• What is living? Biodiversity; Need for classification; Taxonomy & Systematics; Concept of species and taxonomical hierarchy; Binomial nomenclature.
• Five kingdom classifications; salient features and classification of Monera; Protista and Fungi into major groups; Lichens; Viruses and Viroids.
• Salient features and classification of plants into major groups - Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms (three to five salient and distinguishing features and at least two examples of each category).
• Salient features and classification of animals-nonchordate up to phyla level and chordate up to classes level (three to five salient features and at least two examples)

• Morphology and modifications; Tissues; Anatomy and functions of different parts of flowering plants: Root, stem, leaf, inflorescence- cymose and recemose, flower, fruit and seed (To be dealt along with the relevant practical of the Practical Syllabus). Family (malvaceae, Cruciferae, leguminoceae, compositae, graminae).
• Animal tissues; Morphology, anatomy and functions of different systems (digestive, circulatory, respiratory, nervous and reproductive) of an insect (frog). (Brief account only)

• Cell theory and cell as the basic unit of life; Structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell; Plant cell and animal cell; Cell envelope, cell membrane, cell wall; Cell organelles-structure and function; Endomembrane system-endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi bodies, lysosomes, vacuoles; mitochondria, ribosomes, plastids, microbodies; Cytoskeleton, cilia, flagella, centrioles (ultra structure and function); Nucleus-nuclear membrane, chromatin, nucleolus.
• Chemical constituents of living cells: Biomolecules-structure and function of proteins, carbodydrates, lipids, nucleic acids; Enzymes-types, properties, enzyme action, classification and nomenclature of enzymes.
• B Cell division: Cell cycle, mitosis, meiosis and their significance.

• Photosynthesis: Photosynthesis as a means of Autotrophic nutrition; Site of photosynthesis take place; pigments involved in Photosynthesis (Elementary idea); Photochemical and biosynthetic phases of photosynthesis; Cyclic and non-cyclic and photophosphorylation; Chemiosmotic hypothesis; Photorespiration C3 and C4 pathways; Factors affecting photosynthesis.
• Respiration: Exchange gases; Cellular respiration-glycolysis, fermentation (anaerobic), TCA cycle and electron transport system (aerobic); Energy relations- Number of ATP molecules generated; Amphibolic pathways; Respiratory quotient.
• Plant growth and development: Seed germination; Phases of Plant growth and plant growth rate; Conditions of growth; Differentiation, dedifferentiation and redifferentiation; Sequence of developmental process in a plant cell; Growth regulators-auxin, gibberellin, cytokinin, ethylene, ABA.

• Breathing and Respiration: Respiratory organs in animals (recall only); Respiratory system in humans; Mechanism of breathing and its regulation in humans-Exchange of gases, transport of gases and regulation of respiration Respiratory volumes; Disorders related to respiration-Asthma, Emphysema, Occupational respiratory disorders.
• Body fluids and circulation: Composition of blood, blood groups, coagulation of blood; Composition of lymph and its function; Human circulatory system-Structure of human heart and blood vessels; Cardiac cycle, cardiac output, ECG, Double circulation; Regulation of cardiac activity; Disorders of circulatory system-Hypertension, Coronary artery disease, Angina pectoris, Heart failure.
• Excretory products and their elimination: Modes of excretion- Ammonotelism, ureotelism, uricotelism; Human excretory system-structure and function; Urine formation, Osmoregulation; Regulation of kidney function-Renin-angiotensin, Atrial Natriuretic Factor, ADH and Diabetes insipidus; Role of other organs in excretion; Disorders; Uraemia, Renal failure, Renal calculi, Nephritis; Dialysis and artificial kidney.
• Locomotion and Movement: Types of movement- ciliary, fiagellar, muscular; Skeletal muscle-contractile proteins and muscle contraction; Skeletal system and its functions (To be dealt with the relevant practical of Practical syllabus); Joints; Disorders of muscular and skeletal system-Myasthenia gravis, Tetany, Muscular dystrophy, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Gout.
• Neural control and coordination: Neuron and nerves; Nervous system in human central nervous system, peripheral nervous system and visceral nervous system; Generation and conduction of nerve impulse;
• Chemical coordination and regulation: Endocrine glands and hormones; Human endocrine system Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Pineal, Thyroid, Parathyroid, Adrenal, Pancreas, Gonads; Mechanism of hormone action (Elementary Idea); Role of hormones as messengers and regulators, Hypo-and hyperactivity and related disorders (Common disorders e.g. Dwarfism, Acromegaly, Cretinism, goiter, exopthalmic goiter, diabetes, Addison’s disease).

• Sexual reproduction in flowering plants: Flower structure; Development of male and female gametophytes; Pollination-types, agencies and examples; Outbreeding devices; Pollen-Pistil interaction; Double fertilization; Post fertilization events- Development of endosperm and embryo, Development of seed and formation of fruit; Special modes-apomixis, parthenocarpy, polyembryony; Significance of seed and fruit formation.
• Human Reproduction: Male and female reproductive systems; Microscopic anatomy of testis and ovary; Gametogenesis-spermatogenesis & oogenesis; Menstrual cycle; Fertilisation, embryo development upto blastocyst formation, implantation; Pregnancy and placenta formation (Elementary idea); Parturition (Elementary idea); Lactation (Elementary idea).
• Reproductive health: Need for reproductive health and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STD); Birth control - Need and Methods, Contraception and Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP); Amniocentesis; Infertility and assisted reproductive technologies – IVF, ZIFT, GIFT (Elementary idea for general awareness)

• Heredity and variation: Mendelian Inheritance; Deviations from Mendelism- Incomplete dominance, Co-dominance, Multiple alleles and Inheritance of blood groups, Pleiotropy; Elementary idea of polygenic inheritance; Chromosome theory of inheritance; Chromosomes and genes; Sex determination-In humans, birds, honey bee; Linkage and crossing over; Sex linked inheritance-Haemophilia, Colour blindness; Mendelian disorders in humans-Thalassemia; Chromosomal disorders in humans; Down’s syndrome, Turner’s and Klinefelter’s syndromes.
• Molecular basis of Inheritance: Search for genetic material and DNA as genetic material; Structure of DNA and RNA; DNA packaging; DNA replication; Central dogma; Transcription, genetic code, translation; Gene expression and regulation- Lac Operon; Genome and human genome project; DNA finger printing, protein biosynthesis.
• Evolution: Origin of life; Biological evolution and evidences for biological evolution from Paleontology, comparative anatomy, embryology and molecular evidence); Darwin’s contribution, Modern Synthetic theory of Evolution; Mechanism of evolution-Variation (Mutation and Recombination) and Natural Selection with examples, types of natural selection; Gene flow and genetic drift; Hardy-Weinberg’s principle; Adaptive Radiation; Human evolution.

• Health and Disease; Pathogens; parasites causing human diseases (Malaria, Filariasis, Ascariasis. Typhoid, Pneumonia, common cold, amoebiasis, ring worm); Basic concepts of immunology-vaccines; Cancer, HIV and AIDS; Adolescence, drug and alcohol abuse, Tobacco abuse.
• Microbes in human welfare: In household food processing, industrial production, sewage treatment, energy generation and as biocontrol agents and biofertilizers.

• Principles and process of Biotechnology: Genetic engineering (Recombinant DNA technology).
• Application of Biotechnology in Health and Agriculture: Human insulin and vaccine production, gene therapy; Genetically modified organisms-Bt crops; Transgenic Animals; Biosafety issuesBiopiracy and patents.

• Organisms and environment: Population interactions-mutualism, competition, predation, parasitism; Population attributes-growth, birth rate and death rate, age distribution.
• Ecosystem: Patterns, components; productivity and decomposition; Energy flow; Pyramids of number, biomass, energy.
• Biodiversity and its conservation: Concept of Biodiversity; Patterns of Biodiversity; Importance of Biodiversity; Loss of Biodiversity; Biodiversity conservation; Hotspots, endangered organisms, extinction, Red Data Book, biosphere reserves, National parks and sanctuaries, Sacred Groves.

Nature of electromagnetic radiation, photoelectric effect; Spectrum of the hydrogen atom. Bohr model of a hydrogen atom - its postulates, derivation of the relations for the energy of the electron and radii of the different orbits, limitations of Bohr's model;

Dual nature of matter, de Broglie's relationship. Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Elementary ideas of quantum mechanics, quantum mechanics, the quantum mechanical model of the atom, its important features.

Concept of atomic orbitals as one-electron wave functions: Variation of  Ψ and  Ψ 2 with r for 1s and 2s orbitals: various quantum numbers (principal, angular momentum, and magnetic quantum numbers) and their significance; shapes of s, p, and d - orbitals, electron spin and spin quantum number: Rules for filling electrons in orbits - Aufbau principle. Pauli's exclusion principle and Hund's rule, electronic configuration of elements, extra stability of half-filled and completely filled orbitals.

Kossel-Lewis approach to chemical bond formation, the concept of ionic and covalent bonds.

Ionic Bonding: Formation of ionic bonds, factors affecting the formation of ionic bonds; calculation of lattice enthalpy.

Covalent Bonding: Concept of electronegativity. Fajan's rule, dipole moment: Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory and shapes of simple molecules. Quantum mechanical approach to covalent bonding: Valence bond theory - its important features. the concept of hybridization involving s, p, and d orbitals; Resonance.

Molecular orbital Theory - Its important features. LCAOs, types of molecular orbitals (bonding, antibonding), sigma and pi-bonds, molecular orbital electronic configurations of homonuclear diatomic molecules, the concept of bond order, bond length, and bond energy.

Elementary idea of metallic bonding. Hydrogen bonding and its applications

Fundamentals of thermodynamics: System and surroundings, extensive and intensive properties' state functions, types of processes.

The first law of thermodynamics - Concept of work, heat internal energy and enthalpy, heat capacity, molar heat capacity; Hess's law of constant heat summation; Enthalpies of bond dissociation, combustion' formation, atomization. sublimation. phase transition, hydration. ionization. and solution.

The second law of thermodynamics - Spontaneity of processes: AS of the universe and AC of the system as criteria for spontaneity. Standard Gibbs energy change and equilibrium constant.

Meaning of equilibrium, the concept of dynamic equilibrium.

Equilibria involving physical processes: Solid-liquid, liquid - gas and solid-gas equilibria, Henry's law. General characteristics of equilibrium involving physical processes.

Equilibrium involving chemical processes: Law of chemical equilibrium, equilibrium constants (Kp and Kc) and their significance, the significance of ΔG and ΔG° in chemical equilibrium, factors affecting equilibrium concentration, pressure, temperature, the effect of catalyst; Le Chatelier's principle.

Ionic equilibrium: weak. and strong electrolytes, ionization of electrolytes, various concepts of acids and bases (Arrhenius and Bronsted - Lowry and Lewis) and their ionization, acid-base equilibria (including multistage ionization) and ionization constants, ionization of water. PH scale, common ion effect, hydrolysis of salts and PH of their solutions, the solubility of sparingly soluble salts and solubility products, buffer solutions.

Tetravalency of carbon: Shapes of simple molecules - hybridization (s and p): classification of organic compounds based on functional groups: and those containing halogens, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur; Homologous series: Isomerism - structural and stereoisomerism.

Nomenclature (Trivial and IUPAC) Covalent bond fission - Homolytic and heterolytic: free radicals. carbocations. and carbanions: stability of carbocations and free radicals. electrophiles. and nucleophiles.

Electronic displacement in a covalent bond: Inductive effect, electromeric effect. resonance and hyperconjugation. Common types of organic reactions- Substitution. addition. elimination, and rearrangement.

Purification and Characterisation of Organic Compounds: Purification - Crystallization. sublimation, distillation, differential extraction, chromatography - principles and their applications. Qualitative analysis - Detection of nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and halogens. Quantitative analysis (basic principles only) - Estimation of carbon. hydrogen. nitrogen. halogens. sulphur. phosphorus. Calculations of empirical formulae and molecular formulae: Numerical problems in organic quantitative analysis.

Classification, isomerism. IUPAC nomenclature, general methods of preparation, properties, and reactions.

Alkanes - Conformations: Sawhorse and Newman projections (of ethane): Mechanism of halogenation of alkanes, projections (of ethane).

Alkenes - Geometrical isomerism: Mechanism of electrophilic addition: addition of hydrogen. halogens, water. hydrogen halides (Markownikoffs and peroxide effect): Ozonolysis and polymerization.

Alkynes - Acidic character: Addition of hydrogen, halogens, water, and hydrogen halides: Polymerization.

Aromatic hydrocarbons - Nomenclature. benzene - structure and aromaticity: Mechanism of substitution: halogenation, nitration. Friedel-Craft's alkylation and acylation, directive influence of the functional group in mono-substituted benzene.

Electrolytic and metallic conduction, conductance in electrolytic solutions, molar conductivities and their variation with concentration, Kohlrausch's law and its applications.

Electrochemical Cells - Electrolytic and Galvanic cells, different types of electrodes, electrode potentials including standard electrode potential, half-cell and cell reactions, emf of a Galvanic cell and its measurement: Nernst equation and its applications; Relationship between cell potential and Gibbs' energy change: Dry cell and lead accumulator; Fuel cells

Transition Elements General introduction, electronic configuration, occurrence and characteristics, general trends in properties, of the first-row transition elements - physical properties, ionization enthalpy, oxidation states, atomic radii, colour, catalytic behaviour, magnetic properties, complex formation, interstitial compounds, alloy formation; Preparation, properties and uses of K2Cr2O7 and KMnO4. Inner Transition Elements

Lanthanoids - Electronic configuration, oxidation states, and lanthanoid contraction.

Actinoids - Electronic configuration and oxidation states.

Alcohols: Identification of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols: mechanism of dehydration.

Phenols: Acidic nature, electrophilic substitution reactions: halogenation. nitration and sulphonation. Reimer - Tiemann reaction. Ethers: Structure.

Aldehyde and Ketones: Nature of carbonyl group; Nucleophilic addition to >C=O group, relative reactivities of aldehydes and ketones; Important reactions such as - Nucleophilic addition reactions (addition of HCN. NH3 and its derivatives), Grignard reagent; oxidation: reduction (Wolf Kishner and Clemmensen); the acidity of α-hydrogen. aldol condensation, Cannizzaro reaction. Haloform reaction, Chemical tests to distinguish between aldehydes and Ketones.

Carboxylic Acids: Acidic strength and factors affecting it.

General introduction and importance of biomolecules. CARBOHYDRATES - classification; aldoses and ketoses: monosaccharides (glucose and fructose) and constituent monosaccharides of oligosaccharides (sucrose, lactose, and maltose)

PROTEINS.Elementary Idea of α-amino acids, peptide bond, polypeptides.Proteins: primary. secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure (qualitative idea only), denaturation of proteins enzymes.

VITAMINS - Classification and functions

NUCLEIC ACIDS - Chemical constitution of DNA and RNA Biological functions of nucleic acids

Hormones (General Introduction)

• Detection of extra elements (Nitrogen, sulphur, halogens), in organic compounds; Detection of the following functional group, hydroxyl (alcoholic and phenolic), carbonyl (aldehyde and ketones) carboxyl, and amino groups in organic compounds.
• The chemistry involved in the preparation of the following: Inorganic compounds: Mohr's salt. potash alum Organic compounds: Acetanilide. p-nitro acetanilide, aniline yellow, iodoform
• The chemistry involved in the titrimetric exercises - Acids. bases and the use of indicators. oxalic-acid vs KMnO4. Mohr's salt vs KMnO4
• Chemical principles involved in the qualitative salt analysis, Cations: Pb2+, Cu2+, Al3+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Ca2+, Ba2+, Mg2+ Anions:
• Chemical principles involved in the following experiments:
  • 1. Enthalpy of solution of CuSO4
  • 2. Enthalpy of neutralization of strong acid and strong base
  • 3. Preparation of lyophilic and lyophobic sols
  • 4. Kinetic study of the reaction of iodide ions with hydrogen peroxide at room temperature.

Need for measurement: Units of measurement; systems of units; SI units, fundamental and derived units.

errors in measurement; significant figures.Dimensions of physical quantities, dimensional analysis, and its applications.

Force and inertia, Newton's First Law of Motion: Momentum, Newton’s Second Law of Motion, Impulses: Newton's Third Law of Motion. Law of conservation of linear momentum and its applications. Equilibrium of concurrent forces.

Static and Kinetic friction, laws of friction. rolling friction.

Dynamics of uniform circular motion: centripetal force and its applications: vehicle on a level circular road. vehicle on a banked road.

Work done by a constant force and a variable force; kinetic and potential energies. work-energy theorem, power.

The potential energy of spring conservation of mechanical energy. conservative and non-conservative forces; motion in a vertical circle: Elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions

Centre of the mass of a two-particle system, Centre of the mass of a rigid body: Basic concepts of rotational motion; moment of a force; torque, angular momentum, conservation of angular momentum and its applications.

The moment of inertia, the radius of gyration, values of moments of inertia for simple geometrical objects, parallel and perpendicular axes theorems. and their applications. Equilibrium of rigid bodies. rigid body rotation and equations of rotational motion, comparison of linear and rotational motions.

Elastic behaviour, Stress-strain relationship, Hooke's Law. Young's modulus, bulk modulus, modulus of rigidity. Pressure due to a fluid column; Pascal's law and its applications. Effect of gravity on fluid pressure.

Viscosity. Stokes' law. terminal velocity, streamline, and turbulent flow. Critical velocity Bemoulli's principle and its applications.

Surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, excess of pressure across a curved surface, application of surface tension - drops, bubbles, and capillary rise. Heat, temperature, thermal expansion; specific heat capacity, calorimetry; change of state, latent heat. Heat transfer-conduction, convection, and radiation.

Thermal equilibrium, zeroth law of thermodynamics, the concept of temperature. Heat, work, and internal energy. The first law of thermodynamics, isothermal and adiabatic processes.

The second law of thermodynamics: reversible and irreversible processes.

Oscillations and periodic motion - time period, frequency, displacement as a function of time. Periodic functions. Simple harmonic motion (S.H.M.) and its equation; phase: oscillations of a spring -restoring force and force constant: energy in S.H.M. - Kinetic and potential energies; Simple pendulum - derivation of expression for its time period:

Wave motion. Longitudinal and transverse 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.

Electric charges: Conservation of charge. Coulomb's law forces 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' Gauss's law and its applications to find field due to infinitely long uniformly charged straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet, and uniformly charged thin spherical shell. Electric potential and its calculation for a point charge, electric dipole and system of charges; potential difference, Equipotential surfaces, Electrical potential energy of a system of two-point charges and of electric dipole in an electrostatic field.

Conductors and Insulators. Dielectrics and electric polarization, capacitors and capacitances, the combination of capacitors in series and parallel, capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectric medium between the plates. Energy stored in a capacitor.

Electric current. Drift velocity, mobility and their relation with electric current. Ohm’s law. Electrical resistance. V-l characteristics of Ohmic and non-ohmic conductors. Electrical energy and power' Electrical resistivity and conductivity. Series and parallel combinations of resistors; Temperature dependence of resistance.

Internal resistance, potential difference and emf of a cell, a combination of cells in series and parallel. Kirchhoff’s laws and their applications. Wheatstone bridge. Metre Bridge.

Biot - Savart law and its application to the current carrying circular loop. Ampere’s law and its applications to infinitely long current carrying straight wire and solenoid.

Force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic and electric fields. Force on a current-carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic field. The force between two parallel currents carrying conductors-definition of ampere. Torque experienced by a current loop in a uniform magnetic field: Moving coil galvanometer, its sensitivity, and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter.

Current loop as a magnetic dipole and its magnetic dipole moment. Bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid. magnetic field lines; Magnetic field due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) among its axis and perpendicular to its axis. Torque on a magnetic dipole in a uniform magnetic field. Para dia and ferromagnetic substances with examples, effect of temperature on magnetic properties.

Reflection of light, spherical minors, mirror formula. Refraction of right at plane and spherical surfaces, thin lens formula and lens maker formula. Total internal reflection and its applications.

Magnification. Power of a Lens. Combination of thin lenses in contact. Refraction of light through a prism. Microscope and Astronomical Telescope (reflecting and refracting) and their magnifying powers.

Wave optics: wave front and Huygens' principle. Laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens principle. Interference, Young's double-slit experiment and expression for fringe width, coherent sources, and sustained interference of light. Diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maximum. Polarization, plane-polarized light: Brewster's law, uses of plane-polarized light and Polaroid.

Familiarity with the basic approach and observations of the experiments and activities:

1. Vernier calipers - its use to measure the internal and external diameter and depth of a vessel.
2. Screw gauge-its use to determine thickness/diameter of thin sheet/wire.
3. Simple pendulum-dissipation of energy by plotting a graph between the square of amplitude and time.
4. Metre Scale - the mass of a given object by the principle of moments.
5. Young's modulus of elasticity of the material of a metallic wire.
6. Surface tension of water by capillary rise and effect of detergents.
7. Co-efficient of Viscosity of a given viscous liquid by measuring terminal velocity of a given spherical body.
8. Speed of sound in air at room temperature using a resonance tube.
9. Specific heat capacity of a given (i) solid and (ii) liquid by method of mixtures.
10. The resistivity of the material of a given wire using a metre bridge.
11. The resistance of a given wire using Ohm's law.
12. Resistance and figure of merit of a galvanometer by half deflection method.
13. The focal length of; (i) Convex mirror (ii) Concave mirror, and (iii) Convex lens, using the parallax method.
14. The plot of the angle of deviation vs angle of incidence for a triangular prism.
15. Refractive index of a glass slab using a travelling microscope.
16. Characteristic curves of a p-n junction diode in forward and reverse bias.
17. Characteristic curves of a Zener diode and finding reverse breakdown voltage.
18. Identification of Diode. LED, Resistor. A capacitor from a mixed collection of such item