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Here Nitish Waghle my friend provides some useful tips to all the future IITJEE aspirants

exclusively on entrance-corner.blogspot.com

Nitish has typed the whole thing for you all so please leave your comments at the end :)

The JEE Guide

Well for those who do not happen to know me, I am Nitish Wagle, a 2nd year student of
Mechanical engg. at IIT Bombay. I cleared IIT-JEE 2007 with an AIR of 411.

I write this text in an attempt to clear a few misconceptions about competitive exams. It
has always been believed that JEE is meant for two kinds of student

Students with a flawless academic record throughout their life


OR
Students who take dedicated coaching in places like Kota for 2 or more years.

Well, I was neither. My academic record was far from perfect. I scored 81% in SSC and
71% in HSSC. My PCM in 12th std. read: - Physics-80, Chemistry-54(27/70 in theory)
and Maths-67.
I did my HSSC from Goa with coaching from Aaryaan Study Circle (only in 12th std.).
But still I managed to get through with a respectable rank and get admitted into the
branch of my choice.

I am not telling you all this to boast off myself but just to make you understand that you
need not really have extraordinary memory and academic excellence to clear the JEE. A
good attitude can hide many of your flaws. At the same time I am very much sure that I
didn’t even stand a chance at cracking the JEE if I were to answer it in subjective format.

Over the last couple of years many people, students and parents alike have been asking
me what was the ‘Secret’ of my success. I have always felt that the key to my success
lied in my attitude towards the competitive exams. That is why am writing this article,to
try and help you to improve your attitude towards competitive exams.I have mentioned
herein, some tricks that helped me in exams like JEE and AIEEE. All these tricks may
not work with you because everyone has a different style of working. But I strongly feel
that going through this short piece of text would be worth the effort (if I didn’t think so, I
would never have bothered to write it). Do give it a try and use whatever you feel helps
your style of studying and answering exams.
In no way do I wish to implicate my superiority over any of you through this text. I do
not consider myself a teacher. This is just an effort to share some knowledge that helped
me. I write this because I strongly feel that no books give enough significance to the right
attitude toward competitive exams. I have learnt through my experience and that of my
friends here at IIT that the attitude and answering techniques are just as important as all
the theory you learn.

I would however, not advice you to take this text as authoritative. All the things here may
or may not help you. But in case you do have time left before your exams, do give the
techniques a try and see for yourself if they do any good. Best of luck and Happy
studying...

The Right Attitude

I have always failed to understand the negative attitude people have toward competitive
exams, especially those following an Objective questions format. How do they fail to see
that no matter what format an exam follows, every student answering it on the same
platform. It is no tougher to get admission into the college of your preference through a
CET as it is through board exams.

The problem is that people are too used to scoring very high percentages in board exams
through extensive mugging up according to the predictable type of questions. They are
afraid to explore into the unpredictable world of competitive exams. But what they fail to
see is that the exam is equally unpredictable for every student answering it. And that this
unpredictability can be turned into your favour if you have a better attitude towards the
exam compared to the others. This attitude is what makes the difference between a good
student and an achiever. This is what made the difference between me and many of my
batch mates who were equally good and easily surpassed me in board exams but could
not perform to their potential in the competitive tests.

It is very easy to develop a positive attitude towards competitive exams which have
Multiple Choice Questions if you get the standard mentality out of your mind and
consider the benefits of such an exam. The main benefit of a MCQ paper is that you
cannot really blank out in the examination hall. In a subjective paper, if you do not know
the answer to a certain question, there is not much you can really do about it. But in a
MCQ paper, the answer is always in front of you. All you have to do is eliminate the
wrong options and choose the right one. This may sound a bit absurd but once you
change your outlook, you’ll see that it’s not all that difficult after all. There are quite a
few ways to eliminate wrong options. We will talk about them later.
Another major misconception is regarding the negative marking. Many students are
scared to answer a question with negative marking unless they are completely sure about
it. What they do not understand is that by the laws of probability, they need not be
exactly sure of the correct answer in order to answer the question. The normal marking
scheme for questions with 4 options is +3 for a right answer and -1 for a wrong one. In
this case, even if you do not have any clue about the correct answer and randomly choose
any option, probability says that you will get 1 out of every 4 questions correct giving
you 1x(+3) + 3x(-1) = 0 marks. So according to probability you wouldn’t lose any marks.
But then, in almost every question, it is possible to eliminate at least 1 wrong option. This
shifts the odds in your favour even if you take a wild guess amongst the 3 options
remaining.

I answered all the questions in my JEE and AIEEE papers. I am not telling you to do the
same. But if you are good enough at the technique of eliminating wrong options, there is
no reason why you should not answer all the questions.

There are three ways of solving any MCQ:-

To actually solve the question by using formulae(if it is a numerical) or your memory(if it


is memory based). And
To increase the probability of getting the right answer by eliminating as many options as
possible.
To somehow get to the answer by using logic and approximations without actually
following the conventional method.

Although the first method is preferred in most of the question, the 2nd method is just as
important. Any student, no matter how brilliant, would never be able to remember all
formulae and theory required to solve the questions.

There will always be quiet a few questions wherein you wont know what to do. This is
where the 2nd method comes in. The 2nd method may not give you the answer for sure,
but if you can eliminate even one of the options, you should just take a wild guess
between the remaining options because the probability is always in your favour. In most
of the questions, it is fairly simple to eliminate even 2 options, in which case you would
have to choose between the remaining 2 putting the odds 3:1 in your favour. Once you
get used to eliminating options efficiently, you may even be able to eliminate all 3 wrong
options and hence solve the question for sure.
The 3rd method can help you to save a lot of time even when you do know the formulae
and theory but know that it would take a long time to solve the question by conventional
method (however you should not take this risk unless you are sure of your techniques or
are very much short of time). With enough practice, you would be easily able to judge
which of the 3 methods are supposed to be used to solve a particular question. Remember
that I am not teaching you a ‘shortcut’ to get things done but am just teaching you
techniques to make better usage of your knowledge and time.

To illustrate how effective these methods can be, let me share a few personal
experiences:-

I did not have any knowledge of integration other than the fact that it is the opposite of
differentiation. I could not have integrated any function which is not a direct differential
of a simple function (like sin x, log x, etc.) without the options. Yet I was able to solve all
the integration related questions in JEE and AIEEE. I am not encouraging you to neglect
integration (I neglected it because I could not remember the different techniques due to
my poor memory), I am just telling you how strong alternative methods can be.

I also did not know any trigonometric relations.


For eg. I could not even expand sin(x/2) But yet trigonometry was always my strong area
due to the various techniques that can be used to solve those questions.

Although I was pretty good with physics, I often found that using a bit of logic made it
possible to solve even the toughest questions in physics. This will however, need you to
be very strong with your concepts. You should never look at questions in physics as
numericals. They should always be viewed as concept based questions with numerical
values thrown in. Just mugging up formulae will not help you to do well in physics in
competitive exams. It is more important for you to know how and where the formulae are
to be used and the correct sign convention. For this, your concepts should be very clear.
You should know for sure which quantities can have a +ve value and which will have a –
ve value. Many students make the mistake of blindly following a sign convention without
knowing what it really means. This can really hurt you in confusing questions.

Although numerical techniques cannot normally be used in chemistry, you can often
eliminate options by using a bit of logic. There are also quite a few memorizing
techniques that would be of great help in organic and non-organic chemistry. It also helps
a lot to focus properly on the syllabus of the exam and study accordingly. This helped me
outperform other students who had much more knowledge of chemistry than me.
Let us now focus on some common techniques topic wise:-

MATHEMATICS

Algebra and Probability

The main technique to be used in probability is logic. In most of the questions you get
from this topic it is possible to eliminate at least 1 wrong answer just because it is
illogical. For eg. Sometimes you have an option that implies that the probability of a
certain event is greater than 1 or less than zero, some options imply that the probability of
a secondary event is more than that of the primary event these options are certainly
incorrect (eg. The probability of a random student in a mixed class being a tall girl can
never be greater than the probability of the student being a girl). In order to be able to
find such contradictory options, you need to be clear with all the concepts of probability.

Another method is numerical substitution. This is very important in questions related to


series, progressions, permutations, combinations, etc. You will often find question in
algebra which do not involve any numerical value. For eg. Find the sum of the series
Y(n) = n * (n+2) * (n+3) from n=1 to n=N in terms of N (**all questions given as
examples are imaginary and may not have a proper answer). In this type of questions, you
can easily find the value of Y(1), Y(2), Y(3). Now check which of the options give the
same value for N=1, 2, 3. Whichever option does not give the same values is obviously
wrong. You will almost certainly get the right answer by this technique. Note that you
may sometimes have to evaluate till Y(4) or Y(5) or may also get the answer as early as
Y(1) or Y(2). All you have to do is evaluate for N=1 and check, if all 3 wrong options are
not eliminated, evaluate Y(2) and so on. This may sound a bit cumbersome but once you
start using it, you will find it very easy and fast. Whenever you see any question which
involves a general equation with 1 or 2 variables, try and see if you can eliminate wrong
options by using simple numerical values. You have to be a bit cautious though not to
make silly mistakes. But with proper practice, you will easily perfect this technique. This
method can also be used in exponential equations of higher orders if you are good enough
with numbers.

Trigonometry

This is the topic where I used numerical techniques to the highest extent. Almost all
questions relating to generalized equations can be solved by putting actual values for the
angles involved.
For this you only need to remember the basic ratios for standard angles like
0,30,45,60,90,etc. in decimal system and should be able to approximate the ratios for
angles like 15,75,etc. this is very simple and I am sure that each and every one can do
this. Now you can just replace the x or y in the given question with a suitable angle value,
evaluate the value of the question and then try to match it with the values of different
options. lets take a simple question:-

Q: Which of the following is equal to cos (A/2) :

a) cos (90- A) b) root of( tan A) c) root of ((1+cos A )/2) d) root of ((1-cos A)/2)

Now taking value of A=60 , we know that cos(60/2) = (root of 3)/2. Now put the value of
A in all 4 options and you will find that only options a & c satisfy the equation. Hence b
& d are discarded. Now put A=90. Now a does not satisfy the equation and is discarded.
Hence c is the right answer.

Now you may say that this was a simple question and you already knew the answer from
half angle formulae. But believe me, no matter how difficult the question is, it is very
likely that you will get the answer by putting numerical values.

Differential calculus-

Well there is not much that can be done here. At least I did not use too many shortcuts
because I found it simple enough to solve using conventional methods. You can however,
sometimes eliminate a few options mostly based on the sign. By taking a few actual
values, it can be found out whether a function is decreasing or increasing in a certain
range. You can therefore judge the sign of the differential and hence discard the wrong
options. I would however, not advice this method if you can actually differentiate the
function and find the answer. In questions related to application of differential calculus, u
can often discard question by use of simple logic.

Integral calculus-

As I stated before, I never studied integral calculus and hence had to completely depend
upon special techniques to solve all the questions. If you are proficient with integral
calculus, I would advice you to do it the conventional way. But if you do find some
difficulty there are quite a few techniques that can be used. The most basic technique is to
differentiate the options. This however, may not work in tough exams because the paper
setters are normally cautious enough to set questions with options that cannot easily be
differentiated to directly get the expression in the question. You will however, find a
couple of questions that can be solved by doing this.
Another useful technique involves using definite integrals to find indefinite integrals.
Herein you draw a rough graph for the equation in the question, approximate the area
under that curve in a certain region (along with the sign) and then compare it to the value
given by the various options in that region. Let me illustrate with an easy example:-

Q:Integral of sin^2 (x) {sine squared (x)} is :-

a) cos^2 (x) b) cos^3 (x) c) x/4 -1/2 sin(2x) d)x/2 – 1/4 sin(2x)

Now drawing an approximate graph of sin^2(x), u will notice that is can be approximated
as a straight line between 0 and pi/2(note that value at pi/4 is ½ and at pi/2 is 1). Hence
taking the area of the triangle A=1/2*(3.14/2)*1=1.79. now checking with the options
you will see that only option d gives a similar value(in fact in this case it is the exact
same value because of the property of sine function, this need not be the case always as
we are approximating the triangle). We were lucky to find a near triangle, this need not
always happen. But with adequate practice you will learn to approximate areas of
different shapes. This process is much easier than it sound, especially once you get used
to it. if you are having difficulty approximating the curve, there are other methods to
eliminate a few options. in the given question, note that the equation in the question is
always non-negative. Hence the definite integral should always be +ve as well. This way
you can eliminate option a & b as they can have –ve values. Do always make sure you
take angles in radians or degrees wherever appropriate in trigonometry based questions.

Analytical geometry-

The techniques used in this topic are a bit complicated to explain and I have also
forgotten most of them. I would suggest you to develop your own techniques. One basic
technique is to approximate the curves by taking some points. This method is difficult to
really explain as it takes a lot of graphical imagination.

PHYSICS

Optics-

Many students find optics very confusing. The main reason for this is the confusion with
sign convention. If you are perfect with the sign convention that you use, stick to it. But if
you do find it confusing, there is one thing that can really help you- Using a bit of logic.
First of all, get your concepts really clear. You should be able to tell (qualitatively) for
every type of mirror or lens where the image would be formed for any position of the
object and whether the image is real or virtual. Once you understand the physics behind
formation of image by reflection/refraction of light, you will be able to solve any kind of
question. Besides there are not too many different types of questions in optics so
practicing different questions really helps as it is quite likely that you will get a similar
question in the examination.

Mechanics-

I cant really think of any shortcuts in mechanics. All you need to do is get your free body
diagrams in place. No matter how complicated a question is, if you can figure out all the
forces and moments acting on the body, you can easily solve it. You can often eliminate
options based on sign in mechanics as well as optics. For eg. Sometimes you just know
that a certain quantity has to be +ve and 1 or 2 of the options have a –ve sign(or vice
versa). This greatly increases the probability of getting the answer right even if you
cannot solve for the numerical value. Also be solid with your dimensions because often
dimensional analysis gives you clues about which formulae to use.

Electricity and magnetism-

Not too many shortcuts here either. Your concepts need to be really very, very clear to
stand a chance at solving JEE level questions. Do not depend on formulae because when
you face a really good question, you will not know which formula to use and where to
use it. make it a habit to solve the questions, specially in electrostatic, step by step.
Remember that all you need to solve the toughest of the questions are the basic laws of
physics. All that you need to do is apply them step by step and without any mistakes. I
would suggest you to devote a few days at a stretch only to this topic so that you get all
your concepts clear. Also solve as many questions as possible. It will help you greatly to
clear doubts and build confidence.

One basic technique that I find highly underused is symmetry. I fail to understand why
students can’t think beyond the formulae and use symmetry. It is a very important
property in many topics none as important as circuits. The basic principle is that two
symmetric points will always be at the same potential and there is no current flow
between them. This can greatly simplify many daunting questions. Symmetry can also be
used to great effect in analytical geometry.

Modern physics-

This is a relatively simple topic as there are not too many concepts to remember. All you
need to do is get a ‘feel’ for the different kind of questions.
CHEMISTRY

Physical chemistry-

Physical chemistry is very much similar to physics in terms of the right approach. You
should always know (qualitatively) what can possibly happen and what cannot happen.
For eg. You should know whether different quantities would increase or decrease on
addition of a certain substance to a solution. This can be done by extensive reading and
problem solving. It is of no good to simply mug up formulae, especially in topics like
solutions, kinetic, electrochemistry, etc. unless you know how exactly to use them. It is a
very common mistake by students to use the wrong formulae in such questions. Once
again u really need to get a ‘feel’ of the topic. You should be able to imagine what really
happens at the molecular level and how exactly properties change.

Organic chemistry-

Not too many shortcuts here. One advice I would give you is to write down all the
chemical reactions given in the syllabus (not all individual reactions, just the general
reaction) along with the exceptions and special features (if any) on a small note book and
make sure you know all of them. Also try to imagine what exactly happens in each
reaction at the molecular level. You need not know the detailed mechanism of every
reaction but should at least know what roughly happens. Do not study too much out-of-
syllabus stuff unless you are sure you can cope. JEE and AIEEE strictly sticks to the
syllabus mentioned in the prospectus.

Inorganic chemistry-

This is a completely memory based topic. I would suggest you to try and enjoy reading
this topic and avoid making it boring. Another great way to learn a major part of this
topic is to understand the qualitative analysis that you do in the lab. If you can learn the
logic behind the experiments conducted it would greatly help you understand the theory.
Try and memorise colours of different compounds because colours are easy to remember
and are frequently used in exams. Also try and find trends and funny facts in the text.
This helps memorise the text even if you have a weak memory like me …

These are all the techniques I could think of.


The most important thing is that these techniques may or may not help you. I developed
these myself because they suited my brain and my way of studying. They were designed
to make as little use of memory as possible and rely heavily on numerical and analytical
power. You may need to modify them according to your memory and numerical ability.
Do try these out and try to modify them according to your needs. You may also develop
techniques of your own which suit your needs.

The main aim behind this text is to help change students’ attitude toward competitive
exams. So even if you do not find any of these techniques useful, do try and remove the
mental block many students have about competitive exams. Make sure competitive
exams become your forte. Unless you do that, you will never get the education of your
choice no matter how well you do in boards and all.

One more studying technique I will really like to advocate is studying in a group. Find
friends who complement your style of studying and try to share questions and ideas
whenever possible. I am not telling you to always study in a big group or anything. But it
is very healthy to discuss study related stuff with your friends regularly. It helps u check
you progress, get new ideas, understand your mistakes and solve your doubts. That too in
a fun way. So make sure you have at least a couple of study buddies.

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If you have any doubts, suggestions or want to share techniques of your own, please mail
me at nitishwagle@gmail.com

Please neglect any spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

If you find this text helpful, please do pass it on to your friends.

Knowledge is of no use if not shared.

Best Of Luck…

Love,

Nitish
Look at the test paper and plan your time when you first get the question paper, don’t just
throw yourself into answering the question paper.

What are the total number of questions?


How many sections?
Which question is more worth solving than others?

Once you have gone through the entire paper, pace yourself in the way that you finish the
question paper 10 minutes before the actual time limit. This will allow you to check some
silly mistakes, left questions or over read questions.

Try taking frequent breaks in the middle of the exam by stopping and closing your eyes,
taking a deep breath. This will clear your mind of all the stress and help you to stay fresh
during the whole exam.

If you are completely lost and not able to solve the problems, here are some strategies to
narrow the field and select correct answers.

Ask yourself whether the answer you are considering completely addresses the question.
If the test answer is only partly correct only under certain narrow conditions, then it’s
probably not the right answer.

If you think that the question posed is a tricky one then think again. Very few instructors
would ever write a question intended to be deceptive.

If you suspect that the question is a tricky item, make sure you are not reading too much
into the question, and try to avoid imagining detailed scenarios in which the answer could
be true.

In most cases tricky questions are only tricky because they are not taken at face value.

For every MCQ question on the test you have 2 options

Solve the problem directly.


&
The Process of elimination.

Let’s discuss the first option. In general, solving the problem might always be faster than
the process of elimination.

If you are not so comfortable with the topic or the question then choosing elimination
will be the best choice.
There are many of those IITIANS which I know have cleared the IIITJEE just by solving
problems using elimination technique and sometimes they even use it to increase their
ranks in IITJEE.

Solving the Problem.

Solving the problem is the most straightforward ways to reach your answer as long as
you feel comfortable with the lesson or the subject being tested.

It’s mainly a two step process Read the question but don’t look at the answer. Try to
understand the question. Rephrase it if you don’t understand the question and then devise
a concrete plan to solve it. Solve the problem.

Once you solve the problem –only then see if your answer is listed among the answer
choices. We can’t stress enough that if you are trying to solve the problem directly, you
should avoid looking at the answer choices until the end.

Since trap answers are often the values you would get at the halfway point of the process
of working out the problem if you peek at the choices you may get tricked into thinking
you have solved the question before you actually have.

The Technique of Elimination:

On every MCQ there are options in which one is hidden. So you need to check each
option which one works. On certain occasions working backwards could actually be the
faster method then just solving the problem directly.

Do work backward when the question describes an equation of some sort and answer
choices are all rather simple numbers Don’t work backwards when dealing with answer
choices that contain variables or complicated fractions.

This technique can only be mastered by regular practice. Whenever you solve an MCQ at
home always try out solving it using the elimination process only after solving it in
subjective manner.

But don’t forget “Concept Is The King” if you want to clear IITJEE .

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