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NEET Physics Syllabus 2027 and Exam Pattern: Questions, Marks, What's In and Out
NEET physics has 45 questions worth 180 marks, all compulsory. Each is a multiple-choice question with four options: a correct answer earns +4, a wrong answer costs −1, and an unanswered question scores 0. Physics shares one 180-minute pen-and-paper paper with Chemistry (45 questions) and Biology (90 questions), for a total of 180 questions and 720 marks. The syllabus is the 20-unit physics list notified by the National Medical Commission (NMC). This is the pattern in the NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin, and when we checked on 29 September 2026 no 2027 bulletin or syllabus had been published.
This guide is part of our NEET Physics tutor in Gurgaon series. It sets out the official NEET physics exam pattern, what happened in the 2026 exam cycle, the NEET physics syllabus unit by unit, how each unit maps to the NCERT Class 11 and Class 12 chapters, which NEET topics the CBSE board syllabus does not name, and how to plan for 2027 before the new documents appear.
How many questions are in NEET physics?
There are 45 physics questions in NEET, and all 45 must be attempted within the same paper; there are no optional physics questions. At 4 marks each, physics is worth 180 of the 720 marks, exactly one quarter of the paper.
| Subject | Questions | Marks | Share of total marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physics | 45 | 180 | 25% |
| Chemistry | 45 | 180 | 25% |
| Biology (Botany and Zoology) | 90 | 360 | 50% |
| Total | 180 | 720 | 100% |
Source: NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin, Chapter 4 (Examination Scheme), published by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on the official NEET (UG) website. The bulletin states that the question paper "will consist of 180 compulsory questions which must be attempted by the candidates in 180 minutes".
There is no separate time for physics: you decide how much of the 180 minutes to give it.
NEET physics exam pattern: the official details
The NEET (UG) 2026 bulletin sets out the full pattern. Everything in the table below is taken from it; nothing is estimated.
| Feature | NEET (UG) 2026, as stated in the Information Bulletin |
|---|---|
| Physics questions | 45, all compulsory |
| Physics marks | 180 |
| Question type | Multiple-choice questions with four options and a single correct answer or best option |
| Correct answer | +4 (for the correct answer or the most appropriate answer) |
| Incorrect answer | −1 |
| Unanswered | 0 |
| Whole paper | 180 questions, 720 marks, Physics, Chemistry and Biology (Botany and Zoology) |
| Duration | 180 minutes (3 hours), 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM IST on the scheduled date of 3 May 2026; compensatory time of one hour for eligible PwD/PwBD candidates |
| Mode | Pen and paper (OMR answer sheet), single day, single shift |
| Languages | 13: Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu |
When a question has a problem
If more than one option is correct, +4 goes to those who marked any correct option. If all options are correct, +4 goes to everyone who attempted the question. If no option is correct, or a question is wrong or dropped, every candidate who appeared gets +4. These rules explain why the final answer key sometimes differs from the provisional one.
How physics counts in a tie
If two candidates have equal total marks, the 2026 bulletin breaks the tie on higher marks in Biology first, then Chemistry, then Physics. After that it looks at the proportion of incorrect to correct answers, overall and then subject by subject in the same order, and finally a random process overseen by an independent expert committee. Physics is therefore third in the tie-break, but it is still a quarter of the marks that decide whether a tie arises at all.
What happened in the NEET (UG) 2026 exam
NEET (UG) 2026 was first held on 3 May 2026. On 12 May 2026, NTA announced in a press release that, with the approval of the Government of India, it had decided to cancel the examination conducted on 3 May 2026 and re-conduct it. We describe this only as NTA's own documents state it.
The key facts from NTA's notices about the re-examination:
- Date and mode. The re-examination was held on 21 June 2026 (Sunday) in pen-and-paper mode in 13 languages (public notice of 15 May 2026). Registration and exam centre choices were carried forward, and no fresh fee was charged.
- Timing. The window ran from 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM. NTA's public notice of 12 June 2026 said the examination window had been extended to 195 minutes, including the time needed for formalities such as signing attendance sheets, so that candidates could use the intended examination time.
- Rough work. The same notice said candidates would get four rough-work pages instead of two, with two placed at the start of the booklet and two at the end.
- Result. The provisional answer key was published on 25 June 2026, scanned OMR sheets and recorded responses were shown from 13 to 15 July, and the final answer key and result were declared on 16 July 2026 (NTA press release, 16 July 2026).
The notices did not announce a change to the number of questions, the marks or the marking scheme; the 15 May notice said the guidelines would be the same as in the Information Bulletin. For preparation, the 45-question, 180-mark physics section is the pattern to practise for. Watch the official website for the 2027 bulletin, which will confirm the timing and format for the next exam.
What changed, and what did not
Only the official documents are used here. The pattern changed in 2025; the syllabus has not changed since 2024.
| Year | What the official document says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 pattern | NEET (UG) "will revert back to pre-COVID pattern" (public notice dated 25 January 2025): 180 compulsory questions in 180 minutes, 45 in physics | NEET (UG) 2025 Information Bulletin, section 3.2 |
| 2025 syllabus | "No change in the syllabus of NEET (UG) – 2025 with respect to the previous year" | NEET (UG) 2025 Information Bulletin, syllabus FAQ |
| 2026 syllabus | NMC's Undergraduate Medical Education Board finalised the NEET (UG) 2026 syllabus in a public notice dated 22 December 2025; the bulletin FAQ says there is no change with respect to the previous year | NMC notice (posted on the NTA NEET site in January 2026); NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin, Appendix III and FAQ |
| 2026 pattern | 180 compulsory questions in 180 minutes, pen and paper, as in 2025 (per NMC letter dated 5 December 2025) | NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin, Chapter 4 |
| 2027 | No bulletin or syllabus published when we checked on 29 September 2026 | neet.nta.nic.in |
What this means for you:
- If a book or guide describes optional physics questions or a paper longer than 180 questions, it describes the older format, not the current one. Use it for practice questions, but ignore its advice on choosing which questions to attempt.
- If a book includes a chapter that is not in the 20 units below, for example a chapter on communication systems, check it against the current NMC list. If the topic is not named there, it is not in the NEET syllabus.
- For 2027, the 2026 syllabus is the reference until NMC publishes a new one. The last two years brought no syllabus change, but that is not a promise about 2027, so check when the new documents appear.
We do not list topic-by-topic differences between today's syllabus and the pre-2024 syllabus, because we could not access the older official NMC document to check them. Compare any older book against the current list instead.
NEET physics syllabus: all 20 units
The NEET physics syllabus has 20 units: 10 based on Class 11 physics, 9 based on Class 12 physics, and one unit of experimental skills drawn from both years. The table summarises the topics each unit names in the NMC "Syllabus for NEET (UG) – 2026", which is reproduced in the bulletin and posted on the NEET website as the official NEET (UG) 2026 syllabus (PDF).
| Unit | Topics named in the official syllabus (summarised) |
|---|---|
| 1. Physics and Measurement | SI units, fundamental and derived units, least count, significant figures, errors in measurement, dimensions and dimensional analysis |
| 2. Kinematics | Frame of reference, motion in a straight line, position-time and velocity-time graphs, uniformly accelerated motion, vectors (addition, resolution, scalar and vector products), relative velocity, projectile motion, uniform circular motion |
| 3. Laws of Motion | Newton's laws, momentum and impulse, conservation of linear momentum, equilibrium of concurrent forces, static, kinetic and rolling friction, circular motion on level and banked roads |
| 4. Work, Energy and Power | Work by constant and variable forces, work-energy theorem, power, spring potential energy, conservative and non-conservative forces, motion in a vertical circle, elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions |
| 5. Rotational Motion | Centre of mass, torque, angular momentum and its conservation, moment of inertia, radius of gyration, parallel and perpendicular axes theorems, equilibrium of rigid bodies, equations of rotational motion |
| 6. Gravitation | Universal law, variation of g with altitude and depth, Kepler's laws, gravitational potential and potential energy, escape velocity, orbital velocity, time period and energy of a satellite |
| 7. Properties of Solids and Liquids | Stress, strain, Hooke's law, elastic moduli; fluid pressure, Pascal's law; viscosity, Stokes' law, terminal velocity, streamline and turbulent flow, Bernoulli's principle; surface tension, capillary rise; thermal expansion, calorimetry, latent heat; conduction, convection and radiation |
| 8. Thermodynamics | Zeroth, first and second laws, heat, work and internal energy, isothermal and adiabatic processes, reversible and irreversible processes |
| 9. Kinetic Theory of Gases | Equation of state, kinetic theory assumptions and pressure, RMS speed, degrees of freedom, equipartition and specific heats, mean free path, Avogadro's number |
| 10. Oscillations and Waves | Periodic motion, SHM and its energy, spring oscillations, simple pendulum; transverse and longitudinal waves, progressive waves, superposition, standing waves in strings and organ pipes, harmonics, beats |
| 11. Electrostatics | Coulomb's law, superposition, electric field and dipoles, Gauss's law applications, potential and equipotentials, potential energy, conductors, dielectrics, capacitors in series and parallel, parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectric, energy stored |
| 12. Current Electricity | Drift velocity and mobility, Ohm's law, V-I characteristics, resistivity and its temperature dependence, series and parallel resistors, internal resistance and emf, cells in series and parallel, Kirchhoff's laws, Wheatstone bridge, metre bridge |
| 13. Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism | Biot-Savart law, Ampere's law (straight wire and solenoid), force on moving charges and on conductors, force between parallel currents, torque on a current loop, moving coil galvanometer and its conversion to ammeter and voltmeter, magnetic dipoles, bar magnet, para-, dia- and ferromagnetism |
| 14. Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents | Faraday's law, Lenz's law, eddy currents, self and mutual inductance, peak and RMS values, reactance and impedance, LCR series circuit and resonance, power in AC circuits, wattless current, AC generator and transformer |
| 15. Electromagnetic Waves | Displacement current, characteristics and transverse nature of EM waves, the electromagnetic spectrum and its applications |
| 16. Optics | Mirrors and mirror formula, refraction, lens formula and lens maker's formula, total internal reflection, power and combination of lenses, prism, microscope and telescope; wavefronts and Huygens' principle, Young's double-slit experiment, single-slit diffraction, polarisation, Brewster's law and Polaroids |
| 17. Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation | Photoelectric effect, Hertz and Lenard's observations, Einstein's photoelectric equation, matter waves and the de Broglie relation |
| 18. Atoms and Nuclei | Alpha-particle scattering, Rutherford and Bohr models, energy levels and hydrogen spectrum, nuclear composition and size, mass-energy relation, mass defect, binding energy per nucleon, fission and fusion |
| 19. Electronic Devices | Semiconductors, p-n junction diode characteristics, diode as a rectifier, LED, photodiode, solar cell, Zener diode as a voltage regulator, logic gates (OR, AND, NOT, NAND, NOR) |
| 20. Experimental Skills | 18 listed experiments and activities (see below) |
The table is a summary. Before you mark a topic as "not in the syllabus", read the exact wording in the official PDF; short phrases are easy to miss.
From our tutors: at the start of the year we print the official physics syllabus, two pages long, and ask the student to tick each phrase as it is taught and again when it has been practised with questions. By the end of Class 12 the sheet shows any gap at a glance. It takes ten minutes to set up and it is far more reliable than trusting that a coaching module or a school textbook "covers everything".
Class 11 and Class 12: the units mapped to NCERT chapters
Every NEET physics unit maps onto one or more chapters of the NCERT Physics textbooks for Class 11 and Class 12. Units 1 to 10 come from Class 11 and units 11 to 19 from Class 12. The chapter names below are those of the NCERT textbooks prescribed in the CBSE Senior Secondary Physics curriculum for 2026–27.
Class 11 (NCERT Physics Part I and Part II)
| NEET physics unit | NCERT Class 11 chapter(s) |
|---|---|
| 1. Physics and Measurement | 1. Units and Measurements |
| 2. Kinematics | 2. Motion in a Straight Line; 3. Motion in a Plane |
| 3. Laws of Motion | 4. Laws of Motion |
| 4. Work, Energy and Power | 5. Work, Energy and Power |
| 5. Rotational Motion | 6. System of Particles and Rotational Motion |
| 6. Gravitation | 7. Gravitation |
| 7. Properties of Solids and Liquids | 8. Mechanical Properties of Solids; 9. Mechanical Properties of Fluids; 10. Thermal Properties of Matter |
| 8. Thermodynamics | 11. Thermodynamics |
| 9. Kinetic Theory of Gases | 12. Kinetic Theory |
| 10. Oscillations and Waves | 13. Oscillations; 14. Waves |
Class 12 (NCERT Physics Part I and Part II)
| NEET physics unit | NCERT Class 12 chapter(s) |
|---|---|
| 11. Electrostatics | 1. Electric Charges and Fields; 2. Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance |
| 12. Current Electricity | 3. Current Electricity |
| 13. Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism | 4. Moving Charges and Magnetism; 5. Magnetism and Matter |
| 14. Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents | 6. Electromagnetic Induction; 7. Alternating Current |
| 15. Electromagnetic Waves | 8. Electromagnetic Waves |
| 16. Optics | 9. Ray Optics and Optical Instruments; 10. Wave Optics |
| 17. Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation | 11. Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter |
| 18. Atoms and Nuclei | 12. Atoms; 13. Nuclei |
| 19. Electronic Devices | 14. Semiconductor Electronics: Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits |
The count of units is not a guide to marks. Ten units come from Class 11 and nine from Class 12, but the official documents do not say how many questions come from each year or each unit. For our method of estimating which chapters to prioritise from official papers, see our NEET physics chapter-wise weightage guide. Whatever the weightage, every unit can be asked, so none can be skipped.
Unit 20: experimental skills
Unit 20 asks for "familiarity with the basic approach and observations" of 18 experiments and activities. NEET is a written paper, so these are tested as questions about readings, graphs, errors and set-ups, not as practical work in the exam hall.
| Area | Experiments listed in Unit 20 |
|---|---|
| Measuring instruments | Vernier calipers (internal and external diameter, depth of a vessel); screw gauge (thickness of a sheet, diameter of a wire); metre scale (mass of an object by the principle of moments) |
| Mechanics and properties of matter | Simple pendulum (dissipation of energy from a graph of amplitude squared against time); Young's modulus of a metallic wire; surface tension by capillary rise and the effect of detergents; coefficient of viscosity from terminal velocity |
| Heat and sound | Speed of sound in air using a resonance tube; specific heat capacity of a solid and a liquid by the method of mixtures |
| Electricity | Resistivity of a wire using a metre bridge; resistance of a wire using Ohm's law; resistance and figure of merit of a galvanometer by half deflection |
| Optics | Focal length of a convex mirror, a concave mirror and a convex lens by the parallax method; angle of deviation against angle of incidence for a prism; refractive index of a glass slab with a travelling microscope |
| Electronic devices | Characteristic curves of a p-n junction diode and of a Zener diode (with its reverse breakdown voltage); identifying a diode, LED, resistor and capacitor from a mixed collection |
The most useful preparation is to know, for each experiment, what is measured, what graph is drawn and what its slope or intercept gives, and the main sources of error.
Not sure which parts of the NEET physics syllabus your school or coaching has actually covered? Book a free NEET Physics demo class in Gurgaon. The tutor will go through the official unit list with you and mark the gaps.
Book a Free NEET Physics Demo +91 92204 75088NEET physics vs CBSE physics: topics the board list does not name
The NEET syllabus and the CBSE board syllabus overlap heavily, but they are not the same list. Comparing the NMC NEET (UG) 2026 physics syllabus with the CBSE Senior Secondary Physics curriculum for 2026–27, several topics are named in the NEET list but not in the CBSE theory syllabus, or are limited there to "qualitative" treatment.
| NEET unit | Named in the NEET syllabus | How the CBSE 2026–27 theory syllabus treats it |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Rotational Motion | Parallel and perpendicular axes theorems and their applications | Lists values of moments of inertia for simple objects "(no derivation)"; the theorems are not named |
| 12. Current Electricity | Wheatstone bridge and metre bridge | Names the Wheatstone bridge; the metre bridge is not named in the theory list |
| 13. Magnetic Effects | Ampere's law applied to a solenoid; field of a bar magnet along and perpendicular to its axis | Straight solenoid "only qualitative treatment"; bar magnet field and torque "qualitative treatment only" |
| 14. EMI and AC | Eddy currents | Not named |
| 16. Optics | Polarisation, plane-polarised light, Brewster's law, uses of Polaroids | Not named in the Wave Optics chapter |
| 19. Electronic Devices | LED, photodiode, solar cell, Zener diode as a voltage regulator, logic gates (OR, AND, NOT, NAND, NOR) | Lists energy bands, p-n junction, diode characteristics and the diode as a rectifier only |
CBSE's curriculum also notes that content marked in NCERT textbooks as excluded for 2026–27 will not be tested in school exams. For NEET, only the NMC list decides what is in the syllabus.
In the NEET syllabus but not in the current NCERT textbook
A few named NEET topics are not in the current NCERT Physics textbooks at all, so "finish NCERT" does not finish the NEET syllabus. We checked the NCERT chapter PDFs on ncert.nic.in on 29 September 2026.
| NEET unit and topic | What the current NCERT chapter covers |
|---|---|
| 5. Parallel and perpendicular axes theorems | Class 11, Chapter 6 (System of Particles and Rotational Motion) gives moments of inertia of simple objects but does not state or use the two theorems |
| 14. Eddy currents | Class 12, Chapter 6 (Electromagnetic Induction) does not mention eddy currents |
| 16. Brewster's law | Class 12, Chapter 10 (Wave Optics), section 10.7, covers polarisation with Polaroids and Malus' law, but not Brewster's law |
| 19. LED, photodiode, solar cell, Zener diode as a voltage regulator, logic gates | Class 12, Chapter 14 ends with section 14.7, "Application of junction diode as a rectifier"; none of these devices or the logic gates are covered |
Learn these topics from a reference book and practise them with questions; they are short, so a few focused sessions usually cover them. Our guide to the best books for NEET physics explains how to choose one.
The difference also runs the other way. CBSE depth markers such as "no derivation" or "qualitative only" tell a board student how deeply the school will test a topic. NEET does not use those markers, and it can ask a numerical on any named topic. A Class 12 student preparing for both should study to the NEET depth and then practise the board's answer-writing style separately.
What the marking scheme means for physics
With +4 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one, accuracy matters more than the number of questions attempted. Here is how the arithmetic works for physics alone.
Worked example: two ways to score in physics
| Student A | Student B | |
|---|---|---|
| Attempted | 45 (all) | 40 |
| Correct | 30 | 32 |
| Wrong | 15 | 8 |
| Unanswered | 0 | 5 |
| Physics score | 30 × 4 − 15 × 1 = 105 | 32 × 4 − 8 × 1 = 120 |
Student B attempted fewer questions but scored 15 marks more, because each wrong answer costs a mark and each extra correct answer gains four. The lesson is not "attempt fewer questions"; it is "raise accuracy first". Most marks lost in physics are not from hard questions but from set-up errors, unit slips and misread graphs on questions the student could have solved.
Is guessing worth it?
Mathematically, a pure guess among four options has an expected value of 0.25 × 4 − 0.75 × 1 = +0.25 marks. If you can confidently rule out one option, the expected value rises to about +0.67; if you can rule out two, it becomes +1.5. So an informed guess after eliminating options is worth making, while a blind guess adds little and adds risk.
Time for physics
The paper allows 180 minutes for 180 questions, one minute per question on average. Physics questions usually take longer than biology questions because many need a calculation, so many students give physics more than its average share of about 45 minutes. Whatever split you choose, practise it in full-length papers.
From our tutors: when we review a NEET mock with a student, we separate wrong physics answers into "could not do" and "could do but got wrong". For most students the second group is larger. That is good news, because those marks come back through habits (writing units, drawing the diagram, checking the sign) rather than through learning new physics.
Planning for NEET 2027 before the new documents appear
You do not need to wait for the 2027 bulletin to start preparing. The 2025 and 2026 syllabi were unchanged, and the current pattern has been in place since 2025. Treat the 2026 documents as your working reference, and check for updates on a schedule.
- Now: print the NMC NEET (UG) 2026 physics syllabus and use it as your checklist. Map each unit to your NCERT chapters with the tables above.
- Through Class 11 and 12: after each chapter, practise NEET-style questions from that unit, including the topics your school board does not test. Our NEET physics PYQ strategy explains how to use past questions chapter by chapter.
- When NMC publishes the 2027 syllabus: compare it line by line with the 2026 list. If anything is added or removed, adjust your checklist that week.
- When NTA publishes the 2027 Information Bulletin: confirm the number of questions, marking scheme, duration, mode and exam date. Update your mock-test timing if anything has changed.
- In the final months: take full-length, timed papers in the official format and review each one for physics errors.
Check only official sources: neet.nta.nic.in for the bulletin and notices, and the NMC syllabus as linked from it. A "new syllabus" or "pattern change" on social media is not official until the document appears there.
Syllabus mistakes our tutors see
- Using the school syllabus or NCERT as the NEET syllabus. Both leave out several NEET topics, especially in electronic devices and optics. Use the NMC list.
- Following advice written for the older paper. Strategies about choosing optional questions no longer apply; all 45 physics questions are compulsory.
- Skipping Class 11 units in Class 12. Ten of the 19 content units come from Class 11, and mechanics underpins Class 12 physics.
- Ignoring Unit 20. Experimental skills questions are short and scoring if you know each experiment's graph and error sources.
- Studying "qualitative only" topics qualitatively. A board depth marker does not limit NEET, which can set a numerical on any named topic.
- Trusting unofficial "2027 syllabus" lists. Until NMC publishes one, any 2027 list is a copy of 2026 or a guess.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are there in NEET physics?
45 questions, all compulsory, worth 180 marks. Each correct answer earns 4 marks and each wrong answer loses 1 mark, as set out in the NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin.
Is the NEET physics syllabus 2027 released?
Not when we checked on 29 September 2026. The latest official syllabus is the NMC NEET (UG) 2026 syllabus, which the 2026 bulletin says is unchanged from the previous year. Use it until NMC publishes the 2027 version.
How much time do you get for NEET physics?
There is no separate time for physics. The whole paper of 180 questions has a duration of 180 minutes, and you decide how to divide it. For the 21 June 2026 re-examination, NTA extended the window to 195 minutes to include time for formalities.
Is there negative marking in NEET physics?
Yes. A wrong answer costs 1 mark and an unanswered question scores 0. A correct answer earns 4 marks.
Is NEET physics online or offline?
Offline. The 2026 bulletin states that NEET (UG) is a single-day, single-shift exam in pen-and-paper mode, with answers marked on an OMR sheet.
Is NCERT enough for the NEET physics syllabus?
NCERT covers most of the syllabus and should be your first book, but not all of it. The current NCERT textbooks do not cover the parallel and perpendicular axes theorems, eddy currents, Brewster's law, or the LED, photodiode, solar cell, Zener diode and logic gates named in the NEET syllabus. NEET also needs much more question practice than NCERT exercises provide.
Can a home tutor help with the NEET physics syllabus?
Yes. A one-to-one tutor can check your coverage against the official list, fill the topics your school syllabus leaves out, and build accuracy with NEET-style questions. Our NEET Physics tutors teach at home across Gurgaon and Gurugram, or online.
Want a NEET physics plan built on the official syllabus, not guesswork? Book a free demo class with Ajay Vatsyayan Classes, Saraswati kunj II, Wazirabad, Sector 52, Gurugram, Haryana 122003, with 12+ years of home tuition in Gurgaon. Male and female tutors are available, at home or online.
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