The HSC 2026 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) exam was held on Saturday, July 11, and within hours, “ICT multiple-choice questions solutions” became one of the most searched phrases among this year’s approximately 1.27 million test takers. This is hardly surprising: ICT is compulsory for Science, Humanities, and Business students, and the 25-point multiple-choice section is often where the overall average is decided.
This post analyzes the exam structure, explains the correct answers to the most discussed questions with proper reasoning (not just a written response), and addresses an important point that many posts with “100% correct solutions” overlook: some of this year’s exam questions present real-world problems.
(One note for candidates under the Chattogram Education Board: your ICT exam was postponed due to the flood situation, so this discussion applies to the boards where the exam was held. Your paper will be different — we’ll cover it after your rescheduled exam.)
How the ICT Paper Is Structured
For those calculating their scores, here’s the marks breakdown of the 100-mark ICT subject:
- MCQ section: 25 questions, 1 mark each = 25 marks. All 25 must be answered, and there is no negative marking — so an educated guess never hurt anyone.
- Creative questions (CQ): 50 marks
- Practical: 25 marks, assessed separately
A significant change this year: the exam was held with a unified (common) question paper across all boards, in four sets — ka, kha, ga and gha. The same questions appeared in every board, just in shuffled order, which is why one solution discussion now serves students everywhere.
The Most-Discussed Questions, Explained Properly
Instead of presenting 25 answers, here are the questions that students most frequently discuss in their groups, along with their justifications, so they can be sure their answer was correct.
Nanotechnology: Which approach allows you to build large structures from tiny atoms? The answer is the bottom-up approach. In bottom-up nanotechnology, materials are built atom by atom or molecule by molecule to form larger structures. The top-down approach is the opposite: small structures are created from larger material. If you selected the bottom-up approach, you are correct.
Mesh topology: How many wires are needed for n devices? The formula is n(n−1)/2. In a full mesh network, each device connects directly to every other device. With n devices, each connects to (n−1) others, and dividing by 2 eliminates the double counting of each link. Therefore, for 10 computers, there are 10 × 9/2 = 45 connections. Students who wrote n(n−1)/2 can rest easy.
Boolean algebra: simplify (A̅ + B)·B. Solve it step by step: (A̅ + B)·B = A̅·B + B·B = A̅B + B = B(A̅ + 1) = B·1 = B. The absorption pattern makes B the correct answer. This problem confused many students who rushed to solve it.
HTML editing: Which text editors are Notepad, Notepad++, and Sublime Text? All three. They are all text editors capable of editing HTML files. Students who hesitated and dismissed one of the options missed an easy point.
Database: the ID field that appears in a second table. When the primary key of one table appears in another table to create a link between them, in that second table it acts as a foreign key; That was the correct option in this case, and it’s a classic textbook question about relationships.
SQL: Select students from class 5 of the morning section. The condition requires that BOTH facts be true at the same time, so the query requires AND, not OR: WHERE Class = 5 AND Section = ‘morning’. Since Class contains a number, it doesn’t need quotes, while the text value ‘morning’ does.
The Questions Everyone Is Arguing About — And Why
Here’s the honest truth that those “100% guaranteed solutions” posts won’t tell you: this year’s ICT exam contained some truly problematic questions.
One question on number systems asked for the sum of (500)₈ and (AA)₁₆, but the answer choices didn’t clearly indicate the base in which the result should be expressed, making it impossible to definitively link the calculation to a single option. Similarly, at least two questions on logic gates referenced circuit diagrams that were reportedly not printed clearly.
This is precisely why different solutions posted on Facebook and various websites show different answers to the same questions. Our advice: don’t bother comparing five conflicting answer sheets for these few questions. When an exam contains a printing error or ambiguity, educational bodies have established procedures for handling it during assessment so that students aren’t unfairly penalized. Losing sleep over one or two disputed qualifications doesn’t change anything anymore.
Estimating Your MCQ Score Sensibly
Only count the questions you’re sure you know, based on the explanations above and your textbook; that will be your reliable baseline score. Consider doubtful questions as bonus points. And remember: the multiple-choice section is worth 25 out of 100 points. A slightly disappointing multiple-choice section can be easily compensated for by the critical thinking and practice question sections.
Also, a word of warning: beware of anyone selling “leaked” answers or claiming to have inside information about the grading. These scams resurface every exam season, and this year a new law punishes cheating on digital exams with up to five years in prison.
What’s Next
The HSC 2026 exams are proceeding as planned, and postponed tests for boards affected by the floods will be rescheduled once the regular schedule is complete. We will cover the new dates, the Chattogram Board ICT exam, and results updates as they become available.
How did you do on the ICT exam? Let us know in the comments how many multiple-choice questions you answered correctly, and stay tuned for our solutions and updates throughout HSC 2026.
Disclaimer: The explanations above are prepared independently based on the standard HSC ICT textbook and established computer science principles. They are for students’ self-assessment only — the education boards’ official evaluation is always final.