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Chemistry is the board paper where students most often know the content and still drop marks: a missing reagent, a numerical without units, a reason written as a fact. The sample paper and marking scheme show you exactly where marks sit. This post walks through the 2026–27 sample paper, works three of its questions, and lays out a six-week plan.
What does the 2026–27 chemistry paper look like?
The Class XII Chemistry sample question paper for 2026–27 has 33 questions for 70 marks in three hours:
Section A: 16 multiple-choice questions of 1 mark, including assertion-reason items.
Section B: 5 very short answer questions of 2 marks.
Section C: 7 short answer questions of 3 marks.
Section D: 2 case-based questions of 4 marks.
Section E: 3 long answer questions of 5 marks.
All questions are compulsory, with internal choice in some. Log tables and calculators are not allowed. The paper notes that there is no change in the question paper design for 2026–27.
Which units carry the most marks?
The Chemistry curriculum for 2026–27 lists Class XII theory marks by unit:
Solutions 7, Electrochemistry 9, Chemical Kinetics 7
d- and f-Block Elements 7, Coordination Compounds 7
Haloalkanes and Haloarenes 6, Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers 6
Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids 8, Amines 6, Biomolecules 7
Together the four organic units carry 26 marks, and the three physical chemistry units 23. The question design sets about 40% of marks for remembering and understanding, 30% for applying, and 30% for analysing, evaluating and creating. The practical exam is worth 30: volumetric analysis 8, salt analysis 8, a content-based experiment 6, project 4, and record and viva 4.
Worked example 1: a 1-mark kinetics question
Question 11: the half-life of a first-order reaction is 16 minutes. How long does it take to complete 75% of the reaction?
After one half-life (16 min), 50% has reacted and 50% remains.
After a second half-life, half of the remainder reacts: 25% remains, so 75% is complete.
Time = 2 × 16 = 32 minutes, option B, as in the marking scheme.
No calculator is needed when you think in half-lives. Keep the integrated rate equation for cases where the fraction left is not a power of one half.
Worked example 2: a numerical with units
Question 25(II) asks for the concentration of oxygen in ppm in sea water, where a litre weighs 1030 g and contains about 6 × 10⁻³ g of dissolved oxygen.
ppm = (mass of component / total mass) × 10⁶ = (6 × 10⁻³ / 1030) × 10⁶.
6 × 10³ / 1030 ≈ 5.8, so the answer is about 5.8 ppm.
The marking scheme splits this into half a mark for the formula and half for the value. Write the formula line every time.
Worked example 3: a named reaction question
Question 24 asks you to name three reactions and supply a missing reagent or product: aldol condensation (dilute NaOH), the Etard reaction (CrO₂Cl₂) and Wolff–Kishner reduction (the hydrazone intermediate). Each part gives half a mark for the name and half for the missing item. Our map of named reactions works through this question in full.
Where do students lose marks?
"Account for" answers without a reason. Question 21 asks you to account for observations. State the cause (inductive effect, hydrogen bonding, resonance), not just the fact.
Conversions without every step. Question 26 asks for conversions such as benzoic acid to benzylamine; each arrow needs its reagent. See our roadmap for organic conversions.
Units and signs in electrochemistry. E°cell, ΔG° and molar conductivity units are common slips.
Coordination compounds named loosely. Ligand order and oxidation state in the name both earn marks.
A six-week plan
Research on how students learn supports two changes to how most students revise. Roediger and Karpicke (2006) found that practising recall beat rereading on tests two days and a week later. The review by Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) rated practice testing and spaced practice as high-utility, and rereading and highlighting as low-utility.
Weeks 1 and 2, organic. For each of the four organic units, make a one-page reaction map from memory, then correct it from NCERT. Five conversions a day.
Weeks 3 and 4, physical and inorganic. Ten no-calculator numericals a day across solutions, electrochemistry and kinetics. For d-block and coordination compounds, use flashcards for trends and naming rules, tested every second day.
Week 5, mixed. Daily sets of six questions drawn from all ten units, so you practise choosing the method.
Week 6, papers. Two timed sample papers, marked strictly with the marking scheme. Add every lost half-mark to an error list.
Keep practicals going in parallel: salt analysis steps and titration calculations are also tested in the viva. Our board practical and viva guide covers what to expect.
When a numerical goes wrong and you cannot find the step, the Fermi Problem Library has a step-by-step solver that explains the reasoning, so you can see where your working went off track.
Download the 2026–27 chemistry sample paper today and attempt Section C in 35 minutes, then mark it against the scheme.
