In JAM (Joint Admission Test for M.Sc) Chemistry syllabus is divided into three parts - Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Inorganic chemistry. The syllabus is as follows:
IIT JAM Syllabus- PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
Basic Mathematical Concepts: Functions; maxima and minima; integrals; ordinary differential equations; vectors and matrices; determinants; elementary statistics and probability theory.
Atomic and Molecular Structure: Fundamental particles; Bohr’s theory of hydrogen-like atom; wave-particle duality; uncertainty principle; Schrödinger’s wave equation; quantum numbers; shapes of orbitals; Hund’s rule and Pauli’s exclusion principle; electronic configuration of simple homonuclear diatomic molecules.
Theory of Gasses: Equation of state for ideal and non-ideal (van der Waals) gases; Kinetic theory of gases; Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law; equipartition of energy.
Solid state: Crystals and crystal systems; X-rays; NaCl and KCl structures; close packing; atomic and ionic radii; radius ratio rules; lattice energy; Born-Haber cycle; isomorphism; heat capacity of solids.
Chemical Thermodynamics: Reversible and irreversible processes; first law and its application to ideal and non-ideal gases; thermochemistry; second law; entropy and free energy; criteria for spontaneity.
Chemical and Phase Equilibria: Law of mass action; Kp, Kc, Kx and Kn; effect of temperature on K; ionic equilibria in solutions; pH and buffer solutions; hydrolysis; solubility product; phase equilibria–phase rule and its application to one-component and two-component systems; colligative properties.
Electrochemistry: Conductance and its applications; transport number; galvanic cells; EMF and free energy; concentration cells with and without transport; polarography; concentration cells with and without transport; Debey-Huckel-Onsagar theory of strong electrolytes.
Chemical Kinetics: Reactions of various order; Arrhenius equation; collision theory; transition state theory; chain reactions - normal and branched; enzyme kinetics; photochemical processes; catalysis.
Adsorption: Gibbs adsorption equation; adsorption isotherm; types of adsorption; surface area of adsorbents; surface films on liquids.
Spectroscopy: Beer-Lambert law; fundamental concepts of rotational, vibrational, electronic and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
IIT JAM Syllabus - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Basic Concepts in Organic Chemistry and Stereochemistry: Electronic effects (resonance, inductive, hyperconjugation) and steric effects and its applications (acid/base property); optical isomerism in compounds with and without any stereocenters (allenes, biphenyls); conformation of acyclic systems (substituted ethane/n-propane/n-butane) and cyclic systems (mono- and di-substituted cyclohexanes).
Organic Reaction Mechanism and Synthetic Applications: Chemistry of reactive intermediates (carbocations, carbanions, free radicals, carbenes, nitrenes, benzynes etc…); Hofmann-Curtius-Lossen rearrangement, Wolff rearrangement, Simmons-Smith reaction, Reimer-Tiemann reaction, Michael reaction, Darzens reaction, Wittig reaction and McMurry reaction; Pinacol-pinacolone, Favorskii, benzilic acid rearrangement, dienone-phenol rearrangement, Baeyer-Villeger reaction; oxidation and reduction reactions in organic chemistry; organometallic reagents in organic synthesis (Grignard, organolithium and organocopper); Diels-Alder, electrocyclic and sigmatropic reactions; functional group inter-conversions and structural problems using chemical reactions.
Qualitative Organic Analysis: Identification of functional groups by chemical tests; elementary UV, IR and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques as tools for structural elucidation.
Natural Products Chemistry: Chemistry of alkaloids, steroids, terpenes, carbohydrates, amino acids, peptides and nucleic acids.
Aromatic and Heterocyclic Chemistry: Monocyclic, bicyclic and tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and monocyclic compounds with one hetero atom: synthesis, reactivity and properties.
IIT JAM Syllabus - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Periodic Table: Periodic classification of elements and periodicity in properties; general methods of isolation and purification of elements.
Chemical Bonding and Shapes of Compounds: Types of bonding; VSEPR theory and shapes of molecules; hybridization; dipole moment; ionic solids; structure of NaCl, CsCl, diamond and graphite; lattice energy.
Main Group Elements (s and p blocks): General concepts on group relationships and gradation in properties; structure of electron deficient compounds involving main group elements.
Transition Metals (d block): Characteristics of 3d elements; oxide, hydroxide and salts of first row metals; coordination complexes: structure, isomerism, reaction mechanism and electronic spectra;
VB, MO and Crystal Field theoretical approaches for structure, color and magnetic properties of metal complexes; organometallic compounds having ligands with back bonding capabilities such as metal carbonyls, carbenes, nitrosyls and metallocenes; homogenous catalysis.
Bioinorganic Chemistry: Essentials and trace elements of life; basic reactions in the biological systems and the role of metal ions, especially Fe2+, Fe3+, Cu2+ and Zn2+; structure and function of hemoglobin and myoglobin and carbonic anhydrase.
Instrumental Methods of Analysis: Basic principles; instrumentations and simple applications of conductometry, potentiometry and UV-vis spectrophotometry; analysis of water, air and soil samples.
Analytical Chemistry: Principles of qualitative and quantitative analysis; acid-base, oxidation-reduction and complexometric titrations using EDTA; precipitation reactions; use of indicators; use of organic reagents in inorganic analysis; radioactivity; nuclear reactions; applications of isotopes.
