NCERT inorganic chemistry for NEET: tables, trends and exceptions

Summary: For each inorganic chapter, build a trend table (what increases or decreases, and why), an exceptions list (where the trend breaks, and why), and a compounds sheet (preparation, properties, structure). Revise these three pages often. For p-block, which the rationalised NCERT dropped but NEET kept, use an older NCERT edition or notes that follow the NEET syllabus.

We have a separate guide on inorganic chemistry for JEE Main with a 30-day plan. NEET inorganic overlaps heavily, but NEET leans more on direct NCERT statements and less on unusual reactions, so this method is built around tables you can revise quickly.

The chapters in the NEET syllabus

• Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties (Class 11 NCERT)
• p-Block Elements, groups 13 to 18 (in the NEET syllabus, but removed from the rationalised NCERT)
• d- and f-Block Elements (Class 12 NCERT)
• Coordination Compounds (Class 12 NCERT)

Chemical bonding supports all four, and salt analysis from the practical chemistry unit uses inorganic facts too. Hydrogen, s-block and metallurgy were removed from the syllabus, so older books that include them can be trimmed.

Page one: the trend table

For every chapter, make one table with the property, the trend across a period, the trend down a group, and the reason in a few words. The reason is what saves you when a question twists the trend. For periodicity it looks like this:

Do the same for each group of the p-block (oxidation states, the inert pair effect, acidic or basic nature of oxides, thermal stability and reducing character of hydrides) and for the d-block (atomic size, ionisation enthalpies, oxidation states, colour and magnetic behaviour).

Page two: the exceptions list

NEET likes exceptions because they separate the students who read NCERT carefully from those who learnt only the trend. Keep a running list with the exception and the one-line reason, written in the same order as the chapter. A few examples to start your list:

• First ionisation enthalpy of nitrogen is higher than that of oxygen: nitrogen's half-filled 2p subshell is more stable.
• First ionisation enthalpy of beryllium is higher than that of boron: removing a 2p electron from boron is easier than removing a 2s electron from beryllium.
• Electron gain enthalpy of chlorine is more negative than that of fluorine: the small 2p subshell of fluorine has strong electron-electron repulsion.
• The first member of each p-block group behaves differently from the rest: small size, high electronegativity, and no available d orbitals.
• Zirconium and hafnium have almost identical radii: a result of the lanthanoid contraction.
• Chromium and copper have unexpected electronic configurations (3d⁵4s¹ and 3d¹⁰4s¹): half-filled and fully filled d subshells are extra stable.

Every time a test question catches you on an exception you did not know, add it with the NCERT page number.

Page three: the compounds sheet

For each important compound named in NCERT, record the preparation, two or three key properties, and the structure if one is drawn. In the d-block, the NEET syllabus names potassium dichromate and potassium permanganate specifically: learn how each is prepared, its behaviour as an oxidising agent in acidic medium, and the structures of the ions. In the p-block, learn the structures of the oxoacids of phosphorus and sulphur, the interhalogen compounds and the xenon fluorides and oxides. Drawing a structure once from memory is worth more than reading it five times.

Coordination compounds: a chapter of rules

This chapter behaves differently from the rest of inorganic. It has rules you apply rather than facts you recall: IUPAC naming, types of isomerism, valence bond theory for hybridisation and magnetic behaviour, and crystal field theory with the spectrochemical series. Practise naming and isomer counting as exercises, just as you would practise physical chemistry.

Worked example: spin-only magnetic moment

The spin-only magnetic moment is √[n(n + 2)] BM, where n is the number of unpaired electrons.

• Fe³⁺ has a 3d⁵ configuration. As a free ion, all five d electrons are unpaired, so μ = √(5 × 7) = √35, about 5.92 BM.
• Cu²⁺ is 3d⁹, with one unpaired electron, so μ = √3, about 1.73 BM.
• Zn²⁺ is 3d¹⁰, with no unpaired electrons, so it is diamagnetic and μ = 0.

In a complex, a strong-field ligand can pair up electrons and change n. For example, [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻ has one unpaired electron, while [FeF₆]³⁻ has five. Decide the field strength from the spectrochemical series first, then count.

When a question gives a magnetic moment and asks for the ion, reverse the calculation. Values near 1.73, 2.83, 3.87, 4.90 and 5.92 BM correspond to 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 unpaired electrons.

A revision rhythm

Inorganic facts fade faster than any other part of Chemistry. The fix is short, frequent revision instead of long occasional sessions.

For practice, the free daily NCERT tests suit this rhythm. Our notes on p-block elements, d- and f-block elements and coordination compounds follow the NEET syllabus.

Common questions