Smart Ways to Avoid Mistakes in the ICSE Class 10 Science Exam

Students get confused when studying. It’s quite natural, and there’s also nothing much to worry about when you experience such confusion. Paying careful attention when the teacher is explaining topics in class, reading the textbooks again and going through your study notes can help you get rid of this confusion while learning concepts in Science. However, there is another type of confusion that students face during the ICSE Class 10 Science exam paper and that is understanding the questions. You may know all the concepts perfectly, but you need to answer the tricky questions correctly to score. And for that reason, we have compiled the common mistakes that students make during the exam and have discussed how such mistakes can be avoided. 

                                                        ICSE Class 10 Physics

Calorimetry 

The most common error which occurs while applying the principle of calorimetry when solving questions is that students forget to consider the latent heat of fusion. Whenever there is a change of phase, the latent heat of fusion should be taken into account. Another frequent mistake in this topic is not using the physical quantities in their proper SI units, especially for specific heat. Specific heat should always be taken as joules/kelvin-kg or calories/kelvin-kg or as given in the question.

Work, Power and Energy 

Students should be very careful while applying the concepts of potential energy. The concept of potential energy is based on the reference point/position. If the object is above the reference point, gravitational potential energy should be taken as positive; otherwise, it is considered negative. In the case of a spring, always consider the mean position as a reference point. Potential energy is zero at the mean position, whereas kinetic energy is maximum at the mean position.

Electro-magnetism 

Most students face difficulty in applying Lenz's law. Lens’s law states that the direction of the induced current is such as to result in opposition to the change producing it. For example, if a bar magnet is moved closer to the loop, and because of this, the magnetic field lines crossing the loop increase, then the current should be induced in such a way that it decreases the intensity of the magnetic field lines crossing it. Both Fleming’s left-hand rule for direction of force and Fleming’s right-hand rule for direction of induced current are very important and should be applied after analysing the situation properly.

                                                    ICSE Class 10 Chemistry

Periodic Properties and Variation of Properties 

Most students get confused in the trends of periodic properties because their focus is on remembering and not on the reason behind these trends. Instead of remembering and getting confused, we suggest that you focus on concepts and then try to remember so it would be much easier.

Study of Acids, Bases and Salts 

The most common mistake in this chapter is in writing a chemical equation. Many students make a mistake in writing the stoichiometry coefficient of the chemical equation. To avoid this mistake, follow the rules of balancing a chemical equation.

Analytical Chemistry 

Students normally face difficulty in remembering the colour of the precipitate. Due to excessive information, they get confused and end up writing the wrong colour of the precipitate in the equation. So, if you are not confident enough about information related to a product, precipitate or reaction, then don’t write it; otherwise, it could lead to a wrong answer and deduction of marks.

Mole Concept and Stoichiometry 

Impatience can cause silly mistakes while solving numerical problems in this chapter. Before solving any numerical, read it carefully and note the required data. Students often make mistakes in mentioning the units, so use units according to the given information in the formulae.

Electrochemistry 

Most of the questions revolve around oxidation–reduction and anode–cathode. The electrochemical series is a key to help in many questions. To avoid any mistakes, you can refer to this series to verify an answer. You can create your own mnemonic to remember the series.

Organic Chemistry 

This chapter is a chain of multiple concepts that are interlinked with each other. If you miss or misunderstand any one of them, then it is going to cause trouble in solving problems. So, instead of focusing on only the selected topics, we suggest that you go through all the concepts from nomenclature to chemical properties.

                                                        ICSE Class 10 Biology

Structure of Chromosomes, Cell Cycle and Cell Division

Majority of the students get confused between the concepts of haploid and diploid. They are not clear that every somatic cell is diploid and every reproductive cell is haploid. As a result, they go wrong when they are asked to calculate the number of chromosomes in a particular cell. In this case, you need to remember that haploid is (n) and diploid is (2n). 

Genetics - Some Basic Fundamentals 

Often students do not write the phenotype and genotype with the help of a Punnett square. Some of them miss writing the genotype and phenotype of the parents and the progeny. Students also do not follow the correct format for writing the genotype, and instead write formats like Xn for the normal phenotype and Xcb for the colourblind phenotype. It is important that you practise solving problems on Mendelian genetics in the correct form by using the Punnett square. Carry out crosses with different combinations of sex-linked diseases to write the genotype and phenotype correctly.

Human Evolution

While mentioning the characteristics of different stages of human evolution, students often write the general characteristics leaving out the valid points of each stage. Some of them make mistakes in correct terminologies to be used. While writing features of Ramapithecus, some students (quite confidently) write that these primates or human ancestors existed during the times of God Ram. It is very crucial to remember the distinguishing characteristics of every stage of human evolution. You can do a comparative analysis of the human ancestors based on their posture, height, cranial capacity, feeding habits etc. in a tabular form or as flashcards.

The Reproductive System

Most go wrong in the diagrams of this chapter. Instead of drawing the LS of the human testis, students draw the TS. Students who draw the LS, either label only a few parts or are unable to label the parts correctly. It is important that you practise drawing neat and well-labelled diagrams. The name and location of every part should be accurate. In case of definitions, students mostly get confused between spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis. You need to be thorough with the several terminologies. Also, strictly follow the definitions given in the textbook.

Now that you know the common mistakes from some of the important chapters in Science exam, you can take extra care when answering the confusing questions in the ICSE Class 10 board exams. Also, go through sample papers and previous years’ papers at TopperLearning to get acquainted with the types of questions which can feature in the exam. And if you get confused when studying concepts and doubts, leave your queries at the TopperLearning doubt-resolving platform. Your queries will be answered within 24 hours and you can get more information through our informative videos as well!

So, get rid of all confusion well before the exams and answer your ICSE Class 10 Science exam paper with confidence.

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