How To Start NEET Chemistry Preparation from Class 11?

Preparing for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) is itself a challenging task. Being the only major medical examination in India, candidates have to face high competition. In order to crack the NEET exam at once students are required to do a lot of hard work preparing for the same so that they can pursue MBBS or BDS from a well-reputed college.

The subject which takes a much longer time than the others is Chemistry as it has a huge syllabus divided into three sub-subjects – organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry. It is a scoring subject that can excel one’s rank. Therefore, to master chemistry students should start their preparation before physics and biology.

Syllabus for NEET Chemistry comprises topics from both 11^th and 12^th classes which is huge therefore the preparation for NEET chemistry should be started from 11^th  class only. Chemistry section in NEET exam consists of 50 questions from which 45 should be answered making a total of 180 marks. Scoring well in the chemistry section can improve your all India rank as it is a rank booster subject. However, not focusing and preparing well in chemistry can result in an unsatisfactory result.

Strategies to prepare well for chemistry from class 11-

1. Analysing the whole syllabus – The most important step for any student sitting in competitive exams is to thoroughly analyse the whole syllabus. Chemistry itself has a huge syllabus containing organic, inorganic and physical chemistry, so before starting NEET exam preparation a student should go through the whole syllabus beforehand so that he can manage his time accordingly.
2. Knowing weightage and paper pattern- Keeping in mind the weightage of each and every topic can help students prepare accordingly. Around 35% in NEET chemistry section is allotted to Physical and inorganic chemistry whereas 28% is allotted to organic chemistry making it the most important sub subject among the three. The chemistry section in NEET exam is divided into two parts A and B. Part A consists of 35 questions making a total of 140 marks. Part B consists of 15 questions making a total of 40 marks. Based on previous years trends, in some instances all the sub subjects were given equal weightage. Therefore, it is important for students to prepare all topics sincerely.
3. Regularly taking mock tests – In a subject like chemistry taking mock tests is extremely important because in a subject like inorganic chemistry most questions asked are simple but are framed in a way which confuses students. In mock tests also these questions are asked in a tricky way which makes the students aware of such kinds of questions. Attempting mock tests also increases the accuracy and speed of students. It also boosts confidence and gives them the opportunity to judge themselves.
4. Revision – Chemistry is a subject that requires constant revision because of a lot of theory in it. Revision is the key to remembering things for a long time and prevents last-moment anxiety. Revising important chemical formulas, terms and chemical reactions regularly strengthens the topic which results in scoring well in chemistry. Class 12^th students should continuously revise class 11^th syllabus as 11^th class chemistry forms the base for 12^th standard chemistry.
5. Utilizing study material efficiently – Practice makes a man perfect. Practicing regularly can increase students’ accuracy rate and can build enough confidence. For practicing a variety of questions students must require good study material. Having perfect study material can allow students to practice a variety of questions which will give them a better understanding of the concept. Students can easily find study material online or can buy books like SP Jauhar, OP Tandon from nearby bookstores.

For preparing chemistry from class 11 students should have a proper strategy for each section. Students can take ideas from the strategies explained below for each section.

• Physical chemistry – Questions in physical chemistry mainly come from chemical and ionic equilibrium, redox, liquid solutions, and electrochemistry. These four topics dominate this section of chemistry. In the NEET exam around 15-20 questions are from physical chemistry and around 8-12 questions are based on those four topics. Most questions asked in this section are numerical based therefore to score well in this section students are required to have a better understanding of concepts. Some tips for preparing physical chemistry are listed below –

1. Reading the chapter thoroughly from NCERT.
2. Practice numerical questions as much as possible.
3. Note all the important formulas and terms on a sheet of paper.
4. Make notes from reading the same chapter from your desired reference book.
5. Make short notes for revisions.

• Organic Chemistry- The most confusing and important section in chemistry is organic chemistry. A whole 28% of the chemistry section in the NEET exam is allotted to organic chemistry making it the most important section of chemistry. Around 14-18 questions come from organic. Many students find it difficult to score well in this section. Some tips for performing well in this section are stated below –

1. Going through all the concepts from NCERT.
2. Instead of mugging up chemical reactions students should learn and understand their mechanism.
3. Making short notes of name reactions helps in last-moment revision.

• Inorganic Chemistry – this section of chemistry is considered scoring one because most questions asked from this section are from NCERT only. Around 10-18 questions in chemistry are from inorganic. Ignoring this section can result in fewer marks overall in the exam. Therefore, students should focus well on this section. The most important chapters in inorganic are p-block, chemical bonding and coordination compounds. Studying from NCERT is enough to perform well in this section. Solving a variety of questions is best recommended because of its diverse syllabus.

Final thoughts –

Chemistry can be extremely tough for some students and can be very easy for some, depending on the level of their basic knowledge. If a student’s fundamentals are clear then chemistry can be very helpful. Hence, students should start preparing for NEET chemistry from class 11 so that their fundamentals are crystal clear from the very beginning.