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Competency-Based Questions in CBSE Maths and Science: What They Are and How to Practice

GyanSanchar · 31 Oct 2026

If you look at recent CBSE sample papers, you will see that many questions no longer ask you to repeat a definition. They give a situation and ask what you understand about it. These are called competency-based questions.

What are competency-based questions?

They test whether you can apply what you learned to a new or real-life situation, instead of recalling it. In the CBSE papers, a good share of the questions are of this kind. Check the latest sample paper for the current share.

Common types

Case-based questions

A short passage, data table or diagram, followed by three or four related questions. In Mathematics it may describe a road, a garden or a loan. In Science it may describe an experiment or a health situation.

Assertion-reason questions

Two statements are given, an assertion and a reason, and you decide whether each is true and whether the reason explains the assertion.

Source-based and data-based questions

You read a graph or a table and answer questions that need interpretation.

How to practice

  1. Read the passage twice. The first time for the story, and the second time to mark the data you need.

  2. Underline the question words. What exactly is asked?

  3. Connect to a chapter. Which concept does this situation use?

  4. Solve step by step, with units and short reasons.

  5. Check that your answer makes sense in the real situation.

For Science: build understanding, not just recall

  • After each chapter, ask "where do I see this in daily life?"

  • Practice explaining why, not only what.

  • Learn the reasoning behind each assertion-reason pair.

For Mathematics: practice word problems

  • Translate every story into an equation or a diagram.

  • Practice the application chapters, such as Trigonometry's heights and distances, Statistics and Probability, and Mensuration.

Where to find questions

  • The latest CBSE sample papers and marking schemes.

  • NCERT Exemplar problems.

  • Your school's practice papers.

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