ANALYSIS OF BIOCHEMISTRY FOR CSIR-NET EXAM (UNIT-1)

ANALYSIS OF BIOCHEMISTRY FOR CSIR-NET EXAM

Dr. VINEET SHARMA

(For Grassroots Academy, Delhi)

ANALYSIS OF THE TRENDS OF CSIR-NET QUESTION PAPER....

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This post is meaningful for all those students who are appearing in upcoming CSIR-NET June 2018 exam. At this stage, the most challenging task for any student is to decide over the topics which require more attention. We at Grassroots Academy understand your dilemma. We frequently analyze and present trend-analysis of some of the key sections. The present article will update you about the trends in Biochemistry section over the past couple of years.  

Biochemistry always remained as one of the most important and scoring domain in CSIR-NET exam. First let’s have a look at the number of questions appear in CSIR paper from biochemistry section (see Table below). If you see carefully then we may find that on an average 3-4 questions in part B and more than 5 questions in part C are asked every years, which is a significant portion. If we design our preparation systematically, then these biochemistry questions can differentiate between success and disappointment.

Year	Section B	Section C
June 2011	3	5
Dec 2011	3	5
June 2012	3	6
Dec 2012	4	3
June 2013	5	6
Dec 2013	4	6
June 2014	4	8
Dec 2014	4	6
June 2015	3	6
Dec 2015	5	4
June 2016	4	6
Dec 2016	5	6
June 2017	8	8
Dec 2017	4	6

As expected, after seeing this, student may be tempted to learn biochemistry. It is often seen that student pick up a standard biochemistry book and try to finish entire literature. At this moment, it is not advisable practice. Kindly do not rush for every topic given in CSIR-NET syllabus but look for your strong areas and brush them up to the level of excellence, as this is high time to brush up the concepts rather than wiping out the syllabus. Certain topics are frequently covered in CSIR-NET question papers and require your immediate attention (See Table given below)

YEAR WISE (2011-2017) ANALYSIS OF BIOCHEMISTRY SECTION
TOPICS	June 2011	Dec 2011	June 2012	Dec 2012	June 2013	Dec 2013	June 2014	Dec 2014	June 2015	Dec 2015	June 2016	Dec 2016	June 2017	Dec 2017
Concept of pH, Buffers & Concentration Units	--	1	--	--	2	1	1	--	--	2	1	1	1	--
Bioenergetics and Chemical Kinetics	1	1	2	1	1	1	3	--	--	--	1	1	2	--
Molecular interactions	2	2	--	1	1	1	1	1	1	--	1	1	2	--
Amino acids, peptide bond, Protein Conformation and Folding, Peptide Sequencing	3	--	2	--	4	1	4	3	2	1	2	3	1	3
Protein Structures & Metabolism	--	--	1	2	--	1	3	1	--	1	1	--	1	--
Carbohydrate Structures & Metabolism	--	--	1	1	--	2	--	1	3	2	--	1	3	2
Lipid Structures & Metabolism	--	--	--	--	1	--	--	--	1	1	1	1	3	--
Nucleic Acid Structures & Metabolism	1	2	2	--	1	1	--	2	--	1	1	1	1	2
Enzymology & Vitamins	1	2	1	2	1	2	--	2	2	1	2	2	2	3

We performed topic wise analysis of questions, and observed that amino acids, peptide bonds and both theoretical & experimental aspect of proteins forms most important fraction of questions every year in both the sections. Nucleic Acids is another tricky area from where questions constantly emerge. Indeed we spend a lot of time in classroom as well in discussing these topics. 

Moreover, essential chemistry concepts such as pH, buffer, thermodynamics, kinetics, and bimolecular interactions had 2-5 questions per paper, and these questions are easy, simple concept based rather than memory based. Enzymology is persistently asked especially the kinetics and regulation of enzyme activity. 

As mentioned in the previous post, you may not have to worry much about the bulk of metabolism, and that’s where you may relax! However look out for basic carbohydrate metabolism along with their bio-energetics.

Students are expected to manage their syllabus accordingly. Pin down those topics, which are frequently asked. A more systematic analysis of other units will be followed after this post.

Wish you all Good Luck.

Regards

Grassroots Academy