SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26 & Exam Pattern PDF, Topics, Marking Scheme

SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26 & Exam Pattern PDF, Topics, Marking Scheme

Manasvini GuptaUpdated on 12 Dec 2025, 11:48 AM IST

The Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) released the NSO 10th syllabus for all sections. Students appearing for the NSO exam should be well-prepared with the updated NSO Class 10 syllabus 2025-26. The SOF NSO is conducted at two levels. The Level 1 NSO exam tests students on their reasoning ability, science, and higher-order thinking skills. For Class 10, the NSO Level 1 paper comprises 50 questions to be solved in 60 minutes. Selected students from NSO Level 1 will qualify for the NSO Level 2 exam, which is based entirely on the Class 10 syllabus. Go through the following sections to check the SOF NSO Class 10 syllabus and exam pattern 2025-26.

This Story also Contains

  1. SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26 - Highlights
  2. SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26
  3. SOF NSO Exam Pattern 2025-26
SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26 & Exam Pattern PDF, Topics, Marking Scheme
SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26

SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26 - Highlights

Students who are going to appear in the National Science Olympiad can go through the table below to get major highlights of the NSO Class 10th syllabus and other details:

Particulars

Details

Exam duration

60 minutes

Total questions

50

Total marks

60

Exam levels

Level 1 and Level 2

NSO Level 1 syllabus distribution

60% from the Class 10 syllabus, 40% from the Class 9 syllabus

NSO Level 2 syllabus distribution

100% from the Class 10 syllabus

Sections in level 1

Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning, Science (Class 9 & 10 topics), Mathematics/Quantitative Aptitude, Achievers Section

Sections in level 2

Science & Achievers Section

Question type

Objective (Multiple Choice Questions)

Official website

sofworld.org

SOF NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26

The NSO exam for Class 10 is divided into four sections. The section-wise syllabus is given below:

Section 1: Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning

  • Verbal Reasoning

  • Non-Verbal Reasoning

  • Series Completion

  • Analogy

  • Coding-Decoding

  • Blood Relations

  • Direction Sense Test

  • Ranking and Ordering

  • Puzzle Test

  • Venn Diagrams

Section 2: Science (Class 9 & 10 Topics)

The main science concepts tested in NSO for Class 10 are as per the Class 10 NCERT syllabus, along with important fundamentals from Class 9. Topics include:

  • Real Numbers

  • Polynomials

  • Pair of Linear Equations in Two Variables

  • Quadratic Equations

  • Arithmetic Progressions

  • Triangles

  • Coordinate Geometry

  • Introduction to Trigonometry

  • Applications of Trigonometry

  • Circles

  • Areas Related to Circles

  • Surface Areas and Volumes

  • Statistics

  • Probability

Section 3: Mathematics/Quantitative Aptitude

This section assesses the application of mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Topics include:

  • Word Problems

  • Data Interpretation

  • Profit & Loss

  • Speed, Time & Distance

  • Time & Work

  • Ratio & Proportion

  • Percentage

  • Simple & Compound Interest

  • Miscellaneous Quantitative Problems

Section 4: Achievers Section (HOTS)

  • Higher-Order Thinking Questions

  • Based entirely on Section 2 topics (Class 10 syllabus)

  • Conceptual and application-driven problems

SOF NSO Exam Pattern 2025-26

The NSO 2025-26 exam will be conducted at two levels. The NSO Level 1 and Level 2 exam pattern is given below for students’ reference:

NSO Exam Pattern 2025-26 for Level 1

Section

No. of Questions

Marks/Question

Total Marks

Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning

15

1

15

Science (Class 9 & 10 topics)

20

1

20

Mathematics / Quantitative Aptitude

10

1

10

Achievers Section

5

3

15

Grand Total

50


60

NSO Exam Pattern 2025-26 for Level 2

Section

No. of Questions

Marks/Question

Total Marks

Science

45

1

45

Achievers Section

5

3

15

Grand Total

50


60

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Questions related to NSO

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to NSO ?

You can check your NSO results online through the official Science Olympiad foundation (SOF), the level 1 results for the 2025-26 exams are expected to be announced in January 2026.


Hello,
For NSO level 2 students qualify via top perfomance in Level 1. I have attached the link for NSO results 2025 - 2026 in which you can get the results by entering your school code and roll number. Kindly check the below link and get your results.
https://school.careers360.com/articles/nso-result
I

The nso answer key for class 9 set b is a critical resource for students to calculate their expected scores and analyze their performance in the national science olympiad. the answer key provides the correct options for all fifty questions, which are divided into three sections: logical reasoning, science, and

Hello,

The link to the answer key is attached herewith. You can find the answer key on the website of Careers360. It will help you analyse your in-depth performance.

https://school.careers360.com/articles/nso-answer-key

Thank you.

Hello

You can visit the link I am attaching below, so that you can get access to the answer key for classes 1 to 12. The SOF(Science Olympiad Foundation) released the SOF NSO answer key for set A on December 16, 2025. You can also visit the official site of