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A2.1 Origins of cells

The origin of cells links prebiotic environments, abiotic organic synthesis, membrane compartments, self-replicating RNA, radiometric evidence, and the shared ancestry of modern cellular life.

Syllabus
First assessment 2025
Topic
A2.1
Level
—

What you’ll learn

9 learning objectives

Choose one objective for a focused lesson, or study the complete topic.

Exam analysis

An aggregate view of how the complete A2.1 Origins of cells appears across past papers.

Chance of appearing8%of analysed past papers
Latest appearanceNovember 2025
Most common paperPaper3

Most tested objectives

  1. A2.1.6—RNA as presumed first genetic material8 questions
  2. A2.1.3—Spontaneous origin of cells6 questions
  3. A2.1.4—Evidence for origin of carbon compounds5 questions

Common question formats

  • Structured response
  • Process explanation
  • Definition or recall
  • Evaluation
  • Extended response

Exam question appearances

November 2025Paper2 ["HL"] · TZ310(a)[ 5 ]A2.1.6—RNA as presumed first genetic material
May 2025Paper1A ["HL"] · TZ112[ 1 ]A2.1.4—Evidence for origin of carbon compounds
May 2022Paper1 ["HL"] · TZ13[ 1 ]A2.1.5—Spontaneous formation of vesicles
May 2015Paper3 ["HL"] · TZ12(a)[ 1 ]A2.1.5—Spontaneous formation of vesicles
May 2015Paper3 ["SL"] · TZ111(b)[ 1 ]A2.1.3—Spontaneous origin of cells
Practice this topic

6 original exam-style questions based on the patterns above.

Coverage 2010–2025 · Updated 15 Jul 2026

Study checklistA2.1 Origins of cells