CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus 2027
| Updated On - Oct 29, 2026
The CBSE Class 12 Physics syllabus 2026-27 has nine units and 14 chapters for the 2027 board exam. Physics carries 100 marks: 70 marks for the three-hour theory paper and 30 marks for the practical examination. The subject code is 042.
CBSE gives theory marks to groups of units, not to each chapter separately. Electromagnetic Waves and Optics carry 18 marks together, the highest of the five official groups.
- Academic session: 2026-27
- Subject code: 042
- Theory: 70 marks and 3 hours
- Practical: 30 marks and 3 hours
- Theory syllabus: 9 units and 14 chapters
CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus 2026-27
The course begins with electricity and magnetism, moves to electromagnetic waves and optics, and ends with modern physics and semiconductor electronics. The syllabus also sets clear limits for some topics. For example, energy stored in a capacitor requires formulae but no derivation, while the treatment of a straight solenoid is qualitative.
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Board exam year | 2027 |
| Academic session | 2026-27 |
| Subject code | 042 |
| Theory paper | 70 marks; 3 hours |
| Practical examination | 30 marks; 3 hours |
| Theory units and chapters | 9 units; 14 chapters |
CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus 2026-27 PDF
The complete curriculum includes the theory topics, practical work, marks distribution, prescribed books and question paper design. Students can download the official Class 12 Physics syllabus PDF. The CBSE curriculum page contains the subject-wise files for the 2026-27 session.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Unit-Wise Marks 2026-27
The 70 theory marks are divided into five groups. Each mark value applies to all the units and chapters named in that row. It should not be divided into fixed chapter marks.
| Units | Chapters | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| I. Electrostatics II. Current Electricity | 1 to 3 | 16 |
| III. Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism IV. Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents | 4 to 7 | 17 |
| V. Electromagnetic Waves VI. Optics | 8 to 10 | 18 |
| VII. Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter VIII. Atoms and Nuclei | 11 to 13 | 12 |
| IX. Electronic Devices | 14 | 7 |
| Total | 70 | |
CBSE Class 12 Physics Chapter-Wise Syllabus 2026-27
Units I and II: Electrostatics and Current Electricity
Chapter 1: Electric Charges and Fields covers electric charge, Coulomb's law, superposition, continuous charge distribution, electric field and field lines, dipoles, torque, electric flux and Gauss's theorem. Applications of Gauss's theorem are limited to an infinite straight wire, an infinite plane sheet and a thin spherical shell.
Chapter 2: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance includes electric potential, potential energy, equipotential surfaces, conductors, insulators, dielectrics, capacitors, series and parallel combinations, and a parallel-plate capacitor. For energy stored in a capacitor, only the formulae are required; the derivation is not part of the syllabus.
Chapter 3: Current Electricity includes drift velocity, mobility, Ohm's law, V-I characteristics, electrical energy and power, resistivity, conductivity, cell emf and internal resistance, cells in series and parallel, Kirchhoff's rules and the Wheatstone bridge.
Units III and IV: Magnetism, Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Current
Chapter 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism covers magnetic fields, Oersted's experiment, the Biot-Savart law, Ampere's law, force on moving charges and current-carrying conductors, force between parallel currents, torque on a current loop and the moving-coil galvanometer. The straight solenoid has qualitative treatment only.
Chapter 5: Magnetism and Matter includes bar magnets, magnetic field lines, magnetic dipoles, para-, dia- and ferromagnetic materials, magnetisation and the effect of temperature. The equivalent-solenoid model, axial and perpendicular fields, and torque on a bar magnet are qualitative.
Chapter 6: Electromagnetic Induction covers Faraday's laws, induced emf and current, Lenz's law, self-induction and mutual induction.
Chapter 7: Alternating Current includes peak and RMS values, reactance, impedance, LCR series circuits, resonance, power, power factor, wattless current, AC generators and transformers. LCR circuits are covered through phasors only.
Units V and VI: Electromagnetic Waves and Optics
Chapter 8: Electromagnetic Waves covers the basic idea of displacement current, the main features and transverse nature of electromagnetic waves, and the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays. The transverse nature is qualitative.
Chapter 9: Ray Optics and Optical Instruments includes reflection, spherical mirrors, refraction, total internal reflection, optical fibres, spherical surfaces, lenses, prisms, microscopes and astronomical telescopes. Lens power, magnification, lens combinations and magnifying power are also included.
Chapter 10: Wave Optics covers wavefronts, Huygens' principle, reflection and refraction through wavefronts, interference, Young's double-slit experiment, coherent sources and single-slit diffraction. Only the final fringe-width expression is required, and the width of the central maximum has qualitative treatment.
Units VII to IX: Dual Nature, Atoms, Nuclei and Electronic Devices
Chapter 11: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter includes the photoelectric effect, Hertz and Lenard's observations, Einstein's photoelectric equation, the particle nature of light, matter waves and the de Broglie relation.
Chapter 12: Atoms covers alpha-particle scattering, Rutherford's atomic model, Bohr's model, the radius, velocity and energy of an electron in the nth orbit, and the hydrogen line spectrum. The line spectrum is qualitative.
Chapter 13: Nuclei includes nuclear composition and size, nuclear force, the mass-energy relation, mass defect, binding energy per nucleon, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.
Chapter 14: Semiconductor Electronics covers energy bands, intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, p-type and n-type materials, the p-n junction, diode characteristics in forward and reverse bias, and a diode used as a rectifier. Energy bands are covered qualitatively.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Practical Syllabus 2026-27
The Physics practical examination carries 30 marks and lasts three hours. Students perform one experiment from Section A and one from Section B. The assessment also includes the practical record, one activity, an investigatory project and viva.
| Practical component | Marks |
|---|---|
| Two experiments, one from each section | 7 + 7 |
| Practical record | 5 |
| One activity from either section | 3 |
| Investigatory project | 3 |
| Viva on experiments, activities and project | 5 |
| Total | 30 |
Physics Practical Record
The record must contain at least eight experiments, with four from each section, and at least six activities, with three from each section. It must also include the student's project report.
Section A and Section B Experiments
Section A covers resistivity from a V-I graph, resistance through a metre bridge, series or parallel combinations, galvanometer resistance and figure of merit, conversion of a galvanometer into a voltmeter or ammeter, and the frequency of AC mains through a sonometer.
Section B covers focal length of mirrors and lenses, the prism's angle of minimum deviation, refractive index through a travelling microscope or mirror-lens arrangement, and the I-V curve of a p-n junction diode. Activities cover circuits, multimeter use, diodes and LEDs, an LDR, glass-slab refraction, diffraction and image formation.
Suggested projects include the internal resistance of a cell, an LDR circuit, refractive indices of liquids, a transformer, prism deviation, induced charge, self-inductance and the Earth's magnetic field.
Practical Exam for Visually Impaired Students
The practical exam for visually impaired students lasts two hours. It gives 5 marks for identifying apparatus, 10 marks for a written test, 5 marks for the practical record and 10 marks for viva.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Excluded Topics 2026-27
Content marked as excluded in the 2026-27 NCERT Physics textbooks will not be tested by schools and will not be assessed in the 2027 board exam. The curriculum does not print a separate chapter-by-chapter deleted-topic list, so the exclusion markings in the current NCERT books apply.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Question Paper Design 2026-27
Remembering and understanding account for 27 marks. Applying concepts carries 22 marks, while analysing, evaluating and creating carry 21 marks.
| Question skill | Marks | Approximate share |
|---|---|---|
| Remembering and understanding | 27 | 38% |
| Applying knowledge and rules | 22 | 32% |
| Analysing, evaluating and creating | 21 | 30% |
| Total | 70 | 100% |
CBSE calls this design a sample template. The board may change the internal mix of questions while keeping the overall skill-based weightage. The broader Class 12 exam pattern explains the common board rules.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Prescribed Books
The prescribed Class 12 books are NCERT Physics Part I and Part II and the NCERT Laboratory Manual of Physics. CBSE also allows related NCERT books, manuals and multimedia material. The Class 12 books page contains the subject-wise textbook details.
The Class 12 subject-wise syllabus and 2026 question papers cover the other subjects and recent board papers.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus 2026-27 FAQs
How many chapters are in the CBSE Class 12 Physics syllabus 2026-27? +
The theory syllabus has 14 chapters grouped into nine units.
Which Physics unit group carries the highest marks? +
Electromagnetic Waves and Optics carry 18 marks together. This group includes Chapters 8, 9 and 10.
Does CBSE give chapter-wise marks for Class 12 Physics? +
No fixed chapter-wise marks are given in the curriculum. The marks are shared by groups of units, so chapter-level figures published elsewhere are estimates.
What is the marks split for CBSE Class 12 Physics? +
Physics carries 100 marks: 70 marks for theory and 30 marks for the practical examination.
How many experiments and activities are needed in the Physics practical record? +
The record needs at least eight experiments, with four from each section, and six activities, with three from each section. It also includes the project report.
Are any Class 12 Physics chapters deleted for 2026-27? +
All 14 chapters are included. Content marked as excluded in the 2026-27 NCERT textbooks will not be assessed.
How many theory marks test application and higher skills? +
Applying carries 22 marks. Analysing, evaluating and creating carry another 21 marks, making 43 marks in total.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.