CBSE Class 12 Biology Syllabus 2023-24
The Central Board of Secondary Education has released the CBSE Class 12 Biology Syllabus 2023-24 which has been made available officially at www.cbseacademic.nic.in. Biology is a branch of science that deals with living organisms and their vital processes. Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. The CBSE Class 12 Biology Syllabus for the academic year 2023-24 provides the students with updated concepts and extended exposure to contemporary areas of the subject. The Class 12 Biology Syllabus 2023-24 also aims at emphasizing the underlying principles common to animals, plants, and microorganisms and highlighting the relationship of Biology with other areas of knowledge.
Biology Class 12 Syllabus 2023-24
As per the Biology Class 12 Syllabus 2023-24, the Biology paper will comprise 100 marks altogether. Wherein, 70 Marks will be given on theory paper and the remaining 30 Marks will be given on Practical. The Biology Class 12 Syllabus 2023-24 plays a great role in other competitive exams such as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – NEET, Indian Army BSc Nursing Entrance Exam, Nursing entrance exam – AIIMS Nursing, Veterinary Entrance Exam – Rajasthan Pre Veterinary Test (RPVT), Veterinary Entrance Exam – UP Pre-Veterinary Entrance Test. Have a look over the CBSE 12th Biology Syllabus 2023-24 given below to score well as Class 12th Biology plays a key role in deciding the career of students ahead.
| CBSE Class 12 Biology Syllabus 2023-24 | ||
| Unit | Title | Marks |
| VI | Reproduction | 16 |
| VII | Genetics and Evolution | 20 |
| VIII | Biology and Human Welfare | 12 |
| IX | Biotechnology and its Applications | 12 |
| X | Ecology and Environment | 10 |
| Total | 70 | |
CBSE 12th Biology Syllabus 2023-24 (Chapter-Wise)
The chapter-wise CBSE 12th Biology Syllabus 2023-24 has been given below in this section for the reference of the students. The CBSE Class 12 Biology Syllabus 2023-24 has been designed to provide the students with better concepts so that they can score well in their board exams. Students are advised to complete the syllabus much before their exams so that they can revise the topics properly. Scroll through the page to know the chapters mentioned in the CBSE Class 12 Syllabus 2023-24 for Biology.
Unit-VI Reproduction
Chapter 2: 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 dispersal and fruit formation.
Chapter-3: Human Reproduction
- Male and female reproductive systems;
- Microscopic anatomy of testis and ovary;
- Gametogenesis -spermatogenesis, and oogenesis;
- Menstrual cycle;
- Fertilization, embryo development up to blastocyst formation, implantation;
- Pregnancy and placenta formation (elementary idea); parturition (elementary idea); lactation (elementary idea).
Chapter-4: Reproductive Health
- Need for reproductive health and prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs);
- 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)
Unit-VII Genetics and Evolution
Chapter-5: Principles of Inheritance and Variation
- 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, and honey bees;
- Linkage and crossing over; sex-linked inheritance – hemophilia, color blindness;
- Mendelian disorders in humans – thalassemia; chromosomal disorders in humans;
- Down’s syndrome, Turner’s, and Klinefelter’s syndromes.
Chapter-6: 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, Human, and rice genome projects;
- DNA fingerprinting.
Chapter-7: Evolution
- Origin of life; biological evolution and evidence for biological evolution (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.
Unit-VIII Biology and Human Welfare
Chapter-8: Human Health and Diseases
- Pathogens;
- Parasites causing human diseases (malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filariasis, ascariasis, typhoid, pneumonia, common cold, amoebiasis, ring worm) and their control;
- Basic concepts of immunology – vaccines; cancer, HIV, and AIDS;
- Adolescence – drug and alcohol abuse.
Chapter-10: Microbes in Human Welfare
- Microbes in food processing, industrial production, sewage treatment, energy generation, and microbes as bio-control agents and bio-fertilizers.
- Antibiotics; production and judicious use.
Unit-IX Biotechnology and its Applications
Chapter-11: Biotechnology – Principles and Processes
- Genetic Engineering (Recombinant DNA Technology).
Chapter-12: Biotechnology and its Applications
- Application of biotechnology in health and agriculture: Human insulin and vaccine production, stem cell technology, gene therapy;
- Genetically modified organisms – Bt crops;
- Transgenic animals;
- Biosafety issues, biopiracy, and patents.
Unit-X Ecology and Environment
Chapter-13: Organisms and Populations
- Population interactions – mutualism, competition, predation, parasitism; population attributes – growth, birth rate, death rate, age distribution. (Topics excluded: Organism and its Environment, Major Abiotic Factors, Responses to Abioitic Factors, Adaptations)
Chapter-14: Ecosystem
- Ecosystems: Patterns, components; productivity and decomposition; energy flow; pyramids of number, biomass, energy (Topics excluded: Ecological Succession and Nutrient Cycles)
Chapter-15: Biodiversity and its Conservation
- Biodiversity-Concept, patterns, importance;
- Loss of biodiversity;
- Biodiversity conservation;
- Hotspots, endangered organisms, extinction, Red Data Book, Sacred Groves, biosphere reserves, national parks, wildlife, sanctuaries, and Ramsar sites.
CBSE Class 12 Biology Syllabus 2023-24 for Practical
The evaluation scheme consists of the following sections- One Major Experiment of 5 marks, One Minor Experiment of 4 marks, Slide preparation of 5 marks, Spotting of 7 marks, Practical Record + Viva Voce of 4 marks and Investigatory Project and its Project Record + Viva Voce of 5 marks. All the sections combined consist of 30 marks. Break up of marks for each section given below in table-
| Class 12th Biology Practical Evaluation Scheme | |
| Particulars | Marks |
| One Major Experiment 5 | 5 |
| One Minor Experiment 2 & 3 | 4 |
| Slide Preparation 1& 4 | 5 |
| Spotting | 7 |
| Practical Record + Viva Voce | 4 |
| Investigatory Project and its Project Record + Viva Voce | 5 |
| Total | 30 |
A. List of Experiments
- Prepare a temporary mount to observe pollen germination.
- Study the plant population density by quadrat method.
- Study the plant population frequency by quadrat method.
- Prepare a temporary mount of the onion root tip to study mitosis.
- Isolate DNA from available plant materials such as spinach, green pea seeds, papaya, etc.
B. Study and observer the following (Spotting):
- Flowers are adapted to pollination by different agencies (wind, insects, birds).
- Pollen germination on stigma through a permanent slide or scanning electron micrograph.
- Identification of stages of gamete development, i.e., T.S. of testis and T.S. of ovary through permanent slides (from grasshopper/mice).
- Meiosis in onion bud cells or grasshopper testis through permanent slides.
- T.S. of blastula through permanent slides (Mammalian).
- Mendelian inheritance uses seeds of different colors/sizes of any plant.
- Prepared pedigree charts of any one of the genetic traits such as rolling of tongue, blood groups, ear lobes, widow’s peak, and color blindness.
- Controlled pollination – emasculation, tagging, and bagging.
- Common disease-causing organisms like Ascaris, Entamoeba, Plasmodium, and any fungus-causing ringworm through permanent slides, models, or virtual images or specimens. Comment on symptoms of diseases that they cause.
- Models specimen showing symbolic association in root modules of leguminous plants, Cuscuta on the host, lichens.
- Flashcards models show examples of homologous and analogous organs.
Prescribed Books
- Biology, Class-XII, Published by NCERT
- Other related books and manuals brought out by NCERT (consider multimedia also)
- Biology Supplementary Material (Revised). Available on the CBSE website.
Important Areas to Focus
As the Present Curriculum of the Syllabus gives 20 marks weightage to the Unit relating to Genetics and Evolution which covers chapters such as Principles of inheritance and variation, Molecular Basis of Inheritance, and Evolution. Under these chapters, topics such as Mendelian Inheritance, Chromosomal theory of inheritance, Sex determination, Mendelian disorders, DNA replication, Transcription, Translation, DNA fingerprinting, Darwin’s contribution, Gene flow, and gene drift are the important areas that you should focus on. Another area to focus on is Reproduction which covers 16 Marks. This includes topics of sexual reproduction, Human reproduction, and Reproductive health which is to be given importance. Biology and human welfare which covers 12 Marks out of 70 Marks. Biotechnology covers 12 Marks and the remaining marks, that is, 10 Marks covered are related to the environment and Ecology.
Special Advice for Students
Dear Students, As said by Manolis Votsis, “Success is always a process, never an event. A failure is always an event, never a process”. As said above, success is not a one-day event rather it’s a process that is to be followed consistently on the daily basis so make your study plan on a daily basis and try to stick to your timetable so that you complete your syllabus within a defined time frame. Start practicing with your syllabus with the help of prescribed books, and sample papers. Once you are done with the syllabus, practice, then jump to start your revision again. Also for revision make plans on daily basis, weekly basis, and monthly basis. Multiple revision is the key to success. Study hard, put in all your efforts, and come out with flying colors.