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!