- Mathematics
- Sets, relations and functions, complex numbers, quadratic equations, arithmetic and geometric progressions, permutation and combination, binomial theorem, logarithms; matrices and determinants including their properties and applications to systems of equations; trigonometric ratios and identities, inverse trigonometric functions, and applications to heights and distances; analytical geometry in two and three dimensions covering straight lines, circles, conic sections, planes and lines in space; differential calculus including limits, continuity, differentiation and applications to maxima and minima; integral calculus and differential equations; vector algebra; and statistics and probability.
- General Ability Test — Part A: English
- Grammar and usage, vocabulary, comprehension and cohesion, spotting errors, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, synonyms and antonyms, ordering of sentences and words, and idioms. Two hundred marks in a six-hundred-mark paper, and the most learnable part of it.
- General Ability Test — Part B: General Knowledge
- Physics covering properties of matter, motion, work and energy, heat, light, sound, magnetism and electricity, and simple pendulum and measuring instruments; chemistry covering physical and chemical changes, elements and compounds, acids, bases and salts, common preparations and uses, carbon and its forms, fertilisers and explosives; general science covering basic biology, human physiology, nutrition and common diseases; history covering the freedom movement, the Constitution, social reform, and the broad sweep of Indian and world history; geography covering the earth, atmosphere, oceans, climate, resources and Indian regional geography; and current events across India and the world including sporting and cultural developments.
Note the weighting carefully. General knowledge alone is 400 marks — more than the entire mathematics paper — and it draws on class 11 and 12 physics and chemistry more heavily than most candidates expect. A candidate strong in mathematics but casual about general knowledge is preparing for the smaller half of the written examination.
The mathematics syllabus rewards a specific reading. It lists a wide set of chapters, but the questions are overwhelmingly single-concept and solvable in a couple of minutes — this is not an examination that sets multi-step problems requiring insight. What it does demand is that you recognise which of a hundred and twenty chapter-sized ideas is in play, and apply it immediately. Breadth of recognition beats depth of technique here, which is close to the opposite of what an engineering entrance rewards.
