Students appearing for the IIT JAM 2026 exam can check the article to know if the exam is easy or difficult. You can know the answer to the question after the conclusion of the exam. For now, check the exam preparation tips, high-weightage topics and exam date.
IIT JAM exam is a national level exam conducted for admission to the postgraduate courses in IITs and result sharing institutes. Joint Admission Test for Masters is considered highly competitive among students because of its vast syllabus, limited seats, analytical and application based question. Students can qualify the JAM exam with a proper preparation strategy. We have provided high-weightage topics, preparation strategy, and previous year questions.
Latest: IIT JAM 2026 answer key live: Steps to download answer key
- What is IIT JAM?
- Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Important Dates
- Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Exam Analysis
- Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Topics Weightage
- Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Preparation Tips
What is IIT JAM?
Joint Admission Test for Masters (JAM) is an entrance exam conducted for admission to MSc / MSc (M.Tech) programmes offered at IITs, NITs, IISc and other result sharing institutes. The JAM exam is conducted once a year. The Indian Institute of Technology and IISc Bengaluru conducts IIT JAM exam on rotation basis. JAM 2026 will be held by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The exam is conducted as computer based test for three hours. There are seven test paper in IIT JAM, namely Biotechnology, Geology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Economics, and Mathematics Statistics. JAM paper comprises MCQs, NATs, and MSQs.
Commonly asked questions
Candidates who want to appear for IIT JAM exam for Physics course admission should formulate a strategy to crack this Science entrance exam. Here, it is important that candidates go through important IIT JAM Physics books, identify important topics, and thereafter solve as many IIT JAM question papers as they can. This is a sure-shot way of getting a good rank in IIT JAM result.
Candidates can go through important topics that they should study to score well in IIT JAM exam in the table mentioned below:
Kinetic theory, Thermodynamics | Mathematical Methods |
Simple Oscillators | Mechanics and General Properties of Matter |
Oscillations, Waves andBoolean Physics | |
Electricity and Magnetism | Solid State Physics, Devices and Electronics |
Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) |
Students can check the experience of previous year students who gave IIT JAM exam:
Khushi: IIT JAM Biotechnology exam difficulty level was moderate. In Biology questions from Immunology, Genetics, Recombinant DNA Technology topics were asked. In sections, i.e., NAT, both from physics and mathematics questions were asked. Section A and B was comparatively easy than Section C.
Sudarshan: IIT JAM Economics subject exam difficulty level was easier than last year. Some direct questions were asked from liquidity preference money supply and few were asked from consumer and supplier chain product.
The difficulty level of IIT JAM is moderate to tough. The difficulty level for subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics is tougher as compared to the IIT JAM subjects of Economics, Biotechnology and Geology.
If we compare the difficulty level of IIT JAM examination with CUET PG exam, ISI Admission test, NEST exam, IISER Entrance examination, then it will be found that IIT JAM examination is comparetively tougher than the other top colleges/ universities entrance examination.
Physics is one of the most sought course of choice among students who want to take admission in IITs, IISc, etc. It is for this reason alone that IIT JAM Physics paper is extremely competitive. Thus, when preparing for the Physics paper in JAM exam, candidates are suggested to pay less attention to the number of books from which they are studying and more emphasis on finding the topics that will help them score more.
To have an effective prep plan for IIT JAM Physics paper, students should have a timetable in place and make notes of important formulas that will make their last-minute preparation easy.
IIT JAM Physics Study Plan for First Month | ||
|---|---|---|
Week of Study | Topic to Study | Sub-topic to Study |
1 | Mechanics and General Properties of Matter-I | Newton’s Laws of Motion and Applications |
Kepler’s Laws | ||
Polar and Cylindrical Coordinate Systems, | ||
Conservative and Non-Conservative Forces | ||
Centrifugal and Coriolis Forces | ||
Motion Under a Central Force | ||
Uniformly Rotating Frame | ||
Gravitational Law and Field | ||
Velocity and Acceleration in Cartesian | ||
2 | Mechanics and General Properties of Matter-II | System of Particles |
Conservation of Linear and Angular Momentum | ||
Conservation of Energy | ||
Center of Mass | ||
Equation of Motion of the Center of Mass | ||
Elastic and Inelastic Collisions | ||
Fixed Axis Rotations | ||
Rigid Body Motion | ||
Rotation and Translation | ||
Parallel and Perpendicular Axes Theorem | ||
Moments of Inertia and Products of Inertia | ||
Principal Moments and Axes | ||
Equation of Continuity | ||
Kinematics of Moving Fluids | ||
Euler’s Equation | ||
Bernoulli’s Theorem | ||
3 | Mathematical Methods-I | Stokes’ Theorem |
Green’s Theorem | ||
Divergence Theorem | ||
Multiple Integrals | ||
Vector Calculus | ||
Vector Algebra | ||
Fourier Series | ||
Taylor Expansion | ||
Imperfect and Perfect Differentials | ||
Jacobian Matrix | ||
Partial Derivatives | ||
Calculus of Single and Multiple Variables | ||
4 | Mathematical Methods-II | First Order Equations |
Linear Second Order Differential Equations with Constant Coefficients | ||
Algebra of Complex Numbers | ||
Matrices and Determinants | ||
IIT JAM Physics Study Plan for Second Month | ||
Week of Study | Topic to Study | Sub-topic to Study |
5 | Electricity and Magnetism-I | Coulomb’s Law |
Gauss’s Law | ||
Electric Field and Potential | ||
Electrostatic Boundary Conditions | ||
Solution of Laplace’s Equation for Simple Cases | ||
Capacitors | ||
Conductors | ||
Dielectric Polarization | ||
Electrostatic Energy | ||
Volume and Surface Charges | ||
6 | Oscillations, Waves and Optics-I | Differential Equation for Simple Harmonic Oscillator and Its General Solution |
Superposition of Two or More Simple Harmonic Oscillator | ||
Damped and Forced Oscillators | ||
Resonance | ||
7 | Oscillations, Waves and Optics-II | Energy Density and Energy Transmission in Waves |
Wave Equation | ||
Group Velocity and Phase Velocity | ||
Sound Waves in Media | ||
Doppler Effect | ||
Wave Equation | ||
Fermat’s Principle | ||
8 | Oscillations, Waves and Optics-III | General Theory of Image Formation |
Thick Lens, Thin Lens and Lens Combinations | ||
Fraunhofer Diffraction | ||
Rayleigh Criterion and Resolving Power | ||
Diffraction Gratings | ||
Polarization | ||
Double Refraction and Optical Rotation | ||
Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Important Dates
IIT Bombay has released the JAM exam dates 2026 online. Students can check exam date to stay updated with the latest events. IIT JAM 2026 exam date is provided below.
| Event | Dates |
| IIT JAM 2026 admit card | January 13, 2026 |
| IIT JAM 2026 exam | February 15, 2026 |
| IIT JAM answer key | February, 2026 |
| JAM result 2026 | March 20, 2026 |
Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Exam Analysis
Students can check IIT JAM exam analysis to understand the exam difficulty level, high weightage topics and distribution of marks. Last year IIT JAM exam was considered a moderate to great difficulty level.
Commonly asked questions
Candidates can go through IT JAM preparation tips mentioned below in order to formulate a strategy to crack the JAM exam paper for Physics.
Know the exam pattern
The first and foremost thing that candidates need to be well acquainted with is to know IIT JAM exam pattern. Physics consists of three sections wherein candidates need to attempt – MCQs, MSQs and NAT questions.
Section | Type of Questions | No of Question |
|---|---|---|
A | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) | 30 |
B | Multiple Select Questions (MSQs) | 10 |
C | Numerical Answer Type (NAT) | 20 |
Total | 60 | |
Know the marking scheme
The next step for exam prep is to know the marking scheme for IIT JAM. This is important as by knowing the marking scheme, aspirants can have a plan of action in place to avoid negative marking wherever possible in the exam.
Section | No of Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
A | 10 MCQs | 1 mark each |
20 MCQs | 2 marks each | |
B | 10 MSQs | 2 marks each |
C | 10 NAT Questions | 1 mark each |
10 NAT Questions | 2 marks each |
In IIT JAM for Physics, there is a negative marking in Section A only. There is no negative marking in Section B and Section C of the exam.
Know the syllabus
Next, aspirants need to be thorough with IIT JAM syllabus. Here, candidates need to be well acquainted with the topics that they need to ace to score well in the science entrance exam. The topics that form a part of IIT JAM syllabus include:
Mathematical Methods | Mechanics and General Properties of Matter |
Electricity and Magnetism | |
Kinetic theory, Thermodynamics | Modern Physics |
Solid State Physics, Devices and Electronics | |
Prepare a timetable
Candidates should prepare a timetable for how they want to complete and revise the syllabus for the Physics paper in the IIT JAM exam. Also, while preparing the timetable candidates need to include adequate time to solve practice papers and thereafter revise important topics for IIT JAM preparation.
Know important formulas
While preparing different topics for the IIT JAM Physics paper, candidates should ensure that they keep jotting down the important formulae for each topic. This will prove extremely helpful at the time of revision as students would have a consolidated list of all the important formulae for IIT JAM Physics preparation which they can easily refer to before taking the exam.
Read important books
Aspirants should make a list of important books to read for IIT JAM physics exam preparation. Here, candidates should go through one or two important books and thereafter prepare well for each section of this Science exam.
For each Test Paper All India merit list is prepared based on AIR. The number of candidates included in the All India Merit List is based on the total number of seats available in each category (GEN/ OBC-NCL/ EWS/ SC/ ST/ PwD) in a given subject.
Well, if you have Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, all three in your Bachelor's degree you should first understand and analyze that which subject you like the most and you are highly interested in. Then devote atleast a year and evaluate the scope of M.Sc in that particular subject, study it and then select the subject. Don't be in a rush, take your time.
Yes if your rank 540 you can secure seat in most engineering programs of IIT Palakkad.
Computer Science and Engineering: 6199
- Data Science and Engineering: The cutoff was around 8084.
- Electrical Engineering: The cutoff was about 9766.
- Civil Engineering: The cutoff was as high as 16487.
Explore colleges based on IIT JAM
Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Topics Weightage
IIT JAM 2026 chapter wise weightage is provided below.
IIT JAM 2026 Biotechnology Chapter Wise Weightage
| Suject | Weightage |
| Physics | 18% |
| Chemistry | 20% |
| Maths | 18% |
| Biology | 44% |
IIT JAM 2026 Physics Chapter Wise Weightage
| Topics | Weightage |
| Electricity & Magnetism | 12% |
| Mathematical Methods | 15% |
| KTG & Thermodynamics | 14% |
| Mechanics | 13% |
| Oscillation, Wave & Optics | 10% |
| SSP & Electronics | 11% |
| Modern Physics | 21% |
IIT JAM 2026 Mathematics Chapter Wise Weightage
| Topics | Weightage |
| Differential Calculus | 23% |
| Linear Algebra | 13% |
| Sequence and Series | 12% |
| Integral Calculus | 11 % |
| Vector Calculus | 10% |
IIT JAM 2026 Geology Chapter Wise Weightage
| Topics | Weightage |
| Petrology | 25% |
| Mineralogy | 20% |
| Structural Geology | 18% |
| The Planet Earth | 19% |
| Paleontology | 9% |
Is IIT JAM 2026 Exam Difficult?: Preparation Tips
Students who are appearing for IIT JAM exam 2026 can check the preparation tips here. JAM preparation tips help to complete the exam syllabus and score high marks.
- Prepare study time table by distributing an equal slot for each topic.
- Check IIT JAM 2026 exam syllabus and pattern.
- Identify the JAM high weightage topics. For this check the previous year exam analysis.
- Gather the resources like books, study materials, IIT JAM previous year question paper, and mock test.
- Make a handy notes of important topics and formulas for quick revision.
- Start solving the previous year question paper after completing 70% of the syllabus. This will help in self-assessment.
- Students must clear their doubts and focus on the weak topics.
- Attempt IIT JAM mock test to improve time and get familiar with the online test.
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Student Forum
Answered 8 hours ago
IIT Guwahati cutoff 2026 for the SC AI category ranged from 676 in the first round to 2187 in the last round. As per this range, MSc in Mathematics and Computing was the most competitive course for admission, with the highest acceptable cutoff of 676. Students can check the table below for the Round
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 13 hours ago
A good IIT JAM rank would differ depending on the category, branch and round. For the General AI category, the overall cutoff ranged from 328 to 507. Hence, a good rank could be somewhere around 300 for the General AI category. To know the estimated good enough rank for other categories, see the tab
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 15 hours ago
IIT Roorkee MSc cutoff 2026 ranged from 126 to 904 in the first round for the OBC AI category. By the last round, the closing rank ranged from 158 to 1118. Hence, OBC AI category students need a rank of at least 1118 to be qualified for admission. Candidates can check the table below to know the fir
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 15 hours ago
Students in the General AI category need a rank of at least 924 to be considered eligible for admission. If students want to get admission to other, more competitive courses, like MSc in Physics, MSc in Chemistry, etc., then a rank of at least 250 or 212 is required. Look at the table below to know
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
IIT Bombay JAM cutoff 2026 has been released for admission to the MSc and MSc+ PhD courses. The cutoff was announced for different categories under the All India quota.
For the General AI category, the overall cutoff ranged from 15 (MSc in Biotechnology) to 839 (MSc+ PhD in Environmental Science a
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
SC category students under the All India quota need a rank of at least 2336 to be considered eligible for a seat. Candidates can check the table below to know the Round 1 and Last Round closing ranks for the SC AI category.
| Course | Round 1 Cutoff 2026 | Last Round Cutoff 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| M.Sc. + Ph.D. in Chemistry | 2330 | 2336 |
| M.Sc. + Ph.D. in Mathematics | 1485 | 1485 |
| M.Sc. + Ph.D. in Physics | 2098 | 2229 |
| M.Sc. + Ph.D. in Geology | 444 | 463 |
| M.Sc. + Ph.D. in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | 1921 | 1921 |
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
IIT Hyderabad JAM cutoff 2026 ranged from 260 in the first round to 429 in the last round for the General AI category. As per this range, MSc in Mathematics turned out to be the most competitive. This course had the overall cutoff ranging between 260 and 284.
Students can see the table below to know
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IIT Indore cutoff 2026 for the OBC AI category ranged from 211 to 1353 in the last round. As per this range, MSc in Biotechnology and MSc in Astronomy were the most and least competitive MSc branches for admission. Students can check the table below to know the round 1 and last round cutoff for vari
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Missing the qualifying cutoff rank by even a small margin can make admission at IIT Dhanbad for its MSc and MSc Tech courses unlikely. Students who want admission to this institute need to attain course- and category-specific ranks. The admission process is strict because the seat counts are low and
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The OBC category students need a rank of at least 1493 to be considered eligible for a seat at this instution. For this category, MSc Tech in Applied Geology turned out to be the most preffered course for admission, with the Round 1 closing cutoff of 166, which later moved up to 177 in the last roun
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Contributor-Level 10
