ISC Class 11 Syllabus 2027 Biotechnology

ISC YEAR 2027

INDIAN SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
EXAMINATION

BIOTECHNOLOGY
(878)

February 2025
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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endeavours, empowering them to contribute towards
a humane, just and pluralistic society, promoting
introspective living, by creating exciting learning
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Minimum monitoring.
Allowing schools to evolve their own niche.
Catering to the needs of the children.
Giving freedom to experiment with new ideas
and practices.
Diversity and plurality - the basic strength for
evolution of ideas.
Schools to motivate pupils towards the
cultivation of:
Excellence - The Indian and Global
experience.
Values - Spiritual and cultural - to be the bedrock
of the educational experience.
Schools to have an 'Indian Ethos', strong roots in
the national psyche and be sensitive to national
aspirations.

BIOTECHNOLOGY (878)

Aims:
1. To enable candidates to acquire the knowledge 4. To create awareness about the appreciation of
and develop an understanding of how materials biological processes to industries.
are provided by biological agents to provide 5. To develop the ability to appreciate biological
goods and services. phenomenon in nature and the contribution of
2. To appreciate the role played by biotechnology biotechnology to human welfare.
in improving health care for human beings. 6. To develop scientific attitude towards
3. To understand the interdisciplinary nature of biological phenomenon.
this subject.

CLASS XI
There will be two papers in the subject: control management of the products, good
laboratory practices.
Paper I: Theory…………... 3 hours ... 70 marks
(ii) Scope and importance of biotechnology:
Paper II: Practical………. 3 hours ... 15 marks
different branches of biotechnology and
Project Work………. …10 marks different regulatory guidelines; ethical, legal
and social issues (ELSI) that a
Practical File…………. …5 marks
biotechnologist comes across while doing the
work. Various organisations in the field of
PAPER I –THEORY- 70 MARKS biotechnology.
1. Introduction to Biotechnology Names, definitions and importance of various
(i) Historical background; definition; a brief fields that can be covered under
introduction of the traditional and modern biotechnology such as - agricultural/ plant
techniques of Biotechnology and their biotechnology, animal biotechnology/medical
applications. biotechnology, nanobiotechnology, industrial
biotechnology, immunology and health care,
Definition of biotechnology by OECD and energy and environment.
EFB; contributions of Karl Ereky and Louis
Pasteur; use of various fermented products Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in
in ancient civilisations; biotechnology- concept of intellectual
property, types of IPR and its need;
Kitchen (traditional), the first intellectual property rights and the choice of
biotechnological laboratory -reasoning intellectual property rights protection.
behind the technology involved in simple Discovery and invention; Concept of
biological products like curd and beer; patenting, trademark, trade secrets,
names of microorganisms involved in their copyright, geographical indications and
production. PBRs and their need.
Application of these technologies for large- Concept of ethical, legal and social issues
scale production, with special reference to with one common example IVF.
fermentation (Beer production only). Quality

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Biosafety issues: release of genetically banding patterns (Q, R, C and G) and their
modified organisms into the environment and application.
their impact; GEAC and its objectives.
Concept of chromosomal number in different
Biotechnology - global and Indian scenario. species, e.g. man, mouse, Drosophila and
Various institutes, centres and funding pea.
agencies - NBTB, CCMB, ICGEB, ICMR,
Techniques in cytology – microscopy (light
ICAR, DBT, DST which deal with
and electron microscope), karyotyping and
biotechnology and bioinformatics in India:
centrifugation (principle and applications
names only.
only).
(iii) Basic concepts of Biochemical technology
(ii) Cell Division and cell cycle: types of cell
and biostatistics: What does the biochemical
divisions and various other activities of cell
technology mean? An understanding of
such as biochemical transformations.
various statistical methods involved in
biotechnology. Types and significance of cell division and a
brief note about the different stages of cell
Concept of buffer, type and preparation of
division – mitosis and meiosis.
buffers, pH, physical variables;
fermentation; An understanding of bio- Basic concept of cell cycle and cell cycle
reactors, idea of sampling – quadrat and regulation – CdK method only, definition of
transect; measures of central tendency – Mitotic Index.
mean, median, mode; standard deviation and Biochemical Transformations:
standard error; concept of probability –
theoretical and experimental. An understanding of biochemical
transformations, different biochemical
2. Cell Biology pathways involved in respiration - aerobic
(i) Cell: Justification of cell as a basic unit of and anaerobic.
life. Prokaryotic cell and eukaryotic cell; A Aerobic respiration - Glycolysis, Krebs’
brief note on the cell components with cycle, electron transport chain and oxidative
special reference to nucleus. Various phosphorylation.
cytological techniques used in identifying the
cell and chromosomes. Anaerobic respiration - lactic acid,
fermentation and alcohol fermentation –
Differentiation prokaryotic and eukaryotic definition only.
cellular systems.
(iii) Errors in cell division: what happens if the
Structure of bacteria (in brief, with reference cell does not divide normally? An
to plasmid). Gram+ and Gram- bacteria. understanding of different numerical and
An understanding of cell components, their structural abnormalities.
basic structure and functions - cell wall, cell Concept of mutation: causes; types –somatic,
membrane, cytoplasmic reticulum, Golgi germinal, spontaneous, induced, gene,
apparatus, mitochondria, ribosomes, chromosomal and genomatic mutations,
vacuoles, plastids, lysosomes, nucleus and euploidy, aneuploidy, monosomy, nullisomy,
other important inclusions of the cell. trisomy and tetrasomy; various factors
Chromosomal structure and composition – causing mutations.
organisation of chromatids, concept of Concept of non-disjunction: meiotic
homologous and non-homologous non-disjunction and mitotic non-disjunction.
chromosomes, sister and non-sister Non-disjunction in sex chromosomes –
chromatids, classification of chromosomes on Turner’s syndrome and Klinefelter’s
the basis of position of the centromere on the syndrome - chromosomal composition and
chromosome, basic idea about telomere, symptoms only.
chromatin and nucleosome. An idea about

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Numerical chromosomal aberrations with energy; mechanism of enzyme action - lock
respect to autosomes, i.e. Down’s syndrome and key model; induced fit hypothesis; factors
–chromosomal composition and symptoms affecting enzyme activity (temperature, pH,
only. substrate concentration, enzyme
concentration, inhibitors (competitive, non-
Structural chromosomal abnormalities –
competitive).
deletions, duplications, translocations,
inversions. Optical activity of biomolecules
(dextrorotatory and laevorotatory).
Polyploidy and its significance in plants.
Concept of supramolecular assembly.
Inborn errors of metabolism - basic concept
and examples like albinism, sickle cell (ii) Techniques used for separation of
anaemia, phenylketonuria and alkaptonuria. biomolecules
Ion exchange chromatography and paper
3. Biomolecules and related techniques
chromatography.
(i) Introduction to biomolecules- definition and
types. Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, 4. Developmental Biology and Immunology
vitamins and enzymes – their structure and
(i) Animal and plant development: development
properties.
of an organism from zygotic cell in both
Biomolecules – definition and types plants and animals.
Structure and functions of carbohydrates. Animal development – fertilisation, zygote to
blastocyst formation.
Sugars and derivatives; classification of some
important mono, di and polysaccharides - Plant development. Double fertilisation
glucose, fructose, glycogen, cellulose, chitin including formation of primary endosperm
and peptidoglycan. Physical and chemical nucleus.
properties of sugars.
(ii) An understanding of defence strategies in
Structure, functions and classification of living organisms.
proteins i.e. simple, complex and derived;
Immune system in higher animals, concept of
building blocks of proteins - the amino acids:
immunity, immunisation, antigen and
chemical structure, types (acidic, basic and
antibody. Various cells involved in immune
neutral); physical and chemical properties of
response in humans. An introduction to
amino acids. 3D - structure of proteins.
human leukocyte antigens with reference to
Different types of protein structures - primary,
organ transplantation; Types of immunity -
secondary (alpha helix, beta pleated sheet and
innate and acquired. ELISA Technique
random structures), tertiary, quaternary;
(Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay).
protein sequencing by MALDI-MS.
Secondary metabolites in plants and their
Structure and functions of lipids – fatty acids
significance
and alcohol; types (simple, conjugated and
derived lipids with one example of each); Defence strategies in bacteria – endospores
chemical and physical properties of lipids. and R plasmids.
Vitamins: Definition, types (fat soluble and 5. Genetics
water soluble vitamins); co-enzyme forms of
water soluble vitamins; deficiency diseases of (i) Laws of Inheritance: An account of
vitamins. Mendel’s experiments. Different types of
genetic inheritance.
Enzymes: Structure and functions of enzymes:
chemical nature of enzymes; characteristics Mendel’s experiment on pea plant and his
and properties of enzymes. An understanding laws of inheritance.
of enzyme activity on the basis of activation

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Concept of trait, gene, allele, phenotype, only once and destroy it. (d) Do not prick or use
genotype, homozygosity, heterozygosity and blood drop in an indiscriminatory way.
hemizygosity. Types of inheritance:
2. Identification of different types of blood cells by
autosomal inheritance - dominant, co-
preparing blood smear using Leishmann’s stain.
dominant, recessive, polygenic, pleiotropic
and cytoplasmic inheritance (plastidial Requirements: Blood sample, disposable needles,
inheritance). slides, Leishmann’s stain. Make a blood smear
on a slide, use the stain to colour the smear,
Pedigree construction using different
wash and observe under microscope.
standard symbols.
Sex chromosome inheritance - with special 3. Instruments – their names, use and principles (if
reference to X chromosomal inheritance applicable).
with suitable examples (colour blindness Water bath, pH meter, weighing balance,
and haemophilia). desiccators, microfiltration unit, magnetic
(ii) Gene Mapping: mapping of genes on stirrer, LAF, haemocytometer, micropipette,
chromosomes using linkage analysis. vortex mixer, colorimeter/spectrophotometer, hot
Cancer and its genetics. air oven, autoclave, incubator, electrophoresis
chamber, colony counter, autoclave, hot plate.
Mapping of genes on chromosomes with
respect to COV (Crossing Over Value). 4. Finding out the pH of water by using pH meter or
Basic concept of linkage (types not pH paper on tap water and water containing acid,
required) and crossing over. Genetic base.
recombination. Take tap water in three test tubes, add two drops
Cancer: Causes (physical, chemical, of dil. HCl in one, two drops of NaOH in the
biological – TSG and oncogenes); diagnosis second while leaving the third test tube with tap
and treatment. water. Use pH meter or pH paper to find their
specific pH.
(iii) Genes in populations: how do genes behave
in populations from generation to 5. Observation of steps of mitosis by using the root
generation? Various ways of studying tip of onion.
population genetics. The students should be given practice in
preparing slides for study of mitosis by crush
Concept of gene pool and allele frequency, smear method. They should be able to identify
definition of Hardy Weinberg law, its different stages (at least four stages). The
applications. requirement for this set of experiments is
Possibility of disease resistant and Acetocarmine stain slides, coverslips,
susceptible genes in population. Definition microscopes and spirit-lamp.
and application of pharmacogenetics and
pharmacogenomics. 6. Measurement of mitotic index.
Mitotic index is the ratio of number of cells
PAPER II undergoing mitosis to the number of cells in the
field.
PRACTICAL WORK – 15 MARKS No. of cells showing mitosis
Candidates are required to complete the following MI =
experiments. Total no. of cells in the field
1. Determination of blood group by using antisera. 7. Observation of various stages of meiosis under
The students can perform this experiment on microscope.
their own blood groups. Proper instructions For the study of meiosis, the students should be
however are to be given for ‘prick’ – e.g. (a) shown permanent slides of meiosis and they
Sterilize finger with alcohol/disinfectant. (b) Use should be able to identify at least six stages of
only disposable sterile needle. (c) Use the needle meiosis from the slides.

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8. Effect of temperature on curdling of milk by Put the instrument in milk. If it sinks down
using Lactobacillus bacteria at 37oC, 60oC and and reaches the mark ‘M’ mentioned on
10oC. lactometer, it means that the milk is pure or
if not, it means that the milk is impure. If the
Optimum temperature for curdling of milk is
milk is mixed with water, it would sink higher
37oC due to active form of bacteria at this
than mark ‘M’. If it stands at the mark 3 it
temperature; it is inactive at low temperature means that the milk is 75% pure and
and dies at high temperature. respectively 2 for 50% purity and 1 for 25%
9. Food tests: purity.
(i) Carbohydrates – starch by iodine solution 11. Construction of pedigree showing different
turning blue - black in colour. types of inheritance.
Reducing and non-reducing sugars by using The students are to observe the traits like,
Fehling’s solution / Benedict’s solution – rolling of the tongue/ attached earlobe/
reducing the cupric ion (blue) to cuprous ion widow’s peak.
(red). 12. Preparation of karyotypes.
(ii) Protein test – Biuret test, Xanthoproteic Demonstration of any metaphasic plate of
and Millon’s test mitosis.
13. Sampling methods – quadrat and transect by
(a) For Biuret test –The protein produces
using different techniques.
deep blue – violet colour due to the
involvement of cupric ion in the product To be done in groups. Use yellow and green
formed. pea seeds. Make a quadrat (30 cm X 30 cm)
with blocks of 6 cm X 6 cm. Spread the seeds
(b) For Millon’s Reagent – A pinkish red randomly on the table top. Put the quadrat
colour is observed with mercuric and count the number of yellow and green
chloride. peas per block; find the frequency of each
(c) For Xanthoproteic Test: When type of pea seed.
concentrated nitric acid is boiled with 14. Data collection – primary and secondary.
protein a yellow colour is observed. On Collect any type of primary data and
addition of ammonium hydroxide or secondary data, tabulate the data and draw
liquor ammonia orange yellow conclusion.
precipitate is obtained.
(iii)Lipids – Sudan III, Acrolein test, paper test PROJECT WORK AND PRACTICAL
(a) Sudan III is a red fat-soluble dye used for FILE – 15 MARKS
identification of the presence of lipids,
Project Work – 10 Marks
triglycerides and lipoproteins. It reacts
with the lipids or triglycerides and gives Candidates are to creatively execute one
red colour. project/assignment on any aspect of Biotechnology.
Teachers may assign or students may choose any one
(b) Acrolein test is used to detect fat. When
project of their choice. The report should be kept
fat is heated strongly in the presence of
simple, but neat and elegant.
potassium bisulphate/ sodium bisulphate
(KHSO 4 /NaHSO 4 ) that acts as a Practical File – 5 Marks
dehydrating agent, the glycerol is Teachers are required to assess students on the basis
dehydrated to form an unsaturated of the practical file maintained by them during the
aldehyde called acrolein that gives a academic year.
pungent and irritating odour.
10. Finding out the purity of milk by using
lactometer.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 14. ICAR: Indian Council for Agricultural Research
1. CCMB:Centre for Cellular and Molecular 15. ICGEB: International Centre for Genetic
Biology Engineering and Biotechnology
2. CdK: Cyclin dependent Kinase 16. ICMR: Indian Council for Medical Research
3. COV: Cross Over Value 17. IEF : Iso Electro Focussing
4. CSIR: Council of Scientific and Industrial 18. IPP: Intellectual Property Right Protection Act
Research 19. IPR: Intellectual Property Right
5. DBT: Department of Biotechnology 20. IVF: In–Vitro Fertilization
6. DST: Department of Science and Technology 21. MALDI-MS: Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption
7. EFB: European Federation of Biotechnology Ionization – Mass Spectrometry
22. MI: Mitotic Index
8. ELISA: Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay
23. NADPH/NADP: Nicotinamide Adenine
9. ELSI: Ethical, Legal and Social Issues Dinucleotide Phosphate (reduced) / Nicotinamide
10. ETS/ETC: Electron Transport System / Electron Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate
Transport Cycle 24. NBTB: National Biotechnology Board
11. FMN/FAD: Flavin Mono Nucleotide / Flavin 25. OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation
Adenine Dinucleotide and Development
12. GEAC: Genetic Engineering Approval 26. PBR: Plant Breeder’s Right
Committee
27. TPP: Thiamine Pyrophosphate
13. HLA: Human Leucocyte – associated Antigen
28. TSG: Tumour Suppressor Gene

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