General units and dimensions, dimensional analysis, least count, significant figures, methods of
measurement and error analysis for physical quantities pertaining to the following experiments:
Experiments based on using Vernier calipers and screw gauges (micrometers), determination of g using a simple pendulum, Young’s modulus—elasticity of the material Surface tension of water by capillary rise and effect of detergents. Specific heat of a liquid using a calorimeter, focal length of a concave mirror and a convex lens using the u-v method, Speed of sound using a resonance column,
Verification of Ohm’s law using a voltmeter and ammeter, and specific resistance of the material of a wire using a meter bridge and post office box.
Kinematics in one and two dimensions (Cartesian coordinates only), projectiles; uniform circular
motion; relative velocity.
Newton’s laws of motion; Inertial and uniformly accelerated frames of reference; Static and
dynamic friction; kinetic and potential energy; work and power; Conservation of linear
momentum and mechanical energy.
Systems of particles; center of mass and its motion; impulse; elastic and inelastic collisions.
Rigid body, moment of inertia, parallel and perpendicular axes theorems, moment of inertia of
uniform bodies with simple geometrical shapes; angular momentum; Torque; Conservation of
angular momentum; dynamics of rigid bodies with a fixed axis of rotation; rolling without slipping
of rings, cylinders, and spheres; equilibrium of rigid bodies; Collision of point masses with rigid
bodies. Forced and damped oscillation (in one dimension), resonance.
Linear and angular simple harmonic motions.
Hooke’s law, Young’s modulus.
Law of gravitation; Gravitational potential and field; Acceleration due to gravity; Kepler’s law,
Geostationary orbits, Motion of planets and satellites in circular orbits; escape velocity.
Pressure in a fluid; Pascal’s law; Buoyancy, surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, drops, bubbles, and capillary rise. Viscosity (Poiseuille’s equation excluded), Modulus of rigidity and bulk modulus in mechanics. Stoke’s law; terminal velocity, streamline flow, equation of continuity, Bernoulli’s theorem, and its applications. Wave motion (plane waves only), longitudinal and transverse waves, superposition of waves; Progressive and stationary waves; Vibration of strings and air columns; resonance; beats; speed of sound in gases; Doppler effect (in sound)
Thermal expansion of solids, liquids, and gases; Calorimetry, latent heat; Heat conduction in one dimension; elementary concepts of convection and radiation; Newton’s law of cooling; Ideal gas laws; specific heats (Cv and Cp for monoatomic and diatomic gases); Isothermal and adiabatic processes, bulk modulus of gases; equivalence of heat and work; First law of thermodynamics and its applications (only for ideal gases); the second law of thermodynamics, reversible and irreversible processes, Carnot engine and its efficiency; Blackbody radiation: absorptive and emissive powers;
Kirchhoff’s law, Wien’s displacement law, Stefan’s law.
Coulomb’s law; electric field and potential; electrical potential energy of a system of point
charges and of electrical dipoles in a uniform electrostatic field; electric field lines; Flux of electric field; Gauss’s law and its application in simple cases, such as to find the field due to infinitely long straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet, and uniformly charged thin spherical shell. Capacitance; parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectrics; Capacitors in series and parallel; Energy stored in a capacitor.
Electric current; Ohm’s law; Series and parallel arrangements of resistances and cells; Kirchhoff’s laws and simple applications; heating effect of current.
Biot–Savart’s law and Ampere’s law; magnetic field near a current-carrying straight wire, along
the axis of a circular coil and inside a long straight solenoid; force on a moving charge and on a
current-carrying wire in a uniform magnetic field.
Magnetic moment of a current loop; effect of a uniform magnetic field on a current loop; moving
coil galvanometer, voltmeter, ammeter, and their conversions.
Electromagnetic induction: Faraday’s law, Lenz’s law; self and mutual inductance; RC, LR, LC.
and LCR (in series) circuits with d.c. and a.c. sources.
Electromagnetic waves and their characteristics. Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves,
microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays, including elementary facts about their uses.
Rectilinear propagation of light; reflection and refraction at plane and spherical surfaces; Total
internal reflection; deviation and dispersion of light by a prism; Thin lenses; combinations of
mirrors and thin lenses; magnification.
Wave nature of light: Huygen’s principle, interference limited to Young’s double-slit experiment.
Diffraction due to a single slit. Polarization of light, plane polarized light, Brewster's law,
Polaroids.
Atomic nucleus; α, β, and γ radiations; Law of radioactive decay; Decay constant; half-life and
mean life; binding energy and its calculation; Fission and fusion processes; energy calculation in
these processes.
Photoelectric effect; Bohr’s theory of hydrogen-like atoms; Characteristic and continuous X-rays,
Moseley’s law; de Broglie wavelength of matter waves.
CBSE SYLLABUS : of Physics Part 1 For Class 11th
Unit I: Physical World and Measurement
Chapter 2: Units and Measurements
Need for measurement: units of measurement, systems of units, SI units, fundamental and derived units. significant figures. Dimensions of physical quantities, dimensional analysis, and its applications.
Unit II: Kinematics
Chapter 3: Motion in a Straight Line
Frame of reference, Motion in a straight line, Elementary concepts of differentiation and integration for describing motion, uniform and nonuniform motion, and instantaneous velocity, uniformly accelerated motion, and velocity-time and position-time graphs. Relations for uniformly accelerated motion (graphical treatment).
Chapter 4: Motion in a Plane
Scalar and vector quantities; position and displacement vectors, general vectors and their notations; equality of vectors, multiplication of vectors by a real number; addition and subtraction of vectors, unit vector, resolution of a vector in a plane, rectangular components, scalar and vector product of vectors.
Motion in a plane, cases of uniform velocity and uniform acceleration projectile motion, uniform circular motion.
Unit III: Laws of Motion
Chapter 5: Laws of Motion
Intuitive concept of force, inertia, Newton's first law of motion; momentum and Newton's second law of motion; impulse; Newton's third law of motion. Law of conservation of linear momentum and its applications. Equilibrium of concurrent forces, Static and kinetic friction, laws of friction, rolling
friction, lubrication. Dynamics of uniform circular motion: Centripetal force, examples of circular
motion (vehicle on a level circular road, vehicle on a banked road).
Unit IV: Work, Energy, and Power
Chapter 6: Work, Energy, and Power
Work done by a constant force and a variable force; kinetic energy, work energy theorem, power. Notion of potential energy, potential energy of a spring, conservative forces: non-conservative forces, motion in a vertical circle; elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions.
Unit V: Motion of System of Particles and Rigid Body
Chapter 7: System of Particles and Rotational Motion Center of mass of a two-particle system, momentum conservation, and center of mass motion. Center of mass of a rigid body; center of mass of a
uniform rod. Moment of a force, torque, angular momentum, law of conservation of angular momentum, and its applications. Equilibrium of rigid bodies, rigid body rotation, and equations of rotational
motion, comparison of linear and rotational motions. Moment of inertia, radius of gyration, values of moments of inertia for simple geometrical objects (no derivation).
Unit VI: Gravitation
Chapter 8: Gravitation
Kepler's laws of planetary motion, universal law of gravitation. Acceleration due to gravity and its variation with altitude and depth. Gravitational potential energy and gravitational potential, escape speed,
orbital velocity of a satellite.
Unit VII: Properties of Bulk Matter
Chapter 9: Mechanical Properties of Solids
Elasticity, Stress-strain relationship, Hooke's law, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus of rigidity (qualitative idea only), Poisson's ratio, elastic energy.
Chapter 10: Mechanical Properties of Fluids
Pressure due to a fluid column; Pascal's law and its applications (hydraulic lift and hydraulic brakes); effect of gravity on fluid pressure. Viscosity, Stokes' law, terminal velocity, streamline and turbulent flow, critical
velocity, Bernoulli's theorem, and its simple applications. Surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, excess of pressure across a curved surface, application of surface tension ideas to drops,
bubbles and capillary rise.
Chapter 11: Thermal Properties of Matter
Heat, temperature, thermal expansion; thermal expansion of solids, liquids, and gases; anomalous expansion of water; specific heat capacity; Cp, Cv - calorimetry; change of state - latent heat capacity. Heat transfer—conduction, convection, and radiation; thermal conductivity; qualitative ideas of blackbody radiation; Wien's displacement law; Stefan's law.
Unit VIII: Thermodynamics
Chapter 12: Thermodynamics
Thermal equilibrium and definition of temperature, zeroth law of thermodynamics, heat, work, and internal energy. First law of thermodynamics, second law of thermodynamics: gaseous state of matter, change of condition of gaseous state—isothermal, adiabatic, reversible, irreversible, and cyclic processes.
Unit IX: Behavior of Perfect Gases and Kinetic Theory of Gases
Chapter 13: Kinetic Theory
Equation of state of a perfect gas, work done in compressing a gas. Kinetic theory of gases—assumptions, concept of pressure. Kinetic interpretation of temperature; rms speed of gas molecules; degrees of freedom; law of equi-partition of energy (statement only) and application to specific heat capacities of gases; concept of mean free path; Avogadro's number.
Unit X: Oscillations and Waves
Chapter 14: Oscillations
Periodic motion—time period, frequency, displacement as a function of time, periodic functions, and their applications. Simple harmonic motion (S.H.M.) and its equations of motion; phase; oscillations of a loaded spring—restoring force and force constant; energy in S.H.M. Kinetic and potential energies; simple pendulum derivation of expression for its time period.
Chapter 15: Waves
Wave motion: Transverse and longitudinal waves, speed of travelling wave, displacement relation for a progressive wave, principle of superposition of waves, reflection of waves, standing waves in strings and organ pipes, fundamental mode and harmonics, Beats.
CBSE SYLLABUS : of Physics Part 2 For Class 11th
Unit VII
Properties of Bulk Matter
Elastic behaviour, Stress-strain relationship, Hooke’s law, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear,modulus of rigidity, poisson’s ratio; elastic energy.
Pressure due to a fluid column; Pascal’s law and its applications (hydraulic lift and hydraulic brakes).Effect of gravity on fluid pressure.
Viscosity, Stokes’ law, terminal velocity, Reynold’s number, streamline and turbulent flow. Critical Velocity, Bernoulli’s theorem and its applications.
Surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, excess of pressure, application of surface tension ideas to drops, bubbles and capillary rise.
Heat, temperature, thermal expansion; thermal expansion of solids, liquids, and gases. Anomalous Expansion. Specific heat capacity: Cp, Cv – calorimetry; change of state – latent heat.
Heat transfer – conduction and thermal conductivity, convection and radiation. Qualitative ideas ofBlack Body Radiation, Wein’s displacement law, and GreenHouse effect.
Newton’s law of cooling and Stefan’s law.
Unit VIII
Thermodynamics
Thermal equilibrium and definition of temperature (zeroth law of Thermodynamics). Heat, work and internal energy. First law of thermodynamics.Isothermal and adiabatic processes.
Second law of thermodynamics: Reversible and irreversible processes. Heat engines and refrigerators.
Unit IX
Kinetic Theory
Behaviour of Perfect Gas and Kinetic Theory
Equation of state of a perfect gas, work done on compressing a gas.
Kinetic theory of gases: Assumptions, concept of pressure. Kinetic energy and temperature; rms
speed of gas molecules; degrees of freedom, law of equipartition of energy (statement only) and application
to specific heat capacities of gases; concept of mean free path, Avogadro’s number.
Unit X
Oscillations and Waves
Periodic motion – period, frequency, displacement as a function of time. Periodic functions.
Simple harmonic motion (SHM) and its equation; phase; oscillations of a spring – restoring force and force constant;
energy in SHM – kinetic and potential energies; simple pendulum – derivation of expression for its time
period; free, forced and damped oscillations (qualitative ideas only), resonance.
Wave motion. Longitudinal and transverse waves, speed of wave motion. Displacement relation for a
progressive wave. Principle of superposition of waves, reflection of waves, standing waves in strings and
organ pipes, fundamental mode and harmonics. Beats. Doppler effect.
CBSE SYLLABUS : Physics Part 1 For Class 12th
Unit I: Electrostatics, 26 Periods
Chapter 1: Electric Charges and Fields
Electric charges, conservation of charge, Coulomb's law (force between two-point charges), forces between multiple charges, the 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 a uniform electric field.
Electric flux, statement of Gauss's theorem, and its applications to find the field due to an 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 a system of charges; equipotential surfaces; electrical potential energy of a system of two-point charges and of an 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 II: Current Electricity, 18 Periods
Chapter 3: Current Electricity
Electric current, the 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 III: Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism, 25 Periods
Chapter 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism Concept of magnetic field, Oersted's experiment. Biot-Savart law and its application to a 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 a 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 IV: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents, 24 Periods
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 V: Electromagnetic Waves, 04 Periods
Chapter 8: 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.
CBSE SYLLABUS : Physics Part 2 For Class 12th
Unit VI: Optics, 30 Periods
Chapter 9: 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, 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.
Chapter 10: 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).
Unit VII: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter, 08 Periods
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 the photoelectric effect Matter waves: wave nature of particles, de Broglie relation.
Unit VIII: Atoms and Nuclei 15 Periods
Chapter 12: Atoms
Alpha-particle scattering experiment; Rutherford's model of the atom; Bohr model of the hydrogen atom; expression for the radius of the nth possible orbit; velocity and energy of the electron in the nth orbit; 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 IX: Electronic Devices, 10 Periods
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—IV characteristics in forward and reverse bias, application of junction diode-diode as a rectifier.
