IGCSE Science Topics by Exam Board: Full List

If you’re studying IGCSE Science, it can be tricky to find clear information about your exam board. This article breaks down all the Science topics covered by Cambridge (CIE) and Edexcel. You’ll know exactly what to revise and where to find the best resources for your exam board.

Overview of Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654) topics

Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Science includes three subjects:

• Biology

• Chemistry 

• Physics

Each science consists of different topics.

Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Science - Biology contains 19 topics:

1. Characteristics of living organisms

2. Cells

3. Movement into and out of cells

4. Biological molecules

5. Enzymes

6. Plant nutrition

7. Human nutrition

8. Transport in plants

9. Transport in animals

10. Diseases and immunity

11. Gas exchange in humans

12. Respiration

13. Coordination and response

14. Drugs

15. Reproduction

16. Inheritance

17. Variation and selection

18. Organisms and their environment

19. Human influences on ecosystems

Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Science - Chemistry contains 12 topics:

1. States of matter

2. Atoms, elements and compounds

3. Stoichiometry

4. Electrochemistry

5. Chemical energetics

6. Chemical reactions

7. Acids, bases and salts

8. The Periodic Table

9. Metals

10. Chemistry of the environment

11. Organic chemistry

12. Experimental techniques and chemical analysis

Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Science - Physics contains 6 topics:

1. Motion, forces and energy

2. Thermal physics

3. Waves

4. Electricity and magnetism

5. Nuclear physics

6. Space physics

Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654) Biology topics

1. Characteristics of living organisms

This topic introduces the seven key characteristics that living organisms share. You’ll learn how scientists use these features to distinguish living things from non-living things.

Key ideas include:

1. Movement - when an organism changes position

2. Respiration - releasing energy from food

3. Sensitivity - the ability to detect and respond to changes

4. Growth - a permanent increase in size and dry mass

5. Reproduction  - creating new organisms

6. Excretion - removing waste from the body

7. Nutrition - taking in materials needed for energy and growth.

Understanding these characteristics helps define what it means to be alive.

2. Cells

This topic explores the basic building blocks of life, cells. You’ll compare the structure of plant, animal, and bacterial cells, and learn how their organelles support different functions.

Key ideas include:

• Structures and functions of key organelles such as the nucleus, cell membrane, ribosomes, and chloroplasts

• Differences between plant, animal, and bacterial cells

• Specialised cells and their roles in multicellular organisms

• Levels of organisation: cells, tissues, organs, and systems

• Using the magnification formula and converting between units

Understanding cell structure helps explain how living organisms are built and how they function.

3. Movement into and out of cells

This topic explores how substances move into and out of cells. You’ll learn how diffusion, osmosis, and active transport allow particles and water to cross membranes, and how different factors affect these processes.

Key ideas include:

• Diffusion from areas of high to low concentration

• Osmosis through partially permeable membranes

• Effects of surface area, temperature, distance, and concentration gradient on diffusion

• Water movement in plant cells and terms like turgid, flaccid, and plasmolysis

• Active transport using energy to move particles against a concentration gradient

• The role of active transport in organisms such as root hair cells

Understanding these processes explains how cells absorb nutrients, remove waste, and maintain balance.

4. Biological molecules

This topic looks at the key chemical building blocks of life. You’ll learn which elements make up carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, how they are formed from smaller units, and how to test for them in the lab.

Key ideas include:

• Biological molecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats

• How glucose forms starch and glycogen

• How amino acids form proteins

• How fatty acids and glycerol form fats

• Food tests for starch, reducing sugars, proteins, and fats

• Using iodine, Benedict’s, Biuret, and ethanol to identify molecules

These tests give clear evidence of which biological molecules are present in a sample.

5. Enzymes

This topic explores biological catalysts called enzymes. You’ll learn how they speed up reactions, how they interact with specific molecules, and what affects how well they work.

Key ideas include:

• Enzymes speed up reactions without being used up

• Each enzyme works on one type of molecule

• Temperature and pH affect enzyme activity

• Enzymes can be denatured by extreme conditions

Understanding enzymes helps explain how digestion, respiration, and other life processes happen efficiently.

6. Plant nutrition

This topic explains how green plants make their own food using light, carbon dioxide, and water. You’ll learn how photosynthesis works, where it happens, and how plants use the food they produce.

Key ideas include:

• The word equation and symbol equation for photosynthesis

• The role of chlorophyll and where photosynthesis occurs

• Factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis

• Leaf adaptations and internal structure

• Mineral requirements such as nitrates and magnesium

Photosynthesis helps explain how plants support nearly all life by producing oxygen and energy-rich food.

7. Human nutrition

This topic explains what makes up a balanced diet and how the digestive system processes food. You’ll learn about the roles of different nutrients and how the body absorbs and uses them.

Key ideas include:

• Types of nutrients and their roles in a healthy diet

• The structure and function of the digestive system 

• How enzymes break down food into absorbable molecules

• The function of organs like the stomach, liver, and small intestine

• Nutrient absorption and assimilation in the small intestine

Understanding nutrition helps explain how we get the energy and materials we need to grow and stay healthy.

8. Transport in plants

This topic explains how water, minerals, and food move through a plant. You’ll learn how xylem and phloem transport materials, how root hair cells absorb water and minerals, and how substances are distributed around the plant.

Key ideas include:

• Transpiration: the loss of water from leaves

• How environmental factors like temperature and wind affect transpiration

• The process of translocation, where sugars and amino acids move from sources to sinks 

Understanding plant transport helps explain how water and nutrients move efficiently from the soil to growing parts of the plant.

9. Transport in animals

This topic explains how substances move around the body in animals. The circulatory system moves oxygen, nutrients, and waste to the parts of the body that need them.

Key ideas include:

• The structure and function of the heart

• How arteries, veins, and capillaries are adapted for their roles

• The concept of double circulation and its advantages in mammals

• The roles of red and white blood cells, plasma, and platelets

• Coronary heart disease and how lifestyle choices and exercise affect heart health

Understanding animal transport helps explain how the body distributes essential substances and responds to activity and disease.

10. Diseases and immunity

This topic explores the causes of diseases and how the body defends itself. A pathogen is a disease-causing organism that spreads in many ways.

Key ideas include:

• What pathogens are and how they are transmitted

• How the body defends itself using barriers and the immune system

• The roles of white blood cells, including phagocytes and lymphocytes

• How vaccination works and how immunity is developed

• The role of antibodies in recognising antigens

Understanding disease and immunity helps explain how the body prevents illness and responds to infections.

11. Gas exchange in humans

This topic explains how oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged in the lungs. You’ll learn how the breathing system works and why gas exchange is essential for life.

Key ideas include:

• The structure and function of the human breathing system

• Differences between inspired and expired air

• How alveoli are adapted for gas exchange

• The effects of exercise on breathing rate and depth

• How the brain monitors carbon dioxide levels and controls breathing

Understanding gas exchange helps explain how the body takes in oxygen and removes carbon dioxide efficiently.

12. Respiration

This topic explains how cells break down glucose to release energy. You’ll explore the differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and how the body responds when oxygen runs low.

Key ideas include:

• The word and symbol equations for aerobic respiration

• The difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration

• Why anaerobic respiration releases less energy

• What causes an oxygen debt and how the body recovers from it

Understanding respiration helps explain how energy is made available for movement, growth, and temperature control.

13. Coordination and response

This topic focuses on how the body gets rid of waste products made inside cells. You’ll learn why excretion is important and which organs are responsible for removing harmful substances.

Key ideas include:

• What excretion is and how it differs from egestion

• The role of the kidneys in filtering blood and making urine

• The structure of the kidney and how it carries out selective reabsorption

• How dialysis can be used if the kidneys stop working

Understanding these processes helps explain how the body keeps its internal environment stable.

14. Drugs

This topic explains what drugs are and how they affect chemical reactions in the body. You’ll learn how antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections and why they do not work against viruses.

Key ideas include:

• What drugs are and how they affect the body

• How antibiotics kill bacteria but not viruses

• What antibiotic resistance is and why it is a problem

• How careful use of antibiotics reduces resistant strains like MRSA

Understanding drugs helps explain how we treat disease and manage public health risks.

15. Reproduction

This topic explains how living organisms reproduce, both asexually and sexually. You’ll compare the two methods, examine how they affect genetic variation, and explore their advantages and disadvantages.

Key ideas include:

• Asexual reproduction produces identical offspring from one parent

• Sexual reproduction involves two gametes and leads to genetic variation

• Reproduction in plants : flower parts, pollination, fertilisation, and germination

• Reproduction in humans: reproductive systems, fertilisation, puberty, and the menstrual cycle

• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS, and how they are transmitted and prevented

Understanding reproduction helps explain how life continues and how traits are passed on to new generations.

16. Inheritance

This topic explains how genetic information passes from parents to offspring. You’ll learn how DNA carries genes on chromosomes, what alleles are, and how chromosomes determine sex in humans.

Key ideas include:

• The structure of DNA and its role in inheritance

• The meaning of genes, alleles, and chromosomes

• Sex determination in humans

• The differences between mitosis and meiosis

• The role of mitosis in growth and repair

• The role of meiosis in forming gametes

• How to use genetic diagrams and Punnett squares to predict inheritance

• The meaning of genotype, phenotype, homozygous, and heterozygous

• How to interpret pedigree diagrams

Understanding inheritance helps explain how traits are passed on and how genetic variation arises.

17. Variation and selection

This topic explores why individuals in a species are not identical. You’ll learn about different types of variation, how mutations introduce new traits, and how natural and artificial selection shape populations over time.

Key ideas include:

• Continuous and discontinuous variation

• The role of mutation in creating new alleles

• Natural selection and survival of the fittest

• The development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria

• Artificial selection through selective breeding in plants and animals

Understanding variation and selection helps explain how species change and adapt over generations.

18. Organisms and their environment

This topic explains how energy and materials move through ecosystems. You’ll explore food chains and food webs, how energy flows through trophic levels, and how key elements cycle through nature.

Key ideas include:

• Energy transfer from the Sun to producers and consumers

• Energy loss between trophic levels

• The carbon cycle: photosynthesis, respiration, and combustion

• The nitrogen cycle and the role of bacteria in nutrient conversion

• Human impacts on ecosystems through species removal or introduction

Understanding these relationships helps explain how ecosystems function and how human actions can affect natural balance.

19. Human influences on ecosystems

This topic explains how human activities such as deforestation, pollution, and resource extraction affect the environment. You’ll explore how these actions damage habitats, reduce biodiversity, and disrupt natural cycles.

Key ideas include:

• How deforestation and land use changes lead to habitat destruction and flooding

• The effects of pollution on water systems, soil, and the atmosphere

• The impact of carbon dioxide on climate change

• How endangered species result from hunting, habitat loss, and climate change

• The role of conservation through education, protected areas, breeding programmes, and seed banks

Understanding human impacts helps explain how we can reduce harm and protect ecosystems for the future.

Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654) Chemistry topics

1. States of matter

This topic explains how solids, liquids, and gases behave, and what happens when matter changes from one state to another. You’ll explore particle movement, changes of state, and how kinetic theory explains these differences.

Key ideas include:

• The three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas

• How particles are arranged and move in each state

• Changes of state: melting, freezing, and evaporating

• The kinetic theory and its link to energy and movement

• Differences in density and diffusion in solids, liquids, and gases

Understanding states of matter helps explain many everyday processes, from boiling water to the smell of perfume spreading through a room.

2. Atoms, elements and compounds

This topic explains how atoms combine to form elements, mixtures, and compounds. You’ll learn about atomic structure, bonding, and how the arrangement of particles affects properties.

Key ideas include:

• The structure of atoms: protons, neutrons, and electrons

• Using the Periodic Table to find atomic and mass numbers

• Elements, mixtures, and compounds

• What isotopes are

• Ionic, covalent, and metallic bonding

• Properties of ionic compounds, simple molecules, giant covalent structures, and metals

• How bonding and structure explain physical properties

Understanding atoms and bonding helps explain the structure and behaviour of all materials.

3. Stoichiometry

This topic covers the calculations chemists use to measure substances in chemical reactions. You’ll learn how to write equations, deduce formulas, and calculate quantities using the mole concept.

Key ideas include:

• Writing word and balanced symbol equations, including state symbols

• Deducing chemical formulas from models, diagrams, or ion charges

• Identifying relative atomic mass

• Calculating relative molecular mass

• Reacting mass calculations

• Deducing empirical and molecular formulas

• Calculating concentrations of solutions

• Calculating gas volumes at room temperature and pressure

• Identifying limiting reactants 

• Using the mole concept and Avogadro constant to connect mass, volume, and particle number

Understanding stoichiometry helps explain how to predict and measure the outcomes of chemical reactions.

4. Electrochemistry

This topic explores how electricity causes chemical changes and how certain reactions can produce electricity. You’ll learn how electrolysis breaks down molten or aqueous ionic  compounds, and how fuel cells generate electricity in a clean and efficient way.

Key ideas include:

• Identifying the anode, cathode, and electrolyte

• Describing electrolysis of lead(II) bromide, sodium chloride solution, dilute sulfuric acid, and copper(II) sulfate

• Predicting the products formed at each electrode

• Explaining the movement of ions and electrons in electrolysis

• Understanding how hydrogen–oxygen fuel cells work and comparing their advantages and disadvantages

Electrochemistry helps explain both the chemical breakdown of compounds and how we generate electricity from chemical reactions.

5. Chemical energetics

This topic explores how energy changes during chemical reactions. You’ll learn how these changes affect the temperature of the surroundings and how to represent them in diagrams.

Key ideas include:

• The difference between exothermic and endothermic reactions

• How energy changes can be measured in experiments

• Interpreting and drawing reaction pathway diagrams

• What ∆H and activation energy (Ea) represent

• Why bond breaking is endothermic and bond making is exothermic

Understanding chemical energetics helps explain temperature changes in reactions and how energy is transferred.

6. Chemical reactions

This topic explains how to recognise and describe chemical changes. You’ll learn how to identify physical and chemical changes, define redox reactions, and explore how different factors affect the rate of reaction.

Key ideas include:

• Recognising physical and chemical changes by colour change, gas release, or temperature shift

• Defining oxidation and reduction by oxygen gain/loss and electron transfer

• Using collision theory to explain how temperature, concentration, pressure, surface area, and catalysts affect reaction rate

• How catalysts lower activation energy

• Conducting and interpreting rate experiments using graphs and observations

Understanding chemical reactions helps explain how substances change and how we can control the speed of those changes. 

7. Acids, bases and salts

This topic explores how acids and bases react to form salts. You’ll learn how to recognise acids, alkalis, and indicators, compare pH values, and prepare both soluble and insoluble salts.

Key ideas include:

• Reactions of acids with metals, bases, and carbonates

• Using indicators and universal indicator to identify acids and alkalis

• Preparing salts by neutralisation, titration, or precipitation

• Hydrated and anhydrous salts and how they differ

Understanding acids, bases, and salts helps explain how to test substances, neutralise chemicals, and make useful compounds.

8. The Periodic Table

This topic explains how the Periodic Table is arranged. You’ll learn how elements are ordered by increasing proton number, grouped by chemical properties, and how trends link to electronic configuration.

Key ideas include:

• How elements are arranged by proton number and grouped by reactivity

• Group I alkali metals: reactivity, density, melting point, and appearance

• Group VII halogens and displacement reactions

• Group VIII noble gases: stability and lack of reactivity

• Transition metals: high melting points, coloured compounds, and catalytic properties

Understanding the Periodic Table helps explain patterns in chemical behaviour and physical properties.

9. Metals

This topic compares metals and non-metals and explains the properties that make metals useful. You’ll explore their reactions, how they are extracted, and why alloys are important in everyday applications.

Key ideas include:

• Physical and chemical properties of metals and non-metals

• Creating a reactivity series from reactions with water, steam, and acids

• Rusting and corrosion prevention, including galvanising and sacrificial protection

• Metal extraction by electrolysis, carbon reduction, and blast furnace

• The role and advantages of alloys such as brass and steel

Understanding metals helps explain their importance in construction, electronics, and tools.

10. Chemistry of the environment

This topic explores how human activities affect water, air, and the climate. You’ll learn how to test for water purity, understand common air pollutants and their effects, and examine how greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.

Key ideas include:

• Testing for water using anhydrous salts and boiling/melting points

• Water treatment with filtration, carbon, and chlorination

• Composition of air and harmful pollutants:

  • Carbon monoxide - respiratory illness

  • Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides - acid rain

  • Particulates - global dimming

• Greenhouse gases and their role in trapping thermal energy

• Reducing environmental impacts: low-sulfur fuels, catalytic converters, tree planting, and renewable energy

Understanding the chemistry of the environment helps explain how pollution and climate change happen, and how we can reduce their effects.

11. Organic chemistry

This topic explores carbon-based compounds and their reactions. You’ll learn how to name and draw alkanes, alkenes, and alcohols, define homologous series, and describe their common trends.

Key ideas include:

• Naming and drawing formulas of alkanes, alkenes, and alcohols

• General features of homologous series 

• Fractional distillation of crude oil

• Cracking of large hydrocarbons

• Addition reactions of alkenes with bromine, hydrogen, and steam

• Polymers: addition polymerisation, repeat units, and examples like poly(ethene) and nylon

Understanding organic chemistry helps explain how fuels, plastics, and synthetic materials are made and modified.

12. Experimental techniques and chemical analysis

This topic covers the practical skills needed for safe and accurate lab work. You’ll learn how to use standard equipment, separate mixtures, analyse purity, and identify unknown substances.

Key ideas include:

• Common apparatus for measuring time, temperature, mass, and volume

• Techniques for separating mixtures: filtration, crystallisation, distillation, and chromatography

• How to calculate Rf values and assess purity using melting and boiling points

• How to carry out titrations and calculate unknown concentrations using indicators

• Tests for gases, anions, and cations, including flame tests and reactions with acids, silver nitrate, sodium hydroxide, or ammonia

Understanding these techniques helps you carry out and interpret experiments accurately in the lab.

Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654) Physics topics

1. Motion, forces and energy

This topic explores how objects move, interact, and transfer energy. You’ll learn how to describe motion using quantities like speed, velocity, and acceleration, and how forces affect motion and energy.

Key ideas include:

• Using equations to calculate speed, acceleration, force, and energy

• Interpreting distance–time and speed–time graphs

• Understanding vectors, measuring physical quantities, and calculating density and pressure

• Applying Newton’s laws and analysing forces like friction and air resistance

• Understanding energy transfers, kinetic, and gravitational potential energy

Key equations include:

• Speed: 

• v = st

• Acceleration: a = vt

• Force: F = ma

• Kinetic energy: Ek = 12mv2

• Gravitational potential energy: Ep = mgh

Understanding motion and forces helps explain how vehicles move, how energy is transferred, and how we describe and measure the world around us.

2. Thermal physics

This topic explores how particles behave in solids, liquids, and gases. You’ll use the kinetic particle model to describe motion, pressure, and changes of state, including Brownian motion and evaporation. The topic also covers how temperature affects particle movement and thermal expansion.

Key ideas include:

• The kinetic particle model for solids, liquids, and gases

• Brownian motion and its explanation

• Evaporation and how temperature affects particle energy

• Thermal expansion and its real-life effects

This topic also explains how thermal energy transfers through conduction, convection, and radiation.

Key ideas include:

• How conduction works in metals via free electrons

• Movement of fluids in convection

• Emission and absorption of radiation by different surfaces

• How insulation reduces heat loss

Understanding thermal physics helps explain how energy is transferred and controlled in everyday materials and systems.

3. Waves

This topic introduces how waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter. You’ll compare transverse and longitudinal waves, describe wave features like wavelength, frequency, amplitude, and wave speed, and use the wave equation v = fλ.

Key ideas include:

• Ray diagrams for reflection, refraction and diffraction

• Total internal reflection and its use in optical fibres

• Thin converging lenses, real and virtual images, and magnifying glasses

• Dispersion of light and the visible spectrum 

• The electromagnetic spectrum: order, uses, and hazards

• Properties of sound waves and how to calculate the speed of sound

These ideas help explain how we use light, sound, and electromagnetic waves in real-world technologies.

4. Electricity and magnetism

This topic explores how electric charge and current behave in circuits and materials. You’ll learn how to calculate current, voltage, resistance, energy, and power using key equations, and how to stay safe when using electricity.

Key ideas include:

• Series and parallel circuits and calculating combined resistance

• Electrical hazards and safety features: fuses, earthing, and insulation

• The heating effect of current in appliances

• Magnetism and fields around wires and solenoids

• The motor effect and how electric motors and generators work

• Transformers and power transmission

Key equations include:

• Charge, current, and time: I = Q ÷ t

• Ohm’s Law: V = IR

• Power and energy: P = IV, E = IVt

Understanding electricity and magnetism helps explain how circuits work, how devices are powered, and how energy is transmitted safely.

5. Nuclear physics

This topic explores the structure of the atom and how the nucleus can change during radioactive processes. You’ll describe atomic structure using nuclide notation, compare types of radiation, and explore how nuclear reactions release energy.

Key ideas include:

• Structure of atoms and the role of protons, neutrons, and electrons

• Isotopes, radioactive decay, and half-life 

• Alpha, beta, and gamma radiation: properties and uses

• Nuclear fission and fusion as sources of energy

• Safety and real-world applications of radioactivity

Understanding nuclear physics helps explain how we harness energy from atomic changes and how we protect ourselves from radiation.

6. Space physics

This topic explores the Solar System, stars, galaxies, and the Universe. You’ll learn how gravity keeps objects in orbit, how stars evolve, and how theories like the Big Bang explain the origin of the Universe.

Key ideas include:

• The Sun, planets, moons, and other bodies in the Solar System

• Gravitational field strength and orbital speed

• Life cycle of stars: red giants, supernovae, black holes, and more

• The structure of galaxies and the Milky Way

• The Big Bang theory and the expansion of the Universe

Understanding space physics helps explain the structure and origin of the Universe and our place within it.

What is covered in the Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654) exam papers?

Core Candidates

• Candidates entered for the Core route take Paper 1 and Paper 3, covering only the Core content.

Extended Candidates

• Candidates entered for the Extended route take Paper 2 and Paper 4, covering both Core and Supplement content.

All Candidates

• All candidates must also take one practical based paper:

  • Paper 5: Practical Test

  • Paper 6: Alternative to Practical

Revision resources for Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654)

If you’re looking for revision resources for the Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654) exams, the experts at Save My Exams have worked through the specification to ensure that the resources are perfectly aligned with the exam board’s requirements.

Overview of Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) topics

Edexcel IGCSE Science is divided into the three:

• Biology

• Chemistry 

• Physics

Each science consists of different topics.

Edexcel IGCSE Science - Biology contains 5 topics:

1. The nature and variety of living organisms 

2. Structure and functions in living organisms 

3. Reproduction and inheritance 

4. Ecology and the environment 

5. Use of biological resources

Edexcel IGCSE Science - Chemistry contains 4 topics:

1. Principles of chemistry 

2. Inorganic chemistry 

3. Physical chemistry 

4. Organic chemistry

Edexcel IGCSE Science - Physics contains 8 topics:

1. Forces and motion 

2. Electricity 

3. Waves 

4. Energy resources and energy transfer 

5. Solids, liquids and gases 

6. Magnetism and electromagnetism 

7. Radioactivity and particles 

8. Astrophysics

Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) Biology Topics

1. The nature and variety of living organisms

This topic introduces what it means to be alive and the different types of organisms found on Earth. You’ll learn how to describe the key features that all living things share, and how organisms can be grouped into major types like animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria.

Key ideas include:

• Shared characteristics of living organisms

• Main features of eukaryotic groups(plants, animals, fungi, protoctists)

• Prokaryotic cell structure (bacteria)

• Features of viruses and their role as pathogens

• The meaning of 'pathogen' and types that can cause disease

Understanding these groups helps you see the big picture of life and how different organisms are classified.

2. Structure and functions in living organisms 

This topic explores how living things are built and how their bodies work. You’ll learn about the structure of cells, how substances move in and out of them, and how key systems like digestion, respiration, and circulation function in plants and animals.

Key ideas include:

• How cells and organ systems are structured and organised

• The roles of cell parts and biological molecules

• How substances move in and out of cells

• Nutrition and gas exchange in plants and humans

• Transport, excretion, and coordination in living organisms

This topic helps explain how living things carry out the processes they need to survive and grow.

3. Reproduction and inheritance

This topic looks at how living organisms pass on characteristics to their offspring. You’ll explore how reproduction happens in plants and animals, and how genetic information is stored and inherited.

Key ideas include:

• Sexual and asexual reproduction in plants and animals

• Human reproductive systems and hormones

• How genetic information is carried and inherited

• Genetic diagrams and variation in offspring

• Mutation, natural selection, and evolution

Understanding reproduction and inheritance helps explain how traits are passed on and how populations change over time.

4. Ecology and the environment 

This topic explores how living things interact with each other and with their surroundings. You’ll learn about food chains, energy flow, environmental changes, and how human activity affects ecosystems.

Key ideas include:

• Habitats, populations, and how organisms depend on each other

• How energy flows through food chains and food webs

• The carbon cycle and other natural cycles

• The impact of pollution and human activities on the environment

• Causes and consequences of global warming and eutrophication

Understanding ecology helps explain how ecosystems function and why caring for the environment is important.

5. Use of biological resources

This topic looks at how humans use living organisms to produce food and other useful substances. You’ll learn about techniques like selective breeding, fermentation, and genetic modification.

Key ideas include:

• Improving crop yields using greenhouses, fertilisers, and pest control

• The use of microorganisms in food production and biotechnology

• The role of fermenters and the conditions needed for microbial growth

• Selective breeding in plants and animals

• Genetic engineering and the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

This topic shows how biology is applied in real-world contexts to improve food security and health.

Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) Chemistry Topics

1. Principles of chemistry 

This topic introduces the fundamental ideas that underpin all of chemistry. You’ll learn about the structure of matter, how elements are arranged in the periodic table, and how atoms bond to form different substances.

Key ideas include:

• The three states of matter and how they change

• Elements, compounds, and mixtures

• The structure of atoms, including protons, neutrons, and electrons

• The periodic table and how it’s used to classify elements

• Writing and balancing chemical equations

• Ionic and covalent bonding and how they affect properties

Understanding these principles gives you the foundation to explain and predict chemical behaviour.

2. Inorganic chemistry 

This topic looks at patterns and reactions in different groups of elements and common chemicals. You’ll learn about how reactivity changes across groups and how to identify substances using chemical tests.

Key ideas include:

• Trends in Group 1 (alkali metals) and Group 7 (halogens)

• Gases in the atmosphere and their reactions

• The reactivity series of metals and displacement reactions

• Acids, alkalis, and how salts are made

• Tests for gases, anions, cations (including flame tests), and purity of substances

Inorganic chemistry helps explain many everyday reactions and how we identify unknown substances.

3. Physical chemistry 

This topic explores energy changes in chemical reactions, what affects the rate of a reaction, and how some reactions can go forwards and backwards. You’ll learn how to measure energy transfers and investigate factors like temperature, surface area and catalysts.

Key ideas include:

• Exothermic and endothermic reactions

• Measuring temperature changes during reactions

• Factors that affect rate: temperature, concentration, surface area, and catalysts

• Explaining reaction rates using particle theory

• Reversible reactions and how they reach equilibrium

Physical chemistry helps explain how we control reactions in real-life processes like cooking, combustion, and manufacturing.

4. Organic chemistry

This topic focuses on compounds made of carbon and their reactions. You’ll explore types of hydrocarbons, how they are obtained from crude oil, and how polymers are made.

Key ideas include:

• Hydrocarbons and their different types: alkanes and alkenes

• Fractional distillation of crude oil and trends in its products

• Combustion of hydrocarbons and associated pollutants

• Reactions of alkenes and how to test for unsaturation

• How addition polymers are formed and the challenges of disposal

Organic chemistry helps explain how fuels, plastics, and other everyday materials are made and used.

Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) Physics Topics 

1. Forces and motion 

This topic explores how forces affect how things move. You’ll learn how to describe motion using graphs, calculate speed and acceleration, and understand how forces cause changes in movement or shape.

Key ideas include:

• Speed, velocity, and acceleration

• Distance–time and velocity–time graphs

• Newton’s second law: force = mass × acceleration

• Stopping distance and terminal velocity

• Hooke’s law and elastic behaviour

Forces and motion help explain everything from falling objects to car safety and everyday movement.

2. Electricity 

This topic looks at electric circuits and how electricity behaves in different materials. You’ll learn how current, voltage and resistance are related, and how electricity is used safely in everyday life.

Key ideas include:

• Current, voltage, resistance, and Ohm’s law

• Series and parallel circuits

• Electrical energy and power calculations

• AC and DC electricity

• Electrical safety features like fuses and earth wires

Understanding electricity helps explain how circuits work and how we use electrical energy in homes, devices, and industry.

3. Waves 

This topic introduces waves as a way of transferring energy and information. You’ll learn the properties of waves, how they behave when they hit surfaces, and how they’re used in technologies from sound systems to satellites.

Key ideas include:

• Transverse and longitudinal waves

• Wavelength, frequency, amplitude, and wave speed

• Reflection and refraction of waves

• The electromagnetic spectrum and its uses and dangers

• Light and sound waves and how they travel

The waves topic helps explain how we see, hear, and communicate using different types of radiation.

4. Energy resources and energy transfer 

This topic looks at where energy comes from and how it moves from one place to another. You’ll explore different energy resources and learn how energy is transferred, stored, and conserved in everyday systems.

Key ideas include:

• Different energy stores and transfer pathways

• The principle of conservation of energy

• Calculating efficiency and reducing energy waste

• Thermal energy transfer by conduction, convection, and radiation

• Renewable and non-renewable energy resources

Understanding energy transfers helps explain how we power homes, transport, and technology while considering environmental impacts.

5. Solids, liquids and gases 

This topic explores how matter behaves in different states and how we describe the movement and energy of particles. You’ll learn how to calculate pressure, density, and changes caused by heating and compression.

Key ideas include:

• The particle model of solids, liquids, and gases

• Calculating density, pressure, and volume

• Changes of state and latent heat

• Pressure and temperature in gases

• The relationship between gas pressure and volume

This topic helps explain everything from why balloons expand when heated to how submarines and air travel work.

6. Magnetism and electromagnetism 

This topic looks at magnetic fields and how electricity and magnetism are linked. You’ll learn how magnets interact, how electromagnets are made, and how magnetic forces can be used in motors and generators.

Key ideas include:

• Permanent magnets and magnetic fields

• How to make an electromagnet

• The motor effect and how it’s used in electric motors

• Electromagnetic induction and how generators work

• The use of transformers in power transmission

Magnetism and electromagnetism help explain how many electrical machines and communication systems work.

7. Radioactivity and particles 

This topic explores the structure of the atom and what happens when unstable nuclei decay. You’ll learn about different types of radiation, how to detect them, and how nuclear reactions can be used and controlled.

Key ideas include:

• The structure of atoms and isotopes

• Alpha, beta, and gamma radiation and their properties

• Half-life and radioactive decay

• Detecting radiation and sources of background radiation

• Nuclear fission, fusion, and safety precautions

The radioactivity topic helps explain both the dangers and the benefits of nuclear science in medicine, power generation, and research.

8. Astrophysics

This topic explores the structure of the universe and how objects move in space. You’ll learn about stars, planets, satellites, and the forces that govern their motion.

Key ideas include:

• The solar system, galaxies, and the universe

• Orbits of planets, moons, and satellites

• Gravitational field strength and motion in space

• The life cycle of stars of different sizes

Astrophysics helps explain how we explore space and how the universe evolves over time.

What is covered in the Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) exam papers?

The Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) qualification assesses Biology, Chemistry, and Physics content across three written papers. Each paper is equally weighted and taken at the end of the course. There are no separate tiers or coursework components.

• All questions are compulsory and untiered.

• Each paper includes a mixture of multiple choice, short-answer, calculation, and extended open-response questions.

• Practical skills are assessed through written questions, so there is no separate practical paper.

Revision resources for Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0)

If you’re looking for revision resources for the Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) exams, the experts at Save My Exams have meticulously combed through the specification to ensure that the revision notes, exam questions and past papers we provide are perfectly aligned with the exam board’s requirements.

Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) resources:

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• Detailed revision notes

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• Past papers with mark schemes

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Explore our IGCSE Science Resources

References

• Cambridge IGCSE Sciences - Co-ordinated (Double) (0654) Specification

• Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award) (9-1) (4SD0) Specification