If you are a student of Class 8 it is a good idea to crack the National Science Talent Search Exam, NSTSE, to assess your knowledge of science subjects like Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Biology. It will help you to broaden your knowledge and prepare you for tougher exams ahead like the board exams and entrance tests like NEET and JEE. Careers360 has analysed the question papers of NSTSE for the past five years to help you to ace the exam easily. This article also gives details of those chapters in Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology that have more weightage and are important to score well in the exam. Read on.
If you are a student of Class 8 it is a good idea to crack the National Science Talent Search Exam, NSTSE, to assess your knowledge of science subjects like Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Biology. It will help you to broaden your knowledge and prepare you for tougher exams ahead like the board exams and entrance tests like NEET and JEE. Careers360 has analysed the question papers of NSTSE for the past five years to help you to ace the exam easily. This article also gives details of those chapters in Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology that have more weightage and are important to score well in the exam. Read on.
National Science Talent Search Exam (NSTSE) is an annual scholarship exam organised by the Unified Council. It is a great opportunity for students in Class 2 to Class 12 who are keen on studying Science subjects and wish to test their knowledge. NSTSE is one of India's most important assessment tests. The computer-based exam is held between December and January every year.
The national topper will get cash prizes worth Rs 2 Lakhs. Rank 2 and 3 will receive a laptop and a tablet, along with a memento. Rank holders from 4th to 10th and 11th to 25th will receive a cash prize of Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000, respectively. Along with consolation prizes, many more exciting rewards will be distributed to the top rankers of selected cities.
For more information on rewards, students can visit the official website: NSTSE Awards
This article discusses the eligibility criteria, exam pattern, syllabus, how to prepare subject-wise for this exam and much more. If you are in Class 8 and want to win this prestigious scholarship, this article will help you how to go about it.
Students in Class 8 are eligible to appear for the NSTSE examination.Let's look at how Class 8 students can avail of this opportunity. Students can apply individually by registering online or they can apply through their respective schools..
The NSTSE paper for Class 8 students consists of 60 objective-type questions and carries 60 marks. It has three sections – Mathematics, Science, and Critical Thinking. In the Maths section, there are 25 questions and in the Science section, there are 10 questions each in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. There are five questions in the Critical Thinking section that carry one mark each. There is no negative marking, which means that marks will not be deducted for incorrect answers.
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The NSTSE is like an Olympiad test and is held every year to assess scientific knowledge of students and help them improve it. To qualify for the exam, students must understand the basics of Mathematics and Science. The syllabus of NSTSE is more or less based on the Class 8 syllabus of CBSE/ICSE/ISC and various other State Boards.
The syllabus is as follows :
Science: Students should focus on experiment-based topics and theoretical chapters in Science. Following is the detailed chapter-wise syllabus for NSTSE Science subjects.
Sr. No. | Chemistry | Physics | Biology |
Combustion And Flame | Chemical Effects Of Electric Current | Cell Structure And Functions | |
Metals And Non-metals | Force And Pressure | Microorganisms | |
Synthetic Fibres And Plastics | Friction | Food Production And Management | |
Coal And Petroleum | Some Natural phenomena | Reproduction in Animals | |
– – | Sound And Light | Conservation of Plants and Animals |
Mathematics: Formulas and values are important for this subject. Following is the detailed chapter-wise syllabus for NSTSE Mathematics subject.
Sr. No. | Topics |
1. | Linear Equations In One Variable |
2. | Squares And Square Roots |
3. | Cubes And Cube Roots |
4. | Rational Numbers |
5. | Algebraic Expressions And Identities |
6. | Understanding Quadrilaterals And Practical Geometry |
7. | Mensuration |
8. | Exponents And Powers |
9. | Direct And Inverse Proportion |
10. | Introduction To Graphs |
11. | Factorisation |
12. | Visualising Solid Shapes |
13. | Data Handling |
14. | Comparing Quantities |
Students who are appearing for NSTSE Class 8 Science must also have a brief understanding of the Class 9 syllabus. You'll find more details under the subject wise preparation strategy.
In this section, the students will be assessed on their ability to apply logic and also decision making. Questions will be based on topics such as Logical And Inductive Reasoning, Decision Making, Tactics and Strategy.
Students can practise past year's question papers to know about the exam's structure and important details, which will help them score better. Knowing the weightage given to different parts of the exam or various sections of a subject can help students focus more on important areas.
Careers360 made a detailed analysis of the previous five years' official solutions and it is given below in a subject-wise manner.
From the past five years' solution papers, 310 questions were analysed. They included 60 questions each from Biology and Chemistry. And 65 questions from Physics plus 125 questions from Mathematics were also analysed. The detailed subject -wise analysis of chapter weightage is as follows:
SCIENCE
If you are trying to ace the Science section, make sure you memorise the theory chapters of textbooks or from NCERT. You can also practise questions from MTG publications, NSO and ISO books.
Physics
Chapter | Class | No of Questions asked in past 5 years | Weightage |
Light | 8 | 12 | 18.46% |
Force And Pressure | 8 | 12 | 18.46% |
Friction | 8 | 11 | 16.92% |
Chemical Effects Of Electric Current | 8 | 11 | 16.92% |
Sound | 8 | 10 | 15.38% |
Some Natural Phenomena | 8 | 8 | 12.31% |
Miscellaneous | 8 | 1 | 1.54% |
Total | 65 | 100.00% |
All the chapters in Physics are equally important since almost the same number of questions are asked from each of them. Also keep in mind,while studying Physics chapters, specially Force, Friction and Light; students should not only focus on the theoretical part but also practise a lot of numerical type problems.
Chemistry
Chapter | Class | No of Questions asked in past 5 years | Weightage |
Combustion And Flame | 8 | 18 | 30.00% |
Coal And Petroleum | 8 | 15 | 25.00% |
Materials: Metals And Non-Metals | 8 | 14 | 23.33% |
Synthetic Fibres And Plastics | 8 | 13 | 21.67% |
Total | 60 | 100.00% |
As you can see, every chapter has almost the same number of questions.So, it is imperative that you understand Chemical Formulas, Chemical Reactions, Symbols, and Atomic Numbers thoroughly.
Biology
Chapter | Class | No of Questions asked in past 5 years | Weightage |
Food Production And Management | 8 | 12 | 20.00% |
Cell Structure And Functions | 8 | 10 | 16.67% |
Reproduction In Animals | 8 | 10 | 16.67% |
Microorganisms | 8 | 9 | 15.00% |
Conservation Of Plants And Animals | 8 | 7 | 11.67% |
Diversity In Living Organisms | 9 | 5 | 8.33% |
Life Processes | 10 | 2 | 3.33% |
Why Do We Fall Ill? | 9 | 2 | 3.33% |
Improvement In Food Resources | 8 | 1 | 1.67% |
Miscellaneous | 8 | 1 | 1.67% |
Tissues | 8 | 1 | 1.67% |
Total | 60 | 100% |
Several questions are asked from the chapters on Cell and Food Production. So pay more attention to the diagrammatic representation of male and female reproductive organs, photosynthesis, cells and its components, etc. Additionally, there are questions from Class 9 and Class 10. So, students should have some familiarity with the chapters listed in the above table.
Students can purchase the past 10 years’ question paper booklets for Class 8 from the official website. They should also consult the NCERT and MTG Olympiad prep guides.
Mathematics
Chapter | Class | No of Questions asked in past 5 years | Weightage |
Comparing Quantities | 8 | 28 | 22.40% |
Mensuration | 8 | 22 | 17.60% |
Algebraic Expressions And Identities | 8 | 12 | 9.60% |
Linear Equations In One Variable | 8 | 11 | 8.80% |
Exponents And Powers | 8 | 11 | 8.80% |
Rational Numbers | 8 | 10 | 8.00% |
Squares And Square Roots | 8 | 8 | 6.40% |
Factorisation | 8 | 7 | 5.60% |
Direct And Inverse Proportions | 8 | 7 | 5.60% |
Visualising Solid Shapes | 8 | 3 | 2.40% |
Understanding Quadrilaterals | 8 | 3 | 2.40% |
Data Handling | 8 | 2 | 1.60% |
Playing with Numbers | 8 | 1 | 0.80% |
Total | 125 | 100.00% |
A majority of questions were from the chapters, Comparing Quantities and Measurement. So, make sure you know all the formulas to find the perimeter, surface area, and volume. Additionally, students need to be proficient in division and multiplication since the chapter, Comparing Quantities contains questions based on the concept of mixed fractions, profit and loss Since you will only have a minute to respond to each question, you should remember squares and square roots as well as cubes and cube roots to make quick calculations.
To prepare for the NSTSE Mathematics, you can refer to books such as Brain Mapping Academy, MTG, or Pearson. A thorough knowledge of each subject will assist you in completing the exam quickly.
For more information, visit the official website of NSTSE
For reference books, visit: NSTSE/eBooks
In order to achieve good scores in the NSTSE exam, be very thorough with your preparation. Start as early as possible, and finish your daily study goal. Decide what books you will study and solve the problems on a regular basis. Keep in mind that better your efforts, better your scores.
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