How to prepare for Karnataka CET exam. What are the books to be referred. What should be the time plan. Please guide us. And I am a parent.-Swati

Dear Swati, I suggest the following for your preparation for CET exams. Firstly you must accept the fact that we are humans and that we feel the need to relax, stretch, eat and sleep, socialize and entertain ourselves. As on starts with the studies, eventually the student will feel the need to ignore a few things like say, the student will compromise on going out with his friends everyday to solve some more physics problems just because he is doing well at it. This habit should evolve in a student and not be imposed on him/her. There should be a realization for the need to study, every student achieves this at some point, sooner or later. Keeping in mind these things I suggest the following. 1. Firstly, cut down on any extra classes or crash courses the student has. Keep a few expert teachers at hand only to clear concepts, but don't waste students time into trying to learn things from someone else. Trust me every student can learn things on his own, give him/her the confidence that this is achievable. 2. Buy some good books on the subject that teach the subject well. Do not over load the student with numerous book. Buy only a select few, I suggest one for each subject, but really good books. By keeping only a few books to learn from, you are cutting down on the chaos in the students mind. I suggest (purely a matter of taste) the following books Fundamentals of Physics - by Resnick, Halliday and Walker Resnick has good theory, and a good enough collection of problems to practice from. Only Resnick should suffice. Differential and Integral Calculus - by E. Piskunov ( two volumes) Excellent for calculus Higher Algebra - Hall and Knight Plane Trigonometry - S L Loney OR Algebra and Trigonometry by James Steward Elements of Physical Chemistry - Peter Atkins Organic Chemistry - Yurkanis Bruice Anyways these are just a few suggestions on books 3. At first dedicate more time on mathematics, this is essential as most of the physics is dependent on mathematics. 4. If you still wish to start physics while you are still learning maths, start with those chapters in physics which require least mathematics. For example, start with thermodynamics first before, mechanics or electromagnetism. 5. Chemistry usually is least mathematical, except for physical chemistry. Therefore start studying organic chemistry first so that you can continue studying it while you develop your skills in math and plus you don't lose time in preparing for the test. 6. Pay attention to past papers. Although the questions in CET rarely repeat, the trend of questions usually has a pattern. Try and guess a pattern. Usually one should pay attention to those topics which are stressed on by the board. Also, solving past papers is a good way of simulating an exam. This should give you sufficient practice on managing time during the test. 7. Try and inculcate in the student a habit to solve his problems on his own, with the least possible help from the teacher/ tutor. This is because he will then get into the habit of managing things on his own and also gain more confidence in himself and his way of thinking. Usually one should adopt this method only if one has more time at his hand, otherwise if time is a constraint, please do go and ask a teacher/tutor to clear all your doubts so that you waste very little time in thinking in the wrong direction. Get confidence in the student that he can make it well and that he has learnt things well. For now, this is all that I can think of. I hope this helps you Swati. All the best to your child. Cheers read less