The Department of Atomic Energy (Government of India) conducts National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) at several test centers every year, all over the country. The department conducts the entrance test for the admission in its integrated program (Master of Science) imparted in National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar and University of Mumbai - Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CBS), Mumbai.
Syllabus
The candidates must be well-prepared before appearing in NEST Entrance Test, for which they have to study CBSE syllabus of Higher Secondary Certificate Examination (10+2). The syllabus for the competitive entrance test is given below.
General Section
The department has not prescribed any particular syllabus for this section. However, students can prepare general ability to comprehend qualitative and quantitative aspects, general mathematical skills including graph interpretation, statistics etc and basic knowledge of the major happenings in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy.
Biology (Zoology and Botany)
For the Biology section, the students may study Discovery and structure of DNA, processes of replication, transcription and translation, principles of the basic techniques in molecular biology, Biomembranes -Transport mechanism, cellular respiration, Cell theory Cell as a unit of life, Anatomy and Physiology, Reproductive System, Diversity of Animal Life, Ecology, Genetics and Evolution, Genetics, Systematics, Anatomy and Physiology of Plants and Humans and Environment.
Chemistry
For the section of Chemistry, the students have to study Organic Chemistry (Amino acids and peptides, Phenols, Carbohydrates, Preparation, properties and reactions of alkanes, Concepts), Inorganic Chemistry (Study of nonmetals, Study of different groups in periodic table, Metals and metallurgy, Transition elements (3d series), Coordination compounds) and Physical chemistry (Nuclear chemistry, Solid state, Chemical kinetics, Solutions, Electrochemistry, Chemical equilibrium, Energetics, Atomic structure and chemical bonding, Gaseous and liquid states, General topics).
Mathematics
In Mathematics, the common topics are Vectors, Algebra, Integral calculus, Trigonometry, Differential calculus, two dimensions, and three dimensions.
Physics
For Physics, the required curriculum is Modern physics, Optics, Electricity and magnetism, Thermal physics, Mechanics, General.
