Coordination Chemistry on Fingertips by Sudhir Nama: A Smart Guide for CSIR-NET, GATE, IIT-JAM and M.Sc

Coordination chemistry scares many students. Long theories, new terms, confusing diagrams, and tricky questions can turn this scoring topic into a source of stress. During exams, even students who know the basics often freeze when they see questions on crystal field theory or isomerism.

This is where "Coordination Chemistry on Fingertips" by Sudhir Nama comes in. The book is built as an exam driven guide that keeps things short, clear, and focused on what papers actually ask. It combines theory, exam tips, short tricks, key points, solved examples, exam oriented shortcuts, practice questions, quick memory tools, and more than 700 previous year questions (PYQs).

If you are preparing for CSIR NET, GATE, IIT JAM, M.Sc entrance tests, or M.Sc semester exams, you may be wondering if this book is worth adding to your study plan. The rest of this article explains what the book offers, how it fits into your exam strategy, and how to use it for maximum score in coordination chemistry.

What Is "Coordination Chemistry on Fingertips" by Sudhir Nama and Who Is It For?

"Coordination Chemistry on Fingertips" is a compact, exam focused book that helps you revise coordination chemistry in a fast and structured way. Instead of spreading content across many chapters with long stories, it collects the key ideas and common question types into one tight package.

The book is written for students of:

CSIR NET (Chemical Sciences)
GATE (Chemistry)
IIT JAM (Chemistry)
M.Sc entrance exams from different universities
M.Sc semester exams in inorganic or general chemistry

It is also a strong support for B.Sc final year students who want to fix gaps in coordination chemistry before moving to higher level exams.

The author, Sudhir Nama, is known among students as a teacher who focuses on exam style chemistry content. His materials often highlight what examiners ask again and again, instead of covering every detail that might exist in a large textbook. This book follows the same approach.

It is important to see what this book is and what it is not. It is not a full inorganic chemistry textbook. It will not replace a standard text for group theory, organometallics, or the entire periodic table. Instead, it acts as a sharp tool for one high weightage topic, coordination chemistry, and tries to turn that topic into a scoring area.

If you already attend classes or use a main inorganic text, this book sits on top of that base. It helps you turn raw theory into exam marks, through structured notes, tricks, and a large pool of practice and previous year questions.

Why Coordination Chemistry Matters So Much in Competitive Exams

Coordination chemistry holds a high share of marks in most chemistry exams. In CSIR NET, GATE, and IIT JAM, questions appear again and again from a limited group of core ideas. These include crystal field theory, electronic configuration, isomerism, bonding models, stability, and reaction mechanisms of complexes.

Concepts like CFSE (crystal field stabilisation energy), which tells us how electrons sit in d orbitals, link to questions on colour, magnetism, spin states, and geometry. A single idea often feeds many question patterns.

Many papers recycle similar concepts in new forms. Students who have focused practice in coordination chemistry often feel that they have seen the pattern before, even when the numbers change. This makes a targeted book very helpful, as it pushes you to master the exact set of ideas that examiners like to use.

How This Book Fits Into Your Overall Exam Strategy

You get the best results from this book when you treat it as your main revision and practice tool for coordination chemistry, not as your only source for the whole inorganic part.

A simple way to use it is:

Learn basic theory from your class notes or a standard inorganic text.
Once you have a first picture of each topic, open Sudhir Nama’s book.
Read the short theory sections and key points to tighten your understanding.
Work through solved examples and practice sets to see how questions are framed.

With time, you will start to see which shortcuts or rules are safe to use in the exam hall. The book helps you build exam instincts, so you can decide quickly whether to use crystal field splitting, spectrochemical series, oxidation state, or a simple counting trick.

In short, your main text gives you depth, and this book turns that depth into marks.

Inside the Book: Theory, Short Tricks, Solved Examples and 700+ PYQs

The strength of "Coordination Chemistry on Fingertips" lies in how it mixes theory with practice. It does not just give notes, it links every idea to the sort of questions you will face on exam day.

Clear Theory and Key Points That Cut Out the Noise

The theory part of the book aims to explain the core ideas of coordination chemistry without long stories. Topics usually include:

Coordination number and types of ligands
IUPAC naming of complexes
Crystal field theory in octahedral, tetrahedral, and square planar complexes
Electronic configuration and magnetic behaviour
Different types of isomerism
Trends in stability and reactivity
Basic reaction mechanisms of complexes

Concepts are broken into small sections with short explanations, diagrams, and tables. This style helps you revise even when you have only 20 or 30 minutes.

"Key points" boxes or summary lines highlight facts that examiners like to check. Examples are common colours of metal complexes, high spin versus low spin for certain ligands, and typical geometries for given coordination numbers. This layout cuts out extra reading and pushes your attention toward exam relevant facts.

Exam Tips, Short Tricks and Exam Oriented Shortcuts

Short tricks and exam oriented shortcuts in the book are not magic, they are compact rules based on theory. For example:

Using the spectrochemical series to decide if a complex will be high spin or low spin
Checking oxidation state first, then counting d electrons, to predict magnetic behaviour
Using simple patterns for splitting of d orbitals to compare CFSE across complexes

These kinds of tips save time in the exam hall. Instead of doing a full long calculation every time, you can recall a rule that works for most standard cases.

The book tries to link tricks to actual question formats from CSIR NET, GATE, IIT JAM, and M.Sc papers. That way, when you see a new problem, you are reminded of which rule or method fits best. The author also keeps theory nearby, so you can check why a trick works and do not treat it as blind guesswork.

Solved Examples, Practice Questions and 700+ Previous Year Questions

Practice is the centre of this book. It includes:

Concept builder solved examples that walk you through the logic
Short practice sets after each subtopic
More than 700 previous year questions from CSIR NET, GATE, IIT JAM, and other exams

Questions are usually arranged topic wise. You might find one block for crystal field theory, another for isomerism, and another for stability and reaction mechanisms. This allows you to focus on one area at a time and see your progress in that area.

Many of the PYQs include detailed solutions. These show not only the final answer but also the steps or checks that lead to it. You can compare your method with the given one and fix small gaps.

Solving such a large bank of real questions trains your eye to spot patterns. Over time you respond faster, skip traps, and gain confidence that your approach matches what exams expect.

Quick Memory Guides and Last Minute Revision Support

The quick memory guide part acts like a high speed revision sheet for coordination chemistry. It often includes compact notes, tables, and memory aids for:

Spectrochemical series and strength of ligands
Common complexes for each metal in typical oxidation states
Colours and spin states for standard examples
Typical linkage, geometrical, and optical isomers

Tools like mnemonics, short tables, and simple flow charts help you store facts without stress. In the last few days before the exam, you can flip through these pages and refresh the whole topic in a short time. This is far easier than trying to search through a heavy textbook at the last minute.

How to Use Sudhir Nama’s Coordination Chemistry Book for Maximum Exam Score

You get the most value from this book when you fit it into a clear plan. The idea is simple: read, solve, check, and repeat until you feel safe with every common pattern.

Step by Step Study Plan for CSIR NET, GATE and IIT JAM Aspirants

Here is a simple way to use the book over a few weeks or months:

First reading of theory
Read each chapter once and underline key points. Do not worry about full memory in this stage, just get a clean picture.
Solve basic solved examples
After each subtopic, work through the solved examples. Try the question yourself first, then check the solution.
Attempt short practice sets
Do the practice questions without looking at answers. Mark which ones you get wrong or feel unsure about.
Re read weak areas
Go back to the key points and theory linked to your mistakes. Add short notes in the margin if needed.
Use PYQs to test readiness
Once you finish a section, solve a group of PYQs from that topic. Aim for at least 10 to 15 questions a day on busy days, and more on light days.

Regular repetition beats last minute cramming. Small, steady practice sessions keep concepts fresh and reduce fear.

Using PYQs and Shortcuts to Build Speed and Accuracy

PYQs show you what exam writers actually liked in past years. When you solve them along with the shortcuts from the book, you train both speed and accuracy.

Start by solving PYQs of one topic in a relaxed, untimed way. Focus on understanding why each answer is right. Then move to timed sets. For example, give yourself 30 minutes for 15 questions and try to finish with full focus.

Mark questions that you find tricky or that take too long. Later, read the related theory and exam tips again. Over a few cycles, you will notice that questions which once took three minutes now take one.

This shift from slow careful solving to fast reliable solving is where many extra marks come from.

Last Week Strategy with Quick Memory Guide and Key Points

In the last 5 to 7 days before the exam, change your style. Heavy new practice is less useful. Instead:

Read the quick memory guide and key point boxes every day
Revise marked PYQs and tricky questions
Do light practice sets just to stay in touch with problem solving

Keep one small notebook or stack of sticky notes where you write your own extra memory aids from the book. For example, short lists of high field ligands, common colours, or easy rules for isomer count.

Most of all, stay calm and trust the work you have already put in. The book is there to support your recall, not to overload you.

Conclusion

"Coordination Chemistry on Fingertips" by Sudhir Nama offers a neat mix of clear theory, exam tips, tricks and shortcuts, strong solved examples, a large bank of 700+ PYQs, and quick memory tools. It is built for students who want to turn coordination chemistry into a scoring topic rather than a fear point.

The book suits aspirants of CSIR NET, GATE, IIT JAM, M.Sc entrance exams, M.Sc semester exams, and serious B.Sc students who want stronger control over this area. It does not replace a full inorganic textbook, but it works very well as an exam focused partner to your main notes.

With a steady plan, regular practice, and smart use of its exam oriented content, this kind of focused book can make your next study session simpler and more structured. If coordination chemistry feels heavy right now, a guide like this can help you see that the topic is not as wild as it looks on first sight.