Answering Multiple Choice Questions (Edexcel IGCSE Biology): Revision Note

Multiple choice questions

• Edexcel International GCSE Biology has no separate multiple choice paper

  • Multiple choice questions appear in both Paper 1 and Paper 2, alongside short-answer, calculation and extended open-response questions

  • They often come at the start of a question

    • For example, identifying labelled structures on a diagram

  • Paper 1 has had about 5–10 multiple choice questions and Paper 2 about 2–6

• Each multiple choice question:

  • is worth 1 mark

  • has four options: A, B, C and D

  • usually begins with Which, What or Why

• To answer, put a cross in the box (☒) next to your chosen option

  • If you change your mind, put a line through the box and then put a cross in the box for your new answer

• Some questions give numbered statements, and the options are combinations of them, e.g. "1 and 2 only"

Eliminate answer options

• Read the multiple choice question carefully and make sure you know what it is asking before you look at the answer options

• Where you can, work out your own answer first, then look for it among the options

  • You can then check this answer by discounting each of the other options

• Other strategies for determining the correct answer include the following:

  • Rule out any option you know is wrong, but do not put a cross in its box, because a cross is how you mark your answer

  • Look at what is different between the options that are left, because this shows what the question is really testing

  • If you are still unsure, choose between the options that are left

    • An educated guess between two options gives you a much better chance than a blind guess between four

• Watch out for:

  • questions with a negative in the stem, where not is printed in bold

    • For example, "Which of these is not a greenhouse gas?"

  • options that are true statements but do not answer the question

  • options that are built from common mistakes

    • For example, an equation used the wrong way round, or a unit that has not been converted

Manage your time

• Multiple choice questions sit inside longer papers, so time them by their marks

  • Paper 1 has 110 marks in 2 hours

  • Paper 2 has 70 marks in 1 hour 15 minutes

  • This works out to just over 1 minute per mark

  • Therefore, a 1-mark multiple choice question should take about a minute

• Tips for time management include:

  • do not spend much longer than a minute on one multiple choice question

    • If a question is taking too long, put down your best answer, mark it on the question paper and move on

    • Return to it at the end if you have time

  • never leave a multiple choice question blank; if you are running out of time, put a cross in a box for every one that is left using your best guess