Physics
Subject code 322 · domain paper
Each of those rules names Physics outright — no combination of the other papers reaches them. That is the whole case for spending one of five slots on it.
The paper at a glance
Physics carries the subject code 322. The syllabus described here is the one published for 2026-27.
It is a short document: a cover page and three pages of bullet points. Every unit comes from the Class 12 physics course; nothing from Class 11 (mechanics, thermodynamics, waves) appears.
How the syllabus is organised
The document is laid out in nine units, numbered Unit 1 to Unit 9. Each unit is a handful of bullet points naming topics, in the same order as the NCERT Class 12 textbooks.
The syllabus itself is a list of topics only. It does not print question counts, marks, negative marking or timing, and it does not say how many questions come from each unit. Read it alongside the exam pattern.
Units 1 to 5: electricity and magnetism
The first five units are the whole of electricity, magnetism and electromagnetic waves. Electrostatics is the longest unit in the document; Current Electricity, with two bullet points, is the shortest.
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit 1: Electrostatics | Electric charges, conservation of charge, Coulomb's law for two point charges and for multiple charges, superposition principle, continuous charge distribution, electric dipole; electric potential and potential difference, potential due to a point charge, a dipole and a system of charges, equipotential surfaces, potential energy of two point charges and of a dipole in an electrostatic field; electric field and field lines, field due to a point charge and a dipole, torque on a dipole in a uniform field; electric flux, Gauss's theorem and its application to an infinitely long straight wire, a uniformly charged infinite plane sheet and a uniformly charged thin spherical shell (inside and outside); conductors and insulators, free and bound charges, dielectrics and polarization, capacitors and capacitance, series and parallel combinations, parallel plate capacitor with and without a dielectric, energy stored in a capacitor |
| Unit 2: Current Electricity | Electric current, flow of charges in a metallic conductor, drift velocity and mobility and their relation with current; Ohm's law, V-I characteristics (linear and non-linear), electrical energy and power, resistivity and conductivity, 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 rules, Wheatstone bridge |
| Unit 3: Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism | Concept of magnetic field, Oersted's experiment, Biot-Savart law and its application to a current-carrying circular loop; Ampere's law and its application to an infinitely long straight wire, the solenoid, force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic and electric fields; force on a current-carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic field, force between two parallel current-carrying conductors and the definition of the ampere, current loop as a magnetic dipole and its dipole moment, torque on a current loop in a uniform field; moving coil galvanometer, its current sensitivity and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter; bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid, magnetic field lines, field of a magnetic dipole along its axis and perpendicular to it, torque on a bar magnet in a uniform field; para-, dia- and ferromagnetic substances with examples, magnetization of materials, effect of temperature on magnetic properties |
| Unit 4: Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents | Electromagnetic induction, Faraday's laws, induced emf and current, Lenz's law, self and mutual induction; alternating currents, peak and rms values of current and voltage, reactance and impedance, LCR series circuit, phasors, resonance, power in AC circuits, power factor, wattless current; AC generator, transformer |
| Unit 5: Electromagnetic Waves | Concept of displacement current; electromagnetic waves, their characteristics and transverse nature; the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays) including elementary facts about their uses |
Where the syllabus is specific, it is worth noticing: Gauss's theorem is tied to exactly three charge configurations, and the electromagnetic spectrum is listed band by band with "elementary facts about their uses".
Unit 6: Optics
Optics is a single unit that covers both ray optics and wave optics.
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit 6: Optics | Reflection of light, spherical mirrors, mirror formula, refraction, total internal reflection and optical fibres, refraction 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 through a prism; optical instruments — microscopes and astronomical telescopes (reflecting and refracting) and their magnifying powers; wave front and Huygens' principle, reflection and refraction of plane waves at a plane surface using wave fronts, proof of the laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens' principle; coherent sources and interference, Young's double slit experiment and the expression for fringe width; diffraction due to a single slit, width of the central maximum |
The wave-optics half stops at interference and single-slit diffraction; polarisation is not named.
Units 7 to 9: modern physics
The last three units are the modern-physics block: dual nature, atoms and nuclei, and semiconductors.
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit 7: Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation | Matter waves and the wave nature of particles, de Broglie relation; dual nature of radiation, photoelectric effect, Hertz's and Lenard's observations, Einstein's photoelectric equation and the particle nature of light, experimental study of the photoelectric effect |
| Unit 8: Atoms and Nuclei | Alpha-particle scattering experiment, Rutherford's model of the atom, Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, expressions for the radius of an orbit and the velocity and energy of an electron in an orbit, hydrogen line spectra (qualitative treatment only); composition and size of the nucleus, atomic number, mass number, isotopes, isobars and isotones, nuclear force, mass-energy relation, mass defect, binding energy per nucleon and its variation with mass number, nuclear fission and fusion |
| Unit 9: Electronic Devices | Energy bands in conductors, semiconductors and insulators (qualitative ideas only); intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, p-type and n-type, p-n junction, semiconductor diode and its I-V characteristics in forward and reverse bias; application of the junction diode as a rectifier |
Two phrases in the source set the depth: hydrogen line spectra are "qualitative treatment only", and energy bands are "qualitative ideas only". In Electronic Devices the only application listed is the diode as a rectifier.
What this syllabus does not tell you
The document is a topic list and nothing more. From it you cannot learn:
- how many questions come from each unit, or the marks, negative marking and duration — those are on the exam pattern;
- the weightage of any unit, so treat every unit as examinable rather than ranking them;
- how difficult the questions will be, or whether numerical problems or conceptual questions dominate;
- which books to use; the syllabus names no textbook, although the unit order follows NCERT Class 12;
- how much weight a university gives this paper once you qualify — the programmes that accept it are listed below, but the marks or ranking rule each one applies sits in its own admission bulletin.
For anything about attempt rules or numbers of questions, go to the NTA information bulletin and the exam pattern rather than to this list.
Where this paper can take you
Programmes whose rule can use Physics, from the 23 universities whose documents we have read. 194 of them cannot be reached any other way.
B Tech (Biotechnology) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B Tech (CE) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B Tech (CSE) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · and 153 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Zoology · B.Sc. (Prog.) Life Science · B.Sc. (Hons.) Botany · and 67 more
B.Sc. (General) (Honours/Honours with Research) · B.Sc. (Physics) (Engineering Physics / Semiconductor Physics) (Honours/Honours with Research) · Bachelor of Occupational Therapy · and 61 more
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) · B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) · Five Year Integrated Programme in Management (BBA & MBA) · and 15 more
Bachelor of Arts (Global Studies) · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - Economics · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - English · and 11 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Applied Geology · B.Sc. (Hons.) Bioinformatics · B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry · and 10 more
B.Tech. — Biotechnology · B.Tech. — Chemical Engineering · B.Tech. — Civil Engineering · and 9 more
5-Year Dual Degree B.Tech.–M.Tech. (Artificial Intelligence & Data Science) · 5-Year Dual Degree B.Tech.–M.Tech. (Energy and Environmental Engineering) · 5-Year Dual Degree B.Tech.–M.Tech. (Internet of Things) · and 8 more
B.Sc. (Honours) Medical Radiology and Imaging Technology · B.Sc. (Honours) — Botany, Chemistry, Zoology, Home Science, Geography, Earth Science (Bio group) · B.Sc. (Honours) Medical Technology (Radiotherapy) · and 5 more
4-Year B.S. (Honours / Research) Chemistry · 5 Year Integrated M.Sc. (Applied Geology) · 5 Year Integrated M.Sc. (Biology) · and 3 more
B.Tech. Artificial Intelligence and Data Science · B.Tech. Computer Science & Engineering · B.Tech. Cyber Security · and 2 more
B.Tech. Biotechnology · B.Tech. Biotechnology (Lateral Entry) · Bachelor of Pharmacy · and 1 more
B.Sc. in Computer Science · B.Sc. in Forensic Science · Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Mass Communication) · and 1 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Community Science · B.Sc. (Hons.) Geography · B.Sc. (Hons.) Statistics
Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Physics) · Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Chemistry) · Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Mathematics)
B.Tech. (School of Engineering) · Integrated B.Sc. B.Ed. (Major in Physics) · Integrated M.Sc. in Physics
B.Sc. (Honours) Agriculture · Five-Year Integrated M.Sc. · Physics (Major)
Five Year Integrated Post Graduate Programme in Physics