The Central Board of Secondary Education has released the updated CBSE syllabus class 12 Physics for the academic year 2025-26. The syllabus is designed to offer a strong foundation in core concepts and applications and emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and experimental skills.
It enables students to develop a scientific temperament and prepares them for careers in engineering, Physics, and technology-related fields. The syllabus aims to nurture analytical and problem-solving abilities essential for competitive exams and higher studies.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus
Total Marks: 100
Theory – 70 Marks (3 hours)
Practical – 30 Marks
Theory (70 Marks):
This section is divided into 2 Sections–A and B
Section A:
Following are the units included in Section A:
Unit 1: Electrostatics
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 to find field due to infinitely long straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet and 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, a dipole and system of charges; equipotential surfaces, electrical potential energy of a system of two-point charges and of electric dipole 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 (no derivation, formulae only).
Unit 2: Current Electricity
Chapter 3: Current Electricity
Electric current, flow of electric charges in a metallic conductor, drift velocity, mobility and their relation with electric current; Ohm's law, V-I characteristics (linear and non-linear), electrical energy and power, electrical resistivity and conductivity, 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 rules, Wheatstone bridge.
Unit 3: Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism
Chapter 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism
Concept of magnetic field, Oersted's experiment. Biot - Savart law and its application to the current carrying circular loop. Ampere's law and its applications to infinitely long straight wire. Straight solenoid (only qualitative treatment), force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic and electric fields. 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; Current loop as a magnetic dipole and its magnetic dipole moment, moving coil galvanometer- its current sensitivity and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter.
Chapter 5: Magnetism and Matter
Bar magnet, bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid (qualitative treatment only), 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 (qualitative treatment only), magnetic field lines. Magnetic properties of materials- Para-, dia- and ferro - magnetic substances with examples, Magnetization of materials, effect of temperature on magnetic properties.
Unit 4: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Current
Chapter 6: Electromagnetic Induction
Electromagnetic induction; Faraday's laws, induced EMF and current; Lenz's Law, Self and mutual induction.
Chapter 7: Alternating Current
Alternating currents, peak and RMS value of alternating current/voltage; reactance and impedance; LCR series circuit (phasors only), resonance, power in AC circuits, power factor, wattless current. AC generator, Transformer.
Unit 5: Electromagnetic Waves
Chapter 8: Electromagnetic Waves
Basic idea of displacement current, Electromagnetic waves, their characteristics, their transverse nature (qualitative idea only). Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) including elementary facts about their uses.
Section B:
Following are the units included in Section B:
Unit 6: Optics
Chapter 9: Ray Optics and Optical Instruments
Reflection of light, spherical mirrors, mirror formula, refraction of light, total internal reflection and optical fibers, refraction at spherical surfaces, lenses, thin lens formula, lens maker’s formula, magnification, power of a lens, combination of thin lenses in contact, refraction of light through a prism.
Microscopes and astronomical telescopes (reflecting and refracting) and their magnifying powers.
Chapter 10: Wave Optics
Wavefront and Huygens principle, reflection and refraction of plane waves at a plane surface using wave fronts.
Proof of laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens principle. Interference, Young's double slit experiment and expression for fringe width (No derivation final expression only), coherent sources and sustained interference of light, diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maxima (qualitative treatment only).
Unit 7: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter
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.
Experimental study of photoelectric effect
Matter waves-wave nature of particles, de-Broglie relation.
Unit 8: Atoms and Nuclei
Chapter 12: Atoms
Alpha-particle scattering experiment; Rutherford's model of atom; Bohr model of hydrogen atom, Expression for radius of nth possible orbit, velocity and energy of electron in his orbit, of hydrogen line spectra (qualitative treatment only).
Chapter 13: Nuclei
Composition and size of nucleus, nuclear force
Mass-energy relation, mass defect; binding energy per nucleon and its variation with mass number; nuclear fission, nuclear fusion.
Unit 9: Electronic Devices
Chapter 14: Semiconductor Electronics: Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits
Energy bands in conductors, semiconductors and insulators (qualitative ideas only) Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors- p and n type, p-n junction
Semiconductor diode - I-V characteristics in forward and reverse bias, application of junction diode -diode as a rectifier.
Removed Topics: Special purpose p-n junction diodes: LED, photodiode, solar cell, Zener diode and their characteristics, Zener diode as a voltage regulator
Practical (30 Marks):
Two experiments one from each section: 7+7 Marks
Practical record [experiments and activities]: 5 Marks
One activity from any section: 3 Marks
Investigatory Project: 3 Marks
Viva on experiments, activities and project: 5 Marks
Tips for Preparing CBSE Class 12 Physics Exam
Follow these topics to effectively prepare for class 12 cbse Physics syllabus:
You should begin your preparation at the start of the academic session to build strong conceptual understanding. Try to avoid delaying studies, as late preparation leads to weak concepts and reduced confidence.
Try to practice numerical questions from every chapter consistently. You can also try writing down and memorizing all important formulae chapter-wise for quick revision.
You must solve sample papers and previous years' question papers regularly and pick out commonly repeated 2-mark, 3-mark, and 5-mark questions. Since, active question-solving is the key, try to practice questions from class 12 Physics ncert syllabus and reference books to increase exposure to different question patterns. Note-taking alone is not enough.
The updated CBSE XII Physics syllabus for the academic year 2025-26 is structured to provide a balanced blend of conceptual clarity and practical exposure. It enables students to develop scientific thinking and analytical problem-solving abilities.
Start early, emphasize on numericals, practice extensively, and prioritize high-weightage topics, to confidently prepare for your board exams and build a solid foundation for higher studies and careers in technology and Physics.
