CEnT-S Exam Structure: Sections, Scoring, Timing

The five sections at a glance

The CEnT-S is divided into five separately timed sections. You cannot move between sections — once a section's clock runs out, it locks and the next one opens. There's no going back.

• ✓Mathematics: 15 questions, 30 minutes (2.0 min/question)
• ✓Reasoning on texts and data: 15 questions, 30 minutes (2.0 min/question)
• ✓Biology: 10 questions, 20 minutes (2.0 min/question)
• ✓Chemistry: 10 questions, 20 minutes (2.0 min/question)
• ✓Physics: 5 questions, 10 minutes (2.0 min/question)

Section 1: Mathematics (15 questions, 30 minutes)

The largest section and the one that swings your score the most. 15 questions worth up to 15 points — over 27% of your total.

Topics: algebra, equations and inequalities, functions and their properties, Euclidean and analytic geometry, trigonometry, exponentials and logarithms, probability and statistics.

The difficulty range within this section is wide. Some questions test basic algebraic manipulation; others require setting up and solving multi-step problems involving trigonometric identities or logarithmic equations. The trap is spending 4 minutes on a hard question and running out of time for two easier ones at the end.

Strategy: scan all 15 questions in the first 60 seconds. Answer the ones you can solve in under a minute first. Come back to the harder ones with remaining time. Never let a single question eat more than 3 minutes.

Section 2: Reasoning on texts and data (15 questions, 30 minutes)

Same weight as Mathematics (15 questions, 27.3% of total) but a completely different skill. This isn't a knowledge test — it's a reasoning test using English-language texts, tables, and graphs.

Topics: interpreting written passages, drawing conclusions from data presented in tables and charts, identifying logical relationships, evaluating arguments.

The texts are in English, so reading speed matters. If English isn't your first language, this section can feel slower than it should. The questions themselves aren't difficult — they test whether you understood what you read, not whether you memorised facts.

Strategy: read the passage or data set carefully the first time. Most errors come from misreading the question, not from lack of reasoning ability. If a question asks "which of the following is NOT supported by the text," read every option against the text — don't rely on memory.

Section 3: Biology (10 questions, 20 minutes)

The first of the three shorter sections. 10 questions, 18.2% of your total score.

Topics: cell biology and the cell cycle, genetics (Mendelian and molecular), DNA/RNA structure and function, anatomy and physiology of major organ systems, ecology and evolution, biological classification.

Biology is the most memory-dependent section. Either you know the answer or you don't — there's less room for "working it out" than in Mathematics. That's both good and bad: good because correct answers come fast, bad because wrong answers come fast too.

Strategy: if you don't recognise the topic within 15 seconds, flag it and move on. Don't spend 3 minutes trying to reason through a genetics question you don't have the background for — the penalty math doesn't support it.

Section 4: Chemistry (10 questions, 20 minutes)

Same format as Biology — 10 questions, 18.2% of total.

Topics: atomic structure and the periodic table, chemical bonding (ionic, covalent, metallic), stoichiometry and balancing equations, solutions and concentration, thermodynamics and reaction kinetics, acids, bases, and pH, organic chemistry fundamentals.

Chemistry sits between Biology's pure recall and Mathematics' problem-solving. Some questions are definitional (what type of bond does NaCl have?); others require calculation (molarity, stoichiometric ratios). The calculation questions are where time pressure hits hardest.

Strategy: handle definitional questions first — they take 30 seconds each. Save calculation-heavy questions for the end. If a stoichiometry problem looks like it needs more than 2 minutes, skip it, answer everything else, then return.

Section 5: Physics (5 questions, 10 minutes)

The shortest section: only 5 questions, only 9.1% of your total score. But 10 minutes is tight.

Topics: mechanics (kinematics, dynamics, work and energy), thermodynamics (temperature, heat, heat capacity), electrostatics (Coulomb's law, electric field, capacitors), electrodynamics (current, resistance, Ohm's law, circuits).

Five questions means every answer matters disproportionately. Getting one wrong costs you 1.25 net points (losing the +1 and eating -0.25), which is 25% of the section's maximum. There's nowhere to recover within the section.

Strategy: Physics is all-or-nothing at 5 questions. If you're strong in Physics, aim for 5/5 — the section is short enough to concentrate fully. If you're weak, spend your remaining study time elsewhere — the maximum swing is only 5 points, while Mathematics and Reasoning offer 15 each.

How scoring actually works

Each correct answer: +1. Each incorrect answer: -0.25. Each unanswered: 0.

The break-even point for guessing: with 5 options per question, random guessing gives you a 20% chance of +1 and an 80% chance of -0.25. Expected value: (0.2 × 1) + (0.8 × -0.25) = 0.2 - 0.2 = 0. Pure random guessing is a coin flip against zero — not worth the risk.

But if you can eliminate one option, the math shifts: 25% chance of +1, 75% chance of -0.25. Expected value: +0.0625. Positive. If you can eliminate two options, it jumps to +0.167. The lesson: never guess blindly, but always guess when you can rule out at least one answer.

Raw score vs normalised score

Your raw score is what you see immediately after the test. It's preliminary. At the end of each macro-period, CISIA applies a normalisation coefficient that adjusts for test difficulty. The normalised score is your official result — the one universities use.

Normalised scores are published by January 30 (first macro-period), March 31 (second), June 30 (third), or October 30 (fourth). Two students with the same raw score on different dates may end up with different normalised scores.

This means a raw score that feels low isn't necessarily bad — if the test was harder than average, normalisation will push your score up. Don't panic after the test; wait for the normalised result.

Time management: the real skill

CEnT-S gives you 2 minutes per question across every section. The students who score highest aren't the ones who know the most — they're the ones who manage those 2 minutes best.

The biggest time trap is dwelling on a question you almost know. If you've spent 90 seconds and you're not close, mark your best guess (if you can eliminate at least one option) or leave it blank, and move on. There's no partial credit for "almost" getting it right, and the next question might be one you can answer in 30 seconds.

Practice under timed conditions. Knowing the material isn't enough — you need to recall it within 2 minutes, under pressure, in English, on a screen.