JEE Main Physics Chapter-wise Weightage: 225 Questions Counted from the April 2026 Papers

By the Ajay Vatsyayan Classes Home Tutors Team · Reviewed by Ajay Vatsyayan (Founder; B.Tech; IB and Cambridge IGCSE experienced). Last reviewed: 29 September 2026.

We counted every physics question in the nine official JEE Main 2026 Session 2 (April) B.Tech papers published by NTA: 225 questions in all. We then placed each one in one of the 20 units of the official 2026 physics syllabus. Optics was the largest unit, with 28 questions (12.4%) and 3 or 4 in every shift. Properties of Solids and Liquids came second with 23 (10.2%). Taken together, the electricity and magnetism units (Units 11 to 15) made up 60 questions, or 26.7%, which is more than any other block.

This JEE Main physics chapter wise weightage is our own count, not an NTA figure. NTA publishes the syllabus, the exam pattern and the question papers, but it does not publish chapter-wise weightage. Below we set out the method, the full count tables, what the numbers mean for a 2027 aspirant, and where weightage stops being a useful guide. If you want a tutor to turn this into a plan for your child, see our JEE Physics home tutor in Gurgaon page.

The short answer: JEE Main physics chapter wise weightage in 2026

In JEE Main every physics question carries the same marks, so a unit's share of questions is also its share of marks. Our count of the nine April 2026 shifts ranks the units like this:

• Optics (Unit 16): 28 of 225 questions (12.4%), with 3 or 4 in every shift. Of these, 15 were ray optics and 13 were wave optics.
• Properties of Solids and Liquids (Unit 7): 23 questions (10.2%), with 2 or 3 in every shift. This covered elasticity, fluids, surface tension and heat.
• Electrostatics (Unit 11): 15 questions (6.7%).
• Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism (Unit 13): 15 questions (6.7%), present in all nine shifts.
• Units and Measurements (Unit 1): 13 questions (5.8%).
• Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents (Unit 14): 13 questions (5.8%).
• Rotational Motion (Unit 5): 12 questions (5.3%).

At the other end, Gravitation had 5 questions (2.2%) and Experimental Skills had 3 (1.3%). Every other unit had between 7 and 11. Six units appeared in all nine shifts: Properties of Solids and Liquids, Oscillations and Waves, Magnetic Effects, Optics, Atoms and Nuclei, and Electronic Devices. The spread is wide, so JEE physics chapter wise weightage tells you where to spend more time. It does not tell you what you can skip.

How we counted: papers, units and rules

We used only NTA's own question papers, not coaching websites or memory-based recollections, so a parent or student can check every number.

The source papers

On 29 September 2026 the official site, jeemain.nta.nic.in, listed these JEE Main 2026 Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) question papers under "Question Papers". We downloaded and used all nine:

• B Tech 2nd Apr 2026, Shift 1 and Shift 2
• B Tech 4th Apr 2026, Shift 1 and Shift 2
• B Tech 5th Apr 2026, Shift 1 and Shift 2
• B Tech 6th Apr 2026, Shift 1 and Shift 2
• B Tech 8th Apr 2026, Shift 2

In each paper, questions 26 to 50 are physics: 20 multiple-choice questions in Section A and 5 numerical-value questions in Section B. Nine shifts of 25 questions give 225. On the date we checked, the site did not list the January 2026 (Session 1) papers, so they are not in this count. If NTA publishes them, we will add them and update the "last reviewed" date.

The classification rules

1. Official units only. Every question went into one of the 20 physics units of the "Syllabus for JEE (Main) – 2026" published by NTA. We used NTA's unit names, not a coaching chapter list. NTA groups topics differently from textbooks: Unit 7 also contains thermal expansion and calorimetry, and Unit 5 contains centre of mass.
2. One unit per question. Each question was counted once, under the unit whose idea decides the answer. For example, a question on the time a block takes to slide down a rough incline went to Laws of Motion, even though it uses kinematics equations.
3. Instruments vs errors. Questions about reading a screw gauge or vernier callipers went to Unit 20 (Experimental Skills), because the syllabus lists those instruments there. Questions about propagating percentage errors went to Unit 1 (Units and Measurements), even when the data came from an experiment.
4. Heat processes vs gas molecules. Questions about processes (isothermal, adiabatic, work and heat, first law) went to Unit 8 (Thermodynamics). Questions about the gas equation, mixtures, rms speed and degrees of freedom went to Unit 9 (Kinetic Theory of Gases).
5. Ambiguity recorded, not hidden. 45 of the 225 questions (20%) clearly used a second unit, for example an Atwood machine question that asked about the centre of mass. We still counted each one once, but we logged the second unit. Treat a difference of one or two questions between units as noise.

The question-by-question list (paper, question number, section, unit, subtopic and any second-unit note) is kept by our team, so any number in this article can be traced back to the original paper.

Unit-by-unit count table (225 questions)

The units appear in the same order as NTA's 2026 syllabus. "Range per shift" is the fewest and the most questions from that unit in any one shift. "Shifts present" counts how many of the nine shifts had at least one question from it.

Two units need a closer look, because NTA's grouping hides what is inside them:

• Unit 7 (23 questions) split into 11 on elasticity (Young's modulus, stress, bulk and shear modulus, elastic energy), 6 on fluids (buoyancy, viscosity, continuity, Bernoulli and efflux), 4 on surface tension and 2 on heat (thermal expansion and calorimetry). Elasticity alone (11) got more questions than Kinematics or Current Electricity.
• Unit 16 (28 questions) split into 15 on ray optics (mirrors, lenses, prisms, refraction at curved surfaces, instruments) and 13 on wave optics (Young's double slit, single-slit diffraction, polarisation, resolving power). Either half on its own would still be one of the biggest units in the paper.

Shift-by-shift count: how stable was it?

A single shift can mislead, so here the 20 units are grouped into eight blocks, shift by shift.

Three things stand out:

• The blocks hardly moved. Mechanics was 4 or 5 in every shift, and electricity and magnetism was 7 in seven of the nine shifts. Oscillations and waves was exactly 1 in every shift, and optics was 3 or 4.
• Mechanics is bigger than any single mechanics chapter suggests. No mechanics unit had more than 12 questions, but together they had 43. In our log, Laws of Motion was also the most common "second unit" inside questions we filed elsewhere, such as centre-of-mass, power, rolling and vertical-circle problems.
• Modern physics was steady. Units 17 to 19 gave 3 or 4 questions in every shift, 30 in all.

JEE physics most important chapters: three priority tiers

We turned the count into three tiers. If you only want the JEE physics most important chapters, they are the Tier 1 units below. This is our reading of the data, not an official ranking. For a chapter view that also covers JEE Advanced, and the order to study the chapters in, read our guide to the most important physics chapters for JEE Main and Advanced.

One caution: Kinematics, Laws of Motion and Work, Energy and Power look modest alone, but they are tools used across the paper. Treat mechanics as a foundation, not as a group of mid-sized chapters.

From our tutors: when a student's physics score stalls, the cause is rarely one big chapter. More often they are "thin" across short units such as dimensions, logic gates, EM waves and the photoelectric effect. Each gap costs only one question a paper, but four of them cost 16 marks. We usually close these first, because a short unit can be secured in a week or two of focused practice, while a long one takes months.

What the 2026 questions actually tested, with worked examples

This section describes what the questions asked. Each worked example is modelled on a 2026 question, and we checked every answer with a computer algebra system.

Optics (28 questions)

Ray optics used the lens maker's formula, refraction at a curved surface, prism deviation, total internal reflection and lens combinations. Wave optics was mostly Young's double slit (intensity, fringe width, fringe shift), single-slit diffraction, polarisers, Brewster's angle and telescope resolution.

Worked example (YDSE intensity). In a Young's double slit experiment, the intensity at a point is 3/4 of the maximum. What is the smallest path difference at that point?

• For two equal slits, I = I_max cos²(φ/2), where φ is the phase difference.
• cos²(φ/2) = 3/4 gives cos(φ/2) = √3/2, so φ/2 = π/6 and φ = π/3.
• Path difference = (λ/2π) × φ = (λ/2π) × (π/3) = λ/6.

Students who mix up phase and path difference lose these marks, even though the question is short.

Properties of Solids and Liquids (23 questions)

Elasticity was the core: wires in series, stress in a hanging wire, breaking stress, bulk modulus and stored elastic energy. Fluids covered buoyancy, terminal velocity, continuity, Bernoulli and efflux from a tank. Surface tension covered drops splitting or merging and blowing up soap bubbles.

Worked example (surface energy). A liquid drop of diameter 2 mm breaks into 512 identical droplets. The surface tension is 0.08 N/m. Find the change in surface energy.

• The volume is conserved, so 512 × r³ = R³. That gives r = R/8, with R = 1 mm = 10⁻³ m.
• New total area = 512 × 4πr² = 512 × 4πR²/64 = 8 × 4πR².
• Increase in area = 8 × 4πR² − 4πR² = 7 × 4πR².
• Change in surface energy = T × 7 × 4πR² = 0.08 × 28π × 10⁻⁶ ≈ 7.04 × 10⁻⁶ J.

For a soap bubble, remember there are two surfaces, so the area term doubles. That one factor of 2 decided at least two of the 2026 questions.

Electricity and magnetism (60 questions across Units 11 to 15)

Electrostatics covered capacitors with dielectrics, charge sharing, dipoles, Gauss's law and E from a potential. Magnetic effects covered Biot–Savart fields, forces on moving charges, torque on coils and galvanometer conversion. EMI and AC covered LCR phase, power factor, resonance, motional emf and inductance. The eight EM waves questions covered E = cB and the directions of E, B and propagation, intensity, radiation pressure, displacement current and the spectrum.

Worked example (LCR resonance). A series LCR circuit has R = 20 Ω, L = 1.6 H and C = 40 μF. Find the inductive reactance at resonance.

• ω₀ = 1/√(LC) = 1/√(1.6 × 40 × 10⁻⁶) = 1/√(6.4 × 10⁻⁵) = 1/0.008 = 125 rad/s.
• X_L = ω₀L = 125 × 1.6 = 200 Ω.
• Check: X_C = 1/(ω₀C) = 1/(125 × 40 × 10⁻⁶) = 200 Ω, equal to X_L, as it must be at resonance. R does not affect the answer.

Units and Measurements (13 questions)

More than half were dimension questions, either matching constants (Planck's, Boltzmann's, Stefan's, G) to their dimensional formulae or finding the exponents in an expression. The rest were about percentage error in a derived quantity, such as the density of a cylinder or the volume of a sphere.

Worked example (dimensions). The dimensional formula of ½ε₀E² is M^aL^bT^c. Find 2a − b + c.

• ½ε₀E² is the energy stored per unit volume in an electric field. So its dimensions are those of energy/volume: [ML²T⁻²]/[L³] = ML⁻¹T⁻².
• So a = 1, b = −1, c = −2, and 2a − b + c = 2 + 1 − 2 = 1.

Recognising the physical meaning (energy density) is faster and safer than multiplying out the dimensions of ε₀ and E.

Modern physics and electronic devices (30 questions)

Typical questions covered stopping potential, de Broglie wavelength, Bohr-model energies, the Balmer series, binding energy and fusion. Every shift had at least one Electronic Devices question, usually on logic gates or a Zener diode.

Mechanics (43 questions across Units 2 to 6)

Mechanics questions were short but varied: projectiles, friction on inclines and wedges, Atwood machines, the work–energy theorem, rolling and changes in g with height and depth. Our JEE physics PYQ strategy guide shows how to practise these question styles from official papers.

Section B (numerical) questions: where they came from

Section B questions have no options to eliminate, and the JEE Main 2026 Information Bulletin says incorrect answers lose a mark there too. So it is worth knowing where they came from. Across the 45 Section B physics questions in our nine papers:

• Optics supplied 7, the most of any unit.
• Properties of Solids and Liquids and Magnetic Effects supplied 6 each.
• Current Electricity and EMI/AC supplied 4 each. For Current Electricity, that is 4 of its 9 questions, a much higher share than for most units.
• The remaining 18 were spread over ten other units, with no more than 3 from any one.
• Units and Measurements, Gravitation, Kinetic Theory, EM Waves and Experimental Skills supplied none.

From our tutors: in numerical questions, the physics is usually fine and the arithmetic is what fails: a lost factor of 10⁻³ when converting mm to m, or a diameter used as a radius. Calculators are not allowed (see below), so we train students to write units beside every number in the first line of working. It feels slow for two weeks. After that it saves more marks than any shortcut.

What this analysis cannot tell you

Honest limits matter more than decimal places:

• It covers one session. Nine April 2026 shifts are a solid sample, but they are not the January shifts, and they are not 2027. Question setters can shift the balance.
• Classification is a judgement call. One question in five used a second unit. Someone else might move a few questions, which would change a unit's count by one or two, but it would not change the blocks or tiers above.
• NTA's units are not textbook chapters. Compare units, not chapter titles from a book.
• The syllabus is the real boundary. The count shows emphasis, while the official syllabus defines what can be asked. Read the current "Syllabus for JEE (Main)" and Information Bulletin on the NTA website every year.

Turning weightage into a 2027 study plan

This is how our tutors use a count like this with a JEE 2027 student. The pattern facts below come from the JEE Main 2026 Information Bulletin, so check the 2027 bulletin when NTA releases it.

Know the paper you are planning for

In the 2026 bulletin, Paper 1 physics had 20 multiple-choice questions (Section A) and 5 numerical-value questions (Section B), for 100 marks. Each correct answer earned +4 and each incorrect answer −1, in both sections. The paper lasted 3 hours for all three subjects. NTA also issued a notice on 2 November 2025 saying calculators in any form are not allowed in JEE (Main). So accuracy is worth more than attempting everything, and your arithmetic has to be reliable by hand. Our guide on how to score 70+ in JEE Main physics turns this into an attempt strategy.

Allocate time by tier, then by personal weakness

1. Secure mechanics first if it is weak. Weak free-body diagrams cost marks in rotation, fluids and electrostatics too.
2. Build Tier 1 in depth. Give optics, Unit 7 and electricity and magnetism the most hours: standard results first, then mixed problems.
3. Close short-unit gaps early. Dimensions, logic gates, EM waves, the photoelectric effect and Bohr's model each take days, not weeks, and they repeat their question styles.
4. Re-weight after every mock. After each full test, tag every lost question by unit. If one unit keeps costing you marks, it moves up your list, whatever the table above says.

Frequently asked questions

Which chapter has the highest weightage in JEE Main physics?

In our count of the nine April 2026 papers, Optics (Unit 16) had the most questions: 28 of 225, or 12.4%. Properties of Solids and Liquids was second with 23 (10.2%). Taken together as a block, electricity and magnetism (Units 11 to 15) was larger still, with 60 questions (26.7%).

Does NTA publish official chapter-wise weightage for JEE Main physics?

No. NTA publishes the syllabus, the Information Bulletin (pattern and marking) and the question papers. Any chapter-wise weightage, including ours, is an analysis of past papers. That is why we name the exact papers and the method we used.

What are the JEE Main physics chapters in the 2026 syllabus?

The Syllabus for JEE (Main) – 2026 lists 20 physics units, from Units and Measurements to Experimental Skills. They are listed in full in the table above. Check the syllabus for your exam year on the NTA website, because units can be revised.

Which JEE Main physics chapters can I skip?

We would not skip any. Even Gravitation, the smallest topic unit in our count, appeared in 5 of the 9 shifts. Short units such as EM waves and dual nature appeared in 8 and 7 shifts. Skipping a unit usually means giving up about one question in most papers, and the short units are often the quickest marks to secure.

How many physics questions are there in JEE Main, and are they all compulsory?

The JEE Main 2026 Information Bulletin lists 25 physics questions in Paper 1: 20 multiple-choice (Section A) and 5 numerical-value (Section B), for 100 marks. Negative marking of −1 applies to incorrect answers in both sections. Check the bulletin for your year, because the pattern can change.

Will the JEE Main 2027 physics weightage be the same as 2026?

No one can promise that. The 2026 shifts were very consistent with each other, which suggests the broad balance is stable, but the setters are not bound by it. Prepare the full official syllabus, use weightage to set priorities, and check the 2027 syllabus and bulletin when NTA releases them.

How should my child use this weightage if their mock scores are low?

Start with accuracy, not coverage. Pick one Tier 1 unit and two short units, practise official questions from them until accuracy is high, then add more. Negative marking applies to every question, so fewer confident attempts often score better than many guesses.