UPSC Civil Services (Mains)
Chemistry optional
- 2 papers
- 250 marks each
- 3 h per paper
- 5 of 8 questions, Q1 and Q5 compulsory
Paper II covers organic chemistry and spectroscopy.
Paper II, organic chemistry and spectroscopy
Blog
Strategy, answer writing, toppers' suggestions, booklists and video links for this paper.
Woodward–Fieser rules: calculating λmax of enones and dienes
Asked in CSE, Geo-Scientist and IFoS from 2022 to 2025: book source, keyword map and a two-page model answer.
How the Chemistry optional paper is built
Eight questions, five to attempt, and about 0.7 minutes for every mark.
Laying out a 10-mark mechanism answer
Put the working into the diagram and keep the sentences for what the diagram cannot say.
Choosing three questions in the first ten minutes
Two questions are fixed. The other three decide whether you finish the paper.