Two sessions, 300 marks, NCERT-based — but which chapters actually carry the most marks? Here's the historical breakdown by subject.
For the score-to-college mapping (what rank gets you where), see our Engineering Admissions guide. This page is the exam mechanics — pattern, marking, and exactly which chapters to prioritise.
| Subject | Section A (MCQ) | Section B (NVQ) | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physics | 20 MCQs (−1 wrong) | 10 NVQs (any 5, no negative) | 100 |
| Chemistry | 20 MCQs (−1 wrong) | 10 NVQs (any 5, no negative) | 100 |
| Mathematics | 20 MCQs (−1 wrong) | 10 NVQs (any 5, no negative) | 100 |
Duration: 3 hours (3h20m for PwD). MCQ marking: +4 correct, −1 wrong. NVQ marking: +4 correct, 0 wrong/unattempted — no negative marking at all in Section B.
| Subject | Highest-weight chapters | Approx. marks share |
|---|---|---|
| Physics | Mechanics (Kinematics, NLM, WEP) | 12–16 marks |
| Physics | Electrostatics, Current Electricity, Magnetism, Modern Physics | 8–12 marks each |
| Chemistry | Organic Chemistry (named reactions, mechanisms) | 20–24 marks |
| Chemistry | Coordination Compounds, p-Block, Equilibrium | 8–12 marks each |
| Mathematics | Coordinate Geometry (full) | 20–24 marks |
| Mathematics | Calculus (limits, differentiation, integration) | 20–24 marks |
| Mathematics | Algebra (matrices, determinants, complex numbers) | 12–16 marks |
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Raw score | Your actual marks out of 300 |
| NTA Score / percentile | Percentage of candidates who scored equal to or less than you, in your session |
| All-India Rank (AIR) | Derived from the merged percentile of both sessions — lower rank is better |
| Which score counts? | The better of your Session 1 and Session 2 NTA scores |
Your raw score is your actual marks out of 300. Your NTA Score is a percentile — the percentage of candidates in your specific session who scored equal to or less than you. Because JEE Main runs across multiple sessions and shifts, NTA uses this normalisation so scores are comparable across different papers. Your final rank uses the better of your two sessions' NTA scores.
Yes, if you have even moderate confidence — NVQs have no negative marking, so the worst outcome for a wrong attempt is zero, never a penalty. This makes them strategically the safest place to take an educated guess.
A structured plan beats studying every chapter equally.