NDA Chemistry Guide
How NDA Chemistry actually works
A 277-question analysis of the Chemistry half of GAT PART B from 2017 to 2026. We mapped the 12 chapter playbooks, the 50 most-tested chemical compounds, the year-on-year drift (the paper has NOT hardened), and the distractor traps — so you can prep what the exam actually tests.
- Past-year questions
- 277
- Papers (2017–2026)
- 19
- Chapters
- 12
- Playbooks
- 12
How the 277 questions break down
All 12 chapters tested in NDA PART B Chemistry, sized by question count across the 2017–2026 bank. Sorted by share of bank.
| Chapter | Questions | Share | % HARD | Focus subtopics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon and Its Compounds | 46 | 16.6% | 4% | Allotropes of Carbon (15 · pure recall, diamond/graphite/fullerene), Common Carbon Compounds and Pigments (10), Functional Groups and Common Organic Compounds (9), Soaps Detergents Hydrogenation (4), Catenation/Tetra-valency/Isomerism (4), Hydrocarbons (3). |
| Atomic Structure and Periodic Classification | 35 | 12.6% | 9% | Periodic Trends, Valency and Atomicity (12 · 8% HARD), Atomic Number/Mass Number/Subatomic Particles (7), Atomic Models — Dalton/Rutherford/Bohr (6 · 17% HARD), Isotopes/Isobars/Isoelectronic (6), Electron Configuration (4). |
| Acids, Bases and Salts | 36 | 13.0% | 8% | pH Scale and Common Substances (8), Common Acids — Names/Formulas/Uses (8 · 12% HARD), Acid-Base Theory + Oxides + Electrolytes (7 · 14% HARD), Salts and Common Compounds (7), Water of Crystallization (5). |
| Matter and Its States | 32 | 11.6% | 3% | Separation Techniques (7), Compounds/Mixtures/Solutions (7), States of Matter/Phase Changes/Diffusion (7), Colloids and Suspensions (7 · 20% HARD), Physical vs Chemical Changes (6). |
| Chemical Reactions | 32 | 11.6% | 9% | Redox — Oxidation/Reduction/Reducing Agents (10 · 20% HARD — chapter's hottest subtopic), Types of Reactions — Combination/Decomposition/Displacement (7 · 14% HARD), Specific Reactions (5), Thermal/Photochemical Decomposition (3), Endo/Exothermic (3), Physical vs Chemical (2). |
| Industrial and Applied Chemistry | 28 | 10.1% | 11% | Industrial Gases, Manufacturing and Reactions (8), Cement, Glass and Building Materials (6), Fertilizers (5), Common Industrial Substances and Alloys (5), Paints and Coatings (4 · 75% HARD — the bank's most concentrated HARD pool). |
| Metals and Non-Metals | 18 | 6.5% | 0% | Reactivity Series and Reactions with Water (7), Corrosion and Its Prevention (5), Alloys and Their Composition (4), Extraction of Metals and Ores (2). Zero HARD across the whole chapter. |
| Hydrogen and Water | 13 | 4.7% | 8% | Hardness and Purity of Water (5), Properties of Hydrogen (4 · 33% HARD), Properties and Anomalous Behaviour of Water (4). |
| Chemical Bonding | 14 | 5.1% | 0% | Ionic and Covalent Bonding (7), Valency/Oxidation States/Molecular Formula (4), Bond Counting and Molecular Structure (3). Zero HARD — pure recall + rule application. |
| Chemistry in Everyday Life | 10 | 3.6% | 0% | Common Chemicals and Their Uses (7), Medicines and Health Chemistry (3). Pure recall — drinks, gases, cleaners, antacids. |
| Mole Concept and Stoichiometry | 10 | 3.6% | 10% | Mole Concept/Avogadro's Law/Molar Calculations (5 · 20% HARD), Stoichiometry/Laws of Chemical Combination (4). The bank's only Calculate-strand chapter. |
| Practical Chemistry | 3 | 1.1% | 0% | Practical Applications — Health, Food and Lab Methods (3). Tiny chapter, all EASY. Read once, recognise, done. |
What’s inside
Six sections, each answering a different question a candidate walks in with. Read top-to-bottom or jump to what you need.
Strategy
Recall, Rule, Calculate — three skill strands matched to the bank's actual shape. Per-chapter must-drill subtopics and a ~30-hour time plan.
Playbooks
12 playbooks — one per chapter. The dominant subtopic shape, the traps, and the worked PYQs you need.
Common compounds
Single-page index of the ~50 chemical name ↔ formula ↔ use pairs NDA Chemistry actually tests. 10 themed clusters, ready for active recall.
Trends
How NDA Chemistry shifted 2017→2026 — Carbon faded, Industrial doubled, no hardening trend. Drill all 10 years equally.
Traps
Distractor shapes NDA Chemistry reuses — chemical-name swap, formula-of-acid-salt confusion, redox direction flip, periodic-trend reversal, hardness type swap.
Why we built this
Most NDA Chemistry prep splits two ways: a textbook chapter-list that doesn’t match the exam weights, or a flash-card grind without strategy. We’ve done the third thing: pull every question, tag every subtopic, look at the patterns.
Every claim on this site is verifiable. Click any “Drill these N questions →” link and you’ll see the exact set we’re talking about.
Data snapshot: 14 September 2026. Numbers refresh as new papers land.