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Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) Flashcards
69 question-and-answer cards covering Biology (0610) as it is examined in Cambridge IGCSE. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Biology (0610) deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Define homeostasis.
The maintenance of a constant internal environment despite changes in external conditions.
Describe how the body responds to a rise in body temperature (above normal).
Vasodilation of skin arterioles increases blood flow to the surface, and sweat glands produce sweat that evaporates, both increasing heat loss to cool the body.
Define a reflex action and give the order of components in a reflex arc.
A reflex action is a rapid, automatic response not involving conscious thought. Pathway: stimulus → receptor → sensory neurone → relay neurone → motor neurone → effector → response.
Compare nervous and hormonal coordination.
Nervous: electrical impulses along neurones, fast, short-lived, very localised effect. Hormonal: chemicals in the blood, slower, longer-lasting, can be widespread.
State the role of insulin and glucagon in blood glucose regulation.
Insulin lowers blood glucose by stimulating cells to take up glucose and the liver to store it as glycogen; glucagon raises blood glucose by converting glycogen back to glucose.
Define a gene and an allele.
A gene is a length of DNA that codes for a protein (a unit of inheritance). An allele is an alternative form (version) of a gene.
What is the structure of DNA?
A double helix of two strands held together by complementary base pairs: adenine (A) with thymine (T), and cytosine (C) with guanine (G).
Distinguish between genotype and phenotype, and between homozygous and heterozygous.
Genotype is the genetic makeup (alleles); phenotype is the observable features. Homozygous has two identical alleles of a gene; heterozygous has two different alleles.
In a monohybrid cross between two heterozygous parents (Tt × Tt), what is the expected phenotype ratio?
3 dominant : 1 recessive ($3:1$).
Distinguish between continuous and discontinuous variation, giving an example of each.
Continuous variation shows a range of values (e.g. height), influenced by genes and environment. Discontinuous variation shows distinct categories (e.g. blood group, tongue rolling), controlled by genes alone.
Define natural selection.
The process where organisms better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce, passing on the alleles for their advantageous characteristics to the next generation.
What is a mutation and why is it important for variation?
A mutation is a random genetic change in a gene or chromosome; it is the original source of new alleles and therefore new variation.
Define producer, consumer, herbivore and carnivore.
Producer: an organism (usually a plant) that makes its own organic molecules from inorganic ones, usually by photosynthesis. Consumer: an organism that gets energy by feeding on others. Herbivore: eats plants. Carnivore: eats other animals.
Why are food chains usually limited to four or five trophic levels?
Energy is lost at each trophic level (through respiration, movement, heat and undigested waste), so there is insufficient energy to support many levels.
Define the term trophic level and what a pyramid of energy shows.
A trophic level is the position of an organism in a food chain/web. A pyramid of energy shows the energy in each trophic level over a given area/time, always decreasing up the levels.
Describe the carbon cycle in terms of the main processes that add and remove atmospheric CO2.
CO2 is removed by photosynthesis; it is added by respiration, combustion (burning) of fossil fuels and wood, and decomposition of dead organisms.
State the roles of bacteria in the nitrogen cycle.
Decomposers/nitrifying bacteria convert proteins to ammonium then to nitrates; nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert nitrogen gas to nitrogen compounds; denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates back to nitrogen gas.
Explain how eutrophication leads to the death of fish in a river.
Excess nitrates/fertilisers cause rapid algal growth (algal bloom); algae die and aerobic bacteria decompose them, using up dissolved oxygen, so aquatic organisms suffocate and die.
Describe two effects of deforestation on the environment.
It reduces biodiversity/habitat loss and disrupts food chains; it increases atmospheric CO2 (less photosynthesis), causes soil erosion, flooding and disturbs the water cycle.
Name two greenhouse gases and one consequence of the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Carbon dioxide and methane. A consequence is global warming / climate change, leading to rising sea levels, ice melting and changed weather patterns.
Why is yeast used in the brewing and baking industries?
Yeast carries out anaerobic respiration (fermentation): producing ethanol (used in brewing) and carbon dioxide (which makes bread dough rise).
Why are bacteria useful in biotechnology and genetic engineering?
They reproduce rapidly, have few ethical concerns, contain plasmids that can take up genes, and lack a membrane-bound nucleus, making genetic manipulation easier.
Outline the main steps in genetically engineering bacteria to produce human insulin.
Cut the human insulin gene out using restriction enzymes; insert it into a bacterial plasmid (vector) using ligase; return the plasmid to the bacterium; the bacterium multiplies and expresses the gene to produce insulin.
Define genetic modification (genetic engineering).
Changing the genetic material of an organism by removing, changing or inserting individual genes (often from another organism) to give the organism a desired characteristic.
What this deck covers
The Biology (0610) deck follows the Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) syllabus — 5 chapters and 19 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 13.8 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 162 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Biology (0610) flashcards FAQ
How many Biology (0610) flashcards are in this Cambridge IGCSE deck?
69 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these Cambridge IGCSE flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 69-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Biology (0610) cards cover?
They follow the Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) syllabus — 5 chapters and 19 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.