JEE Main Chemistry: Chapter-wise Weightage & Important Topics

JEE Main 2019 may change it's name or frequency, but one thing that has remained consistent from AIEEE to the current JEE Main to any upcoming version is the syllabus, the level of questions and the weightage of chapters and topics maybe because the exam has always been conducted by CBSE. Keeping this in mind, we analysed the question papers of previous 5 years to get a weightage, backed by data. In this article, we share the weightage of units and chapters of Chemistry, along with the most important topics to cover.

JEE Main Chemistry: Unit-wise Weight

Chemistry is always classified into 3 broad categories:

• Physical Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry

Given below is the weightage of these units based on the analysis of question papers of the past 5 years.

Now, in the case chemistry, we had a little surprise this year. Up until last year, the weightage of Inorganic chemistry for steadily increasing every year going from 30% to 40%. However, in 2018, the weightage of inorganic chemistry was again increased from 20% to 30%. Other than that, the rest of the weightage remains consistent. Let's take a look at the chapter-wise weight in each category.

JEE Main Chemistry: Chapter-wise Weight of Physical Chemistry

Most of the chapters of Physical Chemistry are in Class XI, however, the weightage is equally distributed over both the classes. The values given in the chart are the overall weightage out of 120 marks.

The most important topics are:

1. Basic Concepts of Chemistry
   • Laws of Chemical Combination
   • Mole concept & Stoichiometry
2. Atomic Structure
   • Dual nature of Radiation
   • Atomic Spectra
   • Bohr's Model for Hydrogen and Hydrogen-like species
   • Quantum Mechanical Model: Orbitals and Quantum numbers
3. States of Matter (Gases, Liquids & Solids)
   • Gas Laws
   • Kinetic Molecular Theory of Gases
   • Real Gas behaviour and Liquefaction of gases
   • Crystal Lattice and Unit cells
   • Close-packed structures and voids
   • Defects in Solids
4. Solutions
   • Solutions: Types and Concentration
   • Vapour Pressure of a solution and Raoult's law
   • Colligative properties of Solutions & Van't Hoff factor
5. Thermodynamics & Thermochemistry
   • Enthalpy and Heat capacity
   • Enthalpy change of Various types of reactions
   • Gibb's energy and Spontaneity
6. Equilibrium
   • Law of Chemical equilibrium and equilibrium constant
   • Factors affecting equilibrium: Le Chatelier's Principle
   • Acids, Bases and Concept of pH
   • Hydrolysis of Salts and Buffer solutions
   • Solubility and Solubility product of sparingly soluble salts
7. Redox & Electrochemistry
   • Redox Reactions: Types and Concept of Oxidation Number
   • Galvanic Cells: features and Electrode Potential
   • Conductance of Electrolytic Solutions
   • Electrolytic cells and Products of electrolysis
8. Chemical Kinetics
   • Rate, Order, and Molecularity of a reaction
   • Integrated rate equations and Half-life
   • Arrhenius Equation
   • Radioactivity and Nuclear Reactions (Fission & Fusion)
9. Surface Chemistry
   • Adsorption: Mechanism, Types and Isotherms
   • Catalysis
   • Colloids and Emulsions: Classification and Properties

JEE Main Chemistry: Chapter-wise Weight of Inorganic Chemistry

The best book for Inorganic Chemistry is the NCERT. That is the only book you need to prepare for all the Engineering entrance exams as far as Inorganic Chemistry is concerned. You could use more advanced reference books for further clarity wherever required, but do keep in mind that all the questions in this section are asked from that 1 book only. Let's check the weight of the chapters in this category

The most important topics are:

1. Classification of Elements
   • Modern periodic table and Electronic configuration of Elements
   • Periodic Trends in Properties of Elements
2. Chemical Bonding & Molecular Structure 
   • Ionic and Covalent Bonding and Bond parameters
   • VSEPR Theory
   • Valence bond theory and Hybridization
   • Molecular Orbital theory
3. Hydrogen & S Block Elements 
   • Hydrides
   • Water and Hydrogen peroxide: structure and properties
   • General Characteristics of Compounds of S block elements
   • Anomalous Properties of the First Element
   • Important Compounds of S block elements
4. P Block Elements
   • General Trends in Physical and Chemical Properties of Elements
   • General trends in the Properties of Compounds of P block elements
   • Important Compounds of Boron, Carbon and Silicon
   • Allotropes and Important Compounds of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sulphur
   • Important Compounds of Halogens and their properties
5. Extraction of Metals
   • Processes of extraction of Metals from their ores
   • Thermodynamic and Electrochemical principles of metallurgy
6. D & F Block Elements
   • General Trends in Physical and Chemical Properties of the Transition Elements
   • Important compounds of Transition Elements
7. Coordination Compounds
   • IUPAC Nomenclature and Isomerism of Coordination compounds
   • Werner's theory, Valence bond theory & Crystal field theory
8. Practical Chemistry
   • Acids Bases and the Use of Indicators, Oxalic-Acid Vs KMnO₄, Mohr's Salt Vs KMnO₄
   • Chemical Principles Involved in the Qualitative Salt Analysis
   • Qualitative and Quantitative analysis of Organic Compounds

JEE Main Chemistry: Chapter-wise Weight of Organic Chemistry

Organic chemistry is considered to be the rank decider for JEE Main. Anyone who is very comfortable with Organic chemistry, always has an extra edge over others. Let's take a look at the weight of these chapters.

The most important topics in these chapters are:

1. Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry
   • Structure and Nomenclature of Organic Compounds
   • Structural and Stereoisomerism in Organic Compounds
   • Electronic Displacement Effects in Covalent Bonds
2. Hydrocarbons & Halides 
   • Structure, Physical and Chemical Properties of Alkanes, Alkenes & Alkynes, Benzene, Haloalkanes & Haloarenes
3. Oxygen-containing compounds
   • Alcohols, Phenols & Ether: Structure, Physical and Chemical Properties
   • Aldehydes and Ketones: Physical and Chemical Properties
   • Carboxylic acids and their derivatives: Structure & Chemical properties
4. Nitrogen-containing compounds
   • Amines & Diazonium salts: Chemical properties
5. Biomolecules
   • Monosaccharides: Structure, physical and Chemical properties
   • Proteins and Enzymes: Structure and properties
   • Nucleic Acids: Structure and properties
6. Polymers
   • Addition & Condensation Polymerisation: Mechanism and Examples
   • Commercial Polymers
7. Chemistry in Everyday life
   • Drugs: Classification and Therapeutic Action
   • Soaps and Detergents
8. Environmental Chemistry
   • Atmospheric pollution and Control
   • Water Pollution and Control

In the core chapters, you might notice that all the topics have been listed as most important. The reason is all those are actually very important and are interlinked. You cannot just study the reactions of alkenes without studying some reactions of alcohols and some reactions of halides. That's the positive as well as the negative part of organic chemistry depending on how you see it.

JEE Main Chemistry: Chapter-wise Weight

To summarize, the chapter-wise weight of Chemistry is given below:

The comparison of previous year analysis with this year's paper is given below:

We can see the change in pattern for inorganic.

All the best!!

Team Gradeup