As the calendar turns toward February 25, 2026, classrooms across the country are charged with a familiar blend of anxiety and ambition. The Class 10th Science examination, one of the most pivotal assessments is going to be conducted on the same date. For lakhs of aspirants, the three-hour paper will demand precision across Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.The Central Board of Secondary Education has just released a sample question paper for the Science Board exam 2025, 26, according to which the Science test consists of 39 compulsory questions that have been divided into three sections.Section A (Biology) features 16 questions, consisting of seven multiple choice, two assertion and reason, and seven subjective ones. Section B (Chemistry) is worth 13 questions, whereas Section C (Physics) has 10. Students, altogether, will be provided with 16 MCQs, 4 assertion, reason items, and 19 subjective questions. In some questions, internal choices are given, but students need to answer only one option.Above all, questions based on diagrams also have text, based alternatives for students with visual impairments, which is in line with the increasing focus on inclusiveness in board examinations.Ms.Niyati, Biology Educator, Ahlcon International School and SCERT guest resource person spoke to TOI to share important tips and advise for students of Class 10th.
“NCERT is king”: The ground reality of preparation
Ms. Niyati offered sharp experience-backed advise. She stated that nearly 90 percent of the paper, including diagrams, is drawn directly from the NCERT textbook, and students must not overlook the in-text questions. She emphasised that NCERT remains the definitive guide to mastering both foundational and complex concepts in Class 10 Science.She further said that, “The 15-minute reading time at the start of the examination should be used strategically to identify case-based questions, which often appear lengthy but are typically easier to solve once understood. According to her, conceptual clarity is indispensable, particularly for multiple-choice questions that test precision rather than rote recall.”Ms. Niyati also stressed the importance of attempting timed tests and practising the latest CBSE sample paper to understand the revised pattern, sectional approach, and effective answer presentation.She also stressed the importance of timed practice. “Take timed tests and practise the latest CBSE sample paper. It helps students understand the new pattern, section-wise attempt, and answer presentation,” she said.
Section A Biology: Diagrams, definitions, discipline
Biology remains scoring for students who combine visual accuracy with correct terminology. Diagrams must be labelled clearly in pencil, without colours, and must incorporate precise biological keywords.Life processes such as nutrition in Amoeba, the human digestive system, aerobic versus anaerobic respiration, double circulation, and the structure of the nephron are central themes. In Control and Coordination, students must confidently explain reflex arcs, hormonal functions, and feedback mechanisms.In Heredity, Ms. Niyati cautioned students against casual language. “Do not use vague terms like ‘pure’ or ‘mixed’. Write homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, and recessive. Scientific terminology matters,” she emphasised.Key questions she identified include explaining urine formation in humans, genetic determination of sex, and the biological need to separate oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in mammals.
Section B: Chemistry — Balance is everything
In Chemistry, precision becomes non-negotiable. An unbalanced equation can cost full marks.“Reaction accuracy is critical,” Ms. Niyati remarked. “If the equation is not balanced, students may lose all marks, even if the explanation is correct.”Students must differentiate roasting and calcination with proper chemical equations and remember the chemical names, formulae, and uses of bleaching powder, baking soda, washing soda, and Plaster of Paris. Concepts such as electrolytic refining, ionic bond formation in a stepwise manner, the reactivity series, homologous series, esterification, and saponification continue to dominate the examination blueprint.
Section C: Physics — Formula with foresight
Physics demands methodical thinking. Writing the given data before solving numerical problems can secure partial credit even if final calculations falter.“Always write the formula first, then substitute the values,” Ms. Niyati advised. “Even if the calculation goes wrong, students can still earn marks for the correct approach.”Chapters on Light, including mirror and lens formulae, magnification, and ray diagrams, require special attention. Defects of vision such as myopia and hypermetropia must be explained with causes and corrective lenses. In Electricity and Magnetic Effects, conceptual clarity around Ohm’s Law, Joule’s Law of Heating, magnetic field lines, and Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule remains indispensable.She identified conceptual questions such as why the sun appears reddish at sunrise and the functioning of a fuse connected in series with the live wire as particularly significant this year.
CBSE Class 10 Science 2026: Most probable questions students should not miss
With the CBSE Class 10 Science examination approaching, strategic revision has become more important than expansive study. Year after year, board trends indicate that certain concept-driven questions reappear in varied formats, testing clarity rather than rote learning. Based on the latest paper pattern and expert analysis, the following questions are considered highly probable and demand focused preparation. The questions are suggested by Ms.Niyati:Section A – BiologyExplain the mechanism of urine formation in human beings, detailing filtration, reabsorption and secretion.Describe how the sex of a child is genetically determined in humans with the help of appropriate chromosomal explanation.State why separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood is essential in mammals and how double circulation ensures this efficiency.Section B – ChemistryDifferentiate between roasting and calcination, supported by balanced chemical equations and suitable examples.Write the chemical name, chemical formula and any two uses each of bleaching powder, baking soda, washing soda and Plaster of Paris (POP).Section C – PhysicsExplain why the sun appears reddish early in the morning, referring to the phenomenon of scattering of light.Define a fuse and justify why it is connected in series with the live wire in an electric circuit.Identify the defect of vision in a person who cannot see distant objects clearly, explain its cause, and state the corrective measure with the appropriate lens.
