ICSE Class 10 Syllabus: Groups, Marks and Chapter Lists

How subjects are chosen in the ICSE class 10 syllabus

Some pairs are not allowed, such as Economics in Group II with Economic Applications in Group III. Schools also grade SUPW and community service internally, and these appear on the certificate. Check the latest CISCE regulations for the full list and the barred combinations.

Marks, paper length and passing rules

You need 33% in a subject to pass it. English must be passed, and your overall percentage is usually worked out from English plus your four best other subjects. Maths and science papers have a compulsory Section A of short and objective items worth 40 marks, then a Section B where you answer four longer questions out of a larger set.

Mathematics chapters

• Commercial maths: GST, banking (recurring deposit accounts), shares and dividends.
• Algebra: linear inequations, quadratic equations in one variable, ratio and proportion, factorisation using the remainder and factor theorems, matrices, arithmetic and geometric progressions.
• Coordinate geometry: reflection, section and mid-point formula, equation of a straight line.
• Geometry: similarity, loci, circles and tangents, constructions.
• Mensuration: cylinder, cone and sphere, including combined solids.
• Trigonometry: identities, use of tables, heights and distances.
• Statistics and probability: mean, median, quartiles and mode, histograms and ogives, simple probability.

Physics, chemistry and biology chapters

Physics

• Force, work, power and energy, and simple machines
• Refraction at plane surfaces, lenses and the spectrum
• Sound: natural and forced vibrations, echoes, loudness, pitch and quality
• Current electricity, household circuits and electromagnetism
• Calorimetry and specific and latent heat
• Radioactivity and nuclear energy

Chemistry

• Periodic properties and their variation
• Chemical bonding: electrovalent, covalent and coordinate
• Acids, bases and salts; analytical chemistry
• Mole concept and stoichiometry
• Electrolysis and metallurgy, including extraction of aluminium and alloys
• Study of hydrogen chloride, ammonia, nitric acid and sulphuric acid
• Organic chemistry: homologous series, isomerism, naming, hydrocarbons

Biology

• Cell cycle, cell division and the basics of genetics
• Plant physiology: absorption by roots, transpiration, photosynthesis, plant hormones
• Human systems: circulatory, excretory, nervous with sense organs, endocrine and reproductive
• Population and its control, and pollution

History, Civics, Geography and Computer Applications

History and Civics

• Civics: the Union Parliament, the President and Vice President, the Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister, the Supreme Court, High Courts and subordinate courts.
• History: the revolt of 1857, the rise of nationalism, early nationalists and assertive nationalists, the Gandhian movements, the Muslim League, Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA, independence and partition, the two World Wars, the rise of dictatorships, the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Geography

• Toposheet reading and the map of India
• Climate, soils, natural vegetation and water resources
• Minerals and energy, agriculture, industries, transport and waste management

Computer Applications

• Java basics revisited, classes and objects, user defined methods, constructors
• Library classes and wrapper classes, encapsulation
• Arrays with searching and sorting, string handling

What usually needs the most time

Any honest syllabus of ICSE class 10 rewards some subjects for daily effort more than others. Maths carries a long paper with step marks, so steady daily practice pays more than last minute reading. In science, numericals in physics (lenses, electricity, calorimetry) and equations in chemistry usually separate an 85 from a 95. History needs answers written in the board's point by point style, and geography loses easy marks if you skip the toposheet question practice.

A revision plan for the board months

1. July to September: finish chapters in school order, and work through each exercise within a week of the lesson.
2. October and November: complete internal projects early so they do not eat into revision, and start one past paper a week per subject.
3. December and January: full timed papers, two hours for most subjects and two and a half for maths, then check against the marking scheme.
4. Last three weeks: formula sheets, chemical equations, dates in history and the map list.

The class 10th ICSE syllabus and specimen papers go together, so ask your school for the specimen papers CISCE releases, because they show the current question style.

Getting the ICSE 10th syllabus from CISCE

Many students search for the CISCE org syllabus class 10 documents, and that is the right place to go: the regulations and subject syllabuses for the ICSE class 10 exam are posted on cisce.org, along with specimen papers. Your school also shares the session plan. If you move to class 11 in the same board, the next step is the ISC class 12 syllabus. Other boards, including the open schooling route in the NIOS class 10 syllabus, are compared on the school boards page.