Cambridge IGCSE™

BIOLOGY 0610/12
Paper 1 Multiple Choice (Core) February/March 2023
45 minutes

You must answer on the multiple choice answer sheet.

*4555753558*

You will need: Multiple choice answer sheet

Soft clean eraser
Soft pencil (type B or HB is recommended)

INSTRUCTIONS
 There are forty questions on this paper. Answer all questions.
 For each question there are four possible answers A, B, C and D. Choose the one you consider correct
and record your choice in soft pencil on the multiple choice answer sheet.
 Follow the instructions on the multiple choice answer sheet.
 Write in soft pencil.
 Write your name, centre number and candidate number on the multiple choice answer sheet in the
spaces provided unless this has been done for you.
 Do not use correction fluid.
 Do not write on any bar codes.
 You may use a calculator.

INFORMATION
 The total mark for this paper is 40.
 Each correct answer will score one mark.
 Any rough working should be done on this question paper.

This document has 16 pages.

IB23 03_0610_12/4RP
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1 Which row shows substances removed by excretion?

substances in
undigested waste products
excess of
food of metabolism
requirements

A    key
B     = yes
C     = no
D   

2 Which two parts are included in the scientific name of an organism?

A genus and group

B genus and species
C group and kingdom
D kingdom and species

3 How many jointed legs does an insect have?

A two pairs
B three pairs
C four pairs
D more than six pairs

4 The photomicrograph shows a cell from a type of aquatic plant.

R Q P

Which labelled parts indicate that this is a plant cell?

A P and R B P and S C Q and R D Q and S

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5 The diagram shows a magnified image of a cell. The magnification is 360. Line LM represents
the width of the image of the cell. Line LM is 18 mm long in this diagram.

L M

What is the actual width of the cell?

A 0.005 mm B 0.05 mm C 0.5 mm D 5.0 mm

6 Which factor would decrease the rate of diffusion of oxygen into cells?

A increasing concentration gradient

B increasing surface area
C increasing temperature
D increasing thickness of cell membrane

7 Which molecule crosses a partially permeable membrane during osmosis?

A carbon dioxide
B oxygen
C urea
D water

8 The diagrams show the movement of particles across a membrane. The arrows show the
direction of movement.

Which diagram shows active transport?

A B C D

using energy not using energy using energy not using energy
from respiration from respiration from respiration from respiration

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9 Which substance is used to test a food for vitamin C?

A Benedict’s solution
B DCPIP
C ethanol
D iodine solution

10 What are enzymes made of?

A fatty acids
B glycogen
C protein
D starch

11 What remains at the end of an enzyme-controlled reaction?

A enzymes and products

B enzymes and substrates
C enzymes only
D products only

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12 A plant is placed in the dark until all its stored starch is used up. The plant is placed in light with
black paper over part of one green leaf.

black paper over

both sides of the leaf

hole cut in the paper

After eight hours, the leaf is tested for starch.

Which diagram shows the appearance of the leaf after this test?

A B

key

= starch
present
C D
= starch not
present

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13 The diagram shows part of a cross-section of a leaf.

Which row shows the correct labels?

R S T

A cuticle palisade mesophyll spongy mesophyll

B cuticle spongy mesophyll palisade mesophyll
C epidermis palisade mesophyll spongy mesophyll
D epidermis spongy mesophyll palisade mesophyll

14 The diagrams show the different types of human teeth.

1 2 3 4

Which teeth are used for grinding food?

1 2 3 4

A     key
B      = yes
C      = no
D    

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15 Which row shows the correct names of parts of the large and small intestines?

large intestine small intestine

A colon duodenum ileum rectum

B rectum colon duodenum ileum
C ileum rectum colon duodenum
D duodenum ileum rectum colon

16 The diagram shows the apparatus used in an experiment. The apparatus was kept at 35 C.

tubing containing
starch, protease, test-tube
protein and simple
sugars
distilled water surrounding
the membrane

membrane permeable
to small molecules only

What is likely to be present in the water surrounding the membrane after 45 minutes?

A amino acids and simple sugars

B protein and amino acids
C protein and simple sugars
D starch and simple sugars

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17 The arrows show the movement of substances from the soil into a root hair cell.

Which substances move from the soil into the root hair cell?

A carbon dioxide and oxygen

B glucose and water
C mineral ions and glucose
D water and mineral ions

18 By which process does water escape from stomata in the leaves?

A active transport
B diffusion
C evaporation
D osmosis

19 Which row about the circulatory system is correct?

part that pumps blood part with valves

A heart heart and veins

B heart and blood vessels all blood vessels
C capillaries heart
D heart capillaries and arteries

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20 Which structures may become blocked in coronary heart disease?

A arteries
B atria
C veins
D ventricles

21 What is defined as a disease-causing organism?

A bacterium
B pathogen
C phagocyte
D virus

22 A student investigated the effect of temperature on respiration in yeast.

The diagram shows the apparatus they used.

yeast suspension
and nutrients indicator turned
from clear to cloudy

Which substance turned the indicator from clear to cloudy?

A carbon dioxide
B glucose
C oxygen
D water

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23 The apparatus shown was used to investigate aerobic respiration in seeds.

The apparatus was placed in a dark room.

wire mesh ruler

coloured liquid
seeds soaked chemical which
in water absorbs the gas
produced by
the seeds

All environmental conditions were kept constant.

What will happen in the apparatus?

gas absorbed direction of

gas taken in
by the chemical movement of the
by the seeds
in the wire mesh coloured liquid

A carbon dioxide oxygen towards the seeds

B carbon dioxide oxygen away from the seeds
C oxygen carbon dioxide towards the seeds
D oxygen carbon dioxide away from the seeds

24 Why is yeast used in bread-making?

A Aerobic respiration produces alcohol.

B Aerobic respiration produces lactic acid.
C Anaerobic respiration produces alcohol.
D Anaerobic respiration produces carbon dioxide.

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25 In the diagram, which label identifies the urethra?

A
B

26 The diagram shows a reflex arc.

Which label identifies the motor neurone?

finger pricked
by pin
D

A
C
B

27 What is the role of insulin?

A It decreases blood glucose concentration.

B It increases blood glucose concentration.
C It decreases blood sucrose concentration.
D It increases blood glycogen concentration.

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28 The diagram shows a seedling growing inside a dark box.

dark box

shoot

root

Which type of responses affect the direction of growth of the root and the shoot inside the box?

response response
by the root by the shoot

A gravitropism gravitropism
B gravitropism phototropism
C phototropism gravitropism
D phototropism phototropism

29 Which row shows why only some infections can be successfully treated with antibiotics?

antibiotics kill
resistant
bacteria viruses
bacteria

A yes yes no
B no no yes
C yes no no
D no yes yes

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30 The diagram shows part of a flower.

What is the part labelled X?

A anther
B ovary
C sepal
D stigma

31 Which statement about the hormones involved in human puberty is correct?

A Oestrogen causes body hair and facial hair to grow in males.

B Oestrogen causes breasts to develop in females.
C Testosterone causes the menstrual cycle to begin in females.
D Testosterone causes the hips to get wider in males.

32 The diagram shows the human female reproductive system.

In which structure does fertilisation usually occur?

B
C

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33 In mice, the allele for black hair is dominant to the allele for brown hair.

Which proportion of offspring will have brown hair if a cross is made between a homozygous
black mouse and a heterozygous black mouse?

A 0% B 25% C 50% D 100%

34 Which row about variation is correct?

variation type caused by example

A discontinuous environment only ABO blood groups

B discontinuous genes and environment body mass
C continuous genes only ABO blood groups
D continuous genes and environment body mass

35 Humans have kept sheep for many centuries because they supply us with wool.

The flow chart shows how a farmer would breed his sheep to provide more wool.

sheep providing
most wool identified

offspring providing only sheep with most

most wool identified wool allowed to breed

next generation born

Which process is described by this flow chart?

A natural selection
B selective breeding
C struggle for survival
D genetic modification

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36 The numbers in the diagram show the amount of energy transferred through part of an
ecosystem.

sunlight

88 000 kJ
73 000 kJ
plants energy lost

15 000 kJ
13 200 kJ
herbivores energy lost

carnivores energy lost

How much energy is transferred from herbivores to carnivores?

A 15 000 kJ + 13 200 kJ
B 15 000 kJ – 13 200 kJ
C 88 000 kJ + 15 000 kJ
D 88 000 kJ – 15 000 kJ

37 The diagram shows a food web in a rainforest.

anaconda jaguar

tree frog

tamarin howler
insects sloth
monkey monkey

plants

How many trophic levels are shown in this food web?

A 1 B 3 C 4 D 8

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38 The diagram shows the carbon cycle.

carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere
1 4

carbon compounds carbon compounds

2 3
in fossil fuels in animals

6 5
carbon compounds
in plants

Which labelled processes represent respiration?

A 1 and 4 B 1 and 5 C 2 and 4 D 3 and 6

39 Vitamin A deficiency is a big health problem in some parts of the world and can cause problems
such as blindness. Rice can be genetically modified to enable people to make vitamin A when
they eat it.

150 g of this rice provides 60% of the adult recommended daily intake of vitamin A.

How much rice does an adult need to get 100% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A?

A 190 g B 210 g C 250 g D 375 g

40 Which feature of bacteria makes them useful in genetic modification?

A They can only make simple molecules.

B They can reproduce rapidly.
C They can cause decomposition.
D They can cause disease.

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Assessment International Education Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations and is freely available to download
at www.cambridgeinternational.org after the live examination series.

Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of Cambridge Assessment. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge
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© UCLES 2023 0610/12/F/M/23