Paper 1 did not throw up any “surprise” to a well-prepared student. The four different patterns of questions Straight objective type, Multiple Correct Answer type, Matrix Match type and Linked Comprehension type were all patterns they were familiar with. The only “surprise element” was that there were five options to deal with in the Matrix Match type. To be fair to the increased complexity, the paper awarded two marks for every correct “row” and a total of eight marks for an entire question.
The total marks in Paper 1 of 2008 were 246 from 69 questions. This year, the total marks in Paper 1 were 240 from 60 questions. Comparing the reactions of the students in 2008 and 2009, we felt that Paper 1 was a trifle more challenging when compared to the corresponding Paper in 2008.
Paper 2 of IIT-JEE 2009 was the real “surprise element” since everybody was looking for one. With only 19 questions per paper, it really checked the knowledge level of the students.
Of the 19 questions per subject, 8 questions per subject were devoted to what the students call “numerical problems” or “descriptive problems” etc. These questions required students to work out the numerical answer to a problem and the same had to enter into a grid. Essentially, the students were required to darken four bubbles to get one correct answer. the surprise element, again since everybody was looking for one, was only in the weightage given to this pattern of question. This pattern had appeared in IIT-JEE earlier. With 96 marks out of the possible 240 in Paper 2, no doubt this was the section to crack in Paper 2.
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