Recently, the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has dropped several topics from the CBSE Class 11 Physics syllabus textbook to rationalise the curriculum for the 2025-26 academic session. After that, the Central Board of Secondary Education ( CBSE) also developed a more precise CBSE Physics Syllabus for Class 11.
The restructuring of the curriculum for CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus 2025-26 aims to modify the difficulty level of the Physics exam and focus only on significant topics that are relevant today. Hence, students should skip the portions of the syllabus that have been removed from their study plan because they will not be tested on these subjects. The updated CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus 2024-25 is in the table below:
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CBSE Class 11 Books | For 2025-26 Exams |
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CBSE Class 11 Syllabus | For 2025-26 Exams |
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Unit No. |
Name of Unit |
Marks |
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Unit–I |
Physical World and Measurement |
23 |
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Chapter–2: Units and Measurements |
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Unit-II |
Kinematics |
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Chapter–3: Motion in a Straight Line |
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Chapter–4: Motion in a Plane |
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Unit–III |
Laws of Motion |
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Chapter–5: Laws of Motion |
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Unit–IV |
Work, Energy, and Power |
17 |
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Chapter–6: Work, Energy, and Power |
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Unit–V |
Motion of System of Particles and Rigid Body |
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Chapter–7: System of Particles and Rotational Motion |
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Unit-VI |
Gravitation |
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Chapter–8: Gravitation |
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Unit–VII |
Properties of Bulk Matter |
20 |
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Chapter–9: Mechanical Properties of Solids |
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Chapter–10: Mechanical Properties of Fluids |
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Chapter–11: Thermal Properties of Matter |
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Unit–VIII |
Thermodynamics |
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Chapter–12: Thermodynamics |
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Unit–IX |
Behaviour of Perfect Gases and Kinetic Theory of Gases |
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Chapter–13: Kinetic Theory |
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Unit–X |
Oscillations and Waves |
10 |
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Chapter–14: Oscillations |
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Chapter–15: Waves |
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Total |
70 |
Now let’s understand the CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus 2025-26 in detail. The CBSE Physics Syllabus for Class 11 is divided into 10 units and 15 chapters. However, the first chapter is now removed from the curriculum. The rest of the chapters from the CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus have also been rationalised.
Chapter 1(Physical World) is completely removed from the updated CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus 2025-26.
Chapter 1: Physical World 1.1 What is Physics? 1.2 Scope and Excitement of Physics; 1.3 Physics, Technology and Society; 1.4 Fundamental Forces in Nature; 1.5 Nature of Physical Laws
This chapter includes topics such as Need for measurement: Units of measurement; systems of units; SI units, and fundamental and derived units. significant figures. Dimensions of physical quantities, dimensional analysis, and its applications.
2.3 Measurement of Length; 2.4 Measurement of Mass; 2.5 Measurement of Time 2.6 Accuracy, Precision of Instruments and Errors in Measurement; Exercises 2.13, 2.14, 2.19–2.22, 2.24–2.33
This chapter covers topics like Frame of reference, Motion in a straight line, Elementary concepts of differentiation and integration for describing motion, uniform and non-uniform motion, and instantaneous velocity, uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-time, and position-time graphs. Relations for uniformly accelerated motion (graphical treatment).
3.2 Position Length and Displacement; 3.3 Average Velocity and Average Speed; 3.7 Relative Velocity Exercise 3.5, 3.7–3.9 and 3.23–3.28; Appendix 3.1
In chapter 4 of the CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus, you will learn about 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, 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.
4.9 Relative Velocity in Two Dimensions; Exercises 4.12–4.14; 4.26–4.32
There is negligible change in Chapter 5 of the CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus. It covers all the previous topics such as the Intuitive concept of force, Inertia, Newton's first law of motion; momentum, Newton's second law of motion; impulse; Newton's third law of motion.
It further includes the topics of the 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).
Exercises 5.24 – 5.40
This chapter teaches you about the work done by a constant force and a variable force; kinetic energy, work-energy theorem, and power. The notion of potential energy, the potential energy of a spring, conservative forces: non-conservative forces, motion in a vertical circle; elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions.
6.10 Various Forms of Energy: The Law of Conservation of Energy; Exercise 6.24–6.29
In this chapter, you will learn about the Centre of mass of a two-particle system, momentum conservation, and Centre of mass motion. Centre of mass of a rigid body; centre of mass of a uniform rod. It also covers the following topics
Moment of a 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).
7.10 Theorems of Perpendicular and Parallel Axes; 7.14 Rolling Motion; Exercises 7.10, 7.18–7.19, 7.21–7.33
This chapter teaches you 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 speed, orbital velocity of a satellite.
8.11 Geostationary and Polar Satellites 8.12 Weightlessness; Exercise 8.3–8.5, 8.22–8.25 Appendix 8.1
The Chapter 9 of CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus covers Elasticity, Stress-strain relationship, Hooke's law, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus of rigidity (qualitative idea only), Poisson's ratio; elastic energy.
9.2 Elastic Behaviour of Solids; 9.6.2 Determination of Young’s Modulus of the Material of a Wire; Exercises 9.17 – 9.21
In this chapter you will study the 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 simple applications.
Surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, excess of pressure across a curved surface, application of surface tension ideas to drops, bubbles, and capillary rise.
10.4.2 Venturi-meter; 10.4.3 Blood Flow and Heart Attack; 10.6.6 Detergents and Surface Tension; Exercises 10.21–10.31; Appendix 10.1
In this chapter you will learn the topic ‘Thermal Properties of Matter’ in details which includes Heat, temperature, thermal expansion; thermal expansion of solids, liquids, and gases, anomalous expansion of water; specific heat capacity; Cp, Cv - calorimetry; change of state - latent heat capacity. You will also study Heat transfer-conduction, convection and radiation, thermal conductivity, qualitative ideas of Blackbody radiation, Wein's displacement Law, Stefan's law .
11.9.5 Greenhouse Effect; Exercises 11.21 – 11.22
This chapter includes Thermal equilibrium and definition of temperature, zeroth law of thermodynamics, heat, work, and internal energy. It also teaches you the first law of thermodynamics, Second law of thermodynamics: gaseous state of matter, change of condition of gaseous state -isothermal, adiabatic, reversible, irreversible, and cyclic processes.
12.9 Heat Engines; 12.10 Refrigerators and Heat Pumps; Exercises 12.7 and 12.10
In Chapter 13 you will study the Equation of state of a perfect gas, work done in compressing a gas. Kinetic theory of gases - assumptions, concept of pressure. You will also learn about the Kinetic interpretation of temperature; rms speed of gas molecules; degrees of freedom; law of equi-partition of energy (statement only) and application to specific heat capacities of gases; concept of mean free path, Avogadro's number.
13.6.5 Specific Heat Capacity of Water; Exercises 13.11 – 13.14
This chapter includes the topics such as Periodic motion - time period, frequency, displacement as a function of time, periodic functions, and their applications. Simple harmonic motion (S.H.M) and its equations of motion; phase; oscillations of a loaded spring- restoring force and force constant; energy in S.H.M.
Kinetic and potential energies; simple pendulum derivation of expression for its time period.
14.9 Damped Simple Harmonic Motion; 14.10 Forced Oscillations and Resonance; Exercises 14.16 (p. 365), 14.20–14.25
The Doppler Effect has been removed from the last chapter. In the updated Chapter15, you will learn about Wave motion: Transverse and longitudinal waves, speed of travelling wave, displacement relation for a progressive wave, principle of superposition of waves, reflection of waves, standing waves in strings and organ pipes, fundamental mode and harmonics, Beats.
15.8 Doppler Effect; Exercises 15.20 – 15.27
In conclusion, the CBSE Physics Syllabus for Class 11 has become more precise and effective as many unnecessary lessons have been removed from the curriculum. This is surely going to be very helpful for the students who are simultaneously preparing for JEE, NEET, or some other entrance tests in their Class 11 and Class 12 examinations. We hope this blog has cleared your all doubts about CBSE Physics Syllabus for Class 11.
Let us know if any doubts remain in the comments.
All the best!
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