Memorize Periodic Table
The most important thing in whole inorganic chemistry is the periodic table. you should know it left-right, up-down, and sideways. All the rules, orders, and properties between elements and their compounds are based on their place in the periodic table. if you can’t remember the exact atomic number of all the elements, at least know their position relative to well-known elements. the most common types of questions in inorganic chemistry are the comparison questions. compare electronegativity, compare sizes, pH values, etc. the root of logic behind all this is based on the positions of the elements in the periodic table itself. rather than memorizing the individual lists. tackle the whole problem at once by memorizing the periodic table itself and revise it once a week.
Make Rules on the Periodic Table
Ultimately, questions will be on the element’s properties and comparison between them. to translate your knowledge of the periodic table and its elements to the answer to actual questions, you have to make rules on the periodic table. A rule is simply a combination of property and direction in the periodic table. for example, going down in periodic table element size increases or going right electronegativity increases. you will hardly find 20 of such rules in whole inorganic chemistry. and they are for the most part intuitive and easy to remember. keep a separate notebook with 1 rule on 1 page. which you can revise on a weekly basis.
Exception to the Rule
Yes, you might find there are many exceptions to the rules you just created. and you might think what is the point of making a rule if it is wrong most times. that’s why I asked you to write only 1 rule on 1 page. the blank space is for you to write down all the exceptions. the main problem when it comes to inorganic chemistry and all the exceptions is not that people never have heard of them and are looking at it first time in the exams. but they have seen this among 1000 other things and just don’t remember everything after 6-12 months when the actual exam will be. the importance of making these separate notebooks is to keep everything in one place. this makes it much easier to access the information before the exam for revisions. If you don’t skip writing all the rules and exceptions you encounter in class, questions, tests and revise them once a week for few months they will become as easy as to remember 2+2 = 4.
Hail Mary : Past Year Papers
This is the most important form of preparation you can do for Inorganic chemistry. Just get a book called last 35-40 years of IIT-JEE question chapter-wise and go through all questions multiple times until you know the answer by reading question and question by reading at options. the scope of questions that will be asked in JEE exams is limited and most likely things are bound to repeat. not exact repetitions but with few changes here and there. but you will be able to handle them easily if you know all the rules, exceptions, and the similar question and it’s answer that was asked 15 years back.
Conclusion
Many students find inorganic chemistry difficult to deal with due to all the exceptions and lists. but have a systemized way of preparing for things rather than going in blindly and you will score very well in the subject. one of the reasons I like this subject is that you can finish all 6-10 questions of inorganic in under 5 mins if you are well prepared and give the 15 mins you saved to maths who really demands time.