The National Science Olympiad (NSO) is a scholarship exam that aims to improve scientific thinking and logical abilities. It is conducted every year by the Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF). The exam is held for students studying in grades 1 to 12. There are two levels of NSO. All students in grades 1 to 12 participate in Level 1. Level 2 is for students who have passed the level 1 exam, and this level starts from grade 3. To take the level 2 exam, the student must meet the SOF organization’s eligibility requirements.
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The Outline of the Examination
The two levels of examination commence from grade 3. The pattern of the exam is discussed below
- The test is an objective-type test with 35 multiple-choice questions for grades 1 to 4 and 50 multiple-choice questions for grades 5 to 12.
- The top 5% of students in each class who take the first-level exam will advance to the next level.
Examination Pattern
The Class 10 exam pattern of NSO includes an objective-type test with 35 multiple-choice questions. The exam is broken down into three components:
- Logical Reasoning is the subject of the first section’s questions.
- The questions in Section 2 are about Science.
- The Achievers segment of Section 3 has questions on Higher-Order Thinking Skills.
The distribution of marks for the three sections is displayed in the table below.
| Class / Grade | Section | Number of questions | Marks per question | Total marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 10 | Section 1 | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Section 2 | 35 | 1 | 35 | |
| Section 3 | 5 | 3 | 15 | |
| Grand Total | 50 | 60 | ||
NSO Syllabus Class 10
NSO’s curriculum is based on the CBSE, ICSE, and several state boards’ academic curricula. The NSO syllabus is structured in such a way that all concepts and theories are thoroughly covered once the student has completed the class. All types of questions appear in the NSO examination, with varying degrees of difficulty.
| Section of the exam | Name of the section | Topics included in the section |
| Section 1 | Logical Reasoning | Verbal and Non-verbal reasoning |
| Section 2 | Science Section | The concepts and topics related to Science Subject
|
| Section 3 | Achievers Section | This section deals with Higher-Order Thinking Questions. The topics for this section are the same as section 2, but the difficulty level would be a little more. |
Students can easily pass the exam by studying NSO syllabus Class 10 from textbooks and referring to other competitive books. A firm grip over the concept and subject is obtained by repeated revision and proper study. The candidate’s preparation can be enhanced by solving NSO sample papers. The NSO test comprises a wide range of problems, and the difficulty of the questions varies.
Class-wise Syllabus list
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