ICSE Class 10 Physics Previous Year Question Papers with Solutions (2020-2026)

The 2026 board paper is CISCE's official copy from its archive, released with a notice posted on 13 October 2026, and its worked solution is in our 10 Years Solved PYQ set. The official archive library also has the 2017 to 2020 and 2023 to 2025 papers, so look there for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Before you pick a year, see how the last two papers split their marks. We tagged every question in the 2025 and 2026 papers to the six Class 10 units of the syllabus. The split hardly moved.

Chapter-wise marks in ICSE Physics 2025 and 2026

Each paper prints 100 marks of questions. Section A is 40 compulsory marks. Section B has six questions of 10 marks each, and you answer any four. For each unit, the first figure is its share of Section A and the second is its share of all 100 printed marks.

• Force, Work, Power and Energy (with machines): 7 and 20 in 2025; 9 and 22 in 2026
• Light: 7 and 27 in 2025; 10 and 23 in 2026
• Sound: 3 and 10 in 2025; 4 and 11 in 2026
• Electricity and Magnetism: 13 and 24 in 2025; 8 and 24 in 2026
• Heat: 5 and 11 in 2025; 5 and 12 in 2026
• Modern Physics: 5 and 8 in 2025; 4 and 8 in 2026

Source: CISCE ICSE 2025 and 2026 Physics question papers and ICSE 2027 Physics syllabus, Gradehunt analysis.

What the last two papers tell you

• The 15 MCQs in Question 1 had the same unit mix both years: 4 on force and energy, 4 on light, 3 on electricity and magnetism, 2 on heat, 1 on sound and 1 on modern physics.
• Question 4 was all Light and Question 6 was all Force, Work, Power and Energy, in both papers. Be strong in those two units and half of your Section B is already planned.
• Question 7 paired a 3-mark pulley question with 7 marks of sound both times: an echo numerical and a resonance or vibration question.
• Light plus Electricity and Magnetism came to 51 of the 100 printed marks in 2025 and 47 in 2026.
• Heat is small in Section A, only 5 marks, but it took 6 marks of Question 9 in 2025 and 7 marks of Question 5 in 2026. Skipping calorimetry is a gamble.

Do old papers still match the 2027 exam?

Yes, on structure. CISCE's 2027 specimen paper for Physics keeps the same layout as the 2025 and 2026 papers: 15 MCQs in Question 1, then Questions 2 and 3 to make up the 40 compulsory marks, and six 10-mark Section B questions split 3, 3 and 4, of which you answer any four. The theory paper is still 80 marks in two hours, and practical work is assessed in school for the other 20.

What changes is the kind of question. CISCE's circular of 9 October 2026 says questions testing higher-order skills such as apply, analyse, evaluate and create carry about 50% weightage in the 2027 exam. It also warns that board questions may not match the specimen one for one. For the time split and how the marking scheme awards step marks, see our Physics paper pattern guide.

Where students lost marks in ICSE Physics 2025

CISCE's Analysis of Pupil Performance for 2025 Physics covers 225,672 candidates. The average was 62 out of 100, the highest 100 and the lowest 8. These are the topics the examiners listed as the ones candidates found hardest:

• Centre of gravity of an irregular lamina, and moment of force numericals
• Conservation of energy used inside a numerical
• Lenz's law and the direction of magnetic field lines
• Total internal reflection: where it is used and how to draw it
• Diagram of a block and tackle
• How resistivity changes with temperature, and circuit resistance after one bulb is removed
• Current rating of a pole fuse, and resonance
• Graphs of alpha and beta emission

One MCQ sums up the problem. Candidates were told a 5 g metal piece has thermal capacity 2.5 J/K and asked what happens to its specific heat capacity if the mass is tripled. The most common wrong answer simply multiplied by three. Specific heat capacity does not depend on mass, so the answer stays 0.5 J/g K.

The report's advice to candidates is plain: write units for every quantity, put arrows on every ray in a ray diagram, and recheck each calculation before moving on.

How to use these papers for the 2027 exam

• Write the 2025 paper first, then the 2026 paper from the table, then the 2027 specimen, which comes with a draft marking scheme. Time each at two hours.
• Keep the 2022 semester papers for extra questions, not full timed practice, since that exam was split in two.
• After checking, list every lost mark by unit using the chapter-wise figures above. Revise the unit with the biggest gap first.
• For topic-wise practice, CISCE's free Competency Focused Practice Questions for Physics Class X are on its item banks page.
• When you check the specimen, note the skill tag CISCE prints beside each question, such as recall, understanding, application or analysis. If most of your lost marks sit on application and analysis questions, give those question types more practice than recall.

Solving a paper is half the work. The other half is having it marked strictly. In Gradehunt's ICSE Class 10 test series you write Physics papers by hand, upload them, and get them back checked within 48 hours with step-wise remarks.

Other ICSE Class 10 past papers

We also have solved past papers for Chemistry, Biology and Maths.