We counted every question in our own AS Level Biology 9700 question bank — 1,131 questions worth 1,131 marks, 2023 to 2026 — and sorted them into the 11 chapters of the syllabus. Cell Structure carries the most marks.
Every chapter, heaviest first
| Chapter | Questions | Marks | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cell Structure | 175 | 175 | 15.5% | |
| Biological Molecules | 172 | 172 | 15.2% | |
| Transport in Mammals | 115 | 115 | 10.2% | |
| Transport in Plants | 109 | 109 | 9.6% | |
| Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis | 106 | 106 | 9.4% | |
| Cell Membranes and Transport | 99 | 99 | 8.8% | |
| Enzymes | 83 | 83 | 7.3% | |
| The Mitotic Cell Cycle | 83 | 83 | 7.3% | |
| Immunity | 65 | 65 | 5.7% | |
| Gas Exchange | 62 | 62 | 5.5% | |
| Infectious Diseases | 62 | 62 | 5.5% |
The top 4 of 11 chapters hold half the marks in the bank. The three heaviest are Cell Structure, Biological Molecules, Transport in Mammals. The lightest is Infectious Diseases, at 5.5% of the marks.
Inside the chapters
| Sub-topic | Chapter | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cell structures and their functions | Cell Structure | 41 | 41 |
| Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells | Cell Structure | 36 | 36 |
| Translocation: loading sucrose and mass flow | Transport in Plants | 33 | 33 |
| Polysaccharides: starch, glycogen and cellulose | Biological Molecules | 29 | 29 |
| Amino acids, peptide bonds and protein structure | Biological Molecules | 29 | 29 |
| Lipids: triglycerides and phospholipids | Biological Molecules | 28 | 28 |
| Cell surface membrane structure | Cell Membranes and Transport | 27 | 27 |
| Structure of DNA, RNA and ATP | Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis | 27 | 27 |
| Water potential and osmosis | Cell Membranes and Transport | 26 | 26 |
| Stages of mitosis | The Mitotic Cell Cycle | 25 | 25 |
How to use this
Revise the heaviest chapters first. A chapter worth 15% of the marks deserves more than one worth 5.5%.
Use it to decide what to practise, not what to skip. A light chapter can still be the difference between two grades, and Cambridge can set anything on the syllabus.
Check yourself chapter by chapter rather than by whole papers, so a weak topic shows up while there is still time to fix it.
These are ExamYard’s own figures: the questions in our AS Level Biology 9700 question bank, grouped into the chapter of the syllabus each one tests, and added up by the marks each carries. No question text, mark scheme or examiner report is reproduced on this page. The printed book and the online bank are counted separately, so the totals on this page need not match the book’s own page.