IIT JEE is one of the most competitive exams of the country, the vast syllabus and difficulty of this exam are what make this exam so tough. Due to all these reasons, you have to make this decision for yourself- whether or not to pursue this examination because it will take a lot of hard work and dedication from you to attempt this exam.
Before you move onto how to study for this exam, you should know these basics about the exam. There are two levels to this exam- JEE Mains and JEE Advanced, which is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). You need to clear this entrance exam to get an admission in any one of the IITs, NIITs, and some other government institutions. JEE Mains takes place twice a year and is conducted through an online mode. The applications for the January attempt will start from the second week of September in 2019, and the exam will be held in the second week of January. For the April attempt, the applications will open in the second week of February 2020 and the exam will be held in the second week of April 2020.
This exam wants to see your level of clarity with concepts in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics taught in Class 11 and 12, and since the level of competition is so high, you have to be extremely good on your clarity and application of these concepts. This article will tell you the syllabus, best books required for this exam and tips on how to actually crack the JEE Mains paper.
JEE Mains Exam Pattern:
It is an online exam, where the total marks are 360. You will get 4+ for every question answered correctly and 1- for an incorrect answer. There is no negative marking for skipping a question. They are MCQ based questions, with 90 questions that need to be answered in 3 hours, where equal importance has been given to Physics, Chemistry and Maths.
JEE Mains Syllabus 2020:
The expected syllabus on the basis of previous years’ papers,
For Maths,
– Sets, Relations, Functions
– Complex Numbers and Quadratic Equations
– Matrices and Determinants
– Permutations and Combinations
– Mathematical Induction
– Binomial Theorem and its Simple Application
– Sequences and Series
– Limit, Continuity and Differentiability
– Integral Calculus
– Differential Equations
– Co-ordinate Geometry
– Three- Dimensional Geometry
– Vector Algebra
– Statics and Probability
– Trigonometry
Mathematical Reasoning
For Physics,
– Physics and Measurement
– Kinematics
– Laws of Motion
– Work, Energy and Power
– Rotational Motion
– Gravitation
– Properties of Solids and Liquids
– Thermodynamics
– Kinetic Theory of Gases
– Oscillations and Waves
– Electrostatics
– Current Electricity
– Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism
– Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents
– Electromagnetic Waves
– Optics
– Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation
– Atoms and Nuclei
– Electronic Devices
– Communication Systems
Experimental Skills required for Physics; counts for 20% of the total weightage in Physics
· Vernier Calliper- Used to measure the internal and external diameter and depth of a vessel
· Screw Gauge- Used to determine the thickness or diameter of a thin sheet or wire
· Simple Pendulum- Dissipation of energy by plotting a graph between square of amplitude and time
· Metre Scale- Mass of a given object by principle of moments
· Young’s modulus of elasticity of the material of a metallic wire
· Surface tension of water by capillary rise and effect of detergents
· Coefficient of Viscosity of a given viscous liquid by measuring the terminal velocity of a given spherical body
· Plotting a cooling curve for the relationship between the temperature of a hot body and time
· Speed of sound in air at room temperature using a resonance tube
· Specific heat capacity of a given solid and liquid by method of mixtures
· Resistivity of the material of a given wire using metre bridge
· Resistance of a given wire using Ohm’s Law
· Potentiometer: (i) Comparison of emf of two primary cells (ii) Determination of internal resistance of a cell
· Resistance and figure of merit of a galvanometer by half detection method
· Focal length of : Convex and concave mirror, Convex lens using parallax method
· Plotting of angle of deviation v/s angle of incidence for a triangular prism
· Refractive index of a glass slab using a travelling microscope
· Characteristic curves of a p-n junction diode in forward and reverse bias
· Characteristic curves of a Zener diode and finding reverse break down voltage
· Characteristic curves of a transistor and finding current gain and voltage gain
· Identification of Diode, LED, Transistor, IC, Resistor, Capacitor from mixed collection of such items
· Using a multimeter to: (i) Identify base of a transistor (ii) Distinguish between NPN and PNP type transistor (iii) See the unidirectional flow of current in case of a diode and an LED (iv) Check the correctness or otherwise of a given electronic component (diode, transistor or IC)
For Chemistry (Physical Chemistry),
– Basic Concepts in Chemistry: Matter, Dalton’s Atomic Theory; Concept of atom, molecule, element and compound; Physical quantities and their measurement in Chemistry, precision and accuracy, significant figures, SI units, dimensional analysis; Laws of chemical combination; Atomic and molecular masses, mole concept, molar mass, percentage composition, empirical molecular formulae; Chemical equations stoichiometry
– States of Matter
– Atomic Structure
– Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
– Chemical Thermodynamics
– Solutions
– Equilibrium
– Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry
– Chemical Kinetics
– Surface Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
– Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties
– General Principles and Processes of Isolation of Metals
– Hydrogen
– S- Block Elements (Alkali and Alkaline Earth Elements)
– P- Block Elements
– D and F- Block Elements
– Coordination Compounds
– Environmental Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
– Purification and Characterisation of Organic Compounds
– Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry
– Hydrocarbons
– Organic Compounds containing Halogens
– Organic Compounds containing Oxygen
– Organic Compounds containing Nitrogen
– Biomolecules
– Chemistry in Everyday Life
– Principles Related to Practical Chemistry
Tips for your JEE Mains Preparation:
- Have clarity- The basis of this exam is to see the clarity of your concepts. So, you have to work hard at achieving that because the smallest of mistakes can affect your rank.
- Practice- The only way to get that kind of clarity is through constant practice. When you have such a vast syllabus to cover, the only way to remember all the concepts and not confuse them is by revising them regularly. Keep some time of your day allocated just for revision. Solving questions from previous years will also help you in practice
- Mock Tests- These will not only help with the revision but will also give you a good idea about the kind of questions that can be asked in the paper. These will tell you about your level of preparation for this examination and will also make you confident in your own skill, which is necessary when you are dealing with such a competitive and pressurized situation.
- Keep Achievable Goals- You want to do everything in one day or you may want to delay things till next week or month. That may not always be possible. Set a schedule that allows you to do more things while still keeping up the quality of your studies. The hours you study don’t matter if you are not retaining the concept or going extremely slow with the syllabus. Your schedule should be followed in such a way that you manage your time to achieve the maximum out of your day without completely exhausting yourself.
Best Books for JEE Mains
This is just a suggestive list for the kind of study material you should have for this exam.
Best Physics Books for IIT JEE Preparation:
When you are just starting out your preparation:
· NCERT Books
· SL Arora’s Simplified Physics
You must do:
· HC Verma’s Concepts of Physics
· DC Pandey’s Set of Books
For more practise and clarity:
· IE Irodov’s Problems in General Physics
· Halliday, Resnick and Walker’s Physics for JEE
Best Chemistry Books for IIT JEE Preparation:
To start the preparation,
· NCERT Book Set
A must do for the JEE Mains exam:
· OP Tandon/ RC Mukherjee/ P Bahadur (Physical Chemistry)
· LG Wade for Mechanisms (Organic Chemistry)
· NCERT Books (Inorganic Chemistry)
(These will also help you in Advanced as these will serve as the basics that you are expected to know for IIT JEE exams)
For more clarity and practice:
· MS Chouhan (Organic Chemistry)
· JD LEE (Inorganic Chemistry)
· Narendra Awasthi (Physical Chemistry)
Best Mathematics Books for IIT JEE Preparation:
You start off with-
· NCERT Books and RD Sharma (You will already have these as part of your Board exams as well)
A Must do for JEE :
· RD Sharma Objective, both Volume I and II
· For more clarity and practice-
· SK Goyal (Coordinate Geometry)
· Amit M Agarwal (Calculus)
· SK Goyal (Algebra)
· RD Sharma (Trigonometry and 3D Vector)