The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, administered and controlled by the Union Government of India. The Central Board of Secondary Education was established on 3 November 1962. There are around 21,271 schools in India and 220 schools in 28 foreign countries associated with the CBSE. In this article, you would get in-depth knowledge of the Class 12 Chemistry Syllabus. CBSE board strictly follows NCERT books, and these books help students prepare for their school syllabus and competitive exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, AIIMS, CET, etc.
Theory Syllabus of Chemistry Class 12 CBSE
| S.No. | Title | Marks |
| 1. | Solid State | 23 |
| 2. | Solutions | |
| 3. | Electrochemistry | |
| 4. | Chemical Kinetics | |
| 5. | Surface Chemistry | |
| 6. | General Principles and Processes of Isolation of Elements | 19 |
| 7. | p -Block Elements | |
| 8. | d -and f -Block Elements | |
| 9. | Coordination Compounds | |
| 10. | Haloalkanes and Haloarenes | 28 |
| 11. | Alcohols, Phenols, and Ethers | |
| 12. | Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids | |
| 13. | Amines | |
| 14. | Biomolecules | |
| 15. | Polymers | |
| 16. | Chemistry in Everyday Life | |
| Total | 70 |
Summary of Theory Syllabus
Unit I: Solid State
· General Characteristics of Solid State
· Amorphous and Crystalline Solids (elementary idea)
· Classification of Crystalline Solids based on distinct binding forces: molecular, ionic, covalent, and metallic solids
· Crystal Lattices and Unit cells (two-dimensional and three-dimensional lattices)
Unit II: Solutions
· Types of Solutions
· Expressing Application of Solutions of solids in liquids
· Solubility of gases in liquids
· Vapor Pressure of Liquid Solutions- Raoult’s law
Unit III: Electrochemistry
· Electrochemical Cells
· Galvanic Cells and dry cell-electrolytic cells
· Nernst Equation and its application to chemical cells
Unit IV: Chemical Kinetics
· Rate of Chemical Reaction (Two types: Average and instantaneous)
· Factors influencing the rate of Reaction- concentration, temperature, catalyst; order and molecularity of a reaction, rate law and specific rate constant, integrated rate equations, and half-life (only for zero and first-order reactions)
· Integrated Rate Equations
· Temperature weakness of the Rate of Reaction
· Collision Theory (elementary idea, no mathematical treatment) of Chemical Reactions- the concept of collision, activation energy, Arrhenius equation.
Unit V: Surface Chemistry
· Adsorption, Physisorption, and Chemisorption, Factors affecting Adsorption of gases on solids
· Catalysis- Types (Homogeneous, Heterogenous), Activity and acumen of solid
Unit VI: General Principles and Processes of Isolation of Elements
· Principles and Procedure of extraction- Concentration, Oxidation, Reduction (electrolytic method and refining)
· Phenomenon and Concept of Extraction of Aluminium, Copper, Zinc, and Iron
Unit VII: P-Block Elements
· Group -15 Elements: General introduction, electronic arrangements, Occurrence, Oxidation states, Trends in Physical and Chemical properties
· Nitrogen preparation properties and uses
Unit VIII: d and f-Block Elements
· Position in the Periodic Table- General introduction
· Electronic Configuration of the d-Block Elements
· General Properties of the Transition Elements (d-Block)- Occurrence and Characteristics of Transition metals, General trends in properties of the first-row transition metals, Metallic character
Unit IX: Coordination Compounds
· Werner’s Theory of Coordination Compounds- Introduction, ligands, coordination number, color, magnetic properties and shapes, IUPAC nomenclature of mononuclear coordination compounds, Werner’s theory, VBT, and CFT
Unit X: Haloalkanes and Haloarenes
· Haloalkanes- Nomenclature, Identity of C–X bond, Physical and Chemical properties, Optical Rotation Mechanism of Substitution Reactions.
· Haloarenes- Identity of C–X bond, Substitution Reactions (Directive influence of halogen in monosubstituted compounds only).
· Uses and Environmental effects of Dichloromethane, Trichloromethane, Tetrachloromethane, Iodoform, Freons, DDT
Unit XI: Alcohols, Phenols, and Ethers
· Alcohols- Nomenclature, Procedure of Preparation, Physical and Chemical effects (of primary alcohols only), Identification of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary alcohols, Method of Dehydration, Uses with particular reference to Methanol and Ethanol.
Unit XII: Aldehydes, Ketones, and Carboxylic Acids
· Aldehydes and Ketones- Nomenclature, Character of Carbonyl group, Methods of preparation, Physical and Chemical properties, Mechanism of Nucleophilic Addition, the susceptibility of alpha hydrogen in aldehydes, Uses.
· Carboxylic Acids- Nomenclature, Acidic nature, Composition, Physical and Chemical Properties, Uses.
Unit XIII: Amines
· Amines- Nomenclature, categories, formation, methods of preparation, physical and chemical properties, uses, identification of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines.
· Diazonium salts- Amalgam, chemical reactions, and significance of synthetic organic chemistry.
Unit XIV: Biomolecules
· Carbohydrates – Classification (Simple: Monosaccharides (Glucose, Fructose, Galactose), Disaccharides (Maltose, Lactose, Sucrose); Complex: Polysaccharides (Starches, Fibers, Glycogen)), Importance of carbohydrates.
Unit XV: Polymers
· Classification (natural and synthetic)
· Methods of polymerization (addition and condensation)
· Copolymerization
· Some important polymers- natural and synthetic like polythene, nylon polyesters, Bakelite, rubber
· Biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymers.
Unit XVI: Chemistry in Everyday life
· Chemicals in medicines- Analgesics, Tranquilizer’s antiseptics, Disinfectants, Antimicrobials, Antifertility drugs, Antibiotics, Antacids, Antihistamines.
· Chemicals in food- Preservatives, Artificial sweetening agents, elementary ideas of antioxidants.
· Cleansing agents- Soaps and Detergents, Disinfectant Action.
Practical Syllabus of Chemistry Class 12 CBSE
Class 12 students must focus on the CBSE Chemistry Practical exam because it has been allocated 30 marks. Students must aim to get full marks in this section to increase their overall marks and be outstanding in CBSE Class 12 examination. The syllabus for Chemistry Practical CBSE Class 12 experiments is given below.
- Practicals
| Evaluation Scheme for Examination | Marks |
| Volumetric Analysis | 08 |
| Salt Analysis | 08 |
| Content Based Experiment | 06 |
| Project Work | 04 |
| Class record and viva | 04 |
| Total | 30 |
- Experiments
A. Chromatography
(i) Separation of pigments from extracts of leaves and flowers by paper chromatography and Calculation of Rf values
(ii) Separation of components present in an inorganic mixture containing two cations only (constituents having a significant difference in Rf values to be provided)
B. Preparation of Inorganic Compounds
(i) Preparation of double salt of Ferrous Ammonium Sulphate of Potash Alum.
(ii) Preparation of Potassium Ferric Oxalate
C. Tests for the practical groups present in organic compounds:
Highly diluted, Alcoholic, Phenolic, Aldehydic, Ketonic, Carboxylic, and Amino (Primary) Groups
D. Property tests of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in pure samples and their observation in given foodstuffs
Tests of Carbohydrates
Test of Oils and Fats
Test of Proteins
Tests of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in given foodstuffs
E. Calculation of concentration/Molarity of KMnO4 solution by titrating it against a standard solution of:
(i) Oxalic acid
(ii) Ferrous Ammonium Sulphate
F. Qualitative analysis:
Determination of one cation and one anion in each salt.
Cation- Pb2+, Cu2+, As3+, Al3+, Fe3+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Mg2+, NH4+
Anions- (CO3)2‒, S2‒, (SO3)2‒, (SO4)2‒, (NO2)‒, (SO4)2‒, Cl‒, Br‒, I‒, PO43‒, (C2O4)2‒, CH3COO‒, NO3–
(Note: Insoluble salts excluded)
- Projects
A few suggested projects are mentioned below:
- Testing the presence of oxalate ions in guava fruit at different stages of ripening.
- Testing the quantity of casein present in different samples of milk.
- Composition of soybean milk and its differentiation with natural milk for curd formation, the effect of temperature, etc.
- Testing the effect of Potassium Bisulphate as a food preservative under various environments (temperature, concentration, time, etc.)
FAQs of Chemistry Class 12 CBSE
Q1. Which are the best books for class 12 Chemistry?
Ans. If you aim to score good marks in Chemistry in class 12th boards, NCERT is the best option. Everything in the question paper will only be from NCERT. Even competitive exams like JEE, AIIMs, NEET covers all its syllabus from NCERT.
Q2. How to score full marks in the 12th board CBSE Chemistry exam?
Ans. Always be punctual and consistent with your studies. Concentrate on one topic at a time instead of learning numerous topics at one time. Only follow NCERT; go through every corner of the book. Try solving questions without the solutions. Practicing more and more will boost your confidence. Solve every problem from the book. Keep on revising the concepts. Solve sample papers and previous year’s question papers. Complete your syllabus before December and revise at least 2-3 times.
Q3. What are the essential topics of class 12 Chemistry for competitive exams?
Ans. Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure, Chemical Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry (the most important part), Organic Chemistry (most important, scoring topic), Polymers and Biomolecules, Environmental Chemistry, Chemistry in everyday life.
Q4. How to attempt the CBSE board Chemistry paper?
Ans. First, read the question paper carefully. Fifteen minutes is allotted only to read the question paper, carefully go through the marks assigned to each section. Make proper choices of which part to attempt first, in which part you are confident, solve that first, and then move to the other sections later. Remember to highlight the essential points while answering. Follow the sequence. Give examples wherever possible. Make sure of the time management, do not spend too much time on one section/question. Draw diagrams wherever necessary. These tips will help you to score full marks in Chemistry.