QCE Biology practice questions by topic

Original questions for every topic, with worked explanations and feedback on written answers.

Multiple choice	Worked or timed
Short response	Calculations and explanations on a stimulus
Written answers	Read against the mark points, with your next step

Try 4 questions

Question 1

Number of snails of each species counted in one rock pool
Species	Number of snails
Periwinkle	10
Nerite	6
Limpet	4

A student counted the snails in a rock pool on a reef flat near Townsville and recorded three species, shown in the table. Simpson's diversity index is SDI = 1 − Σn(n − 1) ÷ N(N − 1). What is the SDI for the rock pool?

Question 2

Presence of barnacle species X on rock surfaces at each height above low tide
Height above low tide (m)	Species X alone (Y removed)	Species X with species Y present
0 to 0.5	present	absent
0.5 to 1.0	present	absent
1.0 to 1.5	present	present
1.5 to 2.0	present	present

On a rocky shore, students scraped barnacle species Y off some rock surfaces and left others untouched. The table shows where barnacle species X was found a year later. Species Y grows faster than X and lives from 0 to 1.0 m above low tide. Which conclusion is best supported?

Question 3

The histogram shows the heights of 99 Year 12 students at a Townsville school. Which type of inheritance does the shape of this distribution suggest for height?

Question 4

A population of small lizards was measured before and after several generations in which a selection pressure acted on body length. The graph shows the distribution of body length at each time. Which type of selection is shown?

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Are past papers still useful?

Yes, for timing and question style. Check that a question's subject matter is in the 2025 syllabus before you rely on it.