ICSE Class 9 Computer Applications Syllabus, Units & Marks

Studying this subject? See the ICSE Class 9 Computer Applications course, or read the units below first.

What is the ICSE Class 9 Computer Applications syllabus?

ICSE Class 9 Computer Applications is organised into 12 units. The full unit list, the topics inside each one and the exam pattern are below, taken from the syllabus we teach to.

ICSE Class 9 Computer Applications unit list

What each unit covers

Unit 1: Introduction to Object Oriented Programming Concepts

• Principles of Object Oriented Programming
• Difference between Procedure Oriented and Object Oriented programming
• Concepts of OOP: encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, abstraction
• Data abstraction and data hiding

Unit 2: Introduction to Java

• History and features of Java
• Types of Java programs: Applets and Applications
• Java compilation process
• Java source code, Byte code, Object code
• Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

Unit 3: Elementary Concept of Objects and Classes

• Modelling entities and their behaviour using objects
• Class as a group of objects / a user-defined data type
• Class as a blueprint and object as an instance
• Objects encapsulating state (data members) and behaviour (methods)

Unit 4: Values and Data Types

• Character set, ASCII code, Unicode
• Escape sequences
• Tokens: keywords, identifiers, literals, punctuators, operators
• Constants and variables
• Primitive and non-primitive (composite) data types
• Type conversion: implicit (coercion) and explicit (casting)

Unit 5: Operators in Java

• Forms of operators: unary, binary, ternary
• Arithmetic, relational, logical, assignment operators
• Increment and decrement operators (prefix and postfix)
• Short-hand / compound assignment operators
• Precedence and associativity of operators
• new operator for dynamic memory; dot operator to access class members
• Evaluation of expressions

Unit 6: Working with Methods

• Defining and using methods
• Method signature, parameters and return type
• Pure and impure methods
• Calling methods and passing arguments

Unit 7: Input in Java

• Initialization vs parameters vs run-time input
• Introduction to packages
• Input stream using the Scanner class
• Scanner methods: nextInt(), nextLong(), nextShort(), nextFloat(), nextDouble(), next(), nextLine(), next().charAt(0)
• Types of errors: syntax, runtime and logical errors

Unit 8: Mathematical Library Methods

• Introduction to the package java.lang (default)
• Methods of the Math class (pow, sqrt, abs, max, min, round, random, cbrt, ceil, floor, etc.)

Unit 9: Conditional Constructs in Java

• if, if-else, if-else-if ladder
• Nested if statements
• switch-case, default, break and fall-through
• Menu-driven programs
• System.exit(0) to terminate a program
• Ternary operator as a conditional construct

Unit 10: Iterative Constructs in Java

• Concept and types of loops
• Entry-controlled loops: for and while
• Exit-controlled loop: do-while
• Variations in looping statements
• Jump statements: break and continue
• Inter-conversion between for, while and do-while (finite and infinite loops)

Unit 11: Nested for Loops

• Concept of loops within loops
• Generating patterns of numbers, characters and symbols
• Series and table programs using nested loops

Unit 12: Computing and Ethics

• Ethical use of computers and software
• Intellectual property rights, plagiarism and software piracy
• Open-source vs proprietary software
• Responsible and safe computing

Exam pattern

Theory: one written paper of 2 hours for 100 marks (Section A compulsory short-answer questions, ~40 marks, covering the whole syllabus; Section B with choice, ~60 marks). Internal Assessment: 100 marks, based on practical lab assignments completed through the year.

Practical and project work

Internal Assessment (100 marks) through practical Java/BlueJ lab work. Students complete a minimum of 20 lab assignments across the year to reinforce concepts covered in class, evaluated by the subject teacher.

Reviewed by Kajal Ma'am (MCA), teaching CBSE Computer Science & Informatics Practices since 2006. Weightage per the official CBSE 2026-27 curriculum.