Free GCSE biology practice for Year 11, nine months out from the May/June 2027 exams. Every question below comes from GradeNinja's own bank - 2,406 Biology questions across 54 topics.
Biology carries more pure recall than the other two sciences, which makes it the best possible fit for spaced retrieval practice. The content is not hard; there is simply a lot of it, and it fades fast if you meet each topic once.
The required practicals are worth targeting early. They come up reliably, they are finite, and most people leave them until they are panicking in April.
Our Biology questions follow the AQA specification. If your school uses a different board most of the content still overlaps, but check your own spec.
Answer before you open the explanation. The moment of not-quite-knowing is the part that does the work, and skipping to the answer skips the learning.
Anything you get wrong, come back to tomorrow rather than immediately. Getting it right straight after seeing the answer proves nothing.
Real questions from GradeNinja's own bank, with the answer and the explanation the app gives. Tap to reveal.
Mitochondria are too small to be resolved by a light microscope
Light microscopes have a resolution limit of about 200 nm (0.2 µm). Mitochondria are 0.5–10 µm in length — technically within the size range, but their internal membrane detail cannot be resolved by light microscopy. Electron microscopes (resolution ~0.1 nm) are needed to see mitochondrial cristae and other fine ultrastructure.
Cell membrane
The cell (plasma) membrane is selectively permeable and controls the passage of substances into and out of the cell.
Random mutations create resistant bacteria before antibiotics are used; antibiotics select for them
Resistant bacteria arise by chance mutation before antibiotic exposure. When antibiotics are used, sensitive bacteria die but resistant ones survive and multiply — this is selection, not directed mutation.
Plants, causing mosaic patterning on leaves
Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infects plants, including tobacco, tomatoes, and peppers. It causes a mosaic pattern of discolouration (light and dark patches) on leaves, which reduces the plant's ability to photosynthesise. TMV was the first virus ever discovered (Dmitri Ivanovsky, 1892).
A turgid cell has gained water and the vacuole pushes against the cell wall
Turgid: cell has absorbed water by osmosis → vacuole expands → pushes cytoplasm against cell wall → cell is firm and supports the plant. Flaccid: cell has lost water → vacuole shrinks → cytoplasm pulls away from cell wall slightly. Plasmolysed: severe water loss → cell membrane fully detaches from cell wall. Osmosis is passive (no energy).
By stimulating cells to absorb glucose and convert it to glycogen in the liver
Insulin lowers blood glucose by: (1) stimulating liver and muscle cells to take up glucose from the blood; (2) promoting conversion of glucose to glycogen (glycogenesis) in the liver and muscles; (3) promoting glucose uptake into all body cells for respiration. When blood glucose falls back to normal, insulin secretion decreases (negative feedback).
Gradual changes in community linked to an environmental gradient
Transects are ideal for investigating zonation - how communities change along an environmental gradient such as a rocky shore (wave exposure), a woodland edge (light), or a hillside (altitude). Quadrats placed at intervals sample the community.
Allows fair comparison between chips that had different starting masses
Individual potato chips vary slightly in starting mass, so converting to percentage change puts every chip's result on the same scale for fair comparison.
55,718 questions across 28 subjects, XP, boss battles and friend challenges. No card needed.
Start revising free →Short, frequent sessions of active recall beat long sessions of re-reading. Test yourself, check, and revisit anything you got wrong a day or two later rather than immediately.
AQA. Content overlaps heavily between boards, so they are still useful on another spec, but check your own specification for anything board-specific.
GCSEs are sat across May and June, so for the current Year 11 that means May/June 2027. Exact paper dates come from the exam boards and your school.
2,406 in Biology alone, and 55,718 across 28 subjects. Signing up is free.