Chemistry for PCM Students: Boon or Bane?
Introduction
A whopping 9,34,000 students registered to attempt JEE-Main (source: Shiksha.com). All for getting entrance to various technical institutions like IITs, NITs, IITs, GECs etc. (basically an engineering college)
Lot of students tend to study at so-called Entrace Exam factories, namely Kota (Rajasthan), Hyderabad (Telangana), Delhi etc. where there are various coaching centres, which provide targeted preparation and coaching for these exams. Now, lets address the issue at hand,
“Is Chemistry important for JEE aspirants ?”
Chemistry and it’s nature
Chemistry is a subject which comprises the study of chemicals and how they interact with substances, and their subsequent behaviour (a definition I conjured up just now).
Anyways, most of the JEE aspirants take PCM as the main subjects during 11th and 12th standard. PCM implies: Physics, Chemistry and Maths. The ones opting for PCB (B for Biology) opt for Pre-Medical studies to become a doctor in the future or anything related to medicine.
Unlike Maths and Physics which are heavily linked as both involve a lot of calculations and mathematical compuations, Moreover complement each other pretty well. Chem on the other hand, becomes the third wheel of this relationship, because ;
- It is a theory oriented subject.
- It does not require too many calculations, except maybe Physical Chemistry, in which basic computations might be needed from time to time.
- There are a lot of concepts, and various rules and then the thing that most students dread: the exceptions to the rules, which as you might have guessed already, are to be mugged up.
The Resulting Bias
All these factors result in Chem facing a relative bias as compared to the Physics-Maths duo. One can easily spot scores of students who would either be boycotting Chemistry completely or just gulping it down the throat just because it accounts for 33% (one-third to be precise) which is a lot, considering that only a difference of a few numbers can change the fate of a student, trying to enter an elite institute with an elite branch (Usually Computer Science Engg. at IIT Bombay, but that’s a story for another article).
This relative general bias of some PCM students, lets others (including myself once), believe the false narrative that
Chemistry is not important for JEE Aspirants
or
Chemistry is a necessary evil for JEE Aspirants
The reason I call it false is because, I was always interested in Chemistry and just because of this narrative, I started questioning the presence of Chem in the JEE syllabus or to simply put it I started hating it. But, I always had this questions at the back of my head,
If Chemistry was not important, it wouldn’t have been accounting for 33% of the marks in such an important exam. Just like, it doesn’t have Biology or English, since they are not deemed important for an Engineering Entrance Examination.
Engineering Chemistry
After I started my freshman year at a GEC (A govt. enginering college), I came across a subject known as Engineering Chemistry. It contained study of Engineering Materials, Water, Spectroscopy, impact on Environment etc. I realised that ultimately engineering is dealing with materials at some stage or the other.
A computer’s firepower is based not on only on the constantly updating software, but also on the hardware which indirectly depends on materials and their R&D.
A car may not involve you doing Chemistry directly, but there’s a lot of Thermodynamics, Materials, and Chemical Research that goes into it.
All these examples are just a sample of what actually goes on in the Engineering World. It involves the apt use of various fields of science to ensure maximum efficiency and output.
Conclusion
The simple conclusion is
Chemistry is Important !
Whether one likes it or not, Chem is an important subject, and one should study it with the best of their abilities, along with Mathematics and Physics.
Each subject is equally important in Pre-Engineering Exams (33% in PCM like JEE, BITSAT, PET etc.) unlike Pre-Medical (PCB where Biology rakes 50% weightage, and 25% each to Chemistry & Physics)
Please don’t pay attention to those who say they hate it, just because it involves less calculations.
Once you enter actual engineering, you’d see Machines do all the calculations all by themselves anyways and you pressing some set of buttons or writing lines of code in order to get them do that :)
Happy Learning ❤️
