CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus 2023-24 - CBSE 12th Class Physics Syllabus Download PDF

Conducting Body 

Central Board of Secondary Education 

Question Paper Pattern 

• MCQs - 20%
• Competency-based questions in the form of case-based questions, source-based questions, or any other types - 30%
• Short answer/long answer type questions- 50%

Duration 

3 hours 

Medium 

English / Hindi Note: Regional languages are an optional language exam for candidates and will not be used as the main form of examination.

Mode 

Offline 

Number of subjects 

5 or 6 (as elected by the student) 

Maximum Marks 

Passing marks for each subject 

33%

Passing marks for the overall exam 

Aggregate 33%

Electrostatics

Electric Charges and Fields

16

Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance

Current Electricity

Current Electricity

Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism

Moving Charges and Magnetism

17

Magnetism and Matter

Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents

Electromagnetic Induction

Alternating currents

Electromagnetic Waves

Electromagnetic Waves

18

Optics

Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

Wave Optics

Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter

Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter

12

Atoms and Nuclei

Atoms

Nuclei

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 the 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).

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).

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.

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 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

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

Electromagnetic Induction

Electromagnetic induction; Faraday's laws, induced EMF and current; Lenz's Law, Self and mutual induction.

Alternating currents

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

Electromagnetic Waves

Basic idea of displacement current, Electromagnetic waves, their characteristics, and their transverse nature (qualitative idea only).

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

Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

Ray Optics: 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, a combination of thin lenses in contact, refraction of light through a prism.

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

Wave Optics

Wave optics: Wave front and Huygens principle, reflection and refraction of plane wave 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, and width of central maxima (qualitative treatment only).

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

Atoms

Alpha-particle scattering experiment; Rutherford's model of atom; Bohr model of hydrogen atom, Expression for radius of the nth possible orbit, velocity and energy of electron in nth orbit, hydrogen line spectra (qualitative treatment only).

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.

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.

Chapter 1: Electric Charges and Fields

2–7

47–50

1.2 Electric Charge (delete only activity with paper strips and making electroscope) 

1.3 Conductors and Insulators (delete only concept of earthing) 

1.4 Charging by Induction

Exercises 1.13, 1.25–1.34

Chapter 2: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance

81

87–92

2.15 Energy Stored in a Capacitor (delete only derivation) 

Exercises 2.12 to 2.36

Chapter 3: Current Electricity 

102–103 

107–109 

112–113 

120–124 

127–131

3.7 Resistivity of Various Materials (delete Tables 3.1 and 3.2 and Carbon resistors, Colour code for carbon resistor) 

3.10 Combinations of Resistors – Series and Parallel

 Example 3.5 

3.15 Meter Bridge

3.16 Potentiometer

Exercises 3.3, 3.4, 3.10, 3.12, 3.14–3.23

Chapter 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism 

135 

140–142 

152–153 

162–163 

170–172

Table 4.1 

4.4.1 Velocity Selector

 4.4.2 Cyclotron 

4.8.2 The Toroid 

4.10.3 The Magnetic Dipole Moment of a Revolving Electron 

Exercises 4.14–4.28

Chapter 5: Magnetism and Matter

176–179

180

185–189

191 

194–196 

200–203

5.2.2 Bar Magnet as an Equivalent Solenoid (delete only mathematical treatment) 

5.2.3 The Dipole in a Uniform Magnetic Field (delete only mathematical treatment) 

Example 5.4 185–189 191 194–196 200–203 5.4 Earth’s Magnetism 

5.41. Magnetic Declination and Dip 

Table 5.2 

5.6.2 Paramagnetism (delete only Curie’s Law) 5.6.3 Ferromagnetism (delete only Curie’s temperature; and Hysteresis) 

5.7 Permanent Magnets and Electromagnets 

Exercises 5.1, 5.2, 5.9–5.11, 5.13–5.25

Chapter 6: Electromagnetic Induction

215–219 

230–232

6.7 Energy Consideration: A Quantitative Study 

6.8 Eddy Currents 

Exercises 6.6, 6.10–6.17

Chapter 7: Alternating Current

240 

243

246–247 

249–251 

255–259 

266–268

Figure 7.7 Magnetisation and Demagnetisation of an Inductor 

Figure 7.10 Charging and Discharging of a Capacitor 7.6.2 Analytical Solution (of series LCR circuit) 

7.6.3 Resonance (delete only Sharpness of Resonance) 

7.8 LC Oscillations Exercises 7.6, 7.8, 7.10, 7.12–7.26

Chapter 8: Electromagnetic Waves

273–274

 276–278 

279–280 

287

Example 8.1 

8.3.2 Nature of Electromagnetic Waves (delete only about ether and page 277) 

Example 8.4 and 8.5 Exercises 8.11–8.15

Chapter 9: Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

318

321–322

332–335

346

9.3 Refraction (delete only advanced sunrise and delayed sunset)

9.4.1(i) Mirage

9.4.1(ii) Diamond

9.7 Some Natural Phenomena due to Sunlight

9.7.1 The Rainbow

9.7.2 Scattering of Light

Exercise 9.18

Chapter 10: Wave Optics

358–359

359

363–367

368–371

372–376

379–381

383–385

10.3.4 Doppler Effect

Example 10.1

10.5 Interference of

Light Waves and Young’s

Experiment (retain the final

expressions for dark and

bright fringes but delete the

derivation; delete expression

for fringe width)

10.6 Diffraction (retain only

qualitative treatment)

10.6.3 Resolving Power of

Optical Instruments

10.6.4 Validity of Ray Optics

10.7.1 Polarisation by

Scattering

10.7.2 Polarisation by

Reflection

Exercises 10.7–10.21

Chapter 11:

Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter

388

397

400–404

407–413

Table 11.1

Example 11.3

11.8 Wave Nature of Matter

(delete only derivation for

de Broglie wavelength of

accelerated electron; and

Heisenberg’s uncertainty

principle)

11.9 Davisson and Germer

Experiment

Appendix 11.1 The History

of Wave-Particle Flip-Flop

Exercises 11.5, 11.7, 11.12 to 11.14, 11.16, 11.17,

11.19–11.37

Chapter 12: Atoms

21–422

424–426

429

430

436–437

12.3.1 Spectral Series

12.4 Bohr Model of the

Hydrogen Atom (retain only

the expression for radius of

nth possible orbit but delete

its derivation)

12.5 The Line Spectra of the

Hydrogen Atom (retain only

qualitative treatment)

Example 12.6

Exercises 12.3,

12.11–12.17

Chapter 13: Nuclei

446–451

452–455

462–466

13.6.1 Law of Radioactive

Decay

13.6.2 Alpha Decay

13.6.3 Beta Decay

13.6.4 Gamma Decay

13.7.2 Nuclear Reactor

Exercises 13.1, 13.2,

13.6–13.10, 13.12–13.14,

13.18, 13.22–13.31

Chapter 14:

Semiconductor

Electronics:

Material Devices

and Simple

Circuits

485–495

497–499

14.8 Special Purpose p-n

junction Diodes

14.9 Digital Electronics and

Logic Gates

Exercises 14.7–14.15