Maharashtra Board SSC Science Syllabus and Marking Scheme

Chapter

Detailed topics

Chapter 1: Food

• Plant and animal breeding and selection for quality improvement
• Use of fertilizers, manures
• Protection from pests and diseases; organic farming

Chapter 2: Materials

• Matter: All things occupy space, possess mass. Definition of matter, characteristics of solids, liquids and gases e.g. shape, volume, density. Change of state: freezing, melting, evaporation, condensation, sublimation. Cooling by evaporation. Absorption of heat
• Elements, mixtures and Compounds: elements, compounds and mixtures as types of chemical substances. Types of mixtures; Heterogeneous, homogeneous, colloids, suspensions
• Combination of substances: Law of constant proportion, atomic and molecular masses. Particle nature, basic units: Atoms and Molecules
• Mole Concept: Relationship of mole to mass of the particles and numbers
• Valence, Chemical formulae of common compounds
• Atomic Structure: Electrons, protons and neutrons. Atomic number and atomic mass number. Isotopes and Isobars.

Chapter 3: The World of the Living

• Biological Diversity: Diversity of plants and animals: Basic issues in scientific naming. Basis of classification, Hierarchy of categories/ groups. Plant classification: Major Plant groups (salient features): Bacteria, Thalophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, gymnosperms and Angiosperms. Animal Classification : Major groups of animals (salient features): Non Chordates up to phyla and non chordates up to classes
• Smallest living unit of Life- Cell : Cell as a basic unit of life prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, multi-cellular organisms; cell membrane and cell wall, cell organelles, chloroplast, mitochondria, vacuoles, ER, Golgi apparatus. Nucleus, chromosomes, basic structure, number. Tissues, organs, organ system, organism Structure and functions of animal and plant tissues. (four types in animals; meristematic and permanent tissues in plants)
• Health:  
• Failure of health leading to disease
• Disease and its causes
• Diseases caused by microbes and their prevention: Typhoid, diarrhoea, malaria,hepatitis, rabies, AIDS, TB, Polio
• Pulse Polio program
• Exchange of substances by living organisms with the external world: Diffusion/exchange of substances between cells and their environment and between the cell themselves in the living system; role in nutrition, water and food transport, excretion, gaseous exchange

Chapter 4: Moving Things. People and ideas. Motion

• Motion: displacement, velocity, Uniform and non-uniform motion along a straight line,acceleration, distance-time and velocity-time graphs for motion and uniformly accelerated motion. Equations of motion by graphical method, Elementary idea of uniform circular motion
• Force and Newton's Laws : Force and Motion; Newton's Laws of Motion. Inertia of a.body, inertia and mass, momentum, force and acceleration. Elementary idea of conservation of momentum, action and reaction forces
• Gravitation: gravitation, universal law of gravitation, force of gravitation of theearth (earth's gravity), acceleration due to gravity, mass and weight, free fall
• Work, Energy and Power: work done by a force, energy, power. Kinetic and Potential energy, Law of conservation of energy
• Floating Bodies: Thrust and Pressure, Archimedes' Principle, Buoyancy. Idea of relative density
• Sound: Nature of sound and its propagation through different media, speed of sound, range of hearing in humans; ultrasound; reflection of sound; echo and SONAR Structure of the Human Ear. (Auditory aspect)

Chapter 5: Natural Resources - Understanding Ecosystem

• Types of ecosystem - forest, grassland, desert, aquatic, costal, marine
• Interaction between biotic and abiotic factors in an eco-system
• Energy flow and its importance: Cycles of nutrients in terrestrial and aquatic (fresh water and marine) ecosystems, nature's mechanism in maintaining balance.

Chapter 6: Waste Generation and Management

• Sources of waste - domestic, industrial, agricultural and commercial
• Classification of waste: biodegradable non biodegradable, toxic, non- toxic biomedical
• Impact of waste accumulation - Spoilage of landscape, pollution, health hazards, effect on terrestrial and aquatic (fresh water and marine) life
• Need for management of waste
• Methods of safe disposal of waste segregation, dumping, composting, drainage, treatment of effluents before discharge, incineration, use of scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators
• Need for reducing, reusing and recycling waste
• Legal provisions for handling and management of waste.

Chapter

Detailed topics

Chapter 1: Materials

• Acids and Bases: Acids, Bases and Salts: General properties, examples and uses.
• Chemical Reactions: Types of chemical reactions: combination, decomposition, displacement double decomposition, precipitation, and neutralization
• Oxidation and Reduction: Oxidation and Reduction in terms of gain and loss of oxygen and hydrogen
• Metals and Non-Metals: Brief discussion on basic metallurgical processes. Properties of common metals. Elementary idea about bonding
• Carbon Compounds: Elementary idea about bonding. Saturated hydrocarbons, alcohols, carboxylic acids (properties only)
• Common chemicals used in daily life: Soap, common salt, Washing soda, Baking soda, bleaching powder, Plaster of Paris
• Classification of Elements: Brief historical account, Mendeleev's periodic table, gradation in properties

Chapter 2: The World of the Living

• Life Processes: Definition of "Living things". Basic concept of nutrition, respiration, transport and excretion in plants and animals
• Control in the Living: Tropic movements in plants .Introduction to plant hormones; control and coordination in animals; voluntary, involuntary and reflex action, nervous system, chemical coordination, animal hormones.
• Reproduction in the Living: Reproduction in plants and animals. Need for and methods of family planning. Safe Sex vs-. HIV/AIDS. Child bearing and women's health
• Heredity and Evolution: Heredity, origin of life- brief introduction, Basic concepts of evolution.

Chapter 3: Moving things. People and Ideas

• Electric Circuits: Potential and potential difference. Ohm's Law, Resistances in series and parallel. Power dissipated due to current. Inter relation between P, V, I and R.
• Magnets: Magnetic field, field lines. Field due to a current carrying wire, coil, solenoid. Force on current carrying conductor. Fleming's Left Hand Rule. Electric motor, electromagnetic induction. Induced potential differences, induced current. Electric generator, principle and working. Direct and Alternating current. Frequency of AC. Advantages of AC over DC. Domestic Electric Circuits.

Chapter 4: Natural Phenomena

• Light: Convergence and Divergence of Light
• Spherical Mirrors: Images formed by a concave mirror. Related concepts: centre of curvature, principal axis, optical centre, focus, focal length
• Refraction: appreciation of the concept of refraction. Laws of refraction. Velocity of light. Refractive index; twinkling of stars; dispersion of light. Scattering of light
• Lenses: Images formed by a convex lens; functioning of the lens in the human problems of vision and their remedies. Application of spherical mirrors and lenses.

Chapter 5: Pollution

• Types of pollution - air, water, (fresh and marine), soil, radiation, and noise
• Sources of pollution and major pollutants oil spills
• Effect of pollution on: environment, human health and other organisms
• Abatement of pollution

Chapter 6: Striving for a Better Environment

• Use of efficient and eco-friendly technology
• Sustainable use of resources
• Enforcement of acts, laws and policies