Mathematics and Science
Mathematics and Science in CG TET Paper 2 tests content and pedagogy for Classes VI–VIII, with separate mathematics and science questions for respective teachers.
Mathematics content and pedagogy
Key areas include number system, HCF/LCM, fractions and decimals, ratio and proportion, percentage, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, algebraic expressions, linear equations, angle properties, congruence, Pythagoras’ theorem, mensuration, data handling, and symmetry. Van Hiele levels move from visualization to analysis, informal deduction, and formal deduction; teach with multiple representations and manipulative-to-abstract progression. Polya’s four steps-understand, plan, carry out, review-structure problem-solving. Analyse errors to diagnose misconceptions.
Science content and pedagogy
Content includes nutrition and photosynthesis, respiration, transport, reproduction, materials, motion and force, light, sound, electricity, magnets, and natural resources. Inquiry involves hypothesising, controlling variables, measuring, and interpreting data; the 5E model is engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate. Address misconceptions: plants do not ‘eat soil’; heavier objects do not always fall faster in air-free conditions; sound needs a medium.
Worked example
A shopkeeper marks an item 25% above cost and gives a 10% discount. Let CP = ₹100; MP = ₹125; SP = 125 × 0.90 = ₹112.50; profit = ₹12.50; profit % = 12.5%. Reasoning: successive changes are not 25% − 10% = 15%, because the discount applies to MP, not CP. The multiplier is (1.25)(0.90) = 1.125.
Traps
Adding percentages; using SP instead of CP as the profit base; forgetting unit conversion in mensuration; treating equal-angle triangles as congruent when they are only similar; confusing mass and weight, respiration and photosynthesis, observation and inference; ignoring control variables in experiments.