JEE Main · Physics · Mechanical Properties of Solids

Elasticity: JEE Main previous year questions

Name: Elasticity: JEE Main previous year questions
Creator: Lumi

76 questions in the 108 JEE Main shifts Lumi analysed, in 8 of 8 years. Pattern: Asked most years. 31 came in 2024–26. Here is how it is asked and which ideas come back.

Questions: 76; in 64 of 108 shifts
Years asked: 8/8; last asked 2026
Chance in a shift: 71%; calibrated model, how we compute it
Weighted estimate: 0.8; model; history: 0.7 a shift on average, typically 0.6–0.8

Key findings

01
Asked in 8 of 8 years with analysed shifts and in 64 of 108 shifts: 76 questions, #23 of 196 topics. It came in every year with analysed shifts.
02
28% of its questions since 2020 tested an idea no earlier year had asked; 36 repeated an idea from the year before.
03
The most repeated idea is Elastic Moduli, asked 18 times in 17 shifts (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026), most often as “percentage volume change from bulk modulus”.
04
JEE Main has asked 19 of the 56 ideas in this topic; 33 have never been asked, directly or inside another question.
05
Mostly asked as single correct (51%); 46% need a numerical answer, 42% are easy and 3% hard. It went up from 0.6 to 0.9 questions a shift since 2024.
06
The skill tested most is calculation (55%), then multi-step (20%).

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: 1 in 1 shift · 2020: 3 in 12 shifts · 2021: 16 in 24 shifts · 2022: 16 in 24 shifts · 2023: 9 in 12 shifts · 2024: 13 in 18 shifts · 2025: 6 in 8 shifts · 2026: 12 in 9 shifts.

Up to 2023: 0.6; a shift, of 25
Since 2024: 0.9; +0.3
Usual gap: 1.3 yrs; between years asking it
Shifts with it: 64/108; 59% of analysed shifts

Recent framings

numerical: max acceleration from breaking stress
numerical: length from equal elongation of joined wires
numerical: Young's modulus from load-extension graph

Revise first

Elastic Moduli · asked 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Series and Parallel Composite Wires · asked 2021, 2022, 2023, 2026
Stress and Strain Types · asked 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024

How it is asked

Difficulty, format and skill

Across all 76 questions on Elasticity since 2017.

Difficulty

QUESTIONS

3242

Easy32 · 42%
Medium42 · 55%
Hard2 · 3%

Format

Single correct · 39 Q51%
Numerical value · 35 Q46%
Match the list · 1 Q1%
Diagram based · 1 Q1%

Skill tested

Calculation · 42 Q55%
Multi-step · 15 Q20%
Application · 8 Q11%
Conceptual · 4 Q5%
Data or graph · 4 Q5%
Recall · 3 Q4%

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.

’17’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Idea asked for the first time
Idea asked in an earlier year

Coverage of the topic

JEE Main has asked 19 of the 56 ideas in this topic. 33 have never been asked yet.

1933

Asked directly19 · 34%
Touched inside another question4 · 7%
Never asked33 · 59%

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.

chapterAskedShareYears’17’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Open71 · 93%93%8/831416912511
19 ideas inside
- OpenRepeated17 · 24%24%7/84424
- OpenRepeated8 · 11%11%4/85
- OpenRepeated7 · 10%10%4/8222
- OpenRepeated7 · 10%10%4/823
- OpenRepeated5 · 7%7%3/83
- OpenRepeated4 · 6%6%4/8
- OpenRepeated4 · 6%6%3/82
- OpenRepeated4 · 6%6%3/82
- OpenRepeated3 · 4%4%3/8
- Open2 · 3%3%1/82
- OpenRepeated2 · 3%3%2/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
- Open1 · 1%1%1/8
Open3 · 4%4%3/8
Open2 · 3%3%2/8

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

19 different ideas were tested; 13 came more than once.

Elastic Moduli18×
percentage volume change from bulk modulus
Single correct · 17 shifts · 6 numerical
Stress and Strain Types8×
strain in wire supporting pulley masses
Numerical value · 7 shifts · 5 numerical
Breaking Stress and Breaking Force7×
maximum load before wire breaks
Numerical value · 7 shifts · 3 numerical
Series and Parallel Composite Wires7×
extension of series composite wires
Single correct · 7 shifts · 1 numerical
Hooke's Law5×
natural length from two tensions
Numerical value · 5 shifts · 3 numerical
Elastic Potential Energy4×
elastic energy stored in stretched wire
Numerical value · 4 shifts · 3 numerical
Elongation Due to Self-Weight4×
elongation of rod under own weight
Numerical value · 4 shifts · 3 numerical
Error Analysis in Searle's Experiment4×
percentage error in derived quantity
Single correct · 4 shifts · 1 numerical
Elastic Energy Density4×
elastic energy density with poisson ratio
Numerical value · 4 shifts · 2 numerical
Finding Natural Length from Two Tensions3×
original length from two tensions
Single correct · 3 shifts · 1 numerical
Searle's Experiment for Young's Modulus2×
young modulus from wire extension
Numerical value · 2 shifts · 1 numerical
Compression at Liquid Depth2×
depth for given volume decrease
Numerical value · 2 shifts · 2 numerical
Compressibility and Density Changes2×
depth from fractional volume change and bulk modulus
Numerical value · 2 shifts · 1 numerical
Effect of Temperature on Young's Modulus1×
effect of temperature on a material property
Single correct · 1 shift
Maximum Hanging Length Before Breaking1×
maximum hanging length of wire before breaking
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical
Wire as an Equivalent Spring1×
tension for given spring length
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical
Isothermal and Adiabatic Bulk Moduli1×
bulk modulus of gas from pressure-volume relation
Single correct · 1 shift
Lateral Displacement of a Sheared Cube1×
displacement of sheared slab
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical
Interrelations Between Elastic Constants1×
relation between elastic moduli
Single correct · 1 shift

Idea	Times	Shifts	Format	Numerical
Elastic Modulipercentage volume change from bulk modulus	18	17	Single correctCalculation	6
Stress and Strain Typesstrain in wire supporting pulley masses	8	7	Numerical valueMulti-step	5
Breaking Stress and Breaking Forcemaximum load before wire breaks	7	7	Numerical valueMulti-step	3
Series and Parallel Composite Wiresextension of series composite wires	7	7	Single correctCalculation	1
Hooke's Lawnatural length from two tensions	5	5	Numerical valueCalculation	3
Elastic Potential Energyelastic energy stored in stretched wire	4	4	Numerical valueCalculation	3
Elongation Due to Self-Weightelongation of rod under own weight	4	4	Numerical valueApplication	3
Error Analysis in Searle's Experimentpercentage error in derived quantity	4	4	Single correctCalculation	1
Elastic Energy Densityelastic energy density with poisson ratio	4	4	Numerical valueApplication	2
Finding Natural Length from Two Tensionsoriginal length from two tensions	3	3	Single correctCalculation	1
Searle's Experiment for Young's Modulusyoung modulus from wire extension	2	2	Numerical valueCalculation	1
Compression at Liquid Depthdepth for given volume decrease	2	2	Numerical valueCalculation	2
Compressibility and Density Changesdepth from fractional volume change and bulk modulus	2	2	Numerical valueApplication	1
Effect of Temperature on Young's Moduluseffect of temperature on a material property	1	1	Single correctRecall	–
Maximum Hanging Length Before Breakingmaximum hanging length of wire before breaking	1	1	Numerical valueCalculation	1
Wire as an Equivalent Springtension for given spring length	1	1	Numerical valueCalculation	1
Isothermal and Adiabatic Bulk Modulibulk modulus of gas from pressure-volume relation	1	1	Single correctCalculation	–
Lateral Displacement of a Sheared Cubedisplacement of sheared slab	1	1	Numerical valueCalculation	1
Interrelations Between Elastic Constantsrelation between elastic moduli	1	1	Single correctRecall	–

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

Elasticity questions, year by year

The newest 40 show their opening words as they appeared in the official paper; older ones name the idea they tested. Open one for its options and the official answer.

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.

Key findings

Questions a shift, year by year

Difficulty, format and skill

Difficulty

Format

Skill tested

New idea, or one asked before?

Coverage of the topic

Chapter, idea, question

Every idea inside this topic

Elasticity questions, year by year

JEE Main 202612 questions in 7 shifts

JEE Main 20256 questions in 5 shifts

JEE Main 202413 questions in 12 shifts

JEE Main 20239 questions in 8 shifts

JEE Main 202216 questions in 13 shifts

JEE Main 202116 questions in 15 shifts

JEE Main 20203 questions in 3 shifts

JEE Main 20171 question in 1 shift

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