CBSE 12th Class Physics Syllabus

• Unit I: 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 chargedistribution.
    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 polarisation, 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.
• Unit II: 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, 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 for
    comparing EMF of two cells; measurement of internal resistance of a cell.
• Unit III: 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 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, 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 Currents
  • 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
  • Chapter–8: Electromagnetic Waves
    Basic idea of displacement current, Electromagnetic waves, their characteristics, their
    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
  • 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, lenses,
    thin lens formula, lensmaker’s formula, magnification, power of a lens, combination of thin
    lenses in contact, refraction and dispersion of light through a prism.
    Scattering of light – blue colour of sky and reddish apprearance of the sun at sunrise and sunset.
    Optical instruments: Microscopes and astronomical telescopes (reflecting and refracting) and
    their magnifying powers.
  • Chapter–10: Wave Optics
    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
  • 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.
    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
  • 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, 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
  • 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 and transistor as an
    amplifier (common emitter configuration), basic idea of analog and digital signals, Logic gates
    (OR, AND, NOT, NAND and NOR).
• Unit X: Communication Systems
  • Chapter–15: Communication Systems
    Elements of a communication system (block diagram only); bandwidth of signals (speech, TV and
    digital data); bandwidth of transmission medium. Propagation of electromagnetic waves in the
    atmosphere, sky and space wave propagation, satellite communication. Need for modulation,
    amplitude modulation.

Source and Credits: cbse.nic.in
Source and Credits: Syllabus is taken from CBSE website. LearnFatafat is not responsible for any changes in the syllabus. Students are requested to refer cbse.nic.in in case of any changes.

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