Updated on 27 Feb 2026
By Silki Joshi, Content Creator
Updated CBSE Class 12 Syllabus 2026 released with chapter-wise topics and marks weightage for Science, Commerce, and Arts streams
Detailed CBSE Class 12 exam pattern and marking scheme for Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English based on CBSE’s competency-based assessment model
CBSE Class 12 Subject-wise syllabus PDFs available to help students plan preparation according to NCERT and board guidelines
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced a revised syllabus and exam pattern for Classes 11 and 12 starting from the academic session 2025–26. The updated CBSE Class 12 syllabus 2026 focuses on assessing students’ conceptual clarity, analytical ability, and real-life application of knowledge. Candidates must download the CBSE Class 10+2 syllabus 2026 to know about the important chapters. Additionally, the CBSE Senior Secondary syllabus 2026 helps one to understand the marking scheme.
CBSE Class 12 syllabus 2026 PDF is now available for all the subjects. Candidates who are going to appear for the upcoming CBSE Class 10+2 exam must download their subject wise syllabus. This helps them to get an idea of the topics that are important for the examination. Go through the table below to get CBSE Class 12 syllabus PDF.
CBSE Class 12 syllabus 2026 helps candidates to know about the chapter wise topics along with marks. The board has released the detailed syllabus for each subject earlier. Go through the section below to know about the CBSE Class 12 syllabus in English.
| CBSE Class 12 Syllabus 2025-26 for Physics | |||
| Unit | Chapter | Key Topics | Marks |
| Unit I: Electrostatics | Chapter 1: Electric Charges and Fields | Electric charges, conservation of charge, Coulomb's law (force between point charges), superposition principle, continuous charge distribution, electric field (due to point charge & dipole), electric dipole torque, electric flux, Gauss's theorem & applications (infinitely long straight wire, infinite plane sheet, thin spherical shell – inside & outside field). | 16 |
| Chapter 2: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance | Electric potential & potential difference, potential due to point charge, dipole & system of charges, equipotential surfaces, potential energy (two point charges & dipole), conductors & insulators, dielectrics, electric polarization, capacitors (series & parallel), parallel plate capacitor with/without dielectric, energy stored in capacitor. | ||
| Unit II: Current Electricity | Chapter 3: Current Electricity | Electric current, drift velocity, mobility, Ohm’s law, V-I characteristics (linear & non-linear), electrical energy & power, resistivity & conductivity, temperature dependence, internal resistance of cell, potential difference & EMF, combination of cells (series & parallel), Kirchhoff’s rules, Wheatstone bridge. | |
| Unit III: Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism | Chapter 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism | Magnetic field concept, Oersted’s experiment, Biot–Savart law (application to circular loop), Ampere’s law (applications to straight wire, solenoid), force on moving charge, force on current-carrying conductor, force between two parallel conductors (ampere definition), torque on current loop, current loop as magnetic dipole, moving coil galvanometer (conversion to ammeter/voltmeter). | 17 |
| Chapter 5: Magnetism and Matter | Bar magnet as equivalent solenoid, magnetic field due to bar magnet (axis & equator – qualitative), torque on magnetic dipole, magnetic field lines, magnetic materials (para, dia, ferro), magnetization, effect of temperature on magnetic properties. | ||
| Unit IV: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents | Chapter 6: Electromagnetic Induction | Faraday’s laws, induced EMF, Lenz’s law, self & mutual induction. | |
| Chapter 7: Alternating Current | AC basics, peak & RMS values, reactance & impedance, LCR series circuit (phasors only), resonance, AC power, power factor, wattless current, AC generator, transformer. | ||
| Unit V: Electromagnetic Waves | Chapter 8: Electromagnetic Waves | Displacement current, properties of EM waves, transverse nature (qualitative), electromagnetic spectrum (radio to gamma rays) & uses. | 18 |
| Unit VI: Optics | Chapter 9: Ray Optics and Optical Instruments | Reflection, spherical mirrors, mirror formula, refraction, total internal reflection, optical fibers, refraction at spherical surfaces, lenses (thin lens formula, lens maker’s formula, magnification, power, combination), prism refraction, microscopes & telescopes (magnifying power). | |
| Chapter 10: Wave Optics | Wavefront & Huygen’s principle, reflection & refraction using wavefronts, interference (Young’s double slit, fringe width formula), coherent sources, diffraction at a single slit (qualitative). | ||
| Unit VII: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter | Chapter 11: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter | Dual nature of light, photoelectric effect (Hertz & Lenard’s observations), Einstein’s equation, experimental study of photoelectric effect, de Broglie relation, matter waves. | 12 |
| Unit VIII: Atoms and Nuclei | Chapter 12: Atoms | Alpha particle scattering, Rutherford’s model, Bohr’s model (radius, velocity, energy of nth orbit), hydrogen spectrum (qualitative). | |
| Chapter 13: Nuclei | Nucleus composition & size, nuclear force, mass-energy relation, mass defect, binding energy, variation of binding energy per nucleon, nuclear fission & fusion. | ||
| Unit IX: Electronic Devices | Chapter 14: Semiconductor Electronics | Energy bands (conductors, semiconductors, insulators – qualitative), intrinsic & extrinsic semiconductors (p & n type), p–n junction diode (I-V characteristics), diode as rectifier. | 7 |
| Class 12 CBSE Syllabus 2025-26 for Chemistry | ||
| Units | Key Topics | Marks |
| Unit 1: 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 vapor 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 | 7 |
| Unit 2: 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. | 9 |
| Unit 3: Chemical Kinetics | Rate of a reaction (Average and instantaneous), factors affecting rate of reaction: concentration, temperature, catalyst; orderand 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 | 7 |
| Unit 4: 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 K2Cr2O7and KMnO4.Lanthanides -Electronic configuration, oxidation states, chemical reactivity and lanthanide contraction and its consequences.Actinides -Electronic configuration, oxidation states and comparison with lanthanides | 7 |
| Unit 5: 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). | 7 |
| Unit 6: 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 | 6 |
| Unit 7: 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, electrophilic substitution reactions, uses of phenols.Ethers: Nomenclature, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties, uses | 6 |
| Unit 8: 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. | 8 |
| Unit 9: 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. | 6 |
| Unit 10: 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, structureof 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 | 7 |
| Class 12 CBSE 2026 Syllabus for Mathematics | |||
| Unit | Chapter | Key Topics | Marks |
| Unit I: Relations and Functions | Chapter 1: Relations and Functions | Types of relations – reflexive, symmetric, transitive, equivalence; one-to-one and onto functions. | 08 |
| Chapter 2: Inverse Trigonometric Functions | Definition, domain, range, principal values, graphs of inverse trigonometric functions. | ||
| Unit II: Algebra | Chapter 3: Matrices | Types of matrices, operations (addition, multiplication, scalar multiplication), properties, transpose, inverse of a matrix. | 10 |
| Chapter 4: Determinants | Determinant of up to 3×3 matrix, minors, cofactors, adjoint, inverse, area of triangle, solving linear equations using inverse of a matrix. | ||
| Unit III: Calculus | Chapter 5: Continuity and Differentiability | Continuity, differentiability, chain rule, derivatives of inverse trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions, second-order derivatives. | 35 |
| Chapter 6: Applications of Derivatives | Rate of change, increasing/decreasing functions, maxima and minima (first and second derivative test). | ||
| Chapter 7: Integrals | Integration as the reverse of differentiation, methods (substitution, partial fractions, by parts), properties of definite integrals. | ||
| Chapter 8: Application of the Integrals | Area under curves – lines, circles, parabolas, ellipses (standard form). | ||
| Chapter 9: Differential Equations | Order, degree, general and particular solutions, solving by separation of variables and homogeneous equations. | ||
| Unit IV: Vectors and Three-dimensional Geometry | Chapter 10: Vectors | Magnitude and direction, types of vectors, scalar (dot) and vector (cross) product, and applications. | 14 |
| Chapter 11: Three-dimensional Geometry | Direction cosines/ratios, equations of lines, shortest distance, angle between two lines. | ||
| Unit V: Linear Programming | Chapter 12: Linear Programming Problem | Constraints, objective function, graphical method, feasible/infeasible regions, optimal solutions. | 05 |
| Unit VI: Probability | Chapter 13: Probability | Conditional probability, multiplication theorem, independent events, Bayes’ theorem, total probability. | 08 |
CBSE Class 12 exam pattern is different for all the subjects. It consists of the marking scheme, topic wise weightage, and duration. Candidates can also know about the minimum qualifying marks for the CBSE Class 12 exam pattern prescribed for each subject.
| Exam Component | Information |
| Total Score | 100 Marks (divided into 80 for the written exam and 20 for the internal assessment) |
| Written Paper Structure |
|
| Internal Evaluation | periodic tests (best 2 out of 3 will be counted) and subject-based activities in Mathematics, each carrying 10 marks. |
| Time Duration | 3 Hours for the theory exam |
| Qualifying Marks | Minimum 33% required per subject and overall total |
| Topic | Marks |
| Relations & Functions | 08 |
| Calculus | 35 |
| Algebra | 10 |
| Vectors & 3-Dimensional Geometry | 14 |
| Linear Programming | 05 |
| Probability | 08 |
| Part | Question Format | Marks Allotted |
| Part A | 16 Questions (mix of MCQs, very short and short responses) | 16 Marks |
| Part B | 5 Questions – Short Answer (2 marks each) | 10 Marks |
| Part C | 7 Questions – Short Answer (3 marks each) | 21 Marks |
| Part D | 2 Questions – Case-Based (4 marks each) | 8 Marks |
| Part E | 3 Questions – Long Answer (5 marks each) | 15 Marks |
| Theory Total | — | 70 Marks |
| Practical Exam | Activities, experiments, viva, and record work | 30 Marks |
| Grand Total | Combined score of theory and practical | 100 Marks |
| Category | Information |
| Marks Distribution |
|
| Type of Questions |
|
| Exam Duration | The total duration of the written paper is 3 hours. |
| Topics | Marks |
| Unit 1: Electrostatics Unit 2: Current Electricity | 16 |
| Unit 3: Magnetic Effects of Current & Magnetism Unit 4: Electromagnetic Induction & Alternating Currents | 17 |
| Unit 5: Electromagnetic Waves Unit 6: Optics | 18 |
| Unit 7: Dual Nature of Radiation & Matter Unit 8: Atoms & Nuclei | 12 |
| Unit 9: Electronic Devices | 7 |
| Practical | |
| Two experiments (one from each section) | 7+7 |
| Practical file (with activities and experiments recorded) | 5 |
| One hands-on activity from any section | 3 |
| Project work (investigatory type) | 3 |
| Viva, based on experiments and a project | 5 |
| Category | Information |
| Marks Distribution | Theory: 70 marks Practical/Project Work: 30 marks |
| Type of Questions |
|
| Exam Duration | The total duration of the written paper is 3 hours. |
| Topics | Marks |
| Solutions | 7 |
| Electrochemistry | 9 |
| Chemical Kinetics | 7 |
| d -and f- f-block elements | 7 |
| Coordination Compounds | 7 |
| Haloalkaline s & Haloarnes | 6 |
| Alcohol, Phenols & Ethers | 6 |
| Aldehydes, Ketones & Carboxylic Acids | 8 |
| Amines | 6 |
| Biomolecules | 7 |
| Practicals | |
| Volumetric Analysis | 8 |
| Salt Analysis | 8 |
| Content-Based Experiment | 6 |
| Project | 4 |
| Class record & viva | 4 |
| Category | Information |
| Marks Distribution |
|
| Type of Questions |
|
| Exam Duration | The total duration of the written paper is 3 hours. |
| Topics | Marks |
| Reproduction | 16 |
| Genetics & Evolution | 20 |
| Biology & Human Welfare | 12 |
| Biotechnology & Its Applications | 12 |
| Ecology & Environment | 10 |
| Practical | |
| 1 Major experiment | 5 |
| 1 Minor experiment | 4 |
| Slide preparation | 5 |
| Spotting | 7 |
| Practical record + viva voce | 4 |
| Investigatory Project and Project record + viva voce | 5 |
| Component | Marks | Included Question Types |
| Section A: Reading | 22 | Comprehension based on unseen passages — narrative, descriptive, and factual formats, including case-based passages with visual/verbal cues. |
| Section B: Writing & Grammar | 18 | Writing formats such as notices, invitations (formal/informal) with replies, letters (applications, editorial), reports or articles, and grammar-based sentence transformation. |
| Section C: Literature | 40 | Questions from prose, poetry, and plays in the prescribed textbooks and supplements focused on comprehension, interpretation, analysis, and inference |
| Components | Marks |
| Reading Comprehension | 20 |
| Creative Expression (Writing Tasks) | 20 |
| Literary Section (Main & Supplementary Texts) | 40 |
| Internal Assessment Breakdown | |
| Listening Test | 5 |
| Speaking Test | 5 |
| Project-Based Assessment | 10 |
CBSE Class 12 syllabus 2026 is an important resource that candidates should keep handy when going to attempt the examination. The syllabus not only provides important chapters but also helps one to get clarity on topics that are actually important for the exam. Here are the download steps for CBSE Class 10+2 syllabus PDF.
Visit the official CBSE Academic website: cbseacademic.nic.in
Click on the Curriculum section on the homepage.
Select Senior Secondary Curriculum (Class XI–XII).
Choose Class XII from the list.
Click on your required subject name.
Open the syllabus PDF file.
© 2026 Nuvora Education Private Limited. All rights reserved.
