QCE Biology past exams 2020–2025, by year and topic

The rest of the syllabus

Question-level mapping for these areas is still being verified. Every official paper covering them is in the year table above.

• Unit 3 Topic 1: Biodiversity and populations — Measuring biodiversity (species richness, evenness, percentage cover/frequency, Simpson's diversity index) · Environmental factors limiting distribution and abundance of species · Biological classification and taxonomy (Linnaean hierarchy, molecular and morphological evidence)
• Unit 3 Topic 2: Functioning ecosystems and succession — Stratified sampling and field data collection to classify an ecosystem · Energy flow and transformation through trophic levels (biomass, energy pyramids) · Matter cycling through ecosystems (water, carbon, nitrogen cycles) · Ecological niche, keystone species and species interactions · Population dynamics — carrying capacity, growth rate, Lincoln Index (mark–recapture) · Ecological succession (primary and secondary)
• Unit 4 Topic 1: DNA, genes and the continuity of life — DNA structure, replication and the roles of DNA helicase/polymerase · Gene expression — transcription and translation · Mutation and its effects on protein structure/function · Meiosis, crossing over and genetic variation · Mendelian inheritance — monohybrid/dihybrid crosses, Punnett squares, codominance, incomplete dominance, sex linkage · Biotechnology — recombinant DNA, PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA profiling and sequencing
• Unit 4 Topic 2: Continuity of life on Earth — Evidence for evolution and the theory of evolution by natural selection · Microevolution — mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, Hardy-Weinberg principle · Macroevolution and patterns of diversification (divergent, convergent, parallel evolution, coevolution) · Speciation — modes (allopatric, sympatric, parapatric) and isolating mechanisms (geographic, reproductive, temporal) · Evidence for the origin and history of life on Earth (phylogenetics, fossil record, molecular clocks)