Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) Flashcards
685 free flashcards covering every syllabus topic of Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) — 158 key definitions, 288 core concepts, and 1 examiner-flagged study tip across 61 topics. Each card uses a built-in spaced-repetition algorithm to schedule your reviews automatically.
Why flashcards work for IGCSE Biology
Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 is one of the most vocabulary-dense IGCSE subjects on offer. Terms like respiration, homeostasis, diffusion, and active transport appear in dozens of marking points across Papers 2, 3, 4, and 6.
Cambridge mark schemes for Biology consistently reward word-for-word accuracy: "the movement of water molecules from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential through a partially permeable membrane" earns the mark; a paraphrase often does not. Active recall through flashcards is the most efficient way to lock in this specific phrasing.
Top mark-loser this 0610 deck targets: mixing up similar terms — e.g. "diffusion" vs "osmosis" vs "active transport" all describe movement, but only one applies to each scenario in a marking grid.
How spaced repetition keeps this deck out of your blind spots
Every card uses an SM-2 spaced-repetition schedule (the same algorithm Anki uses). After flipping a card you rate your recall — and the algorithm reschedules each card individually, so your study time concentrates on what you actually struggle with rather than what you already know. After about three successful Easy reviews and a 21-day-or-longer interval, a card is tagged mastered. Progress lives in your browser only — no account, no signup, no data sent anywhere.
Your progress
Unit 1: Characteristics and classification of living organisms
The seven life processes (Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, Nutrition — MRSGREN), the binomial naming system, dichotomous classification keys, and the features used to assign organisms to the five kingdoms. Examiners want all seven life processes named precisely. Dichotomous key construction is heavily tested and a frequent drop of marks because candidates miss the requirement for binary opposites at every branch.
Unit 2: Organisation of the organism
Cell structure underpins almost everything else in IGCSE Biology — the differences between animal, plant, prokaryote, and fungal cells appear in nearly every paper. You'll also work through the hierarchical levels of organisation (cell → tissue → organ → organ system → organism) and learn to estimate specimen size from microscope drawings using magnification = image size ÷ actual size. Mark schemes are strict about precise organelle naming and function pairings, particularly for mitochondria, chloroplasts, and ribosomes.
Unit 3: Movement into and out of cells
Diffusion, osmosis down a water-potential gradient, and active transport. The three definitions are pure recall — examiners want each precisely worded, including phrases like "from a region of higher to lower concentration" and "against a concentration gradient using energy from respiration". A 6-mark Paper 4 question often compares the three side-by-side; candidates who blur the energy requirement (passive vs active) lose 2-3 marks.
Unit 4: Biological molecules
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, plus the role of water in living organisms. Test reagents are heavily tested — Benedict's for reducing sugars (blue → orange/red on heating), iodine for starch (orange/brown → blue-black), biuret for proteins (blue → purple), and the emulsion test for lipids. Colour-change wording is exam-marker-strict; "darker" loses the mark where "blue-black" earns it.
Unit 5: Enzymes
Active site, the lock-and-key model, and the effect of temperature and pH on enzyme activity. Graphs of rate vs temperature and rate vs pH appear in every recent Paper 4 — examiners want both the optimum identified and a clear explanation of denaturation above the optimum ("active site changes shape", "substrate no longer fits"). Saying "the enzyme dies" or "stops working" without the mechanism loses marks.
Unit 6: Plant nutrition
Photosynthesis (the word and balanced symbol equations), leaf structure, and the role of mineral ions — nitrate for amino acids, magnesium for chlorophyll. Limiting-factor experiments are a Paper 6 staple; examiners want named variables (light intensity, CO₂ concentration, temperature) and the principle that the lowest factor limits the rate. Confusing plant respiration with photosynthesis is a recurring marks-loser across multiple units.
Unit 7: Human nutrition
Balanced diet (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, water, fibre — with sources for each), the digestive system, physical vs chemical digestion, and absorption of digested food. Naming digestive enzymes and matching them to substrates is a 4-mark Paper 4 standard — amylase, protease (pepsin / trypsin), lipase — with site of action and product specified. Villi adaptations for absorption are heavily tested as a separate 4-mark question.
Unit 8: Transport in plants
Xylem and phloem function, water uptake by roots, transpiration, and translocation of sugars. Transpiration questions hinge on the four environmental factors (temperature, humidity, light intensity, air movement) and their effects explained through the water-potential gradient — examiners want the mechanism, not just direction. Potometer experiments are a Paper 6 favourite.
Unit 9: Transport in animals
The mammalian circulatory system, structure and function of the heart, blood vessels (artery vs vein vs capillary), and the components of blood (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma). A frequent 6-mark Paper 4 question asks for a comparison of arteries and veins with adaptations linked to function — thick muscular walls, narrow lumen, no valves vs thin walls, wide lumen, valves. Pulmonary vs systemic circulation labels trip up most candidates.
Unit 10: Diseases and immunity
Communicable and non-communicable diseases, the body's defences against infection (skin, stomach acid, mucus, cilia), and active vs passive immunity. The antibody-antigen mechanism is heavily tested — examiners want "specific to the antigen" and "complementary shape" precisely. Vaccination questions are a 6-mark Paper 4 standard, with mechanism, memory cells, and herd immunity all mark-bearing.
Unit 11: Gas exchange in humans
The structure of the human respiratory system (trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli) and the mechanism of gas exchange in alveoli. Adaptations of alveoli are perennial: large surface area, walls one cell thick, moist lining, and rich capillary network. Confusing "breathing" (mechanical ventilation) with "gas exchange" (diffusion across alveolar walls) is a common 2-3 mark loss across the paper.
Unit 12: Respiration
Aerobic and anaerobic respiration in animals and yeast, oxygen debt, and the two word equations students must memorise verbatim. Mark schemes accept word equations or balanced symbol equations but penalise missing reactants. Oxygen debt is a frequent extended-tier topic — examiners want the explanation linking lactic acid build-up to subsequent oxygen demand for breakdown back to CO₂ and water.
Unit 13: Excretion in humans
Kidney structure (cortex, medulla, pelvis), nephron function, formation of urea, dialysis, and water-balance regulation through ADH. Kidney transplant vs dialysis comparison is a recurring 6-mark Paper 4 question — examiners want pros and cons of each (transplant: long-term, risk of rejection; dialysis: regular sessions, no rejection but lifelong commitment). Nephron diagram-labelling is heavily marked.
Unit 14: Coordination and response
Nervous system (CNS, PNS, reflex arc with named neurones: sensory, relay, motor), sense organs (the eye in detail), endocrine hormones, homeostasis (temperature and blood-glucose regulation), and tropic responses in plants. The reflex arc is a guaranteed 4-6 mark Paper 4 question with named neurones, synapses, and the direction of the impulse. Insulin and glucagon roles are a separate exam staple — confusing the two costs 2-3 marks.
Unit 15: Drugs
Medicinal drugs (antibiotics affect only bacteria, not viruses), recreational drugs, antibiotic resistance, and the effects of alcohol, tobacco (tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide), and heroin on the body. Why antibiotics don't work on viruses is a recurring 2-mark question — examiners want "viruses lack the structures antibiotics target" or "viruses use the host cell's own machinery". Antibiotic-resistance evolution is a Paper 4 favourite, linked back to natural selection in unit 18.
Unit 16: Reproduction
Asexual vs sexual reproduction in plants and animals, flowering-plant reproduction (insect- vs wind-pollinated comparisons), human reproductive systems (male and female anatomy with functions), contraception methods, and sexually transmitted infections (HIV/AIDS in detail). Insect vs wind pollination comparison is a textbook 4-mark question — examiners want paired features (large coloured petals vs small dull, nectar vs no nectar, sticky stigma vs feathery, etc.).
Unit 17: Inheritance
Chromosomes, genes, and proteins, mitosis vs meiosis, monohybrid inheritance with Punnett squares, sex determination (XX vs XY), and pedigree diagrams. Punnett-square questions are heavily marked — examiners want gametes correctly identified, the square completed accurately, the ratio stated AND the phenotypes named. Co-dominance (blood groups, sickle-cell trait) is a higher-difficulty Paper 4 extension.
Unit 18: Variation and selection
Continuous vs discontinuous variation, adaptive features of organisms, and natural and artificial selection (Darwin's mechanism, peppered moths, antibiotic resistance). Natural selection's four steps — variation, selection pressure, differential survival, reproduction passing on favourable alleles — are a perennial 6-mark Paper 4 question. Missing any step loses the mark, and "evolution" without the mechanism is heavily penalised.
Unit 19: Organisms and their environment
Energy flow through ecosystems, food chains and webs, nutrient cycles (carbon and water), and population growth (the four-phase curve: lag, log, stationary, death). Pyramid of numbers vs biomass vs energy each need separate identification; examiners want the explanation for inverted pyramids of numbers (e.g. one oak tree supporting many insects). The carbon cycle's roles for respiration, photosynthesis, combustion, and decomposition are heavily marked.
Unit 20: Human influences on ecosystems
Food supply (monoculture, intensive farming), habitat destruction (deforestation), pollution (eutrophication, plastics), climate change, and conservation strategies (captive breeding, seed banks, national parks). Eutrophication's full mechanism — fertiliser runoff → algal bloom → light blocked → plants die → bacteria decompose → O₂ depleted → fish die — is a textbook 6-mark Paper 4 chain. Skipping a step loses the mark.
Unit 21: Biotechnology and genetic modification
Yeast (anaerobic respiration in bread and brewing), penicillin production, biofuel manufacture, genetic modification of crops (Bt cotton, golden rice), PCR, and gel electrophoresis. GM-crops questions are evaluative — examiners want both pros (higher yield, pest resistance) and cons (cross-contamination, dependency on patents) with at least one of each scoring marks. The GM-bacteria insulin story is a perennial 6-mark Paper 4 question.
Pair flashcards with notes and papers
Flashcards are a recall tool, not a complete study system. Use them alongside these free resources for IGCSE 0610.
Past papers
Question papers, mark schemes, and examiner reports for 0610 sessions.
Revision notes
Topic-by-topic explanations mapped to the 0610 syllabus — read after flashcard recall fails.
Practice quizzes
MCQ practice from past papers, organised by topic. Test recall in exam format.
IGCSE Biology flashcards — FAQ
How many IGCSE Biology flashcards are on LumiExams?
In what order should I study these 0610 flashcards?
What does it mean when a card is "mastered"?
Are flashcards enough on their own to pass IGCSE Biology?
How are these different from Quizlet or Anki Biology decks?
How long should I spend per flashcard?
Other Cambridge IGCSE flashcard decks
Browse flashcards for the other IGCSE subjects we cover. Each deck is built to the same Cambridge syllabus structure.