Master the CBSE Class 12 Physics syllabus 2026-27 with this comprehensive guide covering Electrostatics, Current Electricity, Magnetic Effects, Electromagnetic Induction, Optics, Modern Physics, and Electronic Devices. This detailed syllabus includes complete unit breakdown, practical experiments, exam pattern, marking scheme, scoring strategies, and expert tips to score 95+ marks in your board examination.

Course Structure & Marking Scheme

Total Marks Distribution:

Unit-wise Marks Distribution (Theory - 70 Marks)

Complete Syllabus - All Units & Chapters

Unit I: Electrostatics (16 Marks)

Chapter 1: Electric Charges and Fields

•        Electric Charges: Conservation of charge, Coulomb's law - force between two point charges

•        Forces between multiple charges, superposition principle and continuous charge distribution

•        Electric field: Electric field due to a point charge, electric field lines

•        Electric dipole: Electric field due to a dipole, torque on a dipole in uniform electric field

•        Electric flux: Statement of Gauss's theorem and its applications

Electric field due to infinitely long straight wire

Uniformly charged infinite plane sheet

Uniformly charged thin spherical shell (field inside and outside)

Chapter 2: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance

•        Electric potential: Potential difference, electric potential due to a point charge, dipole and system of charges

•        Equipotential surfaces: Electrical potential energy of a system of two point charges in an electrostatic field

•        Conductors and insulators: Free charges and bound charges inside a conductor

•        Dielectrics and electric polarization: Capacitors and capacitance

•        Combination of capacitors in series and in parallel

•        Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectric medium between the plates

•        Energy stored in a capacitor: Van de Graaff generator

Unit II: Current Electricity (12 Marks)

Chapter 3: Current Electricity

•        Electric current: Flow of electric charges in a metallic conductor, drift velocity, mobility

•        Ohm's law: Electrical resistance, V-I characteristics (linear and non-linear)

•        Electrical energy and power: Electrical resistivity and conductivity

•        Carbon resistors: Colour code for carbon resistors

•        Series and parallel combinations of resistors: Temperature dependence of resistance

•        Internal resistance of a cell: Potential difference and emf of a cell

•        Combination of cells in series and in parallel

•        Kirchhoff's laws and simple applications

•        Wheatstone bridge: Metre bridge

•        Potentiometer: Principle and its applications to measure potential difference and compare EMF of two cells

Unit III: Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism (14 Marks)

Chapter 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism

•        Concept of magnetic field: Oersted's experiment

•        Biot-Savart law and its application to current carrying circular loop

•        Ampere's law and its applications to infinitely long straight wire, straight and toroidal solenoids (only qualitative treatment)

•        Force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic and electric fields - Cyclotron

•        Force on a current-carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic field

•        Force between two parallel current-carrying conductors - definition of ampere

•        Torque experienced by a current loop in uniform magnetic field - Moving coil galvanometer

Its current sensitivity and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter

Chapter 5: Magnetism and Matter

•        Current loop as a magnetic dipole and its magnetic dipole moment

•        Magnetic dipole moment of a revolving electron

•        Magnetic field intensity due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) along its axis and perpendicular to its axis (qualitative treatment only)

•        Torque on a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) in a uniform magnetic field

•        Bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid: Magnetic field lines

•        Earth's magnetic field and magnetic elements

•        Para, dia and ferro-magnetic substances with examples

•        Electromagnets and factors affecting their strengths: Permanent magnets

Unit IV: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Current (10 Marks)

Chapter 6: Electromagnetic Induction

•        Electromagnetic induction: Faraday's laws, induced EMF and current

•        Lenz's Law: Eddy currents

•        Self and mutual induction

Chapter 7: Alternating Current

•        Alternating currents: Peak and RMS value of alternating current/voltage

•        Reactance and impedance: LC oscillations (qualitative treatment only)

•        LCR series circuit: Resonance, power in AC circuits, power factor, wattless current

•        AC generator and transformer

Unit V: Electromagnetic Waves (3 Marks)

Chapter 8: Electromagnetic Waves

•        Basic idea of displacement current: Electromagnetic waves, their characteristics, transverse nature (qualitative ideas only)

•        Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) including elementary facts about their uses

Unit VI: Optics (10 Marks)

Chapter 9: Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

•        Ray Optics: Reflection of light, spherical mirrors, mirror formula

•        Refraction of light: Total internal reflection and its applications (optical fibres)

•        Refraction at spherical surfaces: Thin lens formula, lensmaker's formula, magnification, power of a lens

•        Combination of thin lenses in contact: Refraction of light through a prism

•        Scattering of light: Blue colour of sky and reddish appearance of sun at sunrise and sunset

•        Optical instruments: Microscopes and astronomical telescopes (reflecting and refracting) and their magnifying powers

Chapter 10: Wave Optics

•        Wave front and Huygen's principle: Reflection and refraction of plane wave at a plane surface using wave fronts

•        Proof of laws of reflection and refraction using Huygen's principle

•        Interference: Young's double slit experiment and expression for fringe width

•        Coherent sources and sustained interference of light: Diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maximum

•        Resolving power of microscope and astronomical telescope: Polarisation, plane polarised light

•        Brewster's law: Uses of plane polarised light and Polaroids

Unit VII: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter (3 Marks)

Chapter 11: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter

•        Dual nature of radiation: Photoelectric effect, Hertz and Lenard's observations

•        Einstein's photoelectric equation: Particle nature of light, photons

•        Matter waves: Wave nature of particles, de Broglie relation

•        Davisson-Germer experiment (experimental details should be omitted, only conclusion should be explained)

Unit VIII: Atoms and Nuclei (6 Marks)

Chapter 12: Atoms

•        Alpha-particle scattering experiment: Rutherford's model of atom

•        Bohr model: Energy levels, hydrogen spectrum

Chapter 13: Nuclei

•        Composition and size of nucleus: Atomic masses, isotopes, isobars, isotones

•        Radioactivity: Alpha, beta and gamma particles/rays and their properties, radioactive decay law

•        Mass-energy relation: Mass defect, binding energy per nucleon and its variation with mass number

•        Nuclear fission, nuclear fusion

Unit IX: Electronic Devices (4 Marks)

Chapter 14: Semiconductor Electronics: Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

•        Energy bands in conductors, semiconductors and insulators (qualitative ideas only)

•        Semiconductor diode: I-V characteristics in forward and reverse bias, diode as a rectifier

•        Special purpose p-n junction diodes: LED, photodiode, solar cell and Zener diode and their characteristics, zener diode as a voltage regulator

•        Junction transistor: Transistor action, characteristics of a transistor, transistor as an amplifier (common emitter configuration)

•        Basic idea of analog and digital signals: Logic gates (OR, AND, NOT, NAND and NOR)

•        Transistor as a switch

Practical Syllabus (30 Marks)

Evaluation Scheme for Practicals

Note: Practicals are conducted throughout the year. Students must maintain a practical file with all experiments, observations, calculations, and graphs. An investigatory project on any physics topic must be completed.

CBSE Class 12 Physics Exam Pattern 2026-27

Theory Examination Pattern (70 Marks, 3 Hours)

Important: Internal choice is provided in 2-mark, 3-mark, and 5-mark questions. No internal choice in MCQs and case studies. All questions are compulsory. Numerical problems carry significant weightage.

Important Dates & Academic Calendar 2026-27

Note: Visit the official CBSE website for date sheet, sample papers, and marking scheme updates.

Expert Study Tips for 95+ Score in Physics

1. Unit-wise Preparation Strategy

•        Electrostatics (16 marks - Highest): Master Gauss's law, capacitors, electric field and potential calculations

•        Current Electricity (12 marks): Focus on Kirchhoff's laws, Wheatstone bridge, potentiometer - numerical heavy

•        Magnetism (14 marks): Biot-Savart law, Ampere's law, force on current-carrying conductor

•        Electromagnetic Induction (10 marks): Faraday's laws, Lenz's law, AC circuits - good scoring unit

•        Optics (10 marks): Ray optics, wave optics, interference, diffraction - practice numerical

•        Modern Physics (12 marks total): Photoelectric effect, atoms, nuclei - conceptual + numerical

•        Electronic Devices (4 marks): Semiconductors, diodes, transistors - easy scoring if concepts clear

2. Daily Practice Routine

•        Practice minimum 15-20 numerical problems daily from different chapters

•        Dedicate 3-4 hours daily for Physics (theory + numerical)

•        Solve NCERT exercises and examples thoroughly - foundation for board exam

•        Practice NCERT Exemplar problems for challenging numericals

•        Maintain separate formula notebook with all derivations

•        Create unit-wise formula sheets - revise daily

•        Derivations practice: Write important derivations at least 5 times each

•        Focus on units and dimensions - always write correct SI units

3. Concept Mastery Techniques

•        Understand physics, don't memorize: Focus on concepts behind formulas

•        Learn all derivations: Many 3-5 mark questions ask for derivations

•        Draw diagrams: Circuit diagrams, ray diagrams, vector diagrams - mandatory

•        Vector operations: Master dot product, cross product, their physical meaning

•        Sign conventions: Extremely important in optics, electrostatics

•        Dimensional analysis: Check dimensional correctness of derived formulas

•        Standard results: Memorize standard physics results and constants

4. Numerical Problem Solving

•        Always write: Given, To Find, Solution, Final Answer with units

•        Convert all quantities to SI units before calculation

•        Show all steps: Even if doing mental calculation, write on paper

•        Use proper notation: Vectors (bold or arrow), scalars, subscripts

•        Check reasonability: Does the answer make physical sense?

•        Practice previous year numericals - pattern repeats

•        Time yourself: Complete numericals within allocated time

5. Practical Preparation

•        Attend all practical classes - 30 marks from practicals

•        Maintain a neat practical file with all experiments

•        Learn working principle of all apparatus

•        Practice circuit connections - series, parallel, potentiometer, Wheatstone bridge

•        Viva preparation: Understand theory behind each experiment

•        Project work: Choose interesting topic, complete well in advance

•        Know all precautions and sources of error for each experiment

6. Revision Strategy

•        First revision: Within 24 hours of learning

•        Second revision: After one week

•        Third revision: Monthly, then before exams

•        Solve CBSE sample papers - understand marking scheme

•        Practice previous year papers - last 10 years minimum

•        Take full-length mock tests under exam conditions

•        Revise formula sheets daily - morning and night

•        Focus on high-weightage units: Electrostatics, Current Electricity, Magnetism

Scoring Tips & Answer Writing Strategies

General Answer Writing Guidelines

•        Read entire question paper in first 15 minutes - plan strategy

•        Attempt questions: Easy numerical → Theory → Difficult numerical → Derivations

•        Always draw diagrams - labeled, neat, with pencil and ruler

•        Show all calculation steps - step marks awarded even with wrong final answer

•        Box final numerical answers - makes them easily identifiable

•        Write units with every numerical answer - marks deducted without units

•        Use proper physics notation - vectors, symbols, subscripts correctly

•        Neat handwriting essential - examiners have hundreds of papers to check

Section-wise Strategy

Section A: MCQs & Assertion-Reason (18 Marks)

•        No negative marking - attempt all questions

•        Use elimination for difficult MCQs

•        Don't spend more than 1.5 minutes per MCQ

•        Assertion-Reason questions: Read both statements, check logical connection

•        Formulas may be needed for some MCQs - know all formulas

•        Time allocation: 25-30 minutes maximum

Section B: 2-Mark Questions (10 Marks)

•        Keep answers short and precise

•        For numericals: Write Given, Formula, Substitution, Answer with unit

•        For theory: 3-4 lines maximum, direct answer

•        Draw diagram if needed - even small ones earn marks

•        Time: 3-4 minutes per question

Section C: 3-Mark Questions (18 Marks)

•        Numerical problems: Show 5-6 clear steps

•        Theory questions: Write in points or short paragraphs

•        Derivations: Write all steps, don't skip

•        Always draw and label diagrams

•        Write relevant formulas first, then solve

•        Time: 5-6 minutes per question

Section D: 5-Mark Questions (20 Marks)

•        These carry highest individual marks - be thorough

•        Derivations (5 marks): Write every step, draw diagram, state assumptions, arrive at final formula

•        Numerical (5 marks): Given → Diagram → Formula → Step-by-step solution → Final answer with unit

•        Theory (5 marks): Structured answer with points, diagrams, examples

•        Verify your answer if time permits

•        Time: 8-10 minutes per question

Section E: Case Study Questions (12 Marks)

•        Read the case study carefully - underline key data

•        Extract numerical values and conditions given

•        Usually: 3 MCQs (1 mark each) + 1 subjective (1 mark)

•        Application-based - connect theory with practical scenario

•        Draw diagram from given information

•        Time: 6-8 minutes per case study

Time Management in Exam

•        Reading & Planning: 15 minutes

•        Section A (MCQs): 25-30 minutes

•        Section B (2-marks): 20 minutes

•        Section C (3-marks): 35 minutes

•        Section D (5-marks): 35 minutes

•        Section E (Case studies): 20 minutes

•        Revision: 20-25 minutes

•        Total: 180 minutes (3 hours)

•        Don't get stuck - move forward, return later

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Physics Exam

Calculation & Unit Errors

•        Not converting to SI units - convert cm to m, gram to kg before calculation

•        Missing units in final answer - always write proper SI units

•        Sign errors: Negative charges, opposite directions in vectors

•        Decimal mistakes: Misplacing decimal points in powers of 10

•        Calculator errors: Pressing wrong buttons, not using scientific mode

•        Significant figures: Not maintaining proper significant figures in answer

Conceptual Errors

•        Confusing scalar and vector: Temperature vs velocity, work vs force

•        Sign convention errors: Especially in optics (focal length, image distance)

•        Direction confusion: Current direction, magnetic field direction, force direction

•        Formula misapplication: Using wrong formula for given situation

•        Kirchhoff's laws: Junction rule vs loop rule confusion

•        Lens formula: Confusion between real and virtual images

•        AC circuit: Confusing peak, RMS, and average values

Derivation Errors

•        Skipping steps in derivation - every step carries marks

•        Not drawing diagram for derivations - diagram is compulsory

•        Missing assumptions: Not stating assumptions clearly at the beginning

•        Incomplete derivation: Not arriving at final required form

•        Wrong mathematical operations: Integration, differentiation errors

•        Not showing intermediate steps clearly

Diagram & Presentation Errors

•        Not drawing diagrams - significant mark deduction

•        Unlabeled diagrams: All parts must be labeled clearly

•        Freehand diagrams: Use ruler and compass for neat diagrams

•        Wrong circuit symbols: Battery, resistor, ammeter, voltmeter - use standard symbols

•        Ray diagram errors: Not showing normal, angles incorrectly

•        Vector diagram errors: Not showing directions with arrows

•        Poor handwriting: Especially symbols - ε vs E, μ vs u, ν vs v

Chapter-specific Mistakes

•        Electrostatics: Forgetting 1/(4πε₀) in Coulomb's law, wrong sign for charges

•        Current Electricity: Series vs parallel formulas reversed, internal resistance ignored

•        Magnetism: Right-hand rule applied incorrectly, B vs H confusion

•        Electromagnetic Induction: Lenz's law direction errors, forgetting negative sign

•        Optics: Sign convention errors (most common mistake), focal length sign wrong

•        Wave Optics: Path difference vs phase difference confusion

•        Modern Physics: Work function in eV not converted to joules

•        Nuclei: Mass defect calculation errors, E=mc² with wrong units

•        Electronics: Forward vs reverse bias confusion, transistor configurations

High-Scoring Chapters & Topics

Focus on these for maximum marks with smart preparation:

•        Current Electricity: Kirchhoff's laws, Wheatstone bridge, meter bridge - formula-based, good scoring

•        Ray Optics: Lens formula, mirror formula, prism - straightforward numericals

•        Electromagnetic Induction: Faraday's law numericals - if formula clear, easy marks

•        AC Circuits: LCR circuit, resonance - practice 10-15 problems, scoring

•        Modern Physics (Atoms & Nuclei): Nuclear physics numericals - standard formulas

•        Photoelectric Effect: Einstein's equation - direct application

•        Capacitors: Series, parallel combinations - easy calculations

•        Magnetic Force: Force on conductor, Lorentz force - vector operations practice

Must-Remember Formulas & Constants

Important Constants

•        Speed of light (c): 3 × 10⁸ m/s

•        Permittivity of free space (ε₀): 8.854 × 10⁻¹² C²/N·m²

•        Permeability of free space (μ₀): 4π × 10⁻⁷ T·m/A

•        Planck's constant (h): 6.626 × 10⁻³⁴ J·s

•        Electronic charge (e): 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C

•        Mass of electron (mₑ): 9.1 × 10⁻³¹ kg

•        Mass of proton (mₚ): 1.67 × 10⁻²⁷ kg

•        Avogadro number (Nₐ): 6.022 × 10²³ mol⁻¹

•        Boltzmann constant (k): 1.38 × 10⁻²³ J/K

•        Rydberg constant (R): 1.097 × 10⁷ m⁻¹

Key Formulas by Unit

•        Electrostatics: F = kq₁q₂/r², E = F/q, V = kq/r, C = Q/V, U = ½CV²

•        Current Electricity: V = IR, P = VI = I²R, Rs = R₁+R₂, 1/Rp = 1/R₁+1/R₂

•        Magnetism: F = qvB sin θ, F = BIL sin θ, τ = NIAB sin θ

•        EMI: ε = -dΦ/dt, Φ = BA cos θ

•        AC Circuits: Vrms = V₀/√2, Irms = I₀/√2, Z = √(R²+(XL-XC)²)

•        Optics: 1/f = 1/v - 1/u, m = v/u, λ = D/d × β (YDSE)

•        Modern Physics: E = hν, KE = hν - φ, λ = h/p, E = mc²

Last 30 Days Preparation Strategy

•        Days 30-25: Complete final theory revision - all chapters, formulas, derivations

•        Days 24-20: Solve 50-60 numerical problems daily from each unit

•        Days 19-15: Practice all derivations - write each at least 3 times

•        Days 14-10: Solve 5-7 CBSE sample papers under exam conditions

•        Days 9-7: Solve previous year papers (last 10 years) - analyze pattern

•        Days 6-4: Mock tests - 3-4 full papers, identify weak areas

•        Day 3: Formula revision - go through all formula sheets, constants

•        Day 2: Light revision - important derivations, high-weightage numericals

•        Day 1: Complete rest - glance through formulas only, relax well

•        Exam Day: Reach 30 minutes early, stay calm, manage time wisely