JEE Main chapter-wise weightage
Each chapter below is ranked by about how many questions it had per shift in the 2024–26 JEE Main papers, counted from PrepWiser's question bank. The top twenty of about 100 chapters carried about 38% of all questions.
- Most asked in Physics:
- Ray Optics, about 1.6 per shift
- Most asked in Chemistry:
- General Organic Chemistry (GOC), about 2.2 per shift
- Most asked in Mathematics:
- Three Dimensional Geometry, about 1.8 per shift
Chapter-wise weightage by subject
high weightage, about 1.3 or more per shift other chapters * some topics cut in 2024 not named in the 2026 syllabus How to read the tables
Physics: about 27 questions per shift in our bank
| Chapter | Per shiftabout, 2024–26 | Shareabout, of Physics | 2026questions, about | Trendvs 2020–22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High weightage: about 1.3 or more per shift | ||||
| Ray Optics | 1.6 | 6% | 33 | Steady |
| Current Electricity* | 1.5 | 5% | 24 | Steady |
| Moving Charges & Magnetism* | 1.4 | 5% | 21 | Steady |
| Units, Dimensions & Errors | 1.3 | 5% | 25 | Steady |
| Rotational Motion | 1.3 | 5% | 26 | Steady |
| Other chapters | ||||
| Electrostatics II: Potential & Capacitance | 1.2 | 5% | 23 | Steady |
| Wave Optics* | 1.1 | 4% | 24 | Steady |
| Electrostatics I: Charges, Field & Gauss's Law | 1.1 | 4% | 16 | Steady |
| Thermodynamics* | 1.0 | 4% | 19 | Steady |
| Semiconductors & Electronic Devices* | 1.0 | 4% | 21 | Steady |
| Dual Nature of Radiation & Matter* | 0.9 | 3% | 16 | Steady |
| Electromagnetic Waves | 0.9 | 3% | 18 | Steady |
| Atomic Physics | 0.8 | 3% | 11 | Steady |
| Alternating Current* | 0.8 | 3% | 10 | Steady |
| Gravitation | 0.8 | 3% | 10 | Steady |
| Kinetic Theory of Gases | 0.8 | 3% | 13 | Steady |
| Electromagnetic Induction | 0.8 | 3% | 19 | Steady |
| Elasticity | 0.7 | 3% | 15 | Steady |
| Fluid Mechanics | 0.7 | 3% | 13 | Steady |
| Nuclear Physics* | 0.7 | 3% | 13 | Steady |
| Work, Energy & Power | 0.7 | 2% | 12 | Steady |
| Simple Harmonic Motion* | 0.7 | 2% | 13 | Steady |
| Rectilinear Motion | 0.6 | 2% | 8 | Steady |
| Projectile Motion & Relative Motion | 0.5 | 2% | 9 | Steady |
| Experimental Skills* | 0.5 | 2% | 9 | Steady |
| Newton's Laws of Motion | 0.5 | 2% | 9 | Steady |
| Surface Tension | 0.5 | 2% | 7 | Steady |
| Circular Motion | 0.4 | 2% | 6 | Steady |
| Mechanical Waves | 0.4 | 1% | 7 | Steady |
| Centre of Mass & Linear Momentum | 0.3 | 1% | 5 | Steady |
| Magnetism & Matter* | 0.3 | 1% | 4 | Steady |
| Thermometry & Calorimetry | 0.3 | 1% | 6 | Steady |
| Friction | 0.2 | 1% | 4 | Steady |
| Vectors (not named in the 2026 syllabus) | 0.2 | 1% | 1 | Steady |
| Sound Waves* | 0.2 | 1% | 2 | Steady |
| Heat Transfer* | 0.1 | <1% | 1 | Steady |
| Collision | 0.1 | <1% | 2 | Falling |
| Basic Mathematics for Physics (not named in the 2026 syllabus) | <0.1 | <1% | 0 | Steady |
Chemistry: about 25 questions per shift in our bank
Mathematics: about 27 questions per shift in our bank
| Chapter | Per shiftabout, 2024–26 | Shareabout, of Mathematics | 2026questions, about | Trendvs 2020–22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High weightage: about 1.3 or more per shift | ||||
| Three Dimensional Geometry* | 1.8 | 7% | 32 | Steady |
| Sequences & Series* | 1.7 | 6% | 32 | Steady |
| Definite Integration* | 1.5 | 6% | 31 | Steady |
| Vectors* | 1.5 | 6% | 24 | Steady |
| Differential Equations* | 1.4 | 5% | 22 | Steady |
| Other chapters | ||||
| Determinants* | 1.2 | 5% | 20 | Steady |
| Binomial Theorem* | 1.1 | 4% | 17 | Steady |
| Permutations & Combinations | 1.1 | 4% | 22 | Steady |
| Relations & Functions (Basic) | 1.1 | 4% | 21 | Rising |
| Complex Numbers* | 1.1 | 4% | 19 | Steady |
| Area Under Curves | 1.0 | 4% | 19 | Steady |
| Straight Lines* | 1.0 | 4% | 14 | Steady |
| Quadratic Equations & Polynomial Inequalities | 0.8 | 3% | 19 | Steady |
| Applications of Derivatives* | 0.8 | 3% | 8 | Falling |
| Limits | 0.8 | 3% | 9 | Steady |
| Circles* | 0.7 | 3% | 15 | Steady |
| Ellipse* | 0.7 | 3% | 15 | Steady |
| Parabola* | 0.7 | 3% | 13 | Steady |
| Probability: Advanced* | 0.6 | 2% | 10 | Steady |
| Statistics | 0.6 | 2% | 15 | Steady |
| Matrices* | 0.6 | 2% | 13 | Steady |
| Continuity & Differentiability | 0.6 | 2% | 10 | Steady |
| Inverse Trigonometric Functions | 0.6 | 2% | 10 | Steady |
| Functions (Advanced) | 0.5 | 2% | 8 | Steady |
| Hyperbola* | 0.5 | 2% | 12 | Steady |
| Trigonometric Ratios & Identities* | 0.5 | 2% | 14 | Steady |
| Probability: Basic | 0.5 | 2% | 9 | Steady |
| Indefinite Integration | 0.4 | 2% | 7 | Steady |
| Trigonometric Equations* | 0.3 | 1% | 6 | Steady |
| Differentiation | 0.2 | 1% | 3 | Steady |
| Sets | 0.2 | 1% | 2 | Steady |
| Properties of Triangles (not named in the 2026 syllabus) | 0.1 | <1% | 0 | Steady |
Bars share one scale across the three subjects. Chapter names link to their free PYQ PDFs.
The same numbers with per-year counts for 2020 to 2026, as a spreadsheet.
Download the data (CSV)How to use this
- Start with the chapters marked high, with about 1.3 or more questions per shift. Between them they carried about 36% of the questions in the 2024–26 papers.
- Don't skip low-weightage chapters entirely. Weightage varies from shift to shift, and the chapters outside the high band still carried about 64% of the questions.
- Some chapters with low counts, such as Indefinite Integration and Newton's Laws of Motion, are used inside questions tagged to other chapters, so they matter more than their own count suggests.
- Practise chapter by chapter with the free chapter-wise PYQ PDFs, each with an answer key. Chapter names in the tables link to them.
Practise the high-weightage chapters
There are about 100 free chapter-wise PYQ PDFs, each with an answer key, and you can practise the questions online with no login.
Today's Daily Arena: a short timed PYQ test on one chapter, the same paper for everyone, with a live rank.
Play today's Daily ArenaWhat changed since 2020–22
Most chapters held steady. Among chapters marked rising, the biggest changes were in Aldehydes & Ketones, from about 0.3 to about 0.8 questions per shift, and Relations & Functions (Basic), from about 0.6 to about 1.1. Among those marked falling, the biggest change was in Applications of Derivatives, from about 1.4 to about 0.8; it lost some topics in the 2024 syllabus cut.
Trend compares with 2020–22: rising when the 2024–26 rate is about 1.5 times the 2020–22 rate or more, falling when it is about two-thirds of it or less. The 2024–26 average must also differ by about 0.3 questions per shift or more, and the change must show in at least two of the three years 2024–26. Otherwise steady.
How to read the tables
- Per shift is about how many questions the chapter had in each JEE Main paper (one shift) in 2024–26. Chapters marked high had about 1.3 or more.
- Share is the chapter's part of the subject's questions in the 2024–26 papers, rounded so that each subject's shares add up exactly.
- A * marks a chapter that lost some topics in the 2024 syllabus cut, which can explain a fall. A † marks a chapter in our bank that the 2026 syllabus does not name as a topic.
- Units NTA removed from the syllabus in 2024, such as Hydrogen and s-Block Elements, States of Matter and Metallurgy, are left out of the tables. See what was removed.
Frequently asked
Which chapters have the highest weightage in JEE Main?
In the 2024–26 papers, these chapters had about 1.3 or more questions per shift in our question bank, the ones marked high in the tables above.
- Physics: Ray Optics; Current Electricity; Moving Charges & Magnetism; Units, Dimensions & Errors; and Rotational Motion (about 1.3–1.6 questions per shift each).
- Chemistry: General Organic Chemistry (GOC), Coordination Compounds, Chemical Bonding & Molecular Structure, d & f Block Elements, Amines & Diazonium Salts, Electrochemistry, Mole Concept & Stoichiometry, Atomic Structure and Chemical Thermodynamics (about 1.3–2.2 questions per shift each).
- Mathematics: Three Dimensional Geometry, Sequences & Series, Definite Integration, Vectors and Differential Equations (about 1.4–1.8 questions per shift each).
Is the weightage the same every year?
No. The count moves from shift to shift and year to year. In our bank, General Organic Chemistry (GOC) had about 3.4 questions per shift in 2024 and about 1.3 in 2026, while Aldehydes & Ketones went from about 0.4 to about 1.5. The tables call a chapter rising or falling only when the change since 2020–22 is large and shows in at least two of the three years 2024–26; most chapters were steady. For 2026 on its own, see the JEE Main 2026 most asked chapters.
How were these numbers counted?
We counted every question from the 2020–2026 JEE Main papers in PrepWiser's question bank, chapter by chapter, and divided by the number of shifts in each period. The bank holds about 86–87 questions per shift for 2021–24 and about 74–75 for 2025–26. The papers themselves had 90 questions in 2021–24, when each subject offered 10 numerical questions and students answered 5, and 75 in 2020 and 2025–26. A chapter's share is its part of the subject's questions in the 2024–26 papers. PrepWiser splits the syllabus into about 100 chapters, so a large NTA unit such as Calculus appears as several. A few questions may be missing or tagged to a different chapter, so treat the figures as approximate.
Does weightage tell me what will come in 2027?
No. These are counts from past papers, and NTA can set questions from any chapter on the syllabus in any shift. NTA has not published the JEE Main 2027 syllabus yet (as of October 2026). The 2025 and 2026 syllabi were the same as 2024's, apart from Physics no longer listing vector topics under kinematics (vectors are still in Maths). NTA's tentative calendar puts the first session in late January 2027, with details to come in the information bulletin. This page will be updated when the 2027 syllabus is out.
Counted from PrepWiser's JEE Main question bank (2020–2026 papers).
Updated
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