Which HSC Biology past paper do students score lowest on?

The 2024 Exam, averaging 75.6% across 911 marked attempts on AusGrader. The 2025 Exam is the highest on 76.8%.

Which HSC Biology dot points give the best return on revision time?

5.3.2 (2.0 marks at risk per 100), 9.5.1 (1.8 marks at risk per 100) and 8.1.2 (1.7 marks at risk per 100). Marks at risk combines a dot point's share of paper marks with the marks students drop on it, so it ranks by recoverable marks and not by score alone.

How many attempts is each HSC Biology figure based on?

58,977 marked attempts overall, with the per-row count shown in every table. Any cut below 50 attempts is withheld instead of published.

Do these averages show how the NESA cohort performed?

No. They are AusGrader users' marked attempts, a self-selected group practising when they chose to and often without exam timing. They corroborate what NESA publishes about this subject and do not replace it.

HSC Biology hardest topics

Across 58,977 marked attempts on AusGrader, HSC Biology students average 71.6% on questions taken from board external papers. The lowest average of any command verb is provide on 40.5%, and the verb that costs the most marks is explain, which carries 19.3% of the paper against 0.0% for provide. These are self-selected users practising when they chose to, not the NESA cohort under exam conditions.

How to read these numbers

The figures are AusGrader users' marked attempts, not NESA results. They corroborate what the board publishes about this subject and do not stand in for it.
Any cut with fewer than 50 attempts is withheld, which on this page is 4 dot points and 15 verbs. Every figure shown carries its attempt count.
Scores cover questions mapped to the HSC Biology syllabus from any board's external papers, which is why the sample is larger than the 3 NESA papers alone. The paper table below is the exception and uses NESA papers only.
Internal assessment and school-uploaded exams are excluded throughout, so these averages differ from the ones on HSC Biology performance stats, which count every attempt.

Score by past paper

Year	Exam	Average	Attempts
2025	Exam	76.8%	1,050
2024	Exam	75.6%	911
2023	Exam	75.9%	1,267

The lowest average belongs to the 2024 Exam on 75.6% from 911 attempts, and the highest to the 2025 Exam on 76.8% from 1,050 attempts. A paper's average reflects both how hard it was and who chose to sit it, so treat the spread as a guide to which papers make demanding practice.

Score by question type

Question type	Average	Attempts
Extended response	55.0%	120
Short answer	69.7%	7,842
Multiple choice	72.7%	51,015

Score by module

Module	Average	Attempts
Module 8: Non-infectious Disease and Disorders	68.4%	5,979
Module 5: Heredity	70.9%	16,891
Module 7: Infectious Disease	71.6%	17,402
Module 9: Working Scientifically Skills	72.3%	18,250
Module 6: Genetic Change	73.6%	10,214

An attempt counts once per module, so a question assessed across two modules appears in both rows and the column adds to slightly more than 58,977.

The priority list: heavy topics with low scores

Topic	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
Mutation	8.8%	69.9%	4,261	2.6
Immunity	8.7%	72.7%	9,622	2.4
Technologies and Disorders	5.8%	59.8%	84	2.3
Genetic Variation	6.9%	71.0%	1,320	2.0
Genetic Technologies	9.0%	78.0%	4,365	2.0
DNA and Polypeptide Synthesis	6.0%	67.6%	8,963	1.9
Homeostasis	6.0%	67.8%	2,479	1.9
Analysing Data and Information	7.2%	73.7%	11,311	1.9
Causes of Infectious Disease	6.7%	75.3%	2,250	1.6
Prevention, Treatment and Control	4.8%	69.9%	6,564	1.4
Reproduction	6.5%	78.8%	1,651	1.4
Epidemiology	4.5%	70.0%	2,240	1.4
Biotechnology	4.7%	72.6%	1,978	1.3
Cell Replication	4.0%	74.6%	1,782	1.0
Planning Investigations	2.5%	72.9%	3,680	0.7
Processing Data and Information	1.5%	66.2%	2,478	0.5
Problem Solving	1.5%	73.5%	1,460	0.4
Inheritance Patterns in a Population	1.3%	72.6%	4,044	0.4
Causes and Effects	1.0%	69.6%	1,126	0.3
Responses to Pathogens	0.7%	60.8%	886	0.3
Prevention	1.0%	73.9%	302	0.3
Communicating	0.5%	74.1%	53	0.1
Conducting Investigations	0.3%	65.3%	672	0.1

The topic list is close: 2.6 against 2.4 marks at risk separates first from second, so topic choice alone will not order revision. The dot-point list below spreads further.

The same cut at dot-point level

Dot point	Content	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
5.3.2	● model the process of polypeptide synthesis, including: (ACSBL079) – transcription and translation – assessing the importance of mRNA and tRNA in transcription and translation (ACSBL079) – analysing the function and importance of polypeptide synthesis (ACSBL080) – assessing how genes and environment affect phenotypic expression (ACSBL081)	5.7%	65.5%	4,786	2.0
9.5.1	● derive trends, patterns and relationships in data and information	6.9%	73.6%	9,247	1.8
8.1.2	● investigate the various mechanisms used by organisms to maintain their internal environment within tolerance limits, including: – trends and patterns in behavioural, structural and physiological adaptations in endotherms that assist in maintaining homeostasis (ACSBL099, ACSBL114) – internal coordination systems that allow homeostasis to be maintained, including hormones and neural pathways (ACSBL112, ACSBL113, ACSBL114) – mechanisms in plants that allow water balance to be maintained (ACSBL115)	5.2%	67.2%	2,336	1.7
5.4.2	● model the formation of new combinations of genotypes produced during meiosis, including but not limited to: – interpreting examples of autosomal, sex-linkage, co-dominance, incomplete dominance and multiple alleles (ACSBL085) – constructing and interpreting information and data from pedigrees and Punnett squares	5.0%	68.5%	668	1.6
7.3.2	● explain how the immune system responds after primary exposure to a pathogen, including innate and acquired immunity	5.2%	71.3%	5,939	1.5
5.1.1	● explain the mechanisms of reproduction that ensure the continuity of a species, by analysing sexual and asexual methods of reproduction in a variety of organisms, including but not limited to: – animals: advantages of external and internal fertilisation – plants: asexual and sexual reproduction – fungi: budding, spores – bacteria: binary fission (ACSBL075) – protists: binary fission, budding	5.9%	76.9%	810	1.4
6.2.1	● investigate the uses and applications of biotechnology (past, present and future), including: (ACSBL087) – analysing the social implications and ethical uses of biotechnology, including plant and animal examples – researching future directions of the use of biotechnology – evaluating the potential benefits for society of research using genetic technologies – evaluating the changes to the Earth’s biodiversity due to genetic techniques	4.7%	72.6%	1,978	1.3
5.2.1	● model the processes involved in cell replication, including but not limited to: – mitosis and meiosis (ACSBL075) – DNA replication using the Watson and Crick DNA model, including nucleotide composition, pairing and bonding (ACSBL076, ACSBL077)	4.0%	74.6%	1,782	1.0
8.3.3	● evaluate the method used in an example of an epidemiological study	3.5%	71.2%	223	1.0
8.5.2	● investigate technologies that are used to assist with the effects of a disorder, including but not limited to: (ACSBL100) – hearing loss: cochlear implants, bone conduction implants, hearing aids – visual disorders: spectacles, laser surgery – loss of kidney function: dialysis	3.6%	72.6%	67	1.0
7.3.1	● investigate and model the innate and adaptive immune systems in the human body (ACSBL119)	3.5%	73.6%	8,307	0.9
7.4.2	● investigate procedures that can be employed to prevent the spread of disease, including but not limited to: (ACSBL124) – hygiene practices – quarantine – vaccination, including passive and active immunity (ACSBL100, ACSBL123) – public health campaigns – use of pesticides – genetic engineering	2.5%	68.1%	4,307	0.8
6.1.6	● evaluate the effect of mutation, gene flow and genetic drift on the gene pool of populations (ACSBL091, ACSBL092)	2.5%	68.8%	2,357	0.8
6.1.2	● compare the causes, processes and effects of different types of mutation, including but not limited to: – point mutation – chromosomal mutation	2.8%	73.1%	793	0.8

Which command verbs cost the most marks

Verb	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
explain	19.3%	66.2%	1,758	6.5
describe	14.0%	70.4%	993	4.1
evaluate	11.0%	73.5%	106	2.9
compare	6.3%	63.6%	323	2.3
justify	7.0%	71.8%	617	2.0
outline	6.0%	67.5%	801	1.9
identify	2.3%	68.3%	979	0.7
discuss	2.3%	69.7%	71	0.7

Provide has the lowest average on the page at 40.5%, and it is not where the marks go. Explain averages 66.2% but carries 19.3% of the paper against 0.0%, so it puts 6.5 marks per 100 at risk against 0.0. Each verb above is practised in the HSC Biology question bank, where the marking criteria show what NESA expects the answer to do.

What this does not measure

Where to practise

Work the priority list from the top: Mutation and Immunity first, then the dot points above. Each topic page holds real NESA questions with marking criteria attached. For what the papers actually cover, read HSC Biology most tested topics.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is used under licence, © Copyright NSW Education Standards Authority. See our NESA licensing notice. The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) does not endorse this product or service. NESA takes no responsibility for any errors in the reproduction of NESA Materials. Any sample examination papers or model answers accompanying the NESA Materials are not part of the NESA Materials and are in no way endorsed or authorised by NESA.