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*