JEE Main · Physics · Moving Charges and Magnetism
Biot-Savart Law: JEE Main previous year questions
40 questions in the 108 JEE Main shifts Lumi analysed, in 7 of 8 years. Pattern: Asked most years. 14 came in 2024–26. Here is how it is asked and which ideas come back.
- Questions
- 40
- in 40 of 108 shifts
- Years asked
- 7/8
- last asked 2026
- Weighted estimate
- 0.3
- model; history: 0.3 a shift on average, typically 0.3
Key findings
- 01
Asked in 7 of 8 years with analysed shifts and in 40 of 108 shifts: 40 questions, #80 of 196 topics.
- 02
33% of its questions since 2020 tested an idea no earlier year had asked; 16 repeated an idea from the year before.
- 03
The most repeated idea is Field at center of circular arc, asked 8 times in 8 shifts (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), most often as “field at centre of concentric semicircles”.
- 04
JEE Main has asked 11 of the 55 ideas in this topic; 35 have never been asked, directly or inside another question.
- 05
Mostly asked as single correct (53%); 28% need a numerical answer, 28% are easy and 10% hard.
- 06
The skill tested most is calculation (50%), then multi-step (28%).
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.
Raw count: 2017: 0 in 1 shift · 2020: 3 in 12 shifts · 2021: 9 in 24 shifts · 2022: 10 in 24 shifts · 2023: 4 in 12 shifts · 2024: 7 in 18 shifts · 2025: 4 in 8 shifts · 2026: 3 in 9 shifts.
- Up to 2023
- 0.2
- a shift, of 25
- Since 2024
- 0.4
- 0.2
- Usual gap
- 1.0 yrs
- between years asking it
- Shifts with it
- 40/108
- 37% of analysed shifts
Revise first
- Superposition of magnetic fields · asked 2020, 2022, 2023, 2026
- Field at center of circular arc · asked 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Field at Center of Regular Polygon · asked 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025
How it is asked
Difficulty, format and skill
Across all 40 questions on Biot-Savart Law since 2017.
Difficulty
QUESTIONS- Easy11 · 28%
- Medium25 · 63%
- Hard4 · 10%
Format
SHARE- Single correct · 21 Q53%
- Numerical value · 11 Q28%
- Diagram based · 7 Q18%
- Match the list · 1 Q3%
Skill tested
SHARE- Calculation · 20 Q50%
- Multi-step · 11 Q28%
- Application · 6 Q15%
- Conceptual · 2 Q5%
- Recall · 1 Q3%
Repeats
New idea, or one asked before?
Each column is a year. Blue questions tested an idea no earlier year had asked; navy ones went back to an idea from an earlier year. 2017 is the first year, so everything in it counts as new. Heights are question counts, and Lumi analysed 1 to 24 shifts a year, so compare the split inside a column rather than heights across years.
- Idea asked for the first time
- Idea asked in an earlier year
Coverage of the topic
JEE Main has asked 11 of the 55 ideas in this topic. 35 have never been asked yet.
- Asked directly11 · 20%
- Touched inside another question9 · 16%
- Never asked35 · 64%
Ideas come from Lumi’s JEE syllabus map. A never-asked idea is not a safe skip: across all of JEE Main, 22% of questions since 2024 tested an idea no earlier year had asked.
Drill down
Chapter, idea, question
Every idea JEE Main tested in this topic, with its eight years. Open one to read the questions.
10 ideas inside
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
Every idea inside this topic
11 different ideas were tested; 9 came more than once.
field at centre of concentric semicircles
Diagram based · 8 shifts · 3 numericalfield ratio for arc and straight wires
Single correct · 5 shifts · 1 numericalfield at centre of loop with split current
Numerical value · 5 shifts · 2 numericalaxial to central field ratio
Single correct · 5 shifts · 1 numericalmagnetic energy in small volume at loop centre
Single correct · 4 shifts · 1 numericalfield between opposite-current wires
Numerical value · 4 shifts · 2 numericaldimension of physical quantity from formula
Single correct · 3 shiftsfield at centre due to orbiting electron
Numerical value · 2 shifts · 1 numericalmagnetic field at centre of spiral coil
Single correct · 2 shiftsfield of a current element on axis
Single correct · 1 shiftfield at centre of hairpin with semicircle
Diagram based · 1 shift
| Idea | Years asked | Times | Shifts | Format | Numerical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field at center of circular arcfield at centre of concentric semicircles | 8 | 8 | Diagram basedMulti-step | 3 | |
| Superposition of magnetic fieldsfield ratio for arc and straight wires | 5 | 5 | Single correctMulti-step | 1 | |
| Field at Center of Regular Polygonfield at centre of loop with split current | 5 | 5 | Numerical valueCalculation | 2 | |
| Ratio of Axial to Central Magnetic Fieldaxial to central field ratio | 5 | 5 | Single correctCalculation | 1 | |
| Field of an N-Turn Flat Coilmagnetic energy in small volume at loop centre | 4 | 4 | Single correctApplication | 1 | |
| Infinite and semi-infinite wiresfield between opposite-current wires | 4 | 4 | Numerical valueCalculation | 2 | |
| Dimensions of Permeabilitydimension of physical quantity from formula | 3 | 3 | Single correctConceptual | – | |
| Field on axis of circular loopfield at centre due to orbiting electron | 2 | 2 | Numerical valueCalculation | 1 | |
| Field at Center of Spiral Coilmagnetic field at centre of spiral coil | 2 | 2 | Single correctApplication | – | |
| Vector form of Biot-Savart Lawfield of a current element on axis | 1 | 1 | Single correctCalculation | – | |
| Field of a Hairpin Loopfield at centre of hairpin with semicircle | 1 | 1 | Diagram basedApplication | – |
Times and shifts count every analysed shift. Across JEE Main, 78% of questions since 2024 went back to an idea an earlier year had asked; the rest were new. All repeated ideas
Every question
Biot-Savart Law questions, year by year
The opening words of each question as it appeared in the official paper, with the idea it tested. Open one for its options and the official answer.
JEE Main 20263 questions in 3 shifts
- 2 Apr, Shift 1Q39Two identical long current carrying wires are bent into the shapes shown in the following figures. If the magnitude of magnetic fields at…
Idea: Superposition of magnetic fields
MediumSingle correct · figure - 6 Apr, Shift 1Q42A small cube of side 1 mm is placed at the centre of a circular loop of radius 10 cm carrying a current of 2 A. The magnetic energy stored…
Idea: Field of an N-Turn Flat Coil
MediumSingle correct - 6 Apr, Shift 2Q38A current of 30 A each flows in opposite directions in two conducting wires, placed parallel to each other at a distance of 8 cm. The…
Idea: Superposition of magnetic fields
EasySingle correct
JEE Main 20254 questions in 4 shifts
- 2 Apr, Shift 1Q38Let be the magnitude of magnetic field at center of a circular coil of radius R carrying current I. Let be the magnitude of…
Idea: Ratio of Axial to Central Magnetic Field
EasySingle correct - 2 Apr, Shift 2Q27Given a charge , current and permeability of vacuum . Which of the following quantity has the dimension of momentum ?
Idea: Dimensions of Permeability
MediumSingle correct - 3 Apr, Shift 1Q48A loop ABCDA, carrying current A, is placed in a plane, consists of two semi-circular segments of radius…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
Asked the year beforeMediumNumerical value · figure - 8 Apr, Shift 2Q39Figure shows a current carrying square loop ABCD of edge length is 'a' lying in a plane. If the resistance of the ABC part is r and that…
Idea: Field at Center of Regular Polygon
Asked the year beforeHardDiagram based · figure
JEE Main 20247 questions in 7 shifts
- 4 Apr, Shift 2Q54Two parallel long current carrying wire separated by a distance are shown in the figure. The ratio of magnetic field at to the…
Idea: Infinite and semi-infinite wires
MediumNumerical value · figure - 6 Apr, Shift 1Q43An element is placed at the origin and carries a large current = 10A. The magnetic field on the -axis…
Idea: Vector form of Biot-Savart Law
New ideaEasySingle correct · figure - 1 Feb, Shift 1Q57A regular polygon of 6 sides is formed by bending a wire of length meter. If an electric current of A is flowing…
Idea: Field at Center of Regular Polygon
MediumNumerical value - 27 Jan, Shift 1Q57Two long, straight wires carry equal currents in opposite directions as shown in figure. The separation between the wires is 5.0 cm. The…
Idea: Infinite and semi-infinite wires
EasyNumerical value · figure - 30 Jan, Shift 1Q42Two insulated circular loop A and B of radius 'a' carrying a current of 'I' in the anti clockwise direction as shown in the figure. The…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
Asked the year beforeMediumDiagram based · figure - 30 Jan, Shift 2Q57The current of 5A flows in a square loop of sides is placed in air. The magnetic field at the centre of the loop is…
Idea: Field at Center of Regular Polygon
EasyNumerical value - 31 Jan, Shift 2Q57Two circular coils and of 100 turns each have same radius of cm. The currents in and are and respectively.…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
Asked the year beforeMediumNumerical value
JEE Main 20234 questions in 4 shifts
- 6 Apr, Shift 1Q57Two identical circular wires of radius 20 cm and carrying current A are placed in perpendicular planes as shown in figure. The…
Idea: Superposition of magnetic fields
Asked the year beforeMediumNumerical value · figure - 8 Apr, Shift 2Q59The ratio of magnetic field at the centre of a current carrying coil of radius to the magnetic field at distance from the centre…
Idea: Ratio of Axial to Central Magnetic Field
Asked the year beforeMediumNumerical value - 10 Apr, Shift 2Q59A straight wire carrying a current of 14 A is bent into a semicircular arc of radius 2.2 cm as shown in the figure. The magnetic field…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
Asked the year beforeMediumNumerical value · figure - 15 Apr, Shift 1Q59An election in a hydrogen atom revolves around its nucleus with a speed of ms in an orbit of radius 0.52…
Idea: Field on axis of circular loop
MediumNumerical value
JEE Main 202210 questions in 10 shifts
- 25 Jul, Shift 2Q32The electric current in a circular coil of 2 turns produces a magnetic induction at its centre. The coil is unwound and is…
Idea: Field of an N-Turn Flat Coil
Asked the year beforeMediumSingle correct - 26 Jul, Shift 1Q39and are the magnetic fields at the centre of two coils X and Y respectively each carrying equal current. If coil X has 200…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
Asked the year beforeEasySingle correct - 28 Jul, Shift 2Q13The magnetic field at the center of current carrying circular loop is . The magnetic field at a distance of times…
Idea: Ratio of Axial to Central Magnetic Field
Asked the year beforeEasySingle correct - 29 Jul, Shift 1Q56A closely wounded circular coil of radius 5 cm produces a magnetic field of T at its center. The current through…
Idea: Field of an N-Turn Flat Coil
Asked the year beforeEasyNumerical value - 29 Jul, Shift 2Q36A wire X of length 50 cm carrying a current of 2 A is placed parallel to a long wire Y of length 5 m. The wire Y carries a current of 3 A.…
Idea: Infinite and semi-infinite wires
New ideaMediumDiagram based · figure - 30 Jul, Shift 2Q16In the following loop, magnitude of the magnetic field produced at the centre (O) of the loop is : (Assume AB and CD are infinitely…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
Asked the year beforeMediumSingle correct · figure - 24 Jun, Shift 1Q49The magnetic field at the centre of a circular coil of radius r, due to current I flowing through it, is B. The magnetic field at a point…
Idea: Ratio of Axial to Central Magnetic Field
Asked the year beforeEasySingle correct - 27 Jun, Shift 2Q43Two long parallel conductors S and S are separated by a distance 10 cm and carrying currents of 4A and 2A respectively. The…
Idea: Superposition of magnetic fields
HardSingle correct · figure - 29 Jun, Shift 2Q39Two long current carrying conductors are placed parallel to each other at a distance of 8 cm between them. The magnitude of magnetic field…
Idea: Infinite and semi-infinite wires
New ideaMediumSingle correct - 30 Jun, Shift 1Q39A coil of n number of turns wound tightly in the form of a spiral with inner and outer radii and …
Idea: Field at Center of Spiral Coil
Asked the year beforeMediumSingle correct
JEE Main 20219 questions in 9 shifts
- 3 Aug, Shift 1Q13A current I enters a circular coil of radius R, branches into two parts at A and then recombines at B (as shown in figure). The resultant…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
Asked the year beforeMediumDiagram based · figure - 4 Aug, Shift 2Q7The same current is passed through two identical conducting wires of the same length L. One of them, , is bent in the form…
Idea: Field of an N-Turn Flat Coil
New ideaEasySingle correct - 26 Aug, Shift 1Q11The fractional change in the magnetic field intensity at a distance ‘r’ from centre on the axis of current carrying coil of radius ‘a’ to…
Idea: Ratio of Axial to Central Magnetic Field
New ideaMediumSingle correct - 26 Aug, Shift 2Q1Match List - I with List - II : List - I List - II (a) Magnetic Induction (i) (b) Magnetic Flux (ii)…
Idea: Dimensions of Permeability
New ideaMediumMatch the list - 27 Aug, Shift 1Q5Which of the following is not a dimensionless quantity ?
Idea: Dimensions of Permeability
New ideaEasySingle correct - 31 Aug, Shift 1Q10A coil having N turns is wound tightly in the form of a spiral with inner and outer radii 'a' and 'b' respectively. Find the magnetic…
Idea: Field at Center of Spiral Coil
New ideaHardSingle correct - 31 Aug, Shift 2Q17A current of 1.5 A is flowing through a triangle, of side 9 cm each. The magnetic field at the centroid of the triangle is : (Assume that…
Idea: Field at Center of Regular Polygon
Asked the year beforeMediumSingle correct - 25 Feb, Shift 1Q16Magnetic fields at two points on the axis of a circular coil at a distance of 0.05 m and 0.2 m from the centre are in the ratio 8 : 1. The…
Idea: Field on axis of circular loop
New ideaMediumSingle correct - 17 Mar, Shift 2Q12A hairpin like shape as shown in figure is made by bending a long current carrying wire. What is the magnitude of a magnetic field at…
Idea: Field of a Hairpin Loop
New ideaMediumDiagram based · figure
JEE Main 20203 questions in 3 shifts
- 8 Jan, Shift 2Q12A very long wire ABDMNDC is shown in figure carrying current I. AB and BC parts are straight, long and at right angle. At D wire forms a…
Idea: Superposition of magnetic fields
New ideaHardDiagram based · figure - 3 Sep, Shift 1Q13Magnitude of magnetic field (in SI units) at the centre of a hexagonal shape coil of side 10 cm, 50 turns and carrying current I (Ampere)…
Idea: Field at Center of Regular Polygon
New ideaMediumSingle correct - 4 Sep, Shift 1Q13A wire A, bent in the shape of an arc of a circle, carrying a current of 2 A and having radius 2 cm and another wire B, also bent in the…
Idea: Field at center of circular arc
New ideaMediumDiagram based · figure
Questions from the official JEE Main Paper 1 shifts published by NTA (CBSE for 2017). Questions NTA dropped are left out. Topic and idea tags, counts and notes are Lumi’s.