100+ Free IGCSE History Practice Questions

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Which right-wing putsch attempted to overthrow the Weimar government in March 1920?

The Kapp Putsch

The Spartacist Uprising

The Munich Putsch

The Beer Hall Putsch

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: IGCSE History Exam

A*-G

Grading scale

Cambridge International

3 components

Paper 1 + Paper 2 + (Paper 4 or coursework)

Cambridge 0470 syllabus 2024-2026

140 marks

Total across the three components

Cambridge 0470 syllabus

100

Free practice questions here

OpenExamPrep

Cambridge IGCSE 0470 History runs on the 2024-2026 syllabus. All candidates take Paper 1 (2 hours, 60 marks structured essays) and Paper 2 (1 hr 45 min, 40 marks source analysis). The third component is either Component 3 coursework on a depth study or Paper 4 Alternative to Coursework (1 hour, 40 marks).

Sample IGCSE History Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your IGCSE History exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Who were the 'Big Three' at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919?

A.Wilson, Clemenceau, Lloyd George

B.Wilson, Churchill, Stalin

C.Wilson, Clemenceau, Orlando

D.Roosevelt, Clemenceau, Lloyd George

Explanation: The Big Three were US President Woodrow Wilson, French Premier Georges Clemenceau and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. They dominated the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Italy's Orlando attended but was not part of the core three.

2Which clause of the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to accept blame for starting the First World War?

A.Article 231 (the War Guilt Clause)

B.Article 48

C.The Locarno Article

D.The Anschluss Clause

Explanation: Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles assigned sole responsibility for the war to Germany and her allies. It became known as the 'War Guilt Clause' and was bitterly resented in Germany. It also provided the legal basis for demanding reparations.

3What total reparations figure was fixed for Germany by the Reparations Commission in 1921?

A.132 billion gold marks

B.6.6 billion gold marks

C.50 billion US dollars

D.1 trillion Reichsmarks

Explanation: In 1921 the Reparations Commission fixed Germany's total liability at 132 billion gold marks (about £6.6 billion at the time). The figure was hugely unpopular in Germany and contributed to economic instability and political extremism during the early Weimar years.

4To what number of men was the German army limited under the Treaty of Versailles?

A.100,000

B.500,000

C.250,000

D.25,000

Explanation: The Treaty restricted the German army to 100,000 men and banned conscription. Germany was also forbidden tanks, military aircraft, submarines and a battle fleet, and the Rhineland was demilitarised. These terms aimed to prevent Germany from threatening her neighbours again.

5Which area of Germany was demilitarised by the Treaty of Versailles?

A.The Rhineland

B.Bavaria

C.The Saar

D.East Prussia

Explanation: The Rhineland, the strip of German territory along the French border, was permanently demilitarised by the Treaty of Versailles to protect France from invasion. Hitler famously remilitarised it in March 1936, in defiance of both Versailles and the Locarno Treaty.

6Which territory was given to the new state of Poland to provide it with sea access, separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany?

A.The Polish Corridor

B.The Sudetenland

C.Alsace-Lorraine

D.The Memel Strip

Explanation: The Polish Corridor was a strip of former German territory granted to Poland to give it access to the Baltic Sea at the port of Danzig (made a Free City under League supervision). It cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany and was a major German grievance.

7Whose Fourteen Points famously called for self-determination of nations and a League of Nations?

A.Woodrow Wilson

B.David Lloyd George

C.Georges Clemenceau

D.Vittorio Orlando

Explanation: US President Woodrow Wilson set out his Fourteen Points in January 1918 as a basis for a just peace. They included open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, self-determination of peoples and the creation of a League of Nations to keep the peace.

8Which major power, despite their President championing the League of Nations, refused to join it?

A.The United States

B.Britain

C.France

D.Italy

Explanation: The US Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, and so the United States never joined the League of Nations. The absence of the world's leading economic power fatally weakened the League from the start.

9Which of the following was NOT a major organ of the League of Nations?

A.The Politburo

B.The Council

C.The Assembly

D.The Secretariat

Explanation: The League's main bodies were the Assembly (all members, one vote each), the Council (permanent great powers plus rotating members), the Secretariat (civil service) and the Permanent Court of International Justice. The Politburo was the ruling body of the Soviet Communist Party, not a League organ.

10Which League of Nations agency worked to improve working conditions worldwide?

A.The International Labour Organisation (ILO)

B.The League Court

C.The Council

D.The Secretariat

Explanation: The International Labour Organisation, set up in 1919, brought together governments, employers and workers to set international labour standards. It survived the League's collapse and became a specialised agency of the United Nations after 1945.

About the IGCSE History Exam

Cambridge IGCSE History (0470) is the international upper-secondary qualification in History taken by Year 10-11 students worldwide. The course is built on Core content covering international relations from 1919-1939 and the Cold War 1945-1991, plus one Depth Study chosen from Germany 1918-1945, Russia 1905-1941, USA 1919-1941, China c.1930-c.1990, South Africa 1940s-1994, or Israelis and Palestinians since 1945. Candidates sit Paper 1 (structured questions), Paper 2 (source-based document question), and either Component 3 coursework or Paper 4 (Alternative to Coursework depth-study essay).

Questions

100 scored questions

Time Limit

Paper 1: 2 hours; Paper 2: 1 hr 45 min; Paper 4 ATC: 1 hour

Passing Score

Grades A*-G available; Grade C is typically considered the higher-tier pass

Exam Fee

£60-£140 per subject (school-set entry fee, varies by centre) (Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE))

IGCSE History Exam Content Outline

25%

Core: International relations 1919-1939

Treaty of Versailles 1919 (Wilson, Clemenceau, Lloyd George; reparations, territorial loss, army limits), aims and structure of the League of Nations, successes (Aaland Islands, Upper Silesia, refugees) and failures (Manchuria 1931, Abyssinia 1935-36), Hitler's foreign policy 1933-39 (rearmament, Rhineland, Anschluss, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, Nazi-Soviet Pact), appeasement debate

20%

Core: The Cold War 1945-1991

Yalta and Potsdam, Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, Berlin Blockade and Airlift, NATO and Warsaw Pact, Hungary 1956, Berlin Wall 1961, Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, Prague Spring and Brezhnev Doctrine, détente and SALT, Soviet Afghanistan 1979, Gorbachev's reforms, collapse of communism 1989-91

20%

Depth Study: Germany 1918-1933 (Weimar)

Kaiser's abdication and Weimar Constitution (Article 48), Versailles impact, Spartacist Uprising 1919, Kapp Putsch 1920, hyperinflation 1923, Munich Putsch 1923, Stresemann era (Dawes/Young plans, Locarno 1925, League membership 1926), Great Depression

Depth Study: Nazi rise to power 1929-1934

Nazi electoral growth 1928-33, propaganda under Goebbels, SA and street politics, Hitler appointed Chancellor 30 January 1933, Reichstag Fire and Enabling Act, Night of the Long Knives 1934, Hitler becomes Führer August 1934

10%

Depth Study: Nazi Germany 1934-1945

Police state (Gestapo, SS, People's Courts), Hitler Youth and BDM, Strength Through Joy (KdF) and DAF, economic policy under Schacht then Goering's Four-Year Plan, rearmament, persecution (1933 Boycott, Nuremberg Laws 1935, Kristallnacht 1938, Final Solution), women, opposition (White Rose, Edelweiss Pirates, July 1944 Bomb Plot)

10%

Depth Study: Russia 1905-1917 (end of Tsarism)

1905 Revolution (Bloody Sunday, Soviets, October Manifesto, Dumas), WWI impact on Russia, February 1917 Revolution and Tsar's abdication, Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet (Dual Power), July Days, Kornilov Affair, October Revolution

10%

Depth Study: Lenin and Stalin's USSR 1917-1941

Bolshevik consolidation (Cheka, Constituent Assembly), Brest-Litovsk 1918, Civil War 1918-21 (Reds, Whites, Greens), War Communism, Kronstadt Mutiny 1921, NEP, succession struggle Stalin vs Trotsky, Five-Year Plans, collectivisation and Holodomor, Great Terror 1936-38, show trials, cult of personality

10%

Other Depth Studies

USA 1919-41 (Roaring Twenties, KKK, Prohibition, Wall Street Crash, Hoover, FDR's New Deal and Alphabet Agencies AAA/TVA/CCC/WPA), China (Long March 1934-35, civil war CCP vs KMT, PRC 1949, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution), South Africa (apartheid laws, Sharpeville, Soweto, Mandela), Israel-Palestine (1948, 1967, 1973, Oslo Accords, intifadas)

How to Pass the IGCSE History Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: Grades A*-G available; Grade C is typically considered the higher-tier pass
Exam length: 100 questions
Time limit: Paper 1: 2 hours; Paper 2: 1 hr 45 min; Paper 4 ATC: 1 hour
Exam fee: £60-£140 per subject (school-set entry fee, varies by centre)

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

IGCSE History Study Tips from Top Performers

1Memorise key dates and named individuals — Paper 1 (a) questions reward precise factual recall (e.g. Munich Putsch 8-9 November 1923, Reichstag Fire 27 February 1933)

2For Paper 2 (Source Question), always cross-reference sources with your own knowledge and consider provenance (who, when, why) — never describe the source in isolation

3For the depth-study essay (Paper 4 or coursework), practise balancing two sides and reaching a supported judgement — examiners reward analytical conclusions, not narrative

4Use the Cambridge mark scheme levels to self-mark — Level 4 (judgement) requires you to weigh both sides, not just list points

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 assessed?

All candidates take Paper 1 (Structured Questions, 2 hours, 60 marks) and Paper 2 (Document Question, 1 hour 45 minutes, 40 marks). The third component is either Component 3 Coursework (a depth-study assignment) or Paper 4 Alternative to Coursework (1 hour, 40 marks structured essay on a depth study).

What Core content do all candidates study?

All candidates study one of two Core options. Option A covers nineteenth-century history. Option B (by far the most common choice) covers the twentieth century: international relations 1919-1939 (Versailles, League of Nations, road to WWII) and the Cold War 1945-1991.

Which Depth Study is most commonly taught?

The most widely taught Depth Studies are Germany 1918-1945 and Russia 1905-1941. Schools may also choose USA 1919-1941, China c.1930-c.1990, South Africa 1940s-1994, or Israelis and Palestinians since 1945.

Is the 2026 syllabus different from previous years?

The current syllabus covers the 2024-2026 examination series. Past papers from 2021-2023 used a closely related structure (Papers 1, 2 and 4 or Component 3) and remain useful for revision. The Core content and Depth Study list have been stable for many years.

100+ Free IGCSE History Practice Questions

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