Show Working

GCSE ScienceCombined and separate

GCSE Science revision, with the working shown

GCSE Science is coming to Show Working: Combined Science and the separate sciences, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, for AQA, Edexcel and OCR, on Foundation and Higher.

It isn’t in the app yet. This page shows what’s coming, how the courses and tiers work, every topic, and real questions from the app with their answers, free for anyone to use now.

Try some questionsSee every topic
  • 1,815 facts
  • 79 kinds of calculation
  • Required practicals
  • 6-mark questions

Physics · Energy storesCalculation

A car has a mass of 1,000 kg and is moving at 11 m/s. Work out the kinetic energy. Give your answer in joules.

  1. 1Kinetic energy = 0.5 × mass × (speed)²
  2. 2Substitute: kinetic energy = 0.5 × 1,000 × 11²
  3. 3= 0.5 × 1,000 × 121 = 60,500 J
  4. 4So the kinetic energy is 60,500 J.
Every calculation, worked step by step

01 / What’s coveredThree sciences, four kinds of practice

Everything a GCSE science exam asks you to do

Science papers test four different things, so the app practises each of them its own way.

  1. Facts you need to know

    1,815 facts across biology, chemistry and physics, each with its own questions: tap one answer from four, or put the steps of a process in order. Every answer comes with a short reason.

  2. Calculations, worked out

    79 kinds of physics and chemistry calculation, fresh numbers every time, with every step of the working shown, from the equation to the units.

  3. Required practicals

    The methods, variables, safety and results for the practicals your board asks about. See every practical.

  4. 6-mark questions

    Write your answer, then tick off what a full answer includes and read a model answer. How 6-mark questions work.

02 / Combined or separateDouble or triple

Combined Science or separate sciences: what’s the difference?

Your school decides which course you take. Both cover all three sciences; separate sciences go further in each.

GCSE Combined Science and the separate sciences compared
WhatCombined ScienceSeparate sciences
Often calledDouble science, or double awardTriple science
GCSEs you getTwo, graded together from 9-9 down to 1-1Three: Biology, Chemistry and Physics, each graded 9 to 1
What’s in itThe core of all three sciencesEverything in Combined Science, plus extra topics in each, such as space physics
TiersFoundation (1-1 to 5-5) or Higher (4-4 to 9-9)Foundation (1 to 5) or Higher (4 to 9)
In Show WorkingIncluded in ScienceIncluded in the same Science purchase

03 / Your board, course and tierOnly what you need

You only see what your exam asks

Every fact in the app is tied to the line of the Department for Education’s science content it tests, and to the matching statement in each board’s specification.

Choose your exam board (AQA, Edexcel, OCR Gateway or OCR Twenty First Century), Combined or separate, and Foundation or Higher. The app then shows only the facts your own specification asks for. Not sure of your board yet? Leave it blank and you’ll see everything in the national content.

Show Working is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by AQA, Pearson Edexcel or OCR.

Where the boards really differ

  • Flame tests. AQA says a copper flame is green; Edexcel says blue-green. Each pupil is asked in their own board’s words.
  • Gravity. AQA gives g as 9.8 N/kg, while Edexcel and OCR often use 10 N/kg, so every calculation says which value to use.
  • Named examples. Boards choose different diseases, scientists and industrial processes to study. You only meet the ones your board names.
  • Practicals. AQA’s required practicals, Edexcel’s core practicals and OCR’s practical activity groups aren’t the same list. See which board has which.

04 / Every topicNamed after the national content

The topics, science by science

Each science is split into the areas of the Department for Education’s GCSE content, which every board in England teaches. Tap a science for sample questions and answers.

Biology

7 topics · 644 facts

  • Cell biologyFree to try
  • Transport systems
  • Health, disease and medicines
  • Coordination and control
  • Photosynthesis
  • Ecosystems
  • Inheritance, variation and evolution

Biology questions and answers

Chemistry

9 topics · 614 facts · 35 kinds of calculation

  • Atoms and the periodic tableFree to try
  • Bonding, structure and properties
  • Chemical changes
  • Energy changes
  • Rates and equilibrium
  • Organic chemistry
  • Chemical analysis
  • Chemical and allied industries
  • Earth and the atmosphere

Chemistry questions and answers

Physics

10 topics · 557 facts · 44 kinds of calculation

  • EnergyFree to try
  • Forces
  • Forces and motion
  • Waves in matter
  • Light and electromagnetic waves
  • Electricity
  • Magnetism and electromagnetism
  • Particle model of matter
  • Atomic structure
  • Space physics

Physics questions and answers

05 / Try itQuestions from the app

Example questions, with the answers

These come straight from the app’s question banks. Pick an answer, then open it to check, with the reason and the source we checked it against.

01 / Biology · Cell biologyBoth tiers

What is the job of the nucleus in an animal cell?

  1. AIt is where proteins are made
  2. BIt contains the genetic material
  3. CIt controls what enters and leaves
  4. DIt releases energy from glucose
Show the answer

Answer: B It contains the genetic material

The nucleus holds the genetic material: DNA arranged in chromosomes. The genes on this DNA carry the instructions that control what the cell does and which proteins it makes.

Checked against OpenStax Biology 2e, 4.3 Eukaryotic Cells

02 / Chemistry · Atoms and the periodic tableBoth tiers

Where is most of the mass of an atom?

  1. AIn the empty space
  2. BIn the nucleus
  3. CIn the electron shells
  4. DSpread evenly through the atom
Show the answer

Answer: B In the nucleus

An atom has a tiny, positively charged nucleus at its centre, made of protons and neutrons. Almost all of the mass is there. Negatively charged electrons move around the nucleus in shells.

Checked against AQA GCSE Chemistry 8462 specification, 4.1.1.5 Size and mass of atoms

03 / Physics · EnergyBoth tiers

Which energy resource supplies most of the energy for road transport in the UK?

  1. AThe tides
  2. BNuclear fuel
  3. COil
  4. DCoal
Show the answer

Answer: C Oil

Energy resources are used for transport, electricity generation and heating. In the UK, petrol and diesel made from oil still supply most transport energy, and natural gas is the main fuel burned to heat homes.

Checked against DESNZ, UK Energy in Brief 2026, final energy consumption by fuel and sector (page 10), gov.uk

Chemistry · a worked calculation: percentage by mass of an element

Work out the percentage by mass of carbon in carbon dioxide, CO₂.
Relative atomic masses (Aᵣ): C = 12, O = 16

  1. Percentage by mass of an element = (Aᵣ × number of atoms of that element ÷ Mᵣ of the compound) × 100
  2. Mᵣ of CO₂ = 12 + 2 × 16 = 44.
  3. Mass of carbon in the formula: 12.
  4. Percentage = (12 ÷ 44) × 100 = 27.27…%.
  5. So carbon is 27.3% (to 3 significant figures) of the mass.

Answer 27.3%

06 / Checked, line by lineWhy you can trust the answers

Every fact is tied to the course. Then checked again.

1,815

facts, each naming the line of the national science content it tests and a trusted source it was checked against.

Our own count, 28 Oct 2026
3,812

questions on those facts, each proved by our checker to have exactly one right answer.

Our own checker, 28 Oct 2026
79

kinds of physics and chemistry calculation, with answers worked out by code and checked against a separate maths library.

Our own checker, 28 Oct 2026
4

exam boards’ specifications mapped statement by statement: AQA, Edexcel, OCR Gateway and OCR Twenty First Century.

Biology, chemistry and physics

Every question is our own: we never copy past papers, mark schemes or specifications. 6-mark answers are never marked by an AI, and there’s no grade, ever.

07 / Free guidesNo sign-up

GCSE science guides, free now

GCSE ScienceCombined and separate sciences, boards, tiers and topics, with example questions.Read →GCSE Biology questionsEvery biology topic, with sample questions, answers and explanations.Read →GCSE Chemistry questionsEvery chemistry topic, with sample questions and worked calculations.Read →GCSE Physics questionsEvery physics topic, with sample questions and worked calculations.Read →GCSE science required practicalsEvery practical by board, with the variables, method and safety in short.Read →GCSE science 6-mark questionsHow they are marked, how to plan one, and a model answer for each science.Read →

08 / Coming to Show WorkingWhat it will cost

Science is on its way to the app

We’re building Science for Show Working now. It isn’t on phones yet, and we won’t give a date until it’s ready. When it comes:

  • One payment of £9.99 for Science, covering Combined Science and Biology, Chemistry and Physics. No subscription.
  • Free to try: Cell biology, Atoms and the periodic table, and Energy.
  • All subjects for £24.99, including subjects we add later.
  • Same app, same rules: no account, no adverts, no tracking, and it works offline.

Doing GCSE maths too?

Maths is the subject in Show Working today: fresh questions every time, with the working shown for every answer. See the maths topics.

Coming soon to the App Store

09 / QuestionsAbout GCSE Science

GCSE Science, answered

Is there GCSE Science in Show Working?

Not yet. We’re building GCSE Science for the app now: Combined Science and the separate sciences, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. It isn’t on phones yet, and we won’t give a date until it’s ready. Maths is the subject in the app today.

How much will Science cost?

Science will be one payment of £9.99 inside the app, covering Combined Science and Biology, Chemistry and Physics, with no subscription. All subjects together will be £24.99. Cell biology, Atoms and the periodic table, and Energy will be free to try.

Which exam boards will Science cover?

AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR (both Gateway and Twenty First Century), for Combined Science and the separate sciences. You choose your board, course and tier, and you only see what your own specification asks for. Show Working is independent and not affiliated with any exam board.

What’s the difference between Combined Science and separate sciences?

Combined Science covers biology, chemistry and physics and is worth two GCSEs, graded from 9-9 down to 1-1. Separate sciences, often called triple science, are three GCSEs, each graded 9 to 1, with extra topics in every science. Both have Foundation and Higher tiers.

Will an AI mark my 6-mark answers?

No. You write your answer, then tick off what a full answer includes and read our model answer. There’s no AI marking, no score and no grade.

More revision guides

GCSE BiologyGCSE ChemistryGCSE PhysicsAll revision guides

One topic at a time.

Start with the one your class is on.

Pick a science, read a topic’s sample questions, then cover the answers and try them again tomorrow.

Start with biology

Or go to chemistry or physics. Revising practicals? Every required practical, explained.

Show WorkingComing soon to the App Store