If you searched for the 12th physics book pdf, the first thing to know is that NCERT publishes Class 12 Physics as two separate textbooks: Physics Part I and Physics Part II. The official PDF of both volumes is linked on this page, along with the one fact you need to pick the right one.
The textbook has fourteen chapters in total: chapters 1 to 8 sit in Physics Part I (printed pages 1-214), and chapters 9 to 14 sit in Physics Part II (printed pages 221-343). A chapter number alone therefore never tells you which book to open — you need to know which volume it belongs to.
The official 12th physics book pdf: Part I and Part II
Both volumes are in the table below, each with its chapter range, printed page range and links to its own book page and official PDFs.
| Book | Chapters | Printed pages | Book page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physics Part I | 8 | 214 | Physics Part I (coming soon) |
| Physics Part II | 6 | 123 | Physics Part II (coming soon) |
The chapter and page numbers in the table are indexed from the official NCERT PDFs, so any figure here can be checked against the book itself.
Which Class 12 Physics book do you need?
The rule in one line: chapters 1 to 8 live in Physics Part I, and chapters 9 to 14 live in Physics Part II. Everything below is how to apply that rule to whatever is in front of you.
Use one of these three checks:
- By chapter number: Chapter 1-8 means Part I; Chapter 9-14 means Part II.
- By topic: fields, currents, magnetism and waves are Part I; optics and modern physics are Part II.
- By what the teacher called it: “Part 1 / Part 2” and “Volume 1 / Volume 2” both mean the same two books.
The chapter groups split like this:
- Physics Part I holds Electric Charges and Fields, Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance, Current Electricity, Moving Charges and Magnetism, Magnetism and Matter, Electromagnetic Induction, Alternating Current and Electromagnetic Waves.
- Physics Part II holds Ray Optics and Optical Instruments, Wave Optics, Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter, Atoms, Nuclei, and Semiconductor Electronics: Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits.
The mistake to catch before you make it: chapter numbering runs continuously from 1 to 14 across both volumes, so Chapter 11 is in Part II. The part number is not the chapter number — Chapter 4 is in Part I, but Part II starts at Chapter 9.
If you have a printed copy, the split is easy to spot: Part I ends at page 214 and Part II opens at page 221.
What the two Class 12 Physics books cover
Physics Part I (pages 1-214) is the classical physics of fields and circuits. It opens with electrostatics, from Coulomb’s law (NCERT, p. 6) to Gauss’s law (NCERT, p. 29), then potential and capacitors, then current electricity with Kirchhoff’s rules (NCERT, p. 97).
It continues through magnetism and the moving coil galvanometer, electromagnetic induction, alternating current and transformers (NCERT, p. 194), and ends with electromagnetic waves.
Physics Part II (pages 221-343) is optics and modern physics. It opens with ray optics — mirrors, lenses, prisms, microscopes and telescopes, including total internal reflection (NCERT, p. 229) — and wave optics with interference, diffraction and polarisation.
Then come modern physics topics: the photoelectric effect and Einstein’s photoelectric equation (NCERT, p. 281), the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom (NCERT, p. 297), nuclei and radioactivity. The book closes with semiconductors, from the p-n junction (NCERT, p. 333) to the rectifier (NCERT, p. 338).
Related resources
For any other Class 12 subject, start at the Class 12 hub, which lists every NCERT textbook this site indexes. To reach another class, use the NCERT books directory. Each volume’s own book page, linked in the table above, carries the full chapter list and the official PDFs.
Sources and data verification
Where the figures come from: the NCERT Physics Part I and Physics Part II textbooks — the official editions published on ncert.nic.in — that this directory indexes.
What the dataset covers: 14 chapters, 337 printed pages, 191 named sections and 172 verified numbered figures, all indexed from the textbook.
It is not the CBSE syllabus or exam scheme, which is a separate, larger document owned by CBSE.
Per-chapter exercise and figure counts for Chapters 9 to 14 are still flagged for verification in our index; the chapter lists and page ranges on this page come from the official PDFs.
This listing is maintained for the academic session 2026-27.
Which authority settles what: NCERT settles textbooks, editions and official PDFs; CBSE settles curriculum, syllabus and examinations. For a textbook edition or PDF, always check NCERT, not CBSE.
Reference: NCERT Class 12 Physics textbooks, official editions on ncert.nic.in.
FAQs
How many NCERT books are there for Class 12 Physics?
Two books: Physics Part I and Physics Part II. Part I holds chapters 1 to 8 and Part II holds chapters 9 to 14, so a student working through the year needs both volumes.
Which book contains Chapter 9, Ray Optics and Optical Instruments?
Physics Part II. Chapter 9 opens Part II at page 221, and chapters 9 to 14 all sit in this volume. If your homework says Chapter 9, pick up the second book — 9 is a chapter number, not a part number.
Are the Class 12 Physics book PDFs official and free?
Yes. NCERT publishes the official Class 12 Physics PDFs free on its website, ncert.nic.in, as separate chapter files — leph101.pdf to leph108.pdf for Part I and leph201.pdf to leph206.pdf for Part II. The table above links each volume’s own page, where these official files sit.
Can I download the whole Class 12 Physics book as one PDF?
Not as a single file. NCERT publishes the book as separate chapter files — eight for Part I and six for Part II — on ncert.nic.in. Download all fourteen files and you have the complete official book.
What is the price of the NCERT Class 12 Physics book?
The printed NCERT Class 12 Physics book has a price set by NCERT that varies by edition and seller, so there is no single fixed price to quote here. The official PDFs are free to download from ncert.nic.in. Check NCERT’s website or your bookseller for the printed price.