NSO Syllabus 2026

The National Science Olympiad (NSO) is a prestigious competitive exam for grade 10 students, conducted to test their science and logical thinking abilities. The exam is designed in accordance with the guidelines of NEP 2020, NCF 2023, NCERT, and CBSE.

The NSO exam consists of three main sections: logical reasoning, science, and higher-order thinking.

Major Sections of the NSO Class 10 Syllabus

1. Section 1 – Logical Reasoning: Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

This section tests students' thinking and problem-solving abilities. It includes questions on verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Verbal reasoning involves questions involving words, sentences, and statements, while non-verbal reasoning involves questions based on diagrams, patterns, and data.

2. Section 2 – Science:

The Science section covers all the important topics of the Class 10 syllabus. The main topics covered are:

Section	Chapter Name
Chemistry	Chemical Reactions and Equations
	Acids, Bases and Salts
	Metals and Non-metals
	Carbon and Its Compounds
Biology	Life Processes
	Control and Coordination
	Reproduction in Organisms
	Heredity
Physics	Light-Reflection and Refraction
	The Human Eye and the Colourful World
	Electricity
	Magnetic Effects of Electric Current
Environmental Science	Our Environment and Its Management

3. Section 3 – Higher Order Thinking Questions - Syllabus as per Section–2:

This section covers all the topics covered in Section 2, but the questions are of a higher difficulty level. Solving them requires a thorough understanding of the topics and logical thinking.

NSO Class 10 Syllabus 2026 Main Topics

Section	Subject	Main Topics	Difficulty Level
Section 1	Logical Reasoning	Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning	Easy to Moderate
Section 2	Science	Chemical Reactions and Equations, Acids, Bases and Salts, Metals and Non‑metals, Carbon and Its Compounds, Life Processes, Control and Coordination, Reproduction in Organisms, Heredity, Light-Reflection and Refraction, The Human Eye and the Colourful World, Electricity, Magnetic Effects of Electric Current, Our Environment and Its Management.	Moderate
Section 3	Achievers Section	All topics from Section 2, Higher-Order Thinking Questions	Difficult

Note:

• Level-I questions will be 60% from the current class syllabus and 40% from the previous class syllabus.
• Level-II questions will be all from the current class syllabus.
• Questions in the Achievers Section will always be from the current class syllabus.