NEST Syllabus 2027: Subject-Wise Topics, Chapter Weightage and PDF Download

Units and dimensions; dimensional analysis; significant figures; measurement errors — least count, random, and systematic; SI units for fundamental and derived quantities.

Kinematics in 1D and 2D; Newton’s laws of motion; friction; work, energy, and power; momentum and collisions; rotational motion; moment of inertia; angular momentum; gravitation (Kepler’s laws, orbital and escape velocity); fluid statics and dynamics (Bernoulli’s equation, viscosity, surface tension); elasticity (stress, strain, Young’s modulus).

Simple harmonic motion; energy in SHM; damped and forced oscillations; resonance; progressive wave motion; superposition of waves; standing waves; beats; Doppler effect.

Kinetic theory of gases; ideal gas law; root mean square, average, and most probable velocities; zeroth, first, and second laws of thermodynamics; Carnot cycle and efficiency; thermal expansion; modes of heat transfer — conduction, convection, radiation; Stefan’s law; Newton’s law of cooling.

Coulomb’s law; electric field and potential; Gauss’s law; capacitors and dielectrics; current electricity (Ohm’s law, Kirchhoff’s laws, Wheatstone bridge, potentiometer); magnetic effects of current (Biot-Savart law, Ampere’s law, force on current-carrying conductors); electromagnetic induction (Faraday’s law, Lenz’s law, mutual and self-inductance); AC circuits (impedance, resonance, power factor); transformers.

Ray optics: reflection at mirrors, refraction at surfaces, total internal reflection, lenses, prisms, optical instruments (microscope, telescope); wave optics: Huygens’ principle, Young’s double slit experiment, interference, single slit diffraction, polarization by reflection and scattering.

Photoelectric effect; de Broglie hypothesis and wave-particle duality; Bohr’s atomic model; hydrogen spectra; X-rays (characteristic and continuous, Moseley’s law); nuclear structure; radioactivity (alpha, beta, gamma decay; half-life); nuclear fission and fusion; semiconductors (p-n junction, diodes, transistors, logic gates).

Bohr atomic model; quantum numbers; electronic configuration; ionic, covalent, and metallic bonding; VSEPR theory; hybridization (sp, sp2, sp3); dipole moment; hydrogen bonding; molecular orbital theory (bonding and antibonding orbitals).

Kinetic theory of gases; ideal gas equation; van der Waals equation; real gases; properties of liquids (surface tension, viscosity); solid state — crystal types, unit cells, packing efficiency, crystal defects.

Laws of thermodynamics; enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy; Hess’s law; Le Chatelier’s principle; equilibrium constants (Kp and Kc); acid-base equilibria (Ka, Kb); buffer solutions; solubility product (Ksp); Henderson-Hasselbalch equation.

Electrochemical cells; standard electrode potentials; EMF; Nernst equation; electrolysis and Faraday’s laws; reaction rate and rate constants; order and molecularity; Arrhenius equation; integrated rate laws (zero, first, and second order); collision theory.

Concentration terms (molarity, molality, mole fraction); Raoult’s law; elevation of boiling point; depression of freezing point; osmotic pressure; abnormal molar masses and van’t Hoff factor.

Periodic trends (atomic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, electronegativity, oxidation state); s-block elements (alkali and alkaline earth metals — properties, compounds, uses); p-block elements (Groups 13–18 — key compounds, oxoacids, allotropes); d-block transition metals (general properties, variable oxidation states, coloured compounds, catalytic behaviour); f-block (lanthanides and actinides — brief overview).

Werner’s theory; IUPAC nomenclature; isomerism (geometric and optical); crystal field theory (octahedral and tetrahedral splitting); magnetic properties (high-spin vs low-spin); biological importance of coordination compounds (haemoglobin, chlorophyll).

IUPAC nomenclature; structural and stereoisomerism; inductive and resonance effects; hyperconjugation; reactive intermediates (carbocations, carbanions, free radicals); reaction mechanisms (SN1, SN2, E1, E2); hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons); haloalkanes and haloarenes.

Alcohols, phenols, and ethers; aldehydes and ketones (nucleophilic addition reactions, aldol condensation); carboxylic acids and derivatives; amines; polymers (addition and condensation polymerisation); carbohydrates (mono-, di-, polysaccharides); amino acids and protein structure; nucleic acid chemistry; lipids.

Sets, relations, and functions; complex numbers (modulus, argument, polar form); quadratic equations and inequalities; arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic progressions; permutations and combinations; binomial theorem; matrices (types, operations, inverse, transpose); determinants (properties, cofactors, Cramer’s rule).

Trigonometric ratios and identities; allied angle formulas; compound, multiple, and sub-multiple angle formulas; inverse trigonometric functions (domain, range, principal values); properties and solutions of triangles (sine rule, cosine rule, area formula).

Cartesian and polar coordinate systems; straight lines (slope, intercept, various equation forms, distance formulas, angle between lines); circles (standard form, tangent and chord conditions, family of circles); conic sections — parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola (standard equations, tangent and normal, eccentricity).

Limits and continuity; differentiation (chain rule, implicit differentiation, parametric differentiation, logarithmic differentiation); applications of derivatives (tangents and normals, maxima and minima, rate of change, Rolle’s and Lagrange’s Mean Value Theorems); indefinite and definite integration; integration by substitution, by parts, and by partial fractions; area under curves; differential equations (variable separable, homogeneous, linear first-order).

Vector algebra (addition, scalar multiplication, dot product, cross product, scalar triple product); direction cosines and direction ratios; equations of lines and planes in 3D; angle between lines and planes; distance between skew lines; distance from a point to a plane.

Measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode); measures of dispersion (variance, standard deviation, coefficient of variation); classical probability; conditional probability and Bayes’ theorem; independent events; binomial distribution; random variables and their expectations.

Cell theory; prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cell organization; cell organelles (nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplast, ER, Golgi apparatus, ribosomes, lysosomes, peroxisomes, centrosome); fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane; active and passive transport; cell wall composition; cell division — stages and significance of mitosis and meiosis; checkpoints in the cell cycle.

Carbohydrates (monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides — structure and function); proteins (amino acid structure, peptide bonds, primary to quaternary structure, denaturation); lipids (saturated and unsaturated fats, phospholipids, steroids); nucleic acids (DNA vs RNA structure and types); enzymes (active site, lock-and-key and induced-fit models, factors affecting activity, competitive and non-competitive inhibition, allosteric regulation, coenzymes).

Mendelian genetics (laws of segregation and independent assortment, monohybrid and dihybrid crosses); non-Mendelian inheritance (codominance, incomplete dominance, linkage, crossing over, sex-linked traits, epistasis); DNA replication (enzymes and mechanism in prokaryotes and eukaryotes); transcription and post-transcriptional modifications; genetic code (properties, codons); translation (ribosome structure, initiation, elongation, termination); gene regulation (lac operon, trp operon); mutation types; recombinant DNA technology (restriction enzymes, PCR, gel electrophoresis, cloning vectors, transformation).

Origin of life (Miller-Urey experiment, primordial soup hypothesis); Lamarckism vs Darwinism; natural selection (types: directional, stabilising, disruptive); mechanisms of evolution (mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, natural selection); Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and conditions for its violation; speciation (allopatric and sympatric); fossil evidence and geological timescale; molecular evolution (homologous and analogous structures).

Plant morphology (root, stem, leaf types and modifications); plant anatomy (meristematic and permanent tissues); photosynthesis (light-dependent reactions, Calvin cycle, photorespiration, C3 and C4 plants, CAM pathway); plant respiration (glycolysis, Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, fermentation); water relations and mineral transport (osmosis, transpiration, active uptake); plant hormones (auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, ABA — functions and interactions); plant reproduction (pollination, double fertilization, seed and fruit development).

Digestion and absorption (alimentary canal, digestive enzymes, absorption sites); respiration (lung anatomy, mechanism of breathing, gas exchange, oxygen and CO2 transport, role of haemoglobin); circulation (cardiac cycle, cardiac output, blood components, ABO and Rh blood groups, lymphatic system); excretion (kidney structure, nephron, urine formation — filtration, reabsorption, secretion; osmoregulation); nervous system (neuron structure, synapse, nerve impulse, reflex arc, brain regions and functions); endocrine system (glands, hormones, feedback regulation); musculoskeletal system (muscle fibre types, sliding filament theory); reproductive system (gametogenesis, fertilization, embryonic development, placenta).

Levels of ecological organization; ecosystem components (biotic and abiotic); food chains, food webs, and trophic levels; energy flow (10% law, ecological pyramids of number, biomass, and energy); biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nitrogen, water, phosphorus); population ecology (exponential and logistic growth, carrying capacity, interspecific interactions); biodiversity (alpha, beta, gamma; hotspots; threats); conservation strategies; environmental issues (global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, deforestation, pollution).