IIT JEE mains: What kind of questions you can expect this year

Every year as students get ready for the IIT JEE Main, anxiety and tension mount up as they near the examination date. From the student’s point of view, all that can be done is to be prepared by covering the syllabus and practicing enough previous year papers and taking mock tests. But what matters is how confident does the student feel on the day of the exam and how well prepared they are for the questions that are asked on the  paper. The questions and the overall examination is mainly characterized based on the following three parameters:

  1. Level of difficulty
  2. Length of the examination
  3. Expected cut-off

While doing an analysis of the 2019 IIT JEE Main Paper 1, it was found that Chemistry was the easiest paper among the three subjects, whereas Physics was the toughest and the Mathematics exam had a good mix of questions from all topics. Since the exam was conducted in several sessions, each of the sessions had a different analysis, but this was the overall sense that students writing the JEE Main Paper 1 felt about the exam.

A student preparing for the JEE Main must incorporate the following practices with the goal to clear the exam:

NCERT Reading

Students must be thorough with the NCERT syllabus before they pick up other reference books for their IIT JEE Main preparation. Every year, two types of students write the JEE Main the freshers and the repeaters. For the freshers, since they are simultaneously preparing for their Boards, which covers the content in the NCERT book, they have to study the same syllabus with a focus on both the exams.

JEE Main Mathematics Preparation

In Mathematics, be sure to practice questions on Relations and Functions, Complex Numbers, Derivatives, Probability, Differential Integration and Area under the Curve. Students must practice enough questions on Classical Probability, Definite Integration, Linear and Homogeneous equations, greatest integer and MOD function. In the 2019 attempt of the JEE Mains, 7 questions worth 28 marks were asked from Differential Calculus and 4 questions worth 16 marks were asked on Integral Calculus. There were 1-2 questions on Coordinate Geometry, Matrix and Determinants, and Trigonometry that were also covered.

JEE Main Physics Topics

In the 2019 Physics section of the IIT JEE Mains, there were 5 questions from Thermodynamics and 5 questions from Electromagnetic Induction that were asked. Experts have noted the following topics in Physics as critical from the IIT JEE Main preparation point of view:

  1. Dimensional Analysis
  2. Gravitation
  3. Electrostatics
  4. Current Electricity
  5. Heat Transfer
  6. Electromagnetic Induction
  7. Waves & Sound
  8. Geometrical Optics

JEE Main Chemistry Topics

In the 2019 Chemistry section of the IIT JEE Main, there were 10 questions from Organic Chemistry worth 40 marks, 5 questions from Inorganic Chemistry worth 20 marks and 12 questions from Physical Chemistry worth 48 marks. Topics such as Mole Concept, p-Block elements, Thermodynamics, Ionic Equilibrium, Isomerism, Carboxylic Acids & its derivatives, Solid State, Alcohol and Ether, Biomolecules and Polymers are of high importance. Topics such as Atomic Structure, Nuclear & Surface Chemistry, d-Block elements, Metallurgy, and Aromatic compounds are of low importance.

Since the key to clearing the IIT JEE Main is practicing enough mock tests and previous year papers, it is important that students focus their study plan for the exam based on the important topics that are mentioned above to be successful. Of course, the number of questions asked from each topic may change every year, enough practice could give the student an idea about the most important topics that they must be thorough with, in their preparation.

All the best!