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NSEC Exam 2023-23 - National Standard Examination in Chemistry

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Last updated date: 15th Mar 2024
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Olympiads

What is the NSEC Exam?

Homi Bhabha Centre of Science Education and the Indian Association of Physics Teachers together conduct the NSEC Examination. This exam is conducted every year in November and various examination centres are allotted for the conduction of the examination.The aim of the National Standard Examination in Chemistry is to promote Chemistry as a subject and strengthen the interest of students in the field.


Students who successfully pass this examination are given a chance to compete in INCO (Indian National Chemistry Olympiad).


The NSEC is the first step for students who want to attend UCSC (Orientation cum selection Camp). Questions being asked in the NSEC will be of multiple choice and negative marking will be done for wrong questions. Topics covered in the NSEC syllabus will be class 11th and class 12th Chemistry.


In this article, we have provided detailed information concerning the NSEC syllabus, registration process, exam pattern, important dates, eligibility criteria, best books, and results.

NSEC 2023-24 Overview

Refer to the table below for a quick overview of the important details associated with NSEC:


Specifications

Highlights

Conducting Body

Homi Bhabha Centre of Science Education (HBCSE)

Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT)

Difficulty Level of Exam

Moderate

NSEC Total Marks

216 Marks

Duration of Exam

2 Hours

Medium of Paper

English/Hindi


NSEC Eligibility Criteria

The NSEC paper is for those Indian students who have a deep interest in Chemistry and have excelled in it. Students who are at higher secondary level take this examination and around 850 centres are allotted in many towns, cities, and villages by the organisers to ease the examination process. Students must pass the eligibility criteria mentioned below:

  • Students must be able to obtain a passport of India.

  • Students should be born between July 1st, 2004, and June 30th, 2009, all days included.

  • They must have lived in India and studied in the country since November 30, 2021, or earlier OR must have studied in an Indian school system since November 30, 2021, or earlier.

  • Students must not have passed (or completed) the Board examinations for Class XII in 2023.

  • They must not be enrolled in any NSEJS 2023 exams.

  • They must not have begun (or intend to begin) studies at a university or similar institution by June 1, 2023.


NSEC Examination Pattern

To ace any competitive examination, it is crucial to be well aware of the exam pattern. Before starting with the NSEC paper preparation, students should get themselves familiar with the exam pattern.


The basic examination pattern is mentioned below:



Set A

Set B

Type of Questions

Multiple Choice Questions 

Multiple Choice Questions 

No of Questions

48

12 

Marks for Correct Answer

+3


+6

Marks for Incorrect Answer

-1

0


  • Exam Timings - 11.30 am to 1.30 pm.

  • Duration of Exam - Two hours.

  • Test Paper Level/ Syllabus - Below CBSE Class 12 syllabus for the Chemistry subject.

  • Test Medium/ Language - English and Hindi (as Chosen during the registration process).

  • Type of Questions - Multiple Choices Questions.

  • Total Number of Questions - 60

  • Total Marks - 216 marks

  • Scheme of the Marks - 3 marks are awarded for each question and in case of an incorrect attempt, one mark is deducted.


NSEC Important Dates 2023-24

It is paramount to be aware of the NSEC important Exam dates so as to not miss out on any crucial deadline. Refer to the table below to get updated with the latest exam dates:


Events

Dates

NSEC 2023 Enrollment Last Date

14 September 2023

Admit Card Release Date

Second Week of November

NSEC Exam Date 2023

26 November 2023


NSEC Syllabus for 2023-2024 Session 

The syllabus has not been cleared out by the organisers but looking at past examinations and the syllabus being followed, we can safely say that students can follow the syllabus of grade 11th and 12th Chemistry. You can check out all the chapters that should be covered for the examination from the table below:


Class 11th Chapters

Class 12th Chapters

  • Some basic concepts of Chemistry

  • Structure of Atoms

  • Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties 

  • Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure

  • States of Matter: Solid, Liquid and Gas 

  • Chemical thermodynamics 

  • Equilibrium

  • Redox Reaction

  • Hydrogen 

  • S-block Elements 

  • P- block Elements 

  • Organic Chemistry: Some Basic principles and techniques 

  • Hydrocarbons

  • Environmental Chemistry

  • Solid State

  • Solutions

  • ElectroChemistry

  • Chemical Kinetics

  • Surface Chemistry

  • General Principles and Processes of Isolation of elements

  • P-block elements

  • Coordination Compounds

  • Haloalkanes and Haloarenes

  • Alcohol, Phenols and Ethers

  • Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids

  • Amines

  • Biomolecules

  • Polymers

  • Chemistry in everyday life 


Best Books for NSEC

Students should learn the basics of Chemistry from NCERT itself and should not get confused over the book they should refer to as the primary one. NCERT is the book that should be referred to as the primary one and after completing NCERT, students can go for other books like D Lee for the inorganic part and any of the renowned organic books for INCHO. Additional books for NSEC that can be considered are-

  • Advanced Problems in Organic Chemistry by Balaji Publications: This is primarily intended for JEE but is also useful for NSEC practice.

  • Arihant Publications' Indian National Chemistry Olympiad with Solved Papers NSEC & INCHO: This is a supplement to past papers. In addition, one can practise Chemistry Olympiad papers from other countries.


NSEC Registration 2023-24

The NSEC examination is taken by around thirty thousand students, who are fairly eligible for the examination. This exam is given by students who are in their senior secondary year of school.


NSEC is the first stage for the International Chemistry Olympiad, where a few selected students good at Chemistry get the chance to compete and represent India internationally. For NSEC, candidates can take the examination in English, Hindi, and some other recognised local languages. For the NSEC registration process, follow the steps given below:

  • Step 1: Students must first approach the NSEC centres. Over the last few years, IAPT has opened thousands of centres. Students can pick up their application forms at any of their local NSEC centres.

  • Step 2: After visiting the nearest NSEC centre, students can collect the NSEC 2023 registration form from the centre coordinator and submit it after filling out the necessary information.

  • Students who are interested in taking the NSEC 2024 exams can also apply online by clicking on the application form link available on the IAPT official website.

  • The registration fee has to be submitted while filling out the form in both offline and online cases.

  • A registration fee of INR 200 will be needed.

  • After the fee is paid, students will be eligible to download the NSEC admit card once it is released officially by the conducting body.

  • This will be a one-time-fee and no additional fee will be charged from the students if they pass the examination and sit for the next level (s).


Stages in Chemistry Olympiad 

Following are the stages of the Chemistry Olympiad:

  1. National Standard Examination in Chemistry (NSEC).

  2. Indian National Chemistry Olympiad (INChO).

  3. Orientation cum Selection camp of Chemistry (OSC).

  4. Pre-departure Training camp for INChO (PDT).

  5. Participation in the International Chemistry Olympiad.


NSEC Results 2023-24

  • The NSEC not only gives bright young minds an international platform to better access their knowledge but also offers global exposure.

  • The NSEC results are declared tentatively in the month of December.

  • Students can check their results at the official website of IAPT.

  • In order to view the results, students will need to enter their date of birth and password. Do note that the date of birth should be entered in DDMMYYYY format.

  • The grades of the students will be factored in to get to a final outcome.

  • Along with the result, IAPT also releases the NSEC answer key to help in self-evaluation.


Awards Given to NSEC Scholars 

Like any other Olympiad or competitive examination, NSEC too awards the scholars of the examination in a very healthy way:

  • Certificates will be awarded to the top 10% of students in each centre (the list of centres can be found in the ‘Application Mode & Process Section').

  • The top 1% of students in each subject will receive merit certificates.

  • The top 1% of students in the country will receive a special Merit Certificate and a novel.

  • Gold medals will be awarded to the top 35 students.


Conclusion

This was the complete and detailed discussion regarding NSEC 2023. Make sure to take note of all essential information and changes. Also, visit our website to download free study materials and sample question papers to score well in NSEC 2023.

FAQs on NSEC Exam 2023-23 - National Standard Examination in Chemistry

1. How to Prepare for NSEC?

Ans: Students can start with Inorganic chemistry and then they can move to Organic chemistry. Learn all the laboratory conditions of reactions given under organic chemistry like the catalyst names, temperature, and pressure. The topics in inorganic chemistry are highly mercurial, so go through the complete NCERT syllabus.

2. How to Apply for NSEC?

Ans: Candidates have to register through their schools or registered exam centres. The registration form for this exam can only be filled by the institutions. The schools have to follow the link in order to apply for the NSE Chemistry Olympiad, the schools will fill the KV code to further fill the application form. After that, schools will fill in all the required details like Principal’s name, Principal’s mail ID, the number of candidates appearing for the test, etc.


It is the responsibility of the schools to check if all details filled by students are correct. Then they can click on the apply button after inspecting all the details.


Submission of the Application Form

The candidates who have filled out the application form entirely to complete the application process. Before the final submission of the application form the candidates should make sure if they have filled in the correct details or not.

3. Can I crack NSEC easily?

Ans: The quality of questions that will be asked in the examination will not be less than hard and tricky. Scoring in the NSEC Examination will be easy for students who have studied enough to solve any kind of question. NSEC is the first stage that has to be qualified by the students to get in the International Chemistry Olympiad. To crack the NSEC paper, start by getting a thorough understanding of the basic concepts. You can consider preparing short notes for last-minute revision. Enrolling in an online or offline dedicated to the NSEC can guide your preparation in the correct direction.

4. Why is NSEC important?

Ans: NSEC examination is a higher level examination that is meant to be given by higher secondary students. NSEC is important as it is the first level that has to be cleared by the students who want to participate in the International Chemistry Olympiad. This examination is organised by IAPT for testing students based on their knowledge in Chemistry so that they can select the best of them for representing India at the international level. A one-time registration fee has to be paid by the students for receiving admit cards.

5. Can I participate in the International Chemistry Olympiad directly?

Ans: No, a student who has not gone through the different stages of examination that leads to selection for IMO will not be allowed to represent India internationally. If a student wants to participate in IMO, then they must clear NSEC as the first stage to be qualified for the same. Students who will clear the examinations successfully will get to attend the training camp. NSEC should be given by every Chemistry enthusiast who is interested in learning more about the subject in detail.

6. What are the important Topics of NSEC?

Ans: Students are advised to focus on every topic that has to be covered by them. Important topics can be sorted out by keeping an eye on NSEC previous year papers. For the preparation of NSEC, students must be thoroughly knowledgeable of the chapters that are included in the syllabus.


Some basic concepts of Chemistry, Structure of Atoms, Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties, Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure, States of Matter: Solid, Liquid and Gas, Chemical thermodynamics, Equilibrium, Redox Reaction, Hydrogen, ElectroChemistry, etc will be included.

7. Can I appear for NSEC in 2023?

Ans: Students who pass the following eligibility criteria can appear for the 2023 session of NSEC:

  • Students must be able to obtain a passport from India.

  • Students should be born between July 1st, 2004, and June 30th, 2009, all days included.

  • They must have lived in India and studied there since November 30, 2021, or earlier OR must have studied in an Indian school system since November 30, 2021, or earlier.

  • Board examinations for Class 12 must not have been passed (or completed) in 2023.

  • They must not be enrolled in any NSEJS 2023 exams.

  • They must not have begun (or intend to begin) studies at a university or similar institution by June 1, 2023.

8. What is the level of the NSEC 2023 exam?

Ans- The level of the National Standard Examination in Chemistry can be equated with the Senior Secondary Level (11th and 12th Standard). All the topics in the CBSE syllabus are considered important as per the analysis of NSEC previous year papers. Since the syllabus is not clearly defined by the conducting body, consider this as a general guideline only.