The paper at a glance
The Class 10 Science (086) board paper is 80 marks and 3 hours, with 39 questions, all compulsory. The other 20 marks of your 100 come from internal assessment done by your school.
The paper is in three sections, one per subject, and you answer them in three separate parts of your answer book:
| Type | Marks each | A: Biology | B: Chemistry | C: Physics | Marks in all |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCQ | 1 | Q1-7 | Q17-23 | Q30-31 | 16 |
| Assertion-Reason | 1 | Q8-9 | Q24 | Q32 | 4 |
| Very short answer | 2 | Q10-12 | Q25 | Q33-34 | 12 |
| Short answer | 3 | Q13-14 | Q26-27 | Q35-37 | 21 |
| Case-based, parts 1 + 1 + 2 | 4 | Q15 | Q28 | Q38 | 12 |
| Long answer | 5 | Q16 | Q29 | Q39 | 15 |
| Section total | 30 (16 questions) | 25 (13 questions) | 25 (10 questions) | 80 |
Notice the shape. Biology has the most 1-mark questions (9 of the 20), while Physics has only 2 MCQs and one Assertion-Reason but three 3-markers, many of them numericals or diagrams. The sample paper and both 2026 board papers follow this layout slot for slot.
Before the 3 hours start you get 15 minutes of reading time. In the 2025 and 2026 board papers the paper was handed out at 10:15 a.m., reading ran till 10:30, and writing started at 10:30.
The paper is set at three levels: about 50% (around 40 marks) tests remembering and understanding, 30% (around 24 marks) tests applying, and 20% (around 16 marks) tests analysing and evaluating: questions like "who is right, and why", "what will happen if the experiment is changed", or reading a graph.
Internal choice
There is no overall choice, but 9 questions have an internal choice, three in each section:
| Section | Short question with an OR | Case-based question | Long answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Biology | one 2-marker (Q11 or Q12) | Q15, the 2-mark part | Q16 |
| B Chemistry | one 3-marker (Q26 or Q27) | Q28, the 2-mark part | Q29 |
| C Physics | one 2-marker (Q33 or Q34) | Q38, the 2-mark part | Q39 |
Which short question carries the OR changes from paper to paper: the sample paper used Q11, Q26 and Q34. In a long answer, the choice is between two complete questions. In a case-based question, only the 2-mark part has a choice. There is no choice in any MCQ or Assertion-Reason question.
The labels vary too. The sample paper and the February 2026 paper print the long-answer options as (A) and (B); the other board papers use (a) and (b). The case-study choice appears as C or D in the sample paper, (c) OR (c) in February 2026, and (c)(i) OR (c)(ii) in 2025 and May 2026. Copy the label exactly as your paper prints it.
The OR option almost always comes from the same chapter as the question it replaces, so a choice lets you pick the easier question; it does not let you skip a chapter.
Attempt only one option. The paper asks for only one, and the usual instruction to examiners is to mark just the first attempt when both are answered. Writing both only wastes time.
The general instructions in plain words
- 39 questions, all compulsory. Leave nothing blank. A half-finished answer can still earn step marks.
- Three sections: A Biology (30 marks), B Chemistry (25 marks), C Physics (25 marks).
- The paper has MCQs, VSAs, SAs, LAs and CBQs, with the marks printed against each question.
- Case-based questions (CBQs) are 4 marks each, with three sub-questions.
- Divide your answer book into three sections, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and write each answer in its own section. The instruction says clearly: do not mix answers of one section into another. An answer written in the wrong section can be missed.
- Internal choice: attempt only one of the options.
- Visually impaired candidates: a separate question paper is provided for them.
- Question numbers run from 1 to 39 across the three sections. Write each one exactly as printed, and for an OR question also write which option you did, with its label exactly as printed, for example 16 (B) or 16 (b), 28 (c)(ii).
How step marking works
MCQs and Assertion-Reason questions are 1 mark each with no part marks. Every other question is marked point by point: the marking scheme lists the value points and the marks for each, usually in halves and ones. You get each point you write correctly, even if something else in the answer is wrong.
A 3-mark Physics question, with a typical split of its marks: A 6 Ω and a 3 Ω resistor are joined in parallel, and this combination is joined in series with a 4 Ω resistor across a 12 V battery. Find (a) the total resistance, (b) the current drawn from the battery, and (c) the potential difference across the 4 Ω resistor.
| Step in the answer | Marks |
|---|---|
| Parallel part: , so | ½ |
| Total: | ½ |
| Formula: | ½ |
| ½ | |
| Formula: | ½ |
| ½ | |
| Total | 3 |
Real schemes sometimes give a whole part its marks together instead of ½ per step: the sample paper's circuit question (Q37) gives 2 marks to part A as a whole. Either way, it is the working that earns them.
- Riya writes every step with units and gets 8 V: 3 marks.
- Aman adds the 6 Ω and 3 Ω directly (9 Ω), then does everything else correctly with his wrong total. He loses the resistance steps but keeps at least the two formula steps: 1 mark or a little more, instead of 3.
- Kabir writes only "6 Ω, 2 A, 8 V" with no working: he gives the examiner nothing to award for the formulas and steps, and risks losing most of the 3 marks.
Theory questions work the same way. A 3-mark "give reasons" question with parts A, B and C gives 1 mark to each reason. In a 2-mark answer on digestion, each of the two points asked for carries its own mark. The 2026-27 sample paper's marking scheme even splits a list of four points on breathing into ½ mark each. Short, separate points are easier to mark than one long paragraph.
How a diagram is marked
Diagrams carry real marks. In the sample paper's Physics long answer, the ray diagram alone is worth 2 of the 5 marks, and an electron-dot structure in Chemistry is worth 1 mark on its own.
The marks for a diagram usually go to three things:
- The drawing itself: the right shape and proportions (a nephron with its cup-shaped Bowman's capsule, a lens with the image in the right place).
- The labels that were asked for: each one clear and pointed at the right part with a straight ruled line. A good drawing with no labels earns little.
- Direction: arrows on every light ray, on the flow of blood or air, and on current and field lines. A ray diagram without arrows is incomplete.
Draw in pencil, keep the lines clean, don't shade, and write labels in ink or pencil in a straight column beside the figure. In a ray diagram, show the principal axis, mark F, 2F or C, draw the normal as a dotted line, and show virtual rays as dotted lines.
Assertion-Reason: what the options mean
Questions 8, 9, 24 and 32 each give a statement called the Assertion (A) and another called the Reason (R). The options are always (printed (A)-(D) in the board paper):
- (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- (b) Both A and R are true, and R is not the correct explanation of A.
- (c) A is true but R is false.
- (d) A is false but R is true.
Judge A on its own first, then R on its own. Only when both are true do you ask whether R is the reason A happens. That one question decides between (a) and (b). Do not assume both statements are true: in the sample paper two of the four keys were (d), where the Assertion was false.