Cambridge IGCSE Combined Science 0653: papers, topics, dates and grades

IGCSE Combined Science papers

The multiple choice papers have 40 four-option questions, and the theory papers are short-answer and structured questions. Paper 5 is a lab practical and Paper 6 is a written paper on the same experimental skills. This is the 2025 to 2027 syllabus; Cambridge has already published the syllabus for 2028 and 2029.

Combined Science or Co-ordinated Sciences?

Both cover all three sciences, but they are different qualifications:

Combined Science leaves out some topics that Co-ordinated includes, such as inheritance, variation and selection in biology, and nuclear physics. See our IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences guide for the double award.

IGCSE Combined Science exam dates 2027

The June 2027 series runs from 26 April to 11 June 2027. Cambridge publishes a timetable for each zone, so check yours with your exams officer. November 2026 IGCSE results come out on 14 January 2027.

IGCSE Combined Science grade thresholds

Your three papers are weighted into a total out of 200. In June 2026, Cambridge set these thresholds:

Other versions of the papers had slightly different thresholds (for 22, 42, 62 the A* was 145 and the C was 76), and they change every series.

What IGCSE Combined Science covers

• Biology (B1 to B16): living organisms, cells, movement into and out of cells, biological molecules, enzymes, plant and human nutrition, transport, disease and immunity, gas exchange, respiration, drugs, reproduction, ecosystems and human influences.
• Chemistry (C1 to C12): states of matter, atoms and compounds, stoichiometry, electrochemistry, energetics, reactions, acids and salts, the Periodic Table, metals, the environment, organic chemistry and analysis.
• Physics (P1 to P5): motion, forces and energy, thermal physics, waves, electricity, and space physics.

Worked examples

Physics: weight

Near the Earth's surface, g is approximately 9.8 N/kg, as the syllabus states. A 6.0 kg bag has weight:

Chemistry: relative formula mass

Calcium carbonate is CaCO₃. With Ca = 40, C = 12 and O = 16, its relative formula mass is 40 + 12 + 3 × 16 = 100.

Biology: food tests

To test for reducing sugar, heat the food with Benedict's solution: it turns from blue to green, yellow or brick red as more sugar is present. Iodine solution turns blue-black with starch, and biuret solution turns purple with protein.

Identify the type of bonding in a substance in our Chemical Bonding course, then press Mark to check your answer in the course:

Use the daily paper as a short timed mock

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper for IGCSE Combined Science. Each is a short timed mock: 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, with a suggested 30 to 40 minutes, marked when you finish. It is not a full Cambridge paper, and the questions are original, not past papers.

• What it covers well: atoms and the Periodic Table, chemical reactions, cells and organisation, health and disease, ecology, forces, electricity, waves and energy.
• What it does not cover: the practical skills of Papers 5 and 6, and the multiple choice format. It is pitched near Core level, so Extended candidates should also practise the Supplement content, such as mole calculations.

For full papers under exam conditions, use Cambridge past papers from your teacher, and read our IGCSE mocks guide for when mocks happen and how to revise for them.

Common mistakes in IGCSE Combined Science

• Revising one science and neglecting another. Every paper mixes biology, chemistry and physics.
• Confusing mass and weight. Mass is in kg; weight is a force in newtons.
• Losing marks on units. Give the unit with every calculated answer.
• Describing a colour change half-way. State the start and end colours in food and chemical tests.

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