CBSE Class 12 Geography Syllabus 2027: Unit-wise Syllabus, Practical, Map Work & Exam Pattern

Book Name

Unit

Detailed Syllabus

Fundamentals of Human Geography

Unit I: Human Geography

Chapter 1 – Human Geography: Nature and Scope: Introduction to Human Geography; regional and systematic approaches; dualism; nature of Human Geography; naturalization of humans and humanization of nature; schools of thought; fields and subfields of Human Geography.

Unit II: The World Population and Human Development

• Chapter 2 – The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth: Population distribution and density; factors influencing population distribution; population growth; components of population change; demographic transition; population control measures
• Chapter 3 – Human Development: Concept and selected indicators; growth and development; four pillars; approaches to human development; measuring human development through HDI, HPI and GNH; international comparisons

Unit III: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary Activities

• Chapter 4 – Primary Activities: Hunting and gathering; pastoralism; nomadic herding; commercial livestock rearing; primitive and intensive subsistence agriculture; commercial agriculture; plantation agriculture; extensive commercial grain cultivation; mixed farming; dairy farming; Mediterranean agriculture; market gardening and horticulture; cooperative and collective farming; mining, factors affecting mining and methods of mining
• Chapter 5 – Secondary Activities: Modern large-scale manufacturing; factors influencing industrial location; classification of manufacturing industries; high-tech industry
• Chapter 6 – Tertiary and Quaternary Activities: Tertiary activities; trade and commerce; transport; communication; services; tourism; medical services for overseas patients in India; quaternary and quinary activities; digital divide
• Chapter 7 – Transport and Communication: Land, rail, water and air transport; pipelines; satellite communication and cyberspace
• Chapter 8 – International Trade: History, basis and need for international trade; balance of trade; bilateral and multilateral trade; free trade; dumping; WTO; regional trade blocs; concerns related to international trade; ports and their types.

Map Work

5 marks: Identification of prescribed features on the outline physical/political map of the World.

India: People and Economy

Unit I: Population

Chapter 1 – Population Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition: Distribution and density of population; population growth; four distinct phases of population growth; regional variation; rural-urban, linguistic and religious composition; working population composition; promoting gender sensitivity through the Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao social campaign.

Unit II: Human Settlements

Chapter 2 – Human Settlements: Rural settlements—their types and distribution; urban settlements—their types and distribution; evolution of towns in India; urbanization; functional classification of towns; Smart Cities Mission.

Unit III: Resources and Development

• Chapter 3 – Land Resources and Agriculture: General land use; land-use categories and changes; common property resources; agricultural land use; cropping seasons; types of farming; geographical conditions and distribution of wheat, rice, tea, coffee, cotton, jute, sugarcane and rubber; agricultural development; agricultural output and technology; problems of Indian agriculture
• Chapter 4 – Water Resources: Surface and groundwater; lagoons and backwaters; water demand and utilization; irrigation, domestic and industrial uses; water-quality deterioration; conservation and management; prevention of water pollution; rainwater harvesting and watershed management
• Chapter 5 – Mineral and Energy Resources: Mineral resources and types; mineral belts; ferrous, non-ferrous and non-metallic minerals; conventional and non-conventional energy resources; conservation
• Chapter 6 – Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context: Planning; Hill Area Development Programme; Drought Prone Area Programme; sustainable development; Integrated Tribal Development Project in Bharmaur Region; Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area

Unit IV: Transport and International Trade

• Chapter 7 – Transport and Communication: Land, water and air transport; road, rail and pipeline transport; inland waterways and oceanic routes; personal and mass communication
• Chapter 8 – International Trade: Composition of India's exports and imports; direction of trade; sea ports as gateways; major seaports and hinterlands; airports.

Unit V: Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems

Chapter 9: Environmental pollution and its types; urban-waste disposal; rural-urban migration case study; problems of slums; land degradation case study.

Map Work

5 marks: Locating and labelling prescribed features on the political/physical map of India.

Practical chapter

Detailed Syllabus

Weightage

Chapter 1: Data – Its Source and Compilation

Meaning of data; primary, secondary and unpublished sources; tabulation and classification; grouping of data; frequency polygon.

Part of 18 marks

Chapter 2: Data Processing

Tabulating and processing data; measures of central tendency—mean, median and mode; comparison of mean, median and mode.

Part of 18 marks

Chapter 3: Graphical Representation of Data

Rules for drawing diagrams, graphs and maps; line graphs; polygraphs; simple bar diagrams; line and bar diagrams; multiple bar and compound bar diagrams; pie diagrams; flowcharts; thematic maps; dot, choropleth and isopleth maps.

Part of 18 marks

Chapter 4: Spatial Information Technology

Introduction to GIS; advantages and components of GIS; spatial data formats; sequence of GIS activities; spatial data input; entering attribute data; data linkages and matching; overlay analysis and buffer operation.

7 marks

Practical Record Book and Viva Voce

Practical record book and viva voce based on the prescribed practical syllabus.

5 marks

Total

Written examination: 25 marks; practical file: 2 marks; viva: 3 marks.

30 marks

Chapter

CBSE Class 12 Geography Map Work 2027

Primary Activities

Areas of subsistence gathering; major areas of nomadic herding; major areas of commercial livestock rearing; major areas of extensive commercial grain farming; major areas of mixed farming.

Transport, Communication and Trade

• Terminal Stations of Transcontinental Railways: Trans-Siberian, Trans Canadian, Trans-Australian Railways
• Major Sea Ports:

1. Europe: North Cape, London, Hamburg
2. North America: Vancouver, San Francisco, New Orleans
3. South America: Rio de Janeiro, Cologne, Valparaiso
4. Africa: Suez and Cape Town
5. Asia: Yokohama, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Aden, Karachi, Kolkata
6. Australia: Perth, Sydney, Melbourne

• Major Airports:

1. Asia: Tokyo, Beijing, Mumbai, Jeddah, Aden
2. Africa: Johannesburg & Nairobi
3. Europe: Moscow, London, Paris, Berlin and Rome
4. North America: Chicago, New Orleans, Mexico City
5. South America: Buenos Aires, Santiago
6. Australia: Darwin and Wellington

• Inland Waterways: Suez Canal, Panama Canal, Rhine waterways and St. Lawrence Seaways

Other Units

No map items are specified for Human Geography, World Population Density, Distribution and Growth, Human Development, Secondary Activities, Tertiary and Quaternary Activities and International Trade.

Chapter

CBSE Class 12 Geography Map Work 2027

Population

State with the highest population density and state with the lowest population density, based on 2011 data.

Land Resources and Agriculture

Leading producing states of rice, wheat, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tea and coffee.

Mineral and Energy Resources

Iron-ore mines: Mayurbhanj, Bailadila, Ratnagiri, Bellary; manganese mines: Balaghat, Shimoga; copper mines: Hazaribagh, Singhbhum, Khetri; bauxite mines: Katni, Bilaspur, Koraput; coal mines: Jharia, Bokaro, Raniganj, Neyveli; oil refineries: Mathura, Jamnagar, Barauni.

International Trade

Major sea ports: Kandla, Mumbai, Marmagao, Kochi, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Haldia; international airports: Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Delhi, Amritsar, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad.

Other Units

No map items are specified for Human Settlements, Water Resources, Planning and Sustainable Development, Transport and Communication, or Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems.

Book/ Component

Unit

Chapters

Weightage

Fundamentals of Human Geography

Unit I

Human Geography

3

Unit II

The World Population, Density, Distribution and Growth; Human Development

8

Unit III

Primary Activities; Secondary Activities; Tertiary and Quaternary Activities; Transport, Communication and Trade; International Trade

19

—

Map Work

5

Total

—

35

India: People and Economy

Unit I

Population Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition

5

Unit II

Human Settlements

3

Unit III

Land Resources and Agriculture; Water Resources; Mineral and Energy Resources; Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context

10

Unit IV

Transport and Communication; International Trade

7

Unit V

Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems

5

—

Map Work

5

Total

—

35

Geography Practical Part II

—

Data, Data Processing, Graphical Representation and Spatial Information Technology

25

—

Practical Record Book and Viva Voce

5

Total

—

30

Overall

—

Theory + Map Work + Practical

100

Domain

What students are expected to demonstrate

Weightage

Remembering and Understanding

Recall facts, terms, concepts, data and information; demonstrate understanding by organizing, comparing, interpreting, describing and identifying main ideas.

41%

Application

Apply concepts, acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules to new situations or contexts.

37%

Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating

Break information into parts, establish relationships, identify causes, distinguish facts from inferences, find evidence, make inferences and create or reorganize information into a coherent structure.

22%

Total

—

100%