Update: The memory based question paper has been uploaded and is available for download to only those students who have joined our test-series. It is not be available for other students.

For biology, all the MCQs are asked from the 9 sanctioned textbooks only. No MCQs that are beyond the 9 sanctioned textbooks are asked. MCQs are not lifted from CBSE/ICSE/NCERT/etc. books if they are not covered in our syllabus. Chapterwise, the constitution is fluid to some extent. The exact contribution of each chapter may not be known because MHT-CET question papers are not allowed to be taken out of the examination hall. The question papers have to be submitted back to the supervisor. The only information this is available is memory-based information from students who appeared at the exam, which may not be accurate.

Chapter-wise MCQ contribution:

1. Natural resources and conservation— 4 MCQs
2. Biotechnology— 9 MCQs
3. Biofertlizers and medicinal plants— 8 MCQs
4. Plant water relations— 3 MCQs
5. Photosynthesis— 5 MCQs
6. Respiration— 4 MCQs
7. Reproduction in angiosperms— 9 MCQs
8. Plant growth— 5 MCQs
9. Human population— 4 MCQs
10. Human health and disease— 3 MCQs
11. Types of diseases— 4 MCQs
12. Immunity system— 4 MCQs
13. Biomedical technologies— 4 MCQs
14. Bioinformatics— 3 MCQs
15. Vermiculture and fisheries— 3 MCQs
16. Circulation in animals— 6 MCQs
17. Osmoregulation and excretion in animals— 6 MCQs
18. Nervous co-ordination— 6 MCQs
19. Hormonal co-ordination— 5 MCQs
20. Reproduction and development in animals— 8 MCQs

Click here to download PDF file

In any case, the roots of CET are same: Knowledge and its rapid application. Both of these come by sheer hard-work and practice. However, due to the memory-dominated S.S.C. examination system, many students continue with memory-based learning. Memory dominated learning can help you at H.S.C. exam too but its a big flop at MHT-CET! All questions in MHT-CET are multiple choice with only one best answer type(M.C.Q.s). For assessing a student’s overall understanding and application skills, M.C.Q.s are usually considered superior to essay type answer. Hence, it is important that students start developing these skills from Std. XI instead of depending upon coaching classes or tuition. If you haven’t, then it is high time you should take it seriously now.

Giving yourself the strong foundation for MHT-CET: step-by-step

Most students will have difficulty adapting themselves to the CET way of learning. To be comfortable with CET, the your first priority should be to be comfortable with your H.S.C. syllabus. You should know ‘each and everything about every topic within the scope of your syllabus’. In CET, there are very few questions that can be predicted as ‘most likely’ as in H.S.C. board exams. Questions can appear from any part of sanctioned textbooks. Hence, apart from concepts, a student must be well-versed with factual data such as name of scientists, years of discoveries, ‘Father of’ various branches(Ex: Father of Genetics is Johann Mendel), other numerical data, etc.

Biology:

The factual data, for atleast the subject of Biology, which is dispersed over 9 sanctioned textbooks is so great in size that it would be impossible to study them in an unorganized way. Always, read a chapter from one sanctioned textbook and read the same chapter from another textbook. Once you finish reading the chapter from all 9 sanctioned textbooks, then repeat the same process with the next chapter. Underline facts that you find are anot given in every textbooks. For eg: In the topic ‘Immunity system‘, only one book mentions that ‘IgM class antibody is the earliest antibody produced by the embryo, when it is about 20 weeks old‘. Capture that unique points by underlining them. Avoid using fluorescent markers because they are more time-consuming and can fade with time. Best is a pencil.

Physics:

Most students already have experienced the nightmare with physics. Physics is a concept-dominated subject. At CET, if you are not well-versed with the concept, in a way, you are actually preparing to lose. A ‘concept’ cannot be always taught in a classroom. The understanding that some students pick from the teacher’s words is a ‘concept’ while other pick it up as merely as a ‘set of words and sentences that should be mugged and written in the exam’. Remember, concept is not the words, it is the logic that you realize between events that are described by your teacher. Good teachers will make you understand the logic too, but if you don’t have a good teacher, you will have a tough time at physics.

Problem solving(numerical problems) is a great way to ensure high score in physics. Every year, atleast 42 out of 50 MCQs in physics are numericals. The average amount of time you have to solve each question is just 54 seconds. Within 54 secs, you have to read, understand and interpret the problem statement. The answer calculation begins after that. It is IMPOSSIBLE to complete physics MCQs without diligent practice or MCQs of varied types. Most students practice but they stick to only a few types of MCQs instead of adventuring into more types. This directly hampers your chances of success at MHT-CET because the MCQs in MHT-CET are not strictly based upon any prototype as found in various MCQs practice books. Many MCQs are much more creative than those often found in various reference books. Hence, practice as many varied types as possible. Author P.S. Bangui’s numerical problem book is a must-have. Also remember to solve numerical problems given in the ‘exercise’ at the end of every chapter. Bangui’s book too comes with its drawbacks.

Chemistry:

Chemistry is considered to be much easier than physics but still it is not as luxurious as biology in terms of level of difficulty and availability of time. Chemistry I demands theory and numerical problem practice where as chemistry II demands more of ‘reactions’ practice. While many reactions seem logical and easy to understand, it is most important that you remember ALL of them in your CET. Minute differences between reactions are very important which are not often discussed in H.S.C.

Best luck for your CET!

Also read:

Reference material for Physics and Material for MHT-CET [By me_101. About me_101: me_101 is one of the very helpful members of the forum and has secured admission to a reputed Govt Medical College(M.B.B.S.) on basis of merit. You can contact me_101 through our forum.]

Reference material for Biology for MHT-CET [By Rohan Shenoy. About Rohan Shenoy]

Should you prepare for PMT or AFMC if you are Maharashtra State Board student?

The syllabus for MHT-CET is same as that for H.S.C. exam of the Maharashtra State Board(Source: CET brochures published every year by DMER). No question that is beyond the scope of the syllabus is asked in MHT-CET exam. H.S.C. exam refers only to Std.XII (^12th) and not both std. XI and std XII.

Its is a common misconception that MCQs from CBSE/NCERT syllabus are also asked in MHT-CET. However, this is not true.

Text-books for MHT-CET

Textbooks, in accordance with the syllabus prescribed by the Board are published by private publications. Only few of the titles have been sanctioned by the Board. For any question appearing in the MHT-CET exam, the answer, as given in these sanctioned textbooks is considered as the final answer. Sanctioned textbooks and other textbooks which have not been sanctioned by the Board may give different information, which may occasionally contradict each other. Under such circumstances, the answer as given in the sanctioned textbooks is considered as the correct one(even if its actually wrong). If two or more textbooks, which are sanctioned by the Board, contain inconsistent information about a particular specific topic, the Board either releases a corrigendum(correction). If there is no such corrigendum, the question is usually not asked in MHT-CET exam. If such question is asked in MHT-CET, the Competent Authority(of DMER) omits the question from the evaluation and all students are offered either 1 mark or no mark for that question, irrespective of the answer they marked in the exam.

Sanctioned textbooks

Sanctioned textbooks can be differentiated from non-sanctioned textbooks by looking at their 1^st page, under the front-cover of the book. A sanctioned textbooks has lines similar to below ones describing the textbook’s sanction:

This textbook has been sanctioned by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Pune-411 010.

Sanction no: R.M./P.P.E./209/HSC/XII-2007/B-8/Date: 8-1-2007

The above sanction no. used as an example has been taken from ‘A textbook of Biology’ by Nirmitee Publications.

For the subject of Biology, 9 textbooks have been sanctioned. A list of all those textbooks along with other information such as publisher, author and price has been compiled and available for immediate download in the downloads section(see under miscellaneous sub-heading). There are several inconsistencies in the early editions and re-prints of the sanctioned textbooks. The Board has published a corrigendum(Jan 2008) for the same and it is available for immediate download in the downloads section.

Reference and MCQ practice books

Every professor has a different opinion about various books available. My personal recommendations(for Biology) are Himalaya Publications’s MCQ practice book for high-quality MCQs and Target Biology for exhaustive and syllabus-relevant synopsis.

[I no longer recommend Target Biology for MCQ practice. One MCQ which was asked in MHT-CET 2010 Biology paper had its answer wrongly  given in Target Biology book. Therefore, if at all you should use this book, please confirm the answer from your teachers and/or textbooks.]