National Entrance Screening Test Syllabus 2015
General:
There is no specific syllabus for the General section. This
section aims to test the candidate’s general ability to comprehend qualitative
and quantitative aspects of a given scientific passage and interpretation of
graphs of simple systems. This will be done by giving a passage on some
scientific topic and questions based on the concepts elaborated in the passage
will be asked.
Questions are designed to test the candidate’s familiarity with (and not a detailed understanding of) major historical milestones in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, computer science and environment. There will be some questions designed to test the grasp of mathematics up to 10th standard and application capabilities of the same to simple problems.
Questions are designed to test the candidate’s familiarity with (and not a detailed understanding of) major historical milestones in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, computer science and environment. There will be some questions designed to test the grasp of mathematics up to 10th standard and application capabilities of the same to simple problems.
Biology
Cell Biology: Cell theory and cells as unit of life. Tools and techniques
of cell studies - use of microscope and calibration (microscopy), elements of
microscope.
Biomembranes - transport mechanism, cellular respiration.
Cell organelles - structure and functions. Discovery and structure of DNA, processes
of replication, transcription, genetic code and translation. Principles of the
basic techniques in molecular biology.
Anatomy and
Physiology
Digestive System -
Modes of nutrition. Structure of alimentary canal and associated glands, digestive
enzymes and gastrointestinal hormones. Absorption of products of digestion, peristalsis,
balanced diet.
Respiratory System -
Gaseous exchange in animals. Structure of respiratory organs, mechanism of
breathing, gaseous transport, tissue respiration.
Circulatory System -
Open and closed systems. Functions of blood and 1ymph. Microscopic structure of
blood and blood vessels. Structures and working of heart. Distribution of
arteries and veins. Circulation of blood coagulation. Blood groups.
Excretory System
- Elimination of nitrogenous waste. Osmoconformers and osmoregulators. Structure
and function of kidney tubules. Arrangement of excretory organs.
Nervous System -
General account of brain, spinal cord and nerves. Reflex actions (simple and conditioned).
Sense organs (eye and ear).
Reproductive System -Sexual
and asexual reproduction. General arrangement and functions of reproductive
organs.
Developmental Biology
-Basic features of development in animals. Types of eggs, fertilization,
cleavage, blastula. Stem cells- definition, types, uses, advantages and disadvantages,induced
pluripotent stem cells.
Diversity of Animal
Life -Principles of classification, binomial nomenclature. General classification
of animal phyla up to classes (invertebrates) and upto sub-classes/ order (vertebrates),
General characters of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Genetics and
Evolution - Fundamentals of genetics and evolution.
Human genetics - human chromosomes, sex-determination,
sex-linked inheritance. Evidences and theories of organic evolution.
Organization of the heredity material in chromosomes. Equational division. Reduction
division.
Mitosis and meiosis compared and contrasted. Significance of
meiosis. Mendel's laws of inheritance. Discovery of linkage, sex-linked
inheritance. Crossing-over, stage 10 at which crossing-over occurs. Neurospora
genetics.
Mutation - discovery, types of Mutation and Mutations in
diploids. Role of mutations in evolution. Elaboration of Mendel's laws of inheritance.
Monohybrid or Dihybrid crosses.
Immunology-
Basics of immune mechanisms and diseases- active and passive immunity, T and B
cell responses, antigen presentation, principles of vaccination, monoclonal
antibodies and their uses, immunology of AIDS
Enzymes- catalysis, kinetics, activation energy, competitive
and non-competitive inhibition.
Ecology
Physical and biological factors influencing organisms. Food
chains, pyramids of numbers and biomass. Biological equilibrium. Interspecific
associations.
Botany
Anatomy and Physiology of Plants - Meristems. Plant growth
and development. Internal and external regulators of growth and development in
plant. Internal structure of root, stem, secondary growth and leaves. Xylem and
Phloem - their cell elements and functions. Internal structure of dicot and
monocot leaves.
Photosynthesis - history, importance, factors and mechanism,
stomatal mechanism, transpiration and respiration. Comparative study of dicot and
monocot anatomy. Absorption and cell-water relations, transport of water and
minerals, tropic and turgor movements. Significance of life-cycles with special
reference to alternation of generations as exemplified in Funaria, Selaginella
and Pinus (no structural details).
Systematics -
Principles of classical and new systematics. Binomial nomenclature. Familiarity
with taxa.
Humans and
Environment
Soil, rainfall and temperature with reference to natural
resources. Our natural resources - their uses and abuses. Environmental
pollution and preventive measures.
Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Measurements in chemistry - SI units for fundamental quantities,
significant figures, significant
figures in calculations General topics - Concept of atoms
and molecules. Dalton’s atomic theory. Mole concept. Chemical formulae.
Balanced chemical equations.
Calculations (based on mole concept) involving common oxidation-reduction,
neutralisation and displacement reactions. Concentration in terms of mole
fraction, molarity, molality and normality.
Gaseous and liquid
states - Absolute scale of temperature. ideal gas equation. Deviation from ideality,
van der Waals equation. Kinetic theory of gases, average, root mean square and most
probable velocities and their relation with temperature.
Law of partial
pressures. Vapour pressure. Diffusion of gases.
Atomic structure and
chemical bonding - Bohr model, spectrum of hydrogen atom, quantum numbers.
Wave- particle duality, de Broglie hypothesis. Uncertainty principle.
Qualitative quantum mechanical picture of hydrogen atom, shapes of s, p and d
orbitals.
Electronic configurations of elements (up to atomic number
36). Aufbau principle. Pauli’s exclusion principle and Hund’s rule. Orbital
overlap and covalent bond. Hybridisation involving s, p and d orbitals only.
Orbital energy diagrams for homonuclear diatomic species.
Hydrogen bond. Polarity
in molecules, dipole moment (qualitative aspects only). VSEPR model and shapes
of molecules (linear, angular, triangular, square planar, pyramidal, square
pyramidal, trigonal bipyramidal, tetrahedral and octahedral).
Energetics -
First law of thermodynamics. Internal energy, work and heat, pressure-volume work.
Enthalpy, Hess’s law. Heat of reaction, fusion and vapourization. Second law of thermodynamics. Entropy. Free
energy. Criterion of spontaneity.
Chemical equilibrium
- Law of mass action. Equilibrium constant. Le Chatelier's principle (effect
of concentration, temperature and pressure). Significance of ΔG and ΔGº in
chemical equilibrium. Solubility product, common ion effect, pH and buffer
solutions. Acids and bases (Bronsted and Lewis concepts). Hydrolysis of salts.
Electrochemistry -
Electrochemical cells and cell reactions. Standard electrode potentials. Nernst
equation and its relation to ΔG. Electrochemical series, emf of galvanic cells.
Faraday's laws of electrolysis. Electrolytic conductance, specific, equivalent
and molar conductivity, Kohlrausch's law. Concentration cells.
Chemical kinetics -
Rates of chemical reactions. Order of reactions. Rate constant. First order reactions.
Temperature dependence of rate constant (Arrhenius equation).
Solid state -
Classification of solids. Crystalline state, seven crystal systems (cell
parameters a, b, c, alpha, beta, gamma), close packed structure of solids
(cubic), packing in fcc, bcc and hcp lattices.Nearest neighbours, ionic radii.
Simple ionic compounds, point defects.
Solutions -
Raoult's law. Molecular weight determination from lowering of vapour pressure, elevation
of boiling point and depression of freezing point.
Nuclear chemistry -
Radioactivity. Isotopes and isobars. Properties of alpha, beta and gamma rays.
Kinetics of radioactive decay (decay series excluded), carbon dating. Stability
of nuclei with respect to proton-neutron ratio. Brief discussion on fission and
fusion reactions.
Inorganic Chemistry
Study of different groups in periodic table -
Group 1A
(Preparation, properties and reactions of alkali metals, with emphasis on
chemistry of Na and K and their compounds - oxides, peroxides, hydroxides,
carbonates, bicarbonates, chlorides and sulphates)
Group 2A
(preparation, properties and reactions alkaline earth metals with emphasis on
Mg and Ca and their compounds such as oxides, peroxides, hydroxides,
carbonates, bicarbonates, chlorides and sulphates)
Group 3A
(chemistry of Boron and its compounds – diborane)
Group 8A
(preparation, properties and reactions inert gases with emphasis on chemistry
of Xenon)
Group 7A (halogen
chemistry with special emphasis on chemistry of chlorine) Study of nonmetals -
C, S, N, P (especially oxides and oxyacids compounds of these elements, in
addition phosphines for P, ammonia for N) and O (peroxide and ozone), Si
(silicones and silicates). (Allotropes of C, S, N should be covered.)
Transition elements
(3d series) - Definition, general characteristics, variable oxidation
states and their stabilities, colour (excluding the details of electronic transitions)
and calculation of spin-only magnetic moment.
Coordination
compounds - nomenclature of mononuclear coordination compounds. cis-trans and
ionisation isomerisms, hybridization and geometries of mononuclear coordination
compounds (linear, tetrahedral, square planar and octahedral
Metals and metallurgy
- General methods involving chemical principles. General operation stages
involved in metallurgical operation.
Metallurgy of p-block element (emphasis on Al). Metallurgy
of Fe-triad (Fe, Co, And Ni with more emphasis on Fe metallurgy). Metallurgy of
coinage metals (Cu, Ag with more emphasis on Cu).
Organic Chemistry
Concepts - Hybridisation of carbon. Sigma and pi-bonds.
Shapes of simple organic molecules. Structural and geometrical isomerism.
Optical isomerism of compounds containing up to two asymmetric centres, (R, S
and E, Z nomenclature excluded). IUPAC nomenclature of simple organic compounds
(only hydrocarbons, mono- functional and bi-functional compounds). Conformations
of ethane and butane (Newman projections). Resonance and hyperconjugation.
Keto-enol tautomerism.
Determination of empirical and molecular formulae of simple
compounds (only combustion method). Hydrogen bonds - definition and their
effects on physical properties of alcohols and carboxylic acids. Inductive and
resonance effects on acidity and basicity of organic acids and bases. Polarity
and inductive effects in alkyl halides.
Reactive intermediates produced during homolytic and
heterolytic bond cleavage. Formation, structure and stability of carbocations,
carbanions and free radicals.
Preparation, properties
and reactions of alkanes - Homologous series, physical properties of alkanes
(melting points, boiling points and density). Combustion and halogenation of
alkanes. Preparation of alkanes by Wurtz reaction and decarboxylation
reactions. Preparation,
properties and
reactions of alkenes and alkynes - physical properties of alkenes and
alkynes (boiling points, density and dipole moments). Acidity of alkynes. Acid
catalysed hydration of alkenes and alkynes (excluding the stereochemistry of
addition and elimination).
Reactions of alkenes with KMnO4 and ozone. Reduction of
alkenes and alkynes. Preparation of alkenes and alkynes by elimination
reactions. Electrophilic addition reactions of alkenes with X2, HX, HOX and H2O
(X=halogen). Addition reactions of alkynes; Metal acetylides.
Reactions of benzene
- Structure and aromaticity. Electrophilic substitution reactions - halogenation,
nitration, sulphonation, Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation. Effect of o-,
m- and p- directing groups in monosubstituted benzenes.
Phenols -
Acidity, electrophilic substitution reactions (halogenation, nitration and sulphonation).
Reimer-Tieman reaction, Kolbe reaction. Characteristic reactions of the
following (including those mentioned above) Alkyl halides - rearrangement
reactions of alkyl carbocation, Grignard reactions, nucleophilic
substitution
reactions Alcohols - esterification, dehydration and oxidation, reaction
with sodium, phosphorus halides, ZnCl2/ concentrated HCl, conversion of
alcohols into aldehydes and ketones. Ethers - Preparation by Williamson's Synthesis.
Aldehydes and Ketones - oxidation, reduction, oxime and
hydrazone formation. aldol condensation, Perkin reaction. Cannizzaro reaction.
Haloform reaction and nucleophilic addition reactions (Grignard addition).
Carboxylic acids - formation of esters, acid chlorides and amides, ester
hydrolysis.
Amines - basicity
of substituted anilines and aliphatic amines, preparation from nitro compounds,
reaction with nitrous acid, azo coupling reaction of diazonium salts of
aromatic amines, Sandmeyer and related reactions of diazonium salts.
carbylamine reaction.
Haloarenes -
nucleophilic aromatic substitution in haloarenes and substituted haloarenes (excluding
Benzyne mechanism and Cine substitution). Carbohydrate - Classification. mono-
and di- saccharides (glucose and sucrose). Oxidation, reduction, glycoside
formation and hydrolysis of sucrose.
Amino acids and
peptides - General structure (only primary structure for peptides) and physical
properties. Some examples for separation of amino acid mixture using physical properties.
Mathematics
Algebra
Algebra of complex numbers, addition, multiplication, conjugation,
polar representation, properties of modulus and principal argument, triangle inequality,
cube roots of unity, geometric interpretations. Quadratic equations with real
coefficients, relations between roots and coefficients, formation of quadratic
equations with given roots, symmetric functions of roots.
Arithmetic, geometric and harmonic progressions, arithmetic,
geometric and harmonic means, sums of finite arithmetic and geometric
progressions, infinite geometric series, sums of squares and cubes of the first
n natural numbers.
Logarithms and their
properties.
Permutations and combinations, Binomial theorem for positive
integral index, properties of binomial coefficients. Matrices as a rectangular
array of real numbers, equality of matrices, addition, multiplication by a
scalar and product of matrices, transpose of a matrix, determinant of a square
matrix of order up to three, inverse of a square matrix of order up to three,
properties of these matrix operations, diagonal, symmetric and skew-symmetric matrices
and their properties, solutions of simultaneous linear equations in two or
three variables.
Addition and multiplication rules of probability,
conditional probability, Bayes Theorem, independence of events, computation of
probability of events using permutations and combinations.
Trigonometry
Trigonometric functions, their periodicity and graphs,
addition and subtraction formulae, formulae involving multiple and sub-multiple
angles, general solution of trigonometric equations. Relations between sides
and angles of a triangle, sine rule, cosine rule, half-angle formula and the
area of a triangle, inverse trigonometric functions (principal value only).
Analytical geometry
Two dimensions - Cartesian coordinates, distance between two
points, section formulae, shift of origin. Equation of a straight line in
various forms, angle between two lines, distance of a point from a line. Lines
through the point of intersection of two given lines, equation of the bisector
of the angle between two lines, concurrency of lines.
Centroid, orthocentre, incentre and circumcentre of a
triangle. Equation of a circle in various forms, equations of tangent, normal
and chord.
Parametric equations of a circle, intersection of a circle
with a straight line or a circle, equation of a circle through the points of
intersection of two circles and those of a circle and a straight line. Equations
of a parabola, ellipse and hyperbola in standard form, their foci, directrices
and eccentricity, parametric equations, equations of tangent and normal. Locus
Problems.
Three dimensions -
Direction cosines and direction ratios, equation of a straight line in space, equation
of a plane, distance of a point from a plane.
Differential calculus
Real valued functions of a real variable, into, onto and
one-to-one functions, sum, difference, product and quotient of two functions,
composite functions, absolute value, polynomial, rational, trigonometric,
exponential and logarithmic functions.
Limit and continuity of a function, limit and continuity of
the sum, difference, product and quotient of two functions, L’Hospital rule for
evaluation of limits of functions.
Even and odd functions, inverse of a function, continuity of
composite functions, intermediate value property of continuous functions.
Derivative of a function, derivative of the sum, difference, product and
quotient of two functions, chain rule, derivatives of polynomial, rational,
trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, exponential and logarithmic functions.
Derivatives of implicit functions, derivatives up to order
two, geometrical interpretation of the derivative, tangents and normals,
increasing and decreasing functions, maximum and minimum values of a function,
Rolle’s Theorem and Lagrange’s Mean Value Theorem.
Integral calculus
Integration as the inverse process of differentiation,
indefinite integrals of standard functions, definite integrals and their
properties, Fundamental Theorem of Integral Calculus.
Integration by parts, integration by the methods of substitution
and partial fractions, application of definite integrals to the determination
of areas involving simple curves.
Formation of ordinary differential equations, solution of
homogeneous differential equations, separation of variables method, linear
first order differential equations.
Vectors
Addition of vectors, scalar multiplication, dot and cross
products, scalar triple products and their geometrical interpretations.
Physics
General
Units and dimensions, dimensional analysis. least count, significant
figures. Methods of measurement (Direct, Indirect, Null) and measurement of length,
time, mass, temperature, potential difference, current and resistance.
Design of some simple experiments. Identification of independent,
dependent and control variables. Identification of sample size, range and
interval. Identification of appropriate measurement techniques and instruments.
Graphical representation, interpretation and analysis of
data. Errors in the measurements and
error analysis.
Mechanics
Kinematics in one and two dimensions (Cartesian coordinates
only), projectiles. Uniform circular motion. Relative velocity. Newton’s laws
of motion. Inertial and uniformly accelerated frames of reference. Static and
dynamic friction. Kinetic and potential energy. Work and power. Conservation of
linear momentum and mechanical energy.
Systems of particles. Centre of mass and its motion.
Impulse. Elastic and inelastic collisions. Law of gravitation. Gravitational
potential and field. Acceleration due to gravity. Motion of planets and
satellites in circular orbits. Escape velocity.
Rigid body, moment of inertia, parallel and perpendicular axes
theorems, moment of inertia of uniform bodies with simple geometrical shapes.
Angular momentum, Torque. Conservation of angular momentum. Dynamics of rigid
bodies with fixed axis of rotation. Rolling without slipping of rings,
cylinders and spheres. Equilibrium of rigid bodies. Collision of point masses
with rigid bodies.
Linear and angular simple harmonic motions. Hooke’s law,
Young’s modulus. Pressure in a fluid. Pascal’s law. Buoyancy. Surface energy
and surface tension, capillary rise. Viscosity - Stoke’s and Poiseuille’s law,
Terminal velocity.
Streamline flow, equation of continuity. Bernoulli’s
theorem. Plane wave motion, longitudinal and transverse waves, superposition of
waves. Progressive and stationary waves. Vibration of strings and air columns.
Resonance. Beats. Speed of sound in gases. Doppler effect (in sound).
Thermal physics
Thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases. Calorimetry,
latent heat. Heat conduction in one dimension. Elementary concepts of
convection and radiation. Newton’s law of cooling. Ideal gas laws. Specific
heats ( CV and CP for monoatomic and diatomic gases).
Isothermal and adiabatic processes, bulk modulus of gases.
Equivalence of heat and work. First and second law of thermodynamics and its
applications (only for ideal gases). Entropy. Blackbody radiation - absorptive
and emissive powers. Kirchhoff’s law. Wien’s displacement law, Stefan’s law
Electricity and
magnetism
Coulomb’s law. Electric field and potential. Electrical
potential energy of a system of point charges and of electrical dipoles in a
uniform electrostatic field; Electric field lines. Flux of electric field.
Gauss’s law and its application in simple cases, such as to find field due to infinitely
long straight wire. uniformly charged infinite plane sheet and uniformly
charged thin spherical shell.
Capacitance -
Calculation of capacitance with and without dielectrics. Capacitors in series and
parallel. Energy stored in a capacitor.
Electric current. Ohm’s law. Series and parallel arrangements
of resistances and cells. Kirchhoff’s laws and simple applications; Heating
effect of current.
Biot-Savart’s law and Ampere’s law. Magnetic field near a
current carrying straight wire, along the axis of a circular coil and inside a
long straight solenoid. Force on a moving charge and on a current carrying wire
in a uniform magnetic field.
Magnetic moment of a current loop. Effect of a uniform
magnetic field on a current loop. Moving coil galvanometer, voltmeter, ammeter
and their conversions. Electromagnetic induction - Faraday’s law, Lenz’s law.
Self and mutual inductance. RC, LR and LC circuits with and A.C. Sources.
Optics
Rectilinear propagation of light. Reflection and refraction
at plane and spherical surfaces, Deviation and dispersion of light by a prism.
Thin lenses. Combination of mirrors and thin lenses. Magnification Electricity
and magnetism
Wave nature of light - Huygen’s principle, interference limited
to Young’s double slit experiment. Elementary idea of diffraction – Rayleigh
criterion. Elementary idea of polarization – Brewster’s law and the law of
Malus
Modern physics: Basics
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