1 (a) The boxes on the left show characteristics of living organisms. The boxes on the right show some definitions of characteristics. Draw one straight line from each characteristic to its correct definition. characteristic definition excretion sensitivity nutrition responding to change removing waste from the body permanent increase in size taking in materials for energy [3] (b) Respiration is another characteristic of living organisms. Aerobic respiration needs oxygen. Complete these sentences to describe how oxygen from the air gets into the blood of a human. As we breathe in, air passes from our bronchioles into the … of the lungs. The oxygen in this air then moves into red blood cells by the process of … . [2] (c) Organisms are made up of cells. Fig. 1.1 is a photomicrograph of an animal cell. X Fig. 1.1 (i) Identify the part labelled X in Fig. 1.1. … [1] (ii) State two pieces of evidence from the cell in Fig. 1.1 that show it is not a plant cell. 1 … 2 … [2] [Total: 8]

1(a) responding to change excretion removing waste from the body nutrition permanent increases in size sensitivity taking in materials for energy ;;; 3 1(b) alveoli ; diffusion ; 2 1(c)(i) nucleus ; 1 1(c)(ii) any two from: no cell wall ; no chloroplasts ; no (large) vacuole ; 2 (a) To earn marks, you must draw a straight line from each characteristic on the left to its correct definition on the right. (b) You need to correctly identify 'alveoli' as the structure air passes into and 'diffusion' as the process by which oxygen moves into red blood cells. (c)(i) You must correctly identify the labelled part X as the 'nucleus'. (c)(ii) You need to state two distinct features that are absent in the animal cell shown but present in a plant cell, such as no cell wall, no chloroplasts, or no large vacuole.

1 (a) A blue dye is dissolved in water to make a blue liquid. Fig. 1.1 shows a cut plant stem in a beaker of the blue liquid. leaves plant stem blue liquid Fig. 1.1 The plant stem is left in the blue liquid for 24 hours. (i) Complete the sentences to explain why the leaves turn blue. Choose words from the list. Each word may be used once, more than once or not at all. cortex mesophyll phloem root hair stomata xylem The blue liquid moves up the plant stem in vessels called … . In the leaves, the blue liquid moves out of the vessels into … cells. Water in the blue liquid then diffuses out of the … into the air. [3] (ii) Fig. 1.2 shows the cross-section of the plant stem from Fig. 1.1. A B C D Fig. 1.2 The blue liquid only stains the transport vessels in the stem blue. Identify the letter in Fig. 1.2 that shows these transport vessels. … [1] (b) Plants make their own food. They make large molecules from smaller molecules. (i) The boxes on the left show some large molecules. The boxes on the right show the smaller molecules the large molecules are made from. Draw one straight line from each large molecule to the smaller molecules it is made from. large molecules smaller molecules oil amino acids protein fatty acids and glycerol starch glucose [2] (ii) Oils are stored in the seeds of a plant. A test is used to find the presence of oil in seeds. State the name of this test. … [1] (c) Oil from palm trees has many uses. Fig. 1.3 shows the mass of palm oil used worldwide between 2006 and 2016. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 35 40 45 50 55 60 year mass of palm oil used worldwide / × 109 kg Fig. 1.3 (i) Use Fig. 1.3 to determine the mass of palm oil used worldwide in 2011. … ×109 kg [1] (ii) Areas of rainforest are removed to plant palm trees for oil. Describe how deforestation affects the animals living in the rainforest. … … … [2] [Total: 10]

1(a)(i) xylem ; mesophyll ; stomata ; 3 1(a)(ii) D ; 1 1(b)(i) oil amino acids protein fatty acids and glycerol starch glucose one correct ; three correct ; 2 1(b)(ii) ethanol (emulsion) ; 1 1(c)(i) 48 (× 109 kg ) ; 1 1(c)(ii) any two from: loss of habitat ; less food OR disruption to food, webs / chains ; less shelter ; migration (of species) ; extinction (of species) ; 2

1 (a) A blue dye is dissolved in water to make a blue liquid. Fig. 1.1 shows a cut plant stem in a beaker of the blue liquid. leaves plant stem blue liquid Fig. 1.1 The plant stem is left in the blue liquid for 24 hours. (i) Complete the sentences to explain why the leaves turn blue. Choose words from the list. Each word may be used once, more than once or not at all. cortex mesophyll phloem root hair stomata xylem The blue liquid moves up the plant stem in vessels called … . In the leaves, the blue liquid moves out of the vessels into … cells. Water in the blue liquid then diffuses out of the … into the air. [3] (ii) Fig. 1.2 shows the cross-section of the plant stem from Fig. 1.1. A B C D Fig. 1.2 The blue liquid only stains the transport vessels in the stem blue. Identify the letter in Fig. 1.2 that shows these transport vessels. … [1] (b) Plants make their own food. They make large molecules from smaller molecules. (i) The boxes on the left show some large molecules. The boxes on the right show the smaller molecules the large molecules are made from. Draw one straight line from each large molecule to the smaller molecules it is made from. large molecules smaller molecules oil amino acids protein fatty acids and glycerol starch glucose [2] (ii) Oils are stored in the seeds of a plant. A test is used to find the presence of oil in seeds. State the name of this test. … [1] (c) Oil from palm trees has many uses. Fig. 1.3 shows the mass of palm oil used worldwide between 2006 and 2016. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 35 40 45 50 55 60 year mass of palm oil used worldwide / × 109 kg Fig. 1.3 (i) Use Fig. 1.3 to determine the mass of palm oil used worldwide in 2011. … ×109 kg [1] (ii) Areas of rainforest are removed to plant palm trees for oil. Describe how deforestation affects the animals living in the rainforest. … … … [2] [Total: 10]

1(a)(i) xylem ; mesophyll ; stomata ; 3 1(a)(ii) D ; 1 1(b)(i) oil amino acids protein fatty acids and glycerol starch glucose one correct ; three correct ; 2 1(b)(ii) ethanol (emulsion) ; 1 1(c)(i) 48 (× 109 kg ) ; 1 1(c)(ii) any two from: loss of habitat ; less food OR disruption to food, webs / chains ; less shelter ; migration (of species) ; extinction (of species) ; 2

7 (a) Fig. 7.1 shows a food web. barn owls mice berries and nuts worms and insects dead leaves grasses voles shrews Fig. 7.1 (i) State the principal source of energy for a food web. … [1] (ii) The owl is the top carnivore in this food web. Define the term carnivore. … … [1] (iii) Complete the sentence to explain why shrews are classed as secondary consumers in this food web. Shrews are secondary consumers because they eat … , which are … consumers. [2] (b) Grass roots take in mineral ions from the soil to make amino acids. (i) State the name of the mineral ions needed to make amino acids. … [1] (ii) Grasses take in water from the soil through the root hair cells. Describe how water moves into root hair cells. … … … … [2] [Total: 7]

7(a)(i) Sun ; 1 7(a)(ii) animal that gets its energy by eating only other animals ; 1 7(a)(iii) worm and insects ; primary ; 2 7(b)(i) nitrate (ions) ; 1 7(b)(ii) (water moves) through, partially permeable membranes / cell membranes ; by osmosis ; 2

Cambridge IGCSE Combined Science · 0653

IGCSE Combined Science (0653) Movement into and out of cells past paper questions

Revise IGCSE Combined Science (0653) — Movement into and out of cells with real Cambridge past-paper questions grouped by topic, each shown with its marking scheme. Working one topic at a time targets exactly the skill each question tests.

93 free questions from 2016–2021, each with its marking scheme. Open the full topical bank to filter by subtopic, paper, and year.

Movement into and out of cells in IGCSE Combined Science 0653 exams, 2020–2025

Across 2020–2025, Movement into and out of cells accounted for 103 questions worth 476 marks in Cambridge IGCSE Combined Science (0653) papers.

By year
Year	Questions	Marks
2020	17	98
2021	18	95
2022	18	108
2023	14	47
2024	18	68
2025	18	60

Most-tested subtopics

Appears in

Paper 1 · 23 qs
Paper 2 · 37 qs
Paper 3 · 19 qs
Paper 4 · 16 qs
Paper 5 · 3 qs
Paper 6 · 5 qs

All most-tested Combined Science topics

2021 May/Jun · Paper 3 · Q1 · 8 marks
Marking scheme
Get Steven’s plain-English explanation
2021 Oct/Nov · Paper 3 · Q1 · 10 marks
Marking scheme
Get Steven’s plain-English explanation
2021 Oct/Nov · Paper 3 · Q1 · 10 marks
Marking scheme
Get Steven’s plain-English explanation
2021 May/Jun · Paper 3 · Q7 · 7 marks
Marking scheme
Get Steven’s plain-English explanation
2021 May/Jun · Paper 1 · Q1 · 1 mark
Marking scheme
Mark scheme — 2021 Paper 1 Q1
Answer: C
Get Steven’s plain-English explanation