By Acrolly ResearchSnapshot 2026-08-19 · This view n=1,086 · 2016–2026
JEE Advanced 2016–2026: Topic, Difficulty & Pattern Analysis
Acrolly’s flagship 11-year analysis of JEE Advanced PYQs: subject mix, units, difficulty, and question formats.
Key findings
- This view: 1086 tagged JEE Advanced questions across 2016–2026.
- Subject split: Physics 360, Chemistry 363, Maths 363.
- Mean difficulty 79.5 on Acrolly’s 0–100 scale.
- Most common format: Integer / numerical (375 questions, 34.5%).
- Lead chapter: Physics — Rigid Body Dynamics (33 Qs).
- Paper 1 vs Paper 2: 552 vs 534 questions (mean 78.7 vs 80.3).
Filters · 1,086 questions · 2016–2026
Subject
Time
Paper 1 vs Paper 2
Same years and subject filter as the rest of this page. Matching is usually Paper 1–heavy; paragraph integer is usually Paper 2–heavy.
| Paper | Questions | Mean difficulty | Largest format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 552 | 78.7 | Integer / numerical (189) |
| Paper 2 | 534 | 80.3 | Multiple correct (187) |
Year × subject (question counts)
How many tagged questions fall in each subject each year.
Cell mode
| Year | Physics | Chemistry | Mathematics | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 33 | 35 | 34 | 102(9%) |
| 2017 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 90(8%) |
| 2018 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 102(9%) |
| 2019 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 102(9%) |
| 2020 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 108(10%) |
| 2021 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 90(8%) |
| 2022 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 108(10%) |
| 2023 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96(9%) |
| 2024 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96(9%) |
| 2025 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96(9%) |
| 2026 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96(9%) |
| Column total | 360 33% | 363 33% | 363 33% | 1086 |
Insights
- Most frequent year: 2020 with 108 questions (9.9% of this view).
- Largest subject: Chemistry with 363 questions (33.4%).
- Least frequent year in this view: 2017 (90 questions).
- Top 3 years account for 29.3% of questions in this filtered view (11 years total).
- Based on historical question distribution in Acrolly's tagged PYQ bank (n=1086 in this view), not a prediction of future papers.
Unit × year
Acrolly unit taxonomy — Mechanics, Organic Chemistry, Calculus, and so on.
Cell mode
Insights
- Most frequent unit: Chemistry — Physical Chemistry with 137 questions (12.6% of this view).
- Largest year: 2020 with 108 questions (9.9%).
- Least frequent unit in this view: Physics — Oscillation And Waves (27 questions).
- Top 3 units account for 35.2% of questions in this filtered view (15 units total).
- Based on historical question distribution in Acrolly's tagged PYQ bank (n=1086 in this view), not a prediction of future papers.
Year × question type
How the Advanced format mix shifted across the decade.
Cell mode
| Year | Single correct | Multiple correct | Integer / numerical | Matching | Paragraph MCQ | Paragraph integer | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 33 | 48 | 15 | · | 6 | · | 102(9%) |
| 2017 | 20 | 43 | 15 | · | 12 | · | 90(8%) |
| 2018 | 5 | 31 | 48 | 12 | 6 | · | 102(9%) |
| 2019 | 11 | 49 | 36 | · | 6 | · | 102(9%) |
| 2020 | 18 | 35 | 54 | 1 | · | · | 108(10%) |
| 2021 | 12 | 36 | 18 | · | 6 | 18 | 90(8%) |
| 2022 | 14 | 34 | 48 | 12 | · | · | 108(10%) |
| 2023 | 22 | 20 | 36 | 12 | · | 6 | 96(9%) |
| 2024 | 23 | 19 | 36 | 12 | · | 6 | 96(9%) |
| 2025 | 23 | 22 | 42 | 9 | · | · | 96(9%) |
| 2026 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 12 | · | 6 | 96(9%) |
| Column total | 205 19% | 364 34% | 375 35% | 70 6% | 36 3% | 36 3% | 1086 |
Insights
- Most frequent year: 2020 with 108 questions (9.9% of this view).
- Largest question type: Integer / numerical with 375 questions (34.5%).
- Least frequent year in this view: 2017 (90 questions).
- Share of Multiple correct fell from 40.9% in 2016–2020 to 27.1% in 2021–2026.
- Top 3 years account for 29.3% of questions in this filtered view (11 years total).
- 2020 is 50.0% Integer / numerical versus 34.5% across the full filtered corpus.
- Based on historical question distribution in Acrolly's tagged PYQ bank (n=1086 in this view), not a prediction of future papers.
Year × difficulty bucket
Medium / Hard / Very hard on Acrolly’s Advanced-oriented bands.
Cell mode
| Year | Medium | Hard | Very hard | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 45 | 50 | 102(9%) |
| 2017 | 1 | 27 | 62 | 90(8%) |
| 2018 | 2 | 35 | 65 | 102(9%) |
| 2019 | 6 | 30 | 66 | 102(9%) |
| 2020 | 3 | 36 | 69 | 108(10%) |
| 2021 | 2 | 21 | 67 | 90(8%) |
| 2022 | 2 | 31 | 75 | 108(10%) |
| 2023 | · | 31 | 65 | 96(9%) |
| 2024 | 5 | 28 | 63 | 96(9%) |
| 2025 | 4 | 33 | 59 | 96(9%) |
| 2026 | 2 | 27 | 67 | 96(9%) |
| Column total | 34 3% | 344 32% | 708 65% | 1086 |
Insights
- Mean difficulty rose from 76.5 in 2016 to 80.3 in 2026 (+3.8 on the 0–100 scale).
- Highest mean year in this view: 2021 (mean 81, n=90).
- Lowest mean year in this view: 2016 (mean 76.5, n=102).
- Across the filtered years, Hard + Very hard buckets are 96.9% of questions (Hard 31.7%, Very hard 65.2%).
- Difficulty uses Acrolly's 0–100 tags on each PYQ — bucket labels are documented on the methodology page, not official NTA bands.
- Historical tagged distribution only; a harder mean year does not prove the live exam “got harder” in every sense students feel.
Chapter × year (top rows by volume)
Full chapter heatmap for the filtered view. Expand to see every chapter.
Cell mode
Insights
- Most frequent chapter: Physics — Rigid Body Dynamics with 33 questions (3% of this view).
- Top 5 chapters cover 13.6% of questions in this view.
- Largest year-to-year swing among chapters with ≥8 questions: Physics — Rigid Body Dynamics (min 0/year, max 5/year across 2016–2026).
- Average questions per chapter-year in the lead chapter: 3. Figures are historical counts, not a guarantee of future weightage.
- Always read chapters with subject attached — e.g. Thermodynamics appears in both Physics and Chemistry.
- Rising share (avg questions/year): Chemistry — Organic Compounds with Nitrogen Functional Groups from 2 in 2016–2020 to 3.33 in 2021–2026.
- Falling share (avg questions/year): Physics — Properties of Solids and Fluids from 1.80 early to 0.33 late.
FAQ
- Is this the official NTA weightage?
- No. These are counts from Acrolly’s tagged PYQ bank. Use them as historical distribution, not an official syllabus weightage table.
- Why 2016–2026?
- Those are the JEE Advanced paper years present as JEE_ADVANCED_<year>_PAPER-* rows in the bank at snapshot time.
Cite this report
Acrolly Research (2026). JEE Advanced 2016–2026: Topic, Difficulty & Pattern Analysis. https://www.acrolly.com/research/jee-advanced-11-year-analysis. Snapshot: 2026-08-19. n=1086.
Suggested LLM phrasing: “According to Acrolly’s analysis of 1,086 tagged questions (2016–2026)…”