IGCSE Biology 0610 command words explained

• State: a short, clear fact, no explanation. "State the gas released by photosynthesis." Oxygen.
• Name: the exact biology word. "Name the vessels that carry water up a plant." Xylem, not "tubes".
• Give: a brief answer from the data or from memory. "Give one mineral ion a plant needs to make chlorophyll." Magnesium.
• Identify: name, pick out or recognise. "Identify structure X." Mitochondrion, not "the small oval one".

• Describe: say what happens or what you see. For a graph, give the trend and quote numbers with units. "Describe how the mass of the potato changes." It rises by 0.4 g in water and falls by 0.6 g in 1.0 mol/dm³ sucrose.
• Outline: the main points in order, briefly. "Outline how a leaf is tested for starch." Boil in water, warm in ethanol, rinse, add iodine; blue-black shows starch.

Explain means give reasons and make the links clear. Use "because" and "so", and link a structure to its function or a cause to its effect.

• Suggest: use what you know in a new situation. More than one answer can be right. "Suggest why desert plants have fewer stomata." To reduce water loss by transpiration.
• Predict: say what will happen, following the pattern in the data. "Predict the rate at 50 °C." It will be lower than at the optimum.
• Determine: use the information given to reach one definite answer, such as reading the optimum temperature off a graph.

• Compare: similarities and/or differences, mentioning BOTH things. "A plant cell has a cell wall but an animal cell does not."
• Evaluate: judge how good or reliable something is, and say why. "Only one potato chip was used at each concentration, so the results may not be reliable; repeats would help."
• Discuss: write about both sides in a structured way. For using antibiotics in farming, give benefits and risks such as resistant bacteria, then conclude.

• Calculate: work it out and show your working. "Calculate the magnification." 36 mm ÷ 0.09 mm = ×400 (no unit).
• Sketch: a simple freehand drawing or graph showing the key shape, e.g. an enzyme curve that rises, peaks and falls.
• Draw: a clear line drawing or graph with a sharp pencil, unbroken lines and no shading.
• Label: add names to a diagram with ruled lines that touch the part.
• Complete: fill in every gap in a table, diagram or sentence, checking the units in the headings.

Free lessons: Size of specimens · Reading biology diagrams and labels

• Calculators are allowed on every biology paper.
• Round a calculated answer only at the end, to the number of significant figures asked for or to match the data.
• Table headings carry units after a slash, e.g. time / s.
• For food tests, give the colour before AND after.