CBSE 12th Board Syllabus Overview
Class 12 is the turning point in students’ career as the Class 12 result decides their career options. By reading CBSE Syllabus for Class 12, students can score well in exams and prepare each subject thoroughly. Refer to CBSE Class 12 Syllabus to know what to start with. We have given here the CBSE Syllabus for Class 12 for all subjects.
CBSE class 12 curriculum has 7 major areas – Languages, Humanities, Mathematics, Science, Skill Subjects, General Studies and Health and Physical Education. A student has to study 5 compulsory subjects in class 12. Apart from the compulsory subjects you can choose the 6th optional subject also.
The maximum marks for a subject in CBSE Class 12 Exams is 100. These total marks are further divided into 70 and 30 for theory and practical components. For subjects without practicals the marks are divided into theory (80) and internal assessment (20).
CBSE Class 12 Syllabus: Science Stream
The main subjects for CBSE Class 12 Science Stream are Physics, Chemistry, Maths, and Biology. Apart from these subjects, English is a compulsory subject in Class 12 which is common to all three streams.
CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus
The Physics exam is divided into theory and practical. Theory paper carries 70 marks and practical exam is held for a total of 30 marks. Students can check CBSE Class 12 Physics Syllabus below:
| Unit | Chapter |
| Unit - 1: Electrostatics | Ch 1: Electric charges, Conservation of charge, Coulomb's law-force between two- point charges, forces between multiple charges; superposition principle and continuous charge distribution. Ch 2: 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. |
| Unit - 2: Current Electricity | Ch 3: 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 | Ch 4: 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 Ch 5: 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 |
| Unit - 4: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents | Ch 6: Electromagnetic induction; Faraday's laws, induced EMF and current; Lenz's Law, Self and mutual induction. Ch 7: 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 | Ch 8: 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. |
| Unit - 6: Optics | Ch 9: 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 Ch 10: 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 (No derivation final |
| Unit - 7: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter | Ch 11: 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 | Ch 12: 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 nth orbit, hydrogen line spectra (qualitative treatment only). Ch 13: 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 | Ch 14: 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 |
CBSE Class 12 Chemistry Syllabus
The Chemistry exam also contains a theory paper of 70 marks and a practical exam worth 30 marks. Students can check CBSE Class 12 Chemistry topic-wise marks weightage from the table below:
| Unit | Chapter |
| Unit 2: Solutions | Types of solutions, expression of concentration of solutions of solids in liquids, solubility of gases in liquids, solid solutions, Raoult's law, colligative properties - relative lowering of vapour pressure, elevation of boiling point, depression of freezing point, osmotic pressure, determination of molecular masses using colligative properties, abnormal molecular mass, Van't Hoff factor. |
| Unit 3: Electrochemistry | Redox reactions, EMF of a cell, standard electrode potential, Nernst equation and its application to chemical cells, Relation between Gibbs energy change and EMF of a cell, conductance in electrolytic solutions, specific and molar conductivity, variations of conductivity with concentration, Kohlrausch's Law, electrolysis and law of electrolysis (elementary idea), dry cell-electrolytic cells and Galvanic cells, lead accumulator, fuel cells, corrosion. |
| Unit 4: Chemical Kinetics | Rate of a reaction (Average and instantaneous), factors affecting rate of reaction: concentration, temperature, catalyst; order and molecularity of a reaction, rate law and specific rate constant, integrated rate equations and half-life (only for zero and first order reactions), concept of collision theory (elementary idea, no mathematical treatment), activation energy, Arrhenius equation. |
| Unit 5: d -and f -Block Elements | General introduction, electronic configuration, occurrence and characteristics of transition metals, general trends in properties of the first row transition metals – metallic character, ionization enthalpy, oxidation states, ionic radii, colour, catalytic property, magnetic properties, interstitial compounds, alloy formation, preparation and properties of K2Cr2O7 and KMnO4. Lanthanoids - Electronic configuration, oxidation states, chemical reactivity and lanthanoid contraction and its consequences. Actinoids - Electronic configuration, oxidation states and comparison with lanthanoids. |
| Unit 6: Coordination Compounds | Coordination compounds - Introduction, ligands, coordination number, colour, magnetic properties and shapes, IUPAC nomenclature of mononuclear coordination compounds. Bonding, Werner's theory, VBT, and CFT; structure and stereoisomerism, importance of coordination compounds (in qualitative analysis, extraction of metals and biological system) |
| Unit 7: Haloalkanes and Haloarenes | Haloalkanes: Nomenclature, nature of C–X bond, physical and chemical properties, optical rotation mechanism of substitution reactions. Haloarenes: Nature of C–X bond, substitution reactions (Directive influence of halogen in monosubstituted compounds only). Uses and environmental effects of - dichloromethane, trichloromethane, tetrachloromethane, iodoform, freons, DDT. |
| Unit 8: Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers | Alcohols: Nomenclature, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties (of primary alcohols only), identification of primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols, mechanism of dehydration, uses with special reference to methanol and ethanol. Phenols: Nomenclature, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties, acidic nature of phenol, electrophillic substitution reactions, uses of phenols. Ethers: Nomenclature, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties, uses. |
| Unit 9: Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids | Aldehydes and Ketones: Nomenclature, nature of carbonyl group, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties, mechanism of nucleophilic addition, reactivity of alpha hydrogen in aldehydes, uses. Carboxylic Acids: Nomenclature, acidic nature, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties; uses. |
| Unit 10: Amines | Amines: Nomenclature, classification, structure, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties, uses, identification of primary, secondary and tertiary amines. Diazonium salts: Preparation, chemical reactions and importance in synthetic organic chemistry. |
| Unit 11: Biomolecules | Carbohydrates - Classification (aldoses and ketoses), monosaccahrides (glucose and fructose), D-L configuration oligosaccharides (sucrose, lactose, maltose), polysaccharides (starch, cellulose, glycogen); Importance of carbohydrates. Proteins -Elementary idea of - amino acids, peptide bond, polypeptides, proteins, structure of proteins - primary, secondary, tertiary structure and quaternary structures (qualitative idea only), denaturation of proteins; enzymes. Hormones - Elementary idea excluding structure. Vitamins - Classification and functions. Nucleic Acids: DNA and RNA. |
CBSE Class 12 Maths Syllabus
In Mathematics, there will be no practical exam. The theory paper will carry 80 marks and the remaining 20 marks will be allotted to the internal assessment. Students can check the topic-wise marks for CBSE Class 12 Math below:
| Units | Parts | Topics |
| Unit-I: Sets and Functions | Sets | Sets and their representations, Empty set, Finite and Infinite sets, Equal sets, Subsets, Subsets of a set of real numbers especially intervals (with notations). Universal set. Venn diagrams. Union and Intersection of sets. Difference of sets. Complement of a set. Properties of Complement. |
| Relations & Functions | Ordered pairs. Cartesian product of sets. Number of elements in the Cartesian product of two finite sets. Cartesian product of the set of reals with itself (upto R x R x R).Definition of relation, pictorial diagrams, domain, co-domain and range of a relation. Function as a special type of relation. Pictorial representation of a function, domain, co-domain and range of a function. Real valued functions, domain and range of these functions, constant, identity, polynomial, rational, modulus, signum, exponential, logarithmic and greatest integer functions, with their graphs. Sum, difference, product and quotients of functions. | |
| Trigonometric Functions | Positive and negative angles. Measuring angles in radians and in degrees and conversion from one measure to another. Definition of trigonometric functions with the help of unit circle. Truth of the identity sin2x + cos2x = 1, for all x. Signs of trigonometric functions. Domain and range of trigonometric functions and their graphs. Expressing sin (x±y) and cos (x±y) in terms of sinx, siny, cosx & cosy and their simple applications. | |
| Unit-II: Algebra | Complex Numbers and Quadratic Equations | Need for complex numbers, especially√−1, to be motivated by inability to solve some of the quadratic equations. Algebraic properties of complex numbers. Argand plane. |
| Linear Inequalities | Linear inequalities. Algebraic solutions of linear inequalities in one variable and their representation on the number line. | |
| Permutations and Combinations | Fundamental principle of counting. Factorial n. (n!) Permutations and combinations, derivation of Formulae for nPr and nCr and their connections, simple applications. | |
| Binomial Theorem | Historical perspective, statement and proof of the binomial theorem for positive integral indices. Pascal’s triangle, simple applications. | |
| Sequence and Series | Sequence and Series. Arithmetic Mean (A.M.) Geometric Progression (G.P.), general term of a G.P., sum of n terms of a G.P., infinite G.P. and its sum, geometric mean (G.M.), relation between A.M. and G.M. | |
| Unit-III: Coordinate Geometry | Straight Lines | Brief recall of two dimensional geometry from earlier classes. Slope of a line and angle between two lines. Various forms of equations of a line: parallel to axis, point -slope form, slope-intercept form, two-point form, intercept form, Distance of a point from a line. |
| Conic Sections | Sections of a cone: circles, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola, a point, a straight line and a pair of intersecting lines as a degenerated case of a conic section. Standard equations and simple properties of parabola, ellipse and hyperbola. Standard equation of a circle. | |
| Introduction to Three-dimensional Geometry | Coordinate axes and coordinate planes in three dimensions. Coordinates of a point. Distance between two points. | |
| Unit-IV: Calculus | Calculus | Derivative introduced as rate of change both as that of distance function and geometrically. Intuitive idea of limit. Limits of polynomials and rational functions trigonometric, exponential and logarithmic functions. Definition of derivative relate it to scope of tangent of the curve, derivative of sum, difference, product and quotient of functions. Derivatives of polynomial and trigonometric functions. |
| Unit-V: Statistics and Probability | Statistics | Measures of Dispersion: Range, Mean deviation, variance and standard deviation of ungrouped/grouped data. |
| Probability | Events; occurrence of events, ‘not’, ‘and’ and ‘or’ events, exhaustive events, mutually exclusive events, Axiomatic (set theoretic) probability, connections with other theories of earlier classes. Probability of an event, probability of ‘not’, ‘and’ and ‘or’ events. |
CBSE Class 12 Biology Syllabus
CBSE Class 12 Biology theory paper also carries 70 marks divided into 5 units as given below:
| Unit | Chapter | Topic |
| Unit-VI Reproduction | Chapter-2: Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants | Flower structure; development of male and female gametophytes; pollination - types, agencies and examples; out breeding devices; pollen-pistil interaction; double fertilization; post fertilization events - development of endosperm and embryo, development of seed and formation of fruit; special modes- apomixis, parthenocarpy, polyembryony; Significance of seed dispersal and fruit formation. |
| Chapter-3: Human Reproduction | Male and female reproductive systems; microscopic anatomy of testis and ovary; gametogenesis -spermatogenesis and oogenesis; menstrual cycle; fertilisation, embryo development upto blastocyst formation, implantation; pregnancy and placenta formation (elementary idea); parturition (elementary idea); lactation (elementary idea). | |
| Chapter-4: Reproductive Health | Need for reproductive health and prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs); birth control - need and methods, contraception and medical termination of pregnancy (MTP); amniocentesis; infertility and assisted reproductive technologies - IVF, ZIFT, GIFT (elementary idea for general awareness). | |
| Unit-VII Genetics and Evolution | Chapter-5: Principles of Inheritance and Variation | Heredity and variation: Mendelian inheritance; deviations from Mendelism – incomplete dominance, co-dominance, multiple alleles and inheritance of blood groups, pleiotropy; elementary idea of polygenic inheritance; chromosome theory of inheritance; chromosomes and genes; Sex determination - in humans, birds and honey bee; linkage and crossing over; sex linked inheritance - haemophilia, colour blindness; Mendelian disorders in humans - thalassemia; chromosomal disorders in humans; Down's syndrome, Turner's and Klinefelter's syndromes. |
| Chapter-6: Molecular Basis of Inheritance | Search for genetic material and DNA as genetic material; Structure of DNA and RNA; DNA packaging; DNA replication; Central Dogma; transcription, genetic code, translation; gene expression and regulation - lac operon; Genome, Human and rice genome projects; DNA fingerprinting. | |
| Chapter-7: Evolution | Origin of life; biological evolution and evidences for biological evolution (paleontology, comparative anatomy, embryology and molecular evidences); Darwin's contribution, modern synthetic theory of evolution; mechanism of evolution - variation (mutation and recombination) and natural selection with examples, types of natural selection; Gene flow and genetic drift; Hardy- Weinberg's principle; adaptive radiation; human evolution. | |
| Unit-VIII: Biology and Human Welfare | Chapter-8: Human Health and Diseases | Pathogens; parasites causing human diseases (malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filariasis, ascariasis, typhoid, pneumonia, common cold, amoebiasis, ring worm) and their control; Basic concepts of immunology - vaccines; cancer, HIV and AIDS; Adolescence - drug and alcohol abuse. |
| Chapter-10: Microbes in Human Welfare | Microbes in food processing, industrial production, sewage treatment, energy generation and microbes as bio-control agents and bio-fertilizers. Antibiotics; production and judicious use. | |
| Unit-IX Biotechnology and its Applications | Chapter-11: Biotechnology - Principles and Processes | Genetic Engineering (Recombinant DNA Technology). |
| Chapter-12: Biotechnology and its Applications | Application of biotechnology in health and agriculture: Human insulin and vaccine production, stem cell technology, gene therapy; genetically modified organisms - Bt crops; transgenic animals;biosafety issues, biopiracy and patents. | |
| Unit-X Ecology and Environment | Chapter-13: Organisms and Populations | Population interactions - mutualism, competition, predation, parasitism; population attributes - growth, birth rate and death rate, age distribution. (Topics excluded: Organism and its Environment, Major Aboitic Factors, Responses to Abioitic Factors, Adaptations) |
| Chapter-14: Ecosystem | Ecosystems: Patterns, components; productivity and decomposition; energy flow; pyramids of number, biomass, energy (Topics excluded: Ecological Succession and Nutrient Cycles). | |
| Chapter-15: Biodiversity and its Conservation | Biodiversity-Concept, patterns, importance; loss of biodiversity; biodiversity conservation; hotspots, endangered organisms, extinction, Red Data Book, Sacred Groves, biosphere reserves, national parks, wildlife, sanctuaries and Ramsar sites. |
CBSE Class 12 English Syllabus
For CBSE Class 12 English exam, the theory paper will carry 80 marks while the rest 20 marks will be allotted to the internal assessment. The theory paper contains three sections - Reading, Writing, and Literature.
Students can check the syllabus of detailed syllabus of each book of CBSE Class 12 English Literature section below:
CBSE Class 12 Syllabus: Commerce Stream
The major subjects of the Commerce stream include - Accountancy, Business Studies, and Economics. Students can check the subject-wise syllabus below.
CBSE Class 12 Accountancy Syllabus
CBSE Class 12 Accountancy theory paper will carry 80 marks. Students also have to prepare a project work in Accountancy for the remaining 20 marks. The theory syllabus along with topic-wise marks weightage of Accountancy is provided in the table below:
CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Syllabus
CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Syllabus contains 3 parts - A, B, and C containing the following chapters:
CBSE Class 12 Economics Syllabus
The maximum marks for Economics are 100 divided into 80 marks for theory and 20 for project work. Students can check Eco syllabus class 12 cbse from the table below:
CBSE Class 12 Syllabus: Arts Stream
The main subjects in CBSE Class 12 Arts Stream include - Political Science, Geography, and History. Students can check the complete updated syllabus of each subject here.
CBSE Class 12 Political Science Syllabus
CBSE Class 12 Political Science Syllabus with unit-wise mark distribution is provided below.
CBSE Class 12 History Syllabus
There are three parts in CBSE Class 12 History Syllabus. The chapters included in each part are provided in the table below:
Importance of CBSE Class 12 Syllabus
The CBSE Class 12 Syllabus is very important for exam preparation. Here are some points to see the importance of knowing the syllabus:
It covers the entire course structure along with the marks weightage of each section and the time duration of it.
It explains the question paper format so that students can know what type of questions can be asked from each topic.
The exam papers are prepared as per CBSE board Class 12 syllabus so knowing the syllabus will help students to prepare for the board exam accordingly.
It helps students to prepare well for their Class 12 board so that they don’t miss any topic.
A syllabus is a well planned course tool which helps not only students but also teachers.
