JEE Main Exam Pattern 2026: How Many Questions are there in JEE Mains, Marking Scheme, Total Marks

To be able to crack JEE Mains on the first attempt, candidates need to prepare from the early years of their education. JEE Main is a very competitive exam, with competition increasing each year. More than 13 Lacs candidates have appeared for the exam.

To compete and crack the exam, candidates should:

1. Start early prep
2. Seek proper guidance
3. Have a routine
4. Take mock tests and prepare using previous year papers
5. Use good books for practice and revision

There are two question types in JEE Main exam. Multiple choice questions and numerical ability questions. In MCQ, every question has 4 options with only 1 correct answer. Select the correct option. In numerical ability question type, no options are there. Solve them and write answer using keyword and mouse.

No, there is no change in JEE Main 2026 total number of questions and marking scheme. It is the same as pervious year.

Students who are in class 12 and would also be appearing in JEE Mains 2026 exam mostly find it difficult to manage both their class/school and JEE studies. However, all these students have an advantage over others/droppers aspirants as there are many common topics in class 12 and JEE.

To benefit, they must identify all the topics that are common and study those first. Secondly, cover the topics that have more weightage in class 12 and complete them. Before a few days of JEE Mains, study specifically for JEE. This way, they can manage both class 12 and JEE efficiently. 

There are two question types in JEE Main exam. Multiple choice questions and numerical ability questions. In MCQ, every question has 4 options with only 1 correct answer. Select the correct option. In numerical ability question type, no options are there. Solve them and write answer using keyword and mouse.

JEE Mains syllabus can be completed in 6 months considering that almost every topic of JEE syllabus is similar to class 11 and 12 syllabus. However, completing the syllabus does not mean that candidates will get a good score. JEE Main exam tests your conceptual and analytical understanding of topics. To get a good score, you need to have good understanding of core concepts and also use to of applying them in solving numerical questions.

Yes, JEE Main exam has negative marking. 1 mark is deducted for every incorrect answer.

NO, it is compulsory to attempt all questions in the JEE Main exam. The JEE Main exam has negative marking and candidates must answer only those questions for which they know the correct answer. Students must note that there are no minimum marks in JEE Main that students need to score. Students gets All India Rank based on the marks they secure in exam and gets admission based on that rank.

JEE Main exam is conducted in online mode as a computer based test. This is conducted in 3 different courses. The exam for B.Tech and B. Plan is completely online while the exam for B.Arch is partially online and drawing part is conducted offline.

JEE Main exam is held for 3 hours continuously without any break. Candidates are allowed to leave exam hall only after 3 hours of the test are over.

Students are not allowed to carry calculators inside the exam centre in JEE Main exam. Students can use the virtual calculator available on the screen during the exam. Virtual calculators will be available on the computer screen of students during the JEE Main exam.

Paper 1 has 75 questions where Physics Chemistry and Mathematics, each section has 25 questions. Out of 25 questions, 20 are MCQs and five are numerical value questions. You must answer all 5 numerical value-type questions. All 20 multiple-choice questions are compulsory. Complete all 75 questions in 3 hours.

No, NTA has not announced any change in JEE Main 2026 exam pattern. However, NTA made changes in JEE Main exam pattern in 2025. As per the current JEE exam pattern, the total number of questions in JEE Main Paper 1 (BE/BTech) are 75, 25 each from Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Also, there are no optional question in section B in any subject. Students will need to answer all 5 questions in section B from all three subjects. The marking scheme and total marks remain the same.

JEE Main is conducted for multiple courses and the syllabus is different for each course. The syllabus of JEE Main Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech) includes class 11 and 12 Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics topics. For JEE Main paper 2A B.Arch the syllabus consists of Mathematics, General Aptitude and Drawing. Similarly, for JEE Main Paper 2B B. Plan the syllabus is Mathematics, General Aptitude and Planning. Candidates can check and download the detailed topics-wise JEE Main syllabus on the Shiksha page as well as on the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in.

Time required to cover JEE Main syllabus changes from one student to another student. In general, to complete the entire JEE Main syllabus, students would require around 1 year. The ideal time to start preparing for JEE Main is class 11 as the syllabus for JEE and class 11-12 is similar. Students who are studying in class 11 can point out the topics that are common in both and pay special emphasis to those topics.

Students who are preparing for JEE Main exam are advised to first cover the entire JEE Main syllabus. Covering only the high weightage chapters would decrease their chances of getting full/high score in JEE Main exam. Only after covering the entire syllabus, students can check most important chapters for JEE Mains.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will declare the JEE Mains result 2026 in the form of percentile scores. Candidates can check here the previous year JEE Main marks vs percentile data to understand how much is 120 marks in JEE Main percentile.

As per the last year JEE Main marks vs percentile analysis, 120 marks would be around 95 to 97 percentile. However, the exact JEE Main 2025 percentile marks 120 would vary depending upon the highest number scored by the candidate in a particula shift and the total number candidates appeared in that particular shift. 

There is no minimum qualifying marks in JEE Main. Exam. However, any candidate who wish to appear in JEE Advanced need to obtain the minimum cutoff marks in JEE Main. Candidates gets all India rank in JEE Main on the basis of the score they get in the exam. Admission to the institutes like NITs, IIITs and GFTIs is given on the basis of all India rank of candidates. Candidates who wish to apply for JEE Advanced need to get the minimum JEE Main qualifying cutoff marks only after which they can apply for admission to IITs.

It is advised that students begin their JEE Main preparation with NCERT books. NCERT class 11 and 12 books for Physics Chemistry and Mathematics are the best to understand basic concepts and solve numerical problems. Along with NCERTs, students can refer to additional books like H. C. Verma and Irodov for Physics. In Mathematics, students can take help from Arihant books. For Chemistry R C Mukherjee, O P Tandon and P Bahadur are best.