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
The candidate has remembered that amino acids are assembled to make proteins and has correctly named
two proteins that are found in cells.

Question 1(c)

The bacteria make a toxin that makes the cells in the small intestine push

chloride ions into it.

This makes the water potential in the small intestine lower, so water goes into

it by osmosis and the person loses a lot of water and is dehydrated.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Mark awarded = 4 out of 4

Examiner comment
A mark is awarded for the reference to the production of a toxin, another for the movement of chloride ions
from the cells into the small intestine, a third mark for the lowering of water potential and a fourth mark for the
reference to the consequent movement of water. The reference to osmosis would also have gained a mark if
the maximum had not already been reached.

Common mistakes
Candidates may not give a full enough answer to this question to gain all four marks. It is easy to forget
some of the important details such as referring to the lowering of water potential.
Total mark awarded = 12 out of 12
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 2
Question 2(a)

It is a chemical that is made by an endocrine gland, and goes into the blood

which takes it all over the body where it affects its target organs.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 2(b)(i)

170 – 72 = 98

(98 ÷ 72) x 100 = 136.11

136
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
The answer is correct.

Common mistakes
It is always a good idea to show working, because a wrong answer could still gain one or two marks if the
candidate has used the correct method but made a mistake somewhere – such as reading the wrong values
from the graph.

Question 2(b)(ii)

The blood glucose concentration goes up faster in A than B. They both

start going up 30 minutes after the drink, but B only goes up to 100 mg

per 100 cm3 and A goes up to 170 mg per 100 cm3 in the next 30

minutes. B doesn't go up any more after that, and just goes down slowly

but A keeps on going up until 180 minutes and then goes down much

faster than B.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
There is one mark for A increasing faster, one mark for A reaching a higher concentration than B and
another for the use of comparative figures with units. If the maximum had not already been reached, another
mark could be awarded for the idea that A reaches a peak later than B.

Common mistakes
Candidates often forget to include units when they quote comparative figures. Some candidates do not
always make comparisons and simply describe one line and then the other. This type of answer may not
achieve all the marks available.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 2(b)(iii)

Insulin from the pancreas makes the liver take up glucose from the blood

and turn it into glycogen.

It stores the glycogen so when the person hasn't got much glucose later on,

some of it can be turned back into glucose again.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 4

Examiner comment
A mark is awarded for insulin being made by the pancreas, another for insulin causing the liver to take up
glucose from the blood, and a third for the liver converting glucose to glycogen. There is no mention of
insulin being secreted in response to the increase in blood glucose concentration, which would have earned
a fourth mark.

Common mistakes
The second sentence of the candidate's response is correct biology, but it does not answer this particular
question.

Question 2(b)(iv)

The person has to inject insulin every day. They have to keep checking

their blood glucose levels and make sure they don't eat too much

carbohydrate at once.

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
This is a recall question. The candidate has given plenty of relevant detail in the answer.
Total mark awarded = 14 out of 15
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 3
Question 3(a)

The phagocyte is a white blood cell. It has a big nucleus with lobes.

Phagocytes take in bacteria and digest them.

The lymphocyte is also a white blood cell. It has a very big nucleus that almost

fills the cell. It makes antibodies to stick to pathogens and kill them.

The red blood cell doesn't have a nucleus at all. It contains haemoglobin, and it

transports oxygen.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Mark awarded = 6 out of 6

Examiner comment
The candidate has made two good, correct statements about each cell – one about its appearance and one
about its function.

Common mistakes
Questions worth six marks are best approached by planning the answer before beginning to write it. This one
has inbuilt structure, because the appearance and structure of three different cells need to be described. The
candidate has done this very efficiently.

Question 3(b)(i)

fibrinogen fibrin

Mark awarded = 1 out of 1

Examiner comment
This question requires the candidate to recognise that the empty boxes show the production of a substance
that forms a mesh at the site of the wound. They have correctly remembered this as fibrin and have shown
how it is produced.

Common mistakes
Candidates may confuse fibrin and fibrinogen.
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 3(b)(ii)

It stops bacteria getting into the body.

It stops blood leaking out of the body.

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

Question 3(c)(i)

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

XHXh

XhY

XHY

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
This is a challenging question and the candidate has done well to correctly identify all three genotypes and to
use the symbols provided in the bullet points to write them correctly.
Q and R are the easiest to identify as they are both male and therefore have only one allele each, which
matches their phenotype. P is female and so has two alleles. One must be H (as she has normal clotting
time) and one must be h (as she has a son with haemophilia).

Common mistakes
Candidates easily get confused with sex linkage. For example, they may show an allele on the Y
chromosome when they write genotypes, or not use X and Y at all (even though they are specifically shown
how to show the alleles in this question). They may also have difficulty in determining the genotypes from the
pedigree diagram, particularly for person P.

Question 3(c)(ii)

XH Xh

Xh XH Xh Xh Xh

S is XHXh Y XH Y XhY

T is XhY this one has

haemophilia
one in four or a 0.25 chance

Mark awarded = 1 out of 1

Examiner comment
The candidate might have been able to do this question by recalling the results of this type of cross, but they
have instead carefully drawn a Punnett square to work out the possible genotypes. Although this is an
excellent approach to help the candidate find the right answer to this question, there is no credit for doing
this. The mark is awarded for the answer of 0.25.

Common mistakes
This is not an easy question and candidates who guess the answer are unlikely to get it right. Most will not
take the trouble to draw a careful Punnett square to find the answer. Some will not state a probability and
may give a ratio instead.
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 3(c)(iii)

It is a characteristic where the man is more likely to get it than a woman,

because the gene is on the X chromosome and not on the Y chromosome.

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
This is a clear and correct description. A mark is awarded for the characteristic being more common in one
sex than the other and a second mark for saying that the gene is on a sex chromosome.

Common mistakes
Candidates may give only one idea here, perhaps repeating it rather than thinking of a second, different
statement to make.
Total mark awarded = 15 out of 15

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 4
Question 4(a)

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

Common mistakes
Candidates may confuse the aerobic respiration equation with the photosynthesis equation.

Question 4(b)
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

sugar beet

It grows best at 18 0C and in rainfall up to 1000 mm. It has

a higher yield per hectare than corn.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
This is a question that needs time taken to absorb all the information and then to focus on exactly what the
question is asking. The candidate has decided that sugar beet shows the best combination of attributes and
has given brief and well-focused reasons for this choice.

Common mistakes
It can be tricky to decide how to deal with all the unfamiliar information in a table such as Table 4.1. This
must not be rushed. It can help to mark up relevant parts of it. For example, the candidate could cross out oil
palm as this produces oil and not ethanol. Looking at the next column, sugarcane produces the highest yield
of energy, but this is ruled out when you look at the next column as its optimum temperature is too high.

Question 4(c)

This means there is lower humidity so transpiration rate increases. So more

water is pulled up through the xylem in the transpiration stream.

Mark awarded = 2 out of 3

Examiner comment
One mark is given for saying that transpiration rate increases and another for an increase in movement of
water through the xylem.

Common mistakes
There are two command words in this question – describe and explain. This should signal to the candidate
that a full answer is required, including statements not only about what happens, but also why and how.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 4(d)

Cuttings are vegetative propagation, which is asexual reproduction. All the

cuttings will grow into plants that are exactly like the parent plant, so the

grower gets sugarcane plants that are the kind that he was growing before.

Mark awarded = 2 out of 3

Examiner comment
A mark is awarded for the statement that this is asexual reproduction and the answer also gets a mark for
stating that the new plants will be like the parent plants. However, there is no reference to genetic variation,
nor any reason why it might be advantageous to the grower to have new plants that are the same as the
parent.

Common mistakes
As in the previous answer, this candidate has not quite done enough to get all the marks available. This is
the kind of answer where it would be a good idea to read it through again towards the end of the examination
and ask: is there anything else I can add that is relevant, and shows that I really know about this?
Total mark awarded = 9 out of 11
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 5
Question 5(a)(i)

scaly skin

lay eggs with soft shells

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

Question 5(a)(ii)

chloroplasts

cell walls

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 5(b)(i)

mouth

small intestine

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.

Common mistakes
Candidates may find it difficult to move their thoughts from one section of the syllabus (classification) to
another (cell structure) and then yet another (digestive system) which can result in incorrect or incomplete
answers.

Question 5(b)(ii)

The shape of the active site needs to be complementary to the shape of the

substrate so they can join together and make an enzyme-substrate complex.

Then the enzyme can change the substrate into products.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
The candidate correctly refers to the active site, explains that it is complementary to the substrate and refers
to an enzyme-substrate complex. One mark is given for each of these ideas. Good use has been made of
relevant technical terms.

Common mistakes
Candidates may say that the enzyme and substrate are the 'same' shape, which is incorrect.
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 5(c)

You can use captive breeding, so a zoo can help the animals breed together

and have young ones.

You can make a seed bank, where you keep seeds of lots of different kinds of

plants, so you can grow new ones if you need to.

You can educate everyone so they understand why they ought to conserve

things and how to do it.

You can look after their habitat so you can plant seeds back into it if the

plant goes extinct in the wild.

Mark awarded = 5 out of 5

Examiner comment
This answer includes reference to four different methods, with a brief description of each one. Each method
is awarded a mark and there are also marks for descriptions such as captive breeding being undertaken in
zoos.

Common mistakes
Planning is important for answers such as this. A list of methods, perhaps jotted down on a blank space in
the paper, can be used as a framework when writing the answer. If this is not done, there is a tendency to
think of only one or two ideas and keep on repeating the same ones in different words.
Total mark awarded = 14 out of 14

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 6
Question 6(a)

algae

mysid shrimp

blenny

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
The candidate has shown that they understand the three terms in the first column of the table and has
correctly applied them to the unfamiliar food web.

Common mistakes
The term secondary consumer is sometimes wrongly used to identify a primary consumer (because this is
the second organism in the food chain).
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 6(b)(i)

nitrifying

bacteria

Mark awarded = 2 out of 2

Examiner comment
The first term should really be nitrification, but there is no mistaking the candidate's meaning, so both marks
are given.

Common mistakes
The nitrogen cycle is often not well-known and some candidates will wrongly name this process as nitrogen
fixation.

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 Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 6(b)(ii)

They go into root hair by active transport. The cell has to use energy

to make them go up their concentration gradient.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
This is a recall question. The candidate has provided enough detail for three marks – one for reference to
root hairs, another for active transport, another for the use of energy provided by the cell to move up a
concentration gradient. They are therefore awarded the maximum available three marks.

Common mistakes
Errors are often made in describing the concentration gradient. Candidates may say that the movement is
'along' it or 'across' it, rather than up or against the concentration gradient. This can happen if the term
'concentration gradient' is not understood. It is quite a difficult, abstract concept.

Question 6(b)(iii)

ribosome

Mark awarded = 1 out of 1

Examiner comment
This question requires recall of knowledge of the functions of cell structures, but within an unfamiliar context.

Question 6(b)(iv)

nitrogen fixation

Mark awarded = 1 out of 1

Examiner comment
This is a recall question.
Specimen Paper Answers – Paper 4

Question 6(c)

Energy is lost as it goes along a food chain, until there is almost none left at

the end so not many organisms can survive.

The energy is lost when an organism respires, and also because the organisms

at one level don't eat every organism at the level underneath them.

Mark awarded = 3 out of 3

Examiner comment
This question requires the candidate to use their knowledge of energy losses along food chains in a new
context. The answer correctly identifies that energy losses are the cause of the situation described and then
goes on to state two ways in which energy is lost between trophic levels.

Common mistakes
Candidates sometimes miss the fundamental point about energy losses. They may, for example, suggest
that animals at the end of food chain are bigger and so there are fewer of them, or that big animals need to
eat a lot of smaller ones to survive. This is not always true and it is not a full explanation of the situation
described in the question.
Total mark awarded = 13 out of 13

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