Sunday 14 July 2013

Physics, something really "Real"...

Physics was my favorite subject. I was initially pretty weak at physics (the mechanics part). But in class 12th, I came across one of my teachers who changed my perception about Physics. He supported me a lot and it was because of his support/guidance that I was able to crack INPhO and was also selected to represent India at the 14th Asian Physics Olympiad, Indonesia in the 8 member team (although I didn't participate in it because it's date clashed with JEE advanced registration dates).
No doubt, HC Verma is the best book for Physics.

Physics can be broadly divided into the following parts:


1.)Mechanics : for this, HC Verma is the best (along with 

NCERT) for theory and for practice, IE Irodov is the right book. You can also try DC Pandey. Mechanics requires intense practice and good exposure to a number of questions. It is one of the most scoring part of JEE Paper.

2.)Thermodynamics : Again, for this part, HC Verma is sufficient. From this part there will be around 3-5 questions in the JEE paper.


3.)Electricity and Magnetism : For this part HC Verma is not enough. You need to go beyond that, because in JEE, there will rarely be any straight - forward question from this part. Having a command in this part will definitely give you an edge over others because it has a huge weightage in the JEE paper.


4.)Optics : One of the easiest branch of Physics if prepared well. Most  scoring and easy to grasp. But, beware - this part has the widest scope of silly - mistakes. Sign convention must be kept in mind otherwise the question is bound to go wrong.


5.)Modern Physics : Tough nut to crack. Difficult, quite theoretical. This part, besides numericals has a lot of theory based questions. So prepare well especially the Radioactivity and the X-Ray part. HC Verma and NCERT must be thoroughly covered for this section.


To summarize, HC Verma is the best book for Physics. But don't ignore NCERT. Read complete NCERT atleast 2-3 times. You will definitely find something new.


If you simply study Physics, then it isn't going to work. You need to feel it, enjoy it and more than that apply it.

Why should I crack JEE ?...

This post focuses mainly on motivation.
Most students appear for IIT-JEE because of parental pressure ! Some do that simply because their "friends" are preparing for JEE !! 
NO. This is should not be the reason for you to appear for the most prestigious exam of India. You are simply increasing the crowd. And it is highly likely that you won't be able to crack the exam.
There must be some self motivation, a desire to do well, a hunger to study in the Premier Colleges of India, an ambition to go ahead of others, a zeal to prove yourself.

Here is something to motivate you.

The feeling when you crack JEE is different.
The society looks you with respect. You are thought to be as a born genius. People start talking about you. You start feeling like a celebrity. Aunties would say "Wo to brilliant tha hi, uska to IIT me selection hona hi tha". Your photographs appear in the newspapers. Relatives start respecting you. You get numerous phone calls from friends/relatives/teachers, congratulating you and wishing for your success. You get party demands from everyone you can think of. 
This feeling is great. "I have proved myself, I am an IITian now."

You will also find tonnes of people who are jealous of you. But feel lucky - everyone doesn't get the privilege to have "Haters".


During your journey, many will misguide you, demotivate you by telling you that "IIT's are no more that prestigious what they used to be. Now PQR College is more in demand" or any other thing of that sort. But, you must be wise enough to shut your ears and move on with even a higher confidence level.

IIT's are IIT's. Best Colleges of India. They have ruled the "Top Engineering College of India List" from years.

Confidence and Motivation are the key to cracking JEE.


Another point you must keep in mind this that "I want so and so rank so that I am able to get XYZ branch in IIT-Z". That "so and so" must be clearly defined from day 1 itself.

You must be aware of the opening and closing ranks of the XYZ branch in IIT-Z so that your mind is set to work accordingly.
Don't just blindly prepare for JEE. Have a clear-cut target in mind and struggle for it.

All the best.


Tuesday 2 July 2013

Organic chemistry, my favorite...

Organic chemistry for me was the most fascinating part of chemistry - most logical and of course, most scoring. If you know that "a nucleophile attacks an electrophile", your half portion of organic chemistry is done (believe me). Entire organic chemistry is dedicated to the above statement.
There are some "Named Reactions" which are very important. I will name some of them - "Reimer Tiemenn" reaction, "Cannizarro" reaction, "Friedel - Craft's" reactions and many others. They all form the backbone of organic chemistry and must be thoroughly covered.
Another important aspect of Organic Chemistry is GOC - General Organic Chemistry. In the recent years, a lot of questions have been asked on - resonance stability, carbocation stability, type of reactions, hyperconjugation and many more topics from this chapter. So it is advisable to cover them well.
For Organic Chemistry, I would suggest a book named "LG Wade" by "Pearson Education". Though the book is not designed for JEE aspirants, it definitely serves the purpose. Do cover the book thoroughly. Practice a lot of questions in order to have a command in Organic Chemistry.

My approach towards learning organic chemistry was "mechanistic". I focused a lot on the reaction mechanisms. In 15 minutes, you can solve entire JEE organic chemistry (if you know the solution). Rather than mugging up organic chemistry, try to understand the mechanism. In JEE, they ask you the entire mechanism of the reaction through Paragraph type questions.

Book recommendations: Best books for JEE organic chemistry