IISER IAT syllabus: the published 2026 subject outline
The official IISER Admissions syllabus page says IAT 2026 broadly follows the rationalized NCERT syllabus for 2025-26 and links a separate, ten-page subject syllabus PDF. That PDF lists the subject-level topics below. The 2026 brochure also contains the syllabus, but the linked syllabus document is easier to use as a chapter checklist. As of 28 October 2026, these are the latest readable official syllabus details in this packet. They are explicitly the IAT 2026 outline; use a later official notice if one is issued for the application cycle you plan to take.
This is a topic map, not a chapter-wise question prediction. The official outline names subjects and subtopics but does not state how many questions will come from each chapter. The 2026 brochure separately says the test had 15 questions per subject; that subject balance does not imply equal weight for every topic inside a subject.
Biology
The Biology outline has ten broad areas. Diversity in the Living World covers taxonomic categories, biological classification, kingdoms, viruses, viroids, lichens, plant groups from algae to angiosperms, and animal classification. Structural Organisation in Plants and Animals includes flowering-plant morphology, tissues and dicot/monocot anatomy, plus organ systems and the frog. Cell: Structure and Functions covers cell theory, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, biomolecules, proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, enzymes, the cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis.
Plant Physiology includes photosynthesis and its light reactions, electron transport, ATP and NADPH use, C4 pathway, photorespiration and limiting factors; plant respiration from glycolysis through the Krebs cycle; and growth, differentiation and plant growth regulators. Human Physiology spans breathing and gas exchange, blood and circulation, excretion and kidney function, locomotion and skeletal/muscular systems, neural control, and endocrine coordination.
Reproduction includes sexual reproduction in flowering plants, fertilisation and post-fertilisation events, human reproductive systems, gametogenesis, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and reproductive health. Genetics and Evolution covers Mendelian inheritance, one- and two-gene crosses, sex determination, mutations, genetic disorders, DNA, replication, transcription, translation, gene regulation, the Human Genome Project, DNA fingerprinting and evolution. Biology in Human Welfare lists health and disease, immunity, AIDS, cancer, substance misuse and useful microbes. The remaining areas are Biotechnology, including recombinant-DNA tools and applications in agriculture and medicine, and Ecology, including populations, interactions, ecosystems, energy flow, ecological pyramids, biodiversity and conservation.
A practical checklist should retain the official subheadings beneath each area. For example, “Plant Physiology” is not one memorisation item: the PDF separately lists photosynthesis, respiration and plant growth and development. Mark a subtopic secure only after you can explain it or solve a question without relying on a worked answer.
Chemistry
Chemistry moves from quantitative foundations to physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. Some Basic Concepts of Chemistry includes matter, atomic theory, chemical combination laws, atomic and molecular masses, the mole, formulae, equations and stoichiometry. Structure of the Atom covers subatomic particles, atomic models and the quantum-mechanical model. Classification of Elements and Periodicity covers the periodic law, electronic configuration, s-, p-, d- and f-blocks, and periodic trends. Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure includes ionic and covalent approaches, bond parameters, VSEPR, valence-bond and molecular-orbital theories, hybridisation, diatomic molecules and hydrogen bonding.
The inorganic units are The d- and f-Block Elements and Coordination Compounds. Their listed scope includes electronic configuration and transition-element properties, lanthanoids and actinoids; coordination nomenclature, isomerism, bonding, metal carbonyls and applications.
The physical-chemistry units are Thermodynamics; Equilibrium, including dynamic and ionic equilibrium, acids, bases, buffers and solubility; Redox Reactions; Solutions, including concentration, vapour pressure and colligative properties; Electrochemistry, including cells, the Nernst equation, conductance, electrolysis, batteries and corrosion; and Chemical Kinetics, including reaction rates, integrated rate equations, temperature effects and collision theory.
Organic chemistry begins with Some Basic Principles and Techniques: carbon structures, representations, classification, nomenclature, isomerism, reaction mechanisms, purification and qualitative/quantitative analysis. The later units are Hydrocarbons; Haloalkanes and Haloarenes; Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers; Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids; Organic Compounds Containing Nitrogen, including amines and diazonium salts; and Biomolecules, including carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, vitamins, nucleic acids and hormones. Use the PDF’s named subtopics to decide what each heading means; do not substitute a coaching list that adds or removes chapters.
Mathematics
The Mathematics PDF groups connected concepts under broader headings. Sets and Logic includes set representation, subsets, finite and infinite sets, intervals, operations, Venn diagrams, ordered pairs and Cartesian products. Relations and Functions covers relation types, equivalence relations, function types, composition, inverse, real-valued functions and graphs. Basic Counting Techniques includes the fundamental counting principle, factorials, permutations and combinations, followed by the binomial theorem and its terms.
Complex Numbers, Linear and Quadratic Equations includes Argand-plane and polar forms, algebra, modulus and conjugate, quadratic roots and coefficients, and linear inequalities. Trigonometric Functions includes angle measures, identities, equations, inverse functions and graphs. Vectors includes components, direction ratios, operations, dot and cross products, and projection. Matrices and Determinants covers matrix operations and inverses, determinants up to order three, minors, cofactors, adjoints and applications.
The geometry topics are Coordinate Geometry, including straight lines and conic sections, and Three-Dimensional Geometry, including lines, planes, distances, angles and shortest distance between skew lines. Sequences and Series includes arithmetic and geometric progressions, finite and infinite geometric sums, means and standard sums. Limits and Continuity covers algebraic properties and common real-valued function types. Differentiation and Applications of Derivatives includes standard and composite derivatives, implicit and parametric forms, logarithmic and second derivatives, rates of change, tangents, normals, monotonicity, maxima and minima.
Integration and Applications covers standard integration methods, definite integrals and areas under or between simple curves. Differential Equations includes formation, order and degree, separation of variables, first-order homogeneous equations and the stated linear forms. The final heading is Statistics, Probability and Linear Programming. The PDF gives detailed lists for dispersion and probability, including conditional probability, independence, total probability and Bayes’ theorem; in the accessible text it does not provide a separate subtopic list for linear programming. Keep that distinction visible rather than inventing a detailed official linear-programming syllabus.
Physics
The Physics outline begins with Units and Measurements, then Motion in a Straight Line, Motion in a Plane, and Laws of Motion. These include SI units and dimensions, kinematics, vectors, projectile and circular motion, Newton’s laws, momentum and equilibrium. Work, Energy and Power includes variable forces, work-energy, potential and mechanical energy, springs, power and collisions. System of Particles and Rotational Motion covers centre of mass, torque, angular momentum, rigid-body equilibrium and moment of inertia; Gravitation includes Kepler’s laws, gravitational potential, escape speed and satellites.
The thermal and mechanical units are Mechanical Properties of Solids, Mechanical Properties of Fluids, Thermal Properties of Matter, Thermodynamics and Kinetic Theory. Their listed ideas range from stress, elasticity, pressure, flow and surface tension to calorimetry, heat transfer, thermodynamic laws, gas behaviour, equipartition and mean free path. Oscillations and Waves cover simple harmonic motion, pendulums, travelling waves, superposition, reflection and beats.
Electricity and magnetism include Electric Charges and Fields, Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance, Current Electricity, Moving Charges and Magnetism, Magnetism and Matter, Electromagnetic Induction, Alternating Current and Electromagnetic Waves. The official subtopics include Coulomb’s and Gauss’s laws, fields and potential, capacitors, resistance and circuits, magnetic forces and fields, induction, inductance, LCR circuits, transformers and the electromagnetic spectrum.
The remaining units are Ray Optics and Optical Instruments, Wave Optics, Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter, Atoms, Nuclei and Semiconductor Electronics. The PDF lists mirrors, refraction, lenses, prisms and optical instruments; Huygens’ principle, interference, diffraction and polarisation; photoelectric effect and matter waves; atomic models and spectra; nuclear composition, binding energy, radioactivity and nuclear energy; and semiconductor materials, p-n junctions, diodes and rectification.
Turn the outline into a study plan
Copy the official headings into four subject checklists and keep the official subtopics under their original heading. For each line, record whether you have reviewed the idea, can explain or solve it without notes, and have practised it under time pressure. Use mistakes to choose the next review task. A heading such as “Equilibrium” or “Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance” contains several separately named ideas; a single chapter checkmark can hide important gaps.
The official syllabus does not give chapter-wise question counts, rank predictions or guaranteed high-yield topics. The 2026 pattern’s 15-per-subject allocation is only a subject-level count. Treat past papers as practice, not a promise that a chapter will recur. Before a later IAT, revisit the official admissions portal: the linked 2026 syllabus remains a dated source, and a new cycle may publish a revised outline.
Official sources: IAT 2026 syllabus page · IISER Aptitude Test Syllabus 2026 PDF · IAT 2026 information brochure. Access checked 28 October 2026.