Preparation for JEE Main: Chemistry

In today’s world of stiff competition, planning plays an important role in making this journey easy. Those who want to pursue engineering as a career must appear for JEE Mains for admission into the engineering colleges in India. JEE Main is based on class 11 and 12 syllabi.

Chemistry can be one of the deciding factors in JEE examination. Most students often rank it as one of the easiest sections. Students can score full marks in this section and stand a chance to improve their overall rank. Students should thoroughly go through NCERT Part-I and II. Candidates should be well versed with concepts given in the NCERT textbooks. Many questions in JEE Main paper are straightforward and based only on facts elucidated in the NCERT textbooks. So, covering the whole of the NCERT textbook along with the NCERT exemplar is a must.

Books to refer.

— NCERT and NCERT Exemplar
— JD Lee for Inorganic Chemistry
— Solomen, Peter Syke for Organic Chemistry
— Atkin for Physical Chemistry

Important topics
In Chemistry, some topics are evergreen from which questions are asked every year in JEE. These are equilibrium, thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, electrochemistry in physical chemistry. Students must practice by solving maximum numerical questions on these topics.
Similarly, for organic chemistry, students must learn reaction mechanisms and name reactions. Regular practice is needed to score good marks in organic chemistry. Concept-based questions on Acidic and Basic strength are frequently asked.
Inorganic chemistry needs regular reading and studying. Students should make a proper plan to develop a strong grip on topics like P-block, coordination compounds. In recent years, theoretical questions have also been asked from topics like biomolecules, chemistry in everyday life, polymers, surface chemistry, and environmental chemistry. These questions are directly from the NCERT textbook and students must go through them properly.

How to Prepare Amid Pandemic?

Make notes
Making notes is one of the best methods to understand, learn and prepare for any exam. Students should make notes in particular for inorganic chemistry from the NCERT textbooks as it involves a lot of memorisation. They should carefully and thoroughly go through every line of the NCERT textbooks and make precise notes for each chapter. They should go through these notes every day. During the revision time, these notes come in handy and prove indispensable.

Understand reaction mechanism
Memorizing certain topics is necessary while studying chemistry, however, when it comes to reactions, instead of memorizing, students should focus on understanding the complete mechanism behind every reaction.
In fact, the best way to study organic chemistry is by understanding and then revising it again and again. Students should write a summary of every chapter including all the important points. They should start with the basics and then move ahead with complex concepts. maintaining a separate notebook for named reactions & their mechanism and revising them daily is essential.

Develop problem-solving skills
Good problem-solving skills are necessary to ace physical chemistry. Students should have strong conceptual and application-based understanding. They should be thorough with all the formulae and solve as many problems as possible in physical chemistry.

Revision
Revision is an important part of a student’s preparation and is a continuous process. When it comes to JEE Main chemistry, students should indulge in regular and thorough revision as the subject is quite theoretical. A well-planned periodic revision will not only help in strengthening the knowledge of students but also in increasing the retention span.

Practice different types of questions
Practice does not make one perfect. Only perfect practice makes one perfect. Instead of solving the same type of questions, again and again, students should solve different varieties of questions. A good question bank that contains all possible varieties of questions asked in previous years can help students to ace chemistry. Additionally, solving quality problems develops a sound confidence level.

Time management
Time management plays a major role in success. Effective time management not only ensures timely completion of the syllabus but also allows enough time for thorough practice and revision which strengthens student’s preparation. To manage time effectively, students should prepare a timetable which is the first step towards staying organised. Students should devise proper strategies to manage time well during the exam as well as it will help them to complete the exam in time and save time for revision.

Improve speed and accuracy
Speed and accuracy play a key role when it comes to succeeding in competitive exams like JEE. Instead of attempting all the questions, students should focus on solving the ones they are confident of to avoid negative markings in the exam. To improve speed and accuracy, students should solve as many mock papers as possible in a timed manner. This will help them to understand how much time is taken to solve a question. Any minute saved can be utilized in solving more complex problems. Students should also solve previous year papers to understand the latest trends in the exam pattern and the complexity level of the exam. This will help build the confidence level of students.

Use flashcards
Using flashcards is an interesting and recommended way to learn inorganic chemistry. It helps in memorising and thereby easing up the entire learning process. Students can also use other techniques such as preparing the summary or formula charts for quick revision. Flashcards are portable and can be carried anywhere, thereby helping in the productive use of time.