Chemistry
Subject code 306 · domain paper
Each of those rules names Chemistry outright — no combination of the other papers reaches them. That is the whole case for spending one of five slots on it.
The paper at a glance
Chemistry carries the subject code 306. The syllabus described here is the one published for 2026-27.
It is a short document: a cover page and three pages of running text, one paragraph per unit. Every unit comes from the Class 12 chemistry course.
How the syllabus is organised
The document is laid out in ten units, numbered Unit I to Unit X. The units follow the NCERT Class 12 order: three physical-chemistry units, two inorganic, then five organic. Unlike the Physics syllabus, each unit here is a single dense paragraph rather than bullet points.
The syllabus itself is a list of topics only. It does not print question counts, marks, negative marking or timing, and it does not say how many questions come from each unit. Read it alongside the exam pattern.
Units I to III: physical chemistry
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit I: Solutions | Solutions and their types, expressing concentration, solubility of a solid in a liquid and of a gas in a liquid, Henry's law, vapour pressure of liquid-liquid solutions, Raoult's law, vapour pressure of solutions of solids in liquids, ideal and non-ideal solutions, azeotropes (elementary idea only); colligative properties and determination of molar mass — relative lowering of vapour pressure, elevation of boiling point, depression of freezing point, osmosis and osmotic pressure, reverse osmosis and water purification, abnormal molar masses, van't Hoff factor |
| Unit II: Electrochemistry | Electrochemical and galvanic cells, standard electrode potential and its measurement, emf of a cell, Nernst equation and its applications (equilibrium constant and cell potential calculations), electrochemical cell and Gibbs energy of the reaction; conductance of electrolytic solutions, measurement of conductivity, specific and molar conductivity and their variation with concentration, Kohlrausch's law and its applications; electrolytic cells and electrolysis, Faraday's laws of electrolysis, products of electrolysis; primary and secondary batteries, fuel cell, corrosion |
| Unit III: Chemical Kinetics | Rate of a reaction (average and instantaneous), factors influencing rate — concentration, temperature, catalyst; rate law and rate constant, order and molecularity, integrated rate equations and half-life (zero and first order reactions only), pseudo first order reactions; Arrhenius equation and activation energy; collision theory for bimolecular elementary reactions and its limitations |
The source marks its own limits in two places: azeotropes are "elementary idea only", and integrated rate equations are "for zero and first order reactions only".
Units IV and V: inorganic chemistry
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit IV: d and f Block Elements | Position of d- and f-block elements in the periodic table and their electronic configurations; general properties and trends of the transition elements — physical properties, atomic and ionic sizes and lanthanoid contraction, ionisation enthalpies, oxidation states, standard electrode potential trends for M2+/M and M3+/M2+, stability of higher oxidation states, chemical reactivity and E° values, magnetic properties, coloured ions, complex compounds, catalytic properties, interstitial compounds, alloys, nature of oxides and oxoanions of d-block metals; K2Cr2O7 and KMnO4; lanthanoids and actinoids — general properties, atomic and ionic sizes, oxidation states, comparison of actinoids with lanthanoids; applications of d- and f-block elements |
| Unit V: Coordination Compounds | Werner's theory, double salts, basic definitions — coordination entity, central atom or ion, ligands, coordination number, coordination sphere, coordination polyhedron, oxidation number of the central atom, homoleptic and heteroleptic complexes; IUPAC nomenclature, isomerism; bonding — valence bond theory and its limitations, crystal field theory with its applications to magnetic properties and colour and its limitations, spectrochemical series; shape and bonding in metal carbonyls; importance and applications of coordination compounds |
Only two compounds are named in the whole inorganic part: potassium dichromate and potassium permanganate. Coordination Compounds is where the theory runs deepest, naming both valence bond theory and crystal field theory together with their limitations.
Units VI to X: organic chemistry
Five units, arranged by functional group, followed by biomolecules.
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit VI: Haloalkanes and Haloarenes | Classification and nomenclature, nature of the C-X bond, methods of preparation, physical properties (melting and boiling point, density, solubility), chemical properties; stereochemical aspects of SN reactions of haloalkanes — optical activity, chirality, retention, inversion, racemisation; important polyhalogen compounds (CH2Cl2, CHCl3, CHI3, CCl4, freons and DDT) |
| Unit VII: Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers | Classification and nomenclature, structures of the functional groups, methods of preparation, physical properties (boiling point and solubility); chemical properties of alcohols involving cleavage of the C-OH and O-H bonds, chemical properties of phenols including oxidation and reduction, chemical properties of ethers; commercially important alcohols such as methanol and ethanol |
| Unit VIII: Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids | Carbonyl compounds and their nomenclature, structure of the carbonyl group; methods of preparation of aldehydes and ketones, their physical properties (boiling point and solubility), chemical properties and uses; structure of the carboxyl group, methods of preparation of carboxylic acids, their physical properties (boiling point and solubility), chemical properties and uses |
| Unit IX: Amines | Structure, classification and nomenclature of amines, methods of preparation, physical properties (boiling point and solubility), basic character and chemical properties; aliphatic and aromatic diazonium salts — preparation, physical and chemical properties, importance in the synthesis of aromatic compounds |
| Unit X: Biomolecules | Carbohydrates — classification, preparation and structure of glucose, D and L configuration of monosaccharides, preparation and structure of fructose, disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, lactose), polysaccharides (starch, cellulose, glycogen), importance of carbohydrates; amino acids and their classification, structure and types of proteins, denaturation, enzymes and the mechanism of enzyme action (elementary idea); vitamins — types, sources and deficiency diseases; nucleic acids — types, composition, structure and biological importance; hormones — classification, biological importance and deficiency diseases |
Each functional-group unit repeats the same skeleton — classification and nomenclature, preparation, physical properties (boiling point and solubility), chemical properties, uses — so the organic part reads as one pattern applied five times. Named-reaction lists are absent; the document says "chemical properties" and leaves it there.
What this syllabus does not tell you
The document is a topic list and nothing more. From it you cannot learn:
- how many questions come from each unit, or the marks, negative marking and duration — those are on the exam pattern;
- the weightage of any unit, so treat every unit as examinable rather than ranking them;
- how difficult the questions will be, or how numerical, conceptual and reaction-based questions are mixed;
- which named reactions or mechanisms are expected in the organic units — the phrase used is only "chemical properties";
- which books to use; the syllabus names no textbook, although the unit order follows NCERT Class 12;
- how much weight a university gives this paper once you qualify — the programmes that accept it are listed below, but the marks or ranking rule each one applies sits in its own admission bulletin.
One small trap for anyone checking the PDF: its printed page numbers run one behind the actual pages, so the first content page is printed as "1 | Page" but is page 2 of the file. Our citations use the file's page numbers.
For anything about attempt rules or numbers of questions, go to the NTA information bulletin and the exam pattern rather than to this list.
Where this paper can take you
Programmes whose rule can use Chemistry, from the 22 universities whose documents we have read. 158 of them cannot be reached any other way.
B Tech (Biotechnology) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B Tech (CE) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B Tech (CSE) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · and 153 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Zoology · B.Sc. (Prog.) Life Science · B.Sc. (Hons.) Botany · and 67 more
B.Sc. (General) (Honours/Honours with Research) · Bachelor of Occupational Therapy · Bachelor of Pharmacy · and 59 more
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) · B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) · Five Year Integrated Programme in Management (BBA & MBA) · and 15 more
Bachelor of Arts (Global Studies) · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - Economics · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - English · and 11 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Applied Geology · B.Sc. (Hons.) Bioinformatics · B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry · and 9 more
5-Year Dual Degree B.Tech.–M.Tech. (Artificial Intelligence & Data Science) · 5-Year Dual Degree B.Tech.–M.Tech. (Energy and Environmental Engineering) · 5-Year Dual Degree B.Tech.–M.Tech. (Internet of Things) · and 8 more
B.Sc. (Honours) Medical Radiology and Imaging Technology · B.Sc. (Honours) — Botany, Chemistry, Zoology, Home Science, Geography, Earth Science (Bio group) · B.Sc. (Honours) Medical Technology (Radiotherapy) · and 5 more
4-Year B.S. (Honours / Research) Chemistry · 5 Year Integrated M.Sc. (Applied Geology) · 5 Year Integrated M.Sc. (Biology) · and 2 more
B.Tech. Biotechnology · B.Tech. Biotechnology (Lateral Entry) · Bachelor of Pharmacy · and 1 more
B.Sc. (Hons.) Community Science · B.Sc. (Hons.) Geography · B.Sc. (Hons.) Statistics
Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Chemistry) · Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Mathematics) · Integrated B.Sc.–M.Sc. (Physics)
B.Sc. in Forensic Science · Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Mass Communication) · Bachelor of Business Administration
B.Tech. (School of Engineering) · Integrated B.Sc. B.Ed. (Major in Chemistry) · Integrated M.Sc. in Chemistry
B.Sc. (Honours) Agriculture · Chemistry (Major) · Five-Year Integrated M.Sc.
B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry · B.Sc. (Hons.) Material Sciences and Nanotechnology
Five Year Integrated Post Graduate Programme in Chemistry