IIT JAM 2026 Chemistry Syllabus, All Topics & PDF

Section

Question Type

Details

Question Numbers

Section A

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)

Only one correct option out of four choices

Q.1 – Q.10, Q.11 – Q.30

Section B

Multiple Select Questions (MSQ)

One or more correct choices

Q.31 – Q.40

Section C

Numerical Answer Type (NAT)

Real number entered via virtual keyboard, no choices provided

Q.41 – Q.50, Q.51 – Q.60

Section

Marks per Question

Number of Questions

Total Marks

Marking Scheme

Section A

• 1 (Q.1 – Q.10)

•  2 (Q.11 – Q.30)

• 10

• 20

• 10

• 40

Negative marking: -1/3 mark for 1-mark questions, -2/3 mark for 2-mark questions

Section B

• 2

• 10

• 20

No negative or partial marking

Section C

• 1 (Q.41 – Q.50)

• 2 (Q.51 – Q.60)

• 10

• 10

• 10

• 20

No negative marking

IIT

Offered Chemistry Course

IIT Bhilai

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Bhubaneswar

Joint MSc PhD in Chemistry

IIT Bombay

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Bombay

MSc PhD Dual Degree in Energy Science and Engineering

IIT Bombay

MSc PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering

IIT Delhi

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Delhi

MSc in Biological Sciences

IIT Dhanbad (ISM)

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Dharwad

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Gandhinagar

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Guwahati

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Hyderabad

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Indore

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Jammu

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Jodhpur

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Jodhpur

MSc MTech Dual Degree in Chemistry and Materials Engineering

IIT Kanpur

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Kanpur

MSc PhD Dual Degree in Chemistry

IIT Kharagpur

Joint MSc PhD in Chemistry

IIT Madras

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Mandi

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Palakkad

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Patna

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Patna

Integrated MSc PhD Dual Degree in Chemistry

IIT Roorkee

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Ropar

MSc in Chemistry

IIT Tirupati

MSc in Chemistry

IIT BHU Varanasi

MSc in Chemistry

Section

Topic

Subtopics

Section 1: Basic Mathematical Concepts (10+2 Level)

Functions, maxima and minima, integrals, ordinary differential equations, vectors and matrices, determinants, elementary statistics

–

Section 2: Physical Chemistry

Atomic and Molecular Structure

Planck’s black body radiation; Photoelectric effect; Bohr’s theory, de Broglie postulate, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle  Schrödinger’s wave equation (mathematical treatment); Postulates of quantum mechanics; Normalized and orthogonal wave functions; Complex conjugate; Significance of Ψ²; Operators; Particle in 1D box; Radial and angular wave functions for hydrogen atom; Radial probability distribution; Finding maxima of distribution functions; Energy spectrum of hydrogen atom; Shapes of s, p, d, f orbitals; Pauli’s Exclusion Principle; Hund’s rule of maximum multiplicity

Gaseous State

Kinetic molecular model of a gas; Collision frequency; Collision diameter; Mean free path; Viscosity of gases; Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution; Molecular velocities; Law of equipartition of energy; Heat capacities; Ideal gases; Deviations from ideal gas behaviour; van der Waals equation; Critical state; Law of corresponding states

Liquid State

Physical properties of liquids; Vapour pressure; Surface tension; Coefficient of viscosity; Effect of solutes on surface tension and viscosity; Effect of temperature on viscosity

Solid State

Unit cells; Miller indices; Crystal systems; Bravais lattices; Vectors in crystal systems; X-ray diffraction; Bragg’s Law; Structures of NaCl, CsCl, KCl, diamond, graphite; Close packing in metals; Semiconductors, insulators; Defects in crystals; Lattice energy; Isomorphism; Heat capacity of solids

Chemical Thermodynamics

Exact/in-exact differentials; Partial derivatives; Euler’s reciprocity; Cyclic rule; Reversible/irreversible processes; Laws of thermodynamics; Thermochemistry; Enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs free energy (properties & applications); Partial molar quantities; Gibbs-Duhem equation; Chemical potential & applications

Chemical and Phase Equilibria

Law of mass action; Kp, Kc, Kx, Kn; Effect of temperature; Le-Chatelier principle; Ionic equilibria; pH, buffer solutions; Salt hydrolysis; Solubility & solubility product; Acid–base titration curves; Indicators; Dilute solutions; Raoult’s Law; Henry’s Law; Colligative properties; Gibbs phase rule; Phase equilibria (1- and 2-component diagrams)

Electrochemistry

Conductivity, equivalent & molar conductivity; Kohlrausch law; Debye-Hückel-Onsager equation; Ionic velocities, mobilities, transference numbers; Conductance measurement applications; Faraday’s laws; Applications in metallurgy & industry; EMF of a cell; Nernst equation; Standard electrode potential; Electrochemical series; Concentration cells (with/without transference); Potentiometric titrations

Chemical Kinetics

Order & molecularity; Differential & integrated rate laws; Opposing, parallel & consecutive reactions; Steady state approximation; Chain reactions; Lindemann mechanism; Arrhenius equation; Activation energy; Collision theory; Catalysts (types, specificity, selectivity); Solid surface catalysis; Enzyme catalysis (Michaelis-Menten, double reciprocal plot); Acid-base catalysis

Adsorption

Gibbs adsorption equation; Adsorption isotherms; Types of adsorption; Surface area of adsorbents; Surface films on liquids

Spectroscopy

Beer-Lambert’s law; Rotational, vibrational, electronic, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Section 3: Organic Chemistry

Basic Concepts in Organic Chemistry and Stereochemistry

Electronic effects (resonance, inductive, hyperconjugation); Steric effects; Optical isomerism (with/without stereocenters – allenes, biphenyls); Conformations of acyclic (ethane, propane, butane) and cyclic (cyclohexane, decalins) systems

Organic Reaction Mechanism and Synthetic Applications

Reactive intermediates (carbocations, carbanions, free radicals, carbenes, nitrenes, benzynes); Substitution/elimination mechanisms; Hofmann-Curtius-Lossen, Wolff, Simmons-Smith, Reimer-Tiemann, Michael, Darzens, Wittig, McMurry reactions; Pinacol-pinacolone, Favorskii, benzilic acid, Baeyer-Villiger rearrangements; Oxidation/reduction; Organometallic reagents (Grignard, organolithium, organocopper, organozinc/Reformatsky); Pericyclic reactions (Diels-Alder, electrocyclic, sigmatropic); Functional group interconversions; Structural problems

Qualitative Organic Analysis

Functional group tests; UV, IR, ¹H NMR spectroscopy for simple molecules

Natural Products Chemistry

Alkaloids; Steroids; Terpenes; Carbohydrates; Amino acids; Peptides; Nucleic acids

Aromatic and Heterocyclic Chemistry

Aromatic hydrocarbons (mono, bi, tri-cyclic); Monocyclic heteroatom compounds; Aromaticity; Electrophilic & nucleophilic substitution

Section 4: Inorganic Chemistry

Periodic Table

Periodic classification; Aufbau principle; Orbital energy variation; Effective nuclear charge; Atomic, covalent, ionic radii; Ionization enthalpy; Electron gain enthalpy; Electronegativity trends; Electronic configuration (diatomics, first & second row elements)

Extraction of Metals

Isolation & purification of elements; Ellingham diagram

Chemical Bonding and Shapes of Molecules

Ionic bond: packing, radius ratio rule, Born-Landé equation, Kapustinskii expression, Madelung constant, Born-Haber cycle, solvation, Fajan’s rules; Covalent bond: Lewis structure, VB theory, Hybridization, MO theory, MO diagrams; Bonding (σ, π), bond lengths; Intermolecular forces (vdW, dipole-dipole, induced dipole, H-bonding); VSEPR theory; Ionic solids

Main Group Elements (s and p blocks)

Reactions of alkali/alkaline earth metals; Alkali metals in liquid ammonia; Gradation in properties; Inert pair effect; Diborane, ammonia, silane, phosphine, H₂S; Allotropes of carbon; Oxides & oxoacids (N, P, S, Cl); Halides of Si, P; Borazine, silicone, phosphazene; Xenon fluorides

Transition Metals (d block)

Characteristics; Oxides, hydroxides & salts (first row); Coordination complexes: structure, isomerism, spectra, VB/MO/CFT; Organometallics (carbonyls, nitrosyls, metallocenes); Homogeneous catalysis (Wilkinson’s catalyst)

Bioinorganic Chemistry

Essential/trace elements; Role of metal ions (Fe²⁺, Zn²⁺); Structure & function of myoglobin, hemoglobin, carbonic anhydrase

Instrumental Methods of Analysis

Principles, instrumentation, applications of conductometry, potentiometry, UV-Vis spectroscopy; Analysis of water, air, soil samples

Analytical Chemistry

Qualitative & quantitative analysis; Acid-base, redox, complexometric titrations (EDTA); Precipitation reactions; Indicators; Organic reagents; Radioactivity; Nuclear reactions; Isotopes; Error analysis, statistics, probability

IIT JAM 2026 Chemistry Syllabus PDF (Official)

IIT JAM 2026 Chemistry Syllabus

Book Name

Author/Publisher

Physical Chemistry for Competitions

O.P. Tandon

Organic Chemistry

Morrison and Boyd

Concise Inorganic Chemistry

J.D. Lee

Numerical Chemistry

P. Bahadur

Physical Chemistry

P.W. Atkins

IIT JAM Chemistry Solved Papers

Arihant Experts

IIT JAM Chemistry Previous Years’ Papers

MTG Editorial Board

IIT JAM Chemistry Study Guide

Wiley Editorial

General Chemistry

Ebbing and Gammon

Organic Chemistry

Solomons and Fryhle