The CBSE Class 10 paper is predictable in its shape and in where the marks sit. Below is the unit-wise weightage CBSE has published in recent years for Mathematics and Science, the form each chapter takes in the paper, and a two-month order. Confirm the numbers against the official sample paper and syllabus for your session — CBSE revises them, and the sample paper is the final word.
Mathematics (80 marks)
| Unit | Marks | What it turns into |
|---|---|---|
| Number Systems (Real Numbers) | 6 | HCF/LCM, proving √2 irrational, decimal expansions |
| Algebra (Polynomials, Linear Equations, Quadratics, APs) | 20 | Zeroes and coefficients, word problems, discriminant, nth term and sum |
| Coordinate Geometry | 6 | Distance, section formula, collinearity |
| Geometry (Triangles, Circles) | 15 | Similarity proofs, BPT, tangent theorems |
| Trigonometry (incl. Applications) | 12 | Identities, height and distance with a diagram |
| Mensuration (Areas related to Circles, Surface Areas and Volumes) | 10 | Sector areas, combined solids |
| Statistics and Probability | 11 | Mean/median/mode of grouped data, single-event probability |
Highest return per hour: APs, Quadratics, Trigonometric identities, Circles (tangent theorems), Statistics. Together they are about half the paper and they repeat their question forms every year.
Science (80 marks)
| Unit | Marks | Chapters | What it turns into |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Substances | 25 | Reactions and Equations; Acids, Bases and Salts; Metals and Non-metals; Carbon Compounds | Balancing, types of reactions, pH, reactivity series, IUPAC naming, soap |
| World of Living | 25 | Life Processes; Control and Coordination; Reproduction; Heredity | Diagrams (heart, nephron, neuron), Mendel's crosses, reflex arc |
| Natural Phenomena | 12 | Light; Human Eye | Mirror/lens formula numericals, ray diagrams, defects of vision |
| Effects of Current | 13 | Electricity; Magnetic Effects | Ohm's law, series/parallel, power, right-hand rules |
| Natural Resources | 5 | Our Environment | Food chains, 10 % law, ozone |
Highest return per hour: Electricity numericals, Light numericals and ray diagrams, Life Processes diagrams, Chemical Reactions balancing, Heredity crosses.
The question types to be ready for
CBSE now sets a share of competency-based questions — a situation or data set with two or three parts — alongside MCQs, assertion–reason, short answers and long answers. The knowledge is the same; the reading is longer. Practise picking the chapter from the scenario in ten seconds.
Assertion–reason questions have a fixed four-option format; learn it once and the whole section becomes free marks.
A two-month order
Weeks 1–3: the big units. Maths Algebra and Geometry; Science Chemical Substances and World of Living. Do the NCERT exercises fully, then previous year questions chapter-wise.
Weeks 4–5: the numerical chapters. Trigonometry, Mensuration, Statistics; Electricity, Light. These are formula-and-method chapters — twenty problems each, with the formula written on every one.
Week 6: diagrams and definitions. Heart, nephron, neuron, reflex arc, human eye, ray diagrams for each mirror and lens case, the domestic circuit. Draw each from memory three times.
Weeks 7–8: sample papers, timed. One full paper every two days at the exam hour. Mark it with the official scheme. Every lost mark goes into the Mistake Book with the reason; revise the book, not the textbook, in the final week.
What to stop doing
- Reading the chapter a fourth time instead of doing the questions.
- Skipping the diagram because "the text explains it" — the diagram is the mark.
- Leaving units off numericals.
- Studying the small units first because they are quick. They are worth 5–6 marks; Algebra alone is 20.