Which element occurs in every amino acid used to build proteins but not in carbohydrates or simple fats?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory I(a) Molecules of life
HKDSE Biology · HKDSE Biology
Free HKDSE Biology practice questions (all four compulsory topics and all four electives)
Sixteen multiple-choice questions spread evenly across the four compulsory topics and all four electives, so one sitting tells you which topic is weakest rather than just how many you got right. Every question is original, written to the topic framework in the Curriculum and Assessment Guide, with an explanation and a topic reference under each. The full topic framework is on the HKDSE Biology topics page; the full bank of 540 questions, the flashcards and the topic notes, in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, are in the revision app.
Practice
Free practice questions
What is the best description of an allele?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory II(a) Basic genetics
In a leaf, which cell layer is the main site of photosynthesis?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory III Organisms and Environment (plant nutrition)
What is meant by a balanced diet?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory IV Health and Diseases
Which organ is mainly responsible for regulating the water content of the blood?
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Human Physiology: Regulation and Control
What is a major direct consequence of large-scale deforestation of tropical rainforests?
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Applied Ecology
Which structure is present in a plant cell but absent in a bacterial cell?
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Microorganisms and Humans
What do restriction enzymes do in genetic engineering?
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Biotechnology
A food extract gives a brick-red precipitate with Benedict's solution after heating and turns violet in the Biuret test. It remains brown with iodine solution and gives no white emulsion with ethanol and water. Which conclusion is supported?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory I(a) Molecules of life
Which term refers to the genetic make-up of an organism?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory II(a) Basic genetics
Why are palisade mesophyll cells arranged near the upper surface of the leaf?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory III Organisms and Environment (plant nutrition)
Which nutrient is the body's main immediate source of energy?
Based on: DSE Bio Compulsory IV Health and Diseases
What is the functional (basic filtering) unit of the kidney?
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Human Physiology: Regulation and Control
Which statement best describes the problem of overfishing?
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Applied Ecology
In a typical bacterial cell, the main genetic material is best described as
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Microorganisms and Humans
In gene cloning, a plasmid is best described as which of the following?
Based on: DSE Bio Elective Biotechnology
How to use sixteen questions properly
Not as a score. Sixteen questions across eight topics is two per topic, which is far too few to tell you how good you are at Biology and exactly enough to tell you where to look next. Read it as a map: the topic where you miss both, or get one right for the wrong reason, is the topic to open first. That is also why the questions are spread round-robin rather than front-loaded onto the compulsory part, even though the compulsory part is what everyone sits.
Read the explanation even when you were right
The explanation under each question does not only say which option is correct. It says why each distractor is wrong, and in Biology the distractors are usually the misconception rather than a random alternative. Getting the right answer while holding the wrong reason is the most expensive thing a candidate can do, because nothing in the result tells them, and it survives all the way to the paper. Every question in the app is written the same way for the same reason.
The English terminology problem, stated plainly
Many Hong Kong candidates understand Biology in Chinese and answer in English. That gap is not a comprehension problem, it is a naming problem, and it costs marks in a way that revising harder does not fix. The practical fix is to meet each term in both languages while the concept is fresh. The questions on this page are in English because the paper is; in the app the same question, the same explanation and the same flashcard switch between English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese at a tap, which is the point of the trilingual build.
What this page will not tell you
How many questions Paper 1 has, how long it runs or how the marks are split. Those are not stated here because they are not verified against a current official document, and inventing them would poison the one thing a page like this is for. Confirm the assessment framework with the HKEAA and with your school. Everything this page does state, the eight topics and what sits inside each of them, comes from the published Curriculum and Assessment Guide.
Not affiliated with the HKEAA or the EDB
RiverMap Learning is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, the Education Bureau or the Curriculum Development Council. Every question here is original and written to the published topic framework; no past paper question, marking scheme or textbook content is reproduced. Practice results are not a grade.
| Compulsory part | Elective part | |
|---|---|---|
| How many topics | Four | Four exist, each school enters candidates for two |
| Who studies it | Every candidate | Depends on the school's pairing |
| What it covers | Molecules and cells, genetics and evolution, organisms and environment, health and diseases | Human physiology, applied ecology, microorganisms and humans, biotechnology |
| Relationship | The base every elective builds on | One compulsory strand taken further |
| In our question bank | All four | All four, so a change of pairing costs you nothing |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How many free HKDSE Biology questions are on this page?
Sixteen, spread two per topic across the four compulsory topics and all four elective units: Cells and Molecules of Life, Genetics and Evolution, Organisms and Environment, Health and Diseases, Human Physiology, Applied Ecology, Microorganisms and Humans, and Biotechnology. Each carries an explanation and the topic it maps to. The full bank of 540 questions is in the app.
Are these real HKDSE Biology past paper questions?
No, and deliberately not. Every question is written from scratch by RiverMap Learning to the topic framework in the publicly available Biology Curriculum and Assessment Guide. No HKEAA past paper question, marking scheme or textbook content is reproduced. Scientific facts are not copyrightable; the published framework is used only to align coverage.
How many elective units of HKDSE Biology do you have to study?
Two of the four. There are four electives, Human Physiology: Regulation and Control, Applied Ecology, Microorganisms and Humans, and Biotechnology, and a school normally enters its candidates for two of them. Which two is the school's decision rather than the candidate's, which is why our bank carries all four rather than a chosen pair.
How many multiple-choice questions are in HKDSE Biology Paper 1?
This page does not state a number, because we have not verified one against a current official document. Counts quoted online are usually taken from one year's actual paper and do not bind the next sitting. Check the assessment framework published by the HKEAA and confirm with your school.
Are the questions in English or Chinese?
The questions on this page are in English, because the English paper is what most candidates sit. In the app every question, option, explanation, flashcard and topic note exists in English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese, switching at a tap, so you can work out the concept in the language you think in and then check the term you will have to write.
Does a good score here mean you will do well in the real exam?
No. Sixteen questions is a diagnostic, not a prediction, and there is no pass mark on this page or in the app because HKDSE levels are awarded by standards-referenced reporting each year rather than against a fixed mark. Use the result to pick which topic to open next, which is the only thing a sample this size can honestly do.