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Preparation Tips for NEET Botany

Even though Botany and Zoology are not treated as two different subjects for the NEET examination (they, together treated as Biology), it is essential to separate and study these two for scoring better in the examinations. Competitive exams are entirely different from Board exams. For CBSE students or Board of Intermediate students of A.P, the method of preparing for NEET is similar now.

Regarding preparation of Botany for the NEET it is necessary for the student to start it in the beginning of first year itself. Generally, in the competitive examination at this level, many questions can be asked from the ‘Diversity in Living World’. Basic principles and criteria for classification must be studied thoroughly with examples. While studying, each group’s general characters must be compared with other groups. In-depth study of Monera, Protista and Fungi is not needed. This will avoid confusion. Attention must be given to the topic ‘classification of plants’, as it is very important for the examination point of view. As the syllabus is very ambiguous regarding this topic, wide knowledge is essential for this chapter. Evolutionary aspects of different plant groups with examples are a must to understand the topic properly. Study briefly as many relevant examples as possible for an additional advantage.

Unit- II of XI syllabus ie Morphology of Angiosperms and Unit- II of XII syllabus should be clubbed for better understanding of the life cycle of the plants. This can improve the performance of the students. Morphology is a very wide topic covering many aspects of all plant parts. NCERT and CBSE books do not cover exhaustively this topic. Very question can be asked from this chapter but very important chapter for the subject point of view. Student can go through any book of plus two standards on this chapter. Reproduction in Angiosperms and plants in general must be studied only after morphology. Regarding anatomy, any book is sufficient. Importance should be given to meristems , phloem and secondary growth.

Unit III of XI syllabus is almost same for both Botany and Zoology (cell biology) with minor differences. Functional aspects and structural aspects of all the cell organelles can be studied briefly. Detailed functional aspects are not necessary for twelfth standard students. Cell cycle, cell division of this unit also requires only brief study. Study of this Unit must be followed by molecular basis of inheritance of Unit-II of XII syllabus. This will give continuity of the same topic at a stretch. After this, studying Genetics is advisable.

Unit IV of the XI syllabus deals with Plant Physiology. This topic should not be started before completing the above said chapters. It takes lot of time in studying and understanding various aspects in plant physiology. For fairly a good command, studying at least three times is essential. ‘Water relations’ requires a brief understanding. Knowledge based questions can be asked from Mineral nutrition. Deficiency symptoms of various nutrients should be remembered. Before starting metabolism pathways, essential things regarding enzymes must be revised once again.

Lastly in Unit III and IV of the XII syllabus can be taken (Biotechnology and Applied Biology). It is the most important chapter of all the chapters. A detailed and thorough knowledge of the every aspect of biotechnology like Tissue culture, Genetic engineering, Fermentation and their applied aspects is to be remembered. A comprehensive single is not available for this chapter. Information can be gathered from different sources like newspapers.
Certain aspects to remember
  1. Learning many examples in plant diversity and classification is advisable.
  2. One should not go beyond the scope of plus two standards as concepts change from level to level.
  3. Detailed aspects of the Plant Physiology are not necessary for the exam.
  4. Revision and recollection of information gathered is invariable for good performance.
Published date : 30 Apr 2013 04:23PM

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