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If you are appearing in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main exam, you wouldn't want to put a foot wrong. It is because the competition is fierce and margin for error small. Make one silly mistake and you are out of the fray for a seat in one of the IITs or NITs, if that is what you are aiming for. After all, JEE Main is the first hurdle that you have to cross, the next being JEE Advanced, to get into an IIT. To succeed in the exam, you need to follow a different and more rigorous plan than you would for a board exam, which by the way is a lame predecessor.
- Know the colleges where you have High/Medium/Low chances for admission
- Know the best branch for each of the colleges
- Know the colleges which participate in JEE MAIN Counselling
Of the three sections in JEE Main question paper, the chemistry section is generally considered to be the most score-friendly. And as an aspirant you have to make it count. You can do that by mastering everything that the chemistry section has to throw at you!
Here are some useful JEE Main preparation tips for chemistry section and also the exam as a whole. Read on.
Don't clog your study with books
Reducing the clatter around your study table would not only help you have a clear mind, but improve your efficiency. Take for example, with fewer books around, it will be much easier to remember where you read a topic. If you need to do a revision, you can go back to that specific topic in that specific book and do the revision immediately.
In the alternate scenario where you have more books than you can keep count of, you end up reading bits and pieces from every book. And every time you need a revision, you have to expend lot of time and energy just to find the specific page for revision!
Typically, to save time, you may consider revising from a different book, but problem is the style and presentation of every book is different, so it will be a lot like reading it for the first time.
Start your JEE Main preparation early
JEE Main is tough and fells many who come to the battle ground half-prepared. So, to succeed you need to prepare well. And preparing well, in essence means preparing early.
Why start early?
As an early starter, you will have time to tweak your preparation if you run off track. For example, if you are lagging in a particular section or topic, you will have time to decide if coaching is the way forward, or you need some other type of intervention.
With enough time to prepare, you will be able to keep things under control and not panic as exam date approaches, assuming you utilize your time reading and practising the problems hard.
Good books lead to good results
Buy books that you can follow and cover every section of the syllabus in detail. Good books will normally have lots of illustration and examples to aid understanding of concepts. They will also have fewer mistakes and ambiguous comments.
NCERT Chemistry Class XI and XII books are example of good books, and are reliable material to build preliminary concepts. Also, note not all books by foreign writers are good, just like not all Indian writers are bad. J.D. Lee is a great asset for the physical chemistry part, while Modern Approach to Chemical Calculations by R.C. Mukherjee, an Indian writer, is an equally good book for mastering numerical problems.
As a note of caution, avoid books that use language that is too tough or are too advanced.
Book Suggestions for your JEE Main Preparation:
NCERT Books: NCERT Chemistry books on their own aren't enough to answer every question asked in JEE Main, and you have to read other books as well for holistic JEE Main Chemistry preparation. But that being said; they are the most reliable material for building the basic concepts of all the topics included in the syllabus. You must especially pay attention to the highlighted sections and exercises presented in these books, as they are the key to understanding basic theories of the subject and pave the way for you to understand concepts you will come across in higher-level chemistry texts like Atkins.
Sriram Balasubramanian, AIR 4 in JEE Main 2016, thinks it is very important to have the basics concepts cleared. He says, “...you should focus on strengthening the concepts of PCM, along with increasing your speed and accuracy in solving questions.†And NCERT books are tailor made for the task.
To get more out of these books, practicing problems from NCERT Chemistry Exemplar is also recommended.
Why NCERT Books for JEE Main Chemistry Preparation?
1.NCERT books are authentic and reliable and a must for your JEE Main preparation
2.The language used is easy to understand
3.They contain helpful illustrations to drive a point home
4.Each book includes standard questions which will test your understanding of concepts and problem solving ability
5.Importantly, NCERT books are launching pads for more higher-level books
6.They form the basis for the Class XII board exams too. So you attain two goals with one single stroke.
For example, if you brush up your basics with NCERT books, you can seamlessly move on to higher-levels books like a J.D. Lee or Atkins.
Outside of NCERT books, other section-wise books you may include in your collection are:
Physical Chemistry:
Atkins' Physical Chemistry: This book will help you improve your numerical problem solving ability, as it includes enhanced explanations and mathematical presentations. There are numerous solved examples throughout the book for easy reference and concept building, as well as practice sets at the end of each chapter to give edge to your JEE Main Preparation.
Another Must Read: Physical Chemistry by N Awasthi
Physical Chemistry JEE Main Syllabus
Main Topic | Sub Topic |
Some Basic concepts in Chemistry |
|
States of Matter | Gaseous State, Liquid State, Solid State |
Atomic Structure |
|
Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure | Ionic Bonding, Covalent Bonding, Quantum mechanical approach to covalent bonding, Molecular Orbital Theory |
Chemical Thermodynamics | Fundamentals of thermodynamics, First law of thermodynamics, Second law of thermodynamics |
Solutions |
|
Equilibrium | Equilibria involving physical processes, Equilibria involving chemical processes, Ionic equilibrium |
Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry |
|
Chemical Kinetics |
|
Surface Chemistry | Adsorption, Colloidal state |
Organic Chemistry:
Your JEE Main chemistry preparation would be effective only if you give organic chemistry due attention. It may happen sometimes that you might be tempted to overlook the difficult parts of organic chemistry and focus on only its easier parts. If you want to score well avoid doing that. Also, if you put your mind to it, organic chemistry can be conquered and be scored off as well. To prove our point, here we bring you some books to help you in that mission!
O.P. Tandon Organic Chemistry: It is one of the most complete books for Organic Chemistry, and is written especially for competitive exams like JEE Main. Here are some reasons why you should have this book as part of your JEE Main chemistry preparation package.
Highlights of the book include:
1.Multiple-choice, matching type, and assertion reason type questions at the end of every chapter for practice.
2.Easy to understand language
3.Illustrations and example solutions
Other popular books:
Organic Chemistry by Paula Bruice Yurkanis
Organic Chemistry by M.S. Chuahan
Organic Chemistry JEE Main Syllabus
Main Topic | Sub Topic |
Purification and Characterisation of Organic Compounds | Purification, Qualitative analysis, Quantitative analysis |
Some Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry | Nomenclature (Trivial and IUPAC), Electronic displacement in a covalent bond, Common types of organic reactions |
Hydrocarbons | Alkanes, Alkenes, Alkynes, Aromatic Hydrocarbons |
Organic Compounds Containing Halogens |
|
Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen | Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers; Aldehyde and Ketones; Carboxylic Acids |
Organic Compounds Containing Nitrogen | Amines, Diazonium Salts |
Polymers |
|
Bio Molecules | Carbohydrates, Proteins, Vitamins, Nucleic Acids |
Chemistry in Everyday Life | Chemicals in medicines, Chemicals in food, Cleansing agents |
Principles Related to Practical Chemistry |
|
Inorganic Chemistry:
Inorganic Chemistry is considered to be the easiest and most scoring section in Chemistry, because you don't have to solve problems, do calculations or employ complex formulae’s to answer questions. It is akin to answering general awareness questions. You either know the answer or you don't.
Strategy to answer Inorganic questions: If you don't know an answer, don't stick around. Move on quickly to the next question.
J.D Lee: After you are done with your NCERT books and have understood the basics of inorganic chemistry, your next destination should be this fine book by J.D Lee. It more or less covers the entire JEE inorganic syllabus and is recommended by many toppers and teachers.
Highlight of the book:
1.Includes hundreds of MCQs, assertive-type questions, and single-choice questions to practice from
2.At the end of each chapter, you can find the answers to the questions with detailed explanation designed to clarify concepts
3.Concept supported by proper reasoning and experiments. The language of the book is also suited to Indian students.
4.Most student reviews of the book tip towards positive making it a sound option.
Note: Buy the original book and not the adopted versions by Indian authors. In Indian versions, some important topics and comments may be edited.
O.P. Tandon: It is another reliable book to supplement what you have learned from your NCERT books.
Inorganic Chemistry JEE Main Syllabus
Main Topic | Sub Topic |
Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties |
|
General Principles and Process of Isolation of Metals |
|
Hydrogen |
|
s - Block Elements (Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals) | Group 1 and Group 2 Elements |
p - Block Elements | Group 13 to Group 18 Elements, Group – 13, Group – 14, Group – 15, Group – 16, Group – 17, Group - 18 |
d – and f – Block Elements | Transition Elements, Inner Transition Elements, Lanthanoids, Actinoids |
Co-ordination Compounds |
|
Environmental Chemistry | Environmental pollution, Atmospheric pollution, Tropospheric pollutants - Gaseous pollutants, Stratospheric pollution, Water Pollution, Soil pollution |
Common book for all sections in JEE Main Chemistry:
Modern Approach to Chemical Calculations by R.C. Mukherjee: This is your go-to book if you want to master the tricks and formulas to solve numerical problems in chemistry across all branches of chemistry.
Some of the important highlights of the book include:
1.Explains the mole concept in detail and with great clarity
2.Illustrations and examples are used throughout the book for easy learning.
3.Contains sufficient JEE-level solved and unsolved problems to practice after each chapter.
4.Questions are graded according to their difficulty level, which makes evaluating your learning easier.
5.It covers all the branches of chemistry-inorganic, physical and organic.
Follow a routine:
Or maybe not!
But having a routine can bring method to the madness that is preparing for JEE Main. One thing a routine can do is it can outline your short-time and long-term goals. Short-time goals may mean daily or weekly goals, like completing a specific topic or specific set of problems. Long-term goals can be to complete the syllabus in a specific time. This way it becomes much easier to rate your progress. If you are lagging behind, you can make necessary changes to your routine.
As for those who don't want to restrict themselves to a routine, they might want to do a prognosis of their progress from time to time to ensure they are on track.
If your body is willing, your mind would too!!
As humans we don't have an endless source of energy and need timely rest and refreshment. Otherwise, the body will not respond to the challenges you want it to. Also, while JEE Main is a difficult exam; you needn't have to make the body perform a superhuman effort to crack the exam. Like you don't have to study 14-15 hours; simple 7-8 hours daily should suffice.
Get up on time, study your regular hours and go to bed, again on time. You will do just fine!
Practice previous year's question papers: Mistakes made on certain days are costlier than on other days. Like you can make a mistake while solving last year's question paper and still be upbeat. But the same mistake on the exam day might rattle you.
To avoid such a fate, practice previous year's question papers as much you can. It will teach you time management, help find out areas where silly mistakes are happening, and get familiar with the exam pattern. Also, if you solve, say questions papers of the last ten years or so, there is a good chance that some questions may be repeated. If that happens, you can happily earn some free scores!
Keep an eye on speed and accuracy: The last in our list of JEE Main Preparation Tips for Chemistry is related to execution of what you have learned.
When practising question papers or taking a mock test, check whether you are able to solve the problems and answer all the questions within the stipulated time. If time runs out and you are still stuck with half a dozen questions, it is sign you need to improve your speed.
Improving the strike rate of your answers is also vital to score well in chemistry. You can cut down on mistakes by clearing your concepts and also by practicing problem exercises.
All the best!
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