This year around 13 lakh students gave their class 12th boards. Maths, being one of the crucial subject is most feared by the students. Students often think how can they score over 90% in their board exams. Questions like is ncert enough for CBSE board is always revolving around their mind. We are going to tackle this phobia together. Let’s see how can we prepare our level best in our examinations.
Marks Distribution of Topics
It is really important to know which units contain how many marks so that you can easily know on which units you should focus more and on which units you should not give more time.
The weightage of Calculus is the highest. However, scoring in Calculus isn’t very easy. It is advisable to practice as many questions you can if you want to ace Calculus.
Many application-based questions come from Chapter Differential Equations. Students find it difficult if their basis of Calculus is not strong. Consistency is very much required if you want to score above 90 percent in your board exams.
The topic which contains the second highest weightage is Vectors and 3D Geometry. Both of these topics come with practice. Make sure to practice all the NCERT problems.
There is almost equitable distribution of weightage between Probability, Relations and Functions and Algebra with 10%, 10% and 13% respectively.
You need to practice additional questions apart from NCERT if you want to score good in Relations and functions.
Linear Programming accounts for total of 6 percent in your marks. It is a easy way to uplift your marks with just a little practice so that you can understand the questions well and answer them with ease.
| S.No. | Chapter Unit | Marks |
| 1 | Relations & Functions | 10 |
| 2 | Algebra | 13 |
| 3 | Calculus | 44 |
| 4 | Vector & 3-Dimensional Geometry | 17 |
| 5 | Linear Programming | 6 |
| 6 | Probability | 10 |
Important Topics
In short, these are the very important chapters you need to work on.
- Integration
- Differentiation
- Matrices and determinants
- Relations and functions
- Probability
- Limits
In Calculus, the chapter wise topics which must be worked more on are Maxima and Minima application questions, Limit of Sum, Integrals application and its properties. Also, practice to plot graph from equations of Integrals.
Matrix Method, how to calculate the inverse of square matrix and Determinant properties are also important subtopics. Practice row-column transformation problems well.
Theorem in Probability, Concept of line and plane in 3D are other topics to be studied well.
Marking Scheme of Maths Question Paper
There are total 29 questions to be solved and you have 3 hours in your hand to solve them. My advice is to start the paper with Very Long Answer Questions and devote around 60 mins. The next section you can do is very short answer questions and you should not spend more than 20 mins on it, followed by Short answer questions which will take about 30 mins. The last section left is the long answer questions. The best strategy would be to take about 50 mins for the same. You will still have time for rechecking.
| S.No. | Types of question | Marks for each question | No. of questions | Total marks |
| 1 | Very Long answer questions | 6 | 6 | 36 |
| 2 | Long answer questions | 4 | 11 | 44 |
| 3 | Short answer questions | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| 4 | Very short answer questions | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Total | 29 | 100 |
Preparation Tips and How to revise for Maths Boards?
One should always have a plan in mind before starting any new endeavor. Similarly, you have a strong plan in mind so that you can do your best in paper and have proper time management during the test.
Always believe yourself. No matter how less you might have scored in your formative assessments, you can improve by practicing variety of questions under each unit.
Never forget to practice the previous year questions as we have seen as per trend, questions are repetitive.
Effective time management is very important so practice these mock tests with timer.
Students often make mistake by not writing the properties while solving the calculus and algebra problems. Avoid that mistake.
Presentation is really important while solving probability questions.
Concepts must be really clear for scoring well in Vector and 3D.
Practice Integration from time to time to get a hang of it.
If you have problem remembering formulae, you can prepare flash cards and revise from them daily.
The best way you do not miss out any question is by not spending too much time on any question. Just go with the flow.
Have a good pace from the beginning so you don’t have to be stressed out at the end.
You have 15 golden minutes granted by CBSE. Optimize the time to write the paper.
If you feel the questions are tough, don’t worry. Anxiety will only hamper you. Start with the questions which you feel are easy and proceed accordingly.
When you are attempt the questions, solve as much as you can. Don’t ponder over any question for a long time.
Be precise while calculating. Be careful while noting the question from the question paper. Check the signs while solving.
Complete all the questions from NCERT. NCERT is the bible. Read it thoroughly. Almost all the questions are either directly from NCERT or based from it.
List out formulas in separate pages. It will help in faster revision.
Understand the derivations and practice them as many times as you can.
Once you complete doing all the questions from NCERT, you can start referring other reference books and practice further.
Solve the miscellaneous solved and unsolved problems. Also solve CBSE Sample Papers.
Attempt the whole paper. Do not skip any question any question. Write down whatever steps you can. You can still gain marks as CBSE does step marking.
Do not overwrite and scribble the answer sheet. Presentable paper is always a better idea. Ensure that your handwriting is legible. If you do any thing wrong, strike it out with a single line.
Label all the graph and figures properly. Don’t forget to mention units, x label and y label.
Recommended Books
These are some of the books you can study once you are done by NCERT. My personal favourite is RD Sharma. But if you are preparing for JEE, it would be better if you solve all the books as questions in JEE are comparatively at higher standards.
- NCERT book
- NCERT exemplar book
- RD Sharma
- ML Aggarwal
- RS Aggarwal