Life Sciences Grade 10
This is every topic in the CAPS Life Sciences curriculum for Grade 10, 12 in total, organised by term, the way the Department sequences the year. It is the same curriculum your school teaches from, and the same one the NSC examines.
Term 1
4 topics- Chemistry of Life
- Cells: the basic units of life
- Cell division: mitosis
- Plant and animal tissues
Term 2
4 topics- Plant and animal tissues
- Plant organs (the leaf)
- Support and transport systems in plants
- Support systems in animals
Term 3
2 topics- Transport systems in mammals
- Biosphere to ecosystems
Term 4
2 topics- Biodiversity and classification
- History of life and the Earth
How it is examined
Papers, durations and mark allocations, as CAPS sets them out.
Paper 1
150 marks · 2.5 hours- Chemistry of Life23
- Cells: the basic units of life25
- Cell division: mitosis18
- Plant and animal tissues (Term 1)9
- Plant and animal tissues (Term 2)20
- Plant organs (the leaf)5
- Support and transport systems in plants25
- Support systems in animals25
Paper 2
150 marks · 2.5 hours- Transport systems in mammals30
- Biosphere to ecosystems60
- Biodiversity and classification10
- History of life and the Earth50
Knowing the topics is the easy part
The list above is public. It is what your teacher works from. What it does not do is explain a topic you are stuck on, show you a worked example, or tell you which mistakes cost marks in the exam. That is what an Elite Scholars account is for: study notes written against these exact topics, past papers, and tools that show their working.
See how we helpSource: CAPS FET Life Sciences, Grades 10-12, Department of Basic Education, checked on 2026-08-05. Schools sequence topics differently within a year, so treat this as what is examined rather than the order your class will meet it in.
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