Welcome to the first post under the label "Chemistry Strategy". In the posts under this label, I will be discussing the strategies for all the physics chapters that are included in JEE/NEET syllabus.
Mainly I am going to discuss four things,
Mainly I am going to discuss four things,
- The Importance of the chapter from the JEE/NEET point of view,
- The prerequisites of this chapter,
- The important concepts inside the chapter &
- The problem-solving techniques (The most important one).
The Importance of the chapter from the JEE/NEET point of view: -
Honestly, when for the first time I came across the complex pictures like this, I was a bit scared towards the chapter. Not only for its complex diagrams and unexplained theories but also this chapter is famous among the aspirants as a chapter in chemistry which takes the longest time to master. In JEE/NEET there are many questions asked from this chapter and there is a high chance of getting the answer wrong. Very often this chapter creates so much confusion during the exam that the aspirant fails to concentrate on the upcoming questions in chemistry. This creates a lot of pressure in the examination hall, & that's why this chapter is scary.
The prerequisites of this chapter: -
As the name suggests, this chapter deals with the bonds formed chemically between the elements/compounds. So, the following prerequisites should be taken seriously while studying chemistry.
1 - Periodic classifications and periodic properties.
2 - A firm knowledge of metals, non-metal, and metalloids.
3 - A firm knowledge of acids, bases, and salts.
The important concepts inside the chapter: -
These are the important topics inside the chapter, which were identified by me during my preparation.
- Basics(including bonding, types)
- Wave mechanical concept and Hybridisation
- VSEPR theory
- MOT( Molecular Orbital Theory)
- Bond parameters
- Rules ( Drago's generalization, Bent's rule, etc)
- Back bonding and polarisation
- Exceptions.
The problem comes in the last three points.
There are many rules in bonding, often students do a mistake by remembring only the rules but not knowing the concept that makes the rule operational. The rule is not important but the working principle behind the rule is very important, as the same concept can be used in JEE Advanced paper to make things look difficult. I have studied many books. Books like Concise Inorganic Chemistry - By J.D. Lee has an explanation for almost every rule used in bonding. Also, I found a very good senior on Youtube, who is a teacher, who explains the chemical bonding concepts very nicely.
His videos have helped me a lot to resize my backbone of inorganic chemistry. I suggest every aspirant should follow his channel and learn from his videos. His passion for chemistry can inspire the aspirants to achieve their goals.
It is very common in chemistry to have exceptions, which are irritating sometimes. For the exception part, you have to understand the reason behind the exceptions first, then you have to remember the facts. There are high chances that the questions come directly from the exceptions part of chemistry. A better method is to maintain a notebook and note all the exceptions that you are coming across every day. After a year preparation, you will have a good source to revise exceptions. One more thing never deny learning a simple exception deeply, because JEE advanced checks your deeper understanding of exceptions.
The problem-solving techniques: -
This chapter has a very less amount of questions which require a bigger mathematics calculation. Simple arithmetic and calculation techniques can fetch you positive marks.
Well, this is a basic chapter in chemistry and attracts the question setting committee to ask some concept based questions involving some arithmetic. By revising the concepts and exceptions regularly, practicing different rules by taking examples and attempting assignment papers can increase your confidence in this chapter, which will help you in the upcoming chapters of organic and inorganic chemistry.
Sometimes in JEE advanced paper, I have observed, chemical bonding concepts can be mingled with physical chemistry and make things difficult. Most of these questions were asked on thermochemistry, enthalpy, bond energy, association, dissociation, etc. To ace these type of questions, you have to be crystal clear in chemical bonding chapter, or else even if you are good in enthalpy, you will make a mistake and push your rank down by 1000s.
Chemical bonding is a conceptual chapter and it takes time to complete it fully.
Final words for this chapter:-
This is a conceptual chapter and your problem solving numerical techniques will not work here. You have to learn how to make a proper algorithms to crack conceptual questions. Exceptions are real googly attacks in the paper, a single mistake and you are done. I would suggest every aspirant to never get demotivated initially when you are making mistakes. In this chapter, you are going to make a mistake until your last mock test before JEE/NEET, but that's the learning process.
All the best to everyone.