Cambridge Biology 9700 Paper 5: Current Planning, Analysis and Evaluation Guide

Q: What does Cambridge International Biology 9700 Paper 5 assess?
A: Paper 5 is a written Planning, Analysis and Evaluation paper. It assesses higher-order practical reasoning through planning, data processing, conclusions, and evaluation without requiring laboratory facilities during the examination.

TL;DR
Paper 5 lasts 1 hour 15 minutes, has 30 marks, and contributes 11.5% of A Level. It contains two or more structured questions and assesses AO3. It is an additional A Level component, not an alternative to the candidate-run Paper 3 practical.

Last reviewed: 19 July 2026. This guide follows Cambridge's current 2025-2027 Biology 9700 specification. It distinguishes published assessment requirements from study advice and does not predict the exact context, data set, or statistical test in a future paper.

1. Paper 5 at a glance

Paper 5 may assess practical skills in AS and A Level Biology and may use unfamiliar contexts. Cambridge provides information when a question uses unfamiliar theory or equipment.

Paper 5 belongs to the full A Level route. An AS-only entry uses Papers 1, 2, and 3. A valid staged A Level entry adds Papers 4 and 5 after the AS components, while an all-components A Level entry takes Papers 1 to 5 in one series. Confirm the actual entry, series, administrative zone, component code, and any carry-forward conditions with the school or examination centre.

Paper 3 remains the candidate-run Advanced Practical Skills component. Paper 5 does not replace it.

2. Published paper and mark structure

Paper 5 focuses on four higher-order practical skills:

• planning;
• analysis;
• conclusions;
• evaluation.

Candidates may need extended structured writing, diagrams, tables, an experimental method, a prediction, analysis of supplied data, conclusions, evaluation, and selection of suitable mathematical or statistical methods.

These ranges apply across the paper. They do not promise one fixed number of marks for a particular command word or one fixed question order.

3. Planning an investigation

Cambridge expects a procedure that tests a hypothesis or prediction using the supplied context and background information.

A source-aligned plan can include:

1. a relevant prediction in words or as a sketch graph, linked to an underlying hypothesis;
2. the independent and dependent variables;
3. the key variables that must be standardised;
4. how the independent variable will be varied;
5. how both variables will be measured accurately and at suitable precision;
6. suitable reagent volumes and concentrations where relevant;
7. serial or proportional dilution where the context requires different concentrations;
8. an appropriate control experiment;
9. a logical procedure explaining how the apparatus produces results;
10. a method for assessing anomalies, spread, repeatability, and validity;
11. a simple risk assessment based on hazard severity and probability;
12. precautions that reduce the identified risks.

Standardise variables that could materially affect the test. Cambridge explicitly says that variables expected to have minimal effect, such as small differences between test-tubes of the same type, do not automatically need standardising.

Do not insert a memorised sample size, concentration range, repeat count, or apparatus precision when the question does not support it. The plan must fit the supplied biological system and equipment.

4. Quality, spread, validity, and risk

Paper 5 separates several ideas that are often collapsed into a generic instruction to repeat the experiment.

• Anomalies: identify values that do not fit the pattern and consider a justified way to handle or investigate them.
• Spread: use the relevant measure, which may include standard deviation, standard error, or 95% confidence intervals.
• Repeatability: judge whether replication is sufficient for the context and the conclusions being drawn.
• Measurement validity: decide whether the dependent-variable method measures what the investigation claims to test.
• Control: judge whether the important variables were controlled effectively.
• Risk: combine the severity of a hazard with the probability of the problem occurring, then give a matching precaution.

5. Variables and data types

The current specification distinguishes these data types:

Recognising the data type matters because it affects the graph, summary statistic, and statistical test that can be justified.

6. Processing and presenting supplied data

Candidates should be able to:

• use tables and graphs to show the key points in quantitative data;
• place the independent variable on the horizontal axis and the dependent variable on the vertical axis;
• include confidence-limit error bars where required;
• select calculations needed to reach a conclusion;
• calculate means, percentages, rates of change, and percentage gain or loss where appropriate;
• use standard deviation, standard error, or standard-error bars to judge whether differences between means are likely to be statistically significant;
• choose and justify a statistical test limited to the syllabus requirements;
• state a null hypothesis for a statistical test;
• report calculated values to the same number of significant figures as, or one more than, the least precise data used.

7. Current A Level statistical scope

Biology 9700 includes descriptive statistics, 95% confidence intervals, and four named statistical tests. Cambridge provides the test formulae and relevant critical-value tables where required, but candidates must know how to calculate degrees of freedom for chi-squared and t-tests without a supplied formula.

For Pearson correlation, the current specification expects at least five paired observations, with ten or more preferred. For Spearman rank correlation, it expects more than five paired observations, with 10 to 30 preferred, plus independent data points and random selection with equal selection chance.

Both correlation coefficients run from -1 to +1. A correlation does not by itself establish causation.

The A Level mathematical scope also includes:

• sample standard deviation, standard error, and 95% confidence intervals;
• the approximation that a 95% confidence interval is the mean plus or minus two standard errors;
• Hardy-Weinberg allele and genotype frequencies;
• the Lincoln index for mark-release-recapture population estimates;
• Simpson's index of diversity;
• degrees of freedom for chi-squared and t-tests.

Cambridge says candidates will not be expected to carry out every step of sample-standard-deviation, t-test, Pearson, or Spearman calculations during an examination. A partly completed calculation may be supplied for completion. This does not remove the need to choose, interpret, and justify the method correctly.

8. Conclusions

A conclusion should:

1. summarise the main result;
2. identify the relevant raw and processed evidence, including graph or statistical-test results;
3. discuss the extent to which the data supports the hypothesis;
4. recognise strengths and weaknesses in the evidence;
5. explain the conclusion using relevant biology;
6. make a further prediction or hypothesis where requested.

Use the statistical result and biological evidence supplied. Avoid saying that a result "proves" a hypothesis when the data only supports it within the limits of the investigation.

9. Evaluation

Evaluation is a judgement about the actual investigation, not a list of generic weaknesses. Candidates may need to assess:

• anomalies and possible explanations;
• whether replication was sufficient;
• the range and intervals of the independent variable;
• whether the dependent-variable measurement was appropriate;
• how effectively key variables were controlled;
• the validity of the investigation;
• how well the data tests the hypothesis;
• how much confidence can be placed in the conclusion;
• an improvement that would increase confidence in the results.

Link an improvement to the limitation it addresses. "Repeat more" is incomplete when it does not explain what variation is being estimated, how replication changes the analysis, or why the conclusion becomes more reliable.

10. A source-bounded preparation method

The following is study advice, not a Cambridge rule.

1. Confirm the syllabus, component, entry route, and examination series.
2. Map each task to planning, analysis, conclusion, or evaluation and connect every planned variable, measurement, control, replicate, and precaution to the context.
3. Identify the data type and check the published conditions before selecting a graph, summary statistic, or test.
4. Use numerical and statistical evidence in conclusions.
5. Match every proposed improvement to a specific limitation.

Cambridge says preparation requires extensive supervised A Level laboratory experience, but it does not prescribe one commercial provider, mock schedule, or fixed number of laboratory or tuition sessions.

11. What this guide does not establish

The specification does not fix the context, hypothesis, apparatus, data set, or test in a future paper. It does not require every plan to use the same values, replicates, organisms, or concentrations; require every analysis to use error bars or a named test; or establish one universal evaluation sentence. It does not say that Paper 5 replaces Paper 3, prescribe a fixed preparation count, or guarantee grade improvement from tuition or any other format.

For the candidate-run component, use the current Biology 9700 Paper 3 guide.

References

1. Cambridge International, AS & A Level Biology 9700 syllabus for 2025-2027.
2. Cambridge International, AS & A Level Biology 9700 overview.