JEE Main 2027 Chemistry Syllabus: Physical, Inorganic and Organic, Unit by Unit
Chemistry is the most predictable of the three subjects. Not because it’s easy, but because the questions stay close to the syllabus text, and the syllabus text is short. The catch is that you have to cover all of it.
Here is the complete JEE Main Chemistry syllabus, 20 units in NTA’s own words, with how many questions each produced across the 19 shifts of JEE Main 2026 (472 Chemistry questions).
2027 status: the 2027 syllabus isn’t out yet (expected with NTA’s bulletin in late October or early November 2026), and Chemistry hasn’t changed since the 2024 cut. Release timeline and the official PDF are in the JEE Main 2027 syllabus overview.
JEE Main Chemistry syllabus: all 20 units
| # | Unit | NCERT chapter(s) | 2026 Qs / paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Some Basic Concepts in Chemistry | Some Basic Concepts of Chemistry (11) | 1.0 |
| 2 | Atomic Structure | Structure of Atom (11) | 1.4 |
| 3 | Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure | Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure (11) | 1.2 |
| 4 | Chemical Thermodynamics | Thermodynamics (11) | 1.3 |
| 5 | Solutions | Solutions (12) | 1.1 |
| 6 | Equilibrium | Equilibrium (11) | 1.5 |
| 7 | Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry | Redox Reactions (11); Electrochemistry (12) | 1.4 |
| 8 | Chemical Kinetics | Chemical Kinetics (12) | 1.4 |
| 9 | Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties | Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties (11) | 1.1 |
| 10 | p-Block Elements | The p-Block Elements (11, 12) | 1.0 |
| 11 | d- and f-Block Elements | The d- and f-Block Elements (12) | 1.2 |
| 12 | Coordination Compounds | Coordination Compounds (12) | 1.7 |
| 13 | Purification and Characterisation of Organic Compounds | Organic Chemistry: Some Basic Principles and Techniques (11) | 1.0 |
| 14 | Some Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry | Organic Chemistry: Some Basic Principles and Techniques (11) | 1.7 |
| 15 | Hydrocarbons | Hydrocarbons (11) | 1.2 |
| 16 | Organic Compounds Containing Halogens | Haloalkanes and Haloarenes (12) | 1.1 |
| 17 | Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen | Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers; Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids (12) | 1.4 |
| 18 | Organic Compounds Containing Nitrogen | Amines (12) | 1.5 |
| 19 | Biomolecules | Biomolecules (12) | 1.1 |
| 20 | Principles Related to Practical Chemistry | Lab work across Class 11 and 12 | 0.6 |
| Branch | Units | Share of 2026 Chemistry questions |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Chemistry | 8 | 41% |
| Inorganic Chemistry | 4 | 20% |
| Organic Chemistry | 8 | 39% |
How evenly Chemistry is spread
Look at how flat that chart is. The heaviest units, Coordination Compounds and Some Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry, averaged 1.7 questions a paper, and 19 of the 20 units gave at least one question per shift. Compare that with Maths, where one unit gave nearly four. In practice, every Chemistry unit you skip costs you about a question in every paper.
Unit-wise topics, in NTA’s words
Tap a unit to read the official text. NTA groups them into three branches.
Physical Chemistry
Unit 1: Some Basic Concepts in Chemistry
Matter and its nature, Dalton's atomic theory, Concept of atom, molecule, element and compound, Laws of chemical combination, Atomic and molecular masses, mole concept, molar mass, percentage composition, empirical and molecular formulae, Chemical equations and stoichiometry.
Unit 2: Atomic Structure
Nature of electromagnetic radiation, photoelectric effect, spectrum of the hydrogen atom, Bohr model of a hydrogen atom - its postulates, derivation of the relations for the energy of the electron and radii of the different orbits, limitations of Bohr's model, dual nature of matter, de Broglie's relationship, Heisenberg uncertainty principle, elementary ideas of quantum mechanics, the quantum mechanical model of the atom and its important features, concept of atomic orbitals as one-electron wave functions, variation of ψ and ψ² with r for 1s and 2s orbitals, various quantum numbers (principal, angular momentum and magnetic quantum numbers) and their significance, shapes of s, p and d - orbitals, electron spin and spin quantum number, rules for filling electrons in orbitals – Aufbau principle, Pauli's exclusion principle and Hund's rule, electronic configuration of elements and extra stability of half-filled and completely filled orbitals.
Unit 3: Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure
Kossel-Lewis approach to chemical bond formation, the concept of ionic and covalent bonds.
Ionic Bonding: Formation of ionic bonds, factors affecting the formation of ionic bonds; calculation of lattice enthalpy.
Covalent Bonding: Concept of electronegativity, Fajan’s rule, dipole moment, Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR ) theory and shapes of simple molecules.
Quantum mechanical approach to covalent bonding: Valence bond theory - its important features, the concept of hybridization involving s, p and d orbitals, resonance.
Molecular Orbital Theory - Its important features, LCAOs, types of molecular orbitals (bonding, antibonding), sigma and pi-bonds, molecular orbital electronic configurations of homonuclear diatomic molecules, the concept of bond order, bond length and bond energy.
Elementary idea of metallic bonding, hydrogen bonding and its applications.
Unit 4: Chemical Thermodynamics
Fundamentals of thermodynamics: System and surroundings, extensive and intensive properties, state functions, entropy, types of processes.
The first law of thermodynamics - Concept of work, heat, internal energy and enthalpy, heat capacity, molar heat capacity, Hess’s law of constant heat summation, Enthalpies of bond dissociation, combustion, formation, atomization, sublimation, phase transition, hydration, ionization and solution.
The second law of thermodynamics - Spontaneity of processes, Δ S of the universe and Δ G of the system as criteria for spontaneity. ΔG°(Standard Gibbs energy change) and equilibrium constant.
Unit 5: Solutions
Different methods for expressing the concentration of solution - molality, molarity, mole fraction, percentage (by volume and mass both), the vapour pressure of solutions and Raoult's Law - Ideal and non- ideal solutions, vapour pressure - composition, plots for ideal and non- ideal solutions, Colligative properties of dilute solutions - a relative lowering of vapour pressure, depression of freezing point, the elevation of boiling point and osmotic pressure, determination of molecular mass using colligative properties, abnormal value of molar mass, van’t Hoff factor and its significance.
Unit 6: Equilibrium
Meaning of equilibrium is the concept of dynamic equilibrium.
Equilibria involving physical processes: Solid-liquid, liquid-gas, gas-gas and solid-gas equilibria, Henry's law. General characteristics of equilibrium involving physical processes.
Equilibrium involving chemical processes: Law of chemical equilibrium, equilibrium constants (Kp and Kc) and their significance, the significance of Δ G and Δ G ° in chemical equilibrium, factors affecting equilibrium concentration, pressure, temperature, the effect of catalyst, Le Chatelier’s principle.
Ionic equilibrium: Weak and strong electrolytes, ionization of electrolytes, various concepts of acids and bases (Arrhenius, Bronsted - Lowry and Lewis) and their ionization, acid-base equilibria (including multistage ionization) and ionization constants, ionization of water, pH scale, common ion effect, hydrolysis of salts and pH of their solutions, the solubility of sparingly soluble salts, solubility products and buffer solutions.
Unit 7: Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry
Electronic concepts of oxidation and reduction, redox reactions, oxidation number, rules for assigning oxidation number and balancing of redox reactions.
Electrolytic and metallic conduction, conductance in electrolytic solutions, molar conductivities and their variation with concentration, Kohlrausch’s law and its applications.
Electrochemical cells - Electrolytic and Galvanic cells, different types of electrodes, electrode potentials including standard electrode potential, half-cell and cell reactions, emf of a Galvanic cell and its measurement, Nernst equation and its applications, relationship between cell potential and Gibbs' energy change, dry cell and lead accumulator, fuel cells.
Unit 8: Chemical Kinetics
Rate of a chemical reaction, factors affecting the rate of reactions: concentration, temperature, pressure and catalyst, elementary and complex reactions, order and molecularity of reactions, rate law, rate constant and its units, differential and integral forms of zero and first-order reactions, their characteristics and half-lives, the effect of temperature on the rate of reactions, Arrhenius theory, activation energy and its calculation, collision theory of bi-molecular gaseous reactions (no derivation).
Inorganic Chemistry
Unit 9: Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties
Modern periodic law and present form of the periodic table, s, p, d and f block elements, periodic trends in properties of elements atomic and ionic radii, ionization enthalpy, electron gain enthalpy, valence, oxidation states and chemical reactivity.
Unit 10: p-Block Elements
Group -13 to Group 18 Elements
General Introduction: Electronic configuration and general trends in physical and chemical properties of elements across the periods and down the groups, unique behaviour of the first element in each group.
Unit 11: d- and f-Block Elements
Transition Elements - General introduction, electronic configuration, occurrence and characteristics, general trends in properties of the first-row transition elements - physical properties, ionization enthalpy, oxidation states, atomic radii, colour, catalytic behaviour, magnetic properties, complex formation, interstitial compounds, alloy formation, preparation, properties and uses of K₂Cr₂O₇ and KMnO₄.
Inner Transition Elements Lanthanoids - Electronic configuration, oxidation states and Lanthanoid contraction.
Actinoids - Electronic configuration and oxidation states.
Unit 12: Coordination Compounds
Introduction to coordination compounds. Werner's theory, ligands, coordination number, denticity, chelation, IUPAC nomenclature of mononuclear co-ordination compounds, isomerism, Bonding: Valence bond approach and basic ideas of Crystal field theory, colour and magnetic properties, importance of coordination compounds (in qualitative analysis, extraction of metals and in biological systems).
Organic Chemistry
Unit 13: 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 and phosphorus.
Calculations of empirical formulae and molecular formulae, numerical problems in organic quantitative analysis,
Unit 14: 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 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.
Unit 15: 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 (Markovnikov's and peroxide effect), Ozonolysis 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-Craft's alkylation and acylation, directive influence of the functional group in mono- substituted benzene.
Unit 16: 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.
Unit 17: Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen
General methods of preparation, properties, reactions and uses.
Alcohols, phenols and ethers
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 α-hydrogen. Aldol condensation, Cannizzaro reaction, Haloform reaction, chemical tests to distinguish between aldehydes and ketones.
Carboxylic Acids: Acidic strength and factors affecting it.
Unit 18: 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.
Unit 19: Biomolecules
General introduction and importance of biomolecules.
Carbohydrates – Classification, aldoses and ketoses, monosaccharides (glucose and fructose) and constituent monosaccharides of oligosaccharides (sucrose, lactose and maltose).
Proteins – Elementary idea of α-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.
Hormones (General introduction)
Unit 20: 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 ketones) carboxyl and amino groups in organic compounds.
The chemistry involved in the preparation of the following: Inorganic compounds, Mohr’s salt, potash alum.
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⁺, Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Mg²⁺, NH₄⁺
Anions- CO₃²⁻, S²⁻, SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻ (Insoluble salts excluded).
Chemical principles involved in the following experiments:
1. Enthalpy of solution of CuSO₄
2. Enthalpy of neutralization of strong acid and strong base.
3. Preparation of lyophilic and lyophobic sols.
4. Kinetic study of the reaction of iodide ions with hydrogen peroxide at room temperature.
Where the official text is narrower than NCERT
This is where reading NTA’s wording pays off. Some units are much smaller than their NCERT chapters:
- p-Block Elements is listed as only a “general introduction”: electronic configuration, trends across periods and down groups, and the unusual behaviour of the first element. Not compound-by-compound chemistry. Yet it still gave 1.0 questions a paper in 2026.
- Carboxylic acids are reduced to “acidic strength and factors affecting it”. Aldehydes and ketones, by contrast, keep a long list of named reactions.
- Amines cover nomenclature, classification, structure and basic character, with diazonium salts only for their importance in synthesis.
- d- and f-Block names exactly two compounds to know: K₂Cr₂O₇ and KMnO₄.
And two places where a “deleted” topic still turns up:
- The Polymers chapter is gone, but polymerisation of alkenes and alkynes is still listed under Hydrocarbons.
- Surface Chemistry is gone, but preparing lyophilic and lyophobic sols is still one of the experiments in Principles Related to Practical Chemistry.
Alcohols, phenols and ethers are fully in the syllabus, inside “Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen”. Everything that is genuinely out is listed in the JEE Main deleted syllabus guide.
From syllabus to marks
Because Chemistry questions track the syllabus so closely, past papers are unusually useful here. Work through a unit’s previous year questions right after finishing it, and keep the Chemistry formula sheets for Physical Chemistry revision. For a study order and the classic traps in Organic, see the JEE Main Chemistry preparation guide. The other two subjects: Physics syllabus and Maths syllabus.
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Start a Practice Test →Key takeaways
- JEE Main Chemistry has 20 units: 8 Physical, 4 Inorganic, 8 Organic. No change since 2024.
- It’s the evenest subject: 19 units gave at least one question per 2026 paper, and none gave more than 1.7.
- p-Block is trends only, carboxylic acids are acidity only, and d-block names just K₂Cr₂O₇ and KMnO₄.
- Alcohols, phenols and ethers are in; Polymers, Surface Chemistry, Solid State and s-Block are out.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many units are in the JEE Main Chemistry syllabus?+
Twenty: 8 in Physical Chemistry, 4 in Inorganic Chemistry and 8 in Organic Chemistry (including Principles Related to Practical Chemistry).
Which Chemistry chapters have the most weightage in JEE Main?+
Chemistry is the most evenly spread subject. In 2026, Coordination Compounds and Some Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry led, but most units gave about one question per paper.
Is p-Block in the JEE Main syllabus?+
Yes, but only as a general introduction: electronic configuration, trends across periods and down groups, and the unusual behaviour of the first element in each group.
Are Polymers and Surface Chemistry in JEE Main?+
No, both chapters were removed in 2024. Polymerisation of alkenes and alkynes is still listed under Hydrocarbons, and preparing lyophilic and lyophobic sols is still one of the practical chemistry experiments.
Is s-Block removed from JEE Main?+
Yes. The s-Block Elements and Hydrogen chapters are not in the JEE Main syllabus.
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