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Sunday, 25 October

JEE Main · Chemistry · Class 12

The Solid State: JEE Main previous year questions

This chapter is not in NTA's JEE Main 2026 syllabus. It had 36 questions in the shifts Lumi analysed; they are kept here for reference.

Questions
36
in 36 of 108 shifts · 6 of 8 years
Average a shift
0.3
of 25 Chemistry · 0.0 since 2024 -0.5
Typical range
0.0–0.5
questions a shift; fewest 0.0, most 0.8
Syllabus
Dropped
NTA JEE Main 2026 syllabus
  • Typical range (fact)
  • Average a shift (fact)
  • Weighted estimate (model)

Questions are counted per shift, out of the 25 each subject has, in the shifts Lumi analysed; papers that offered 30 a subject (2017, 2021–2024) are scaled to 25. Typical range: the middle six of the eight years (2017, 2020–2026), leaving out the single highest and lowest year. The average and the range are historical fact. The weighted estimate is a model: each year's share, with recent years counting more (half-life three years), and chapters NTA dropped from the syllabus set near zero. It is a guide to effort, not a forecast of the paper.

Key findings

The Solid State at a glance

  1. 01

    73%

    of the 104 ideas in Lumi's map of the chapter have not been asked or touched on in the shifts analysed.

  2. 02

    53%

    of its questions asked for a numerical answer, 1.8 times the Chemistry average.

  3. 03

    0%

    of its questions were rated hard, against 6% across all Chemistry questions in the same shifts.

Questions a shift, year by year

Out of the 25 Chemistry questions in a shift. Years differ in how many shifts Lumi analysed, so each year is scaled to one shift.

0240.8’170.4’200.4’210.3’220.5’230.1’240’250’26

Raw count: 2017: 1 in 1 shift · 2020: 5 in 12 shifts · 2021: 12 in 24 shifts · 2022: 9 in 24 shifts · 2023: 7 in 12 shifts · 2024: 2 in 18 shifts · 2025: 0 in 8 shifts · 2026: 0 in 9 shifts.

Kind of question

SHARE OF QUESTIONS
  • Numerical answer53%
  • Recall, single correct14%
  • Multi-step8%
  • Calculation6%
  • Conceptual6%
  • Application6%
  • Match the list6%
  • Two statements3%

Most common asks: identify type of solid from properties (2); molar mass from unit cell density (1); formula and counting with missing atoms in lattice (1).

Profile

This chapter in numbers

Where it ranks, how steady it is, and what it costs to study.

Syllabus
Dropped
NTA JEE Main 2026
Last asked
2024
Share of Chemistry
1.3%
of its questions, all shifts analysed
Busiest year
2017
0.8 questions a shift
Year to year
Swings a lot
varies by about 0.3 questions a shift
Long-run direction
-0.09
questions a shift, per year
Easy questions
47%
0% rated hard
Numerical answer
53%
1.8× the Chemistry rate
With a figure
0%
graph, diagram or structure
Foundation for others
18%
of its ideas are used in other chapters

Difficulty, year by year

Each question rated easy, medium or hard. Each bar is that year’s split, so years compare directly; the number is the questions in that year’s analysed shifts (1 to 24 shifts a year).

  • 20171
  • 20205
  • 202112
  • 20229
  • 20237
  • 20242
  • 2025
  • 2026
  • Easy
  • Medium
  • Hard

What it asks you to do

SHARE OF QUESTIONS
  • Calculation44%
  • Recall25%
  • Multi-step14%
  • Conceptual8%
  • Application6%
  • Data or graph3%

Coverage

How much of the chapter JEE Main has used

We split the chapter into 104 ideas. In the 108 shifts analysed, JEE Main built a question around 16 of them. Most of the chapter has never been the main idea of a question, so past questions alone leave most of it out.

Asked as the main idea
16
Touched on in a question
12
Never asked
76

Topics

What repeats, topic by topic

This chapter's questions per topic in each year's analysed shifts. The number is the count; the shade is scaled to one shift, so a year with more analysed shifts (1 to 24 a year) does not look darker. 3 questions had no close topic in Lumi's map and count for the chapter only.

’17’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
07+questions in that year’s analysed shifts, shaded per shift
  • Crystal Lattices

    As a topic: 24 questions in 5 of 8 years, most often numerical value, 67% numerical answer.

  • Solid State Defects

    As a topic: 9 questions in 4 of 8 years, most often numerical value, 33% numerical answer.

Drill down

Topic, idea, question

Open a topic to see every idea JEE Main tested inside it, then open an idea to read the questions. Each row shows its 8 years.

  • Open24 · 67%3776

    9 ideas inside

    • OpenRepeated9 · 38%224
    • OpenRepeated4 · 17%3
    • OpenRepeated4 · 17%2
    • Open2 · 8%2
    • Open1 · 4%
    • Open1 · 4%
    • Open1 · 4%
    • Open1 · 4%
    • Open1 · 4%
  • Open9 · 25%422

Squares are the 8 years with analysed shifts, 2017 to 2026. A number is the questions that year when there is more than one; the shade is scaled to one shift, so a year with more analysed shifts (1 to 24 a year) does not look darker. Share is of the level above.

Ideas

The exact ideas JEE Main has asked

Inside the topics, 16 different ideas were tested; 6 came more than once. These are the repeats, then the ideas new since 2024.

Dots are the 8 years with analysed shifts, 2017 to 2026.

Every question

All 36 The Solid State questions

Newest first, shift by shift. Each opens with its options and the official answer.

JEE Main 20242 questions

  1. 6 Apr 2024, Shift 1 · Q64Which of the following material is not a semiconductor.EasySingle correct
  2. 31 Jan 2024, Shift 2 · Q84The values of conductivity of some materials at 298.15 K in Sm−1^{-1} are 2.1×1032.1 \times 10^{3}, 1.0×10−161.0 \times 10^{-16}, 1.2×101.2 \times 10,…MediumNumerical value

JEE Main 20237 questions

  1. 6 Apr 2023, Shift 1 · Q61A compound is formed by two elements X and Y. The element Y forms cubic close packed arrangement and those of element X occupy one third…MediumSingle correct
  2. 6 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q81Number of crystal systems from the following where body centred unit cell can be found, is ____________ Cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic,…MediumNumerical value
  3. 10 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q62The correct relationships between unit cell edge length 'a' and radius of sphere 'r' for face-centred and body-centred cubic structures…EasySingle correct
  4. 11 Apr 2023, Shift 1 · Q82An atomic substance A of molar mass 12 g mol−112\ \mathrm{g\ mol^{-1}} has a cubic crystal structure with edge length of 300 pm. The no. of atoms…MediumNumerical value
  5. 11 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q61Which one of the following pairs is an example of polar molecular solids?EasySingle correct
  6. 13 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q82Sodium metal crystallizes in a body centred cubic lattice with unit cell edge length of 4 Å. The radius of sodium atom is ______…EasyNumerical value
  7. 15 Apr 2023, Shift 1 · Q61Which of the following expressions is correct in case of a CsCl unit cell (edge length 'a')?EasySingle correct

JEE Main 20229 questions

  1. 28 Jul 2022, Shift 1 · Q82An element M crystallises in a body centred cubic unit cell with a cell edge of 300 pm. The density of the element is…MediumNumerical value
  2. 28 Jul 2022, Shift 2 · Q52Metal M crystallizes into a fcc lattice with the edge length of 4.0×10−84.0\times10^{-8} cm. The atomic mass of the metal is ______ g/mol.…EasyNumerical value
  3. 29 Jul 2022, Shift 1 · Q82Ionic radii of cation A+\mathrm{A^+} and anion B−\mathrm{B^-} are 102 and 181 pm respectively. These ions are allowed to crystallize into…MediumNumerical value
  4. 24 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q81Atoms of element X form hcp lattice and those of element Y occupy 23\frac{2}{3} of its tetrahedral voids. The percentage of element X in…MediumNumerical value
  5. 25 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q82The distance between Na+\mathrm{Na^+} and Cl−\mathrm{Cl^-} ions in solid NaCl of density 43.1 g cm−343.1\ \mathrm{g\ cm^{-3}} is __________…MediumNumerical value
  6. 26 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q82In a solid AB, A atoms are in ccp arrangement and B atoms occupy all the octahedral sites. If two atoms from the opposite faces are…MediumNumerical value
  7. 27 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q81Metal deficiency defect is shown by Fe0.93O\mathrm{Fe_{0.93}O}. In the crystal, some Fe2+\mathrm{Fe^{2+}} cations are missing and loss of…MediumNumerical value
  8. 28 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q61The incorrect statement about the imperfections in solids is :EasySingle correct
  9. 30 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q61An element X has a body centred cubic (bcc) structure with a cell edge of 200 pm. The density of the element is 5 g cm−3^{-3}. The number…MediumSingle correct

JEE Main 202112 questions

  1. 4 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q31Match List I with List II List I List II A. Frenkel defect I. CsCl B. Schottky defect II. Pink LiCl C. Impurity defect III. ZnS D. Metal…MediumMatch the list
  2. 26 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q31Given below are two statements : Statement I : Frenkel defects are vacancy as well as interstitial defects. Statement II : Frenkel defect…EasyTwo statements
  3. 27 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q32Match items of List - I with those of List - II : List - I (Property) List - II (Example) (a) Diamagnetism (i) MnO (b) Ferrimagnetism (ii)…EasyMatch the list
  4. 31 Aug 2021, Shift 2 · Q52The empirical formula for a compound with a cubic close packed arrangement of anions and with cations occupying all the octahedral sites…EasyNumerical value
  5. 24 Feb 2021, Shift 1 · Q52The coordination number of an atom in a body-centered cubic structure is __________. [Assume that the lattice is made up of atoms.]EasyNumerical value
  6. 25 Feb 2021, Shift 2 · Q52The unit cell of copper corresponds to a face centered cube of edge length 3.596 Å with one copper atom at each lattice point. The…MediumNumerical value
  7. 26 Feb 2021, Shift 2 · Q52The number of octahedral voids per lattice site in a lattice is __________. (Rounded off to the nearest integer)EasyNumerical value
  8. 22 Jul 2021, Shift 2 · Q52A copper complex crystallising in a CCP lattice with a cell edge of 0.4518 nm has been revealed by employing X-ray diffraction studies.…MediumNumerical value
  9. 16 Mar 2021, Shift 2 · Q52Ga (atomic mass 70 u) crystallizes in a hexagonal close packed structure. The total number of voids in 0.581 g of Ga is ________…MediumNumerical value
  10. 17 Mar 2021, Shift 2 · Q52KBr is doped with 10−510^{-5} mole percent of SrBr2\mathrm{SrBr_2}. The number of cationic vacancies in 1 g of KBr crystal is…MediumNumerical value
  11. 18 Mar 2021, Shift 1 · Q31In a binary compound, atoms of element A form a hcp structure and those of element M occupy 2/3 of the tetrahedral voids of the hcp…EasySingle correct
  12. 18 Mar 2021, Shift 2 · Q31A hard substance melts at high temperature and is an insulator in both solid and in molten state. This solid is most likely to be a/an :EasySingle correct

JEE Main 20205 questions

  1. 8 Jan 2020, Shift 2 · Q31Which of the following compounds is likely to show both Frenkel and Schottky defects in its crystalline form ?EasySingle correct
  2. 9 Jan 2020, Shift 1 · Q31‘X’ melts at low temperature and is a bad conductor of electricity in both liquid and solid state. X is :EasySingle correct
  3. 3 Sep 2020, Shift 1 · Q47An element with molar mass 2.7×10−22.7\times10^{-2} kg mol−1\mathrm{kg\ mol^{-1}} forms a cubic unit cell with edge length 405 pm. If its density is…MediumNumerical value
  4. 5 Sep 2020, Shift 1 · Q40A diatomic molecule X2\mathrm{X_2} has a body-centred cubic (bcc) structure with a cell edge of 300 pm. The density of the molecule is…MediumSingle correct
  5. 6 Sep 2020, Shift 2 · Q41A crystal is made up of metal ions 'M1_1' and 'M2_2' and oxide ions. Oxide ions form a ccp lattice structure. The cation 'M1_1'…MediumSingle correct

JEE Main 20171 question

  1. 2 Apr 2017 (offline) · Q35A metal crystallises in a face centred cubic structure. If the edge length of its unit cell is 'a', the closest approach between two atoms…EasySingle correct

Questions from the official JEE Main papers published by NTA. Chapter, topic and idea tags, counts and notes are Lumi’s. Pattern: Asked most years.

More Chemistry, Class 12

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