The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday (March 4, 2023) conducted the class 10 Science examination across the country. Millions of candidates appeared for the CBSE Class 10 Science Exam 2023. The exam was held for a duration of three hours between 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM. Additional 15 minutes of reading time was also allotted to the students to read the question paper. Most of the students found the Science paper a little more difficult than the CBSE sample paper, all questions were from the prescribed syllabus though. Check out this article for a detailed paper analysis that includes student feedback, expert review, and difficulty level of the CBSE Class 10 Science Paper 2023. Also, download CBSE Class 10 Science Question Paper 2023 in PDF here and check the answer key by subject experts.
CBSE Class 10 Science Exam 2023: Key Highlights
Board | Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) |
Official website | cbse.gov.in |
Class | 10th |
Subject | Science |
Date | March 4, 2023 |
Time | 10.30 AM to 01.30 PM |
Difficulty level | Moderately Difficult |
Paper Pattern of CBSE Class 10 Science Question Paper 2023
The CBSE Class 10 Science Paper consisted of 39 questions for 80 marks. All questions were compulsory. However, internal choices were provided in some questions of all sections except section A. Students had to write the paper in 3 hours.
The paper was divided into five sections:
Section | Type of Questions | Marks per Question |
A | MCQs (1-20) | 1 mark |
B | Very Short Answer Questions (21-26) | 2 marks |
C | Short Answer Questions (27-33) | 3 marks |
D | Long Answer Questions (34-36) | 5 marks |
E | Case Based Questions (37-39) | 4 marks |
The CBSE 10th Science Paper carried a total of 80 marks. Candidates were given 3 hours to complete the exam. The question paper was divided into 5 sections. Section A had 20 objective type questions carryin 1 mark each, Section B consisted of 6 very short questions carryin 2 marks each, Section C had 7 Short Answer type questions carryin 3 marks each, Section D had 3 long answer type questions carrying 5 marks each and Section E consisted of 3 source based/ case based units of assessment of 4 marks each.
Section Wise Difficulty Level
Section | Difficulty Level |
Section A | Easy |
Section B | Moderate |
Section C | Moderate |
Section D | Difficult |
Section E | Moderate |
Overall | Moderate |
CBSE Class 10 Science Section Wise Exam Analysis
- Section –A:
- This section was 75% Easy and 25% Moderate.
- This section contains 1 mark each
- This section contained 7 questions from Biology, 8 questions from Chemistry, and 5 questions from Physics.
- All questions were from the prescribed NCERT Textbook.
- The number of easy questions in this section was 15 and the moderate type of questions was 5.
- This section carried 3 questions from ‘Life Processes’, 3 questions from ‘Heredity and Evolution’, 1 question from ‘Control and Coordination’, 2 questions from chapter ‘Electricity’, 3 questions from chapter ‘Magnetic effect of current’, 4 questions from ‘Acid, Bases and Salts, 3 questions from Chemical reactions and equations and 1 question from Metals and Non-Metals.
- No confusing and lengthy questions in this section
- Section –B:
- This section was 100% moderate.
- This section contains 2 marks each.
- All questions were from the prescribed NCERT text book.
- This section contained 1 question each from Physics and Chemistry with internal choice and 4 questions from Biology with one internal choice.
- This section carried 1 question from chapter ‘Acid, Bases and Salts, 1 question from chapter ‘Human Eye and Colourful World’ , 1 question from chapter ‘Our Environment’.
- 2 questions from chapter ‘Life Processes’, 1 question from chapter ‘Control and Coordination’.
- There were no confusing questions in this section but the questions were lengthy.
- Section –C:
- This section was moderate to difficult.
- This section contains 3 marks each.
- All questions were from the prescribed NCERT text book.
- This section contained 2 questions from Biology with one internal choice, 2 questions from chemistry and 3 questions from physics with two internal choices.
- This section carried 1 question from chapter ‘Acid, Bases and Salts, 1 question from chapter ‘Chemical reactions and equations, 2 questions from chapter ‘Light’ , 1 question from chapter ‘Magnetic effect of current’, 1 question from chapter ‘Our Environment’, 1 question from chapter ,Life Processes’
- There were no confusing questions in this section but the questions were lengthy.
- Section –D:
- This section was moderate to difficult.
- This sections contains 5 marks each
- All questions were from the prescribed NCERT text book.
- This section contained 1 question each from Biology and Physics and 1 question from chemistry with internal choice
- This section carried 1 question from the chapter ‘Carbon and its Compounds, 1 question from the chapter ‘Electricity, 1 question from chapter ‘How Do Organisms Reproduce?’
- There were no confusing questions in this section but the questions were lengthy.
- Section –E:
- This section was moderately to difficult.
- This section contains 4 marks each.
- All questions were from the prescribed NCERT textbook.
- 3 questions were based on a Case-Study pattern comprising 1 question from Biology, chapter ‘Heredity, and Evolution’, 1 question from Physics, chapter ‘Light’, and 1 question from Chemistry, chapter ‘Metals and Non-Metals’.
- All questions were from the prescribed NCERT textbook.
As per students’ reactions, the Science paper was moderate to easy. Although the questions were mostly NCERT based, some students found the paper to be lengthy. Out of the 5 sections, Section D was the most challenging than the other sections. While Section A was the easiest of all.
The paper was average in difficulty level. However, if you haven’t read the NCERT book thoroughly, you might find the paper a little tricky. Overall students found the Chemistry portion challenging and lengthy. The paper was lengthy and the marks distribution was not appropriate. Chemistry was trickier as compared to Biology. There were a lot of ray diagrams in the Physics portion.