Cambridge O Level · 7115 · Data 2020–2025
Most-tested topics in O-Level Business Studies
Just 3 chapters — Understanding business activity, Financial information and decisions, People in business — carry about 58% of all the marks. Revise those first.
Based on 48 real Cambridge past papers and 8,440 tagged marks, 2020–2025. Ranked by marks, not guesswork.
Historical counts from past papers — not an exam prediction. Download the data (CSV)
Revise these first
The topics that carry the most marks, highest first. Each opens the free past-paper questions.
- 1Practise →Operations managementEvery year
- 2Practise →Understanding business activityEvery year
- 3Practise →6.1 Economic issues7% of marksExternal influences on business activityEvery year
- 4Practise →1.4 Types of business organisation7% of marksUnderstanding business activityEvery year
- 5Practise →5.1 Business finance: needs and sources7% of marksFinancial information and decisionsEvery year
- 6Practise →1.3 Enterprise, business growth and size6% of marksUnderstanding business activityEvery year
- 7Practise →2.2 Organisation and management5% of marksPeople in businessEvery year
- 8Practise →People in businessEvery year
See the full breakdown — all 24 topics across 6 chapters
Understanding business activity
23% of marks- 1.5 Business objectives and stakeholder objectivesEvery year600 marks · 30 qs
- 1.4 Types of business organisationEvery year560 marks · 28 qs
- 1.3 Enterprise, business growth and sizeEvery year520 marks · 26 qs
- 1.2 Classification of businessesRecurring120 marks · 6 qs
- 1.1 Business activityRecurring100 marks · 5 qs
Financial information and decisions
19% of marks- 5.1 Business finance: needs and sourcesEvery year560 marks · 28 qs
- 5.2 Cash-flow forecasting and working capitalEvery year360 marks · 18 qs
- 5.3 Income statementsEvery year260 marks · 13 qs
- 5.5 Analysis of accountsRecurring240 marks · 12 qs
- 5.4 Statement of financial positionRecurring180 marks · 9 qs
People in business
16% of marks- 2.2 Organisation and managementEvery year420 marks · 21 qs
- 2.3 Recruitment, selection and training of employeesEvery year420 marks · 21 qs
- 2.1 Motivating employeesEvery year320 marks · 16 qs
- 2.4 Internal and external communicationEvery year200 marks · 10 qs
External influences on business activity
15% of marks- 6.1 Economic issuesEvery year600 marks · 30 qs
- 6.2 Environmental and ethical issuesEvery year380 marks · 19 qs
- 6.3 Business and the international economyEvery year320 marks · 16 qs
Operations management
14% of marks- 4.2 Costs, scale of production and break-even analysisEvery year620 marks · 31 qs
- 4.1 Production of goods and servicesEvery year400 marks · 20 qs
- 4.3 Achieving quality productionRecurring200 marks · 10 qs
Marketing
13% of marks- 3.3 Marketing mixEvery year360 marks · 18 qs
- 3.1 Marketing, competition and the customerRecurring320 marks · 16 qs
- 3.2 Market researchEvery year200 marks · 10 qs
- 3.4 Marketing strategyRecurring180 marks · 9 qs
Turn the data into practice
Every topic above is drawn from real Cambridge O Level Business Studies papers, tagged to the syllabus. Students can drill the high-frequency topics in the free bank; teachers can turn any of them into a ready-to-print worksheet in seconds. Or explore the full six-year trends in the interactive records.