Jee Mains Chemistry Syllabus – Organic Chemistry

Purification and Characterisation of Organic Compounds

• Purification: Crystallization, sublimation, distillation, differential extraction, and chromatography principles and their applications.
• Qualitative analysis: Detection of nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, and halogens.
• Quantitative analysis (basic principles only): Estimation of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, halogens, sulphur, phosphorus.
• Calculations of empirical formula and molecular formulae; Numerical problems in organic quantitative analysis.

Some Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry

• Tetravalency of carbon; Shapes of simple molecules – hybridization (s and p).
• Classification of organic compounds based on functional groups: -C = C- and those containing halogens, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur; Homologous series.
• Isomerism: structural and stereoisomerism.
• Nomenclature (Trivial and IUPAC): Covalent bond fission Homolytic and heterolytic: free radicals, carbocations, and carbanions; stability of carbocations and free radicals, electrophiles and nucleophiles.
• Electronic displacement in a covalent bond: Inductive effect, electromeric effect, resonance, and hyperconjugation.
• Common types of organic reactions: Substitution, addition, elimination, and rearrangement.

Hydrocarbons

• Classification, isomerism, IUPAC nomenclature, general methods of preparation, properties and reactions.
• Alkanes: Conformations; Sawhorse and Newman projections (of ethane); Mechanism of halogenation of alkanes.
• Alkenes: Geometrical isomerism.
• Mechanism of electrophilic addition: addition of hydrogen, halogens, water, hydrogen halides (Markownikoff’s and peroxide effect); Ozonolysis, oxidation, and polymerization.
• Alkynes: Acidic character; Addition of hydrogen, halogens, water and hydrogen halides; Polymerization.
• Aromatic hydrocarbons: Nomenclature, benzene structure and aromaticity.
• Mechanism of electrophilic substitution: halogenation, nitration, Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation, directive influence of the functional group in monosubstituted benzene.

Organic Compounds Containing Halogens

• General methods of preparation, properties, and reactions.
• Nature of C-X bond.
• Mechanisms of substitution reactions.
• Uses, Environmental effects of chloroform, iodoform, freons, and DDT.

Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen

• General methods of preparation, properties, reactions, and uses.
• Alcohols: Identification of primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols; mechanism of dehydration.
• Phenols: Acidic nature, electrophilic substitution reactions: halogenation, nitration, and sulphonation, Reimer Tiemann reaction.
• Ethers: Structure.
• Aldehyde and Ketones: Nature of carbonyl group; Nucleophilic addition to >C=O group, relative reactivities of aldehydes and ketones.
• Important reactions such as nucleophilic addition reactions (addition of HCN, NH3 and its derivatives), Grignard reagent; oxidation; reduction (Wolff Kishner and Clemmensen); the acidity of hydrogen, aldol condensation, Cannizzaro reaction, Haloform reaction.
• Chemical tests to distinguish between aldehydes and ketones.
• Carboxylic Acids: Acidic strength and factors affecting it.

Organic Compounds Containing Nitrogen

• General methods of preparation, properties, reactions, and uses.
• Amines: Nomenclature, classification, structure, basic character and identification of primary, secondary and tertiary amines and their basic character.
• Diazonium Salts: Importance in synthetic organic chemistry.

Polymers

• General introduction and classification of polymers, general methods of polymerization addition and condensation, co-polymerization.
• Natural and synthetic rubber and vulcanization.
• Some important polymers with emphasis on their monomers and uses, polyethene, nylon, polyester, and bakelite.

Biomolecules

• General introduction and importance of biomolecules.
• Carbohydrates: Classification: aldoses and ketoses; monosaccharides (glucose and fructose), constituent monosaccharides or oligosaccharides (sucrose, lactose, maltose) and polysaccharides (starch, cellulose, glycogen).
• Proteins: Elementary Idea of amino acids, peptide bond, polypeptides; Proteins: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure (qualitative idea only), denaturation of proteins, enzymes.
• Vitamins: Classification and functions.
• Nucleic Acids – Chemical constitution of DNA and RNA. Biological functions of nucleic acids.

Chemistry in Everyday Life

• Chemicals in medicines: Analgesics, tranquillizers, antiseptics, disinfectants, antimicrobials, antifertility drugs, antibiotics, antacids, antihistamines their meaning and common examples.
• Chemicals in food: Preservatives, artificial sweetening agents – common examples.
• Cleansing agents: Soaps and detergents, cleansing action.

Principles Related to Practical Chemistry

• Detection of extra elements (Nitrogen, Sulphur, halogens) in organic compounds.
• Detection of the following functional groups: hydroxyl (alcoholic and phenolic), carbonyl (aldehyde and ketone), carboxyl and amino groups in organic compounds.
• The chemistry involved in the preparation of the following: Inorganic compounds: Mohr’s salt, potash alum, and organic compounds: Acetanilide, p-nitro acetanilide, aniline yellow, iodoform.
• The chemistry involved in the titrimetric exercises: Acids bases and the use of indicators, oxalic-acid vs KMnO4, Mohr’s salt vs KMnO₄.
• Chemical principles involved in the qualitative salt analysis: Cations: Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, AI³⁺, Fe³⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Mg²⁺, NH₄⁺, and Anions: CO₃^2-, S^2-, SO₄^2-, NO^2-, NO₃^–, CI^–, Br^–, I^– (Insoluble salts excluded).
• Chemical principles involved in the following experiments: Enthalpy of solution of CuSO4, Enthalpy of neutralisation of strong acid and strong base, Preparation of lyophilic and lyophobic sols, and Kinetic study of the reaction of iodide ion with hydrogen peroxide at room temperature.