AP DSC 2026 School Assistant Biological Science Syllabus: Botany, Zoology and Life Processes (Content 40 + Methodology 20)

The School Assistant Biological Science syllabus has two layers. The school layer (Classes 6 to 10) is organised in three units: Life Process, Living World and Our Environment. The Intermediate layer lists the Botany and Zoology chapters. The full official list follows.

Part IV: Biological Science Content (40 Marks)

Classes 6 to 10

Life Process

• Our food, Components of food, Balanced diet, Malnutrition, Deficiency diseases, Plants – Types, Plant parts – functions, Types of nutrition, Nutrition in plants – Autotrophic, Parasitic, saprophytic, Insectivorous
• Nutrition in animals - Different ways of taking food, Digestion in humans, Digestion in grass eating animals, feeding and digestion in amoeba
• Cellular respiration, Types of respiration, Respiration in plants, Respiration in animals, Respiration versus combustion, Photosynthesis versus Respiration, Circulatory system - Human Circulatory system, Evolution of the transport system in animals, Transportation in plants
• Excretion - Excretion in Human Beings, Excretion in other organisms, Excretion and release of substances in plants, Excretion Vs Secretion
• Coordination in animals- Nervous and Endocrine systems, Control mechanism in plants – Plant hormones, tropic and nastic movements, Modes of reproduction – sexual, asexual and vegetative
• Sexual reproduction in plants, Seed dispersal, Sexual and Asexual Reproduction in Animals, Metamorphosis, Reproduction in a placental mammal – Man, Reproductive health, Birth control methods, Fighting against social ills, Adolescence and puberty – changes, role of hormones, Reproductive phase, Variations, Mendel’s experiments on inheritance, Sex determination in human beings, Evolution – Lamarckism, Darwinism, Evidences of evolution, Human evolution

Living World

• Living and Nonliving things, Characteristics of living organisms, Different types of habitat and adaptation, Skeletal parts – Bones, Joints, Cartilage
• muscles, Movements in animals, Cell – The basic unit of life, Types of cells, Cell structure and function, Cell division, Animal Tissues, Plant tissues, Introduction to microorganisms, Useful Microorganisms, Harmful microorganism, Food preservation, Agricultural Practices, Improvement in crop yields, Storage of food, Food from Animals - Animal Husbandry

Our Environment – Ecology

• Our Environment - Food chain, Food web, Ecological pyramids, Effects of human activities on ecosystems, Steps towards prevention
• Natural resources - Renewable and non-renewable resources, conservation
• Bio diversity - Forests, Flora, fauna, interrelation of organisms, Advantages of forests, Deforestation - effects, Conservation of forest and wildlife – Protecting areas, endangered and endemic species
• Air & water pollutions -Cusses, effects and prevention, Water, Sewage, Treatment of polluted water, Better housekeeping practices, Sanitation and Disease, Alternative arrangement for sewage disposal
• Global Environmental Issues - Green house effect, Global warming, Acid rains
• Nitrogen cycle.

Intermediate

BOTANY

• Diversity in the Living World:
• The living world – Biological – Classification – Science of plants – Botany – Plant King dom
• Structural Organisation in Plants - Morphology,
• Representation in Plants
• Plants Systematics,
• Cell: Structure and Functions,
• Internal Organizations of Plants
• Plant Ecology
• Plant Physiology
• Microbiology
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Biotechnology
• Plants
• Microbes and Human Welfare.

ZOOLOGY

• Diversity of Living World
• Structural organization in Animals
• Animal Diversity-I
• Animal Diversity-II (Phylum: Chordata)
• Locomotion & Reproduction in Protozoa
• Biology in Human Welfare
• Type study of Periplaneta Americana
• Ecology & Environment.
• Human Anatomy and Physiology- I
• Human Anatomy and Physiology- II
• Human Anatomy and Physiology- III
• Human Anatomy and Physiology- IV
• Human Reproduction
• Generics
• Organic Evolution
• Applied Biology

Part V: Methodology (20 Marks)

Methodology is half the size of content but is usually the more predictable half, because it is made of named topics (aims, objectives, methods, planning, evaluation) rather than an open-ended textbook range. The official list is:

1. The Nature & Scope of Science: A brief introduction of Oriental and Western Science, Nature of Science, Scope of Science, Substantive and Syntactic Structure of Science.
2. Aims and Values of Teaching Biological Sciences: Aims of teaching Biological Sciences, Values of teaching Biological Sciences.
3. Objectives of Teaching Biological Sciences: Importance of Objectives of Teaching Biological Sciences, Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives and limitations, Writing Instructional Objectives and Specifications.
4. Academic Standards in Biological Science.
5. Approaches and Methods of Teaching Biological Sciences: Inductive Approach and Deductive Approach, Methods of Teaching 1. Lecture Method, 2. Lecture cum Demonstration Method, 3. Heuristic Method, 4. Project Method, 5. Experimental Method, 6. Laboratory Method.
6. Planning for effective Instruction: Year Plan, Unit Plan, Lesson Plan - Herbartian and Bloom's Approach, Criteria for Evaluation of Lesson Plan. Self Evaluation and Peer Evaluation, Learning experiences - Characteristics, Classification, Sources and Relevance, Teaching - Learning Material and Resources in Biological Sciences.
7. Science Laboratories: Importance of Practical work in Biological Sciences, Planning Science Laboratory, Procurement, Care and Maintenance of Laboratory Equipment, Maintenance of different Registers, Safety and First aid, Development of Improvised Apparatus
8. Science Curriculum: Principles of Curriculum Construction, Defects in the existing School Science Curriculum, Correlation of Biological Sciences with other School Subjects, Qualities of a good Biological Science Text-book.
9. Biological Science Teacher: Qualities of a good Biological Sciences Teacher, Roles and Responsibilities
10. Non-formal Science Education: Science club, Eco-club, Blue-club, Red ribbon club, Science fairs - Objectives, levels of organizations, importance, Science Laboratories, Role of N G O S and State in popularizing science.
11. Evaluation: Concept and process of Measurement and Evaluation, Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation, Tools of Evaluation, Preparation of Scholastic Achievement Test(SAT), Analysis and interpretation of scores.

The Common 20 Marks

Every School Assistant paper carries G.K & Current Affairs (10), Perspectives in Education (5) and Educational Psychology (5). The syllabus for the last two is the same for all subjects; we have set it out once in our Perspectives in Education and Educational Psychology syllabus guide. The document gives no topic list for G.K & Current Affairs.

How to Divide Your Study Time

As a starting point, split study time in proportion to marks. For every 100 hours of preparation:

This split is our own suggestion, not an official one; shift hours toward the units where your mock-test scores are weakest. The syllabus does not publish unit-wise marks, so avoid anyone who claims a fixed number of questions per unit unless they cite a notice.

After each mock test, enter your section-wise marks in the tool in our AP DSC 2026 syllabus and exam pattern guide to see which section is holding your total back.

Related: AP DSC syllabus and exam patternPerspectives and Psychology syllabusAP DSC 2026 notification guide

About the author. Thaseen Fathima is a B.Tech CSE (AI) student at Vignan Institute of Engineering and Technology, Visakhapatnam, who builds examination calculators and writes the guides behind them.