Why I would vote for 'The Captain'

Disclaimer: This is a very long blog post and contains political views which might influence your political views.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Last time I posted, I seem to have mentioned the then upcoming Internal Tests. Kids around here were studying pretty hard for them, because the tests would determine what batch they would land up in, for the revision classes: The Alpha Batch, Beta Batch and the Gamma Batch. Our results were horrible, to say the least-- The top mark from our class wouldn't have crossed 45%. The top 3 in the tests were from the F2 section. Apparently, the overall topper had scored 45/180 in the first paper and 170/180 in the second. A real shocker.

Well, to some students' relief, the teachers had decided that due to our poor performance, there would be no segregation at all. All that preparation hadn't gone to waste, though; we had our first AIiTS soon after.

Also, in the past week, we created some sort of record in class. We managed to annoy 3 teachers (Yes, 3 teachers- Eng, CSc and Pandit) successively without getting Chandrasekhar sir angry. Annoying our English teacher wasn't too difficult-- we all collectively started moaning 'K-R' at the beginning of class; and voila!

Just after Pandit's class, we were copying a ray diagram from the board when our CS sir walked in. He wasn't very amused, and although the next day was the computer exam, he gave his period to Pandit. Pandit apparently 'promised' to let us home by 3, and a small misunderstanding led to him becoming angry. He made us study for the exam in that period.

That done, let me shift to the main topic... Politics. Yes, politics. I spend more than 20 minutes every day reading the newspaper (no sports) and after the number of biased political articles I've read, I felt the need to write one and spread awareness of politics--at the state level, to begin with--to my peers.

I find it a bit saddening that most students today don't like the state India is in, and don't want to change it either. Every other student I meet says "I don't care about politics; I'm not going to vote". 

In Tamil Nadu, there are 3 major leaders we get to choose between during elections. Voting for anyone else is equivalent to a NULL vote, at least in the bigger picture. The three biggies are:

1. A grand old guy (not Shubham) who writes Tamil poems,
2. A lady who thinks she's got everything under control,and
3. Captain.

Namma Captain

I shall be explaining, one by one, why you should elect Captain to power in the next state elections. I'm not talking about Dhoni, but a captain with far, far greater powers. Most of you might laugh at what I'm saying right now; but trust me, by the end of this article, you'll... probably still laugh. *sigh*

Anyway, here goes.

1. Courage: You'd expect a good leader to be a person of bravery and strength. Captain casually strolled into the political arena at a time when there were only two players. Takes guts, fellas. The fact that Captain managed to gather 3 million people at the time only indicates the fearlessness and popularity that Captain enjoys.
2. Powers: As you might have observed, Captain boasts of an arsenal of powers. I'm not talking about the powers that come with leadership, nor eye power. Captain can do anything he wants; including flying across buildings, making others think of him as a 20-year old, and doing his detective work on Windows Media Player. There, I gave you some proof too.
3. Kindness: Once, there was this car driver who had this story to tell me:
   "A week ago, I visited Captain's party office, at lunch time, and the moment I went in, they asked: Did you eat, sir? Obviously, I said No, of course not. Then, immediately, they gave me a plate of chicken biriyani. My vote goes to Captain!!"
   I don't know why the driver went to the office, but what would you prefer, 1Kg rice for 10 Rupees or a plate of Chicken Biriyani for free? 
4. Mass Leader: Although he does possess a lot of mass, he's also a leader of the masses. See, he turns up for most of his speeches drunk (doesn't make a big difference, anyway) and yet, manages to deliver. Manages to convince people. Manages to talk like a leader. Clearly, there is something that differentiates him from the rest. He's not human.

I hope that we all agree now on who our best leader is.
See you all next time.
Auro

JEE Journey: The Andhra Factor

Two years ago, I made a decision.

I would get admission into one of the top-rated Andhra coaching centers, and reap the benefits 4 years later. I'd go with determination, and come back a hero.

You want to take on me? Seriously? Stupid mortal.

Luckily, my grandfather stopped me from going there, and I joined FIITJEE in Chennai instead. But then, how could I possibly handle the Andhra competition? I barely study for 3 hours a day...4  if I have an exam the next day. Compare this to 7 or 8 hours a day.
Yes, we all know it-- they treat children like prisoners, but I only realized now, to what extent they are willing to agonize poor students to get ranks. If you can, take a moment to read this.

My physics sir told us that day why we should sympathize with AP-Students rather than be scared of them.

According to that blog post, students are given 15 minutes in the morning to do their duties, and the rest of the day is scheduled for classes and study hours, with limited breaks here and there. The food isn't exactly appreciated either: rice and curry for 362 days a year, and nothing else. A student gets two trips to home per year, and one visit from his/her parents on his birthday. Students are allowed to go out of the campus only once a month- for 45 minutes, to get a haircut.

Some centers even leak exam papers beforehand. They give the question papers to their students, along with the solutions, and make them memorize the answers. This happens especially for the state board exams. With the JEE Mains having a 40% 12th score as a factor, aren't the honest aspirants cheated of their hard work? The most corrupt coaching center wins. 

And the worst part is: The students who come out of those factories don't repent about it either. The intense cruelty they face probably becomes routine to them-- and when they do go to college, they become free birds, and implode.

JEE is not the only insanely competitive test that students fry their brains for-- they face the same amount of competition even for local engineering colleges and even medical seats. Some coaching centers boast of armies in all three. Those students who don't take coaching are, well-- forced to. So we can't blame the students, nor their parents. They all will probably realize one day that not all kids will/want to become engineers and doctors.

If you're a JEE aspirant and you're not from Andhra, don't be scared about your rank. As a famous Pandit once said, studying in a cramped environment only hampers the learning process; it makes your brain mechanical. Studying in a free environment improves you all-round thinking/learning skills, and you'll probably notice that once you join college.

Still pessimistic? Let me tell you how to actually gain the upper hand over them:

• Study for 7+ hours a day. The topper in my centre has a schedule like this: Study from 5pm to 11 pm, and wake up at 3 in the morning to have an extra 3 hours of study. That makes 9 hours.... it makes me feel kinda stupid right now, writing about it...
• Follow our math(s) sir's advice: Study for 10 hours a day. Oh, wait. Have I already mentioned that? My bad. 
• Stop all distractions: Yeah, you guessed it. If you're really that passionate to beat the AP-dudes, just click once on the little red cross at the top-right corner of this page and open your book. Also, no TV, no Music, no Hanging out with friends, no Phone, no Junk food. And if you're a XII F1 guy, NO HAND CRICKET.

If you're not able to do those, then just stop worrying about it and relax. Watch this. And anyway, 500 students from Andhra were sent back from counselling because they failed to come in the top 20% of their board. So there'd be much less competition.

P.S: I urgently need an editor. Yes, I understand this blog is small and pathetic and that I'm overly pessimistic and sarcastic, but I've been driving up an excellent revenue (About 7 rupees so far) from this website, and having an editor would surely drive up the cash. Email me if you want to sign up!

P.P.S: Also, all the best for the PDT tomorrow. It's our first Reshuffling test!

A Day in the life of a Careless Schoolboy

Morning, 6:00am
I wake up, groggy eyed. As I brush my teeth, I wonder: Why can't they give us a day off, at least to prepare for the math exam? The quarterly exam's tomorrow, and I haven't studied a bit yesterday, so that leaves a lot to prepare today. Since only the FIITJEE section is working, I decide to wear sandals to school- nobody's gonna care anyway, right?

7:15am
I wait in the auto (which takes me to school,along with Saiduth and Rohit) and whistle to myself. Saiduth comes out, with his math textbook in hand. I glance at him and smile.
Auro:"You've become quite the nerd, haven't you?"
Saiduth:"Look who's talking! So you studied anything yesterday?"
A:"Didn't open the textbook. Why, you finished? Gonna relax today, huh?"
S:"Yeah, I finished because we have an exam today."
I laugh.
A:"Don't start pulling my leg now. We have full-day FIITJEE today!"
S:"No, we have a test, and then FIITJEE!"
A:"Serious. Are you kidding me??!?"
S:"No! Ask Rohit if you will!"
5 minutes later: (Rohit enters)
A:"Dude, we really have a test today?"
Please say no.
Rohit:"Yes, obviously... why, you didn't know?" *hee hee*
A:"Wha.... but... I thought today was only FIITJEE?"
R:"No, I checked the timetable too."
S:"Auro, lol, you're dead meat if you're not bluffing.."
A:"Give me that book!"
I snatch the book from his hand, and he kindly does not take it back.

How I felt whilst writing the paper

7:45am
My mind is chaotic, and is overflowing with formulas and equations. I check my time. 15 minutes to go! I go through my check-list: Good chapters, finished. Boring chapters, almost. Wow-- the human brain's really efficient under pressure! This is literally mind-blowing! I should write about this on the blog some day... hey, wait a minute, I've wasted a minute! Curse you, brain!

8:15am
I'm sitting in my room, with my eyes focused on the text book. I hear someone whining about studying only for 2 hours for the exam. I chuckle, both at him and myself.
The teacher walks into the exam room, shouts at us to arrange the benches, and distributes the papers. She tells us to start the test.
I look around. Sagnik is studying the paper, and most others are frantically writing. I look at my question paper. A string of thoughts flood my mind:
Trigonometry. Parabola. Ellipse. Formula? Write. Meow. Question 6 easy. Bzzzzzzzzz...
I sit in static for 5 minutes. I take a long, hard look at the paper, and lift my pen. I'll do the easy questions first, and somehow manage the paper...

10:00am
Turns out the questions are easier than they look. Either that or I'm not doing anything right. For each problem, especially trigonometry, I spend a good 5 minutes on R&D, and then proceed to answering it. Also, considering that I have only about an hour left, I try to get faster. I still can't believe my carelessness.

11:00am
I finish the exam. I'm not too happy with my performance, but not very depressed about it either. I walk at snails' pace to my classroom, discussing the answers with my peers. A chilling thought enters my mind, as I sit in my place. What will I say to mom at home today? As I ponder over the alternatives, MP walks in.
He slowly comes over to my place, and asks (with that scary sober face): "How was the paper today?".
I smile.

Fellow classmates, let me end the story over here, as what happened after this is not very pleasing to hear.

Note: Yeah, it is a true story. Half-yearly Exam, Class 11, 2012. Here's my excuse for producing such a boring article-- time constraints do not permit creativity.
So long, till next week!

6 Qualities that make a Perfect Batch

Hai guys. 12th is really, really hectic, so I've not been able to post anything for a very long time. I've made myself some time now, so here's one more of my logical-analysis rants. But before that, a quick recap of what happened over the previous 2 weeks:

Pandit ManikandaSamy got furious with us once again, a week ago (I think we didn't bring our FIITJEE NCERT notebooks or something, or more probably, our juniors got him angry). He followed the usual punishment- Finish the chapter lightspeed. Luckily for us, it was the 4th/5th time we were doing various-object-fields, and we could understand what he was teaching.

Delete the AC comment I made a couple of months ago, the vile contractor got everything fixed but the switch. And the equation is simple-- No switch, No AC. And every rain that came in the last month came only in the afternoon, after school was over. Even the rain gods ensured that we both burnt in class and never got a holiday.

On a lighter note, everyone in the class seems to have gained an affinity for smacking Saiduth on the head. Even the guy at the kiosk outside started picking on Saiduth (and me, to a little extent). Saiduth almost never had proper change, only 50 and 100 rupee notes. The kiosk dude would stuff a puff into Saiduth's hands, and charge 15 rupees. Ouch...
 Anyway, we later hatched a plan that made the kiosk guy the laughing stock of everyone in near vicinity. Sweet revenge.

We also nearly gave Chandrasekharan VenkataMadhavan a heart attack when we finished the solid state package a day before the due date. Looks like sincerity in our class quadrupled. Even Akshay spent his free time at school doing the chemistry package. Whoa.


The near-perfect class.

This makes me wonder- How would a perfect batch be? Let me begin on one more of my philosophical ventures:

1. Sincere: No-brainer. An insincere batch would be paying far less attention to studies than it should-- making it more of hypocrisy and a wastage of the FIITJEE fees.
2. Efficient: Of course. Sathiaraj Sir got this drilled into our minds an year ago. A perfect batch must be diligent in its work, and must complete all work in time. Handling a sloppy-but-sincere batch is like trying to teach a donkey math... which is useless.
3. Well-behaved: No one would like to teach a bunch of jabbering monkeys. As teachers so beautifully put it, pin-drop-silence is a must for the perfect batch.
4. Packed with Geniuses? This is a toughie for sure. Would a batch of brainy-powerhouses be better than a batch with slightly lower IQs? Does the quantity of the student-elites matter more than the quality of their studies? MVM produced most of the top ranks, but the selection ratio was higher for CV. The TF batch has all the strongies (Much like RCB) but our batch has a more uniform distribution (CSK, anyone?). So which is better? 
5. Interactive: Again, this comes at a price. Our batch is very, very interactive, but we usually think outside the box. Way outside the box, actually. Sometimes, during class discussions on various topics (Eg. How to engineer a motor), we (especially Abhishek) come up with all kinds of answers and ideas which annoy our teachers... but the TF batch, on the other hand, is so silent I get headaches sitting in that class.
6. Happy: This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. Happiness is what separates someone from the poor kids at coaching centers like Narayana, Chaitanya etc. and turns him/her into an educated person rather than a problem-solving robot. Any happy batch (with happy teachers too, of course) is destined to be a great batch.

Actually, imagining a class with the above qualities is near-impossible, at least from a teacher's point of view. Remember, Physics  Pandit sir once told us that any student who never made fun of his teacher wasn't a student in the first place? That blatantly violates #3.
All said, in my view, the perfect batch is the imperfect batch.
Bye bye, everyone.

Summer Fever, IPL fever, Viral fever and more

Well, I haven't posted for a long time, and for good reason too. The previous two weeks were boring, lack-luster weeks without almost no activity at all, except for a couple of noteworthy incidents.
PMS had a 'talk' with us last week, about his being 'harshit'. He promised--no, clarified that he would only beat students with a high capacitance-- no, capacity-- and kept true to his word.
The first was 3 days ago. We had PMS for the morning, as usual, and he became angry, or rather disappointed, after Sagnik didn't submit his NCERT notebook. He launched himself into a turbo mode with an 800% increase in teaching speed. After an hour of continuous dictating-writing, we had Chemistry.
CVM sir, on discovering that quite a few didn't balance iodoform reactions (well, he asked us to balance them the previous day), his heart rate increased quadruple. He shouted, and my heart skipped a beat (Poor Anand). There was a moment of stunned silence in the class, followed by more shouting. After chemistry was over and CVM was relieved of his misery, we had physics again, and PMS looked visibly happier. The only logical conclusion I have is that he heard CVM too.
Our midphase was pretty normal. As usual, I screwed up chemistry, but our class made a marked improvement. CVM sir told us to write in a more... NCERTish way for the Bi-Weekly, and most ended up having to take extra time. Unfortunately, PMS came in before we could, and no one could finish on time.
All said, we get AC classrooms from tomorrow, and we can study happily ever after. We get summer holidays in a couple of weeks.
Our juniors had their first fiitjee PTM yesterday, while we get our first one on May-End. Why doesn't fiitjee take an interest in our class? We had no reshuffling test either- not that I'm complaining, just saying.
Oh, and about our holidays, what are you going to do during those magic days? How about an international vacation? Or olympiad preparation? Let me guess: The IPL. The CSK faction of our class seems to be pretty happy right now, and I'm willing to bet CSK will end up at the top of the points table. Haha, my sadism took a high last year when CSK lost the finals last year. I hope that continues. As I write, CSK plays. Hey, Murali Vijay is OUT! Awesome. I won't be surprised if CSK scores lower than 80.
One more thing, there's a viral fever out there in the city. About 6 of them contracted it already, so be careful. If you want to stay out of this, don't:

• Eat ice-cream
• Drink Pepsi
• Switch on the AC
• Eat delicious mangoes
• Take a swim
• Watch the IPL

And here we are at the end of this boring, inconclusive post. Next post next week!

Bye-Bye!

3 Lame excuses that worked in class

The past week has been a bit hectic. With all those Bi-weekly tests and RPI exams, not to mention the class-quizzes, we've had to study a lot more. Well, MP seems to be very happy for some reason, and he promised us centralized AC by next month. As a front bencher, the heat and suffocation was really getting to me.
Also, about last week, we saw our f1 juniors for the first time. I'll have to admit, though, they're a gazillion times nerdier than us. Or at least for now. Fortunately/Unfortunately for them, they haven't got PMS-- poor things. Let's see how well they do in physics. Speaking of physics, we won't be seeing PMS very often, for the next two months. Of late, he's been leaving us a bit early at 4, so either he's exhausted from all that teaching or he's disappointed with us for some strange reason.

Anyway, let's get to the main topic here: Excuses. I've heard many weird ones in the past, and they magically worked for weird people. Let's start of with this one from Davidson:

PMS: Ah, Davidson! What's the time?

Davidson(Smiles, bobs his head up and down, checks his watch): 8.10 am, sir.

PMS: And why are you late?

Davidson(Bobs his head up and down again, smiles): ---

PMS: Okay, when did you wake up?

Davidson(Keeps smiling): ----

PMS: TELL ME, DAMMIT!

Davidson(Smile slowly fades away): Umm... 7:30, sir...

PMS: What?!? So you just woke up, threw on some clothes, and ran here?
Davidson(Smiles again, faintly nods): ----

PMS: Ah, okay. Get in. Wake up early next time.

Don't ask me how that worked. Was it Davidson's face? The second on this list would be Sagnik:

PMS: Oh, you. I'm not allowing you inside...

Sagnik: Sir, I'm neither dead nor dying!

PMS: ROFLOL! That was a real cracker! Come in!

Point taken. Crack a joke, next time you're late for physics. But, for chemistry, try this approach by Pranav:

CVM: Shabba, Pranav, why didn't you do the package?

Pranav: Sir, it got mixed up-

CVM: (You know what happens, after that he leaves the class)

Or, even better:

CVM: Why are you late? And what's that bandage on your arm?

Pranav: Sir, I was walking down the street when I saw a girl almost getting crashed into by a speeding car. I ran at full speed and pushed her aside, and got a scratch in the arm. I went to a nearby hospital, and they wrapped some cotton and a bandage there.

CVM: (Blinks, starts teaching again)

Magic, eh? There are lots of other gems out there, and let's end the post with this one:

Q. Why are you late?

A. My father overslept.

Are we born with Intelligence?

Ah, finally.  A boring, long post for the first time. If you have some homework left, or you're a lazy reader like Abishek Sudarshan, skip. Anyway, going back to the question: Are we born with intelligence?

This is a question that does not have a clear answer. Odds are that you've  heard of at least 4-5 different answers to this question. Well, at least I have. Let me list some of them.

First, the theories directly answering the question:

• Theory A: There's nothing such as born-intelligence. You are what you made of yourself. The only way to become intelligent is through hard work and patience. If you spend your time diligently, you'll gain a lot of intelligence. The so-called 'toppers' you see around you worked hard to get to this point. To put it short, here's the deal: The more time you spend studying, the more intelligent you become.
• Theory B: Obviously, intelligence is something you're born with. It's all in the genes. The more intelligent your mom/dad/grandpa/grandma/uncle is, the more intelligent you are. If you were dumb yesterday, you'll stay dumb. No point trying to improve. You're stuck the way you are.

Yeah, you've heard about the first one much more than the second. A's optimistic and positive, and most teachers say this to students in despair. B isn't what you would call pleasant-- but admit it, that's what sounds plausible, isn't it?

Okay, before we look into that, one observation: Both these theories hint that intelligence is pretty important in life. Now, let's see some other theories that have a partial/complete disregard for intelligence, and say that success in life depend on other things!

• Theory C: Intelligence doesn't matter. It's how you use that intelligence, however big or small, that counts. And that's called smartness. If you're smart, that'll get you far in life. Develop your smartness and reap the benefits. If you're not convinced, check this out. That's how it works!
• Theory D: Who cares about intelligence? Follow your heart. Find your passion. Cultivate your interests. You're automatically good in what you like, so don't worry about intelligence! 
• Theory E: C.V Raman's own words: "I admit, success in life is not always to the intelligent or the strong and it is to some extent a bit of a gamble, but nonetheless those who have got their minds right and those who know their job will sooner or later, sooner perhaps than later make their way in life".

All these answers sound nice and philosophical, don't they? For a word that doesn't have any fixed meaning, intelligence serves more or less a great topic for wise story-tellers, teachers and blog-posters to discuss about. Oh, and let me sign off with a great Confucius quote:

“When we have intelligence resulting from sincerity, this condition is to be ascribed to nature; when we have sincerity resulting from intelligence, this condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But given the sincerity, and there shall be the intelligence; given the intelligence, and there shall be the sincerity.”

 To be honest, what the hell is he talking about? Naah, can't waste time on philosophy right now.
See ya next time, fellas!

5 ways to get a free period in class

If you're a student in my class,  and you're not Abhishek Sudarshan, you've probably read a lot of books.  And one major, prominent idea that appears in many books is 'sacrifice for the greater good'. Read on, you'll understand what I'm trying to say.

Physics: Getting a free period in physics is like getting some sort of a tax discount. Well, for some strange reason, if you do feel like getting a free period in the middle of a boring afternoon session, it's better not to try and get one all by yourself. The only thing you'll get by annoying our physics sir is probably a cardio-muscular pull. On a second note, even if the whole class annoys him, he'll leave us at 4'o clock. Trust me, it's just not worth it.

Chemistry: Easy one. I can even write a book on this topic. Here are the obvious ones:

1. Buy one Get one free. Selectively bunk all chemistry classes one day, get free periods next.
2. 30% off. Be physically present in class, but mentally absent. Spend class time wisely through sleeping; this builds up some energy for the subsequent physics class as well. While you get a full 'free period', others gain a bit from it too.
3. Family Deal. Comfortably arrange a PTM outside class, all by yourself. This is the safest way, and best, too. A helpful prerequisite would be a bad mark in the most recent Phase Test or NCERT test.
4. Unlimited Coke. Drink a lot of coca cola before the class, and channel your extra energy into asking mindless doubts. The closer you sit to Sagnik/Arvind KR, the more successful you will be. Just make sure there's no physics class after that, though.

Math(s): There's really no point in getting a free period, is it? 

That's it, fellas! My rate of blogging has suffered a sudden fall-- I'll launch an RSS feed anytime soon. Also, congrats to Sagnik and Subiksha for getting the KVPY mentor scholarship! You deserve it!

The transition to 12th

Yay, we finished our exams. We got some marks, too, though. Mathematics brought us quite a few surprises and let-downs. Chemistry was average, and computer science was unfair. Anyway, the good news is that almost all of us passed. And that's what matters, at least for now.
Now to other stuff. We're starting phase 5 from next week.
Whew.

Wonderful.

Just think about how 4 phases just flew so far. Admit it, we've enjoyed ourselves to the maximum. Somehow, thinking about all these past memories, 12th seems haunting to me. Physics homework everyday, and insanely difficult (or easy, depends on how much you like it) chemistry, make 12th look different from 11nth. But, again, observe: 11nth took us 11 months, and 12th will take about 7-8. Easy, right?
Anyway, a good and bad of recent times:
1. CVM sir created a forum. A few months ago, I thought this was a statistical impossibility; so this is a pleasant surprise. Let's just hope this doesn't die down soon.
2.We're getting summer holidays. This is what you call an 'unexpected reward'. 10 days. Will you use it to study or have the time of your life?
3. Bi-weekly tests. We will be putting a lot more time on NCERT now, but Bi-Weekly tests are too far. Half the kids in our class will have to attend some sort of Remedial Class, for NCERT stuff. Oh boy, I'm gonna miss those days when we used to cram in the last minute.
4. Pranav's mini-sculptures. They're pure awesome. The level of detail he puts into little chalk pieces are amazing. He can make mini-skulls, mini-minivans, everything. Woah. I'll ask him to make a mini-earth next.

All the best for phase test-4, guys. Hey, and btw, I'm making this little hacking game. If you want to beta test it, send me a message!

Computer science, and Practicals

Before you get started on me about physics, listen to this: Physics was totally predictable. No point creating a blog post for chapters we had months of experience in. Anyway, computer science appears to be a a more dangerous subject, so let's get to business.

The standard approach to CS would be: Mug up all theory QA and Practice all programs. Although the latter would be a tad more difficult for insincere lab students, having an understanding in the former can help a lot. Be sure to expect the following types of questions (as usual) and keep in mind:

• Theory questions: This is easy. I mean, most questions are the obvious type, the basic theory questions anyone can answer. A revision helps, though. Oh, and if you don't know an answer, just take a minute to cough up some fancy vocabulary, and you're good in no time.
• Debug: This is pretty easy. The mistakes aren't hard to find, and over-corrections are generally not  penalized. If you're doubtful something's a mistake, don't waste time debating about it.
• Record the output: This is the tough nut. Be extremely careful with this, and for security, do the outputs again at the end of the exam. This can be a bit confusing at times, but we'll be getting standard questions in the annual paper. Also see Random Functions below.
• Rewrite: This is a cross between Write Programs and Record the Output.  Be acquainted with all the standard conversions like for-while-dowhile, matrix-array, string.h-nostring.h, etc.
• Write programs:  This too is a toughie. Correction isn't exactly, well-- lenient, so be a careful. Practice notebook questions, and especially record questions. And if you have time at the end, debug your programs.. heh heh.
• Random functions: I don't think this is gonna come, but if it does come in a record-the-output question, remember: There can be repetitions. If you generate 3 random numbers, for instance, they may be 3,3,3 or 4,5,5 or 5,6,5. The randomize() function does not prevent repetitions. It prevents the generation of the same set of random numbers. It's like this-- without the randomize() function, suppose you execute a program, the numbers 3,7,7 are generated. When you close the program and run it again, the numbers 3,7,7 are generated again. Basically, this means that the first time you generate random numbers, they are stored in memory, and they appear the next time you execute the program too. Randomize() prevents this.

Computer science looks easy in front of what's next-- practicals. Physics isn't all that hard, but chemistry sends shivers down my spine. And by the way, we have a full day on Tuesday. That doesn't leave out a lot of time for record-writing and studying, so you'd better do it now.

Oh, and IMPORTANT: If you need any program, just comment. Or post on facebook. I'll reply in minutes.

The Math test-- Blueprint, tips, and more

Getting a 90+ on this exam is easy, provided that you've read through all the chapters and solved a couple of random problems here and there. I'm pretty sure that 90% of the problems will be textbook problems, so your mark depends almost wholly on your preparation. Anyway, here are some tips to maximize your score:

• Time yourself. I repeat this again, and you probably know why. No one knows how long the paper is going to be, so it's better to keep track of time. Don't waste too much time on a problem if you're not getting it, and if you see a problem and it looks new to you, save it for the last.
• Check. Check. Check. I don't know why no one does this. If you finish the paper fast, don't give the paper and leave. Check your paper, instead. Become MP in word and thought, and check for mistakes. Trust me, this works. Every time I check my paper, I find at least 3-4 marks' worth of mistakes.
• Go through the example problems in the textbook. Sometimes, misc. level problems appear there, and can catch you unawares in the exam. This happened in the last term exam, as I remember it.(Remember? The tan3x problem everyone expanded and wasted 15 minutes on?)
• Explain your answer. This applies to Probability and P&C problems. The explanation is a must, otherwise you'll lose more than half the marks of the problem, although you took all the pains to solve it. And don't write your explanation like a social science one. Make it crisp and proper. 

I hope that helps. Here's the blue print:

Topic	1 mark	4 mark	6 mark
Trigonometry	2	2	-
Linear inequalities	1	1	1
Permutations and Combinations	1	-	1
Binomial Theorem	1	1	1
3D Geometry	1	1	-
Limits And Derivatives	1	2	1
Probability	1	1	1
Straight Lines	1	2	1
Matrices	1	2	1

Well, that's it, then. If you liked this article, give a +1!  Oh, and if you're reading this on the day I posted it, don't forget 50 rupees for the group photo.
Next post on Thursday, for physics. So long, guys!

The Chemistry Exam-- Blueprint and tips

Ah, chemistry for sure is unpredictable. The blueprint is at the end of the article. Let's analyze the subject topic by topic, shall we?

1. Basic concepts of chemistry: As the name suggests, this chapter is pretty basic. As long as you know all the formulas, this chapter will be a breeze. Solve the textbook questions, and you're done. And during the exam, most importantly, be careful! There's a lot of potential for silly mistakes.
2. Chemical Bonding: This is another easy chapter. Be thorough with all structures and hybridizations, so you don't need to waste time thinking in the exam. This appears to be a really important chapter, with 20% contribution to the total. Also, for the 3 mark questions, try to explain why your structure is the way it is (The equatorial and Axial stuff-- where do lone pairs go?).
3. Thermodynamics: As always, the 3 mark question is probably a thermochemistry one, where you're given a reaction, and have to find the heat released/gained in the reaction. Practice the textbook problems, there aren't many. This chapter shouldn't take more than an hour to prepare for.
4. Redox reactions: The 5m questions is split into two 2.5 mark balance-the-reactions, which would take a lot of time. If you're hard-pressed for time, do the p-block question instead.
5. s-block & p-block: Be very thorough with these chapters, this is where you can score easily. Anything can be asked. Read up the properties of all compounds you see in the reactions-- one question would be an 'Identify A,B and C' type question.
6. Organic Chemistry: This can get tricky. Here's what to learn: Nomenclature, isomerism, saw-horse,Neumann projections, Conformers. What not to learn: The reactions. Be very careful in nomenclature. Practice the book questions.

Remember, time is a crucial commodity. Many people couldn't attempt questions last time due to the lack of it. Time yourself, and don't write too much for a 1/2 mark question. If you're unsure whether to write FIITJEE/NCERT style, go with NCERT. The more you study, the higher you'll get.

The blueprint: (* means choice)

Topic	1 mark	2 mark	3 mark	5 mark
Basic concepts of chemistry	1	1	-	1*
Chemical Bonding	1	2	2	1*
Thermodynamics	1	1*	2*	-
Redox reactions	2	1	1	1*
s-block	1	2	1	-
p-block	2	-	1	1*
General organic chemistry	-	3	2	1*

Leaving Fiitjee- Good or Bad?

Fiitjee is good, but 12th boards matter.On one hand, the journey to the IITs is filled with 'extra stuff'. Complex techniques, labyrinthine formulas, confounding problems-- this may be too much for any person. On the other , our teachers say that strong basics are enough to crack the test. So what are we supposed to concentrate on? Should we devote all our time to the 12th finals? Or should we turn ourselves into what others call 'problem-solving automatons'? Or do both at the same time? Let's see.

If this is the reason you wanna quit, good luck with that!

• We do learn the basics. The argument that Fiitjee coaching is all about rote problem-solving is incorrect. We learn the basics of a topic; and then strengthen our understanding on that topic. This is what our teachers mean by 'strong basics'. You can verify this. Just take your NCERT book for any subject in {P,C,M}, and flip through the pages. Do you find any concept which you don't understand? If the answer is no, then your basics are good enough. Otherwise, you probably just didn't concentrate in class when they were teaching it.
• Fiitjee will prepare us for the boards too.It's old news that the JEE would now consider our board marks, to a remarkable extent. Some say 40%, to be exact. Fiitjee must, and obviously will, concentrate on boards. If you need them, you're going to get extra classes for NCERT.
• Time isn't a problem. The JEE will come only after the boards, so you'll have a lot of time after your boards to brush up advanced topics and take practice tests. Anyway, you do probably waste a lot of time, so start managing it. Time is crucial, fast and important. (Note: I should be saying this to myself, no?)
• Know your interests. If you're an aspiring cricket/football/hockey star, and you absolutely hate studies, I don't think Fiitjee is the right place for you. If your parents forced you to come here, don't waste time thinking about quitting. 
• Talk it out with a teacher. Have a talk with MP or CVM (or PMS) sir. They are our teachers, and they'll know what's best for us. They'll tell you if it's worth quitting. Tell them about why you feel like quitting. Finalize your decision only after talking to them. Oh, and talk to your friends too. Not friends who already quit.

Keep these points in mind while you decide. Whether shifting will be an improvement, only time will tell. 

So long, folks. See ya tomorrow.

The English Exam

The English exam is, undoubtedly, one of the easiest exams to prepare for. Everyone's in a happy mood after an English exam, but once the marks come, no one crosses 90%.

I need to improve my doodling abilities.

This is not something to worry about, either. The highest possible mark one can get is around 86. A question arises, though-- where do people lose this many marks?
Interesting question.
Let's analyse the paper.
The paper has 4 sections- Reading, Writing, Grammar and Literature. Let's go through them one by one.

Section A- Reading

This section is the easiest and shortest of all, and can save you a lot of time if done right. Here are some tips to finish it off perfectly:

• Time yourself. Allot some time (25 minutes is more than enough) and try to finish it within that time. 
• Don't waste time reading the whole comprehension first. Instead, read the questions, and then go to the comprehensions. If you find an answer, make a small mark in the QP. That way, you won't need to read it a second time, searching for answers.
• Read the poems carefully. Questions about poems are a bit vague-- try to to understand the poem. And never copy an answer from the poem.
• Keep your answers short and simple. For a 1 mark answer, 1 line is enough. Don't drag your answers. You're not gonna get extra marks. You'll only lose time.

Section B- Writing

I can guarantee you'll lose at least 4 or 5 marks in this section. Heck, even a Cambridge-educated English scholar can't get a perfect mark. I once asked a teacher why, and she said that even though she would think my writing was perfect, other teachers might not, and hence, they would deduct a minimum of 2 marks for a 10 mark question. I really can't make sense of this logic. Why not award perfect marks to everyone, in that case? 

You can't argue with an English teacher, so let's just concentrate on maxing out our marks. Here are a few tips.

• Make notes. I'm not joking. Take a couple of minutes to think about the points you'll write about in your 10 mark question. Write them down, strike them out later. This will prevent you from straying from your topic, and your article/letter will be crisp.
• Don't time yourself. Do try to finish within an hour, but don't time yourself. If you rush through the writing section, you're gonna end up writing something boring and stupid.
• Prepare for it. One of the 10-mark questions is a letter of complaint/order, and if you already know the format, you can save a lot of time. The other 10-mark question will be an article/letter about a topic you're probably already familiar with, like Corruption or Pollution or Obesity and stuff. Be creative!
• A good vocab helps! Fancy words can take work like magic. Trust me.
• Do what I'm doing right now. You know what I'm talking about.

Section C- Grammar

Grammar is an easy-but-tricky section. If you usually score high on this section, don't worry about this.  If your grammar is poor, you can't improve in minutes. Read some novels, and watch English news channels. That can improve your intuition. Here are a some tips for everyone:

• Time yourself. 30 minutes is perfect. Don't waste too much time if you're stuck in a half-mark question, and save it for later.
• Be careful. Think about your answer before writing it. Avoid silly mistakes.
• If you have time at the end, check. Check your grammar section. Sometimes, you'll find obvious mistakes.

Section D-Literature

Literature is just another version of writing. The only difference is that here, your points matter more than your creativity. 

• Prepare well. Read the chapters carefully. If you know the answer to a question, you don't need to waste time thinking.
• Be concise. I repeat, the points matter more than creativity. Write 4-5 lines for a 2 mark question, half a page for a 4 mark question, and 1-1.5 pages for the huge question. No more, no less.
• If possible, give an extract from the story/poem. This makes your answer look good, and the teacher correcting your paper will be impressed. Memorize important lines beforehand.

That's my 2 cents, guys. Best of luck. See ya soon.

Let's get started-- an FAQ about the blog

Hello, reader! This is a 'blog' for the students of a certain class, in a certain school owned by a certain old-powerful-rich cat-lady. Any questions? Here's an FAQ.

Q.Who's that old hag lady?
A. Not important.

Q.What's the purpose of this blog?
A. Doesn't matter.

Q.What are you gonna write in this blog?
A. Not important.

Q.Why did you start it this late?
A. Doesn't matter.

Q.What the hell's the purpose of this FAQ, if the only two answers you give are 'Not important' and 'Doesn't  matter'??!?
A.Not important.

Q.Since when were these frequently asked questions?
A. Doesn't matter.

Q.I'm done here. I'm leaving!
A. That isn't a question; but anyway, Good for you!

Well, that sums up pretty much everything of what this blog is about. Catch ya later, folks!