Class 11 Physics Syllabus, Papers, Notes, Question Bank

Prepare for CBSE class 11 exams with ease! Find sample papers, revision notes, CBSE Physics Formula, previous year question bank, and more on our platform. Good luck with your studies!

For students, CBSE Class 11 is crucial since it lays the groundwork for all of the major subjects that will be addressed in the following year. In order to get good grades in Class 11, it’s critical to study hard and get ready for competitive tests. The academic year in Class 11 should be used by students to solidify their foundations. By doing this, they will be better prepared to take the board exam the following year.

Class 11 Physics Syllabus

CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus with Course Structure 2024-25

The CBSE Class 11 physics Syllabus for Class 11 divides the subject of Physics into ten units in total. The names of the CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus units, their respective mark distributions, and the amount of time allotted to finish them are listed in the table below.

Time: 3 hours
Max Marks: 70

Unit No.Name of UnitNo. of PeriodsMarks
Unit–IPhysical World and Measurement0823
 Chapter–1: Units and Measurements
Unit-IIKinematics24
 Chapter–2: Motion in a Straight Line
 Chapter–3: Motion in a Plane
Unit–IIILaws of Motion14
 Chapter–4: Laws of Motion
Unit–IVWork, Energy and Power1417
 Chapter–5: Work, Energy and Power
Unit–VMotion of System of Particles and Rigid Body18
 Chapter–6: System of Particles and Rotational Motion
Unit-VIGravitation12
 Chapter–7: Gravitation
Unit–VIIProperties of Bulk Matter2420
 Chapter–8: Mechanical Properties of Solids
 Chapter–9: Mechanical Properties of Fluids
 Chapter–10: Thermal Properties of Matter
Unit–VIIIThermodynamics12
 Chapter–11: Thermodynamics
Unit–IXBehaviour of Perfect Gases and Kinetic Theory of Gases08
 Chapter–12: Kinetic Theory
Unit–XOscillations and Waves2610
 Chapter–13: Oscillations
 Chapter–14: Waves
 Total16070

Unit-I : Physical World and Measurement

Chapter 2 : Units and Measurements

in Class 11 physics Syllabus: Need for measurement: Units of measurement; systems of units; SI units, fundamentals and derived units. Mass, Length and time measurements; accuracy and precisions of measuring instrument; error in measurements; significant figure.

Dimension of physical quantity, dimensional analysis and its application.

Unit-II : Kinematics

Chapter 3 : Motion in a Straight Line

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Motion in a straight line, Frame of reference, Elementary concept of differentiation and integration for describing motions, nonuniform and  uniform motions, and instantaneous velocities, uniformly accelerated motions, velocity-time and position-time graph. Relations of uniformly accelerated motion (graphical treatments).

Chapter 4 : Motion in a Plane

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Scalar and vectors quantities ; displacement and position vector, relative velocity, general vector and their notations; equality of vector, multiplication of vectors by a real numbers; addition and subtraction of vectors, , Unit vector; resolution of a vector in a plane, rectangular components, Vector and Scaler product of vector.

Motion in a plane, cases of uniform velocities and uniform acceleration-projectile motions, uniform circular motion.

Unit-III : Laws of Motion

Chapter 5 : Laws of Motion

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Intuitive concept of force, Inertia, Newton first law of motions; momentum and Newton second law of motions ; impulse ; Newton’s third law of motion (recapitulation only). Law of conservation of linear momentum and its applications. Equilibrium of concurrent forces, Static and kinetic friction, laws of frictions , rolling frictions, lubrications.

Dynamic of uniform circular motions : Centripetal forces, examples of circular motion (vehicle on a level circular road, vehicle on a banked road).

Unit-IV : Work, Energy and Power

Chapter 6 : Work, Energy and Power

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Work done by a constant forces and a variable forces ; kinetic energy, work-energy theorems, power.

Notion of potential energy, potential energy of a springs, conservative force: conservation of mechanical energies (kinetic and potential energies); non-conservative force: motion in a vertical circle; elastic and inelastic collision in one and two dimension.

Unit-V: Motion of System of Particles and Rigid Body

Chapter 7: System of Particles and Rotational Motion

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Center of mass of a two-particle systems, momentum conservation and center of masses motion. Center of mass of a rigid body ; center of mass of a uniform rods. Moment of a forces, angular momentum, torque, Law’s of conservation of angular momentum and its application.

Equilibrium of rigid body, comparison of linear and rotational motions,rigid body rotation and equations of rotational motions.

Moment of inertia, radius of gyration, values of moment of inertia for simple geometrical objects (no derivation).

Unit-VI: Gravitation

Chapter 8: Gravitation

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Kepler’s laws of planetary motions, universal law of gravitation, Acceleration due to gravity and its variation with height and depth. Gravitational potential energy and gravitational potential, orbital velocity of a satellite, escape speed.

Unit-VII: Properties of Bulk Matter

Chapter 9: Mechanical Properties of Solids

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Elasticity, Stress, strain, Hooke’s law, Young’s modulus, bulk’s modulus, Modulus of rigidity (qualitative ideas only), Poisson’s ratio; elastic energy.

Chapter 10 : Mechanical Properties of Fluids

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Pressure by fluid column ; Pascal’s law and its applications (hydraulic brakes and hydraulic lift), effects of gravity on fluid pressure.

Viscosity, terminal velocity, Stokes’ law, streamline and turbulent flow, Bernoulli’s theorem and its applications, critical velocity.

Surface tension and surface Energy, Application of surface tension ideas to drops, Angles of contact, Excess of pressure across a curved surface, bubbles and capillary rise.

Chapter 11 : Thermal Properties of Matter

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Heat, temperatures,( recapitulation only) thermal expansions ; thermal expansion of solid, liquid and gas, Cp, Cv – calorimetry, anomalous expansion of water; specific heat capacity; change of state – latent heat capacity.

Heat transfer-conduction, radiation and Convection (recapitulation only), thermal conductivity, qualitative ideas of Black body radiation, Stefan’s law, Wien’s displacement Law, .

Unit-VIII : Thermodynamics

Chapter 12: Thermodynamics

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Thermal equilibrium and definition of temperature (zeroth law of thermodynamics), heat, First law of thermodynamics, work and internal energy, Second law of thermodynamics: gaseous state of matter, change of condition of gaseous state -Adiabatic, isothermal, reversible, irreversible, and cyclic processes.

Unit-IX: Behavior of Perfect Gases and Kinetic Theory of Gases

Chapter 13: Kinetic Theory

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Equation of states of a perfect gases, work done by compressing a gas.

Kinetic theory of gases – assumption, concept of pressure, Kinetic interpretation of temperature, degrees of freedom, rms speed of gas molecule, law of equi-partition of energies (statement only) and application to specific heat capacities of gas, Avogadro number, concept of mean free path.

Unit-X: Oscillations and Waves

Chapter 14: Oscillations

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Periodic motion – Frequency, Time period, Periodic functions and its Applications, Displacement as a function of time.

Simple Harmonic Motion (S.H.M) and its equations of motion; phase; Energy in S.H.M. Kinetic and potential energies, Oscillation of a loaded spring- restoring force and force constant, Simple Pendulum derivation of expression for its time period.

Chapter 15: Waves

In Class 11 physics Syllabus: Wave motion: Longitudinal and Transversal waves, Displacement relation for a progressive wave, Speed of travelling wave, Principle of superposition of wave, Reflection of wave, standing wave in strings and organ pipes, harmonics Mode and fundamental mode, Beats.

CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus for Practical 2024-25

The list of physics practical experiments is provided here.

Evaluation Scheme for Class 11 Physics syllabus for Practical 2024-25

Topic Marks
Two experiments, one from each section7 + 7
Practical record (experiment and activities)5
One activity from any section3
Investigatory Project3
Viva on experiments, activities and project5
Total 30

CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus for Practical

Section – A

CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus Experiments 

1. To measure the diameter of a small spherical/cylindrical bodies and to measure internal diameters and depth of a given beaker/calorimeter using Vernier Callipers and hence find its volume.

2. To measure the diameters of a given wire and thickness of a given sheets using screw gauge.

3. To determine the volumes of an irregular lamina using the screw’s gauge.

4. To determine the masses of two different objects using a beam balances.

5.To determine the radius of curvature of a given spherical surfaces by a spherometers.

6.Using a simple pendulum, plot its L-T2 graph and use it to find the effective length of second pendulum.

7. To find the weight of a given body using parallelogram law of vector.

8. To study the relationship between force of limiting friction and normal reaction and to find the co- efficient of friction between a block and a horizontal surfaces.

9.To study variation of time periods of a simple pendulum of a given length by taking bobs of same size but different masses and interpret the result.

10. To find the downward forces, along an inclined planes, acting on a roller due to gravitational pull of the earth and study its relationship with the angle of inclination θ by plotting graph between forces and sin θ.

CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus Activity

1. To determine masses of a given body using a metre scale by principle of moment.

2. To make a paper scale of given least count, e.g., 0.2cm, 0.5 cm.

3. To measure the force of limiting friction for rolling of a roller on a horizontal plane.

4. To plot a graph for a given set of data, with proper choice of scales and error bars.

5. To study the variation in range of a projectiles with angle of projections.

6. To study dissipation of energy of a simple pendulum by plotting a graph between square of amplitude and time.

7. To study the conservation of energy of a ball rolling down on an inclined planes (using a double inclined plane).

Section – B

CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus Experiments 

1. To find the force constant of a helical springs by plotting a graphs between load and extensions.

2. To determine Young’s modulus of elasticity of the material of a given wire.

3. To determine the surface tension’s of water by capillary rise methods.

4. To study the variation in volume with pressure for a sample of air at constant temperature by plotting graphs between P and V, and between P and 1/V.

5. To determine the coefficient of viscosity of a given viscous liquid by measuring terminal velocities of a given spherical bodies.

6. To determine specific heat capacity of a given solid by method of mixtures.

7. To study the relationship between the temperature of a hot body and time by plotting a cooling curve.

8. To study the relation between frequencies and length of a given wires under constant tension using sonometer.

9. To find the speed of sound in air at room temperature using a resonance tube by two resonance positions.

10. To study the relation between the length of a given wire and tension for constant frequencies using sonometer.

CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus Activity

1. To observe and explain the effect of heating on a bi-metallic strips.

2.To observe changes of state and plot a cooling curve for molten wax.

3. To study the effects of detergent on surface tension of water by observing capillary rises.

4. To note the changes in level of liquid in a container on heating and interpret the observation.

5. To study the effect of load on depression of a suitably clamped metre scale loaded at (i) in the middle, (ii) its end.

6. To study the factors affecting the rate of loss of heat of a fluid.

7. To observe the decrease in pressure with increases in velocities of a fluid.

Practical Examination for Visually Impaired Students of Class 11 Evaluation Scheme

Time: 2 Hours
Max. Marks: 30

Topic Marks
Identification/Familiarity with the apparatus5
Written test (based on given/prescribed practicals)10
Practical Record5
Viva10
Total30

A. Items for Identification/Familiarity of the apparatus for assessment in practical (All experiment). 

Spherical balls, Cylindrical object, vernier caliper, calorimeter, beaker,  Screw gauge, wire, spring balance, Beam balance, weight boxes, gram and milligram weight, forces, Parallelogram law of vector apparatus, pulley and pans used in the same ‘weights’ use, Bobs and strings used in a simple pendulum, meter scales, split corks, suspension arrangement, stop clock/stop watches, Helical spring, suspension arrangement used, weights, arrangement used for measuring extension, Sonometer, Wedges, pan and pulley used in it, ‘weights’ Tuning Fork, Meter scale,  Weight box, Beam balance, gram and milligram weights, forces, Resonance Tubes, Tuning Forks, Meter scales, Flask/Beaker used for adding water.

B. List of Practicals

1. To measure diameter of a small spherical/cylindrical body using vernier caliper.

2. To measure the internal diameter and depth of a given beaker/calorimeter using vernier caliper and hence find its volumes.

3. To measure thickness of a given sheet using screw gauge.

4. To measure diameters of given wire using screw gauge.

5. To find the weight of given body using the parallelogram law of vector.

6. To determine the masses of a given object using a beam balance.

7. Using a simple pendulum plot L-T and L-T2 graph. Hence find the effective length of second’s pendulum using appropriate length value.

8. To find the speed of sound at room temperatures, in air using a resonance tube by observing the two resonance position.

9. To find the force constant of given helical springs by plotting a graph between load and extensions.

10. (i) To study the relations between frequencies and lengths of a given wires under constant tension using a sonometer.
(ii) To study the relation between the length of a given wire and tension, for constant frequencies using a sonometer.

Note: The above practical of CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus may be carried out in an experientials manner rather than recording observation.