Class 11 biology syllabus: units, chapters and practicals

Weightage of the five units

Human physiology alone has six chapters, so although it carries the most marks, the marks per chapter are similar to the other units. Plan by chapter count, not just by unit weight.

Class 11 biology syllabus NCERT chapter list

Unit I: Diversity of Living Organisms

• Ch 1, The Living World: what life is, naming and taxonomic categories
• Ch 2, Biological Classification: the five kingdom system, viruses and lichens
• Ch 3, Plant Kingdom: algae up to angiosperms
• Ch 4, Animal Kingdom: basis of classification and the phyla

Unit II: Structural Organisation, Plants and Animals

• Ch 5, Morphology of Flowering Plants: external parts of the plant body and some families
• Ch 6, Anatomy of Flowering Plants: tissues and internal structure
• Ch 7, Structural Organisation in Animals, studied through the frog

Unit III: Cell: Structure and Function

• Ch 8, Cell: The Unit of Life, with prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
• Ch 9, Biomolecules, including enzymes
• Ch 10, Cell Cycle and Cell Division: mitosis and meiosis

Unit IV: Plant Physiology

• Ch 11, Photosynthesis in Higher Plants
• Ch 12, Respiration in Plants
• Ch 13, Plant Growth and Development: phases of growth and hormones in plants

Unit V: Human Physiology

• Ch 14, Breathing and Exchange of Gases: the respiratory system
• Ch 15, Body Fluids and Circulation: blood, lymph and the heart
• Ch 16, Excretory Products and their Elimination: kidney function
• Ch 17, Locomotion and Movement: muscles and skeleton
• Ch 18, Neural Control and Coordination: neurons and the brain
• Ch 19, Chemical Coordination and Integration: glands and hormones

Students searching for the 11th biology syllabus or the class 11th biology syllabus will find these same 19 chapters.

Topics left out of the current course

When NCERT rationalised its books a few years ago, three full chapters were removed from class 11 biology: Transport in Plants, Mineral Nutrition, and Digestion and Absorption. Some portions inside Biomolecules were also dropped, such as the nature of the bond linking monomers in a polymer, the dynamic state of body constituents and the concept of metabolism.

Older reference books still print these chapters. Skip them for the school exam, but keep in mind that entrance exams set their own syllabus, so check the NEET list before deciding what to leave out.

Biology practicals: where the 30 marks go

Experiments in the list include describing a flowering plant of family Solanaceae, transverse sections of monocot and dicot roots and stems, osmosis with a potato osmometer, plasmolysis in epidermal peels, stomatal distribution, comparing transpiration rates, tests for sugar, starch, protein and fat, separating leaf pigments by paper chromatography, rate of respiration, and urine tests for urea, sugar, albumin and bile salts. Spotting covers microscope parts, specimens from bacteria to mammals, mitosis slides, types of inflorescence and parts of the human skeleton.

Theory paper design

The three hour theory paper mixes very short answers including MCQs, assertion and reason items, short answers, two kinds of long answers, and case based or passage based questions. CBSE's weightage puts about 50 percent on knowledge and understanding, about 30 percent on application, and about 20 percent on analysis, evaluation and creation. Roughly a third of the paper offers internal choice.

That 20 percent block is where students lose marks. Practise reading a short experiment or data table and explaining what it shows, since this is the format case based questions follow.

A study plan for the year

• April to June: Units I and II. Make one comparison chart for the kingdoms and one for root, stem and leaf structure. Diagrams here are reused all year.
• July to September: Unit III. Biomolecules and cell division need repeated reading; draw the stages of mitosis and meiosis until you can do them without the book.
• October to November: Unit IV. Write the light reaction, Calvin cycle and respiration steps as flow charts.
• December to February: Unit V, practical record completion and two full papers before the annual exam.

Whatever syllabus of biology class 11 your school shares, the NCERT textbook is the main book; the exemplar and the lab manual are the best extra sources. Read the textbook free on the NCERT website.

Pages for your other class 11 and 12 subjects

For the overall subject scheme, see the CBSE class 11 syllabus. If you also take PCM subjects, open the class 11 chemistry syllabus and the class 11 physics syllabus. The chapters that follow next year are set out under the CBSE class 12 biology syllabus; medical aspirants should also compare this list with the NEET syllabus.