CBSE Class 10 Board Exam 2016: Mathematics Paper Analysis

Amid the ongoing row over the CBSE Class 12 Mathematics Paper, the Class 10 students appeared for their Maths paper, which was incidentally their last paper, on 19^th March. The CBSE 10^th Maths Paper much like the Class 12 paper was termed as comparatively lengthy with some tricky and tough questions. Unlike the Class 12 Maths paper, students admitted that only a few questions were difficult but the majority of them backed the claim about the paper being quite lengthy.

Section-wise Break up

As declared by the CBSE earlier through sample papers, the CBSE Class 10 Mathematics Paper included 4 sections, as stated below:

• Section A: Covering 4 question of 1 mark each

• Section B: Covering 6 questions of 2 mark each

• Section C: Covering 10 questions of 3 mark each

• Section D: Covering 11 questions of 4 mark each

While the sectional marking Weightage for CBSE 10th Maths Paper was in line with the sample paper, some questions were quite tricky. A few students also complained about the language of CBSE Class 10 Math Paper, which made answering them a tough ask.

Challenging Section D

The majority of students, who appeared for the CBSE 10^th Math Paper on Saturday complained about the Section D. Some students stated that the 4 mark questions of section D were very lengthy and that they were unable to attempt all the questions within the stipulated 3-hour time. Some others expressed their disappointment about out of syllabus questions being included in this section of CBSE Maths exam paper for Class 10 students.

Questions from out of Syllabus topics

A common thread among these concerns was related to a 4-mark question (Set no.1, question no.27) from topic of arithmetic progression. This topic was only deemed as optional and not exam-oriented in the book. Therefore, students who had skipped this section were unable to answer it. There were other similar examples of questions from out of syllabus topics.

Overall Verdict

Some teachers and academics have backed the claims of students regarding the Maths Paper for CBSE 10^th Board Exam being lengthy. But, the CBSE Maths exam for Class 10 students was not as complicated and tricky as their Class 12 compatriots. A few question in the paper were from topics that were included in the textbook under the banner “Not from exam point of view”, but students who have covered them were able to answer them easily. In general, students, who managed to cover the syllabus thoroughly, should be well placed in Class 10 Mathematics Paper.