About this previous year paper
This question paper evaluates knowledge of physical chemistry, organic chemistry, spectroscopy, polymers, fuels, water treatment, crystallography, and corrosion engineering.
It is divided into three sections: short answers, medium-length descriptive answers, and long analytical questions.
SECTION – A (10 × 2 = 20 Marks)
This section contains ten short-answer questions testing conceptual understanding.
Topics include:
Hydrogen bonding and boiling point trends (H₂O > HF)
Crystal symmetry, lattice planes, and NaCl unit cell
Proton splitting in ethanol (CH₃–CH₂–OH) in ¹H-NMR
Vulcanization of natural rubber
Addition vs condensation polymerisation
Triple point significance
“IR spectra as molecular fingerprints”
Copolymers: Buna-S vs Buna-N
Polymer preparation (Bakelite, Nylon-6, Nylon-66, Dacron)
Calgon vs phosphate conditioning, calorific value, biomass
This section checks core definitions and principles of chemistry.
SECTION – B (5 × 10 = 50 Marks)
This section contains five medium-length descriptive questions on:
Calculation of lime & soda required for water softening
Optical isomerism (racemic mixture, inversion in SN2, lactic acid chirality)
IR spectroscopy: definition & molecular vibrations
NaCl crystal density → calculation of unit cell edge
Air required for complete combustion of coal
Corrosion mechanism: oxide-film growth law
This section examines numerical ability, structural chemistry, spectroscopy concepts, and industrial chemistry processes.
SECTION – C (2 × 15 = 30 Marks)
This section contains two long-answer questions assessing deeper understanding.
Topics include:
Fullerenes
Structure, properties, and applications
Bond order calculations for N₂⁻, CO, NO, O₂
Fuel Technology
Determination of calorific value using bomb calorimeter
Expression of hardness as CaCO₃ equivalent & its units
Corrosion & Water Treatment
Anodic and cathodic corrosion inhibitors
Bomb-calorimeter calculation (gross & net calorific value)
Zeolite process for water softening
This section evaluates advanced concepts, derivations, industrial methods, and numerical calculations.