These CBSE Class 12 Physics MCQs are updated for 2026-27, organized by chapter. They help Class 12 students learn the current Physics exam style, and build real problem-solving skill along the way.
Why Class 12 Physics MCQs Are Worth Your Time
- Neatly organized by chapter, so you can test your grip on each Physics topic one at a time.
- Answers are explained clearly for every Physics question, so the reasoning actually makes sense.
- Matched closely to the 2026 CBSE Physics textbook and current guidelines.
- Covers several formats beyond regular MCQs - Assertion-Reasoning, Case-based, and Fill-in-the-blanks for Physics.
Physics MCQs for Class 12, by Chapter
Access the latest 2026-27 question sets for Physics below. These MCQs are a solid way to check your own understanding, and spot weak areas before your exams.
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Quick Practice - Try a Few Questions First Pick a chapter below, answer a few questions instantly, then jump to the full set list for more. Q1.Like charges repel and unlike charges attract. This basic principle is a direct consequence of: Answer: (b) Coulomb's law. It describes the force between two point charges, showing that the force is repulsive for like charges and attractive for unlike charges.
Q2.According to Coulomb's law, the force between two point charges is: Answer: (a) Directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This inverse square relationship is a defining feature of the electrostatic force.
Q3.The SI unit of electric charge is the: Answer: (b) Coulomb. It's named after the French physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb, who formulated the law describing the force between charges.
Q4.Electric field lines around a positive point charge point: Answer: (b) Away from the charge, radially. This convention reflects the direction a small positive test charge would be pushed if placed nearby.
Q5.Gauss's Law relates the electric flux through a closed surface to: Answer: (b) The total charge enclosed by that surface. This law is particularly useful for calculating electric fields in situations with high symmetry.
Q1.Electric potential at a point is defined as: Answer: (b) The work done in bringing a unit positive charge from infinity to that point. It's a scalar quantity, unlike the electric field, which is a vector.
Q2.The SI unit of electric potential is the: Answer: (b) Volt. This is exactly why electric potential is often simply referred to as voltage in everyday usage.
Q3.Capacitance of a capacitor is defined as the ratio of: Answer: (a) Charge to voltage. A higher capacitance means the capacitor can store more charge for the same applied voltage.
Q4.The SI unit of capacitance is the: Answer: (b) Farad. Named after Michael Faraday, this unit is quite large in practice, so capacitors are typically rated in microfarads or picofarads.
Q5.When capacitors are connected in series, the equivalent capacitance is: Answer: (b) Less than the smallest individual capacitance in the combination. This is the opposite of what happens with capacitors in parallel, where capacitances simply add up.
Q1.Electric current is defined as: Answer: (a) The rate of flow of electric charge. It's measured in amperes, where one ampere corresponds to one coulomb of charge flowing per second.
Q2.According to Ohm's Law, the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance is given by: Answer: (b) V = IR. This simple relationship holds true for what are known as ohmic conductors, at least under constant physical conditions like temperature.
Q3.The resistance of a conductor generally depends on its: Answer: (b) Length, cross sectional area, and material. Resistance increases with length, decreases with a larger cross section, and depends heavily on the resistivity of the material used.
Q4.When resistors are connected in series, the equivalent resistance is: Answer: (b) Equal to the sum of the individual resistances. Adding resistors in series always increases the total resistance in the circuit.
Q5.Kirchhoff's Current Law is based on the principle of conservation of: Answer: (b) Electric charge. It states that the total current entering a junction must equal the total current leaving it, since charge cannot simply accumulate at a junction.
Q1.A moving charge produces: Answer: (b) A magnetic field. This is the fundamental link between electricity and magnetism, first explored in depth by scientists like Oersted and Ampere.
Q2.The magnetic force on a moving charge is given by which formula? Answer: (b) F = qvB sin(theta). This describes the force experienced by a charge q moving with velocity v through a magnetic field B, with theta being the angle between v and B.
Q3.The direction of the magnetic force on a positive moving charge in a magnetic field is determined using: Answer: (a) The right hand rule. This is a handy way to figure out the direction of the force, given the directions of the velocity and the magnetic field.
Q4.Ampere's Circuital Law relates the magnetic field around a closed loop to: Answer: (b) The current passing through the loop. It's the magnetic equivalent of Gauss's Law and is particularly useful for finding magnetic fields in situations with symmetry.
Q5.A current carrying loop placed in a magnetic field experiences a torque that tends to: Answer: (b) Align the loop's magnetic moment with the field. This principle is exactly what makes devices like galvanometers and electric motors work.
Q1.A bar magnet always has: Answer: (b) Two poles, north and south, that cannot be isolated from each other. No matter how many times a magnet is cut, each piece continues to have both a north and south pole.
Q2.Materials that are weakly attracted by a magnetic field are called: Answer: (b) Paramagnetic. These materials show only a weak attraction, quite different from ferromagnetic materials like iron, which are strongly attracted.
Q3.Diamagnetic materials, when placed in a magnetic field, are: Answer: (b) Weakly repelled. This weak repulsion happens because diamagnetic materials develop an induced magnetic moment opposing the applied field.
Q4.Iron, cobalt, and nickel are common examples of which type of magnetic material? Answer: (c) Ferromagnetic. These materials are strongly attracted to magnetic fields and can retain magnetism even after the external field is removed.
Q5.The Earth's magnetic field is believed to originate mainly from: Answer: (b) Motion of molten iron in the Earth's outer core. This is generally explained through what's called the geodynamo theory.
Q1.Electromagnetic induction refers to the phenomenon where: Answer: (a) A changing magnetic field induces an electric current in a conductor. This principle, discovered by Michael Faraday, forms the basis for generators and transformers.
Q2.Faraday's Law of Electromagnetic Induction states that the induced EMF is directly proportional to: Answer: (b) The rate of change of magnetic flux. A faster changing flux produces a larger induced EMF.
Q3.Lenz's Law states that the direction of an induced current is such that it: Answer: (b) Opposes the change in magnetic flux that produced it. This is essentially a statement of the conservation of energy, applied to electromagnetic induction.
Q4.A device that works on the principle of electromagnetic induction to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy is called a: Answer: (b) Generator. It works essentially in the opposite way to a motor, which converts electrical energy into mechanical energy instead.
Q5.Eddy currents are induced currents that circulate within: Answer: (b) The bulk of a conductor, due to a changing magnetic field. These currents can cause unwanted heating, and they're specifically minimised in transformer cores through lamination.
Q1.An alternating current is one that: Answer: (b) Periodically reverses its direction and changes magnitude. This makes it fundamentally different from direct current, which flows steadily in a single direction.
Q2.The frequency of AC supply used in Indian households is: Answer: (b) 50 Hz. This means the current completes 50 full cycles of direction reversal every second, which is the standard used across most of India's electrical grid.
Q3.The root mean square value of an alternating current is used mainly because it: Answer: (b) Represents the equivalent steady current that would produce the same heating effect. This makes RMS values genuinely useful for comparing AC and DC circuits on a like for like basis.
Q4.A transformer works on the principle of: Answer: (a) Electromagnetic induction. It uses a changing current in the primary coil to induce a voltage in the secondary coil, allowing voltage to be stepped up or down.
Q5.In a purely resistive AC circuit, the voltage and current are: Answer: (b) In phase with each other. This is unlike purely inductive or capacitive circuits, where the current and voltage are out of phase by 90 degrees.
Q1.Electromagnetic waves are produced by: Answer: (b) Accelerating electric charges. As a charge accelerates, it generates changing electric and magnetic fields that propagate outward as a wave.
Q2.Electromagnetic waves travel through vacuum at a speed of approximately: Answer: (a) 3 times 10 to the power 8 metres per second. This is the well known speed of light, and all electromagnetic waves travel at this same speed in vacuum, regardless of their frequency.
Q3.Which of these correctly lists parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in order of increasing frequency? Answer: (a) Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light. This sequence continues on to ultraviolet, X-rays, and finally gamma rays, in order of increasing frequency and energy.
Q4.In an electromagnetic wave, the electric and magnetic field vectors are: Answer: (b) Perpendicular to each other and to the direction of propagation. This mutual perpendicularity is a defining structural feature of electromagnetic waves.
Q5.Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum is primarily used in microwave ovens for cooking? Answer: (b) Microwaves. These waves are absorbed effectively by water molecules in food, which is what generates the heat used for cooking.
Q1.The laws of reflection state that the angle of incidence is: Answer: (b) Equal to the angle of reflection. Both angles are also measured from the normal, the line perpendicular to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence.
Q2.A convex lens is generally used to correct which vision defect? Answer: (b) Hypermetropia, or farsightedness. A convex lens helps converge light rays so they focus properly on the retina for someone who struggles to see nearby objects clearly.
Q3.Total internal reflection occurs when light travels: Answer: (a) From a denser to a rarer medium, beyond the critical angle. This principle is exactly what allows optical fibres to transmit light over long distances with minimal loss.
Q4.A simple microscope essentially consists of a single: Answer: (b) Convex lens. It's used to produce a magnified, virtual image of a small nearby object.
Q5.In a compound microscope, the lens closer to the object being viewed is called the: Answer: (b) Objective lens. It forms the first, real image of the object, which is then further magnified by the eyepiece lens.
Q1.The phenomenon of interference in light waves occurs due to: Answer: (a) Superposition of two or more coherent light waves. When these waves combine, they can reinforce each other in some regions and cancel out in others, producing a distinct pattern.
Q2.In Young's Double Slit Experiment, the bright and dark fringes observed on the screen are a result of: Answer: (b) Constructive and destructive interference. Bright fringes appear where waves from the two slits arrive in phase, while dark fringes appear where they arrive out of phase.
Q3.Diffraction of light refers to: Answer: (a) The bending of light around obstacles or through small openings. This effect becomes especially noticeable when the size of the obstacle or opening is comparable to the wavelength of the light involved.
Q4.Polarisation is a phenomenon exhibited by: Answer: (b) Transverse waves, such as light. Since light is a transverse wave, its oscillations can be restricted to a single plane through the process of polarisation, which isn't possible for longitudinal waves like sound.
Q5.Huygens' Principle is primarily used to explain: Answer: (b) The propagation of light waves using the concept of secondary wavelets. Every point on a wavefront is treated as a source of new secondary wavelets, and the wave's future position is found from their combined effect.
Q1.The photoelectric effect refers to the phenomenon where: Answer: (b) Electrons are emitted from a metal surface when light of sufficient frequency falls on it. This effect provided crucial early evidence for the particle nature of light.
Q2.Einstein explained the photoelectric effect using the concept of: Answer: (b) Photons, or quanta of light energy. He proposed that light energy is delivered in discrete packets, and this explanation earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Q3.The de Broglie hypothesis proposed that: Answer: (b) Matter particles, such as electrons, also have an associated wavelength. This idea extended the concept of wave particle duality, previously associated mainly with light, to matter as well.
Q4.The threshold frequency in the photoelectric effect refers to: Answer: (b) The minimum frequency of light needed for photoelectric emission to occur at all. Below this frequency, no electrons are emitted from the metal surface, no matter how intense the light is.
Q5.Which of these experiments provided strong evidence for the wave nature of electrons? Answer: (b) The Davisson-Germer experiment. It demonstrated electron diffraction, confirming that electrons genuinely do exhibit wave like behaviour, just as de Broglie had predicted.
Q1.Rutherford's alpha particle scattering experiment led to the discovery of: Answer: (b) The atomic nucleus. The unexpected large angle scattering of some alpha particles suggested that a small, dense, positively charged core existed at the centre of the atom.
Q2.According to Bohr's model of the atom, electrons revolve around the nucleus in: Answer: (b) Specific, fixed orbits with quantised energy levels. This was a major departure from classical physics, and it successfully explained the discrete line spectrum observed in hydrogen.
Q3.When an electron in an atom jumps from a higher energy level to a lower one, it: Answer: (b) Emits energy, typically in the form of a photon. The specific energy, and hence the frequency, of this emitted photon corresponds exactly to the difference between the two energy levels.
Q4.The hydrogen spectrum consists of several distinct series, such as the Lyman and Balmer series, which arise from: Answer: (a) Transitions of electrons between different specific energy levels. Each series corresponds to electron transitions ending at a particular, fixed energy level.
Q5.The main limitation of Rutherford's model of the atom was that it could not explain: Answer: (a) The stability of the atom, since accelerating electrons should theoretically radiate energy and spiral into the nucleus. This was exactly the kind of problem that Bohr's model was later developed to address.
Q1.The nucleus of an atom is composed of: Answer: (b) Protons and neutrons. Together, these two particles are collectively referred to as nucleons.
Q2.The mass defect in a nucleus refers to: Answer: (a) The difference between the actual mass of the nucleus and the sum of the individual masses of its constituent nucleons. This missing mass is converted into the binding energy that holds the nucleus together.
Q3.Nuclear fission refers to the process where: Answer: (b) A heavy nucleus splits into two or more lighter nuclei, releasing energy. This process is what powers nuclear reactors and was famously behind the first atomic bombs.
Q4.Nuclear fusion is the process by which: Answer: (b) Light nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy. This is the fundamental process that powers stars, including our own Sun.
Q5.Radioactivity refers to the spontaneous: Answer: (b) Disintegration of an unstable nucleus, accompanied by the emission of radiation. This phenomenon was first discovered by Henri Becquerel and later studied extensively by Marie and Pierre Curie.
Q1.Semiconductors are materials whose electrical conductivity lies between that of: Answer: (a) Conductors and insulators. This intermediate conductivity, along with the ability to control it through doping, is exactly what makes semiconductors so valuable in electronics.
Q2.Doping a semiconductor refers to the process of: Answer: (b) Adding a small amount of impurity to modify its electrical properties. This process is used to create the p-type and n-type semiconductors essential for building diodes and transistors.
Q3.A p-n junction diode primarily allows current to flow: Answer: (b) Mainly in one direction, when it's forward biased. This one-way behaviour is exactly why diodes are so useful for tasks like rectification, converting AC to DC.
Q4.A transistor is primarily used in electronic circuits for: Answer: (b) Amplification and switching of electronic signals. Transistors form the fundamental building blocks of virtually all modern electronic devices, from radios to computers.
Q5.In an n-type semiconductor, the majority charge carriers are: Answer: (b) Electrons. This is achieved by doping the semiconductor with a pentavalent impurity, which contributes extra free electrons to the material.
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| Chapter 06 Electromagnetic Induction MCQs Set 01 |
| Chapter 06 Electromagnetic Induction MCQs Set 02 |
| Chapter 06 Electromagnetic Induction MCQs Set 03 |
| Chapter 07 Alternating Current MCQs Set 01 |
| Chapter 07 Alternating Current MCQs Set 02 |
| Chapter 07 Alternating Current MCQs Set 03 |
| Chapter 12 Atoms MCQs Set 01 |
| Chapter 12 Atoms MCQs Set 02 |
| Chapter 12 Atoms MCQs Set 03 |
| Chapter 12 Atoms MCQs Set 04 |
| Chapter 12 Atoms MCQs Set 05 |
| Chapter 12 Atoms MCQs Set 06 |
| Chapter 13 Nuclei MCQs Set 01 |
| Chapter 13 Nuclei MCQs Set 02 |
| Chapter 13 Nuclei MCQs Set 03 |
| Chapter 13 Nuclei MCQs Set 04 |
| Chapter 13 Nuclei MCQs Set 05 |
| Chapter 13 Nuclei MCQs Set 06 |
| Case Study MCQs |
| Chapter 15 Communication Systems MCQs |
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FAQs
For the 2026-27 session, MCQs and objective-type questions carry around 20% weightage. CBSE has introduced 30% competency based questions as MCQs and they are important part of the Class 12 Physics paper.
You can access the latest chapter-wise MCQs for Class 12 Physics for free from StudiesToday.com. All questions are based on the latest syllabus and current academic year.
Yes, our Physics practice bank includes the new pattern of Assertion Reasoning and Case Study based MCQs. They have been designed to test the analytical skills of Class 12 students.
Solving Class 12 Physics MCQs regularly improves speed and accuracy as these are objective questions can get you 100% marks if your understanding of the topic is clear.
Yes, all Class 12 Physics MCQs and answers are accessible on any device at your convenience.
No, all Physics Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), practice papers, and solutions for Class 12 are available for free for students to get more marks school exams.