JEE Main Organic Chemistry Syllabus

Organic Chemistry syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Organic Chemistry in JEE Main, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Purification and Characterisation of Organic Compounds

   3 topics

   • Purification
     • Crystallization
     • Sublimation
     • Distillation
     • Differential Extraction
     • Chromatography
   • Qualitative Analysis
     • Detection of Nitrogen
     • Detection of Sulphur
     • Detection of Phosphorus
     • Detection of Halogens
   • Quantitative Analysis
     • Estimation of Carbon
     • Estimation of Hydrogen
     • Estimation of Nitrogen
     • Estimation of Halogens
     • Estimation of Sulphur
     • Estimation of Phosphorus
     • Calculations of Empirical Formulae and Molecular Formulae
     • Numerical Problems in Organic Quantitative Analysis
2. 2

   Some Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry

   9 topics

   • Tetravalency of Carbon
     • Shapes of Simple Molecules
     • Hybridization (s and p)
   • Classification of Organic Compounds
     • Functional Groups
     • Compounds containing Halogens
     • Compounds containing Oxygen
     • Compounds containing Nitrogen
     • Compounds containing Sulphur
   • Homologous Series
   • Isomerism
     • Structural Isomerism
     • Stereoisomerism
   • Nomenclature
     • Trivial Nomenclature
     • IUPAC Nomenclature
   • Covalent Bond Fission
     • Homolytic Fission
     • Heterolytic Fission
   • 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
     • Hyperconjugation
   • Common Types of Organic Reactions
     • Substitution
     • Addition
     • Elimination
     • Rearrangement
3. 3

   Hydrocarbons

   6 topics

   • 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 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
4. 4

   Organic Compounds Containing Halogens

   2 topics

   • 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
5. 5

   Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen

   4 topics

   • 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 (Wolf 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
6. 6

   Organic Compounds Containing Nitrogen

   3 topics

   • General methods of preparation
   • 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
7. 7

   Biomolecules

   6 topics

   • General introduction and importance of biomolecules
   • Carbohydrates
     • Classification
     • Aldoses and ketoses
   • Proteins
     • Elementary Idea of amino acids, peptide bond, polypeptides.
   • Vitamins
     • Classification and functions
   • Nucleic Acids
     • Chemical constitution of DNA and RNA
     • Biological functions of nucleic acids
   • Hormones
     • General introduction
8. 8

   Principles Related to Practical Chemistry

   6 topics

   • Detection of extra elements in organic compounds
     • Nitrogen
     • Sulphur
     • Halogens
   • Detection of functional groups in organic compounds
     • Hydroxyl (alcoholic and phenolic)
     • Carbonyl (aldehyde and ketones)
     • Carboxyl
     • Amino groups
   • Chemistry involved in the preparation of compounds
     • Inorganic compounds: Mohr’s salt, potash alum
     • Organic compounds: Acetanilide, p-nitro acetanilide, aniline yellow, iodoform
   • Chemistry involved in titrimetric exercises
     • Acids, bases, and the use of indicators
     • Oxalic-acid vs KMnO4, Mohr’s salt vs KMnO4
   • Chemical principles involved in qualitative salt analysis
     • Cations
     • Anions
   • Chemical principles involved in experiments
     • Enthalpy of solution of CuSO4
     • Enthalpy of neutralization of strong acid and strong base
     • Preparation of lyophilic and lyophobic sols
     • Kinetic study of the reaction of iodide ions with hydrogen peroxide at room temperature

Organic Chemistry flashcards for JEE Main

25 of 51 cards from the Organic Chemistry deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the purpose of purification techniques in organic chemistry?

   To separate an organic compound from impurities and obtain it in a pure state. The choice of method depends on the nature of the compound and the impurities present (differences in physical properties like solubility, volatility, boiling point, etc.).

2. Name the common methods used for the purification of organic compounds.

   Sublimation, crystallisation, distillation, differential extraction, and chromatography. The selection depends on the nature of the compound and the impurity.

3. What is crystallisation and on what property is it based?

   Crystallisation is a purification technique based on the difference in solubility of the compound and impurities in a suitable solvent. The impure compound is dissolved in a hot solvent, and on cooling the pure compound crystallises out while impurities remain in solution (mother liquor).

4. What is the ideal characteristic of a solvent chosen for crystallisation?

   The compound should be sparingly soluble in the solvent at room temperature but appreciably soluble at higher temperature (the solvent should dissolve the compound much more when hot than when cold), so that crystals form on cooling.

5. How are coloured impurities removed during crystallisation?

   By adding activated animal charcoal (activated carbon) to the hot solution. The charcoal adsorbs the coloured impurities, and the solution is then filtered hot, leaving a colourless filtrate that crystallises to give pure crystals.

6. What is fractional crystallisation?

   A technique used when two or more compounds have nearly the same solubility. Repeated crystallisation gives crops of crystals of slightly different composition, allowing separation of compounds with comparable solubilities.

7. What is sublimation and which compounds are purified by it?

   Sublimation is the process in which a solid changes directly into vapour on heating, without passing through the liquid state, and the vapour condenses back to solid on cooling. It is used to purify solids that sublime (e.g. $\ce{naphthalene}$, $\ce{camphor}$, $\ce{anthracene}$, $\ce{benzoic acid}$) from non-sublimable impurities.

8. What is distillation and on what property is it based?

   Distillation is the purification of liquids based on differences in their boiling points (volatility). The liquid is heated to vapour, which is then condensed back to liquid in a separate vessel, separating volatile liquids from non-volatile impurities or from each other.

9. For what kind of liquid mixtures is simple distillation suitable?

   Simple distillation is suitable for separating a liquid from a non-volatile impurity, or for separating two liquids whose boiling points differ appreciably (by more than about $25\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ to $30\,^{\circ}\text{C}$).

10. What is fractional distillation and when is it used?

    Fractional distillation is used to separate two or more miscible liquids whose boiling points are close to each other. A fractionating column is fitted between the flask and condenser, providing repeated vaporisation-condensation cycles so vapours become richer in the more volatile component.

11. How does a fractionating column improve separation in fractional distillation?

    It provides a large surface area on which ascending vapours and descending liquid repeatedly come into contact. Each contact is equivalent to one distillation, so a single fractional distillation acts like many simple distillations, sharpening the separation of close-boiling liquids.

12. What is distillation under reduced pressure (vacuum distillation) used for?

    It is used to purify liquids that decompose at or below their boiling points. Reducing the pressure lowers the boiling point, so the liquid can be distilled at a temperature well below its normal boiling point (e.g. concentration of $\ce{H2SO4}$, distillation of glycerol).

13. What is steam distillation and which compounds can be purified by it?

    Steam distillation purifies steam-volatile compounds that are immiscible with and insoluble in water. The compound distils over with steam at a temperature below $100\,^{\circ}\text{C}$. The liquid boils when the sum of its vapour pressure and that of water equals atmospheric pressure (e.g. aniline, $\ce{o}$-nitrophenol).

14. In steam distillation, what is the relation governing the boiling of the mixture?

    The mixture boils when the total vapour pressure equals the atmospheric pressure: $$p_{\text{total}} = p_{\text{water}} + p_{\text{compound}} = p_{\text{atmospheric}}$$ Hence the mixture boils below $100\,^{\circ}\text{C}$, allowing distillation of heat-sensitive compounds.

15. What is differential extraction and on what principle is it based?

    Differential (solvent) extraction is used to recover an organic compound dissolved in water by shaking it with an immiscible organic solvent (e.g. ether) in a separating funnel. It is based on the difference in solubility (partitioning) of the compound between water and the organic solvent.

16. Why is extraction with small portions of solvent repeated several times more efficient than one large portion?

    Because of the distribution (partition) equilibrium, several extractions with small volumes remove more of the solute in total than a single extraction with the same total volume of solvent. Repeated extraction shifts more compound into the organic layer each time.

17. What is chromatography and what does the name originally signify?

    Chromatography is a technique for separating, purifying, and identifying the components of a mixture based on differential distribution between a stationary phase and a mobile phase. The name (Greek 'chroma' = colour) originated from its first use in separating coloured plant pigments.

18. Into which two broad categories is chromatography classified?

    Adsorption chromatography (based on differential adsorption of components on a solid stationary phase, e.g. column and thin layer chromatography) and partition chromatography (based on differential partition/distribution between two liquid phases, e.g. paper chromatography).

19. What is the principle of adsorption chromatography?

    Different compounds are adsorbed on an adsorbent (stationary phase, e.g. silica gel or alumina) to different degrees. As the mobile phase moves, more strongly adsorbed components move slowly and weakly adsorbed components move faster, achieving separation.

20. In thin layer chromatography (TLC), how is the retardation factor $R_f$ defined?

    $$R_f = \frac{\text{distance moved by the substance from base line}}{\text{distance moved by the solvent front from base line}}$$ $R_f$ is characteristic of a compound under given conditions and is always less than or equal to 1.

21. What is the principle of partition chromatography (paper chromatography)?

    It is based on continuous differential partitioning of components between a stationary liquid phase (water held by the cellulose/paper) and a mobile liquid phase (the developing solvent). Components distribute differently between the two liquids and so travel different distances.

22. What is qualitative analysis of an organic compound?

    Qualitative analysis is the detection of the elements present in an organic compound. Carbon and hydrogen are detected by combustion; other elements such as nitrogen, sulphur, halogens, and phosphorus are detected mainly by Lassaigne's (sodium fusion) test.

23. How are carbon and hydrogen detected qualitatively in an organic compound?

    The compound is heated strongly with dry $\ce{CuO}$. Carbon is oxidised to $\ce{CO2}$ (turns lime water milky) and hydrogen to $\ce{H2O}$ (turns anhydrous $\ce{CuSO4}$ blue / blue cobalt chloride paper pink): $$\ce{C + 2CuO -> CO2 + 2Cu}$$ $$\ce{2H + CuO -> H2O + Cu}$$

24. What is the basis of Lassaigne's test for the detection of N, S, and halogens?

    The covalently bonded N, S, and halogens in the organic compound are converted into ionic (water-soluble) form by fusing the compound with sodium metal. The resulting sodium salts (NaCN, $\ce{Na2S}$, NaX) in the 'sodium fusion extract' (Lassaigne's extract) are then detected by ionic tests.

25. Write the reactions in Lassaigne's sodium fusion that convert N, S, and halogen to ionic forms.

    $$\ce{Na + C + N ->[\Delta] NaCN}$$ $$\ce{2Na + S ->[\Delta] Na2S}$$ $$\ce{Na + X ->[\Delta] NaX} \quad (X = \text{Cl, Br, I})$$ In a compound containing both N and S, sodium thiocyanate may form: $\ce{Na + C + N + S -> NaSCN}$.

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