CBSE Class 12 Board Exam Physics Syllabus

Physics syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Physics in CBSE Class 12 Board Exam, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Electrostatics and Current Electricity

   3 topics

   • Electric Charges and Fields
     • Coulomb's law and superposition principle
     • Electric field and field lines
     • Electric dipole and dipole in a uniform field
     • Gauss's law and its applications
   • Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance
     • Potential due to a point charge and dipole
     • Equipotential surfaces
     • Capacitors, dielectrics and combinations
     • Energy stored in a capacitor
   • Current Electricity
     • Ohm's law, drift velocity and resistivity
     • Temperature dependence of resistance
     • Kirchhoff's rules and Wheatstone bridge
     • Potentiometer and metre bridge
2. 2

   Magnetism and Electromagnetic Induction

   4 topics

   • Moving Charges and Magnetism
     • Biot-Savart law and Ampere's circuital law
     • Force on a moving charge and current carrying conductor
     • Cyclotron and moving coil galvanometer
   • Magnetism and Matter
     • Bar magnet and magnetic dipole
     • Magnetisation and magnetic intensity
     • Dia, para and ferromagnetic substances
   • Electromagnetic Induction
     • Faraday's and Lenz's laws
     • Self and mutual inductance
     • Eddy currents and AC generator
   • Alternating Current
     • AC voltage applied to R, L and C
     • LCR series circuit and resonance
     • Power in AC circuits and transformers
3. 3

   Electromagnetic Waves and Optics

   3 topics

   • Electromagnetic Waves
     • Displacement current
     • Nature of electromagnetic waves
     • Electromagnetic spectrum and uses
   • Ray Optics and Optical Instruments
     • Reflection and refraction at spherical surfaces
     • Lens maker's formula and lens combinations
     • Total internal reflection and prism
     • Microscope and astronomical telescope
   • Wave Optics
     • Huygens principle
     • Young's double slit interference
     • Diffraction at a single slit
     • Polarisation and Brewster's law
4. 4

   Modern Physics and Electronic Devices

   3 topics

   • Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter
     • Photoelectric effect and Einstein's equation
     • Particle nature of light and photons
     • de Broglie wavelength and Davisson-Germer experiment
   • Atoms and Nuclei
     • Rutherford and Bohr models of the atom
     • Hydrogen spectrum and energy levels
     • Mass-energy relation and binding energy
     • Radioactivity, nuclear fission and fusion
   • Semiconductor Electronics
     • Energy bands in conductors, semiconductors and insulators
     • p-n junction diode and rectification
     • Special purpose diodes (Zener, LED, photodiode, solar cell)

Physics flashcards for CBSE Class 12 Board Exam

24 of 52 cards from the Physics deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. State Coulomb's law for the force between two point charges in vacuum.

   F = (1/4πε₀)·(q₁q₂/r²), directed along the line joining the charges; like charges repel, unlike attract. 1/4πε₀ ≈ 9×10⁹ N·m²/C².

2. What is the SI value of the permittivity of free space ε₀, and the constant 1/4πε₀?

   ε₀ = 8.85×10⁻¹² C²·N⁻¹·m⁻²; 1/4πε₀ = 9×10⁹ N·m²·C⁻².

3. Define electric field intensity and give its formula due to a point charge.

   Electric field is force per unit positive test charge: E = F/q₀. Due to a point charge: E = (1/4πε₀)·q/r², directed radially (away for +q, toward for −q). SI unit: N/C or V/m.

4. State Gauss's law and write its mathematical form.

   The net electric flux through a closed surface equals 1/ε₀ times the total charge enclosed: ∮E·dA = q_enclosed/ε₀.

5. Using Gauss's law, give the electric field due to an infinite uniformly charged plane sheet of charge density σ.

   E = σ/(2ε₀), independent of distance from the sheet, directed perpendicular to the sheet.

6. What is the electric field just outside a charged conductor with surface charge density σ?

   E = σ/ε₀, directed normal to the surface; the field inside the conductor is zero.

7. Define electric dipole moment and give the field of a dipole on its axial line.

   Dipole moment p = q·2a, directed from −q to +q (SI unit C·m). Axial field: E = (1/4πε₀)·2p/r³ (for r ≫ a), parallel to p.

8. Give the torque on an electric dipole in a uniform field and its potential energy.

   Torque τ = p×E (magnitude pE sinθ). Potential energy U = −p·E = −pE cosθ.

9. Define electric potential and give the potential due to a point charge.

   Electric potential at a point is the work done per unit positive charge in bringing it from infinity to that point: V = W/q₀. Due to a point charge: V = (1/4πε₀)·q/r.

10. What is the relation between electric field and potential?

    E = −dV/dr (field is the negative gradient of potential); the field points in the direction of decreasing potential.

11. Define capacitance and give the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor.

    Capacitance C = Q/V (SI unit farad, F). Parallel-plate: C = ε₀A/d (vacuum), or C = Kε₀A/d with a dielectric of constant K.

12. Give the equivalent capacitance for capacitors in series and in parallel.

    Series: 1/C = 1/C₁ + 1/C₂ + … Parallel: C = C₁ + C₂ + … (parallel gives larger capacitance).

13. What is the energy stored in a charged capacitor?

    U = ½CV² = ½QV = Q²/2C. Energy density in the field = ½ε₀E².

14. State Ohm's law and give the relation for resistance in terms of resistivity.

    V = IR (current ∝ voltage at constant temperature). R = ρL/A, where ρ is resistivity, L length, A cross-sectional area.

15. Define drift velocity and relate current to it.

    Drift velocity v_d is the average velocity of electrons under an applied field. I = nAev_d, where n is electron density, A area, e electronic charge.

16. How does resistivity of a conductor vary with temperature?

    ρ = ρ₀[1 + α(T−T₀)], where α is the temperature coefficient of resistivity (positive for metals, so resistivity increases with temperature).

17. Give the formula for equivalent resistance in series and in parallel.

    Series: R = R₁ + R₂ + … Parallel: 1/R = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂ + … (parallel gives smaller resistance).

18. State Kirchhoff's two laws for electrical circuits.

    Junction rule (KCL): the algebraic sum of currents at a junction is zero (charge conservation). Loop rule (KVL): the algebraic sum of potential changes around a closed loop is zero (energy conservation).

19. What is the relation between EMF, terminal voltage, and internal resistance?

    V = ε − Ir, where ε is EMF, I current, r internal resistance. Terminal voltage is less than EMF when delivering current.

20. State the condition for a balanced Wheatstone bridge.

    P/Q = R/S, i.e. the ratio of resistances in the two arms is equal; then no current flows through the galvanometer.

21. State Biot–Savart law for the magnetic field of a current element.

    dB = (μ₀/4π)·(I dl × r̂)/r². It gives the field due to a small current element I dl at distance r.

22. Give the magnetic field at the centre of a circular current loop of N turns.

    B = μ₀NI/2R, directed along the axis perpendicular to the loop plane (R = radius).

23. State Ampère's circuital law and give the field inside a long solenoid.

    ∮B·dl = μ₀I_enclosed. Inside a long solenoid: B = μ₀nI, where n is turns per unit length.

24. Give the force on a current-carrying conductor and on a moving charge in a magnetic field.

    On a conductor: F = I L×B (magnitude BIL sinθ). On a moving charge: F = q v×B (magnitude qvB sinθ).

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