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Chemical Sciences

CSIR Chemical Sciences Study Materials

PAPER 1 – SECTION A

1. General information on science and its interface with society to test the candidate’s awareness of science, aptitude of scientific and quantitative reasonsing.

2. COMMON ELEMENTRY COMPUTER SCIENCE ( Applicable to all candidates offering subject areas ).

3. History of development of computers, Mainframe, Mini, Micro’s and Super Computer Systems.

4. General awareness of computer Hardware i..e. CPU and other peripheral devices       ( input / output and auxiliary storage devices ).

5. Basic knowledge of computer systems, software and programming languages i.e. Machine language, Assembly language and higher level language.

6. General awareness of popular commercial software packages like LOTUS, DBASE, WORDSTAR, other Scientific application packages.

PAPER 1 – SECTION B

1. Structure and Bonding :  Atomic orbitals, electronic configuration of atoms ( L – S coupling ) and the periodic properties of elements ; ionic radii, ionization potential, electron affinity, electronegativity; concept of hybridization.  Molecular orbitals and electronic configuration of homonuclear and heteronucelar diatomic molecules.  Shapes of polyatomic molecules; VSEPR, theory.  Symmetry elements and point groups for simple molecules.  Bond lengths, bond angles, bond order and bond energies.  Types of Chemical Bond ( weak and strong ) intermolecular forces, structure of simple ionic and covalent solids, lattice energy.

2. Acids and Bases  :  Bronsted and Lewis acids and bases, pH and pKa, acid-based concept in non-acqueous media ; HSAB concept.  Buffer solution.

3. Redox Reactions  :  Oxidation numbers,  Redox potential,  Electrochemical series, Redox indicators.

4. Energetics and Dynamics of Chemical Reactions  :  Law of conservation of energy, Energy and entheipy of reactions.  Entropy, free-energy, relationship between free energy change and equilibrium.  Rates of chemical reactions (first-and second-order reactions).  Arrhenius equation and concept of transition state.  Mechanisms, including SN 1 and SN 2 reactions, electron transfer reactions, catalysis.  Coiligative properties of solutions.

5. Aspects of s, p, d, f, Block Elements  :  General characteristics of each block.  Chemical principles involved in extractions and purification of iron, copper, lead, zinc and aluminium.  Coordination chemistry; structural aspects, isomerism, octahedral and tetrahedral crystal – field splitting of dorbitals.  CFSE, magnetism end colour of transition metal ions.  Sandwich compounds, metal carbonyis and metal clusters.  Rare gas compounds, non-sicichiometric oxides.  Radio activity and transmutation of elements, isotopes and their applications.

6. IUPAC  Nomenciature of Simple Organic and Inorganic Compounds.

7. Concept of Chirality  :  Recognition of symmetry elements and chiral structures; R – S nomenciature, diastereoisomerism in acyclic and cyclic systers; E – Z isomerisms.  Conformational analysis of simple cyclic ( chair and boat cyclo hexanes ) and acyclic systems.  Interconversion of Fischer, Newman and Sawhorse projections.

8. Common Organic Reactions and Mechanisms  :  Reactive intermediates, Formation and stability of carbonium ions, carbanians, carbenes, nitrenes, radicals and arynes.  Nucleophilic, electrophilic, radical substitution, addition and elimination reactions.  Familiar name reactions : Aldol, Perkin, Stobbe, Dieckmann condensations; Holmann, Schmidt, Lossen, Curtius, Backmann and Fries rearrangements; Reimer – Tiemann, Reformatsky and Grignard reactions.  Diels – Aider reactions; Clasien rearrangements; Friedeal – Crafts reaftions; Witting reactions; and robinson annulation.  Routine functional group transformations and interconversions of simple functionalities.  Hydroboration, Oppenaur oxidations; Clemmensen, Wolff-Kishner, Meerwein – Ponndorf – Veriey and Birch reductions.

9. Elementary principles and applications of electronic, vibrational, NMR, EPR and Mass Spectral techniques to simple structural problems.

10. Data Analysis :  Types of errors, propagation of errors, accuracy and precision, least-squares analysis, average standard deviation.

• Chemical Sciences Paper II
• Chemical Sciences Part II Cont.
• Chemical Sciences Part II final