National Standard Exam in Physics Syllabus

CLASS - XI
Unit I: Physical World and Measurement
Chapter 1: Physical World
Physics – scope and excitement; nature of physical laws; physics, technology and society.
Chapter 2: Units and Measurements
Need for measurement; units of measurement; system of units; SI units, fundamental and derived units.
Length, mass and time measurements; accuracy and precision of measuring instruments; errors in
measurement; significant figure.
Dimensions of physical quantities, dimensional analysis and its applications.
Unit II: Kinematics
Chapter 3: Motion in a Straight Line
Frame of reference, motion in a straight line: position-time graph, speed and velocity.
Elementary concepts of differentiation and integration for describing motion, uniform and non-
uniform motion, average speed and instantaneous velocity, uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-
time and position-time graphs.
Relations for uniformly accelerated motion (graphical treatment).
Chapter 4: Motion in a Plane
Scalar and vector quantities; position and displacement vectors, general vectors and their notations;
equality of vectors, multiplication of vectors by a real number; addition and subtraction of vectors,
relative velocity, unit vector; resolution of a vector in a plane, rectangular components, scalar and
vector product of vectors.
Motion in a plane, cases of uniform velocity and uniform acceleration – projectile motion, uniform
circular motion.
Unit III: Laws of Motion
Chapter 5: Laws of Motion
Intuitive concept of force, inertia, Newton’s first law of motion; momentum and Newton’s second law
of motion; impulse; Newton’s third law of motion
Law of conservation of linear momentum and its applications.
Equilibrium of concurrent forces, static and kinetic friction, laws of friction, rolling friction,
lubrication.
Dynamics of uniform circular motion: centripetal force, examples of circular motion
(vehicle on a level circular road, vehicle on a banked road)

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National Standard Exam in Physics Syllabus

Unit IV: Work, Energy and Power

Chapter 6: Work, Energy and Power
Work done by a constant force and a variable force; kinetic energy, work-energy theorem, power.
Notion of potential energy, potential energy of a spring, conservative forces: conservation of
mechanical energy (kinetic and potential energies); non-conservative forces: motion in a vertical
circle; elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions.
Unit V: Motion of System of Particles and Rigid Body
Chapter 7: System of Particles and Rotational Motion
Centre of mass of a two-particle system, momentum conservation and centre of mass motion. Centre
of mass of rigid body; centre of mass of a uniform rod.
Moment of force, torque, angular momentum, law of conservation of angular momentum and its
applications.
Equilibrium of rigid bodies, rigid body rotation and equations of rotational motion, comparison of
linear and rotational motions.
Moment of inertia, radius of gyration, values of moments of inertia for simple geometrical objects (no
derivation). Statement of parallel and perpendicular axis theorems and their applications.
Unit VI: Gravitation
Chapter 8: Gravitation
Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, universal law of gravitation. Acceleration due to gravity and its
variation with altitude and depth. Gravitational potential energy and gravitational potential, escape
velocity, orbital velocity of a satellite, geo-stationary satellite.
Unit VII: Properties of Bulk Matter
Chapter 9: Mechanical Properties of Solids
Elastic behaviour, stress-strain relationship, Hooke’s law, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear,
modulus of rigidity, Poisson’s ratio; elastic energy.
Chapter 10: Mechanical Properties of Fluids
Pressure due to a fluid column; Pascal’s law and its applications (hydraulic lift and hydraulic brakes),
effect of gravity on fluid pressure.
Viscosity, Stokes’ law, terminal velocity, streamline and turbulent flow, critical velocity, Bernoulli’s
theorem and its applications.
Surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, excess pressure across a curved surface,
application of surface tension ideas to drops, bubbles and capillary rise.

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National Standard Exam in Physics Syllabus

Chapter 11: Thermal Properties of Matter

Heat, temperature, thermal expansion; thermal expansion of solids, liquid and gases, anomalous
expansion of water; specific heat capacity; Cp, Cv – calorimetry; change of state – latent heat capacity.
Heat transfer – conduction, convection and radiation, thermal conductivity, qualitative ideas of
blackbody radiation, Wein’s displacement law, Stefan’s law, Green house effect.
Unit VIII: Thermodynamics
Chapter 12: Thermodynamics
Thermal equilibrium and definition of temperature (zeroth law of thermodynamics), heat, work and
internal energy. First law of thermodynamics, isothermal and adiabatic processes.
Second law of thermodynamics: reversible and irreversible processes, heat engine and refrigerator.
Unit IX: Behaviour of Perfect Gases and Kinetic Theory of Gases
Chapter 13: Kinetic Theory
Equation of state of a perfect gas, work done in compressing a gas.
Kinetic theory of gases – assumptions, concept of pressure, kinetic interpretation of temperature; rms
speed of gas molecules; degrees of freedom, law of equipartition of energy (statement only) and
applications to specific heat capacities of gases; concept of mean free path, Avogadro number.
Unit X: Mechanical Waves
Chapter 14: Oscillations and Waves
Periodic motion – time period, frequency, displacement as a function of time, periodic functions.
Simple harmonic motion (SHM) and its equations; phase; oscillations of a loaded spring – restoring
force and force constant; energy in SHM, kinetic and potential energies; simple pendulum – derivation
of expression for time period.
Free, forced and damped oscillations (qualitative ideas only), resonance.
Wave motion: Transverse and longitudinal waves, speed of waves, displacement relation of
progressive waves, principle of superposition of waves, reflection of waves, standing waves in strings
and organ pipes, fundamental mode and harmonics, beats and Doppler effect.

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National Standard Exam in Physics Syllabus

CLASS - XII
Unit I: Electrostatics
Chapter 1: Electric Charges and Fields
Electric charges; conservation of charge, Coulomb’s law – force between two point charges, force
between multiple charges; superposition principle and continuous charge distribution.
Electric field, field due to point charge, electric field lines, electric dipole, field due to a dipole, torque
on a dipole in uniform electric field.
Electric flux, statement of Gauss’ theorem and its application to find field due to infinitely long straight
wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet and uniformly charged thin spherical shell (field inside
and outside).
Chapter 2: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance
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.
Conductors and insulators, free charges and bound charges inside a conductor. Dielectrics and electric
polarization, capacitors and capacitance, combination of capacitors in series and in parallel,
capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectric medium between the plates, energy
stored in a capacitor.
Unit II: Current Electricity
Chapter 3: Current Electricity
Electric current, flow of electric charges in a metallic conductor, drift velocity, mobility and
their relationship with electric current; Ohm’s law, electrical resistance, V-I characteristics (linear and
non-linear), electrical energy and power, electrical resistivity and conductivity, carbon resistors, colour
code for carbon resistors; series and parallel combinations of resistors; 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 laws and simple applications, Wheatstone bridge, meter bridge.
Potentiometer – principle and its applications to measure potential difference and for comparing emf
of two cells; measurement of internal resistance of a cell.
Unit III: Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism
Chapter 4: Moving Charges and Magnetism
Concept of magnetic field, Oersted’s experiment.
Biot-Savart’s law and its application to current carrying circular loop.
Ampere’s law and its applications to infinitely long straight wire. Straight and toroidal solenoids (only
qualitative treatment), force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic and electric fields, cyclotron.

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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 uniform magnetic
field; moving coil galvanometer – its current sensitivity and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter.
Chapter 5: Magnetism and Matter
Current loop as a magnetic dipole and its magnetic dipole moment, magnetic dipole moment of a
revolving electron, magnetic field intensity due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) along its axis and
perpendicular to its axis, torque on a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) in a uniform magnetic field; bar
magnet as a equivalent solenoid, magnetic field lines, earth’s magnetic field and magnetic elements.
Para, dia and ferro magnetic substances with examples. Electromagnets and factors affecting their
strength, permanent magnets.
Unit IV: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents
Chapter 6: Electromagnetic Induction
Electromagnetic induction; Faraday’s laws, induced emf and current; Len’s law, eddy currents. Self
and mutual induction.
Chapter 7: Alternating Currents
Alternating currents, peak and rms values of alternating current/voltage; reactance and impedance; LC
oscillations (qualitative treatment only), LCR series circuit, resonance; power in AC circuits, power
factor, wattles current.
AC generator and transformer.
Unit V: Electromagnetic Waves
Chapter 8: Electromagnetic Waves
Basic idea of displacement current, electromagnetic waves, their characteristics, their transverse nature
(qualitative ideas only).
Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma
rays) including elementary facts about their uses.
Unit VI: Optics
Chapter 9: Ray Optics and Optical Instruments
Ray optics: Reflection of light, spherical mirrors, mirror formula, refraction of light, total internal
reflection and its applications, optical fibres, refraction of light at spherical surfaces, lenses, thin lens
formula, lens maker’s formula, magnification, power of a lens, combination of thin lenses in contact,
refraction and dispersion of light through a prism.
Scattering of light – blue colour of sky and reddish appearance of sun at sunrise and sunset.
Optical instruments: microscopes and astronomical telescopes (reflecting and refracting) and their
magnifying powers.

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National Standard Exam in Physics Syllabus

Chapter 10: Wave Optics

Wavefront and Huygens’ principle, reflection and refraction of plane wave at a plane surface using
wavefronts. Proof of laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens’ principle. Interference, Young’s
double slit experiment and expression for fringe width, coherent sources and sustained interference of
light, diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maximum, resolving power of microscope and
astronomical telescope, polarization, plane polarized light, Brewster’s law, uses of plane polarized
light and polaroids.
Unit VII: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter
Chapter 11: Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter
Dual nature of radiation, photoelectric effect, Hertz and Lenard’s observations; Einstein’s
photoelectric equation – particle nature of light.
Matter waves – wave nature of particles, de Broglie relation, Davisson-Germer experiment
(experimental details should be omitted; only conclusion should be explained)
Unit VIII: Atoms and Nuclei
Chapter 12: Atoms
Alpha particle scattering experiment; Rutherford’s model of atom; Bohr model, energy levels,
hydrogen spectrum.
Chapter 13: Nuclei
Composition and size of nucleus, radioactivity, alpha, beta and gamma particles/rays and their
properties; radioactive decay law.
Mass-Energy relation, mass defect; binding energy per nucleon and its variation with mass number;
nuclear fission and fusion.
Unit IX: Electronic Devices
Chapter 14: Semiconductor Electronics: Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits
Energy bands in conductors, semiconductors and insulators (qualitative ideas only)
Semiconductor diode: I-V characteristics in forward and reverse bias, diode as a rectifier; special
purpose p-n junction diodes; LED, photodiode, solar cell and Zener diode and their characteristics,
Zener diode as voltage regulator.
Junction transistor, transistor action, characteristics of a transistor and transistor as an amplifier (CE
configuration), basic idea of analog and digital signals; logic gates (OR, AND, NOT, NAND and
NOR).
Unit X: Communication Systems
Chapter 15: Communication Systems
Elements of communication systems (block diagram only); bandwidth of signals (speech, TV and
digital data); bandwidth of transmission medium. Propagation of electromagnetic waves in
atmosphere, sky and space wave propagation, satellite communication. Need for modulation,
amplitude modulation.

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