2 (a) (i) List the chemical elements in a carbohydrate. … [1] (ii) State the name of one chemical element that is found in a protein but is not found in a carbohydrate. … [1] (b) Fig. 2.1 shows a variegated leaf which uses photosynthesis to make carbohydrates. A variegated leaf has green parts that contain chlorophyll and white parts that do not contain chlorophyll. white green Fig. 2.1 (i) State the word equation for photosynthesis. … [2] (ii) The carbohydrate produced by photosynthesis can be stored as starch in the leaf. A plant with variegated leaves used up its store of starch because it was placed in the dark. Explain why the plant used up its store of starch when it was placed in the dark. … … … … … [2] (iii) The plant with variegated leaves was then left in a warm, sunny place. After a few days, a leaf from this plant was removed and tested for starch. Predict the results of the starch test by placing ticks (3) in Table 2.1. Table 2.1 part of leaf starch present starch absent green white [1] (iv) State the name of the mineral ion that is needed to make chlorophyll. … [1] (c) Starch is a large molecule. The boxes on the left show the names of some other large molecules. The boxes on the right show some sentence endings. Draw five lines to make five correct sentences. large molecule sentence endings Cellulose is made from amino acids. DNA is made from fatty acids and glycerol. Glycogen is made from glucose. Oil is the genetic material. Protein [5] [Total: 13]

2(a)(i) carbon, hydrogen, oxygen ; 1 2(a)(ii) nitrogen ; 1 2(b)(i) carbon dioxide + water ; glucose + oxygen ; 2 2(b)(ii) any two from: no photosynthesis in the dark / light required, for photosynthesis / to make glucose / AW ; starch converted to glucose / AW ; (starch / glucose,) used, for respiration OR as a source of energy / AW ; 2 2(b)(iii) ; part of leaf starch present starch absent green  white  1 2(b)(iv) magnesium ; 1 2(c) ;;;;; large molecule sentence endings Cellulose is made from amino acids. DNA is made from fatty acids and glycerol. Glycogen is made from glucose. Oil is the genetic material. Protein 5 one mark for each correct line R each additional line To earn marks, you must list 'carbon, hydrogen, oxygen' for carbohydrates and 'nitrogen' for protein. For photosynthesis, you need to provide the correct word equation: 'carbon dioxide + water -> glucose + oxygen'. To explain starch use in the dark, you must state that no photosynthesis occurs, starch is converted to glucose, and this glucose is used for respiration or energy. For the table, you must correctly indicate starch present in the green part and absent in the white part. Finally, you must identify 'magnesium' as the element needed for chlorophyll and correctly match all five large molecules to their descriptions.

2 (a) (i) State the name of the process that occurs in the presence of chlorophyll. … [1] (ii) State the name of the mineral ion the plant needs to make chlorophyll. … [1] (iii) State the name of the structure that contains chlorophyll in a plant cell. … [1] (b) Fig. 2.1 shows a diagram of a cross-section of a leaf. A B C D Fig. 2.1 (i) State the letter that identifies the part of the leaf that contains the most chlorophyll in Fig. 2.1. … [1] (ii) State the name of the tissue in the leaf that does not contain chlorophyll. … [1] [Total: 5]

2(a)(i) photosynthesis ; 1 2(a)(ii) magnesium ; 1 2(a)(iii) chloroplast ; 1 2(b)(i) B ; 1 2(b)(ii) (upper) epidermis ; 1 To earn marks, you must state the correct biological term for each process, mineral ion, or structure, and correctly identify the letter corresponding to the part of the leaf with the most chlorophyll, and the name of the tissue without chlorophyll.

3 All living organisms need water. Most plants obtain water from the soil. (a) (i) State the pathway taken by water as it enters and passes through a plant. Use words from the list to fill in the spaces. mesophyll cells root cortex cells root hair cells xylem vessels enters … à … à … à … [2] (ii) Some of the water that enters the plant is used for transpiration. Define the term transpiration. … … … … … [3] (iii) State two ways a plant uses water other than for transpiration. 1 … … 2 … … [2] (b) Fig. 3.1 shows apparatus that can be used to measure water loss in a plant. thermometer 325.0 g plant plastic bag pot of damp soil balance Fig. 3.1 Suggest a reason why the pot of damp soil was placed inside a sealed plastic bag. … … … [1] (c) The apparatus shown in Fig. 3.1 was used in an investigation. The results of this investigation are shown in Fig. 3.2. Readings were taken at hourly intervals during the day between 9:00 and 16:00. 9:00 0.5 0.0 1.0 1.5 rate of water loss from 100 g of leaves / g per hour 2.0 20 15 25 30 temperature / °C 35 10:00 11:00 12:00 time of day 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 temperature water loss temperature water loss Fig. 3.2 (i) Use the information in Fig. 3.2 to state: the maximum rate of water loss from 100 g of leaves … g per hour the time at which the temperature was highest … the maximum temperature reached during the investigation … °C [3] (ii) Describe the relationship between temperature and the rate of water loss from leaves shown in Fig. 3.2. … … … … … … … [3] [Total: 14]

3(a)(i) root hair cells → root cortex cells ; → xylem vessels → mesophyll cells ; 2 3(a)(ii) loss of water vapour (from plant leaves) ; by evaporation of water from the surface of (mesophyll) cells ; (followed by) diffusion through the stomata ; 3 3(a)(iii) any 2 from: for support ; in photosynthesis / to make sugar ; for transport ; chemical reactions take place in solution / solvent ; 2 3(b) idea that the reading on the balance only shows the water lost from leaves (because bag prevents water loss from the soil) / AW ; 1 3(c)(i) 1.35 (g per hour) ; 13:30 ; 31 (°C) ; 3 A 1.30 – 1.40 A 13:12 – 13:54 A 30.5 – 31.5 3(c)(ii) any 3 from: both temperature and water loss increase and decrease ; water loss decreases before temperature decreases / temperature peaks after water loss peak / temperature continues to rise after water loss peaks / AW ; both increase for first three hours ; comparative data quote with units ; 3 To earn marks, you must correctly sequence the pathway of water through the plant, define transpiration by describing the loss of water vapor from leaves via evaporation and diffusion through stomata, and state two other valid uses of water by a plant.

3 (a) Fig. 3.1 shows a diagram of a cross‑section through a leaf. F D E Fig. 3.1 (i) State the name of the tissues labelled D and E. D … E … [2] (ii) State the name of the cell structure labelled F. … [1] (b) Plant cells photosynthesise. State the word equation for photosynthesis. … [2] (c) A student investigated the effect of light on the rate of photosynthesis. Fig. 3.2 shows the apparatus used. lamp ruler to measure the distance of the light source from the plant gas bubble water aquatic plant Fig. 3.2 A lamp was used as the only source of light. The lamp was placed 10 cm from the aquatic plant. The number of bubbles the aquatic plant produced in three minutes was counted and the rate of photosynthesis was calculated. This method was repeated at 10 cm intervals. The results are shown in Table 3.1. Table 3.1 distance of the lamp from the aquatic plant / cm number of bubbles counted in three minutes rate of photosynthesis / bubbles per minute 10 87 29 20 87 29 30 75 40 48 16 50 24 8 (i) Use the information in Table 3.1 to calculate the rate of photosynthesis when the lamp was 30 cm from the aquatic plant. … bubbles per minute [1] (ii) State the two distances between which the rate of photosynthesis halved. … cm and … cm [1] (iii) State two distances which have the same rate of photosynthesis. … cm and … cm [1] (iv) Predict what would happen to the rate of photosynthesis if the lamp was switched off. Give a reason for your answer. prediction … … reason … … … [2] [Total: 10]

3(a)(i) D palisade (mesophyll) ; E spongy (mesophyll) ; 2 3(a)(ii) chloroplast ; 1 3(b) carbon dioxide + water → ; glucose + oxygen ; 2 3(c)(i) 25 (bubbles per minute) ; 1 3(c)(ii) 40 (cm) and 50 (cm) ; 1 3(c)(iii) 10 (cm) and 20 (cm) ; 1 3(c)(iv) prediction rate is zero / photosynthesis stops / no bubbles produced ; reason light is required for photosynthesis ; 2

4 In which part of a cell does photosynthesis take place? A vacuole B nucleus C chloroplast D cytoplasm

Answer: C To earn the mark, a student must correctly identify the chloroplast as the site of photosynthesis.

Cambridge IGCSE Biology · 0610

IGCSE Biology (0610) Plant nutrition past paper questions

These questions cover photosynthesis, the structure of the leaf, and the factors that limit the rate.

248 free questions from 2017–2021, each with its marking scheme. Open the full topical bank to filter by subtopic, paper, and year.

Plant nutrition in IGCSE Biology 0610 exams, 2020–2025

Across 2020–2025, Plant nutrition accounted for 295 questions worth 1,343 marks in Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) papers.

By year
Year	Questions	Marks
2020	35	133
2021	56	279
2022	57	228
2023	42	174
2024	56	327
2025	49	202

Most-tested subtopics

6.1 Photosynthesis928 marks
6.2 Leaf structure481 marks

Appears in

Paper 1 · 98 qs
Paper 2 · 112 qs
Paper 3 · 36 qs
Paper 4 · 27 qs
Paper 5 · 10 qs
Paper 6 · 12 qs

All most-tested Biology topics

2021 May/Jun · Paper 3 · Q2 · 13 marks
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2021 May/Jun · Paper 3 · Q2 · 5 marks
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2021 May/Jun · Paper 3 · Q3 · 14 marks
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2021 Oct/Nov · Paper 3 · Q3 · 10 marks
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2021 May/Jun · Paper 1 · Q4 · 1 mark
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Mark scheme — 2021 Paper 1 Q4
Answer: C
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