- Where Topic: Key concepts in biology sits under the official 2026 Edexcel Combined Science syllabus
- The 53 subtopics beneath it, each on its own page
- A direct route to the free Combined Science past papers — every session, question paper and mark scheme
- Free to browse, free to link — no signup, no paywall
- Cross-linked to Topical Solved, the paid version that groups this topic's questions and works each one through
Pearson Edexcel · GCSE · Combined Science
1 Key concepts in biology Topical Past Papers
Pearson Edexcel GCSE Combined Science — where "Key concepts in biology" sits in the official 2026 Edexcel specification, and the free past papers that examine it.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE Combined Science topical past papers — Topic: Key concepts in biology — free, no signup. The official syllabus entry for this topic — the questions that examine it are in the free Combined Science past papers, linked from this page. This topic breaks into 53 subtopics under the official syllabus numbering. A free syllabus map for this topic, with the Combined Science past papers it is examined in one click away. No signup, no paywall.
What this Combined Science topic page covers
This is the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science syllabus entry for Topic: Key concepts in biology — where the topic sits under the official 2026 syllabus numbering, and what falls under it. It is a map of the topic, free to browse and free to link.
The questions themselves are in the Combined Science past papers, and those are free here too — the full archive, session by session, each paper with its official mark scheme. This page does not reproduce them; it points you at the subject's archive so you can work the sessions that cover this topic.
Where to find the Combined Science questions on this topic
Every question Edexcel has ever set on this topic is inside the Combined Science past papers themselves — and the complete Edexcel GCSE Combined Science archive is free on this site. Each session gives you the question paper and its official mark scheme, so you can attempt a question and mark yourself without paying for anything.
Working from the raw sessions means opening several papers to cover one topic. If you would rather have this topic's questions already pulled together, with the method shown step by step instead of only an acceptable answer, that is what Topical Solved is — the paid version of this same topic.
- Open the free Combined Science past-paper archive — every session, question paper and mark scheme.
- Work the sessions that cover this topic, then mark yourself against the official mark scheme.
- Want this topic's questions collected and worked through? Topical Solved does exactly that.
- Nothing on this page is behind a signup or a paywall.
Kept current with the 2026 syllabus
Edexcel releases new Combined Science sessions every year, and every one of them lands in the free Combined Science past-paper archive on this site — question paper and official mark scheme together, usually within days of release. Nothing about that is gated.
This topic map is rebuilt against the official 2026 Edexcel Combined Science syllabus, so the numbering and the topic titles here match the specification a student is actually sitting rather than a retired version of it. Stale topic mapping is one of the biggest hidden quality problems with free past-paper sites, and it is the thing this page is here to get right.
Combined Science topical past papers — what students search for
Students search for "Combined Science topical past papers", "Combined Science topic-wise questions", "Combined Science chapter-wise past papers", "Combined Science questions by topic", "free Edexcel Combined Science past papers by topic", and dozens more variations every day. What almost all of them are really asking is a syllabus question first: which topic is this, and which papers examine it. That is what this page answers, and it links straight to the free papers.
Common searches — "Combined Science 2026 paper", "Combined Science recent past papers", "Combined Science latest questions by topic" — are all served by the free Edexcel Combined Science past-paper archive, which carries every session with its official mark scheme at no cost.
Some students search specifically for "Combined Science questions only no solutions" or "Combined Science past papers without answers" — the free session archive is exactly that. If you want "Combined Science worked solutions" or "Combined Science step-by-step", Topical Solved collects this topic's questions and shows a teacher-verified working for each one.
Subtopics within Key concepts in biology
Explain how the sub-cellular structures of eukaryotic and
Describe how specialised cells are adapted to their function
Explain how changes in microscope technology, including
Demonstrate an understanding of number, size and scale
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between
Core Practical: Investigate biological specimens using
Explain the mechanism of enzyme action including the active
Explain how enzymes can be denatured due to changes in the
Explain the effects of temperature, substrate concentration and
Core Practical: Investigate the effect of pH on enzyme activity
Demonstrate an understanding of rate calculations for enzyme
Explain the importance of enzymes as biological catalysts in the
Describe how Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the elements, known
Describe how Dmitri Mendeleev used his table to predict the
Explain how substances are transported into and out of cells
Core Practical: Investigate osmosis in potatoes
Calculate percentage gain and loss of mass in osmosis
Identify elements as metals or non-metals according to their
Predict the electronic configurations of the first 20 elements in
Explain how the electronic configuration of an element is related
Explain how ionic bonds are formed by the transfer of electrons
Recall that an ion is an atom or group of atoms with a positive
Calculate the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons in
Explain the formation of ions in ionic compounds from their
Explain the use of the endings –ide and –ate in the names of
Deduce the formulae of ionic compounds (including oxides
Explain the structure of an ionic compound as a lattice structure
Explain how a covalent bond is formed when a pair of electrons
Recall that covalent bonding results in the formation of
Recall the typical size (order of magnitude) of atoms and small
Explain the formation of simple molecular, covalent substances
Explain why elements and compounds can be classified as:
Explain the properties of ionic compounds limited to:
Explain the properties of typical covalent, simple molecular
Recall that graphite and diamond are different forms of carbon
Describe the structures of graphite and diamond
Explain, in terms of structure and bonding, why graphite is used
Explain the properties of fullerenes including C60 and graphene
Describe, using poly(ethene) as the example, that simple
Explain the properties of metals, including malleability and the
Describe the limitations of particular representations and
Describe most metals as shiny solids which have high melting
Calculate:
Calculate the formulae of simple compounds from reacting
Deduce:
Describe an experiment to determine the empirical formula of a
Explain the law of conservation of mass applied to:
Calculate masses of reactants and products from balanced
Calculate the concentration of solutions in g dm–3
Recall that one mole of particles of a substance is defined
Calculate the number of:
Explain why, in a reaction, the mass of product formed is
Deduce the stoichiometry of a reaction from the masses
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the questions for this topic on this page?
No — this page is the syllabus map for the topic: its official numbering, its subtopics, and a route to the papers that examine it. The questions live in the Edexcel Combined Science past papers, which are free on this site with the official mark scheme beside every session. If you want this topic's questions collected in one place and worked through step by step, that is the paid Topical Solved product.
What's the difference between this and Topical Solved?
This page is free and it maps the topic: where it sits in the official syllabus, what falls under it, and where to find the papers that examine it. Topical Solved is the paid product that does the collecting for you — this topic's past-paper questions pulled together with a teacher-verified, step-by-step worked solution for each one, so you can see exactly how the marks are earned.
Is the mark scheme included?
Yes, in the free Combined Science past-paper archive this page links to: every session there carries its official mark scheme alongside the question paper, free to open, so you can attempt a question and mark your own answer.
How up to date is the Combined Science archive?
New Edexcel Combined Science sessions are added to the free past-paper archive as they are released, and this topic map is rebuilt against the official 2026 syllabus so its numbering matches the specification being sat — not a retired version of it.