CBSE in their recent notification released the new pattern for examinations effective from next year (2021-22). This sample question paper comes with some surprising elements. Some of the major changes are:
It is based on a 30% reduced syllabus.
The number of questions increased, 3 markers and 5 markers questions introduced.
The blueprint and marking scheme is totally different.
MCQs based on case studies.
Normal 1 marker MCQs are replaced with VSA type questions.
And, most importantly this SQP introduces – Case Study based Questions in Maths.
There will be 2 questions worth 8 marks out of 80
They will hold > 10% weightage in the assessment.
Will be application-based hence rote learning won’t suffice
Would be multi-layered and require a comprehensive understanding of how one part of the syllabus is relevant to the other
Most of the teachers and students are clueless about this new introduction by CBSE. There are no resources (books, ebooks, etc.) available for this ‘case study based questions’ thing. This is a completely new type of question that the students will face from next year onwards. Their sole purpose is evaluating your understanding of the subject to its core along with its application in a never-studied-before scenario.
An EXAMPLE of a Case Study Based question:
Suresh is having a garden near Delhi. In the garden, there are different types of trees and flower plants. One day due to heavy rain and storm one of the trees got broken as shown in the figure.
The height of the unbroken part is 15 m and the broken part of the tree has fallen at 20 m away from the base of the tree.
Using the Pythagoras answer the following questions:
What is the length of the broken part?
15 m
20 m
25 m
30 m
What was the height of the full tree?
40 m
50 m
35 m
30 m
In the formed right-angle triangle what is the length of the hypotenuse?
15 m
20 m
25 m
30m
4. What is the area of the formed right angle triangle?
100 m2
200 m2
60 m2
150 m2
5. What is the perimeter of the formed triangle?
60 m
50 m
45 m
100 m
Level of Difficulty
Case studies are tricky because it’s the first time they are being introduced. No teacher, no matter how expert, has experience with these kinds of questions. Moreover, there are no specified books or sample papers from where you can look.
And the thing that makes them more precarious is that While answering you will think that the question has 2 equally correct answers.
However, all the questions are objective only and can seem pretty straightforward if you practice them beforehand. In that scenario, these questions are going to be very easy to solve. Students can score good marks if they practice such questions before the board exams.
How to Solve Case-Based Questions?
Questions based on a given case study are normally taken from real-life situations. These are certainly related to the concepts provided in the textbook but the plot of the question is always based on a day-to-day life problem. There will be all MCQs or objective questions only based on the case study. So, the case-based questions can be answered as a very short answer.
Many parents are unaware of how the MCQs are answered. Most of them make the mistake of asking their child to solve these questions step by step and derive the correct option.
Here are a few pointers that all parents/teachers should know:
Step by step solution is not required in MCQ type questions.
The student should tick/write down the correct option only.
Writing a complete solution is nothing but a wastage of time.
Students will not get extra marks for writing a complete solution.
For the board examiner, writing a complete solution is part of the rough work only.
Most of the time, you need not solve the MCQ completely to get the correct option. You can start thinking in reverse order and choose the best fit option. For example, let us take one question from Maths:
Which of the following are the angles of a right-angled triangle?
60, 60, 60
90, 90, 90
90, 45, 55
35, 55, 90
We know, the right-angled triangle must have one side of 90 degrees. So, option 1 is incorrect. Another fact is that the sum of all three angles must be 180 degrees. So, only option 4 will correct in this case. The simplest trick is, observe the options first and take out the least possible one and repeat the process until you reach the correct option. Even, you can put the values given in the options and try to find if it works.
Where will you find the right practice?
As said before, case study questions can be pretty easy if you know how to handle them with the right practice. Below we have attached a CBQs s so that you can get the drift of it.
Sample CBQ 1
Manjit wants to donate a rectangular plot of land for a school in his village. When he was asked to give dimensions of the plot, he told that if its length is decreased by 50 m and breadth is increased by 50 m, then its area will remain the same, but if the length is decreased by 10 m and breadth is decreased by 20 m, then its area will decrease by 5300 m2. Based on the information given above, answer the following questions :
The equations in terms of x and y are
(a) x y 50, 2x y 550 (b) x y 50, 2x y 550 (c) x y 50, 2x y 550 (d) x y 50, 2x y 550
The value of x (length of rectangular field), is
(a) 150 m (b) 400 m (c) 200 m (d) 320 m
The value of y (breadth of rectangular field), is
(a) 150 m (b) 200 m (c) 430 m (d) 350 m
How much is the area of the rectangular field?
(a) 60000 Sq. m (b) 30000 Sq. m (c) 30000 m (d) 3000 m