ICSE Class 10 Papers Chemistry: Question Paper PDFs

This page hosts the ICSE Class 10 Papers Chemistry collection: all 8 Chemistry Science Paper 2 PDFs available on this site, running from 2020 through 2026. The set includes one First Comparative Examination paper, which schools use as a mid-year practice test. Each file is an original question paper for Class 10 ICSE Chemistry (Science Paper 2). For other Class 10 subjects, visit the Class 10 resource hub.

Download ICSE Class 10 Chemistry Question Papers PDF

These are the 8 question papers PDFs hosted on icseboard.org for ICSE Class 10 Chemistry, organised by subject. Each section below explains what those papers cover before the download table.

This collection holds the actual Chemistry Science Paper 2 exams set for ICSE Class 10, running from 2020 through 2026, plus one First Comparative Examination paper used as a mid-year practice test. Each file is an 80-mark, two-hour paper split into a compulsory 40-mark section and a 40-mark section where you attempt any four questions. Use them for timed practice once you have revised the chapters they draw questions from, such as periodic properties, chemical bonding and organic chemistry.

What’s Inside the ICSE Class 10 Chemistry Paper 2 Collection

Every file in this table is a real Chemistry Science Paper 2 exam set for Class 10 ICSE candidates. The set spans 2020 to 2026 and includes a First Comparative Examination paper, used by schools as mid-year practice.

The questions in these papers draw on the same syllabus topics year after year. Based on the papers here, expect items built around:

• Periodic properties – atomic size, metallic character, ionisation potential, electron affinity and electronegativity, and how each changes across a period or down a group.
• Chemical bonding – electrovalent, covalent and coordinate bonds, and the structures of compounds such as sodium chloride and magnesium chloride.
• Acids, bases and salts – definitions of acids in terms of hydrogen or hydronium ions, and the reactions that produce or use them.
• Organic chemistry and metallurgy – hydrocarbon classification, alloys and metal reactivity, which appear as MCQs and short-answer questions across several years in this set.

To revise the explanations behind these topics, pair these papers with your class textbook or the chapter PDFs on the Class 10 books page on this site.

How the 80-Mark Chemistry Paper Is Divided

Every paper in this set is an 80-mark, two-hour exam. The instructions in every year give you the first 15 minutes to read the paper only – you cannot start writing during that time.

The paper always splits into two sections worth 40 marks each:

• The first section is compulsory. You must answer every question in it.
• The second section offers a choice. You attempt any four of the questions set there.

The section names changed over the years in this set. The 2020 main paper and both First Comparative Examination papers (2020 and 2023) call these Section I and Section II. From 2023 onward, the main year-end papers (2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026) relabel them Section A and Section B. The 40-plus-40 mark split stays the same either way.

Chemistry Topics That Keep Reappearing in These Papers

This does not mean other chapters are skipped. Section B questions in these papers also draw on chemical bonding and acid-base chemistry. But the topics above are the ones that turn up most often as MCQs in Question 1, the compulsory opening question, in the papers listed here.

Practice Questions Modelled on the Real Paper Style

Question papers do not come with solutions. Use these original questions, written in the same style as the papers in this set, to check your preparation before opening a real paper.

Example 1: Ionisation potential

Question: Which of these elements has the highest ionisation potential – Lithium, Carbon, Fluorine or Neon? [1]

Answer: Neon. Its outermost shell is completely filled, so removing an electron takes far more energy than in the other three elements.

Example 2: Identifying a gas

Question: A colourless gas decolourises potassium permanganate solution and has a choking smell. Name the gas and state what you would observe. [2]

Answer: Sulphur dioxide (SO₂). It decolourises the pink potassium permanganate solution because it acts as a reducing agent.

Example 3: Hydrocarbons

Question: State whether C₄H₈ is a saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon, and give a reason. [2]

Answer: Unsaturated. Its formula fits the general formula CₙH₂ₙ for an alkene, which contains a carbon-carbon double bond.

What the Mark Tags in Brackets Expect From Your Answer

Every question carries its mark value in brackets, such as [5] or [15]. That number tells you how much detail to write, and how long to spend on it.

• [15] marks (Question 1, 2023-2026 papers): this is a block of one-mark MCQs. Write only the correct option – these papers instruct you not to copy out the questions.
• [5] marks (Question 1(a), 2020 papers): the same MCQ format, but as one part of a longer first question that also carries short written parts.
• [2] and [3] marks: these need a definition or a reason, sometimes with an equation. A one-word answer will not earn full marks.
• “Give balanced equations wherever required”: this instruction appears in the First Comparative papers. An unbalanced equation loses marks even if the products named are correct.

How to Use These Papers Without Repeating Common Mistakes

Treat each paper as a timed mock exam, not a reading exercise. Follow these steps:

1. Set a timer for two hours, and give yourself the 15-minute reading period first without writing anything.
2. Answer every question in the compulsory section before moving to the choice-based section.
3. In the choice-based section, pick your four strongest questions early. A fifth answer is not marked.
4. Check your answers against the chapter material on the Class 10 Chemistry books page once you finish, not while you are writing.

A few mistakes come up often when students practise with these papers:

• Writing during the reading time. The first 15 minutes are for reading only, in every paper in this set.
• Copying out the full MCQ question. Papers from 2023 onward ask for the correct option only. Copying wastes time in a paper where Question 1 alone can be worth 15 marks.
• Leaving equations unbalanced. Where a question calls for an equation, an unbalanced one is marked down even if the reasoning is right.
• Attempting more than four questions in the choice section. Extra answers are not evaluated, so that time is better spent checking your compulsory-section answers.

For the syllabus definitions behind these questions, the official CISCE website publishes the current Class 10 Chemistry syllabus at cisce.org.

Frequently Asked Questions About These Chemistry Papers

Are these ICSE Class 10 Chemistry papers solved?
No. These are the original question papers only. This page does not host answer keys or solutions.

How many marks is the ICSE Class 10 Chemistry (Science Paper 2) exam?
Every paper in this set is worth 80 marks, split into two 40-mark sections, with two hours to write plus 15 minutes of reading time.

Do I have to attempt every question in the second section?
No. The second section (Section B from 2023 onward, Section II in 2020 and the First Comparative papers) asks for any four questions, not all of them.

What is a First Comparative Examination paper?
It is a mid-year practice paper some schools set before the board exam. The First Comparative papers in this set (2020 and 2023) use the older Section I / Section II labelling.

Which chapters should I revise alongside these papers?
Based on the questions in this set, prioritise periodic properties, chemical bonding, acids and bases, and organic chemistry basics such as hydrocarbon classification.

More ICSE study material on this site

• Class 10
• Class 10 Books
• ICSE Books PDF Free
• ICSE Books

Reference: CISCE-aligned ICSE Class 10 textbook material.