Dream Vision Classes
State Board or CBSE for Class 11 and 12 Science?
By this stage the question is not which is better. It is which fits the entrance exam you are actually preparing for.
Practicals and Viva: The Easiest Marks Students Throw Away
A predictable, well-documented, small syllabus that most students prepare for in the final week. It is close to free marks.
Practical examinations have a small syllabus, a published format and very few surprises. They are also the component students prepare for last, if at all — which is why a meaningful number of otherwise strong students lose marks here.
Why practicals are the easiest marks available
- The list of experiments is known in advance
- The procedure does not change year to year
- The viva questions come from a narrow, predictable pool
- The journal is prepared over months, not on the day
Nothing about this is difficult. It is only ever neglected.
The journal
Written up as you go, not reconstructed in a panic the week before. A journal completed in three days looks exactly like a journal completed in three days, and examiners have seen many.
Aim, apparatus, diagram, procedure, observations, calculation, result, precautions. The precautions section is the most commonly skipped and the most commonly asked about.
The viva
Examiners ask about what you did, not about the whole syllabus. For each experiment, be able to answer:
- What is the aim, in one sentence?
- Which principle does it rest on?
- Why this apparatus, and what would go wrong with a substitute?
- What are the main sources of error?
- What would happen if you changed one variable?
Five questions per experiment. For a syllabus of a dozen experiments, that is an evening's preparation for a substantial share of marks.
On the day
- Read the assigned experiment fully before touching anything.
- Draw the diagram first — it settles the procedure in your head.
- Record observations as you take them, not from memory afterwards.
- Show the calculation with units at every stage.
- If a reading looks wrong, say so and explain why rather than quietly adjusting it. Examiners respect that; they notice the alternative.
For students also preparing for entrance exams
Do not skip practicals on the grounds that JEE and NEET do not test them. Board marks matter for admission routes, and the understanding gained from actually performing an experiment tends to make the theory stick.
Frequently asked
How much do practicals carry?
Enough to move a final percentage noticeably. Check the current scheme for your board and year.
What if I damage equipment?
Say so immediately. It is not penalised; concealing it is.
Can I prepare the viva from the journal alone?
Mostly, if the journal was written properly. If it was copied, you will find out during the viva.
Our 11th & 12th Science programme covers practicals and viva preparation as part of the course rather than leaving it to the final week.
