MathSetuPrevious year questions (PYQs) show how a chapter is actually asked in the board exam: which topics come again and again, and how many marks they carry. They are a tool for the last stage of preparation, not the first.
When to start
Start the PYQs of a chapter only after you have finished its notes and DPP. If you start earlier, you end up reading solutions instead of solving.
How to solve them
- Solve topic-wise first, so that you see every type of question from one topic together.
- Write full solutions, as you would in the exam, and time yourself: about one and a half minutes per mark.
- Check your solution against the given one step by step, not just the final answer.
- Keep a list of the questions you could not do. Redo that list a week later.
What PYQs cannot do
They do not replace the textbook. Boards also ask new questions every year, so a student who only memorises old questions is caught out. Use PYQs to practise, and the textbook and notes to understand.