Physics can feel like a mountain to climb, but with the right Class 12 Physics notes with Chapterise CBSE Free pdf, you can ace your exams. The CBSE curriculum for 2025-26 has been revised, and so should your study material. To help you prepare smart, not just hard, we’ve compiled a complete set of chapter-wise notes based on the updated CBSE curriculum 2025-26. The best part? They’re available as free PDFs! 🥳
Here is Free pdf for Class 12 physics notes chapter-wise updated [2025-26]
| S.no | Chapter Name | Pdf Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electric Charges and Fields | Click to See |
| 2 | Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance | Click to See |
| 3 | Current Electricity | Click to See |
| 4 | Moving Charges And Magnetism | Click to See |
| 5 | Magnetism and Matter | Click to See |
| 6 | Electromagnetic Induction | Click to See |
| 7 | Alternating Current | Click to See |
| 8 | Electromagnetic Waves | Click to See |
| 9 | Ray Optics and Optical Instruments | Click to See |
| 10 | Wave Optics | Click to See |
| 11 | Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter | Click to See |
| 12 | Atoms | Click to See |
| 13 | Nuclei | Click to See |
| 14 | Semiconductors | Click to See |
The CBSE Class 12 Physics exam pattern comprises both a Theory Paper and a Practical Exam, totaling 100 marks for the subject. The emphasis has been increased on competency-based questions (CBQs) for the current academic session.
📝 Exam Structure Overview
| Component | Marks | Duration |
| Theory Paper | 70 Marks | 3 Hours |
| Practical Examination | 30 Marks | 3 Hours |
| Total Marks | 100 Marks |
Theory Paper (70 Marks)
The theory paper assesses different cognitive skills, with a significant weightage given to competency-based questions.
| Question Typology | Weightage (Approx. %) | Marks (Approx.) |
| Competency-Based Questions (MCQs, Case-Based, Source-Based, etc.) | 50% | 35 Marks |
| Constructed Response Questions (Short/Long Answer Types) | 30% | 21 Marks |
| Select Response Questions (MCQs) | 20% | 14 Marks |
- Internal Choice: There is no overall choice, but internal choices are provided in a very selective manner in some questions across different sections (e.g., in one 2-mark question, one 3-mark question, and all three 5-mark questions).
Question Paper Design (Sample Pattern)
The question paper is divided into five sections (A, B, C, D, and E). A typical design is as follows:
| Section | Type of Questions | Marks per Question | No. of Questions | Total Marks |
| A | MCQs (including Assertion-Reason) | 1 | 16 | 16 |
| B | Very Short Answer (VSA) | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| C | Short Answer (SA) | 3 | 7 | 21 |
| D | Case-Study Based Questions (CBQ) | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| E | Long Answer (LA) | 5 | 3 | 15 |
| Total | 33 | 70 |
⚛️ Unit-wise Marks Distribution (Theory – 70 Marks)
Understanding the weightage of each unit is crucial for focused preparation. The distribution is generally as follows:
| Unit No. | Unit Name | Allocated Marks |
| I | Electrostatics (Electric Charges and Fields, Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance) | 16 |
| II | Current Electricity | |
| III | Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism (Moving Charges and Magnetism, Magnetism and Matter) | 17 |
| IV | Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents (EMI, AC) | |
| V | Electromagnetic Waves | 18 |
| VI | Optics (Ray Optics and Optical Instruments, Wave Optics) | |
| VII | Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter | 12 |
| VIII | Atoms and Nuclei | |
| IX | Electronic Devices (Semiconductor Electronics) | 7 |
| Total | 70 Marks |
🧪 Practical Examination (30 Marks)
The Practical Exam is conducted for 30 marks. The distribution is generally:
| Component | Marks |
| Two Experiments (one from each section) | 8 + 8 = 16 Marks |
| Practical Record (Experiments and Activities) | 6 Marks |
| Viva Voce | 8 Marks |
| Total | 30 Marks |
The most essential book to read for CBSE Class 12 Physics is the NCERT Textbook (Part I and Part II). This forms the core of your preparation, and board questions are often directly based on its concepts, examples, and exercises.
For a comprehensive understanding, preparation for competitive exams (like JEE/NEET), and extensive practice, you should supplement the NCERT with specialized reference books.
⚛️ Class 12 Physics Theory Syllabus
The CBSE Class 12 Physics syllabus is divided into nine major units, balancing Electrostatics, Electromagnetism, Optics, and Modern Physics.
Unit I: Electrostatics (16 Marks – Combined with Unit II)
This unit covers fundamental concepts of electric charge and static electric fields.
- Electric Charges and Fields: Electric charge, Conservation of charge, Coulomb’s law (vector form excluded), Superposition principle. Electric field, Electric field lines, Electric dipole, Torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field. Electric flux, Gauss’s law and its applications (to find field due to infinitely long straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet, and uniformly charged thin spherical shell).
- Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance: Electric potential, Potential difference, Equipotential surfaces. Electric potential energy of a system of two point charges and of an electric dipole in an electric field. Conductors and insulators, Dielectrics and electric polarization. Capacitance of a conductor, Parallel plate capacitor (formula only, no derivation for energy stored), Combination of capacitors in series and parallel.
Unit II: Current Electricity (16 Marks – Combined with Unit I)
This unit deals with the flow of electric charge and the circuits formed by them.
- Electric current, Flow of electric charges in a metallic conductor, Drift velocity, Mobility, Relation between current and drift velocity.
- Ohm’s law, Electrical resistance, V-I characteristics (linear and non-linear), Electrical energy and power.
- Internal resistance of a cell, Potential difference and EMF of a cell, Combination of cells in series and parallel.
- Kirchhoff’s laws (for circuits without external source), and simple applications. Wheatstone bridge (principle only).
Unit III: Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism (17 Marks – Combined with Unit IV)
This unit explores the link between electricity and magnetism.
- Moving Charges and Magnetism: Biot-Savart law (applications to current loop only). Ampere’s circuital law (applications to infinitely long straight wire and straight solenoid only).
- Force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic field, 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.
- Moving coil galvanometer (conversion to Ammeter and Voltmeter).
- Magnetism and Matter: Magnetic field lines. Magnetic field due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) along its axis and perpendicular to its axis (qualitative idea only). Torque on a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) in a uniform magnetic field.
- Para-, Dia-, and Ferro-magnetic substances (examples and distinguishing features only).
Unit IV: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents (17 Marks – Combined with Unit III)
This unit covers time-varying electric and magnetic fields and AC circuits.
- Electromagnetic Induction (EMI): Faraday’s laws of electromagnetic induction, Lenz’s law (and conservation of energy). Motional EMF. Self and mutual induction.
- Alternating Current (AC): Alternating current (AC) and voltage, Peak and RMS value of AC. Reactance and Impedance.
- Series LCR circuit (phasor diagram only, no analytical solution). Resonance. Power in AC circuit (power factor).
- AC generator and Transformer (principle and basic working).
Unit V: Electromagnetic Waves (18 Marks – Combined with Unit VI)
This unit introduces the nature and spectrum of electromagnetic radiation.
- Basic idea of displacement current.
- Electromagnetic Waves (EMW): Characteristics of electromagnetic waves, Transverse nature (qualitative idea).
- Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) and their elementary facts/uses.
Unit VI: Optics (18 Marks – Combined with Unit V)
This unit deals with the behavior of light (Ray and Wave Optics).
- Ray Optics and Optical Instruments: Reflection of light, Spherical mirrors (mirror formula), Refraction of light, Total Internal Reflection (TIR) and its applications.
- Lens formula, Power of a lens, Combination of thin lenses in contact. Refraction through a prism.
- Optical Instruments: Microscopes and Astronomical Telescopes (magnifying powers and construction).
- Wave Optics: Huygens’ principle (wavefronts and construction). Proof of laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens’ principle.
- Interference (Young’s double slit experiment, final expression for fringe width only). Diffraction (qualitative treatment only, central maximum).
Unit VII: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter (12 Marks – Combined with Unit VIII)
This unit explores the particle nature of light and the wave nature of matter.
- Photoelectric effect, Einstein’s Photoelectric Equation. Particle nature of light (Photon).
- Matter waves (Wave nature of particles), De Broglie hypothesis.
Unit VIII: Atoms and Nuclei (12 Marks – Combined with Unit VII)
This unit focuses on the structure of atoms and the properties of the nucleus.
- Atoms: Alpha-particle scattering experiment (Rutherford’s model), Bohr model (Postulates and expression for radius only, no energy derivation), Hydrogen spectrum (qualitative treatment only).
- Nuclei: Composition and size of nucleus. Atomic masses, Isotopes, Isobars, Isotones. Mass-energy relation, Mass defect, Binding energy per nucleon and its variation with mass number.
- Nuclear fission and Nuclear fusion.
Unit IX: Electronic Devices (7 Marks)
This unit introduces the basics of semiconductors.
- Energy bands in conductors, insulators, and semiconductors (qualitative explanation only).
- Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors (p-type and n-type).
- P-N junction (formation and characteristics).
- Semiconductor diode as a half-wave and full-wave rectifier (circuit diagram, input/output waveforms, no derivation).
📚 Essential: NCERT Textbooks
You must read these books first, as they are the prescribed and most critical resource.
- Physics, Class XII, Part I (NCERT)
- Physics, Class XII, Part II (NCERT)
- NCERT Exemplar Problems and Solutions (For practice and complex, application-based questions)
- NCERT Laboratory Manual of Physics for Class XII (For practical exam preparation)
Key Features:
- Syllabus Alignment: Perfectly aligned with the latest CBSE rationalized syllabus.
- Core Concepts: Provides clear, concise explanations and establishes the fundamental theory.
- Board-Centric: Most questions in the board exam are either directly from or closely modeled on NCERT content.
📘 Top Recommended Reference Books
Reference books are used to gain deeper insights, see alternate explanations, and practice a wider range of numerical and application-based problems.
1. For Board Exam Focus (Theory and Solved Examples)
These books are excellent for students whose primary goal is to score well in the CBSE Board Examination, offering detailed theory, numerous solved examples, and practice questions tailored to the board pattern.
| Book Title | Author/Publisher | Key Benefit |
| New Simplified Physics (Set of 2 Volumes) | S.L. Arora | Extremely detailed, includes many solved numericals and derivations. |
| Pradeep’s Fundamental Physics (Set of 2 Volumes) | K.L. Gomber & K.L. Gogia | Comprehensive coverage with an emphasis on NCERT-based questions and solutions. |
| Modern’s ABC of Physics | Satish K. Gupta | Known for in-depth theoretical explanations and well-organized content with diagrams. |
2. For Competitive Exam Focus (Conceptual Clarity & Practice)
These books are for students aiming for competitive exams like JEE or NEET, which require a much stronger conceptual foundation and advanced problem-solving skills.
| Book Title | Author/Publisher | Key Benefit |
| Concepts of Physics (Volume 2) | H. C. Verma (HCV) | Excellent for conceptual clarity and building strong problem-solving skills for competitive exams. |
| Understanding Physics (Series) | D.C. Pandey (Arihant) | A series focusing on objective and application-based problems for competitive exams. |
| Fundamentals of Physics | Halliday, Resnick, and Walker | An advanced international text, great for students who want to explore physics beyond the syllabus |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1. Are these Class 12 Physics notes updated for CBSE 2025–26?
Yes. They follow the current CBSE curriculum for the 2025–26 academic session, organized chapter-wise with exam-oriented highlights.
Q2. Do these PDFs cover NCERT and exemplar questions?
Key NCERT and exemplar styles are included with concise solutions and PYQ pointers.
Q3. How should I revise derivations quickly?
Practice one derivation daily using our “Derivation diary” sheets included in each PDF; focus on assumptions, steps, and final expression.
Q4. Are numerical problem strategies included?
Yes—step-wise methods, common traps, and unit checks are built into the examples and checkpoints.
Q5. Can I print these notes?
Absolutely. All PDFs are lightweight and printer-friendly with clear headings, margins, and grayscale-friendly diagram