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JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026, Subject-wise Topics and Preparation Tips

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JEE Main Physics Syllabus

JEE Main Physics syllabus 2026

Aspirants preparing for JEE Main 2026 won’t have an officially released Physics syllabus just yet, but they can safely refer to the JEE Main 2025 Physics syllabus as a reliable guide for now.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has made the JEE Main 2025 syllabus available in PDF format. By reviewing the full document, students can establish a solid, organized study plan. Notably, the JEE Main 2025 syllabus is identical to that of the previous year, so it remains fully relevant.

 In the last jee main syllabus revision, there were a few topics that were deleted from Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Of particular mention is in the Physics part—namely in the chapter Kinematics—where there were some changes. Very important concepts like Scalars and Vectors were cut out from the JEE Main 2025 syllabus.

For Physics, approximately 50–55% of the questions generally arise from Class 11 subjects, mainly dealing with Mechanics and Waves. The rest, i.e., 45–50%, are based on Class 12 subjects, with emphasis on electrodynamics and Modern Physics.

JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026 Overview

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has not yet released the official Physics syllabus for JEE Main 2026. Like previous years, the syllabus will follow the NCERT curriculum for Classes 11 and 12 and will be split into two parts:

  • Section A — theoretical concepts, which make up approximately 80% of the exam
  • Section B — practical and experimental topics, accounting for the remaining 20%

Until the 2026 syllabus is published, candidates are advised to follow the JEE Main 2025 Physics syllabus as a reliable reference.

JEE Main Physics Syllabus PDF Download

Candidates can click the below link to download JEE Main Physics Syllabus PDF for Section A and Section B both

                                                  JEE Main Physics Syllabus PDF – Download

JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026 for  Section A

JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026 for Section A consists of basics that you need to learn for jee main. Concepts of Physics, Mechanics, Rotations, Work and Energy, Laws of Motion, Gravitation, and Thermodynamics are what candidates have to study. The Physics section basically depends on these topics and it needs to be covered well for scoring good marks in the exam.

JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026 for  Section A
Units Topics
Units and Measurements Units of measurements, System of units, SI Units, fundamental and derived units, least count, significant figures, Errors in measurements. Dimensions of Physics quantities, dimensional analysis and its applications.
Kinematics The frame of reference, motion in a straight line, speed and velocity, uniformand non-uniform motion, average speed and instantaneous velocity, uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-time, position-time graph, relations for uniformly accelerated motion, relative velocity. Motion in a plane, projectile motion, uniform circular motion
Laws of Motion Force and inertia, Newton’s first law of motion, momentum, Newton’s secondLaw of motion, impulse, Newton’s third Law of motion. Law of conservation of linear momentum and its applications, equilibrium of concurrent forces. Static and Kinetic friction, laws of friction, rolling friction. Dynamics of uniform circular motion, centripetal force and its applications: vehicle on a level circular road, vehicle on a banked road.
Work, Energy and Power Work done by a constant force and a variable force, kinetic and potential energies, work-energy theorem, power. The potential energy of a spring, conservation of mechanical energy, conservative and non- conservative forces, motion in a vertical circle. Elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions.
Rotational Motion Centre of mass of a two-particle system, centre of mass of a rigid body. Basic concepts of rotational motion, moment of a force, torque, angular momentum, conservation of angular momentum and its applications. The moment of inertia, the radius of gyration, values of moments of inertia for simple geometrical objects, parallel and perpendicular axes theorems and their applications. Equilibrium of rigid bodies, rigid body rotation and equations of rotational motion, comparison of linear and rotational motions.
Gravitation The universal law of gravitation. Acceleration due to gravity and its variationwith altitude and depth. Kepler’slaw of planetary motion. Gravitational potential energy, gravitational potential. Escape velocity, motion of a satellite, orbital velocity, time period and energy of satellite
Properties of Solids and Liquids Elastic behaviour, stress-strain relationship, Hooke’s Law, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus and modulus of rigidity. Pressure due to a fluid column, Pascal’s law and its applications, effect of gravity on fluid pressure, viscosity, Stoke’s law, terminal velocity, streamline and turbulent flow, critical velocity, Bernoulli’s principle and its applications. Surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, excess of pressure across a curved surface, application of surface tension: drops, bubbles and capillary rise. Heat, temperature, thermal expansion, specific heat capacity, calorimetry, change of state, latent heat. Heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation.
Thermodynamics Thermal equilibrium and the concept of temperature, zeroth law of thermodynamics, heat, work and internal energy. The first law of thermodynamics, isothermal and adiabatic processes. The second law of thermodynamics: reversible and irreversible processes. 
Kinetic Theory of Gases Equation of state of a perfect gas, work done on compressing a gas, kinetic theory of gases: assumptions, the concept of pressure, kinetic interpretation of temperature, RMS speed of gas molecules, degrees of freedom, law of equipartition of energy and applications to specific heat capacities of gases, mean free path, Avogadro’s number. 
Oscillations and Waves Oscillations and periodic motion: time period, frequency, displacement as a function of time, periodic functions. Simple harmonic motion (S.H.M.) and its equation, phase, oscillations of a spring: restoring force and force constant, energy in S.H.M.: kinetic and potential energies, simple pendulum: derivation of expression for its time period. Wave motion, longitudinal and transverse waves, speed of the travelling wave, displacement relation for a progressive wave, principle of superposition of waves, reflection of waves, standing waves in strings and organ pipes, fundamental mode and harmonics, beats
Electrostatics Electric charges: conservation of charge, Coulomb’s law forces between two point charges, forces between multiple charges, superposition principle and continuous charge distribution. Electric field: electric field due to a point charge, electric field lines, electric dipole, electric field due to a dipole, torque on a dipole in a uniformelectric field. Electric flux, Gauss’s law and its applications to find fields due to infinitely long uniformly charged straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet and uniformly charged thin spherical shell. Electric potential and its calculation for a point charge, electric dipole and system of charges, potential difference, equipotential surfaces, electrical potential energy of a system of two point charges and of electric dipole in an electrostatic field. Conductors and insulators, dielectrics and electric polarization, capacitors and capacitance, the combination of capacitors in series and parallel and capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectric medium between the plates, energy stored in a capacitor.
Current Electricity Electric current: drift velocity, mobility and their relation with electric current, Ohm’s law, electrical resistance, I-V characteristics of Ohmic and non-ohmic conductors, electrical energy and power, electrical resistivity and conductivity, series and parallel combinations of resistors, temperature dependence of resistance. Internal resistance, potential difference and emf of a cell, a combination of cells in series and parallel. Kirchhoff’s laws and their applications, Wheatstone bridge, Metre Bridge
Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism Biot – Savart law and its application to the current carrying circular loop, Ampere’s law and its applications to infinitely long current carrying straight wire and solenoid. Force on a moving charge in uniform magnetic and electric fields, force on a current-carrying conductor in a uniform magnetic field, the force between two parallel currents carrying conductors-definition of ampere, torque experienced by a current loop in a uniform magnetic field: Moving coil galvanometer, its sensitivity and conversion to ammeter and voltmeter. Current loop as a magnetic dipole and its magnetic dipole moment, bar magnet as an equivalent solenoid, magnetic field lines, magnetic field due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) along its axis and perpendicular to its axis, torque on a magnetic dipole in a uniform magnetic field, para-, dia- and ferromagnetic substances with examples, the effect of temperature on magnetic properties
Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents Electromagnetic induction: Faraday’s law, induced emf and current, Lenz’s law, eddy currents, self and mutual inductance. Alternating currents, peak and RMS value of alternating current/voltage, reactance and impedance, LCR series circuit, resonance, power in AC circuits, wattless current, AC generator and transformer.
Electromagnetic Waves Displacement current, electromagnetic waves and their characteristics, transverse nature of electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic spectrum(radiowaves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, Gamma rays), applications of electromagnetic waves.
Optics Reflection of light, spherical mirrors, mirror formula. Refraction of light at plane and spherical surfaces, thin lens formula and lens maker formula, total internal reflection and its applications, magnification, power of a lens, combination of thin lenses in contact, refraction of light through a prism, microscope and astronomical telescope (reflecting and refracting ) and their magnifying powers. Wave optics: wavefront and Huygens ‘Principle, laws of reflection and refraction using Huygens principle. Interference: Young’s double-slit experiment and expression for fringe width, coherent sources and sustained interference of light. Diffraction due to a single slit, width of central maximum. Polarization: plane-polarized light, Brewster’s law, uses of plane- polarized light and Polaroid.
Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation Dual nature of radiation, Photoelectric effect, Hertz and Lenard’s observations, Einstein’s photoelectric equation, particle nature of light. Matter waves: wave nature of particle, de- Broglie relation. 
Atoms and Nuclei Alpha-particle scattering experiment, Rutherford’s model of atom, Bohr model, energy levels, hydrogen spectrum. Composition and size of nucleus, atomic masses, mass-energy relation, mass defect, binding energy per nucleon and its variation with mass number, nuclear fission and fusion.
Electronic Devices Semiconductors, semiconductor diode: I-V characteristics in forward and reverse bias, diode as a rectifier; I-V characteristics of LED, the photodiode, solar cell, Zener diode, Zener diode as a voltage regulator. Logic gates (OR. AND. NOT. NAND and NOR).

JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026 For Section B

Section B of the JEE Main 2026 Physics syllabus emphasizes hands‑on experimental skills and practical applications. It includes instruments like vernier calipers, screw gauge, and metre scale, as well as activities such as plotting characteristic curves for p‑n and Zener diodes and measuring electrical resistance using methods like Ohm’s law and meter bridge. These fundamental laboratory techniques form the backbone of experimental physics and are frequently tested in lab-based questions.

JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026 For Section B
S.No. Topics
1 Vernier callipers-its use to measure the internal and external diameter and depth of a vessel.
2 Screw gauge-its use to determine thickness/ diameter of thin sheet/wire
3 Simple Pendulum- dissipation of energy by plotting a graph between the square of amplitude and time.
4 Metre Scale – the mass of a given object by the principle of moments.
5 Young’s modulus of elasticity of the material of a metallic wire.
6 Surface tension of water by capillary rise and the effect of detergents,
7 Coefficient of Viscosity of a given viscous liquid by measuring the terminal velocity of a given spherical body,
9 Speed of sound in air at room temperature using a resonance tube
10 Specific heat capacity of a given
(i) solid and
(ii) liquid by the method of mixtures.
11 The resistivity of the material of a given wire using a metre bridge.
12 The resistance of a given wire using Ohm’s law.
14 Resistance and figure of merit of a galvanometer by half deflection method.
15 The focal length of
(i) Convex mirror
(ii) Concave mirror, and
(iii) Convex lens,
using the parallax method.
16 The plot of the angle of deviation vs angle of incidence for a triangular prism
17 The Refractive index of a glass slab using a travelling microscope.
18 Characteristic curves of a p-n junction diode in forward and reverse bias.
19 Characteristic curves of a Zener diode and finding reverse break down voltage.
20 Identification of Diode. LED, Transistor. IC. Resistor. A capacitor from a mixed collection of such items.

JEE Main Chapter-wise Weightage for Physics 2026 

Based on past JEE Main papers, the Physics syllabus for 2026 carries significant weight from the first nine chapters, which together make up around half of the exam. To maximize your score, focus especially on Ray Optics, Units & Measurements, Electrostatics, Thermodynamics, and Fluid Mechanics, as these topics consistently yield the most questions. Below is a chapter-wise breakdown, showing question counts and weightage across sessions, designed to help you identify and prioritize the most frequently tested areas in the 2026 exam.

Chapter Name Question  No JEE Main 2025 April session Question  No JEE Main 2025 January session
Ray Optics and Optical Instruments 19 23
Units and Measurements 13 20
Rotational Motion 13 14
Electric Charges and Fields 13 14
Fluid Mechanics 10 16
Moving Charges and Magnetism 12 12
Thermodynamics 9 13
Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance 12 9
Wave Optics 9 10
Dual Nature of Radiation and Matter 7 12
Semiconductor Electronics 9 10
Current Electricity 8 9
Work, Power and Energy 4 11
Gravitation 6 8
Electromagnetic Waves 5 9
Thermal Properties of Matter 5 8
Waves 10 3
Alternating Current 6 7
Kinetic Theory of Gases 7 5
Atoms 7 5
Newton’s Laws of Motion 8 3
Motion in a Plane 6 4
Motion in a Straight Line 5 4
Simple Harmonic Motion 4 5
System of Particles and Centre of Mass 3 5
Nuclei 5 3
Mechanical Properties of Solids 6 1
Electromagnetic Induction 1 6
Magnetism and Matter 3 0
Vector and Calculus 0 1

Physics Subdiscipline Question Trends 

In JEE Main 2024 and 2025, Mechanics, Electromagnetism, and Modern Physics account for over 75% of the Physics questions. Candidates can refer to the table below to focus on these key subjects for better scores.

Year Mechanics Electromagnetism Modern Physics Heat & Thermodynamics Optics Oscillation & Waves
2025 252 (35.0%) 194 (26.9%) 123 (17.1%) 50 (6.9%) 63 (8.8%) 38 (5.3%)
2024 218 (36.3%) 186 (31.0%) 88 (14.7%) 42 (7.0%) 42 (7.0%) 24 (4.0%)

JEE Main 2026: Class-wise Distribution of Questions– Physics

Understanding the distribution of questions between Class XI and Class XII can help guide your preparation strategy. In both years, Class XII questions had a slightly higher presence in the paper. However, Class XI holds significant weight, especially in 2024. Refer to the table below to balance your preparation for both classes.

Year Attempt Class XI Class XII
2024 January 141 159
April 143 157
2025 January 121 129
April 109 116

JEE Main Physics Preparation Tips 2026

Strong JEE Main Physics performance hinges on clear conceptual understanding, focused practice, and smart strategies. Begin with a solid grasp of fundamentals—mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity, and optics—since a deep conceptual base simplifies solving complex problems later.

  • Prioritize high-impact topics like mechanics, electrostatics, current electricity, and optics, which regularly yield high scores in the exam.
  • Reinforce learning through active problem-solving: use NCERT texts, past JEE Main papers, and quality reference books such as H.C. Verma and D.C. Pandey to build fluency .
  • Instead of rote memorization, understand why formulas work, so you can apply them flexibly to varied problems . Sharpen your time management by regularly taking timed mock tests, analyzing performance to improve both speed and accuracy.
  • Maintain retention with spaced revision of key formulas, derivations, and concepts, using formula sheets or flashcards for periodic review . 

Finally, cultivate a positive, resilient mindset—stay disciplined, manage stress, trust your preparation, and balance work with short breaks like meditation or family time .

JEE Main Physics Syllabus 2026 FAQs

Has the JEE Main 2026 Physics syllabus been released?

 No—the NTA has not officially published it yet. As of now, it is expected to align closely with the 2025 syllabus, which draws heavily from NCERT Class 11 and 12 topics.

How is the Physics section structured?

 The syllabus is split into two sections:

  • Section A (Theory): Covers core theoretical topics—about 80% of the Physics paper.

  • Section B (Practical/Experimental skills): Includes lab-based concepts like measurements and instrument use, making up roughly the remaining 20% .
Are experimental-skills questions significant?

 Yes—about 20% of questions test practical understanding, including instrument usage like Vernier calipers, screw gauge, meter scale, plotting characteristic curves, and resistance measurements .

How often does the syllabus change?

Changes are rare. The 2025 syllabus mirrored 2024’s with minor adjustments (e.g. some optics and experimental topics removed), Expect the 2026 syllabus to remain largely consistent, with official confirmation pending.

Will there be new or out-of-syllabus questions?

 Occasionally, NTA includes challenging or application-based questions that test deeper conceptual understanding—not necessarily out of syllabus, but rather more complex twists on familiar topics .