What is the KUCAT-CBT syllabus for Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics?

Forty numbered topics per subject, one question from each. Physics runs from Physical Quantity to Elementary particles in seven groups; Chemistry from Language of Chemistry to Polymers, Pesticides, Dyes and Drugs in three; Mathematics from Representation of Data to Functions.

The KUCAT-CBT syllabus is unusually exact, because the test is built on it mechanically: each subject has 40 numbered topics and the test asks exactly one question from each, at a difficulty the adaptive engine chooses. So the published list is not a guide to what might come up. It is the set of 40 things that will come up, once each, in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for the PCM group that every engineering programme uses. Physics is grouped into Mechanics, Heat and Thermodynamics, Optics, Waves, Electrostatics and DC Circuits, Magnetic Field and Current, and Modern Physics. Chemistry splits into General and Physical, Inorganic, and Organic. Mathematics is a flat list of 40 that leans heavily on statistics and calculus, with eight topics on data and probability alone. All three are transcribed below from Kathmandu University’s Information on KUCAT-CBT and Test Syllabus 2026, pages 7 to 9. Biology, for the PCB group, is on page 6 and is not used by any engineering programme.

Physics: 40 topics in seven groups

A. Mechanics (1 to 10): Physical Quantity; Kinematics; Dynamics; Energy; Rotational motion; Gravitation; Structure and Properties of Matter; Elasticity; Viscosity; Surface tension
B. Heat and Thermodynamics (11 to 14): Heat and temperature; Transmission of heat; Basic assumption of kinetic theory of gases; Thermodynamics
C. Optics (15 to 20): Reflection; Refraction; Speed of light; Dispersion of light; Optical Instrument; Photometry
D. Waves (21 to 23): Wave motion; Sound; Electromagnetic waves
E. Electrostatics and DC Circuits (24 to 28): Simple Electrostatic Phenomenon; Charge flow; Resistance; Effect of Current; Capacitors
F. Magnetic field and Current (29 to 33): Magnetic field; Force on conductor; Magnetic materials; Electromagnetic induction; Alternating current
G. Modern Physics (34 to 40): Electron; Photons; Electronic; Atoms; Nucleus; Radioactivity; Elementary particles

Chemistry: 40 topics in three groups

A. General and Physical Chemistry (1 to 20): Language of Chemistry; Gaseous state of matter; Liquid state of matter; Solid state of matter; Laws of Stoichiometry; Avogadro’s Hypothesis and its important applications; Atomic structure; Quantum numbers; Chemical bonding; Oxidation and Reduction; Acids, Bases and Salts; Acidimetry and Alkalimetry; Periodic Table; Electrochemistry; Electrode potential; Chemical Kinetics; Chemical Equilibrium; Le Chatelier’s Principle; Chemical Thermodynamics; Entropy and spontaneity
B. Inorganic Chemistry (21 to 28): Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen; Carbon; Sulphur and its compounds; Halogens and halogen acids; Introduction to Metals; Alkali and alkaline earth metals; Coinage metals; Heavy metals
C. Organic Chemistry (29 to 40): Introduction to Organic Chemistry; Hydrocarbons; Organic halogen compounds; Alcohols; Ethers; Carbonyl Compounds; Carboxylic Acids; Amines; Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Aniline and Nitrobenzene; Carbohydrates, Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Lipids; Polymers, Pesticides, Dyes and Drugs

Mathematics: 40 topics

1 to 10	11 to 20	21 to 30	31 to 40
Representation of Data	Quadratics and Inequalities	Integration	A pair of lines
Measures of Location and Spread	Differentiation	Volume of revolution	System of linear equations
Probability	Application of Differentiation	Polynomial	System of Linear Inequalities and Graphs
Permutation and Combination	Sequences	The Modulus function	Complex Numbers
Probability Distributions	Binomial Theorem	Exponential and Logarithmic function	Limits and Continuity
Binomial Distributions	Trigonometry	Differentiating Exponential and Logarithmic Functions	Coordinate Space
Expectation and Variance of a random variable	Extending Differentiation	Differentiating Trigonometric Function	Plane
Normal Distribution	Vectors	Determinants	Concept of Sets
Surds and indices	Geometric Sequences	Matrices	Relation
Functions and Graphs	Second Derivative	Equation of Straight Lines	Functions

Scroll the table sideways for 21 to 30 and 31 to 40.

How this differs from the IOE syllabus

Two structural differences matter more than any single topic. KU weights the three subjects equally at 40 questions each and has no English section; IOE’s paper is 50 marks Mathematics, 40 Physics, 30 Chemistry and 20 English. And KU’s Mathematics list opens with eight statistics topics, from data representation through the normal distribution, that the IOE syllabus does not carry as a block. A student preparing for both should treat statistics as KU-only work.

Transcribed topic by topic from pages 7, 8 and 9 of KU’s Information on KUCAT-CBT and Test Syllabus 2026. The document prints "kinetic theory of gasses" and "Le Chatelier’s" with its own spellings; the topic names above are otherwise verbatim. The one-question-per-topic rule is stated in section 1 of the same document.