Question 1

Is ISO the same exam as NSO?

Accepted Answer

Yes. SOF renamed the National Science Olympiad (NSO) to the International Science Olympiad (ISO) for the 2026-27 session — same body, same three dates, same pattern, new name. SOF still serves the Class 8 syllabus from its old /nso/ page; the matching /iso/ address returns a 404, which is worth knowing if you are searching for it directly.

Question 2

Is SOF's ISO the same as Indian Talent Olympiad's ISO?

Accepted Answer

No, and the collision is new this year. SOF's rename means two bodies now use ISO for a science paper. SOF's is 50 questions for 60 marks in 60 minutes with a 3-mark Achievers Section, sat on a school-chosen date with registration closing exactly 30 days before it. Indian Talent Olympiad's is 50 questions for 50 marks in 65 minutes with every question worth one mark and fixed published cutoffs of 31 August, 10 October and 10 November. If a school circular says "ISO", ask which body before working out a deadline.

Question 3

Does SOF's Class 8 science syllabus match the new Curiosity book?

Accepted Answer

Yes — all thirteen chapters of the 2026-27 Class 8 Curiosity book are on SOF's published list, and nothing that is not in the book is on it. That is the exception rather than the rule among the papers on this site: both CREST and Indian Talent Olympiad publish Class 6 science syllabi containing chapters the current Class 6 book no longer has.

Question 4

Is there a Level 2 for Class 8 science?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ISO is one of only three SOF papers with a second level, alongside IMO and IEO — SOF's own list names ICSO, ICO, IGKO, IHO and ISSO as single-level, so Hindi and Social Science have no SOF Level 2 at all. The main route is the top 5% of the class nationally, with lower zone and class-topper routes alongside it. SOF's published 2025-26 Class 8 ISO cutoff on the top-5% route was more than 39 out of 60 — last year's figure, strictly "more than", and only one of the three routes. SOF also states that Level 2 is held "based on prevalent conditions" and may not happen, in which case Level 1 results are final.

Question 5

How is the science paper different from the maths paper?

Accepted Answer

Both are 50 questions, 60 marks and one hour, and both give the Achievers Section 5 questions at 3 marks. The split of the remaining 45 differs: ISO gives 10 questions to Logical Reasoning and 35 to Science, while IMO gives 15 to Logical Reasoning and 30 across two maths sections. Reasoning is a smaller share of the science paper, so the science chapters carry more of the marks.

Question 6

Is there negative marking?

Accepted Answer

SOF publishes a marks-awarded scheme only — 1 mark per question in the Logical Reasoning and Science sections, 3 marks per question in the Achievers Section — and publishes no deduction for a wrong answer on its Class 8 pages. Check the instruction sheet on the official sample paper, and until then attempt every question.

International Science Olympiad (ISO) — formerly National Science Olympiad (NSO) Class 8: syllabus, dates and exam pattern (2026–27)

2026–27 exam dates

The deadline is set by your school, not by you

How the NSO paper is structured

Science syllabus mapped to NCERT Curiosity (Class 8, 2026-27)

Today's science question

Practice questions in the NSO format

Get free sample papers

Frequently asked questions

Other olympiad syllabus guides

Practice this exact paper, free

Section	Questions	Marks per question	Section total
Logical Reasoning	10	1	10
Science	35	1	35
Achievers Section	5	3	15
Total	50 questions	—	60 marks · 60 minutes