National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) is often conducted for carrying out admissions in NISER, Bhubaneswar and University of Mumbai. The test comprises of 5 sections. The first section is a general subject section where in all candidates needs to compulsorily attend the same. The other 4 sections include questions from subject areas like Physics, Chemistry, mathematics and Biology. Candidates can select any three subjects of their choice and attend the exam. Cell Biology, Cell theory, Circulatory System and Developmental Biology are some of the main topics included in Biology. The key topics included in mathematics section consist of Logarithms, Algebra, Matrices and Binomial theorem.

Detailed Syllabus for NEST 2013

Section 1 – General Subjects

This is a compulsory section for all candidates and no specific syllabus is mentioned for this section. The questions included in this section aims to analyze candidates ability to solve qualitative and quantitative aspects of a scientific topic. Questions from basic mathematics subject studied up to 10^th class will be included. Comprehension of scientific passage and interpretation of graphs of simple systems also gets included in this section.

Section 2 – Biology

• Absorption and cell-water relations
• Absorption of products of digestion
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Anatomy and Physiology of Plants
• Cell Biology
• Cell theory and cells as unit of life
• Circulatory System
• Developmental Biology
• Digestive System
• Discovery and structure of DNA
• Environmental pollution and preventive measures
• Excretory System
• Food chains
• Fundamentals of genetics and evolution
• Human genetics
• Mendel’s laws of inheritance
• Modes of nutrition
• Monohybrid or Dihybrid crosses
• Natural resources - their uses and abuses
• Physical and biological factors influencing organisms
• Principles of classical and new systematics
• Principles of classification, binomial nomenclature
• Principles of the basic techniques in molecular biology
• Sexual and asexual reproduction
• Significance of meiosis
• Xylem and Phloem - their cell elements and functions

Section 3 – Chemistry

• Atomic structure and chemical bonding
• Balanced chemical equations
• Chemical equilibrium - Law of mass action
• Chemical formulae
• Concept of atoms and molecules
• Dalton’s atomic theory
• Diffusion of gases
• Electrochemical cells and cell reactions
• Energetics - First law of thermodynamics
• Equilibrium constant
• Gaseous and liquid states - Absolute scale of temperature
• Ideal gas equation
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Isotopes and isobars
• Law of partial pressures
• Measurements in chemistry - SI units for fundamental quantities
• Mole concept
• Nuclear chemistry – Radioactivity
• Organic Chemistry
• Pauli’s exclusion principle and Hund’s rule
• Raoult’s law
• Rates of chemical reactions
• Solid state - Classification of solids

Section 4 – Mathematics

• Addition and multiplication rules of probability
• Addition of vectors
• Algebra of complex numbers
• Analytical geometry
• Arithmetic, geometric and harmonic progressions
• Bayes Theorem
• Binomial theorem
• Differential calculus
• Formation of ordinary differential equations
• Integral calculus
• Limit and continuity of a function
• Logarithms and their properties
• Matrices as a rectangular array of real numbers
• Permutations and combinations
• Quadratic equations with real coefficients
• Scalar multiplication
• Trigonometric functions
• Vectors

Section 5 – Physics

• Alpha, beta and gamma radiations
• Atomic nucleus
• Bohr’s theory of hydrogen like atoms
• Dimensional analysis
• Electricity and magnetism
• Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle
• Kinematics in one and two dimensions
• Law of gravitation
• Law of radioactive decay
• Linear and angular simple harmonic motions
• Methods of measurement
• Moseley’s law
• Newton’s laws of motion
• Photoelectric effect
• Rectilinear propagation of light
• Thermal physics
• Uniform circular motion
• Units and dimensions
• Wave nature of light

It is compulsory for candidates to attempt Section 1 of NEST exam. On the other hand, from remaining four sections, candidates have the option to choose any of the three subject sections and attempt the same.