Question 1 · Both levels
Which of these is a disaccharide?
The new Leaving Cert Biology
Students sitting Leaving Cert Biology in June 2027 are the first to be examined on the new specification: a written examination worth 60% and the Biology in Practice Investigation worth 40%.
26 weeks, 104 hours in all
Start with Section 2
Characteristics of life, biomolecules and cells: 12.8 of your hours. It is 4 of the 30 questions on each of our practice papers, 13%.
| Section | Your hours | Share of the papers |
|---|---|---|
| Section 2: Characteristics of life, biomolecules and cells | 12.8 | 13% |
| Section 3: Inheritance, evolution, cell division and protein synthesis | 12.8 | 13% |
| Section 4: Enzymes, photosynthesis and respiration | 12.8 | 13% |
| Section 5: Response | 12.8 | 13% |
| Section 7: Transport and transfer | 12.8 | 13% |
| Section 6: Reproduction | 9.6 | 10% |
| Section 8: Ecology, ecosystems and biodiversity | 9.6 | 10% |
| Section 1: Nature of science and investigating | 6.4 | 7% |
| Section 9: Microorganisms, nutrient cycling and genetic engineering | 6.4 | 7% |
Week by week
- Week 1Section 2: Characteristics of life, biomolecules and cells
- Week 2Section 2: Characteristics of life, biomolecules and cells
- Week 3Section 2: Characteristics of life, biomolecules and cells
- Week 4Section 2: Characteristics of life, biomolecules and cells, Section 3: Inheritance, evolution, cell division and protein synthesis
- Week 5Section 3: Inheritance, evolution, cell division and protein synthesis
- Week 6Section 3: Inheritance, evolution, cell division and protein synthesis
- Week 7Section 3: Inheritance, evolution, cell division and protein synthesis, Section 4: Enzymes, photosynthesis and respiration
- Week 8Section 4: Enzymes, photosynthesis and respiration
- Week 9Section 4: Enzymes, photosynthesis and respiration
- Week 10Section 4: Enzymes, photosynthesis and respiration, Section 5: Response
- Week 11Section 5: Response
- Week 12Section 5: Response
- Week 13Section 5: Response, Section 7: Transport and transfer
- Week 14Section 7: Transport and transfer
- Week 15Section 7: Transport and transfer
- Week 16Section 7: Transport and transfer
- Week 17Section 6: Reproduction
- Week 18Section 6: Reproduction
- Week 19Section 6: Reproduction, Section 8: Ecology, ecosystems and biodiversity
- Week 20Section 8: Ecology, ecosystems and biodiversity
- Week 21Section 8: Ecology, ecosystems and biodiversity, Section 1: Nature of science and investigating
- Week 22Section 1: Nature of science and investigating
- Week 23Section 1: Nature of science and investigating, Section 9: Microorganisms, nutrient cycling and genetic engineering
- Week 24Section 9: Microorganisms, nutrient cycling and genetic engineering
- Week 25A timed multiple-choice practice paper and two written questions, then review every lost mark
- Week 26A timed multiple-choice practice paper and two written questions, then review every lost mark
| Written examination | 60%, Higher or Ordinary Level; the 2027 sample Higher Level paper is 2 hours 30 minutes and 300 marks |
|---|---|
| Biology in Practice Investigation | 40%, a common brief done in school and reported to the SEC in Year 2 of the course |
| Strands | Nature of Science, Organisation of Life, Structures and Processes of Life, Interactions of Life |
| First examined | June 2027 |
Four strands and three themes
The unifying strand, Nature of Science, is about how science works and how to investigate. The three contextual strands are Organisation of Life, Structures and Processes of Life, and Interactions of Life. Health, sustainability and technology run through all of them.
Higher and Ordinary Level
The specification prints some learning outcomes in bold. Ordinary Level covers the outcomes in normal type; Higher Level covers all of them, including the bold ones. In this course every question is marked Higher Level or both levels.
How this course is organised
We group the specification into nine sections, starting with investigating and the nature of science, with a lesson, practice and experiment questions in each.
Try 2 questions
Question 2 · Both levels
| Distance of lamp / cm | Bubbles per minute |
|---|---|
| 10 | 46 |
| 20 | 45 |
| 30 | 31 |
| 40 | 19 |
| 50 | 12 |
A student counts oxygen bubbles from pondweed with a lamp at different distances. The table shows the results. Moving the lamp from 20 cm to 10 cm makes almost no difference. What is the best explanation?
Next step
Questions people ask
Is the new Biology specification examined in 2027?
Yes. It was introduced to fifth years in September 2025 and is examined for the first time in June 2027.
Is the Biology in Practice Investigation done at Higher or Ordinary Level?
Neither: it is a common brief, the same for every student. The written examination is set at Higher and Ordinary Level.
Are old past papers still useful?
For some topics, but the specification has changed, so check each question against the new learning outcomes.