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Class 8 old chapter names 2026-27: where each old NCERT chapter is now
If you search for "Microorganisms: Friend and Foe class 8" or "Rational Numbers class 8" and find nothing that matches your new textbook, this page is for you. Class 8 now uses new NCERT books: Curiosity for Science (13 chapters) and Ganita Prakash for Maths, in two parts (7 chapters in each). Their chapter names are new, and some topics have moved to Class 6, 7 or 9. Below, each old chapter name is matched to where its topics now sit, with the page in the new book.
We read these locations in the new books ourselves, chapter by chapter; no practising teacher has checked this list yet. An old chapter rarely moves whole into one new chapter. Where a topic is split, moved to another class, or missing from the new books, we say so. If you spot a mistake, please tell us. For which books are new this year and which are reprints, see what changed in the 2026-27 NCERT books.
How we matched them
- The old chapter names are from the contents pages of the earlier Class 8 NCERT books, the 2024-25 editions of Science and Mathematics. NCERT still hosts those two books at their old file names.
- The new chapter names and page numbers come from the new chapter files themselves: Curiosity and Ganita Prakash for Class 8, and the Class 6, 7 and 9 books where a topic has moved there.
- Page numbers are the printed page numbers of the new books. "Part 1" and "Part 2" are the two parts of Ganita Prakash.
Science: old chapters and where they are now
| Old chapter name | Where its topics are in 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| Crop Production and Management | No chapter in the new Class 6 to 9 science books. We did not find sowing tools, weeding or the seed drill in any of them. Class 7 Curiosity only mentions crop production in a question in Chapter 10, Life Processes in Plants (page 152). |
| Microorganisms: Friend and Foe | Class 8 Chapter 2, The Invisible Living World (from page 8). "What Are Microorganisms?" is section 2.3 (page 15), and fermentation comes up from page 21. |
| Coal and Petroleum | Moved to Class 6: Curiosity Chapter 11, Nature's Treasures (from page 207), section 11.6, Fossil Fuels (page 221). |
| Combustion and Flame | Moved to Class 7: Curiosity Chapter 5, Changes Around Us: Physical and Chemical (from page 57), section 5.3.2, Combustion (page 62), with ignition temperature on page 64. |
| Conservation of Plants and Animals | Class 8 Chapter 12, How Nature Works in Harmony (from page 190), which names India's national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves (page 204). The Red Data list appears in Class 9 Exploration Chapter 12, Patterns in Life (page 248). |
| Reproduction in Animals | Moved to Class 9: Exploration Chapter 11, Reproduction: How Life Continues (from page 208), starting with asexual reproduction (page 209); fertilisation comes up from page 216. |
| Reaching the Age of Adolescence | Moved to Class 7: Curiosity Chapter 6, Adolescence: A Stage of Growth and Change (from page 73); puberty is on page 77. |
| Force and Pressure | Split across Class 8 Chapter 5, Exploring Forces (from page 62; "What Is a Force?", page 63), and Chapter 6, Pressure, Winds, Storms, and Cyclones (from page 80; Pressure, page 81). |
| Friction | Class 8 Chapter 5, Exploring Forces, as one of the forces (friction, page 67). |
| Sound | Moved to Class 9: Exploration Chapter 10, Sound Waves: Characteristics and Applications (from page 184); wavelength and frequency are on page 194. |
| Chemical Effects of Electric Current | No chapter. We did not find electrolysis or electroplating in the new Class 6 to 9 science books. Class 8 Chapter 4 is now Electricity: Magnetic and Heating Effects. |
| Some Natural Phenomena | Partly. Lightning is in Class 8 Chapter 6, section 6.5, Storms, Thunderstorms, and Lightning (page 90). Earthquakes appear only as the source of seismic waves in Class 9 Exploration Chapter 10 (page 191). |
| Light | Class 8 Chapter 10, Light: Mirrors and Lenses (from page 152); concave and convex mirrors start on page 154. |
| Cell: Structure and Functions (an older Class 8 chapter, not in the 2024-25 book) | Class 9 Exploration Chapter 2, Cell: The Building Block of Life (from page 8); the cell wall comes up from page 13. |
New Class 8 Science chapters with no single old chapter behind them include Chapter 3 on health (from page 28), Chapter 7, Particulate Nature of Matter (from page 98), and Chapter 11, Keeping Time with the Skies (from page 170).
Maths: old chapters and where they are now
| Old chapter name | Where its topics are in 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| Rational Numbers | Moved to Class 9: Ganita Manjari Part I Chapter 3, The World of Numbers (from page 41), with rational numbers from page 46. |
| Linear Equations in One Variable | Class 7 Ganita Prakash Part 2 Chapter 7, Finding the Unknown (from page 164), and Class 8 Part 2 Chapter 6, Algebra Play (from page 135). |
| Understanding Quadrilaterals | Part 1 Chapter 4, Quadrilaterals (from page 82); parallelograms are on page 95. |
| Data Handling | Split. Pie charts are in Part 2 Chapter 3, Proportional Reasoning-2 (page 60), and the mean and median in Part 2 Chapter 5, Tales by Dots and Lines (from page 103). |
| Squares and Square Roots | Part 1 Chapter 1, A Square and A Cube (from page 1); square roots are on page 7. |
| Cubes and Cube Roots | The same chapter, A Square and A Cube; cube roots are on page 14. |
| Comparing Quantities | Part 2 Chapter 1, Fractions in Disguise (from page 1): percentages, and interest and compounding in "Growth and Compounding" (page 20). |
| Algebraic Expressions and Identities | Part 1 Chapter 6, We Distribute, Yet Things Multiply (from page 136). Identities as a chapter are in Class 9 Ganita Manjari Part I Chapter 4, Exploring Algebraic Identities (from page 68). |
| Mensuration | Split. Area is in Part 2 Chapter 7, Area (from page 148). Surface area and volume moved to Class 9 Ganita Manjari Part II Chapter 14, Math of Space: Surface Area and Volume (from page 123). |
| Exponents and Powers | Part 1 Chapter 2, Power Play (from page 19). |
| Direct and Inverse Proportions | Direct proportion is in Part 1 Chapter 7, Proportional Reasoning-1 (from page 159; ratios, page 161). Inverse proportion is in Part 2 Chapter 3, Proportional Reasoning-2 (section 3.6, page 63). |
| Factorisation | Moved to Class 9: Ganita Manjari Part I Chapter 4, section 4.3, Factorisation of Algebraic Expressions Using Identities (page 72). In the new Class 8 book, factorisation means prime factorisation, in Chapter 1 (page 9). |
| Introduction to Graphs | Part 2 Chapter 5, Tales by Dots and Lines, where line graphs start on page 116. |
New Class 8 Maths chapters with no single old chapter behind them include Part 1 Chapter 3, A Story of Numbers (from page 48), Part 1 Chapter 5, Number Play (from page 112), Part 2 Chapter 2, The Baudhāyana-Pythagoras Theorem (from page 33), and Part 2 Chapter 4, Exploring Some Geometric Themes (from page 70).
Our guides for the new chapters
Practice questions with answers on the new chapters named above:
- Science: The Invisible Living World, Exploring Forces, Pressure, Winds, Storms, and Cyclones, Electricity: Magnetic and Heating Effects, Particulate Nature of Matter, Light: Mirrors and Lenses, How Nature Works in Harmony.
- Maths: A Square and A Cube, Power Play, Quadrilaterals, We Distribute, Yet Things Multiply, Proportional Reasoning-1, Fractions in Disguise, Proportional Reasoning-2, Tales by Dots and Lines, Algebra Play, Area.
- Topics that moved to other classes: Class 6 Nature's Treasures, Class 7 Changes Around Us, Class 7 Finding the Unknown, Class 9 Cell, Class 9 Reproduction, Class 9 Sound Waves, Class 9 The World of Numbers, Class 9 Exploring Algebraic Identities, Class 9 Surface Area and Volume.
Where CMDLearn fits
CMDLearn is building an AI tutor for Classes 1 to 10 that explains a step and checks the child's working, but leaves the writing to the child. It is still in development, and no child uses it yet. If you would like to hear when there is something to try, you can join the waitlist.
Sources
All opened and read on 3 November 2026.
- NCERT, the earlier Class VIII Science (2024-25) and Mathematics (Reprint 2024-25) books, contents pages: ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hesc1ps.pdf and ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hemh1ps.pdf
- NCERT, Curiosity, Textbook of Science for Grade 8, chapter files hecu101 to hecu113: ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hecu102.pdf (and so on for each chapter)
- NCERT, Ganita Prakash, Grade 8, Part 1 (hegp101 to hegp107) and Part 2 (hegp201 to hegp207): ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hegp101.pdf and ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hegp201.pdf (and so on)
- NCERT, Class 6 and Class 7 Curiosity (fecu111, gecu105, gecu106, gecu110), Class 7 Ganita Prakash Part 2 (gegp207), Class 9 Exploration (iesc102, iesc110, iesc111, iesc112) and Class 9 Ganita Manjari (iemh103, iemh104, iemh206), at ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf followed by the file name and .pdf
The chapter names and page numbers are from the books above. The matching and the wording are our own. This page is general information; follow your teacher and your school's syllabus.
Practise this class: Class 8 worksheets, chapter by chapter · free practice, marked instantly