Testosterone — the male puberty hormone
Testosterone is produced by the testes. At puberty, rising levels drive the male secondary sexual characteristics: growth of facial, body, pubic and underarm hair; deepening of the voice as the larynx grows; increased muscle development and growth in height; growth of the penis and testes; and the onset of sperm production. Name the specific characteristic — "testosterone causes puberty" is too vague to be credited.
Oestrogen — the female puberty hormone
Oestrogen is produced by the ovaries. At puberty, rising levels drive the female secondary sexual characteristics: development of the breasts; widening of the hips and pelvis; growth of pubic and underarm hair; and the start of the menstrual cycle. Oestrogen also acts later in the cycle, repairing and thickening the uterus lining — but for a puberty question the answer is oestrogen, never progesterone.
(Extended) Four hormones run the 28-day cycle
Two come from the pituitary gland, two from the ovary. FSH stimulates an egg to mature in its follicle and the ovary to release oestrogen. Oestrogen repairs and thickens the uterus lining and triggers the LH surge, while at high levels inhibiting further FSH. LH surges around day 14 and triggers ovulation. Progesterone, from the corpus luteum, maintains the lining and inhibits FSH and LH; when it falls, the lining is shed and a new cycle begins.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Oestrogen ≠ progesterone at puberty
Oestrogen, from the ovaries, is the hormone that drives the female secondary sexual characteristics at puberty. Progesterone acts later, in the second half of the menstrual cycle, maintaining the uterus lining. Examiners saw candidates offer progesterone — or even testosterone — where the answer required oestrogen.
Progesterone/testosterone given instead of oestrogen — s23 Paper 33 Q7(b) (raw 0610 examiner report, June 2023 sitting).
Testosterone comes from the testes
Asked to mark the site of testosterone production on a diagram, many candidates picked the wrong labelled structure. Fix the map once: testosterone → testes; oestrogen → ovaries; progesterone → ovary (corpus luteum), then the placenta in pregnancy; FSH and LH → pituitary gland. Hormone name and source organ are marked separately.
Wrong labelled site chosen for testosterone production — s23 Paper 33 Q7(a) (raw 0610 examiner report, June 2023 sitting).
Misspelling loses the mark
Examiners flagged the spelling of oestrogen and testosterone as needing improvement even where candidates had picked the right hormone. A near-miss spelling that reads as a different hormone risks the mark. Write both names out in full and carefully — only FSH and LH are safe as abbreviations.
Spelling of oestrogen and testosterone flagged — s23 Paper 31 Q3(c)(ii) (raw 0610 examiner report, June 2023 sitting).
Where progesterone is actually made
Examiners recorded uncertainty over where progesterone is produced. It comes from the corpus luteum — the structure the ruptured follicle becomes in the ovary after ovulation — and later from the placenta in pregnancy. The uterus is the target of progesterone, not its source, and the pituitary gland makes only FSH and LH.
Uncertainty over the production of progesterone — w22 Paper 23 general comments (raw 0610 examiner report, November 2022 sitting).
Day 21 peak ≠ day 14 ovulation
On a hormone-concentration graph, a substantial number of candidates chose day 14 as the progesterone peak. Day 14 is the LH surge and ovulation. The corpus luteum only forms after ovulation, so progesterone keeps rising for about a week and peaks around day 21. Different hormones peak on different days.
Progesterone peak (day 21) confused with ovulation day (day 14) — s22 Paper 22 Q29 (raw 0610 examiner report, June 2022 sitting).
FSH and LH roles swapped
Few candidates knew that FSH and LH — not oestrogen or progesterone — are the hormones required for the development and release of an egg cell. FSH matures the egg in its follicle; the LH surge triggers ovulation. Use the initials: F for Follicle (FSH matures it), L for the Luteinising surge that releases the egg.
FSH/LH role in egg development and release poorly known — s22 Paper 23 Q29 (raw 0610 examiner report, June 2022 sitting).
Progesterone maintains, never sheds
Progesterone keeps the thickened uterus lining intact and well supplied with blood, ready for implantation. It does not break the lining down. Menstruation happens when the corpus luteum degenerates and progesterone FALLS — the shedding is caused by the loss of the hormone, not by any action of it.
Name the hormone and its source
Marks are awarded separately for the hormone, the gland or organ that makes it, and its specific effect. Answer in that order: "Testosterone, produced by the testes, causes the voice to deepen." A hormone name on its own rarely takes the full tariff.
Use a precise verb
"It controls the cycle" scores nothing. Match the verb to the hormone: FSH stimulates egg maturation and oestrogen release; oestrogen repairs and thickens the uterus lining; LH triggers ovulation; progesterone maintains the lining and inhibits FSH and LH.
Anchor a hormone graph at day 14
On a multi-hormone graph, find the LH spike at day 14 (ovulation) first and read everything else relative to it. Then check which curve the question names before quoting a day — the four hormones do not peak together.
Puberty and the cycle are separate
Testosterone and oestrogen driving puberty is a Core statement about permanent, one-off changes. Oestrogen, progesterone, FSH and LH controlling the menstrual cycle is an Extended statement about a repeating monthly cycle. Answer the one the question actually asks for.
Puberty: the stage of development during which the reproductive organs mature and secondary sexual characteristics develop, triggered by rising levels of sex hormones.
Secondary sexual characteristics: physical features that develop at puberty (not present in children) that distinguish males and females, but are NOT the reproductive organs themselves (the "primary" sexual characteristics).
Testosterone: the main male sex hormone, produced by the testes.
Oestrogen: a female sex hormone, produced by the ovaries; drives puberty changes and repairs/thickens the uterus lining during the menstrual cycle.
(Extended) Progesterone: a female sex hormone, produced by the ovary (corpus luteum) and later the placenta during pregnancy; maintains the uterus lining and inhibits FSH/LH release.
(Extended) FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone): a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates egg maturation and oestrogen release from the ovary.
(Extended) LH (luteinising hormone): a hormone produced by the pituitary gland; a surge in LH triggers ovulation.
State where oestrogen is produced and its general role at puberty.
(a) Name the hormone responsible for the development of male secondary sexual characteristics, and state the organ that produces it.
(b) Name the hormone responsible for the development of female secondary sexual characteristics, and state the organ that produces it.
