ICSE Physics, Chemistry and Biology in Classes 9 and 10

ICSE does not examine "science" as one subject. CISCE's Science (52) is three separate papers, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, and each is a 2-hour, 80-mark paper with another 20 marks of internal assessment for practical work. Each paper rewards a different skill: units and numericals in Physics, balanced equations and precise observations in Chemistry, exact terms and labelled diagrams in Biology. This guide goes through all three for Classes 9 and 10, with worked examples, a two-year plan and the mistakes that most often cost marks. It uses CISCE's syllabuses for the 2027 examination, which today's Class 10 students sit, and the 2028 syllabuses CISCE published in January 2026, which apply to today's Class 9 students.

How CISCE examines science in Classes 9 and 10

CISCE publishes a separate syllabus for each science paper. For the ICSE 2027 examination, taken by students in Class 10 in 2026-27, the headings are:

What changes for the 2028 examination (today's Class 9)

CISCE published the ICSE 2028 syllabuses in January 2026. The paper format stays the same: in each science, one 2-hour, 80-mark paper plus 20 marks of internal assessment of practical work. The changes are mostly in Biology:

Three Biology changes matter most for planning. The respiratory system moves from Class 9 to Class 10. Genetics becomes a heading of its own in Class 10. And Human Evolution no longer appears among the Class 10 headings. Class 10 Biology also adds items such as tonicity, the SA node, dialysis, and types of neurons and the synapse. If your child is in Class 9 now, use the 2028 syllabus, not a guide book written for the 2027 exam. In Chemistry, the last Class 9 heading is now Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry; in Physics, the headings are unchanged.

Each paper is 2 hours and 80 marks, plus 20 marks of internal assessment for practical work. In Class 10, CISCE splits those 20 marks equally: 10 from the subject teacher and 10 from an external examiner, who may be a teacher of the same school who does not teach that subject to that class. The head of school then enters the marks on CISCE's portal.

Two syllabus notes shape how each subject should be studied. In Physics, CISCE says only SI units are to be used unless the syllabus says otherwise. In Chemistry, every reaction is to be studied with its reactants, products, conditions, observations, balanced equation and diagram. Those two sentences explain a large share of lost marks.

For the tutor side of each paper, see our pages for ICSE physics tutors, ICSE chemistry tutors and ICSE biology tutors in Gurgaon.

Physics: units, numericals and ray diagrams

ICSE Physics is the most numerical of the three papers. Class 9 builds the tools; Class 10 uses them in longer problems.

Equations of motion (Class 9). CISCE expects students to derive v = u + at, S = ut + ½at², S = ½(u + v)t and v² = u² + 2aS, though not the equation for the distance in the nth second, and non-uniform acceleration is left out. Example: a cyclist starts from rest and accelerates at 2 m/s² for 5 s. Then v = 0 + 2 × 5 = 10 m/s, and S = 0 + ½ × 2 × 5² = 25 m. Check with the third equation: S = ½(0 + 10) × 5 = 25 m.

Moments and machines (Class 10). A metre rule pivoted at its centre has a 5 N weight hung 30 cm to the left. Where must a 3 N weight hang to balance it? Clockwise moment = anticlockwise moment, so 3 × d = 5 × 30, and d = 50 cm to the right. For machines, mechanical advantage is load ÷ effort. If a 600 N load is raised with a 150 N effort, MA = 4; if the velocity ratio is 5, efficiency = MA ÷ VR = 0.8, or 80%.

Electricity and heat (Class 10). A 4 Ω resistor across 12 V carries I = V ÷ R = 3 A. To warm 0.5 kg of water by 10 °C, with specific heat capacity 4200 J kg⁻¹ °C⁻¹, the heat needed is Q = mcΔT = 0.5 × 4200 × 10 = 21,000 J. Students lose marks here by writing the answer without units or by mixing grams with kilograms.

Ray diagrams. Light appears in both years. Draw with a sharp pencil and a ruler, put arrows on every ray, show the normal as a dotted line, and label the angles of incidence and refraction. A diagram without arrows is incomplete, even if the geometry is right.

Chemistry: equations, observations and analytical chemistry

ICSE Chemistry rewards precision. A reaction answer is complete only with the balanced equation, the conditions and what you would see.

Mole concept (Class 10). CISCE includes the relation molecular mass = 2 × vapour density. A gas with vapour density 22 has molecular mass 44, which fits carbon dioxide (12 + 2 × 16 = 44). Empirical formula: a compound has 40% carbon, 6.67% hydrogen and 53.33% oxygen by mass. Divide by atomic masses: 40 ÷ 12 = 3.33, 6.67 ÷ 1 = 6.67, 53.33 ÷ 16 = 3.33. The simplest ratio is 1 : 2 : 1, so the empirical formula is CH₂O.

Analytical chemistry (Class 10). This chapter is about adding sodium hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide to salt solutions and describing the precipitate. With sodium hydroxide: copper(II) gives a pale blue precipitate, iron(II) a dirty green one, iron(III) a reddish-brown one, and zinc and lead give white precipitates that dissolve in excess. With ammonium hydroxide, the copper(II) precipitate dissolves in excess to give a deep blue solution, and the zinc precipitate dissolves in excess while the lead one does not. Warming an ammonium salt with sodium hydroxide releases ammonia. These colour-and-excess pairs are short, reliable marks once learnt as a table.

Electrolysis (Class 10). In molten lead bromide, lead forms at the cathode and bromine at the anode. Write the electrode reactions with electrons shown, and say which electrode is which.

The periodic table. CISCE studies the modern periodic table up to period 4 and asks no questions on elements beyond it. Both the 1–18 group numbering and the older notation are accepted in the exam.

Class 9 Chemistry starts with The Language of Chemistry: symbols, valency, formulae of radicals and balancing equations. If a student cannot write the formula of aluminium sulphate, Al₂(SO₄)₃, without hesitating, Class 10 will be hard, so this is the place to invest early.

Biology: terms, diagrams and "give reasons"

ICSE Biology has fewer calculations but is strict on wording. Three kinds of question come up again and again.

Exact terms. Plasmolysis and deplasmolysis, turgidity and flaccidity, imbibition and osmosis are all in the Class 10 Plant Physiology syllabus. Learn each one as a one-line definition, and practise telling pairs apart.

Labelled diagrams. Class 10 Basic Biology covers the cell cycle and mitosis with its stages, and meiosis as a reduction division (its stages are not required). Practise drawing the mitosis stages and the Class 9 plant and animal cells, with label lines drawn with a ruler and no arrowheads crossing each other.

"Give reasons". For example: "Root hairs are suited to absorbing water. Give a reason." A complete answer names the feature and links it to the function: root hairs are long and thin-walled, which gives a large surface area for water to enter by osmosis. Half answers name only the feature.

Practical work and internal assessment

The practical marks are 20 of each paper's 100, so they matter. CISCE's syllabuses say what is expected:

• Physics: follow instructions, take suitable readings, present them in a systematic table and, where asked, a graph. Students are expected to use least count, significant figures and simple error handling. Class 10 work includes finding the focal length of a convex lens and verifying Ohm's law with a graph.
• Chemistry: identify gases (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, water vapour, nitrogen dioxide) and ions, and add sodium hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide to solutions containing copper, iron, lead, zinc or ammonium ions.
• Biology: make accurate observations from plant and animal specimens. Class 10 work includes photosynthesis experiments, transpiration with cobalt chloride paper and Ganong's potometer, and identifying the urinary system, heart, kidney and brain from models and charts.

Keep the practical file up to date as you go. Tables with units in the column headings, a ruled graph with a title, and a one-line conclusion for each experiment are what an examiner looks for.

A two-year plan across the three sciences

This plan follows the 2028 syllabus, for students starting Class 9 now; a student already in Class 10 should follow the 2027 headings, including Human Evolution. Schools set their own order, so line this up with your school's term plan. The key idea is to keep all three papers moving every week instead of doing one subject for a month and forgetting the others. Check the CISCE timetable for the ICSE examination dates when the Council releases it.

For the Class 9 and Class 10 science years across boards, see Class 9 science tutors and Class 10 science tutors in Gurgaon. ICSE maths has its own guide: ICSE and ISC maths in Gurgaon.

Mistakes that cost marks in each paper

• Physics: missing or wrong units; using grams where the formula needs kilograms; skipping the formula line in a numerical; ray diagrams without arrows or normals.
• Chemistry: unbalanced equations; missing conditions (heat, catalyst, concentrated or dilute); describing a precipitate without its colour or what happens in excess; wrong formulae of radicals.
• Biology: vague terms ("water goes in" instead of "water enters by osmosis"); diagrams in pen with unlabelled parts; "give reasons" answers that state a fact but not why it matters.
• All three: leaving the practical file until the end; reading only the textbook summary and never writing full answers under time.

Families near Sector 57 and DLF City Phase 3 often ask about the ICSE pattern followed at schools such as Scottish High International School and The Shri Ram School. Our guide to Gurgaon schools by board lists the boards each school follows.

How NXTutors can help

NXTutors is based in Sector 66, Gurugram, and arranges home tutoring across Gurugram and online tutoring across India. Tell us which ICSE paper or papers your child needs help with, the class and your area, and we suggest two or three matched tutors. Some families want one tutor for all three sciences in Class 9 and a specialist for one paper in Class 10. You see each tutor's fee before the demo, the first class is a free demo, and switching tutor later is free.

Start with ICSE home tutors in Gurgaon, or browse all local options on our page of home tutors in Gurgaon.

Frequently asked questions

How many science papers are there in ICSE Class 10?

Three: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Each is a 2-hour, 80-mark paper, with another 20 marks of internal assessment for practical work.

Who gives the ICSE science practical marks?

In Class 10, the 20 marks are split: 10 from the subject teacher and 10 from an external examiner, who can be a teacher from the same school who does not teach that subject to the class.

Is the ICSE science syllabus different for today's Class 9?

Yes, mainly in Biology. Today's Class 9 students sit the 2028 examination, whose syllabus CISCE published in January 2026: the respiratory system moves to Class 10, Genetics becomes its own heading, and Human Evolution is no longer a Class 10 heading. Physics headings are unchanged, and Chemistry changes only slightly.

Does ICSE Chemistry test the whole periodic table?

No. CISCE studies the modern periodic table up to period 4, and no questions are asked on elements beyond it. Both the 1–18 group numbering and the older notation are accepted.

Can one tutor teach all three ICSE sciences?

In Class 9, often yes, especially for a child who needs steady support. In Class 10, many families prefer a specialist for the one paper where marks are weakest.

Do ICSE Physics answers need SI units?

Yes. CISCE's syllabus says only SI units are to be used unless otherwise specified, so give every numerical answer with its SI unit.