Let’s be honest: Chemistry often feels like that one friend who is incredibly moody. One day, you understand everything, and the next day, a single Organic reaction makes you want to close the book and never look back.As we head toward the CBSE Class 12 Board Exams in 2026, the pressure is starting to build. But here’s a secret that top scorers won’t always tell you: it isn’t about studying for 15 hours a day. It’s about being a bit more tactical with how you spend your time.If you're feeling overwhelmed, here is how you can break things down and actually make progress.1. Stop Ignoring Your NCERTIt’s easy to get distracted by heavy, expensive reference books that look impressive on your shelf. But for the CBSE boards, the NCERT is essentially your Bible. Most of the direct questions, especially in Inorganic Chemistry, come straight from those pages. Before you go looking for "secret" notes, make sure you've read every line—including those tiny captions under the diagrams—in your textbook.2. Physical Chemistry: Treat It Like MathIf you like numbers, this part of the syllabus is your best friend. Solutions, Electrochemistry, and Chemical Kinetics are where you can score "clean" marks. Instead of just memorizing formulas, practice the numericals. A common trap is thinking you know how to solve a problem just by looking at the solution. You have to pick up the pen and do the math yourself to get comfortable with the calculations.3. Organic Chemistry: The Art of the StoryFor many, this is the scariest part. The trick here is not to treat reactions as isolated facts. Think of them as a sequence. Focus on "Named Reactions" and "Mechanism" first. Once you understand why an electron moves a certain way, you stop memorizing and start predicting. Keep a separate notebook just for reactions and look at it for ten minutes every day. Consistency beats "cramming" here every time.4. Inorganic Chemistry: Patterns Over Rote LearningPeople say Inorganic is all about memorization, and they’re partly right. But it becomes much easier if you look for trends in the Periodic Table. Focus on P-Block and D&F Block elements. Don't try to learn it all in one sitting. Tackle one small section a day, use some silly mnemonics to remember the order, and you’ll find it sticks much better.5. Sample Papers are a MustKnowledge is one thing, but finishing a three-hour paper is another. By the time 2026 rolls around, you should have solved enough sample papers to know exactly how much time to give to each section. It’s the best way to handle that "exam hall panic" before you even get there.Chemistry doesn't have to be a nightmare. It's just a giant puzzle, and once you get the first few pieces right, the rest usually falls into place. Take it one chapter at a time, breathe, and remember that everyone else is just as nervous as you are.
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