NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology externals (92022 and 92023)

The NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology externals

Level 1 Chemistry and Biology has four standards. The other two, 92020 and 92021, are internal.

The NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology exam in 2026 and 2027

The 2026 Level 1 Chemistry and Biology exam is on Thursday 19 November, in the afternoon session. NZQA's 2027 timetable is not out yet: it says exams run from 9 November to 3 December 2027 and the subject timetable is due in December 2026. NZQA's specifications for both years say the assessment is an online digital examination.

• Three questions: you respond to three questions with paragraph-style answers, and each may have more than one part. They are set in contexts that may be unfamiliar, and the resource material comes with the exam.
• 92022: be familiar with the examples in the standard's explanatory notes and with identifying genetic relationships using gene tracking methods, which NZQA says may include DNA profiling, DNA sequencing, and pedigree or genome analysis. You are expected to know the terms allele frequency and population.
• 92023: be familiar with the types of materials in the standard and the arrangement of particles and attractions between them. A periodic table and an example list of physical properties come in a separate resource booklet.

Genetic variation (92022)

The standard (version 4) says an identified characteristic is a trait with differences or similarities in phenotype or morphology, and a gene tracking method identifies the presence or absence of genes, genetic markers or DNA sequences in an individual or population. Sources of variation for an individual include mutation and sexual reproduction, and for a population small population size, differing survival, migration and non-random mating. Achieved describes the source and nature of the variation and a purpose for tracking it. Merit explains how and why it occurs and how the purpose is met. Excellence evaluates the findings.

Take a recessive characteristic such as albinism, with alleles A (normal) and a (albino). Two carriers, Aa and Aa, can have an albino child. Meiosis gives each parent's gametes either A or a, and fertilisation joins two at random: the chance of aa is 1 in 4, of Aa 2 in 4 and of AA 1 in 4. At Achieved you describe this. At Merit you explain it: a carrier passes on the allele because half of the gametes carry it, and sexual reproduction mixes alleles from two parents. At Excellence you evaluate: a family might track the allele with a pedigree or DNA test to decide whether a child is at risk, and the test result shows probability, not certainty, unless the genotype itself is confirmed. NZQA's 2025 report says Excellence candidates avoided unsupported assumptions when genotypes could not be confirmed, and used "gene" and "allele" correctly.

To see why a harmful recessive allele persists, note that carriers hide it. If 9% of a population show the trait (q² = 0.09), then q = 0.30 and 2pq = 2 × 0.70 × 0.30 = 0.42, so 42% are carriers. This calculation goes beyond the standard, but you can check it in the Hardy-Weinberg Calculator. In a small population, non-random mating can also make two carriers meet more often.

Physical properties of materials (92023)

The standard (version 3) limits the materials to molecular substances, metallic solids, ionic materials, natural and synthetic polymers, and covalent networks, and the particles to atoms, ions, molecules and electrons. Achieved describes the use of materials with reference to physical properties, and those properties with reference to the arrangement of particles and the relative strength of the attractive forces. Merit explains the properties and use in terms of them. Excellence evaluates how materials behave when used.

Copper wire is a metallic solid. The atoms are held in a lattice by attraction to delocalised electrons that can move, so copper conducts electricity well, and the layers can slide without breaking, so it can be drawn into wire. At Merit you explain table salt: sodium chloride is an ionic solid, with oppositely charged ions held by strong attractions in a lattice, so it has a high melting point and does not conduct as a solid. When it dissolves, the slightly charged ends of water molecules attract the ions and pull them away, and the free ions then carry charge. At Excellence you evaluate a choice. A pot has an aluminium alloy base and a plastic handle with a non-stick polymer coating inside: the metal conducts heat quickly because of its delocalised electrons, the plastic handle conducts poorly because it has no free electrons or ions, and the coating's strong covalent bonds make it unreactive, while weak attractions between its chains let food slide off. NZQA's 2025 report says candidates did better when they named the type of bonding or structure, not "strong bonds" or "intermolecular forces", and linked it to observable properties, not words like "hard" or "light".

How the NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology externals are marked

In 2025 each standard had three questions. Each question is scored from N0 to E8, and the three scores are added to give a total out of 24. N1 and N2 are Not Achieved, A3 and A4 are Achieved, M5 and M6 are Merit, and E7 and E8 are Excellence. NZQA then turns the total into a grade using that year's cut scores.

NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology cut scores

These cut scores are NZQA's grade boundaries, as the score at which each grade starts. In 2024, 92022 was a report with two questions, marked out of 8, and in 2025 it became a three-question exam marked out of 24 (NZQA's 2025 report). The 2026 cut scores will appear in NZQA's 2026 assessment schedules once the exams have been marked. NZQA's 2023 schedules were pilot schedules for earlier versions of these standards, so only 2024 and 2025 are listed.

Cut scores 2025

From NZQA's assessment schedules: 92022 and 92023. Each grade starts at:

Cut scores 2024

From NZQA's assessment schedules: 92022 and 92023. Each grade starts at:

Now sort some genotypes in our Genetics and DNA course, then press Mark to check your answer in the course:

And name the type of bond in our Chemical Bonding course:

Exam answers

The answers and a worked mark scheme come with today's paper once it is marked. We do not publish official or past paper answers. Every question on the daily paper is our own.

Use the daily paper as a practice exam

Uni-Sine publishes free daily papers on the NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and NCEA Level 1 Biology tracks. Each is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full NCEA exam, and not written by NZQA. The Chemistry track has bonding and structure questions that support 92023, with ionic, covalent and metallic substances and polymers, though it uses UK-style GCSE content too. The Biology track has genetics and inheritance questions with alleles and carriers that support 92022, but none on pedigrees or DNA profiling. Both include topics that are not part of these standards, so treat those as extra. For the whole course, see the NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology guide.

Are the NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology externals changing?

NCEA still applies in 2026 and 2027, and NZQA's 2027 assessment specification for Level 1 Chemistry and Biology keeps 92022 and 92023 as external standards worth 5 and 4 credits. In 2028, Year 11 moves to a new foundational award focused on reading, writing and maths. Check NZQA before planning beyond 2027.

Common mistakes in the NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology externals

• Mixing up gene and allele. NZQA's 2025 report says using them interchangeably limited marks. A genotype has two alleles.
• Confusing genotype with phenotype. The report lists this as a Not Achieved error.
• Copying the stimulus. Restating the resource earns nothing; apply your own knowledge to it.
• Vague words about materials. Say "ionic lattice" or "delocalised electrons", not "strong bonds", and link them to properties.
• Listing properties without the use. Say how each property makes the material suitable.
• Wrong material class. The report gives confusing ionic substances with metallic ones as an example.

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New Zealand · NCEA Level 1NCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology: standards and examNCEA Level 1 Chemistry and Biology explained: the genetic variation and materials externals, the two internals, the 2026 digital exam date and examples.