Entrance exams
JEE Main preparation
Joint Entrance Examination for NITs, IIITs and the gateway to JEE Advanced.
24 free guides·Conducted by National Testing AgencyOfficial website
About the JEE Main exam
JEE Main, conducted by the National Testing Agency, is the entrance for B.E. and B.Tech at the NITs, IIITs and other centrally funded institutes. It is also the qualifying step for JEE Advanced and the IITs. These guides cover Paper 1. You can attempt it in three consecutive years. For NIT and IIIT admission you also need 75 per cent in Class 12 (65 per cent for SC and ST candidates) or a place in the top 20 percentile of your board.
Paper 1 is a three-hour computer-based test in physics, chemistry and mathematics. Each subject has 20 multiple-choice questions and 5 numerical-value questions, all compulsory, for 100 marks. A right answer earns 4 marks and a wrong one loses 1, numerical questions included. Each shift has its own paper, so raw marks are converted into NTA percentile scores. If you take both sessions, the better score counts. Seats are then allotted through JoSAA counselling.
Read the Start here guides first: the pattern, eligibility, percentiles, the syllabus, a one-year plan, time strategy and numerical questions. Then go subject by subject. The three subjects carry equal marks, so your weakest subject is often where the easiest marks are. Chemistry leans on NCERT. Maths and physics need timed practice that ends in a final number, not just a clear method.
| Paper 1 | 75 questions, 300 marks, 3 hours; computer-based |
|---|---|
| Each subject | 20 MCQs + 5 numerical-value questions, all compulsory (100 marks) |
| Marking | +4 / −1, including numerical questions |
| Attempts | 3 consecutive years |
| Class 12 rule (NIT, IIIT) | 75% (65% for SC/ST) or top 20 percentile of your board |
Patterns change. Confirm details in the latest notification on the official website.
Start here
New to JEE Main? Read these first, in this order.
- 1The JEE Main exam pattern explainedSeventy-five questions, three subjects, three hours and two sessions a year. How JEE Main Paper 1 is structured, how the marking really works, and what the pattern should change about the way you prepare.
- 2JEE Main eligibility, attempts and the 75% ruleWho can write JEE Main, how many years you can attempt it, and the Class 12 condition for NITs and IIITs. Two separate sets of rules — one to sit the exam, one to take the seat — and why mixing them up costs candidates admissions.
- 3How JEE Main percentiles and normalisation workYour JEE Main result is a percentile, not marks. What the NTA score actually measures, why shifts are normalised, how two sessions combine into one rank, and how to use percentiles sensibly when you set targets.
- 4The JEE Main syllabus, analysedPhysics, chemistry and mathematics from Classes 11 and 12, trimmed for the 2024 exam. What each subject covers unit by unit, what was removed, where the questions tend to cluster, and an order to study it in.
- 5A one-year JEE Main plan with Class 12Class 12 syllabus, Class 11 revision, school tests, board exams and two JEE sessions — all in one year. A month-by-month plan that fits them together, with a weekly template and checkpoints to tell you if you are on track.
- 6Three hours, 75 questions: JEE Main time strategyHow to divide three hours across three subjects, which order to take them in, when to skip, and when a guess is worth it. A round-by-round plan you can test in your next mocks.
- 7Numerical value questions in JEE MainFive questions per subject with no options to lean on and a mark lost for every wrong entry. How numerical value questions work, the habits that make answers reliable, worked examples of the classic traps, and a practice set.
Subject by subject
Strategy
Guides on the pattern, eligibility and the 75 per cent rule, percentiles and normalisation, plans for Class 12 students and droppers, balancing board exams, mocks, time strategy and JoSAA counselling. Marking rules have changed several times, so read each year’s bulletin.
- The JEE Main exam pattern explained
- JEE Main eligibility, attempts and the 75% rule
- How JEE Main percentiles and normalisation work
Physics
25 questions for 100 marks: 20 MCQs and 5 numerical-value questions. It covers mechanics, thermodynamics, oscillations and waves, electricity and magnetism, optics and modern physics from Classes 11–12. Some topics have been dropped in recent revisions, so check the official syllabus before you study them.
All 11 Physics guides