JEE Main · Physics · Nuclei

Nuclear Binding Energy: JEE Main previous year questions

Name: Nuclear Binding Energy: JEE Main previous year questions
Creator: Lumi

35 questions in the 108 JEE Main shifts Lumi analysed, in 7 of 8 years. Pattern: Asked most years. 18 came in 2024–26. Here is how it is asked and which ideas come back.

Questions: 35; in 32 of 108 shifts
Years asked: 7/8; last asked 2026
Chance in a shift: 47%; calibrated model, how we compute it
Weighted estimate: 0.4; model; history: 0.3 a shift on average, typically 0.1–0.5

Key findings

01
Asked in 7 of 8 years with analysed shifts and in 32 of 108 shifts: 35 questions, #101 of 196 topics.
02
34% 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 Nuclear Radius and Density, asked 10 times in 9 shifts (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), most often as “assertion-reason on nuclear radius and density”.
04
JEE Main has asked 11 of the 60 ideas in this topic; 46 have never been asked, directly or inside another question.
05
Mostly asked as single correct (51%); 31% need a numerical answer, 69% are easy and 0% hard. It went up from 0.2 to 0.5 questions a shift since 2024.
06
The skill tested most is calculation (54%), then conceptual (26%).

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: 2 in 24 shifts · 2022: 6 in 24 shifts · 2023: 6 in 12 shifts · 2024: 10 in 18 shifts · 2025: 3 in 8 shifts · 2026: 5 in 9 shifts.

Up to 2023: 0.2; a shift, of 25
Since 2024: 0.5; 0.3
Usual gap: 1.0 yrs; between years asking it
Shifts with it: 32/108; 30% of analysed shifts

Revise first

Nuclear Radius and Density · asked 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Binding Energy per Nucleon · asked 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Q-Value from Binding Energies · asked 2026

How it is asked

Difficulty, format and skill

Across all 35 questions on Nuclear Binding Energy since 2017.

Difficulty

QUESTIONS

2411

Easy24 · 69%
Medium11 · 31%
Hard0 · 0%

Format

Single correct · 18 Q51%
Numerical value · 11 Q31%
Other · 3 Q9%
Assertion–reason · 2 Q6%
Diagram based · 1 Q3%

Skill tested

Calculation · 19 Q54%
Conceptual · 9 Q26%
Recall · 3 Q9%
Multi-step · 3 Q9%
Data or graph · 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 11 of the 60 ideas in this topic. 46 have never been asked yet.

1146

Asked directly11 · 18%
Touched inside another question3 · 5%
Never asked46 · 77%

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

Idea, year, question

Every idea JEE Main tested in this topic, with its eight years. Open one to read the questions.

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

OpenRepeated10 · 29%29%5/8332
- 7 Apr ’25 S2 · Q44
  Given below are two statements : one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A) : The density of…
  easyAssertion–reasonAsked the year before
- 8 Apr ’25 S2 · Q44
  For a nucleus of mass number A and radius R, the mass density of nucleus can be represented as
  easySingle correctAsked the year before
- 1 Feb ’24 S1 · Q60
  The radius of a nucleus of mass number 64 is 4.8 fermi. Then the mass number of another nucleus having radius of 4 fermi is…
  easyNumerical valueAsked the year before
- 31 Jan ’24 S2 · Q47
  The mass number of nucleus having radius equal to half of the radius of nucleus with mass number 192 is:
  easySingle correctAsked the year before
- 31 Jan ’24 S2 · Q60
  A nucleus has mass number $A_1$ and volume $V_1$ . Another nucleus has mass number $A_2$ and Volume $V_2$ . If relation between mass number…
  easyNumerical valueAsked the year before
- 11 Apr ’23 S2 · Q55
  A nucleus disintegrates into two nuclear parts, in such a way that ratio of their nuclear sizes is $1 : 2^{1/3}$ . Their respective speed…
  mediumNumerical valueAsked the year before
- 26 Jul ’22 S2 · Q49
  Mass numbers of two nuclei are in the ratio of 4:3. Their nuclear densities will be in the ratio of
  easySingle correct
- 29 Jul ’22 S2 · Q41
  Read the following statements: (A) Volume of the nucleus is directly proportional to the mass number. (B) Volume of the nucleus is…
  easyOther
- 25 Jun ’22 S2 · Q47
  Which of the following figure represents the variation of $\ln\left(\frac{R}{R_0}\right)$ with $\mathrm{l}_n A$ (if $R$ = radius of a…
  easyDiagram based
- 3 Sep ’20 S2 · Q18
  Read the question
  easySingle correctNew idea
OpenRepeated6 · 17%17%6/8
OpenRepeated5 · 14%14%3/83
OpenRepeated3 · 9%9%2/82
OpenRepeated2 · 6%6%2/8
OpenRepeated2 · 6%6%2/8
Open2 · 6%6%1/82
OpenRepeated2 · 6%6%2/8
Open1 · 3%3%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

11 different ideas were tested; 8 came more than once.

Nuclear Radius and Density10×
assertion-reason on nuclear radius and density
Single correct · 9 shifts · 3 numerical
Binding Energy per Nucleon6×
fusion energy from binding energy per nucleon
Numerical value · 6 shifts · 3 numerical
Mass Defect Calculation5×
mass defect of nucleus in mev
Single correct · 5 shifts · 2 numerical
Total Binding Energy3×
energy equivalent of given mass
Single correct · 3 shifts · 1 numerical
Q-Value from Binding Energies2×
energy change from binding energy per nucleon
Single correct · 2 shifts
Stability Curve Interpretation2×
assertion-reason on binding energy per nucleon
Assertion–reason · 2 shifts
Q-Value Calculation2×
fission q from binding energy per nucleon
Numerical value · 2 shifts · 1 numerical
Q-Value and Reaction Spontaneity2×
identify energetically allowed nuclear process
Single correct · 2 shifts
Macroscopic Energy Yield1×
energy from bulk mass in nuclear reaction
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical
Alpha Decay Q-Value with Atomic Masses1×
energy released in alpha decay from masses
Single correct · 1 shift
Liquid Drop Model Surface Energy Term1×
statements on semi-empirical binding energy terms
Other · 1 shift

Idea	Times	Shifts	Format	Numerical
Nuclear Radius and Densityassertion-reason on nuclear radius and density	10	9	Single correctConceptual	3
Binding Energy per Nucleonfusion energy from binding energy per nucleon	6	6	Numerical valueCalculation	3
Mass Defect Calculationmass defect of nucleus in mev	5	5	Single correctCalculation	2
Total Binding Energyenergy equivalent of given mass	3	3	Single correctCalculation	1
Q-Value from Binding Energiesenergy change from binding energy per nucleon	2	2	Single correctCalculation	–
Stability Curve Interpretationassertion-reason on binding energy per nucleon	2	2	Assertion–reasonConceptual	–
Q-Value Calculationfission q from binding energy per nucleon	2	2	Numerical valueCalculation	1
Q-Value and Reaction Spontaneityidentify energetically allowed nuclear process	2	2	Single correctConceptual	–
Macroscopic Energy Yieldenergy from bulk mass in nuclear reaction	1	1	Numerical valueMulti-step	1
Alpha Decay Q-Value with Atomic Massesenergy released in alpha decay from masses	1	1	Single correctCalculation	–
Liquid Drop Model Surface Energy Termstatements on semi-empirical binding energy terms	1	1	OtherConceptual	–

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

Nuclear Binding Energy 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

Idea, year, question

Every idea inside this topic

Nuclear Binding Energy questions, year by year

JEE Main 20265 questions in 5 shifts

JEE Main 20253 questions in 3 shifts

JEE Main 202410 questions in 9 shifts

JEE Main 20236 questions in 5 shifts

JEE Main 20226 questions in 5 shifts

JEE Main 20212 questions in 2 shifts

JEE Main 20203 questions in 3 shifts

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