A chemistry plan for JEE Main

Chemistry carries 25 questions and 100 marks in JEE Main: 20 multiple-choice questions and 5 numerical-value questions, with +4 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one. Check the current information bulletin for the exact scheme in your year.

What makes chemistry different from physics and maths is that many of its questions are short to read and quick to answer if you know the fact or the reaction. A well-prepared candidate can often finish chemistry in less time than the other two sections and carry the spare minutes into physics and maths. That only happens if you prepare its three parts in three different ways.

What the 2026 syllabus contains

The official 2026 syllabus has 20 chemistry units, grouped into three parts.

Chemical bonding sits under physical chemistry in the official list, although many books teach it with inorganic. The last unit, principles related to practical chemistry, covers functional-group tests, salt analysis for a listed set of cations and anions, titrations (acid–base and KMnO₄ with oxalic acid or Mohr's salt) and a few preparations.

Physical chemistry: formulas plus daily numericals

Physical chemistry is closest to physics. The marks go to candidates who can set up a calculation quickly and do the arithmetic without a calculator.

• One formula sheet per chapter, with the condition for each formula. For example, [H⁺] = √(KaC) holds only when the acid is weak and its ionisation is small.
• Numbers you should know cold: R = 8.314 J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹ = 0.0821 L atm K⁻¹ mol⁻¹, F = 96,500 C mol⁻¹, Nₐ = 6.022 × 10²³, log 2 = 0.301, log 3 = 0.477, ln x = 2.303 log x.
• Daily numericals. Ten to fifteen problems a day across two chapters keeps speed up. Finish each one to a number.
• Start with the mole concept. Almost every physical chemistry calculation uses it. Our mole concept guide is the place to begin.

Inorganic chemistry: NCERT, repeated

Inorganic questions in JEE Main are often drawn closely from NCERT statements, tables and exceptions. The method is repetition, not problem-solving.

• Read the NCERT chapter line by line, including tables and in-text questions. Mark every exception.
• Build a trends-and-exceptions list per unit: ionisation enthalpy order in period 2, the inert pair effect, anomalous first elements, oxidation states of 3d metals, colours and magnetic moments.
• Revise in short, frequent sessions. Twenty minutes a day beats three hours once a week for this kind of material.
• Tie facts to reasons. "Ga is smaller than Al" is easier to hold when you know it comes from poor shielding by the 3d electrons.

Our guide to inorganic chemistry from NCERT sets out a reading method.

Organic chemistry: mechanisms before reactions

Organic is where memorising without understanding fails. There are too many reactions to hold as isolated facts, but they follow from a few ideas.

1. Master general organic chemistry first: inductive and resonance effects, hyperconjugation, stability of carbocations, carbanions and free radicals, acidity and basicity. Our GOC guide covers this.
2. Learn each reaction with its mechanism, so you can predict the product of a reaction you have not seen.
3. Keep a reaction map for each functional group: reagent, conditions, product.
4. Practise conversions (A to B in two or three steps) and distinguishing tests, such as iodoform, Tollens' and Fehling's.

Order of study

Run one inorganic reading session a week from the start, even while you are on physical and organic. Inorganic fades faster than anything else if it is left to the end.

A weekly routine

Traps that cost chemistry marks

Quick self-test

1. How many moles are there in 11 g of CO₂?
2. What is the hybridisation and shape of XeF₄?
3. What is the pH of 0.01 M HCl?
4. A first-order reaction has k = 0.0693 min⁻¹. What is its half-life?
5. What is the spin-only magnetic moment of Mn²⁺?
6. Which is more acidic, phenol or ethanol, and why?

Answers

1. 11/44 = 0.25 mol.
2. Six electron pairs (four bonds and two lone pairs): sp³d², square planar.
3. [H⁺] = 10⁻² M, so pH = 2.
4. t½ = 0.693/k = 10 min.
5. Mn²⁺ is 3d⁵ with five unpaired electrons: μ = √35 ≈ 5.92 BM.
6. Phenol. Its conjugate base, phenoxide, is stabilised by resonance with the ring; ethoxide is not.

If you missed two or more, start with the foundation chapters in the table above before moving on.

What to do next

• Print the official chemistry syllabus and mark each unit as not started, learnt or revised.
• Make a blank formula sheet for each physical chapter and a trends list for each inorganic unit.
• Fix a daily chemistry slot of at least an hour, plus twenty minutes of NCERT reading.
• Begin with the mole concept, then move to atomic structure and bonding.
• Take one timed 25-question chemistry set every week and log every error with its cause.