Biology 0610 · syllabus 2
Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 — Organisation of the organism topical past papers
Plant, animal and bacterial cells and the job of each structure, specialised cells, levels of organisation, and calculating magnification and actual size.
- Questions
- 569
- Years
- 2009–2026
- With mark scheme
- 100%
- Questions 2022–2026
- 200
Anyone can browse these pages. Opening the questions and their mark schemes takes a free Momentum account.
What Organisation of the organism covers
Plant and animal cells share a nucleus, cytoplasm, a cell membrane, ribosomes and mitochondria. Plant cells also have a cellulose cell wall, a large permanent vacuole full of cell sap and, in the parts that are green, chloroplasts. Bacterial cells are smaller and simpler: they have a cell wall, a cell membrane, cytoplasm and ribosomes, but no nucleus — their DNA is a circular loop lying in the cytoplasm, and many carry extra small rings of DNA called plasmids. You need to identify each structure in diagrams and photomicrographs, state what it does, and compare the three kinds of cell.
New cells are made only by the division of existing cells, and in a multicellular organism many become specialised for one job. Six examples are required: ciliated cells, which move mucus along the trachea and bronchi; root hair cells, which absorb water and mineral ions; palisade mesophyll cells, which photosynthesise; neurones, which conduct impulses; red blood cells, which carry oxygen; and sperm and egg cells, which are used in reproduction. Similar cells working together form a tissue, tissues form an organ, organs work together in an organ system, and the systems make up the organism.
Size of specimens is the calculation in this topic: magnification = image size ÷ actual size, with both sizes in the same unit. Core candidates work in millimetres; Extended candidates also convert between millimetres and micrometres (1 mm = 1000 μm), which most questions about single cells need. Drawing a specimen and calculating its magnification are regular tasks on the practical papers, and the cell structures met here come back in nearly every later topic, from osmosis to genetic modification.
In the syllabus
The headings this topic has in the Cambridge International 2026–2028 syllabus, as the board prints them.
- 2 Organisation of the organism
- 2.1 Cell structure
- 2.2 Size of specimens
What you should be able to do
- Identify the cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, chloroplasts, ribosomes, mitochondria and vacuoles in diagrams and photomicrographs
- Compare plant, animal and bacterial cells, and state the function of each structure, including circular DNA and plasmids
- Match each of the six named specialised cells to its function
- Put cell, tissue, organ, organ system and organism in order, with an example of each
- Calculate magnification, image size or actual size, with both lengths in millimetres
- Convert lengths between millimetres and micrometres before calculating (Extended)
Key ideas
- Magnification = image size ÷ actual size; rearranged, actual size = image size ÷ magnification
- 1 mm = 1000 μm: to change millimetres to micrometres multiply by 1000, and to change micrometres to millimetres divide by 1000
- Mitochondria release energy by aerobic respiration; ribosomes make proteins; the nucleus holds the genetic material that controls the cell
- The cell membrane controls what enters and leaves the cell; the cellulose cell wall is freely permeable and gives the cell strength and shape
- Levels of organisation: cell → tissue → organ → organ system → organism, as in muscle cells, muscle tissue, the heart, the circulatory system and the whole body
How Organisation of the organism has been examined
From 2022 to 2026, Organisation of the organism was on Paper 6 · Alternative to Practical in 10 of 14 exam series, worth about 32% of that paper’s marks.
| Paper | Questions | Share of marks | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 · Multiple Choice (Core) | 73 | 6% | 13 of 14 |
| Paper 2 · Multiple Choice (Extended) | 61 | 5% | 13 of 14 |
| Paper 3 · Theory (Core) | 26 | 10% | 13 of 14 |
| Paper 4 · Theory (Extended) | 17 | 9% | 10 of 14 |
| Paper 6 · Alternative to Practical | 23 | 32% | 10 of 14 |
Momentum’s own count, over the questions in its bank for these years: a series is one exam session, every zone included, and a question filed under two chapters counts in both. Median marks per question: 1.
Filed in Momentum under: Organization and Maintenance of the Organism.
A worked example
A student's drawing of a palisade mesophyll cell is 52 mm long. The cell's actual length is 65 μm. Calculate the magnification of the drawing.
- Magnification = image size ÷ actual size, and both lengths must be in the same unit
- Convert the actual length to millimetres: 65 μm ÷ 1000 = 0.065 mm
- Magnification = 52 mm ÷ 0.065 mm = 800
- Check by working backwards: 0.065 mm × 800 = 52 mm, the length of the drawing
Answer: ×800
Written by Momentum for this page, with its own numbers; it is not taken from a past paper.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Mixing units in the formula — dividing an image length in millimetres by an actual length in micrometres gives an answer 1000 times too small; convert first
- Measuring in centimetres and using the number as millimetres — a 4.6 cm image is 46 mm, and the slip makes the magnification ten times too small
- Giving magnification a unit, such as ×400 mm — it is one length divided by another, so it has no unit
- Saying plant cells have no mitochondria — plant cells respire all the time, so they have mitochondria as well as, in their green parts, chloroplasts
- Assuming every plant cell has chloroplasts — root hair cells and other cells that receive no light have none
- Giving bacteria a nucleus — their circular DNA lies free in the cytoplasm
Exam technique
- Write the formula, convert both lengths to the same unit, then substitute, showing the length you measured — the method can earn marks even if the final answer slips
- Measure images with a ruler in millimetres, from edge to edge of the feature named, and give the magnification with a × sign, rounded as the question asks or to a sensible figure, such as ×800 or ×2.5
- In 'compare' questions, write both halves of each point: plant cells have a cellulose cell wall, animal cells do not
- When drawing a specimen on Paper 5 or 6, use a sharp pencil and clear, unbroken lines without shading, make the drawing fill most of the space, and rule label lines so they touch the part named
Practising in Momentum
- Every question in a chapter as one list, from every paper and year in the bank, newest first or shuffled.
- Each question turns over to its own part of the mark scheme, where the board published one.
- Narrow by paper, year, session, zone and marks, and star the questions worth keeping.
- Pick chapters, a number of questions and a time, and the exam builder draws a mock to sit and mark.
Past-paper questions and mark schemes are the copyright of Cambridge International. Momentum shows them to signed-in learners for revision and does not publish them on these pages.