NEET syllabus · Updated 24 October 2026
NEET Chemistry syllabus 2026–27
The NEET Chemistry syllabus has 20 units: 8 in physical chemistry, 4 in inorganic chemistry and 8 in organic chemistry. Chemistry carries 45 of the 180 questions.
Status on 24 October 2026
This is the latest official syllabus, used for NEET 2025 and NEET 2026. The NEET 2027 syllabus has not been released yet; prepare with this one and we will update the page when the National Medical Commission publishes it.
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry: units 1 to 8
01Some basic concepts in chemistry
- Matter and its nature; Dalton's atomic theory: atom, molecule, element and compound
- Laws of chemical combination; atomic and molecular masses
- Mole concept, molar mass, percentage composition, empirical and molecular formulae
- Chemical equations and stoichiometry
02Atomic structure
- Nature of electromagnetic radiation, photoelectric effect; spectrum of the hydrogen atom
- Bohr model of the hydrogen atom: postulates, energy and radii of orbits, limitations
- Dual nature of matter, de Broglie's relationship, Heisenberg uncertainty principle
- Quantum mechanical model of the atom; atomic orbitals as one-electron wave functions; variation of ψ and ψ² with r for 1s and 2s orbitals
- Quantum numbers and their significance; shapes of s, p and d orbitals; electron spin
- Aufbau principle, Pauli's exclusion principle and Hund's rule; electronic configuration, extra stability of half-filled and completely filled orbitals
03Chemical bonding and molecular structure
- Kossel–Lewis approach to chemical bond formation; ionic and covalent bonds
- Ionic bonding: formation, factors affecting it, calculation of lattice enthalpy
- Covalent bonding: electronegativity, Fajan's rule, dipole moment; VSEPR theory and shapes of simple molecules
- Valence bond theory, hybridisation involving s, p and d orbitals; resonance
- Molecular orbital theory: LCAO, bonding and antibonding orbitals, sigma and pi bonds, configurations of homonuclear diatomic molecules, bond order, bond length and bond energy
- Elementary idea of metallic bonding; hydrogen bonding and its applications
04Chemical thermodynamics
- System and surroundings, extensive and intensive properties, state functions, types of processes
- First law: work, heat, internal energy and enthalpy, heat capacity, molar heat capacity; Hess's law
- Enthalpies of bond dissociation, combustion, formation, atomisation, sublimation, phase transition, hydration, ionisation and solution
- Second law: spontaneity, ΔS of the universe and ΔG of the system as criteria; ΔG° and the equilibrium constant
05Solutions
- Concentration: molality, molarity, mole fraction, percentage by volume and by mass
- Vapour pressure of solutions and Raoult's law; ideal and non-ideal solutions, vapour pressure–composition plots
- Colligative properties: relative lowering of vapour pressure, depression of freezing point, elevation of boiling point, osmotic pressure
- Molecular mass from colligative properties; abnormal molar mass, van't Hoff factor
06Equilibrium
- Meaning of equilibrium, dynamic equilibrium
- Physical equilibria: solid–liquid, liquid–gas and solid–gas; Henry's law
- Chemical equilibrium: law of chemical equilibrium, Kp and Kc, significance of ΔG and ΔG°, factors affecting equilibrium, effect of a catalyst, Le Chatelier's principle
- Ionic equilibrium: weak and strong electrolytes, Arrhenius, Brønsted–Lowry and Lewis acids and bases, ionisation constants, ionisation of water, pH scale
- Common ion effect, hydrolysis of salts and pH of their solutions, solubility product, buffer solutions
07Redox reactions and electrochemistry
- Oxidation and reduction, oxidation number and the rules for assigning it, balancing redox reactions
- Electrolytic and metallic conduction, conductance, molar conductivity and its variation with concentration, Kohlrausch's law
- Electrolytic and galvanic cells, electrodes, standard electrode potential, emf of a galvanic cell, Nernst equation
- Cell potential and Gibbs energy; dry cell, lead accumulator, fuel cells
08Chemical kinetics
- Rate of reaction and factors affecting it: concentration, temperature, pressure, catalyst
- Elementary and complex reactions, order and molecularity, rate law, rate constant and its units
- Differential and integral forms of zero- and first-order reactions, their characteristics and half-lives
- Effect of temperature, Arrhenius theory, activation energy; collision theory of bimolecular gaseous reactions (no derivation)
Inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry: units 9 to 12
09Classification of elements and periodicity in properties
- Modern periodic law and the present form of the periodic table; s, p, d and f block elements
- Periodic trends: atomic and ionic radii, ionisation enthalpy, electron gain enthalpy, valence, oxidation states and chemical reactivity
10p-Block elements
- Group 13 to Group 18 elements: electronic configuration, general trends in physical and chemical properties across periods and down groups
- Unique behaviour of the first element in each group
11d- and f-block elements
- Transition elements: electronic configuration, occurrence and characteristics; trends in the first-row transition elements — physical properties, ionisation enthalpy, oxidation states, atomic radii, colour, catalytic behaviour, magnetic properties, complex formation, interstitial compounds, alloy formation
- Preparation, properties and uses of K₂Cr₂O₇ and KMnO₄
- Lanthanoids: electronic configuration, oxidation states, lanthanoid contraction
- Actinoids: electronic configuration and oxidation states
12Coordination compounds
- Werner's theory; ligands, coordination number, denticity, chelation
- IUPAC nomenclature of mononuclear coordination compounds; isomerism
- Bonding: valence bond approach and basic ideas of crystal field theory; colour and magnetic properties
- Importance in qualitative analysis, extraction of metals and biological systems
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry: units 13 to 20
13Purification and characterisation of organic compounds
- Purification: crystallisation, sublimation, distillation, differential extraction and chromatography
- Qualitative analysis: detection of nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and halogens
- Quantitative analysis (basic principles): estimation of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, halogens, sulphur and phosphorus
- Empirical and molecular formulae; numerical problems in organic quantitative analysis
14Some basic principles of organic chemistry
- Tetravalency of carbon, shapes of simple molecules, hybridisation (s and p)
- Classification of organic compounds by functional group; homologous series; structural isomerism and stereoisomerism
- Nomenclature (trivial and IUPAC)
- Homolytic and heterolytic fission; free radicals, carbocations and carbanions and their stability; electrophiles and nucleophiles
- Inductive effect, electromeric effect, resonance and hyperconjugation
- Common types of organic reactions: substitution, addition, elimination and rearrangement
15Hydrocarbons
- Classification, isomerism, IUPAC nomenclature, general methods of preparation, properties and reactions
- Alkanes: conformations (Sawhorse and Newman projections of ethane), mechanism of halogenation
- Alkenes: geometrical isomerism; electrophilic addition of hydrogen, halogens, water and hydrogen halides (Markovnikov and peroxide effect); ozonolysis and polymerisation
- Alkynes: acidic character; addition of hydrogen, halogens, water and hydrogen halides; polymerisation
- Aromatic hydrocarbons: structure and aromaticity of benzene; electrophilic substitution (halogenation, nitration); Friedel–Crafts alkylation and acylation; directive influence of functional groups
16Organic compounds containing halogens
- General methods of preparation, properties and reactions; nature of the C–X bond; mechanisms of substitution reactions
- Uses; environmental effects of chloroform, iodoform, freons and DDT
17Organic compounds containing oxygen
- Alcohols: identification of primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols, mechanism of dehydration
- Phenols: acidic nature, electrophilic substitution (halogenation, nitration, sulphonation), Reimer–Tiemann reaction
- Ethers: structure
- Aldehydes and ketones: the carbonyl group, nucleophilic addition (HCN, NH₃ and its derivatives), Grignard reagent, oxidation, reduction (Wolff–Kishner and Clemmensen), acidity of α-hydrogen, aldol condensation, Cannizzaro reaction, haloform reaction, tests to tell aldehydes and ketones apart
- Carboxylic acids: acidic strength and the factors affecting it
18Organic compounds containing nitrogen
- General methods of preparation, properties, reactions and uses
- Amines: nomenclature, classification, structure, basic character, identification of primary, secondary and tertiary amines
- Diazonium salts: importance in synthetic organic chemistry
19Biomolecules
- Carbohydrates: classification, aldoses and ketoses, glucose and fructose, constituent monosaccharides of sucrose, lactose and maltose
- Proteins: α-amino acids, peptide bond, polypeptides; primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure (qualitative), denaturation, enzymes
- Vitamins: classification and functions
- Nucleic acids: chemical constitution of DNA and RNA, biological functions
- Hormones (general introduction)
20Principles related to practical chemistry
- Detection of nitrogen, sulphur and halogens, and of hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl and amino groups
- Preparations: Mohr's salt, potash alum, acetanilide, p-nitroacetanilide, aniline yellow, iodoform
- Titrations: acids, bases and indicators; oxalic acid vs KMnO₄, Mohr's salt vs KMnO₄
- Qualitative salt analysis — cations Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Mg²⁺, NH₄⁺; anions CO₃²⁻, S²⁻, SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻ (insoluble salts excluded)
- Enthalpy of solution of CuSO₄; enthalpy of neutralisation of a strong acid and strong base; lyophilic and lyophobic sols; kinetics of iodide ions with hydrogen peroxide at room temperature
Quick check
Is it in the NEET Chemistry syllabus?
The topics students ask about most, checked against the wording of the official syllabus.
| Topic | In the syllabus? | What the official text says |
|---|---|---|
| States of matter | No unit | None of the 20 units covers it. |
| Solid state | No unit | None of the 20 units covers it. |
| Surface chemistry | No unit | Only the preparation of lyophilic and lyophobic sols appears, under practical chemistry (Unit 20). |
| Hydrogen | No unit | None of the 20 units covers it. |
| s-block elements | No separate unit | s-block appears only within the periodic table and periodic trends (Unit 9). |
| p-block elements | Yes | Groups 13 to 18 (Unit 10). |
| Environmental chemistry | No unit | None of the 20 units covers it. |
| Metallurgy | No unit | Extraction of metals is mentioned only as a use of coordination compounds (Unit 12). |
| Polymers | No unit | Polymerisation is mentioned only within Hydrocarbons (Unit 15). |
| Chemistry in everyday life | No unit | None of the 20 units covers it. |
| Salt analysis | Yes | Chemical principles of qualitative salt analysis (Unit 20). |
| Reimer–Tiemann, Cannizzaro and haloform reactions | Yes | Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen (Unit 17). |
Keep going
Other subjects and next steps
NEET Physics syllabus20 units · 45 questionsNEET Biology syllabus10 units · 90 questionsFull NEET syllabusAll 50 units on one pageNEET 2027 guidePattern, eligibility and expected datesNEET mock testsPractise the real exam patternIntegrated BatchCover the syllabus alongside Class 11 and 12Repeaters BatchA focused year for NEET againDNA Learning appChapter-wise practice and live classes
Source: Syllabus for NEET (UG), National Testing Agency (neet.nta.nic.in/syllabus), prepared by the National Medical Commission. Topics follow the official unit text, lightly edited for readability.
FAQ
Questions students and parents ask
How many units are in the NEET Chemistry syllabus?
20 units: 8 in physical chemistry, 4 in inorganic chemistry and 8 in organic chemistry.
Is surface chemistry in the NEET syllabus?
There is no surface chemistry unit. Only the preparation of lyophilic and lyophobic sols appears, under practical chemistry.
Is salt analysis in the NEET syllabus?
Yes. The chemical principles of qualitative salt analysis, with a listed set of cations and anions, are part of Unit 20.
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