An Analysis of the IIT-JEE

The complexity of the IIT-JEE arises from the fact that the questions are always unique in their context, and solving them often requires a combination of concepts from across different chapters. Nonetheless, some basic data analysis can be quite revealing and could give some important insights into how one should go about preparing for each subject. Such analyses form the basis of our understanding of the JEE. The section-wise breakup of marks in the past four years (2001-2004) JEE Screening has been given below for your reference.

PHYSICS

'Electrostatics and Current Electricity', and 'Electromagnetism'-each of these topics has contributed about 15% to the total marks in the past four years. Students should devote about 30% of their preparation time to the coverage of Electromagnetism and Electrostatics; because together they constitute almost one-third of the total marks and can be more scoring as the degree of difficulty when compared to Mechanics is relatively low.

'Optics' too contributes approximately 13% to the IIT-JEE Screening test. Though this trend does not conform strongly to the 1999 JEE (which only had one test- JEE Screening was introduced in 2000). Within Optics, it has been observed that problems on Physical optics are more frequent than that on Geometrical optics. Students should take care to devote about 10% of time on Optics for robust preparation.

In the past four years, approximately 20% of the total marks pertain to Mechanics. Within Mechanics, the favorite topics seem to be 'Rigid Body Rotation' and 'Motion on a Plane'. Topics like 'Simple Harmonic Motion' and 'Work and Energy', on the other hand, have been accorded relatively less priority for these years. Apparently, students have to be thoroughly prepared with Mechanics as it forms almost one-fifth of the whole JEE Screening paper. It is important for students to realize that Mechanics though important, takes relatively more time for preparation. Thus, they should restrict their preparation of Mechanics to about 30% of the total time. The next important topics are 'Modern Physics' and 'Thermal Physics', each commanding a share of about 12% of the total marks. These topics can be covered thoroughly in a relatively less time (10% of total time can be allocated to each topic); therefore, a student should look at exhaustively preparing for these topics.]

The last but not the least, 'Mechanical Waves' (sound) has accounted for approximately 12% of the total marks. Students can prepare for Wave Motion by restricting their total time spent on this particular topic to about 10%.

CHEMISTRY

'Organic Chemistry' has the highest weightage with mean marks of 36%. Topics like 'Isomerism' and 'Name Reactions', and 'Stability of reaction intermediates' should be thoroughly covered. It is easier to remember the reactions and conversions involving aromatic compounds and a considerable percentage of questions from organic chemistry are based on this part. An understanding of directive influence of substituent groups, resonance and mechanism of reactions definitely helps in cracking the problems of organic chemistry.

'Physical Chemistry' is a close second with a mean weightage of 33%. In fact, questions on physical chemistry are all numerical in nature. Problems on topics like 'Electrochemistry', 'Kinetics', and 'Chemical and Ionic Equilibrium' are always asked either directly or along with some other topic. Students are advised to cover all the topics of physical chemistry. This is an area in which students can be sure of hundred percent score, provided they have a clear understanding of the concepts and a good practice of solving problems within recommended time.

'Inorganic Chemistry' and 'General Chemistry' account for 21% and 10% of the total marks. Inorganic Chemistry should be prepared by studying the group properties and periodicity. Lots of emphasis has to be given to Exceptions. Questions are asked from these topics invariably. The properties of some important compounds are also asked in the form of reactions. Remembering the reactions involved in qualitative analysis is of great advantage. Questions asked in General Chemistry mostly include that from 'Stoichiometry' and 'Chemical Bonding'.

MATHEMATICS

'Calculus' accounts for about 30% of the total marks in JEE Screening. Students can score a high percentage of marks by firmly grasping the fundamentals of Calculus. More emphasis should be given in preparing 'Functions', 'Increasing/Decreasing Functions', and 'Maxima/ Minima of Functions'.

In Integral Calculus, students must practice problems on 'Definite Integral' with a proper understanding of the use of their properties for evaluation.

In 'Area of Regions Bounded by Curves', students should take care to draw figures for obtaining the limits of the integrals to be evaluated.

'Algebra' has a weightage of about 23% of the total marks. Students should emphasize practicing only those topics that have been well understood by them. Since problems on Algebra are trickier, students must practice solving as many different types of problems as they can.

'Analytical Geometry' has a weightage of about 20% of the total marks. It is also a conceptual topic. Before solving a problem, students must draw figures of the given curves to understand the problem.

The topics of 'Vectors and 3-D Geometry' and 'Probability' have a weightage of approximately 6% each. These also have to be thoroughly prepared.

'Trigonometry' carries a weightage of about 9%. It has been observed that this weightage was as high as 17% in JEE Screening 2001 and as low as 4% in JEE Screening 2003. Students, anyways, must be thorough with the topics of 'Inverse functions', 'Solutions of Trigonometric Equations', and 'Solution of Triangles'. The formulae and standard results of trigonometry must be learnt by heart in order to do well in the Mathematics paper.

Please note that the JEE is not about scoring 100% in a subject or the examination. Your aim should be to attain an optimal score in each subject, depending on your strengths and weaknesses.

Temperal Balance

• Keep your cool during the paper. If you feel you are getting flustered, close your eyes for some time to regain your composure and concentration.


• Keep yourself in a cheerful and positive mood.


• If you feel tension rising during the paper, take deep breaths to release tension.


• Do not get demotivated or overexcited on seeing the question paper. Keep your balance. Demotivation will make even easy questions appear tough and overconfidence will make you commit silly mistakes.


• Do not get depressed by tough questions. Instead remind yourself that these questions are tough for every aspirant.


• Do not get emotionally attached to any question. It is not necessary that you will be able to solve a question from topics you have prepared well.


• Do not worry about the minimum cut-off marks for JEE. No one knows about the cut-off for sure, but no one has ever been rejected on the basis of any subject-wise minimum cut-off.


• Do not argue with anyone about anything before the test.


• Have faith in God and in yourself. Whatever happens to you will be for the best.

Keep depressing thoughts away

• First of all, realize that you are not the only one facing anxiety. Each IIT-JEE aspirant is facing the same dilemma.


• Also realize that if you have studied even 60% of JEE syllabus properly, you need not harbour negative thoughts. Your success at the screening test is ensured.


• Whenever you feel tensed, start a countdown from 50 to 1. It will help you release tension.


• Light stretching exercise also helps reduce pent-up tension.


• If you are feeling tensed, do not suffer alone. The company of friends and light chit-chat will help you divert your mind from negative thoughts.

Course Planning

Course planning is essential in the sense ,that it can get you at the top in rank list.This planning should be done by the student in 11th class itself . From this year, a screening test is being conducted and so proper planning becomes all the more important.Have a look at all the topics and shortlist topics,and months wherein you plan to complete them.Finishing syllabus atleast a month before the exam is essential.The summer vacations in 12th class are the best time to finish a huge lot of syllabus.I can suggest the following course plan for students in 11th class.

JUNE TO OCTOBER : Mathematical concepts used in Physics, Basic mechanics, stoichiometry, general chemistry----atomic structure, chemical bonding, periodic table, algebra---number theory, quadratic equations, progressions.

OCTOBER TO JANUARY :Complete Mechanics, waves, Physical Chemistry--equilibrium, heat, kinetics, thermochemistry, electrolysis, algebra -----induction, complex numbers, trignometry.

JANUARY TO MAY : Heat, fluid mechanics, gravitation, Inorganic chemistry---properties and metallurgy of metals and non metals, gas laws, analytic geometry, permutations and combinations, binomial theorem.

MAY TO AUGUST : Electrostatics and electricity, electrochemistry, solutions, solids, qualitative analysis, transition metals, differentiation and integration.

AUGUST TO NOVEMBER : magnetism, optics, modern physics, organic chemistry, differential equations, probability, vectors.

NOVEMBER TO DECEMBER : FINAL REVISION

By following this plan,course will be finished in time and revision can also done,to ensure maximum success in JEE.To maximize your potential you have to planned .My next topic tells you about certain important topics to which special interest should be given.

Choosing the right topics for maximum study is very important not only for clearing JEE but also for getting a high rank. Lots of topics in JEE syllabus require a huge lot of time, incomparable to that required by other topics. Spending too much time on these topics and ignoring other topics leads to drastic failure in rank.Lots of topics in JEE are very easy and are of NCERT level.The key to topping JEE is to maximize your scoring in these topics which boosts the rank. Many such topics require considerably less time and is much much less than the time required by certain other topics with proportionate marks.You should spend more time on these topics and try to earn full marks in such topics.I list a few of these topics:

MODERN PHYSICS AND ELECTRONICS :most of the questions easy and similar to past JEE questions.

WAVE OPTICS :most of the questions are similar to past JEE questions

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY AND GENERAL CHEMISTRY :most of the questions are of NCERT level and are simple.

SOLID STATE :Most of the questions are very easy.

PROBABILITY AND DIFFERENTIATION :most of the questions are simple and NCERT level.

DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS :most of the questions are similar to past JEE questions.

By spending legible time on these topics ,the scoring in JEE will be boosted and only will you clear JEE but also get a high rank.But beware , don't neglect there other topics. In topics like mechanics, electricity , physical chemistry and analytical geometry , if the concepts are clearly understood then many of the questions pertaining to these topics can be easily handled.My next topic discusses the marks and the rank which can be expected with those marks.

Selection Of Coaching Institutes

This is one of the most important topics which often decides your rank and hence your career. Hence discussion on this topic is indispensible. IIT- JEE coaching has become far too commercialised. Hundreds of coaching institutes have come into existence, claiming hundreds of ranks. It is the student who falls prey to all these gimmicks and often ends up with either a low rank of failure at JEE. So before joining any coaching institute you should see that the institute should have a strong reputation. Some tips for choosing the right institute are:

• See how old the institute is.


• How many students of the coaching institute got into IIT last year. (Ideally should be greater than 40). Ask the institute to give phone nos. of the successfull students, so that you can confirm.


• Talk to 3 or 4 students(should be studious)who are already studying in that institute.Ask them what they feel about the teachers and the management(very important!) of that institute.


• See the experience of the faculty


• See the level of problems in the assignments and whether the study material is regularly updated or not.


• By what do they plan to finish the syllabus


• Finally, see if your parents can pay the fees(generally very huge).

For students living in areas with no coaching institutes or transportation problems, a postal coaching is a must. Some tips for postal coaching are:

• Most important tip is that the coaching institute that you choose should have a very strong reputation.


• See whether the sets are despatched on time.


• Talk to students who have already enrolled for that institute, and what they feel about the depth of coverage and problem sets.


• See how many postal tests, on-the-spot tests and lecture sessions are there. These are must for removing doubts and strengthening the concept

Examination Strategies For IIT JEE

Revision related tips

• About 20 days before the JEE Screening Test, start getting acquainted with a wide variety of topics to improve the range of numericals you can attempt. Do not attempt lengthy questions, and focus instead on objective, numerical questions to practice as many types of questions as you can. You should look at breadth rather than depth in these 20 days.


• Revise all important concepts and formulae, so that they are on your tips and come to you without any effort or thought.


• The screening paper gives equal weightage to all three subjects – and so should your screening preparation.


• Remember - The screening test has negative marking for wrong answers. So your familiarity with concepts will be crucial if you take the calculated risk of logical guessing.

Things to keep in mind one day before the examination:

• You need at least 6-8 hours of sleep before the examination to keep yourself fresh while solving questions.


• Eat a light meal so that you do not feel drowsy or lethargic during the paper.


• Revise only those topics that you have studied earlier. Do not start reading any new topics just before the examination, since this will be a waste of time and you may lose the information you have already grasped.


• You should reach the test center at least half an hour before the exam and if you haven't seen the center before, then you must go and visit the center on the day before the exam.
  
  Note: If your examination center is in another city-
  
  
  
  • Reach the city positively on the day before the exam.
  
  
  • Ensure the place of your stay there is calm, clean and conducive to study.
  
  
  • In actuality it does not make any difference whether the center is in your city or in some other city. So get the fear of an unknown city out of your mind.
  
  
  
  


• Never go to the center on an empty stomach. Always keep biscuits, fruits etc. handy.


• Some students complain of nausea or headache close to the test. So keep relevant medicine handy.


• If you plan to ride your own vehicle to the center, ensure it is in proper running condition and has enough fuel in its tank.


• If you do not have a vehicle, ensure a means of traveling that reaches you to the center well in time, and give at least half an hour of time for unforeseen delays like traffic jams and rush hour traffic.


• Keep a wristwatch, your permission letter, a pen, two pencils (sharpened at both ends), an eraser, a sharpener and other relevant stationary systematically with you.

Some important points to keep in mind during the examination

General Instructions

• Synchronize your wristwatch with the center clock.


• Open your permission letter and keep it on your table.


• Do not use a red pen.

Points regarding presentation

• Start attempting the question paper only after reading the instructions given on it very carefully.


• While attempting questions, go on segregating them by the A, B, C method A :These questions are from topics that you have prepared well, and you can clearly comprehend the meaning of these questions. You have done questions containing similar concept earlier and you are confident that you will be able to solve these. B :You know you can solve these questions but they are time-consuming, nevertheless you are confident you will be able to crack them when you come back to them. These questions should be attempted in the second round of question attempting, i.e. when you have solved all questions marked with a B. C :You don't know head or tail of these questions and you should not waste time attempting them.


• Attempting to solve all questions in haste increases the chances of error. It is better to solve slightly fewer questions faultlessly.


• Never attempt two questions at the same time. Concentrate on one question at a time.


• Carry out all rough work only in the space given in the paper.


• If you need a diagram to understand questions in say physics or coordinate geometry etc., do make one.


• Use the value of constants given in the paper in solving a numerical. If the value is not mentioned, use the one you remember.


• Give all three subjects equal time - i.e. 50 minutes each for physics, chemistry and mathematics.


• While attempting the answers, do not shade the answer key immediately. Instead, tick your response with a pencil 4 on the answer key.


• Keep marking questions with A, B, C in the first round of solving the paper. All questions should be segregated into one of these three categories. This saves valuable time later.


• Fill out the answer key 30 minutes before final time. Fill out the responses to questions attempted after this directly in the answer key.