JEE Main · Physics · Electric Charges and Fields

Gauss's Law: JEE Main previous year questions

Name: Gauss's Law: JEE Main previous year questions
Creator: Lumi

29 questions in the 108 JEE Main shifts Lumi analysed, in 7 of 8 years. Pattern: Asked most years. 13 came in 2024–26. Here is how it is asked and which ideas come back.

Questions: 29; in 27 of 108 shifts
Years asked: 7/8; last asked 2026
Chance in a shift: 19%; calibrated model, how we compute it
Weighted estimate: 0.2; model; history: 0.2 a shift on average, typically 0.1–0.3

Key findings

01
Asked in 7 of 8 years with analysed shifts and in 27 of 108 shifts: 29 questions, #115 of 196 topics.
02
52% of its questions since 2020 tested an idea no earlier year had asked; 12 repeated an idea from the year before.
03
The most repeated idea is Gauss Law Application, asked 6 times in 6 shifts (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026), most often as “flux ratio through spheres”.
04
JEE Main has asked 13 of the 55 ideas in this topic; 37 have never been asked, directly or inside another question.
05
Mostly asked as single correct (41%); 31% need a numerical answer, 41% are easy and 7% hard.
06
The skill tested most is calculation (28%), then conceptual (21%).

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: 2 in 12 shifts · 2021: 7 in 24 shifts · 2022: 4 in 24 shifts · 2023: 3 in 12 shifts · 2024: 10 in 18 shifts · 2025: 2 in 8 shifts · 2026: 1 in 9 shifts.

Up to 2023: 0.1; a shift, of 25
Since 2024: 0.3; 0.1
Usual gap: 1.0 yrs; between years asking it
Shifts with it: 27/108; 25% of analysed shifts

How it is asked

Difficulty, format and skill

Across all 29 questions on Gauss's Law since 2017.

Difficulty

QUESTIONS

1215

Easy12 · 41%
Medium15 · 52%
Hard2 · 7%

Format

Single correct · 12 Q41%
Numerical value · 9 Q31%
Diagram based · 5 Q17%
Match the list · 1 Q3%
Other · 1 Q3%
Two statements · 1 Q3%

Skill tested

Calculation · 8 Q28%
Conceptual · 6 Q21%
Application · 5 Q17%
Multi-step · 5 Q17%
Data or graph · 3 Q10%
Recall · 1 Q3%
Diagram reading · 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.

’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 13 of the 55 ideas in this topic. 37 have never been asked yet.

13537

Asked directly13 · 24%
Touched inside another question5 · 9%
Never asked37 · 67%

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

Open27 · 93%93%7/8274382
13 ideas inside
- OpenRepeated6 · 22%22%4/83
- OpenRepeated5 · 19%19%4/82
- OpenRepeated4 · 15%15%3/82
- OpenRepeated3 · 11%11%2/82
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
- Open1 · 4%4%1/8
Open1 · 3%3%1/8
Open1 · 3%3%1/8

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

13 different ideas were tested; 4 came more than once.

Gauss Law Application6×
flux ratio through spheres
Single correct · 6 shifts
Electric Flux Calculation6×
area from flux through surface
Numerical value · 6 shifts · 5 numerical
Cylindrical Field5×
time period of charge orbiting line charge
Numerical value · 5 shifts · 2 numerical
Flux via Cube Symmetry3×
flux through cube with charge at face centre
Diagram based · 3 shifts · 1 numerical
Electrostatic Pressure1×
electric field on charged shell surface
Single correct · 1 shift
Flux from External Charges1×
flux through surface from enclosed charges
Single correct · 1 shift
Flux in Spatially Variable Field1×
flux through cube in non-uniform field
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical
Nonconducting Sphere1×
field versus distance graph for solid insulating sphere
Diagram based · 1 shift
Field of Non-uniform Spherical Charge1×
field inside sphere with radially varying charge density
Single correct · 1 shift
Flux Through a Hemisphere1×
flux through surface of hemisphere with enclosed charge
Single correct · 1 shift
Field of Concentric Conducting Shells1×
graph interpretation of e vs r
Diagram based · 1 shift
Flux of Enclosed Dipoles1×
statement i/ii on flux and field of enclosed charges
Two statements · 1 shift
Selection of Gaussian Surface1×
condition for applying gauss law formula
Single correct · 1 shift

Idea	Times	Shifts	Format	Numerical
Gauss Law Applicationflux ratio through spheres	6	6	Single correctApplication	–
Electric Flux Calculationarea from flux through surface	6	6	Numerical valueCalculation	5
Cylindrical Fieldtime period of charge orbiting line charge	5	5	Numerical valueMulti-step	2
Flux via Cube Symmetryflux through cube with charge at face centre	3	3	Diagram basedApplication	1
Electrostatic Pressureelectric field on charged shell surface	1	1	Single correctConceptual	–
Flux from External Chargesflux through surface from enclosed charges	1	1	Single correctApplication	–
Flux in Spatially Variable Fieldflux through cube in non-uniform field	1	1	Numerical valueCalculation	1
Nonconducting Spherefield versus distance graph for solid insulating sphere	1	1	Diagram basedData or graph	–
Field of Non-uniform Spherical Chargefield inside sphere with radially varying charge density	1	1	Single correctMulti-step	–
Flux Through a Hemisphereflux through surface of hemisphere with enclosed charge	1	1	Single correctConceptual	–
Field of Concentric Conducting Shellsgraph interpretation of e vs r	1	1	Diagram basedData or graph	–
Flux of Enclosed Dipolesstatement i/ii on flux and field of enclosed charges	1	1	Two statementsConceptual	–
Selection of Gaussian Surfacecondition for applying gauss law formula	1	1	Single correctConceptual	–

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

Gauss's 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.

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

Gauss's Law questions, year by year

JEE Main 20261 question in 1 shift

JEE Main 20252 questions in 2 shifts

JEE Main 202410 questions in 8 shifts

JEE Main 20233 questions in 3 shifts

JEE Main 20224 questions in 4 shifts

JEE Main 20217 questions in 7 shifts

JEE Main 20202 questions in 2 shifts

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