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Saturday, 31 October

JEE Main · Maths · Three Dimensional Geometry

Finding an Unknown Parameter from Shortest Distance

JEE Main asked Finding an Unknown Parameter from Shortest Distance 3 times in 3 of the 108 shifts Lumi analysed, in 2021, 2024 and 2025. It belongs to Skew Lines, in Three Dimensional Geometry (Maths). The longest wait between two years asking it was 3 years.

Updated 2026-10-24

Times asked
3
in 3 shifts
Years
3 of 8
First asked
2021
last in 2025
Pattern
Comes in cycles
across the analysed shifts

Questions on this idea a shift, by year

2017–2026. Asked in 2021, 2024 and 2025. Years differ in how many shifts Lumi analysed, so each year is scaled to one shift of 25 Maths questions.

00.10.20’170’200.03’210’220’230.05’240.13’250’26

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

Shift by shift

Each square is one analysed shift, in date order. Open a filled one for that paper.

  • 20260 of 9
  • 20251 of 8
  • 20241 of 18
  • 20230 of 12
  • 20220 of 24
  • 20211 of 24
  • 20200 of 12
  • 20170 of 1

Asked in that shift More than once Not asked

How JEE Main framed it

Single correct is the usual form. Skill tested: calculation.

  • Unknown parameter from skew distance then circle radius
  • Shortest distance between skew lines

Difficulty

Easy 0Medium 2Hard 1

1 of the 3 questions had a numerical answer.

Every question

All 3 questions

From the official JEE Main shift papers, newest first. Open one for the full question, the options and the official answer.

  1. 8 Apr 2025, Shift 2 · Q15Let the values of λ\lambda for which the shortest distance between the lines x−12=y−23=z−34\frac{x-1}{2} = \frac{y-2}{3} = \frac{z-3}{4} and…HardSingle correct
  2. 6 Apr 2024, Shift 2 · Q28If the shortest distance between the lines x−λ3=y−2−1=z−11\frac{x-\lambda}{3}=\frac{y-2}{-1}=\frac{z-1}{1} and…MediumNumerical value
  3. 22 Jul 2021, Shift 2 · Q63If the shortest distance between the straight lines 3(x−1)=6(y−2)=2(z−1)3(x-1)=6(y-2)=2(z-1) and 4(x−2)=2(y−λ)=(z−3)4(x-2)=2(y-\lambda)=(z-3), λ∈R\lambda\in\mathbf{R} is…MediumSingle correct

Shifts: 22 Jul 2021, Shift 2, 6 Apr 2024, Shift 2, 8 Apr 2025, Shift 2.

Same topic

Other ideas in Skew Lines

Skew Lines has 8 ideas JEE Main has asked; 4 of them came up in more than one question.

Topic analysisChapter analysisStudy this chapterAll repeated ideas