Cambridge International A Level Biology Revision Guide

Cambridge International AS and A Level Biology
Introduction to the examination and
changes to the syllabus
The Cambridge International Examinations Biology
examination – a student’s perspective
You should find out from your teacher which examination you will take and when. The following
details refer to the latest syllabus, but it is important that you refer to the syllabus for the year in
which you are taking the examination, in case details change.
If you are entered for the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) Biology examination, you will take three papers:
Papers 1, 2 and 3 in a single examination series in either June or November, or March for candidates
in India.
After your AS level examination, you may, if you wish, continue to study biology and then take the
full Advanced Level Biology qualification. If you do this, your AS level marks in papers 1, 2 and 3 are
carried forward and you take two more papers in a single session: papers 4 and 5. Your final grade for
the full A level is based on all of the papers you have taken, 1 to 5.
However, you may take the complete Advanced Level Biology qualification in a single examination
series. In this case, you take all the five papers in one single session. This may not be as hard as you
think as some of the questions in papers 4 and 5 rely on material taught for the previous papers and
you will be much more experienced when answering papers 1, 2 and 3 if you take them later. On the
other hand, there are fewer papers to take in any single series if you take the AS level examination
before the final two papers.
The coursebook is divided into two sections to help you prepare for the AS level and the full A level
separately, but you will need to know all the material from the AS level when you take papers 4 and 5.
Details about the papers
Paper
How long is
the paper and
with how many
marks?
What is in the paper?
What is the
paper worth
for the AS level
exam?
What is the
paper worth
for the full
A level exam?
Paper 1
Multiple
choice
questions
■■
■■
1 hour and
15 minutes
40 marks
This paper has 40 multiple choice
questions. All have four options and
are based on the AS syllabus. You
answer all the questions on a special
answer sheet.
31% 15.5%
Paper 2
AS structured
questions
■■
■■
1 hour and
15 minutes
60 marks
This paper has a variable number of
structured questions of variable mark
value. You answer all the questions
and write on the question paper.
46% 23%
Cambridge International AS and A Level Biology © Cambridge University Press 2014