CUET Physics Syllabus | Exam Pattern, How to prepare Physics for CUET… and more

A Few Important Details About CUET

Before beginning to prepare for CUET, it is very important that students are clear with all the essential ideas surrounding the exams. To help students with this, below are some critical information regarding the CUET 2025 (UG).

CUET will be the common gateway to 280+ universities for UG admissions
The medium of instructions in CUET UG will be available in 13 different languages
NTA is expecting over 15 lakh applications for merely 3 lakh seats offered by all the participating universities
A student can choose a maximum of 5 subjects for the CUET UG exam

Physics Syllabus for CUET

The Physics syllabus for CUET comprises 10 units and their respective sub-units. All the topics are interconnected and equally important. While preparing for physics for CUET, students need to give equal importance to all the chapters that are included in the CUET physics syllabus.

The detailed CUET physics syllabus.

Sl No.	Unit	Sub Unit
1	Electrostatics	Electric charges and their conservation. Coulomb’s law – force between two point charges, forces between multiple charges; superposition principle, and continuous charge distribution.
		Electric field, electric field due to a point charge, electric field lines; electric dipole, electric field due to a dipole; torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field.
		Electric flux, a statement of Gauss’s theorem and its applications to finding field due to infinitely long straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet, and uniformly charged thin spherical shell (field inside and outside).
		Electric potential, potential difference, electric potential due to a point charge, a dipole, and system of charges; equipotential surfaces, the electrical potential energy of a system of two point charges, and electric dipoles in an electrostatic field.
		Conductors and insulators, free charges, and bound charges inside a conductor. Dielectrics and electric polarisation, capacitors, and capacitance, the combination of capacitors in series and in parallel, the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectric medium between the plates, energy stored in a capacitor, Van de Graaff generator.
2	Current Electricity	Electric current, the flow of electric charges in a metallic conductor, drift velocity and mobility, and their relation with electric current; Ohm’s law, electrical resistance, V-I characteristics (linear and nonlinear), 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.
		The internal resistance of a cell, potential difference, and emf of a cell, a combination of cells in series and in parallel.
		Kirchhoff ’s laws and simple applications. Wheatstone bridge, metre bridge.
		Potentiometer principle and applications to measure potential difference, compare the emf of two cells, and measure the internal resistance of a cell.
3	Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism	Concept of the magnetic field, Oersted’s experiment. Biot - Savart law and its application to the current-carrying circular loop.
		Ampere’s law and its applications to an infinitely long straight wire, straight and toroidal solenoids. Force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic and electric fields. Cyclotron.
		Force on a current-carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic field. The force between two parallel current-carrying conductors – definition of ampere. Torque experienced by a current loop in a magnetic field; moving coil galvanometer – its current sensitivity and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter.
		The current loop is a magnetic dipole, and its magnetic dipole moment is The magnetic dipole moment of a revolving electron. Magnetic field intensity is due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) along and perpendicular to its axis.
		Torque on a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) in a uniform magnetic field; bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid, magnetic field lines; Earth’s magnetic field and magnetic elements.
		Para-, dia- and ferromagnetic substances, with examples. Electromagnets and factors affecting their strengths. Permanent magnets.
4	Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents	Alternating currents, peak, and RMS value of alternating current/voltage; reactance and impedance; LC oscillations (qualitative treatment only), LCR series circuit, resonance; power in AC circuits, wattles current.
		Electromagnetic induction; Faraday’s law, induced emf and current; Lenz’s Law, Eddy currents. Self and mutual inductance.
		AC generator and transformer.
5	Electromagnetic Waves	Need for displacement current. Electromagnetic waves and their characteristics (qualitative ideas only).
		Transverse nature of electromagnetic waves.
		The electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays) includes elementary facts about their uses.
6	Optics	Reflection of light, spherical mirrors, mirror formula. Refraction of light, total internal reflection, and its applications, optical fibers, refraction at spherical surfaces, lenses, thin lens formula, lens maker's formula. Magnification, power of a lens, combination of thin lenses in contact combination of a lens and a mirror. Refraction and dispersion of light through a prism.
		Scattering of light–blue colour of the sky and reddish appearance of the sun at sunrise and sunset.
		Optical instruments: Human eye, image formation, and accommodation, correction of eye defects (myopia and hypermetropia) using lenses.
		Microscopes and astronomical telescopes (reflecting and refracting) and their magnifying powers.
		Wave optics: Wavefront and Huygens’ principle, reflection, and refraction of plane waves at a plane surface using wavefronts.
		Proof of laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens’ principle.
		Interference, Young’s double hole experiment and expression for fringe width, coherent sources, and sustained interference of light.
		Diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maximum.
		Resolving the power of microscopes and astronomical telescopes. Polarisation, plane polarised light; Brewster’s law, uses of plane polarised light and Polaroids.
7	Dual Nature of Matter & Radiation	Photoelectric effect, Hertz and Lenard’s observations; Einstein’s photoelectric equation – particle nature of light.
7	Dual Nature of Matter & Radiation	Matter wave-wave nature of particles, de Broglie relation. Davisson-Germer experiment (experimental details should be omitted; only the conclusion should be explained.)
8	Atoms and Nuclei	Alpha-particle scattering experiment; Rutherford’s model of atom; Bohr model, energy levels, hydrogen spectrum. Composition and size of nucleus, atomic masses, isotopes, isobars; isotones.
8	Atoms and Nuclei	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.
9	Electronic Devices	Energy bands in solids (qualitative ideas only), conductors, insulators, and semiconductors.
9	Electronic Devices	semiconductor diode – I-V characteristics in forward and reverse bias, diode as a rectifier; LED, photodiode, solar cell, and Zener diode; Zener diode as a voltage regulator. Junction transistor, transistor action, transistor characteristics, transistor as an amplifier (common emitter configuration) and oscillator. Logic gates (OR, AND, NOT, NAND, and NOR). Transistor as a switch.
10	Communication Systems	Elements of a communication system (block diagram only); bandwidth of signals (speech, TV, and digital data); bandwidth of transmission medium. Propagation of electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere, sky, and space wave propagation. Need for modulation. Production and detection of an amplitude-modulated wave.

Knowing the CUET physics syllabus and going through it, the next major challenge is “how to prepare Physics for CUET”. Before beginning to plan a preparation strategy, getting accustomed to the Physics paper pattern and understanding it is necessary. This proves to be helpful while planning and making a strategy.

CUET Physics Paper Pattern

It is paramount that students thoroughly check the Physics paper pattern and overall CUET exam pattern and structure before beginning to prepare for CUET Physics. It will help them grasp the syllabus and prepare a suitable study plan to ace CUET Physics.

A few crucial details about CUET Physics paper:

NTA has officially announced that the Physics syllabus for CUET will include only the NCERT Physics syllabus from class 12th standard.
There will be one Question Paper with 50 questions, out of which 40 questions must be attempted.
The maximum mark is 200 (5 marks for every correct answer and 1 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer).
Question types will be objective (MCQs), and the duration will be 60 mins.

How to Prepare Physics for CUET?

With all the required information at hand, now the next big thing is how to prepare Physics for CUET. The article now will discuss a detailed stepwise strategy that will aim to make students work easier and help them make an effective strategy.

A Proper Grasp of the Syllabus

We have already discussed the syllabus in detail. It is very elementary for preparation as, without concrete knowledge about the Physics syllabus for CUET, one cannot start planning their strategy. Students should be fully aware of all the topics and their detailed sub-topics. The syllabus is strictly based on NCERT class 12th. All segments are equally important, and neglecting any is highly not recommended.

Understanding of the Exam Pattern

This involves knowing the number and type of questions asked for each unit separately. It will help students identify the importance and weightage of each unit and assign priority to them on that basis. By doing this, one can also differentiate between the chapters on which they have a better grip and the ones with a lesser grip. This will help in planning a preparation strategy better. It acts as a crucial step in the process of preparation.

A Detailed Preparatory Strategy

This involves making a timetable and following it strictly. Students will also have to keep track of the time at hand and the CUET physics syllabus remaining to be covered. It is very important to devise a preparatory plan that suits the best. Depending upon one’s strengths and abilities, every student should make a proper timetable and follow it to their best capability. Making and sticking with a plan consistently will prepare students better for the exam. Dedication and consistency are the keys here.

Revisions and Mock Tests

The more one practices, the better prepared they are to succeed. Keep in hand 7-10 days before the exam for revision and mock tests. These will fine-polish and give the necessary exposure to the exam situation and atmosphere. Once the CUET Physics syllabus is successfully completed, revision and practice through mock tests, sample question papers, and Test Series are strongly advised. The more one practices, the better they will get.

Apart from all the efforts students put in through their plans and strategies, it is also very crucial that they eat and sleep well. A healthy body and mind are very important for proper concentration.

Free Resources for CUET Preparation

CUET Physical Education Previous Year Question Paper CUET Mock Test

We all know that physics is fundamental and conceptual. All the formulas, principles, and derivatives can’t be mugged up. It is, therefore, very necessary that before starting to prepare, students get all their fundamentals and concepts cleared and straight. This will save much of the time and energy. Students must carve an ideal path to succeed and excel, and this article should have helped get it straight.

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