2026 Exam Structure & Timing
The Leaving Certificate Biology final exam is a 3 hour paper at either Higher or Ordinary Level worth 400 marks.
There are three sections in this examination paper.
Section A
7 short-answer multipart Q's, answer any five.
(100 marks or 25%)
Maximum time: 35 minutes.
Section B
3 Q's based on the 22 mandatory practical activities, answer any two.
(60 marks or 15%)
Each question carries 30 marks.
Maximum time: 25 minutes.
Section C
Seven Long Q's answer any four.
(240 marks or 60%)
One question from Unit 1 of the Syllabus.
Two questions from Unit 2 of the Syllabus.
Three questions from Unit 3 of the Syllabus.
Maximum time: 2 hours (30 minutes per question).
2025-2026 SECTION B:
*There are 22 experiments on the course, if you combine these experiments with studying Unit One that equates to 45% of your exam.*
Questions 8 – 10
Each of the three questions will be aligned with a specific experiment section:
Q8: One question from these 8 experiments
-
To test for starch, to test for lipids, to test for proteins, to test for reducing sugars.
-
To use simple keys to identify five fauna and five flora.
-
To use different apparatus to collect plants and animals.
-
To carry out a quantitative survey of plants and a quantitative survey of animals.
-
To investigate three abiotic factors.
-
To be familiar with and to use a light microscope.
-
To prepare a plant cell and an animal cell and examine using a light microscope.
-
To isolate DNA from a plant tissue.
Q9: One question from these 7 experiments
-
To investigate the effect of pH on enzyme activity.
-
To investigate the effect of temperature on enzyme activity.
-
To investigate the effect of heat denaturation on enzyme activity.
-
To prepare an enzyme immobilisation and examine its application.
-
To investigate the influence of light intensity or carbon dioxide on the rate of photosynthesis.
-
To prepare and show the production of alcohol using yeast.
-
To demonstrate osmosis.
Q10: One question from these 7 experiments
-
To investigate the growth of leaf yeast using agar plates.
-
To prepare and examine a transverse section (TS) of a dicot stem.
-
To dissect and identify the parts of a heart.
-
To investigate the effect of exercise on the pulse rate or on the breathing rate.
-
To investigate the effect of IAA growth regulator on plant tissue.
-
To investigate the effect of water, oxygen and temperature on germination.
-
To use starch agar to show the digestive activity during germination.
Unit 1 Quizzes
Unit 2 Quizzes
Unit 3 Quizzes
Senior Cycle Biology Overview
Leaving Certificate Biology syllabus at Senior Cycle is assessed at Ordinary and Higher levels.
A new Leaving Certificate Biology syllabus will be studied by students in pilot schools from September 2023.
The syllabus consists of three units:
Unit One: Biology - The Study of Life
Unit Two: The Cell
Unit Three: The Organism
Biology is the study of life. Through the study of this subject, students explore the diversity of life and the relationships between organisms and their environment. They become aware of how living organisms and their products are of use to enhance the environment and human health.
https://curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/6f81a62d-89e1-4d0e-a5f6-f8fe29859ae0/SCSEC07_Biology_guidelines_eng.pdf