Kramizo
Log inSign up free
Home › OCR GCSE Biology › Practice Paper
OCR · GCSE · Biology

Free OCR GCSE Biology
Practice Paper

8 mixed-difficulty practice questions in the style of real OCR GCSE papers — answers, mark-scheme-style explanations, and the official exam structure all on one page.

Take a Mini Mock →

What the real OCR GCSE Biology paper looks like

Paper 1
Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 1-4 of the specification.
Paper 2
Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 5-8 of the specification.
Paper 3
Where applicable — e.g. Combined Science, Languages. Includes synoptic and applied questions.
Total exam time: ~3 hours across two or three papers.
Grading: Grades: 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest), with U (ungraded). A grade of 4 is a standard pass; 5 is a strong pass.

Mini practice paper: 8 questions

Mixed-difficulty questions from across the Biology syllabus. Tap "Show answer" after each to check yourself.

Q1 · Difficulty 1/3

Why are green plants described as producers?

  1. They break down dead leaves into nutrients
  2. They hunt and eat smaller animals for energy
  3. They make their own food using light energy
  4. They eat other organisms to gain their food
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — They make their own food using light energy
Award 1 mark. Producers start food chains by photosynthesis. Breaking down dead material is the job of decomposers, and hunting or eating other organisms describes consumers.
Q2 · Difficulty 1/3

The spread of communicable disease can be reduced by:

  1. sharing needles
  2. ignoring symptoms
  3. reducing vaccination
  4. good hygiene and sanitation
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — good hygiene and sanitation
Hygiene, sanitation and vaccination reduce disease spread.
Q3 · Difficulty 1/3

Which part of the blood carries dissolved glucose, carbon dioxide and hormones?

  1. The red blood cells
  2. The plasma
  3. The white blood cells
  4. The platelets
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: B — The plasma
Award 1 mark. Plasma is the liquid part of the blood. Red cells carry oxygen, white cells fight pathogens, and platelets help blood to clot.
Q4 · Difficulty 1/3

Which part of a cell divides to give two new nuclei during the cell cycle?

  1. The cell wall
  2. The vacuole
  3. The nucleus
  4. The chloroplast
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — The nucleus
Award 1 mark. The chromosomes are copied and the nucleus divides, then the cytoplasm divides. The cell wall, vacuole and chloroplasts do not divide to form nuclei.
Q5 · Difficulty 1/3

What is the function of white blood cells?

  1. To defend the body against pathogens
  2. To carry oxygen around the body
  3. To help the blood to clot
  4. To carry dissolved food and hormones
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — To defend the body against pathogens
Award 1 mark. White blood cells engulf pathogens and produce antibodies. Red blood cells carry oxygen, platelets help clotting, and plasma carries dissolved substances.
Q6 · Difficulty 1/3

Which chamber of the heart pumps blood out to the body?

  1. The right ventricle
  2. The left atrium
  3. The left ventricle
  4. The right atrium
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — The left ventricle
Award 1 mark. The left ventricle has the thickest wall because it pumps blood all round the body. The right ventricle pumps to the lungs, and the atria receive blood.
Q7 · Difficulty 1/3

What is biological control of pests?

  1. Spraying chemicals to kill all the insects on a farm
  2. Burning crops to destroy the pests
  3. Using a natural predator or parasite to reduce pest numbers
  4. Growing crops indoors with artificial light
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — Using a natural predator or parasite to reduce pest numbers
Award 1 mark. For example, ladybirds can be released to eat aphids. Chemical sprays are pesticides, burning destroys the crop too, and indoor growing is a different technique.
Q8 · Difficulty 1/3

Which gas enters a leaf through the stomata for photosynthesis?

  1. Carbon dioxide
  2. Oxygen
  3. Nitrogen
  4. Water vapour
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Carbon dioxide
Award 1 mark. Carbon dioxide diffuses in through the stomata. Oxygen and water vapour diffuse out, and nitrogen is not used in photosynthesis.
Build a 30-question timed mock →
Free account · Instant marking

OCR GCSE Biology FAQ

What does the OCR GCSE Biology exam look like?
The OCR GCSE Biology exam is structured across 3 components. Paper 1: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 1-4 of the specification. Paper 2: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 5-8 of the specification. Paper 3: Where applicable — e.g. Combined Science, Languages. Includes synoptic and applied questions. Total exam time: ~3 hours across two or three papers.
Can I download a free OCR GCSE Biology past paper?
Real OCR past papers are published directly by OCR on their official website. Kramizo doesn't redistribute copyrighted past papers, but we do generate free AI-written practice papers in the exact same style — same command words, same difficulty tier, same mark conventions. Use this practice paper as warm-up, then time yourself on official past papers before exam day.
How is OCR GCSE Biology graded?
Grades: 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest), with U (ungraded). A grade of 4 is a standard pass; 5 is a strong pass. Kramizo's practice questions are tagged with difficulty 1-3 mapping roughly to the lower, middle, and top grade boundaries you'll encounter in the real exam.