JEE Main · Physics · Alternating Current

Phasor Diagrams: JEE Main previous year questions

Name: Phasor Diagrams: JEE Main previous year questions
Creator: Lumi

43 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: 43; in 41 of 108 shifts
Years asked: 7/8; last asked 2026
Chance in a shift: 30%; calibrated model, how we compute it
Weighted estimate: 0.3; model; history: 0.3 a shift on average, typically 0.1–0.4

Key findings

01
Asked in 7 of 8 years with analysed shifts and in 41 of 108 shifts: 43 questions, #76 of 196 topics.
02
30% of its questions since 2020 tested an idea no earlier year had asked; 15 repeated an idea from the year before.
03
The most repeated idea is Impedance Triangle Construction, asked 9 times in 9 shifts (2020, 2022, 2024, 2026), most often as “inductance from given phase angles”.
04
JEE Main has asked 13 of the 60 ideas in this topic; 42 have never been asked, directly or inside another question.
05
Mostly asked as single correct (49%); 35% need a numerical answer, 26% are easy and 9% hard.
06
The skill tested most is multi-step (42%), then calculation (40%).

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: 4 in 12 shifts · 2021: 7 in 24 shifts · 2022: 12 in 24 shifts · 2023: 2 in 12 shifts · 2024: 12 in 18 shifts · 2025: 2 in 8 shifts · 2026: 4 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: 41/108; 38% of analysed shifts

Revise first

Impedance Triangle Construction · asked 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026
Power Factor from Phasors · asked 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2026
Phase Relations in RLC · asked 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

How it is asked

Difficulty, format and skill

Across all 43 questions on Phasor Diagrams since 2017.

Difficulty

QUESTIONS

11284

Easy11 · 26%
Medium28 · 65%
Hard4 · 9%

Format

Single correct · 21 Q49%
Numerical value · 15 Q35%
Two statements · 2 Q5%
Match the list · 2 Q5%
Diagram based · 2 Q5%
Other · 1 Q2%

Skill tested

Multi-step · 18 Q42%
Calculation · 17 Q40%
Conceptual · 5 Q12%
Diagram reading · 2 Q5%
Recall · 1 Q2%

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 60 ideas in this topic. 42 have never been asked yet.

1342

Asked directly13 · 22%
Touched inside another question5 · 8%
Never asked42 · 70%

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

OpenRepeated9 · 21%21%4/8323
- 2 Apr ’26 S2 · Q42
  The figure given below shows an LCR series circuit with two switches $S_1$ and $S_2$ . When switch $S_1$ is closed keeping $S_2$ open, the…
  hardSingle correct
- 4 Apr ’26 S1 · Q50
  An inductor of $10$ mH, capacitor of $0.1\ \mu$ F and a resistor of $100\ \Omega$ are connected in series across an $a.c$ power supply…
  mediumNumerical value
- 5 Apr ’26 S1 · Q44
  An a.c. source of angular frequency $\omega$ is connected across a resistor $R$ and a capacitor $C$ in series. The current is observed as…
  mediumSingle correct
- 5 Apr ’24 S1 · Q57
  An ac source is connected in given series LCR circuit. The rms potential difference across the capacitor of $20\ \mu\mathrm{F}$ is…
  mediumNumerical value
- 9 Apr ’24 S1 · Q43
  A bulb and a capacitor are connected in series across an ac supply. A dielectric is then placed between the plates of the capacitor. The…
  mediumSingle correct
- 27 Jul ’22 S2 · Q44
  A series LCR circuit has L = 0.01 H, R = 10 $\Omega$ and C = 1 $\mu$ F and it is connected to ac voltage of amplitude ( $\mathrm{V_m}$ ) 50…
  mediumSingle correct
- 25 Jun ’22 S2 · Q42
  A sinusoidal voltage $V(t)$ = 210 sin 3000 $t$ volt is applied to a series LCR circuit in which $L$ = 10 $mH$ , $C$ =25 µ $F$ and $R$ = 100…
  mediumSingle correct
- 28 Jun ’22 S1 · Q54
  Read the question
  mediumNumerical value
- 3 Sep ’20 S1 · Q15
  Read the question
  mediumSingle correctNew idea
OpenRepeated9 · 21%21%5/8223
OpenRepeated8 · 19%19%5/8222
OpenRepeated4 · 9%9%3/82
OpenRepeated3 · 7%7%2/82
OpenRepeated2 · 5%5%2/8
OpenRepeated2 · 5%5%2/8
Open1 · 2%2%1/8
Open1 · 2%2%1/8
Open1 · 2%2%1/8
Open1 · 2%2%1/8
Open1 · 2%2%1/8
Open1 · 2%2%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; 7 came more than once.

Impedance Triangle Construction9×
inductance from given phase angles
Single correct · 9 shifts · 3 numerical
Power Factor from Phasors9×
power factor of series lcr
Single correct · 9 shifts · 3 numerical
Phase Relations in RLC8×
statement i/ii on ac circuits
Single correct · 8 shifts
Real Inductor (Choke Coil) Phasors4×
coil inductance from dc and ac currents
Numerical value · 4 shifts · 2 numerical
Series Phasor Addition3×
current in series combination of ac elements
Diagram based · 3 shifts · 1 numerical
RL Series Phasor Construction2×
peak current in series rl circuit
Numerical value · 2 shifts · 1 numerical
RC Series Phasor Construction2×
rms current in capacitor circuit
Numerical value · 2 shifts · 2 numerical
Phase Shifting Networks1×
frequency for 90 degree phase shift in bridge
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical
Voltage Phasor Resolution1×
current from voltage across inductor
Single correct · 1 shift
Purely Resistive Phasor Diagram1×
series resistance to run lamp from ac source
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical
Series LC Phasor Subtraction1×
statement i/ii on ac circuit reactance and power
Two statements · 1 shift
Wattless (Reactive) Current Component1×
identify circuit with wattless current
Single correct · 1 shift
Frequency Variation in RC Phasors1×
impedance of ac network at limiting frequency
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numerical

Idea	Times	Shifts	Format	Numerical
Impedance Triangle Constructioninductance from given phase angles	9	9	Single correctCalculation	3
Power Factor from Phasorspower factor of series lcr	9	9	Single correctCalculation	3
Phase Relations in RLCstatement i/ii on ac circuits	8	8	Single correctCalculation	–
Real Inductor (Choke Coil) Phasorscoil inductance from dc and ac currents	4	4	Numerical valueCalculation	2
Series Phasor Additioncurrent in series combination of ac elements	3	3	Diagram basedMulti-step	1
RL Series Phasor Constructionpeak current in series rl circuit	2	2	Numerical valueCalculation	1
RC Series Phasor Constructionrms current in capacitor circuit	2	2	Numerical valueCalculation	2
Phase Shifting Networksfrequency for 90 degree phase shift in bridge	1	1	Numerical valueMulti-step	1
Voltage Phasor Resolutioncurrent from voltage across inductor	1	1	Single correctCalculation	–
Purely Resistive Phasor Diagramseries resistance to run lamp from ac source	1	1	Numerical valueMulti-step	1
Series LC Phasor Subtractionstatement i/ii on ac circuit reactance and power	1	1	Two statementsConceptual	–
Wattless (Reactive) Current Componentidentify circuit with wattless current	1	1	Single correctConceptual	–
Frequency Variation in RC Phasorsimpedance of ac network at limiting frequency	1	1	Numerical valueMulti-step	1

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

Phasor Diagrams 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

Idea, year, question

Every idea inside this topic

Phasor Diagrams questions, year by year

JEE Main 20264 questions in 4 shifts

JEE Main 20252 questions in 2 shifts

JEE Main 202412 questions in 10 shifts

JEE Main 20232 questions in 2 shifts

JEE Main 202212 questions in 12 shifts

JEE Main 20217 questions in 7 shifts

JEE Main 20204 questions in 4 shifts

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