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IGCSE · Practice questions · Sex hormones and the menstrual cycle

Four hormones, one month.

Six original Cambridge-style questions on puberty, the stages of the menstrual cycle and (Extended) the hormones that control the cycle and maintain pregnancy, including graph interpretation.

Original questions All questions on this page are original work, written in the Cambridge IGCSE style. They are not from past papers. They test the same concepts and skills the syllabus rewards.
Keep these straight

Gland, hormone, target.

01
Recall
[3 marks]

Describe the role of testosterone at puberty.

  • Testosterone is made by the testes. ✓
  • It causes the development of male secondary sexual characteristics. ✓
  • For example: voice deepens, facial and body hair grows, muscles develop, sperm production begins (any two). ✓
02
Recall
[4 marks]

Describe the changes in the ovary and in the lining of the uterus during a 28-day menstrual cycle.

  • Days 1 to 5: the uterus lining breaks down and is lost (menstruation). ✓
  • An egg matures in a follicle in the ovary while the lining repairs and thickens. ✓
  • About day 14 ovulation: the egg is released from the ovary. ✓
  • After ovulation the lining stays thick (the follicle becomes the corpus luteum); if no embryo implants, the lining breaks down again. ✓
03
Recall
[3 marks]

Extended. State where each hormone is produced: (a) FSH, (b) oestrogen during the menstrual cycle, (c) progesterone in late pregnancy.

  • (a) Pituitary gland. ✓
  • (b) Ovary (the developing follicle). ✓
  • (c) Placenta. ✓
04
Explain
[4 marks]

Extended. Explain how FSH, oestrogen and LH bring about ovulation.

  • FSH from the pituitary gland stimulates a follicle to develop in the ovary. ✓
  • The follicle secretes oestrogen, whose level rises. ✓
  • A high level of oestrogen triggers a surge of LH from the pituitary gland. ✓
  • The LH surge causes ovulation, the release of the egg from the follicle. ✓
05
Data
[3 marks]

Extended. A graph shows that a woman's progesterone level rose after day 15 of her cycle and then stayed high for the next 10 weeks. Suggest what has happened and explain why she did not menstruate.

  • She is pregnant: an embryo has implanted. ✓
  • Progesterone stays high (from the corpus luteum, then the placenta). ✓
  • Progesterone maintains the uterus lining, so it does not break down and there is no menstruation. ✓
06
Explain
[2 marks]

Extended. Explain why no new eggs mature during pregnancy.

  • High levels of progesterone (and oestrogen) stop the release of FSH (and LH) from the pituitary gland. ✓
  • Without FSH, no new follicles develop, so no eggs mature or are released. ✓

Mark this once you have attempted all six and checked your working. It records a Practiced badge on the topic and adds a one-time bonus. Revealing the solutions alone does not count.