IIT JAM Chemistry: Books, Preparation Tips, Syllabus!

IIT JAM Chemistry exam is given by the candidates who wish to pursue master’s degree in Chemistry. IIT JAM is Joint Admission test for MSc. It is an entrance test to get admitted in IITs, NITs, or IISc to pursue M.Sc (Four Semesters), Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D, M.Sc.-M.Tech., M.Sc.-Ph.D Dual Degree & other courses.

Every year, large number of candidates appear in the IIT JAM Exam and fulfill their dream of getting admission in the M.Sc. Chemistry Courses offered by the various IITs.

After qualifying M.Sc./PhD degree, there are many career options a candidate can choose. Candidates can check what are the IIT JAM Career Options after qualifying M.Sc./PhD degree.

IIT JAM exam is conducted every year in the month of February. IIT JAM exam 2017 was conducted on 12^th February and it was organized by IIT Delhi.

Below candidates will get the complete details about IIT JAM Chemistry Exam.

 IIT JAM Chemistry Exam Details

IIT JAM Exam first conducted in 2004 to give admissions to candidates who want to pursue PG courses.

Candidates want to pursue courses related to Chemistry must clear the IIT JAM Chemistry exam and must have pursued Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry.

IIT JAM Chemistry Books

IIT JAM Exam is one of the toughest exam in India. So, candidates need to be well prepared for the exam.

Candidates must select best books to prepare for JAM Chemistry Examination. Many of the books are also available on e-commerce websites like, Amazon, Flipkart, etc.

Check which are the best books for JAM Chemistry Preparation – IIT JAM Chemistry Books.

How to prepare for IIT JAM Chemistry Examination?

Candidates must follow the below preparation tips to crack Chemistry exam:

·         Start your preparation 5-6 months before the exam so you can get enough time for your revision.

·         Do not study any other subjects.

·         Make notes of all the important topics and revise all those topics frequently.

·         Give more time to your weak points which helps you to improve them.

·         Maintain a good health. You need to eat good and healthy food everyday and take at least 7-8 hours of sleep.

Exam Pattern for IIT JAM Chemistry

Exam pattern for all the subjects are same. Below I have mentioned the exam patter for IIT JAM exam:

JAM exam is divided into three sections:

·         Section A- 30 MCQs of 50 marks: Out of a total of 30 questions, 10 questions are of one mark each and 20 questions are of two marks each. There is negative marking of 1/3 mark for each question answered incorrectly out of the one-mark question and 2/3 marks are deducted for each incorrect question which is of two marks each. There is no negative marking for any question left unanswered.

·         Section B- 10 MSQs of 20 marks: Each correct answer in this section is awarded two marks. There is no negative marking in this section.

·         Section C- 20 NAT of 30 marks:  Out of the total 20 questions, first 10 questions are of one mark each and other 10 questions are of two marks each. There is no negative marking in this section as well.

IIT JAM Chemistry Previous Years Question Papers

Candidates appearing for Chemistry exam 2018, must practice the previous 5 years question papers. Solving these papers will help the candidates identify their weak areas.

You can download the IIT JAM question paper from here- IIT JAM Solved Question Papers Last 10 Years.

Syllabus for IIT JAM Chemistry

Below is the detailed syllabus for IIT JAM Chemistry examination:

Physical Chemistry

Basic Mathematical Concepts: Functions; maxima and minima; integrals; ordinary differential equations; vectors and matrices; determinants; elementary statistics and probability theory.

Atomic and Molecular Structure: Fundamental particles; Bohr’s theory of hydrogen-like atom; wave particle duality; uncertainty principle; Schrödinger’s wave equation; quantum numbers; shapes of orbitals; Hund’s rule and Pauli’s exclusion principle; electronic configuration of simple homonuclear diatomic molecules.

Theory of Gasses: Equation of state for ideal and non-ideal (van der Waals) gasses; Kinetic theory of gasses; Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law; equipartition of energy.

Solid state: Crystals and crystal systems; X-rays; NaCl and KCl structures; close packing; atomic and ionic radii; radius ratio rules; lattice energy; Born-Haber cycle; isomorphism; heat capacity of solids.

Chemical Thermodynamics: Reversible and irreversible processes; first law and its application to ideal and non-ideal gasses; thermochemistry; second law; entropy and free energy; criteria for spontaneity.

Chemical and Phase Equilibria: Law of mass action; Kp, Kc, Kx and Kn; effect of temperature on K; ionic equilibria in solutions; pH and buffer solutions; hydrolysis; solubility product; phase equilibria phase rule and its application to one-component and two-component systems; colligative properties.

Electrochemistry: Conductance and its applications; transport number; galvanic cells; EMF and free energy; concentration cells with and without transport; polarography; concentration cells with and without transport; Debey-Huckel-Onsagar theory of strong electrolytes.

Chemical Kinetics: Reactions of various order; Arrhenius equation; collision theory; transition state theory; chain reactions – normal and branched; enzyme kinetics; photochemical processes; catalysis.

Adsorption: Gibbs adsorption equation; adsorption isotherm; types of adsorption; surface area of adsorbents; surface films on liquids.

Spectroscopy: Beer-Lambert law; fundamental concepts of rotational, vibrational, electronic and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Organic Chemistry

Basic Concepts in Organic Chemistry and Stereochemistry: Electronic effects (resonance, inductive, hyper conjugation) and steric effects and its applications (acid/base property); optical isomerism in compounds with and without any stereocenters (allenes, biphenyls); conformation of acyclic systems (substituted ethane/n-propane/n-butane) and cyclic systems (mono- and di-substituted cyclohexanes).

Organic Reaction Mechanism and Synthetic Applications: Chemistry of reactive intermediates (carbocations, carbanions, free radicals, carbenes, nitrenes, benzynes etc.); Hofmann-Curtius-Lossen rearrangement, Wolff rearrangement, Simmons-Smith reaction, Reimer-Tiemann reaction, Michael reaction, Darzens reaction, Wittig reaction and McMurry reaction; Pinacol-pinacolone, Favorskii, benzylic acid rearrangement, dienone-phenol rearrangement, Baeyer-Villeger reaction; oxidation and reduction reactions in organic chemistry; organometallic reagents in organic synthesis (Grignard and organocopper); Diels-Alder, electro cyclic and sigma tropic reactions; functional group inter-conversions and structural problems using chemical reactions.

Qualitative Organic Analysis: Identification of functional groups by chemical tests; elementary UV, IR and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques as tools for structural elucidation.

Natural Products Chemistry: Chemistry of alkaloids, steroids, terpenes, carbohydrates, amino acids, peptides and nucleic acids.

Aromatic and Heterocyclic Chemistry: Monocyclic, bicyclic and tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and monocyclic compounds with one hetero atom: synthesis, reactivity and properties.

Inorganic Chemistry

Periodic Table: Periodic classification of elements and periodicity in properties; general methods of isolation and purification of elements.

Chemical Bonding and Shapes of Compounds: Types of bonding; VSEPR theory and shapes of molecules; hybridization; dipole moment; ionic solids; structure of NaCl, CsCl, diamond and graphite; lattice energy.

Main Group Elements (s and p blocks): General concepts on group relationships and gradation in properties; structure of electron deficient compounds involving main group elements.

Transition Metals (d block): Characteristics of 3d elements; oxide, hydroxide and salts of first row metals; coordination complexes: structure, isomerism, reaction mechanism and electronic spectra; VB, MO and Crystal Field theoretical approaches for structure, color and magnetic properties of metal complexes; organometallic compounds having ligands with back bonding capabilities such as metal carbonyls, carbenes, nitrosyls and metallocenes; homogenous catalysis.

Bioinorganic Chemistry: Essentials and trace elements of life; basic reactions in the biological systems and the role of metal ions, especially Fe2+, Fe3+, Cu2+ and Zn2+; structure and function of hemoglobin and myoglobin and carbonic anhydrase.

Instrumental Methods of Analysis: Basic principles; instrumentations and simple applications of conductometry, potentiometry and UV-vis spectrophotometry; analysis of water, air and soil samples.

Analytical Chemistry: Principles of qualitative and quantitative analysis; acid-base, oxidation-reduction and complexometric titrations using EDTA; precipitation reactions; use of indicators; use of organic reagents in inorganic analysis; radioactivity; nuclear reactions; applications of isotopes.

Hope, the above information will be helpful to you. If you have any queries regarding IIT JAM Chemistry Exam, you can comment in the comment section given below.