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Sunday, 25 October

JEE Main · Physics · Class 11

Thermal Properties of Matter: JEE Main previous year questions

58 questions in 49 of the 108 JEE Main shifts Lumi analysed, asked in 8 of 8 years. Here is what this chapter tests and how.

Study this chapter
Questions
58
in 49 of 108 shifts · 8 of 8 years
Average a shift
0.6
of 25 Physics · 0.4 since 2024 -0.4
Typical range
0.3–0.8
questions a shift; fewest 0.1, most 1.7
Weighted estimate
0.5
model, recent years count more · about 1.9 marks
  • 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.

What to do

How to spend time on Thermal Properties of Matter

Priority

Lower priority

One of the 7 Physics chapters that shared the last fifth of Physics questions in the 108 shifts analysed. How bands are set

Past questions
58in 49 of 108 shifts
Study plan gives it
8 hover 12 months; 6 h over 6
Study this chapter →

Ideas asked most often

  1. Junction Temperature6×
  2. Thermal Stress4×
  3. Latent Heat and Phase Change4×
  4. Mechanical Equivalent of Heat3×
  5. Newton's Law of Cooling3×

185 of the 223 ideas in Lumi’s map of this chapter have not been asked or touched in the shifts analysed. Of its idea-tagged questions from 2024 on, 40% tested an idea not asked in an earlier year, so learn the whole chapter, not just the list above.

Within each subject, chapters in NTA's 2026 syllabus are ranked by their average questions a shift over all 8 years analysed (history, not the model). Going down that list, the chapters that together held the first half of the subject's questions are Must do; the next ones, up to 80%, are Should do; the rest are Lower priority.

Key findings

Thermal Properties of Matter at a glance

  1. 01

    60%

    of its 10 questions from 2024 on that Lumi matched to an idea tested one JEE Main had asked in an earlier year; 100% came from a topic asked in an earlier year.

  2. 02

    83%

    of the 223 ideas in Lumi's map of the chapter have not been asked or touched on in the shifts analysed.

  3. 03

    29%

    of its questions asked for a numerical answer, 1.0 times the Physics average.

  4. 04

    0%

    of its questions were rated hard, against 5% across all Physics questions in the same shifts.

Questions a shift, year by year

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

0241.7’170.8’200.5’210.6’220.3’230.1’240.6’250.3’26

Raw count: 2017: 2 in 1 shift · 2020: 9 in 12 shifts · 2021: 15 in 24 shifts · 2022: 16 in 24 shifts · 2023: 5 in 12 shifts · 2024: 3 in 18 shifts · 2025: 5 in 8 shifts · 2026: 3 in 9 shifts.

Kind of question

SHARE OF QUESTIONS
  • Calculation43%
  • Numerical answer29%
  • Multi-step9%
  • Diagram based7%
  • Application3%
  • Data or graph3%
  • Conceptual2%
  • Match the list2%
  • Assertion–reason2%

Most common asks: expansion over successive temperature intervals (1); heat from steam condensing and cooling (1); fuel burn rate from heat required (1).

Profile

This chapter in numbers

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

Rank, all JEE chapters
#67
of 70 by weighted estimate
Rank in Physics
#27
of 28 chapters
Share of Physics
2.5%
of its questions, all shifts analysed
Busiest year
2017
1.7 questions a shift
Year to year
Swings a lot
varies by about 0.4 questions a shift
Long-run direction
-0.13
questions a shift, per year
Easy questions
52%
0% rated hard
Numerical answer
29%
1.0× the Physics rate
With a figure
21%
graph, diagram or structure
Study time
8 h
6 h on a 6-month plan
Marks per study hour
0.23
#39 of 70 chapters
Foundation for others
38%
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).

  • 20172
  • 20209
  • 202115
  • 202216
  • 20235
  • 20243
  • 20255
  • 20263
  • Easy
  • Medium
  • Hard

What it asks you to do

SHARE OF QUESTIONS
  • Calculation67%
  • Multi-step12%
  • Data or graph9%
  • Application7%
  • Conceptual3%
  • Recall2%

Coverage

How much of the chapter JEE Main has used

We split the chapter into 223 ideas. In the 108 shifts analysed, JEE Main built a question around 33 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
33
Touched on in a question
5
Never asked
185

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. 5 questions had no close topic in Lumi's map and count for the chapter only.

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

    As a topic: 20 questions in 7 of 8 years, most often single correct, 30% numerical answer.

  • Thermal Expansion

    As a topic: 16 questions in 7 of 8 years, most often single correct, 25% numerical answer.

  • Heat Conduction

    As a topic: 11 questions in 5 of 8 years, most often single correct, 36% numerical answer.

  • Thermal Radiation

    As a topic: 11 questions in 6 of 8 years, most often single correct, 27% 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.

  • Open18 · 31%4362

    11 ideas inside

    • OpenRepeated4 · 22%2
    • OpenRepeated3 · 17%
    • OpenRepeated2 · 11%
    • OpenRepeated2 · 11%
    • Open1 · 6%
    • Open1 · 6%
    • Open1 · 6%
    • Open1 · 6%
    • Open1 · 6%
    • Open1 · 6%
    • Open1 · 6%
  • Open15 · 26%2532
  • Open11 · 19%44
  • Open8 · 14%222
  • Open1 · 2%

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, 31 different ideas were tested; 12 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 58 Thermal Properties of Matter questions

Newest first, shift by shift. The newest 40 show their opening words; older ones name the idea they tested. Each opens with its options and the official answer.

JEE Main 20263 questions

  1. 4 Apr 2026, Shift 2 · Q34The temperature of a metal strip having coefficient of linear expansion α\alpha is increased from T1T_1 to T2T_2 resulting in increase of…MediumSingle correct
  2. 5 Apr 2026, Shift 2 · Q34An ideal gas at pressure PP and temperature TT is expanding such that PT3PT^3 = constant. The coefficient of volume expansion of the gas…MediumSingle correct
  3. 5 Apr 2026, Shift 2 · Q47The heat extracted out of xx gram of water initially at 50 ∘^\circC to cool it down to 0 ∘^\circC is sufficient to evaporate (1000−x)(1000-x)…MediumNumerical value

JEE Main 20255 questions

  1. 2 Apr 2025, Shift 2 · Q26Match List - I with List - II. List - I (A) Heat capacity of body (B) Specific heat capacity of body (C) Latent heat (D) Thermal…EasyMatch the list
  2. 4 Apr 2025, Shift 2 · Q31Consider a rectangular sheet of solid material of length l=9l=9 cm and width d=4d=4 cm. The coefficient of linear expansion is…MediumSingle correct
  3. 7 Apr 2025, Shift 1 · Q47A wire of length 10 cm and diameter 0.5 mm is used in a bulb. The temperature of the wire is 1727∘1727^\circC and power radiated by the wire…MediumNumerical value
  4. 7 Apr 2025, Shift 2 · Q47Two cylindrical rods A and B made of different materials, are joined in a straight line. The ratios of lengths, radii and thermal…MediumNumerical value
  5. 8 Apr 2025, Shift 2 · Q32Water falls from a height of 200 m into a pool. Calculate the rise in temperature of the water assuming no heat dissipation from the water…EasySingle correct

JEE Main 20243 questions

  1. 4 Apr 2024, Shift 1 · Q38On celcius scale the temperature of body increases by 40∘40^\circC. The increase in temperature on Fahrenheit scale is :EasySingle correct
  2. 30 Jan 2024, Shift 2 · Q37A block of ice at −10∘C-10^\circ C is slowly heated and converted to steam at 100∘C100^\circ C. Which of the following curves represent the…EasyDiagram basedHas a figure
  3. 31 Jan 2024, Shift 1 · Q38The given figure represents two isobaric processes for the same mass of an ideal gas, thenEasySingle correctHas a figure

JEE Main 20235 questions

  1. 6 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q38A body cools in 7 minutes from 60∘60^\circC to 40∘40^\circC. The temperature of the surrounding is 10∘10^\circC. The temperature of the body…MediumSingle correct
  2. 8 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q52A steel rod of length 1 m and cross sectional area 10−410^{-4} m2^2 is heated from 0∘0^\circC to 200∘200^\circC without being allowed to…EasyNumerical value
  3. 11 Apr 2023, Shift 1 · Q45On a temperature scale 'X', the boiling point of water is 65∘65^\circX and the freezing point is −15∘-15^\circX. Assume that the X scale is…EasySingle correct
  4. 12 Apr 2023, Shift 1 · Q37A body cools from 80∘80^\circC to 60∘60^\circC in 5 minutes. The temperature of the surrounding is 20∘20^\circC. The time it takes to cool…MediumSingle correct
  5. 13 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q53Two plates A and B have thermal conductivities 84 Wm−1K−184\ \mathrm{Wm^{-1}K^{-1}} and 126 Wm−1K−1126\ \mathrm{Wm^{-1}K^{-1}} respectively. They have same…EasyNumerical value

JEE Main 202216 questions

  1. 25 Jul 2022, Shift 1 · Q54A unit scale is to be prepared whose length does not change with temperature and remains 2020 cm, using a bimetallic strip made of brass…EasyNumerical value
  2. 25 Jul 2022, Shift 2 · Q53A block of ice of mass 120 g at temperature 0°C is put in 300 g of water at 25°C. The xxg of ice melts as the temperature of the water…EasyNumerical value
  3. 26 Jul 2022, Shift 2 · Q41An ice cube of dimensions 60 cm ×\times 50 cm ×\times 20 cm is placed in an insulation box of wall thickness 1 cm. The box keeping the…MediumSingle correct
  4. 27 Jul 2022, Shift 1 · Q37If K1K_1 and K2K_2 are the thermal conductivities, L1L_1 and L2L_2 are the lengths and A1A_1 and A2A_2 are the cross sectional areas of…MediumSingle correctHas a figure
  5. 27 Jul 2022, Shift 1 · Q38Read the following statements : A. When small temperature difference between a liquid and its surrounding is doubled, the rate of loss of…MediumOther
  6. 24 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q50Two metallic blocks M1M_1 and M2M_2 of same area of cross-section are connected to each other (as shown in figure). If the thermal…MediumSingle correctHas a figure
  7. 24 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q44A 100 g of iron nail is hit by a 1.5 kg hammer striking at a velocity of 60 ms−1ms^{-1}. What will be the rise in the temperature of the…EasySingle correct
  8. 24 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q60In an experiment to verify Newton’s law of cooling, a graph is plotted between, the temperature difference (Δ\DeltaT) of the water and…MediumNumerical valueHas a figure
  9. 25 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q54A steam engine intakes 50 g of steam at 100∘100^\circC per minute and cools it down to 20∘20^\circC. If latent heat of vaporization of steam…EasyNumerical value
  10. 25 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q34A solid metallic cube having total surface area 24 m224\ \mathrm{m}^2 is uniformly heated. If its temperature is increased by…MediumSingle correct
  11. 25 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q35A copper block of mass 5.0 kg is heated to a temperature of 500∘C500^\circ\mathrm{C} and is placed on a large ice block. What is the maximum…EasySingle correct
  12. 26 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q54A geyser heats water flowing at a rate of 2.0 kg per minute from 30∘30^\circC to 70∘70^\circC. If geyser operates on a gas burner, the rate…EasyNumerical value
  13. 27 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q39A lead bullet penetrates into a solid object and melts. Assuming that 40% of its kinetic energy is used to heat it, the initial speed of…MediumSingle correct
  14. 29 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q53As per the given figure, two plates A and B of thermal conductivity K and 2 K are joined together to form a compound plate. The thickness…EasyNumerical valueHas a figure
  15. 29 Jun 2022, Shift 2 · Q32At what temperature a gold ring of diameter 6.230 cm be heated so that it can be fitted on a wooden bangle of diameter 6.241 cm ? Both the…EasySingle correct
  16. 30 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q38The pressure of the gas in a constant volume gas thermometer is 100 cm of mercury when placed in melting ice at 1 atm. When the bulb is…EasySingle correct

JEE Main 202115 questions

  1. 3 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q7A gas has a constant volume filled in a glass bulb and its pressure becomes 71.00 cmcm and 100 cmcm of HgHg at 0°C and 100°C respectively.…EasySingle correct
  2. 3 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q22A steam engine intakes 80 gg steam at 100°C per minute and cools it down to 30°C. The heat energy consumed by the steam engine per minute…EasyNumerical value
  3. 3 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q27Two rods X and Y of identical dimensions are at temperature 40°C. If X is heated upto 200°C and Y is heated upto T°C, then also the new…MediumNumerical value
  4. 4 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q16A steel wire of 1 mm2^2 cross-sectional area having Young’s modulus 2×10112\times10^{11} N/m2^2 is stretched between two fixed points at a…EasySingle correct
  5. 4 Aug 2021, Shift 2 · Q15Which is the correct graph to explain the Newton’s law of cooling. T and T0\mathrm{T_0} are the temperatures of hot body and surrounding…EasyDiagram basedHas a figure
  6. 26 Aug 2021, Shift 2 · Q12The temperature of equal masses of three different liquids xx, yy and zz are 10∘10^\circC, 20∘20^\circC and 30∘30^\circC respectively. The…MediumSingle correct
  7. 27 Aug 2021, Shift 1 · Q30A rod CD of thermal resistance 10.0 KW−1^{-1} is joined at the middle of an identical rod AB as shown in figure. The ends A, B and D are…MediumNumerical valueHas a figure
  8. 31 Aug 2021, Shift 2 · Q4Two thin metallic spherical shells of radii r1r_1 and r2r_2 (r1<r2r_1 < r_2) are placed with their centres coinciding. A material of thermal…MediumSingle correct
  9. 24 Feb 2021, Shift 1 · Q6Volume Expansion · Easy · Single correct
  10. 25 Feb 2021, Shift 1 · Q9Thermal Stress · Easy · Assertion–reason
  11. 26 Feb 2021, Shift 1 · Q9Junction Temperature · Easy · Diagram based · has a figure
  12. 22 Jul 2021, Shift 2 · Q23Newton's Law of Cooling · Medium · Numerical value
  13. 25 Jul 2021, Shift 1 · Q14Heating and Cooling Curves · Medium · Single correct · has a figure
  14. 16 Mar 2021, Shift 2 · Q13Bimetallic Strips · Easy · Diagram based · has a figure
  15. 17 Mar 2021, Shift 1 · Q11Equivalent Thermal Conductivity in Series · Easy · Single correct

JEE Main 20209 questions

  1. 8 Jan 2020, Shift 2 · Q23Three-Liquid Mixing · Medium · Numerical value
  2. 2 Sep 2020, Shift 2 · Q6Density Variation with Temperature · Easy · Single correct
  3. 3 Sep 2020, Shift 1 · Q23Apparent Expansion of Liquids · Medium · Numerical value
  4. 3 Sep 2020, Shift 2 · Q6Average Temperature Method for Newton's Law of Cooling · Medium · Single correct
  5. 3 Sep 2020, Shift 2 · Q7Steam Injection Phase Dynamics · Medium · Single correct
  6. 4 Sep 2020, Shift 1 · Q1Open the question · Easy · Single correct
  7. 4 Sep 2020, Shift 1 · Q7Latent Heat and Phase Change · Easy · Single correct
  8. 5 Sep 2020, Shift 1 · Q6Mechanical Equivalent of Heat · Medium · Single correct
  9. 6 Sep 2020, Shift 2 · Q8Slabs in Series · Medium · Single correct · has a figure

JEE Main 20172 questions

  1. 2 Apr 2017 (offline) · Q8Water Equivalent · Easy · Single correct
  2. 2 Apr 2017 (offline) · Q9Thermal Stress · Medium · Single 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 Physics, Class 11

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