10th Science Book: What’s Inside the NCERT Class 10 Science Textbook

The 10th science book — NCERT’s Class 10 Science textbook — runs 13 chapters across 217 printed pages, and the official PDF for every chapter is on this page. The files are NCERT’s own, hosted on ncert.nic.in, so what you open is exactly the book NCERT publishes.

The PDF is only half of what this page gives you. Below is a measured chapter-by-chapter breakdown taken from the textbook itself: how many named sections each chapter runs, how many activities and numbered figures it prints, how many questions close it, and on which page each section starts.

You can see where the heavy chapters are before you open the file.

Download the official Class 10 Science book PDFs

Every file below is NCERT’s own chapter PDF, hosted on ncert.nic.in — Chapter 1’s file, jesc101.pdf, is the same document NCERT serves from its official textbook portal, and the remaining 12 chapters follow the same jesc1xx pattern.

The Class 10 Science book, measured

The numbers below are read out of the NCERT Class 10 Science textbook this site indexes, and each one is checkable against the directory table further down the page.

• 13 chapters, from Chemical Reactions and Equations to Our Environment
• 217 printed pages in the English edition
• 156 named sections across the 13 chapters
• 102 verified numbered figures indexed from the textbook
• 110 activities printed inside the chapters
• 171 exercise questions across the book
• 13 official chapter PDFs, one per chapter, linked above

These counts come from the NCERT textbook entries this directory indexes, not from the CBSE subject scheme, which is larger and includes subjects this index does not cover.

What the counts tell you before you start:

• Exercise load is uneven: Chapter 11 has 41 questions while Chapter 8 has only 10, so revision time should follow question counts, not chapter length.
• The first four chemistry chapters together hold 52 of the book’s 110 activities — that is where practical and viva preparation concentrates.
• Chapter 9 is the longest chapter at 27 pages, with 13 activities but only 7 indexed figures, so its learning is hands-on rather than diagram based.
• Chapter 8 has zero indexed figures — a student revising diagrams can skip it entirely.
• Chapter 13 closes the book at 10 pages with 5 sections and 4 figures — a one-evening revision chapter.

What’s inside each chapter

The directory below maps every chapter of this book — its sections, figures, activities and exercise questions, all counted from the textbook’s own pages.

The directory counts four kinds of content:

• Section — one of NCERT’s own numbered headings, such as “Balanced Chemical Equations” or “Right-Hand Thumb Rule”.
• Figure — a numbered figure indexed from the book, counted once per number.
• Activity — a numbered activity printed inside the chapter.
• Question — an end-of-chapter exercise question.

Chapter 1: Chemical Reactions and Equations (pp. 1-16)

A complete chemical equation records the reactants, products and their physical states in symbols, and balancing it conserves atoms on both sides. The chapter sorts reactions into combination, decomposition, displacement, double displacement and oxidation-reduction types. Corrosion and rancidity are shown as everyday effects of oxidation.

1. 1.1 Chemical Equations (p. 2)
2. 1.2 Types of Chemical Reactions (p. 6)
3. 1.3 Have You Observed the Effects of Oxidation Reactions in Everyday Life? (p. 13)

With 12 sections, 11 activities, 9 indexed figures and 28 questions, Chapter 1 builds the equation-balancing skill that the rest of the chemistry block assumes.

Chapter 2: Acids, Bases and Salts (pp. 17-36)

Indicators reveal whether a solution is acidic or basic. Acidity comes from \( \mathrm{H^+(aq)} \) ions and basicity from \( \mathrm{OH^-(aq)} \) ions, and pH measures how strong the solution is. Salts are products of neutralisation, and common salt is the starting point for several everyday chemicals.

1. 2.1 Understanding the Chemical Properties of Acids and Bases (p. 18)
2. 2.2 What Do All Acids and All Bases Have in Common? (p. 22)
3. 2.3 How Strong Are Acid or Base Solutions? (p. 25)
4. 2.4 More About Salts (p. 28)

Its 15 activities are the most in the book, spread across 16 sections with 10 indexed figures and 33 questions — the chapter to revise before practical and viva work.

Chapter 3: Metals and Non-metals (pp. 37-57)

Metals are lustrous, malleable, ductile and good conductors; they react with air, water and acids, and their reactivity decides how each metal is extracted. Ionic compounds form by electron transfer, and corrosion is slowed by protective coating.

1. 3.1 Physical Properties (p. 37)
2. 3.2 Chemical Properties of Metals (p. 40)
3. 3.3 How Do Metals and Non-Metals React? (p. 46)
4. 3.4 Occurrence of Metals (p. 49)
5. 3.5 Corrosion (p. 53)

Across 20 sections and 14 activities, its 30 questions split into 56 parts — the highest part count in the book, so the reasoning load is heavier than the question count alone suggests.

Chapter 4: Carbon and its Compounds (pp. 58-78)

Carbon’s tetravalency and catenation explain why it forms millions of compounds. The chapter moves from covalent bonds and saturated or unsaturated compounds to the homologous series, nomenclature, and the combustion, oxidation, addition and substitution reactions of carbon compounds, ending with ethanol, ethanoic acid, soaps and detergents.

1. 4.1 Bonding in Carbon – the Covalent Bond (p. 58)
2. 4.2 Versatile Nature of Carbon (p. 62)
3. 4.3 Chemical Properties of Carbon Compounds (p. 69)
4. 4.4 Some Important Carbon Compounds – Ethanol and Ethanoic Acid (p. 71)
5. 4.5 Soaps and Detergents (p. 74)

Inside 4.2 sits a genuine NCERT heading, Will you be my Friend? (p. 65) — an example of the kind of named section the directory counts.

The chapter runs 16 sections, 12 activities, 12 indexed figures and 28 questions, and its structural formulae are the most figure-dependent content in the chemistry block.

Chapter 5: Life Processes (pp. 79-99)

Life is maintained by nutrition, respiration, transportation and excretion. Nutrition is autotrophic or heterotrophic; respiration breaks glucose down through different pathways; transport and excretion in humans involve the heart, blood vessels and nephron.

1. 5.1 What Are Life Processes? (p. 79)
2. 5.2 Nutrition (p. 81)
3. 5.3 Respiration (p. 87)
4. 5.4 Transportation (p. 91)
5. 5.5 Excretion (p. 96)

With 12 sections, 8 activities, 12 indexed figures and no tables, the human heart, nephron and alimentary canal diagrams carry most of the content — and 34 questions close it.

Chapter 6: Control and Coordination (pp. 100-112)

Control and coordination run through the nervous system and hormones. Responses are reflex, voluntary or involuntary; plants coordinate by immediate response and growth movement; and animal hormones are listed gland by gland.

1. 6.1 Animals – Nervous System (p. 100)
2. 6.2 Coordination in Plants (p. 105)
3. 6.3 Hormones in Animals (p. 109)

It is a short chapter — 9 sections, 4 activities, 5 indexed figures and 26 questions — with fewer diagrams than its biology neighbours.

Chapter 7: How do Organisms Reproduce? (pp. 113-127)

Reproduction creates DNA copies, and the process introduces variation. Single organisms use fission, fragmentation, regeneration, budding, vegetative propagation and spore formation; sexual reproduction in flowers and humans involves gametes, pollination, fertilisation and reproductive health.

1. 7.1 Do Organisms Create Exact Copies of Themselves? (p. 113)
2. 7.2 Modes of Reproduction Used by Single Organisms (p. 115)
3. 7.3 Sexual Reproduction (p. 119)

Its 17 sections across 15 pages give the densest section-to-page ratio in the book, with 7 activities, 9 indexed figures and 23 questions.

Chapter 8: Heredity (pp. 128-133)

Variations arising during reproduction can be inherited, and they may improve survival. Sexually reproducing individuals carry two copies of each gene. Mendel’s rules describe how traits are inherited, and sex is determined by the chromosomes an individual inherits.

1. 8.1 Accumulation of Variation During Reproduction (p. 128)
2. 8.2 Heredity (p. 129), which carries Mendel’s contributions (p. 129), how traits get expressed (p. 131) and sex determination (p. 132)

At 6 pages, 6 sections, 2 activities, no indexed figures and 10 questions, this is the book’s quickest revision win — the only chapter a diagram-revision pass can skip entirely.

Chapter 9: Light – Reflection and Refraction (pp. 134-160)

Light travels in straight lines, and mirrors and lenses form real or virtual images depending on the object’s position. Reflection and refraction obey fixed laws; the mirror formula, lens formula, magnification and power of a lens form the numerical core.

1. 9.1 Reflection of Light (p. 134)
2. 9.2 Spherical Mirrors (p. 135)
3. 9.3 Refraction of Light (p. 145)

The longest chapter at 27 pages, it carries 15 sections, 13 activities, 7 indexed figures and 31 questions with 48 parts — the second-highest part count in the book.

Chapter 10: The Human Eye and the Colourful World (pp. 161-170)

The eye accommodates to focus on near and distant objects. Myopia and hypermetropia are corrected with lenses; a prism refracts and disperses white light; and atmospheric refraction and scattering explain twinkling, the blue sky and rainbows.

1. 10.1 The Human Eye (p. 161)
2. 10.2 Defects of Vision and Their Correction (p. 162)
3. 10.3 Refraction of Light Through a Prism (p. 165)
4. 10.4 Dispersion of White Light by a Glass Prism (p. 166)
5. 10.5 Atmospheric Refraction (p. 168)
6. 10.6 Scattering of Light (p. 169)

A short chapter — 9 sections, 2 activities, 6 indexed figures and 16 questions — it should be read right after Chapter 9, because its prism and scattering sections extend Chapter 9’s refraction sections.

Chapter 11: Electricity (pp. 171-194)

A stream of electrons moving through a conductor constitutes current, and potential difference drives it. Ohm’s law relates \( V \), \( I \) and \( R \); resistance depends on length, area and material; and series and parallel combinations, the heating effect and electric power make up the numerical core.

1. 11.1 Electric Current and Circuit (p. 171)
2. 11.2 Electric Potential and Potential Difference (p. 173)
3. 11.3 Circuit Diagram (p. 174)
4. 11.4 Ohm’s Law (p. 175)
5. 11.5 Factors on Which the Resistance of a Conductor Depends (p. 177)
6. 11.6 Resistance of a System of Resistors (p. 181)
7. 11.7 Heating Effect of Electric Current (p. 188)
8. 11.8 Electric Power (p. 191)

With 41 questions across 11 sections, 6 activities and 7 indexed figures, it carries the highest question count in the book — plan the most numerical revision time for it.

Chapter 12: Magnetic Effects of Electric Current (pp. 195-207)

A compass needle is a small magnet, and a magnetic field exists around a current-carrying conductor. The right-hand thumb rule gives its direction; a solenoid behaves like a bar magnet; a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field experiences a force; and domestic circuits use earthing and safety wiring.

1. 12.1 Magnetic Field and Field Lines (p. 196)
2. 12.2 Magnetic Field Due to a Current-Carrying Conductor (p. 197)
3. 12.3 Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor in a Magnetic Field (p. 202)
4. 12.4 Domestic Electric Circuits (p. 204)

8 sections, 7 activities, 10 indexed figures and 21 questions — study it after Chapter 11, because it assumes current and circuits from the start.

Chapter 13: Our Environment (pp. 208-217)

The components of an ecosystem are interdependent; producers make energy from sunlight available to the rest of the ecosystem, and energy is lost at each trophic level. The closing sections look at how human activities deplete ozone and create garbage that must be managed.

1. 13.1 Eco-System — What Are its Components? (p. 208)
2. 13.2 How Do Our Activities Affect the Environment? (p. 212)

At 10 pages, 5 sections, 9 activities, 4 indexed figures and 16 questions, it is a one-evening closing chapter.

Class 10 Science chapter study pages

These per-chapter study pages are built from the same OCR of this book, so their section and figure references match the printed pages — a place to go deeper than the PDF.

How to use the Class 10 Science book for revision

1. Start with Chapter 1 (pp. 1-16). Balancing equations is assumed from Chapter 2 onwards, so the skill has to be in place first.
2. Read the chemistry block in order — Chapters 2, 3 and 4 build on the reaction types and equations from Chapter 1.
3. Do Chapter 9 before Chapter 10. Refraction (pp. 145-160) feeds the prism and dispersion sections of The Human Eye (pp. 165-170).
4. Do Chapter 11 before Chapter 12. Magnetic effects assume current and circuits, so Electricity (pp. 171-194) comes first.
5. Take Chapter 8 as a quick win — 6 pages, 10 questions, no figures — whenever you need a fast revision session.
6. Leave Chapter 13 for last — it is short, self-contained and closes the book.

One caveat: textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official syllabus before deciding what to leave out.

Related NCERT book pages

• Class 10 NCERT books hub — every Class 10 subject this site indexes.
• All NCERT books by class — the full directory from Class 1 to Class 12.
• Class 10 Maths NCERT book — the sibling textbook of this subject.

Sources and data verification

This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session using the NCERT textbook information available to us. NCERT remains the authority for confirming the latest edition.

• The figures and counts on this page come from the NCERT Class 10 Science textbook edition this site indexes, whose official PDFs are published on ncert.nic.in.
• The dataset covers the 13 English-medium chapters of this book — not Hindi or other language editions, and not the CBSE subject scheme.
• This listing is maintained for the current session using the NCERT information available to us.
• NCERT settles textbook editions and PDFs; CBSE settles curriculum, syllabus and examinations.

Reference: NCERT Class 10 Science textbook, official edition on ncert.nic.in. Figure captions and section titles quoted from the textbook; page references are to the official PDF.

Frequently asked questions about the Class 10 Science book

How many chapters are in the Class 10 Science NCERT book?

13 chapters across 217 printed pages. The first four are chemistry, Chapters 5-8 are biology, Chapters 9-12 are physics, and Chapter 13 covers the environment. All 13 chapter PDFs are linked in the download table above.

Is the Class 10 Science book PDF free and official?

Yes. NCERT publishes the official PDFs free of charge on ncert.nic.in, and every link in the download table points to those files. No login or payment is needed to open them.

Which chapter covers electricity, Ohm’s law and circuits?

Chapter 11, Electricity (pp. 171-194). Ohm’s law is section 11.4 on page 175, and series and parallel resistor combinations sit in section 11.6 (p. 181).

Which chapter should I read before The Human Eye and the Colourful World?

Chapter 9, Light – Reflection and Refraction. Chapter 10’s prism and dispersion sections (pp. 165-170) build directly on Chapter 9’s refraction sections (pp. 145-160).

Is there a Hindi edition of the Class 10 Science book?

Yes. Students looking for the NCERT Science book Class 10 in Hindi can download Vigyan from ncert.nic.in — the NCERT Class 10 Science book PDF in Hindi is a separate file set from the English edition. This page indexes the English-medium edition, so its section titles and page numbers refer to the English book.