CBSE Class 12 Syllabus 2026-27

CBSE Class 12 Exam Overview

CBSE Class 12 board exams (AISSCE) are conducted in February–March. Each theory paper is 80 marks external + 20 marks internal assessment (Periodic Tests, Project, Practical/Assignment). Passing criterion: minimum 33 out of 100 aggregate in each subject.

From 2023-24 onwards, CBSE has increased competency-based questions to 40–50% of theory papers — case studies, application-based MCQs and assertion-reason questions. Pure factual recall is less rewarded than understanding and application.

Physics (80 marks external)

Unit I — Electrostatics (15 marks): Electric Charges, Coulomb's Law, Electric Field and Potential, Capacitors, Dielectrics.

Unit II — Current Electricity (7 marks): Ohm's Law, Resistivity, Kirchhoff's Laws, Wheatstone Bridge, Potentiometer.

Unit III — Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism (16 marks): Biot-Savart Law, Ampere's Law, Force on Current-Carrying Conductor, Moving Coil Galvanometer, Magnetism and Matter.

Unit IV — Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents (10 marks): Faraday's Laws, Lenz's Law, Mutual Inductance, AC circuits (LCR), Transformers.

Unit V — Electromagnetic Waves (3 marks): Displacement Current, EM Spectrum.

Unit VI — Optics (18 marks): Ray Optics (mirrors, refraction, lenses, prisms), Wave Optics (Young's double slit, diffraction, polarisation).

Unit VII — Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter (4 marks): Photoelectric Effect, de Broglie wavelength, Davisson-Germer experiment.

Unit VIII — Atoms and Nuclei (3 marks): Rutherford/Bohr model, nuclear fission and fusion, radioactivity.

Unit IX — Electronic Devices (4 marks): Energy bands, p-n junction diode, rectifiers, Zener diode, transistors, logic gates.

Chemistry (80 marks external)

Unit 1 — Solutions (7 marks): Concentration terms, colligative properties, osmosis, van't Hoff factor.

Unit 2 — Electrochemistry (9 marks): Galvanic cells, Nernst equation, conductance, electrolysis, batteries.

Unit 3 — Chemical Kinetics (7 marks): Rate laws, Arrhenius equation, integrated rate equations, collision theory.

Unit 4 — d and f Block Elements (7 marks): Transition metals, lanthanides, actinides.

Unit 5 — Coordination Compounds (7 marks): Werner's theory, VBT, CFT, isomerism, nomenclature.

Unit 6 — Haloalkanes and Haloarenes (8 marks): Reactions, mechanisms, substitution.

Unit 7 — Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers (8 marks): Reactions and properties.

Unit 8 — Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids (8 marks): Nucleophilic addition, oxidation-reduction, Aldol condensation.

Unit 9 — Amines (6 marks): Classification, reactions, Hinsberg test, diazonium salts.

Unit 10 — Biomolecules (7 marks): Carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, vitamins, hormones.

Unit 11 — Polymers (3 marks): Types, rubber, plastics.

Unit 12 — Chemistry in Everyday Life (3 marks): Drugs, dyes, detergents.

Mathematics (80 marks external)

Unit I — Relations and Functions (8 marks): Types of relations and functions, composition, inverse functions, binary operations.

Unit II — Algebra (10 marks): Matrices (operations, inverse, determinants), Determinants (properties, cofactors, adjoint, applications — Cramer's rule).

Unit III — Calculus (44 marks): Continuity and Differentiability, Applications of Derivatives (increasing/decreasing, tangent-normal, maxima-minima, mean value theorems), Integrals (indefinite, definite, by parts, partial fractions), Applications of Integrals (area between curves), Differential Equations (variable separable, homogeneous, linear first order).

Unit IV — Vectors and Three-Dimensional Geometry (14 marks): Vectors (dot and cross products), Direction cosines, Equations of lines and planes, Distance between lines/planes.

Unit V — Linear Programming (5 marks): Formulation and graphical solution of LPP.

Unit VI — Probability (8 marks): Conditional probability, Bayes' theorem, independent events, Binomial and Poisson distributions.

Biology (80 marks external)

Unit VI — Reproduction (14 marks): Reproduction in organisms, sexual reproduction in flowering plants, human reproduction, reproductive health.

Unit VII — Genetics and Evolution (18 marks): Heredity and variation, molecular basis of inheritance, evolution (Darwinism, mechanisms).

Unit VIII — Biology in Human Welfare (14 marks): Human health and disease, strategies for enhancement in food production, microbes in human welfare.

Unit IX — Biotechnology and its Applications (14 marks): Biotechnology principles and processes, applications in medicine and agriculture.

Unit X — Ecology and Environment (12 marks): Organisms and populations, ecosystems, biodiversity and conservation, environmental issues.

Note: Class 11 content (Cell Biology, Plant Physiology, Human Physiology) is also tested in NEET despite not being in Class 12 boards.

Commerce Stream — Accountancy and Business Studies

Accountancy (80 marks): Part A — Accounting for Not-for-Profit Organisations, Accounting for Partnership Firms (admission, retirement, death, dissolution). Part B — Accounting for Share Capital and Debentures, Financial Statement Analysis (ratio analysis, cash flow statement).

Business Studies (80 marks): Part A — Principles of Management (Taylor, Fayol), Business Environment, Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Controlling. Part B — Business Finance (sources, financial markets, stock exchange), Marketing Management, Consumer Protection, Entrepreneurship Development.

Economics (80 marks): Part A — Microeconomics (consumer behaviour, production, market structures). Part B — Macroeconomics (money, banking, income determination, balance of payments, government budget).

Humanities Stream — History, Political Science, Geography

History (80 marks): Three books — Themes in Indian History (Bricks/Beads/Bones through to the Indian Constitution). Essays and source-based questions from all three parts.

Political Science (80 marks): Two books — Contemporary World Politics (Cold War, bipolar world, globalisation) and Politics in India Since Independence (nation building, democratic upsurge, regional aspirations, coalition era).

Geography (80 marks): Two books — Fundamentals of Human Geography (human activities, population, settlements) and India: People and Economy (land resources, water, agriculture, mineral/energy, planning, manufacturing).

Sociology (80 marks): Two books — Indian Society (diversity, kinship, social institutions, market) and Social Change and Development (change, protest movements, education, media).