Question 1

Does SOF's Class 8 maths syllabus match the new Ganita Prakash book?

Accepted Answer

Almost exactly, which is not true of every body or every class. Eleven of SOF's thirteen published entries are Class 8 chapter names word for word. "Exponents and Powers" is the old name for Power Play, and "Proportional Reasoning" is one entry covering two chapters. The only entry without a matching chapter is "Data Handling". Compare that with the Class 6 papers on this site, where CREST and Indian Talent Olympiad both publish lists built on the book that Class 6 stopped using.

Question 2

What does "Data Handling" mean if it is not a chapter?

Accepted Answer

The 2026-27 Class 8 book covers data through chapter 12, Tales by Dots and Lines — the Cartesian plane, reading and drawing graphs — and through mean and median. What it does not contain is the frequency-distribution, histogram and pie-chart material that older question banks file under Data Handling. Those are still fair game on the paper, so they need to come from practice rather than from the textbook.

Question 3

How much of the Class 8 paper is Class 7 material?

Accepted Answer

Forty per cent, per SOF's own statement — with the Achievers Section as the exception, since those five questions come from Class 8 material only. In practice that means the Class 7 chapters on triangles, congruence, rational numbers and simple equations are all still live for a Class 8 candidate.

Question 4

Is there a Level 2 for Class 8 maths, and what score qualifies?

Accepted Answer

Yes — IMO is one of only three SOF papers that has a second level at all, alongside ISO and IEO. The main route is the top 5% of students in the class nationally, with separate zone and class-topper routes that qualify on lower scores. For reference, SOF's published 2025-26 Class 8 IMO cutoff on the top-5% route was more than 42 out of 60. Treat that as last year's figure, not this year's target: the number moves every year, SOF's wording is strictly "more than", and SOF also states that Level 2 runs "based on prevalent conditions" and may not happen at all — in which case Level 1 results are final.

Question 5

Is there negative marking in SOF IMO Class 8?

Accepted Answer

SOF publishes a marks-awarded scheme only — 1 mark per question in the first three sections and 3 marks per question in the Achievers Section — and does not publish any deduction for a wrong answer on its Class 8 pages. Check the instruction sheet on the official sample paper before the exam, and in the meantime attempt every question.

Question 6

When exactly does registration close?

Accepted Answer

Thirty days before the date your school has chosen — 23 September 2026 for the 23 October paper, 27 October for the 26 November paper, and 10 November for the 10 December paper. The school picks the date and cannot change it once selected, so ask the coordinator which one they have taken before working out your own deadline.

Section	Questions	Marks per question	Section total
Logical Reasoning	15	1	15
Mathematical Reasoning	20	1	20
Everyday Mathematics	10	1	10
Achievers Section	5	3	15
Total	50 questions	—	60 marks · 60 minutes

International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) Class 8: syllabus, dates and exam pattern (2026–27)

2026–27 exam dates

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How the IMO paper is structured

Maths syllabus mapped to NCERT Ganita Prakash (Class 8, 2026-27) — Part 1 + Part 2

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