Which QCE Biology past paper do students score lowest on?

The 2020 Paper 2, averaging 61.1% across 714 marked attempts on AusGrader. The 2023 Paper 1 is the highest on 76.2%.

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

3.1.6 (1.8 marks at risk per 100), 3.1.7 (1.6 marks at risk per 100) and 4.1.13 (1.4 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 QCE Biology figure based on?

46,126 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 QCAA 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 QCAA publishes about this subject and do not replace it.

QCE Biology hardest topics

Across 46,126 marked attempts on AusGrader, QCE Biology students average 70.3% on questions taken from board external papers. The lowest average of any command verb is calculate on 61.4%, and the verb that costs the most marks is explain, which carries 28.6% of the paper against 3.2% for calculate. These are self-selected users practising when they chose to, not the QCAA cohort under exam conditions.

How to read these numbers

The figures are AusGrader users' marked attempts, not QCAA 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 1 dot point, 1 question type and 11 verbs. Every figure shown carries its attempt count.
Scores cover questions mapped to the QCE Biology syllabus from any board's external papers, which is why the sample is larger than the 12 QCAA papers alone. The paper table below is the exception and uses QCAA papers only.
Internal assessment and school-uploaded exams are excluded throughout, so these averages differ from the ones on QCE Biology performance stats, which count every attempt.

Score by past paper

Year	Paper	Average	Attempts
2025	Paper 1	70.2%	2,582
2025	Paper 2	67.2%	761
2024	Paper 1	67.6%	1,891
2024	Paper 2	65.7%	999
2023	Paper 1	76.2%	1,885
2023	Paper 2	65.2%	524
2022	Paper 1	67.4%	1,526
2022	Paper 2	67.3%	576
2021	Paper 1	68.2%	2,083
2021	Paper 2	71.4%	541
2020	Paper 1	68.0%	2,827
2020	Paper 2	61.1%	714

The lowest average belongs to the 2020 Paper 2 on 61.1% from 714 attempts, and the highest to the 2023 Paper 1 on 76.2% from 1,885 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
Short answer	67.8%	11,487
Multiple choice	72.5%	34,601

Score by unit

Unit	Average	Attempts
Unit 3: Biodiversity and the interconnectedness of life	69.7%	12,319
Unit 4: Heredity and continuity of life	69.7%	28,318

An attempt counts once per unit, so a question assessed across two units appears in both rows and the column adds to slightly more than 46,126.

The priority list: heavy topics with low scores

Topic	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
Genetics and heredity	27.5%	69.4%	16,200	8.4
Functioning ecosystems and succession	25.5%	68.6%	5,669	8.0
Continuity of life on Earth	25.6%	70.2%	12,249	7.6
Biodiversity and populations	21.4%	70.5%	6,789	6.3

The topic list is close: 8.4 against 8.0 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
3.1.6	Determine the diversity of species using measures such as species richness, evenness (relative species abundance), percentage cover, percentage frequency and Simpson's diversity index, $SDI = 1 - \frac{\sum n(n-1)}{N(N-1)}$	5.2%	65.5%	1,042	1.8
3.1.7	Describe how sampling can be used to investigate the species diversity of a given area, considering the most appropriate sampling method: random, systematic, stratified; sampling technique: quadrats, line transect, belt-transect, capture-recapture; strategies to minimise bias: size and number of samples, random-number generators, counting criteria, calibrating equipment and noting associated precision; measure/s of diversity	5.2%	69.9%	775	1.6
4.1.13	Infer patterns of inheritance and predict frequencies of genotypes and phenotypes from genetic data, including histograms (polygenic inheritance); pedigrees (dominant/recessive, autosomal/sex-linked); Punnett squares (dominant/recessive, autosomal/sex-linked and multiple-allele inheritance)	4.2%	66.3%	754	1.4
4.2.7	Explain how geographic, temporal and spatial isolation influence gene flow and may lead to allopatric, sympatric and parapatric speciation	4.1%	66.3%	930	1.4
3.2.2	Analyse food chains, energy flow diagrams and ecological pyramids to determine efficiencies of energy and biomass transfer; gross and net productivity; loss of energy through radiation, reflection and absorption	3.7%	63.2%	660	1.4
4.2.3	Explain natural selection and identify the three main types of phenotypic selection: stabilising, directional and disruptive	3.5%	67.3%	1,371	1.1
4.1.1	Describe the structure and function of DNA, genes and chromosomes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, including helical structure, nucleotide composition (nitrogenous base + sugar + phosphate), complementary base pairing, hydrogen bonds; introns and exons, promoter region; homologous chromosomes (i.e. sister chromatids, centromeres, telomeres, gene loci, alleles), role of histones; circular chromosomes (i.e. prokaryotes, mitochondria, chloroplasts) and plasmids	4.2%	74.1%	3,450	1.1
4.1.8	Explain the process of protein synthesis in terms of transcription of a gene into messenger RNA in the nucleus; RNA processing (5' cap, RNA splicing, poly-A tail); translation of mRNA into an amino acid sequence at the ribosome, referring to transfer RNA, codons and anticodons	2.9%	65.0%	3,987	1.0
4.2.10	Infer species relatedness from cladograms, phylograms and molecular sequence data	3.9%	74.6%	2,801	1.0
3.2.10	Explain how the carrying capacity of an ecosystem can be impacted by changes to biotic and abiotic factors, including climatic events	3.5%	74.7%	516	0.9
4.2.2	Explain microevolutionary change through the main processes of mutation, gene flow and genetic drift	2.4%	64.5%	2,278	0.8
4.1.4	Describe the process of meiosis and explain how crossing over, independent assortment and random fertilisation produce variation in the genotypes of offspring	2.7%	70.1%	811	0.8
4.1.10	Explain how gene expression is regulated in response to environmental signals and to allow for cell differentiation, including chemical tags that affect chromatin structure (heterochromatin vs. euchromatin); proteins that bind to the promoter region of a gene (transcription factors)	2.1%	62.7%	1,275	0.8
3.2.3	Describe the transfer and transformation of matter (water, carbon, nitrogen) as it cycles through ecosystems	1.7%	54.6%	291	0.8
3.1.12	Identify and explain different modes of population growth, including exponential growth (J-curve); logistic growth (S-curve)	2.5%	69.1%	714	0.8
4.2.5	Analyse data to determine the effect of a selection pressure on a population, recognising that selection for an allele can be positive or negative	2.9%	73.7%	2,462	0.8
3.2.6	Explain the competitive exclusion principle	1.9%	59.8%	747	0.8
4.2.6	Describe how macroevolutionary changes result from the accumulation of microevolutionary changes using examples of divergent, convergent, parallel and coevolution	2.4%	68.8%	1,276	0.8
4.1.2	Describe the process of DNA replication with reference to helicase, DNA polymerase and the joining of Okazaki fragments	3.1%	76.0%	688	0.7

Which command verbs cost the most marks

Verb	Share of marks	Average	Attempts	Marks at risk
explain	28.6%	64.2%	2,976	10.2
describe	15.8%	68.1%	1,972	5.0
identify	14.7%	70.7%	1,909	4.3
predict	5.4%	65.7%	368	1.9
justify	5.2%	67.4%	745	1.7
determine	4.5%	63.9%	598	1.6
calculate	3.2%	61.4%	511	1.2
compare	3.4%	65.2%	397	1.2

Calculate has the lowest average on the page at 61.4%, and it is not where the marks go. Explain averages 64.2% but carries 28.6% of the paper against 3.2%, so it puts 10.2 marks per 100 at risk against 1.2. For the plain ranking of verbs by score, and what QCAA has said about each, read the QCE Biology study guide.

What this does not measure

Where to practise

Work the priority list from the top: Genetics and heredity and Functioning ecosystems and succession first, then the dot points above. Each topic page holds real QCAA questions with marking criteria attached. For what the papers actually cover, read QCE Biology most tested topics.

Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is © State of Queensland (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority), licensed under CC BY 4.0. See our QCAA licensing notice. AusGrader is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the QCAA.