JEE Main · Physics · Wave Optics
Polarization: JEE Main previous year questions
14 questions in the 108 JEE Main shifts Lumi analysed, in 7 of 8 years. Pattern: Asked most years. 6 came in 2024–26. Here is how it is asked and which ideas come back.
- Questions
- 14
- in 14 of 108 shifts
- Years asked
- 7/8
- last asked 2026
- Weighted estimate
- 0.2
- model; history: 0.1 a shift on average, typically 0.1
Key findings
- 01
Asked in 7 of 8 years with analysed shifts and in 14 of 108 shifts: 14 questions, #162 of 196 topics.
- 02
43% of its questions since 2020 tested an idea no earlier year had asked; 5 repeated an idea from the year before.
- 03
The most repeated idea is Malus's Law Calculation, asked 7 times in 7 shifts (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026), most often as “intensity through two polaroids”.
- 04
JEE Main has asked 6 of the 56 ideas in this topic; 46 have never been asked, directly or inside another question.
- 05
Mostly asked as single correct (64%); 29% need a numerical answer, 43% are easy and 14% hard.
- 06
The skill tested most is calculation (43%), then multi-step (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: 1 in 12 shifts · 2021: 3 in 24 shifts · 2022: 3 in 24 shifts · 2023: 1 in 12 shifts · 2024: 2 in 18 shifts · 2025: 1 in 8 shifts · 2026: 3 in 9 shifts.
- Up to 2023
- 0.1
- a shift, of 25
- Since 2024
- 0.2
- 0.1
- Usual gap
- 1.0 yrs
- between years asking it
- Shifts with it
- 14/108
- 13% of analysed shifts
How it is asked
Difficulty, format and skill
Across all 14 questions on Polarization since 2017.
Difficulty
QUESTIONS- Easy6 · 43%
- Medium6 · 43%
- Hard2 · 14%
Format
SHARE- Single correct · 9 Q64%
- Numerical value · 4 Q29%
- Diagram based · 1 Q7%
Skill tested
SHARE- Calculation · 6 Q43%
- Multi-step · 3 Q21%
- Application · 3 Q21%
- Conceptual · 2 Q14%
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 6 of the 56 ideas in this topic. 46 have never been asked yet.
- Asked directly6 · 11%
- Touched inside another question4 · 7%
- Never asked46 · 82%
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.
6 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
6 different ideas were tested; 2 came more than once.
intensity through two polaroids
Single correct · 7 shifts · 3 numericalangle of refraction at brewster incidence
Single correct · 3 shiftsidentify reflected wave at brewster angle
Diagram based · 1 shiftangle for maximum intensity through three polarisers
Single correct · 1 shiftrotation of polaroid for given intensity
Numerical value · 1 shift · 1 numericalenergy through rotating polariser
Single correct · 1 shift
| Idea | Years asked | Times | Shifts | Format | Numerical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malus's Law Calculationintensity through two polaroids | 7 | 7 | Single correctCalculation | 3 | |
| Brewster's Angleangle of refraction at brewster incidence | 3 | 3 | Single correctApplication | – | |
| Polarization by Reflectionidentify reflected wave at brewster angle | 1 | 1 | Diagram basedConceptual | – | |
| Three-Polarizer System Optimizationangle for maximum intensity through three polarisers | 1 | 1 | Single correctApplication | – | |
| Intensity Halving of Unpolarized Lightrotation of polaroid for given intensity | 1 | 1 | Numerical valueCalculation | 1 | |
| Time-Averaged Intensity in Rotating Analyzerenergy through rotating polariser | 1 | 1 | Single correctMulti-step | – |
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
Polarization 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
- 4 Apr, Shift 1Q45An unpolarized light is incident on the plane interface of air-dielectric medium shown in figure. If the incident angle is equal to…
Idea: Polarization by Reflection
New ideaHardDiagram based · figure - 4 Apr, Shift 2Q42An unpolarized light of certain intensity passes through a combination of two polarizers whose transmission axes are at and…
Idea: Malus's Law Calculation
MediumSingle correct - 6 Apr, Shift 1Q47An unpolarized light of intensity passes through polarizer and then through a certain optically active solution and finally it goes…
Idea: Malus's Law Calculation
MediumNumerical value
JEE Main 20251 question in 1 shift
- 4 Apr, Shift 2Q40Two polarisers and are placed in such a way that the intensity of the transmitted light will be zero. A third polariser …
Idea: Three-Polarizer System Optimization
New ideaMediumSingle correct
JEE Main 20242 questions in 2 shifts
- 30 Jan, Shift 2Q45A beam of unpolarised light of intensity is passed through a polaroid and then through another polaroid which is oriented so…
Idea: Malus's Law Calculation
Asked the year beforeEasySingle correct - 31 Jan, Shift 2Q45When unpolarized light is incident at an angle of on a transparent medium from air, the reflected ray is completely polarized.…
Idea: Brewster's Angle
EasySingle correct
JEE Main 20231 question in 1 shift
- 10 Apr, Shift 1Q57Unpolarised light of intensity passes through the combination of three polaroids such that the pass axis of the last…
Idea: Malus's Law Calculation
Asked the year beforeMediumNumerical value
JEE Main 20223 questions in 3 shifts
- 29 Jul, Shift 2Q39An unpolarised light beam of intensity is passed through a polaroid P and then through another polaroid Q which is oriented in such…
Idea: Malus's Law Calculation
Asked the year beforeEasySingle correct - 30 Jul, Shift 2Q14Two poloroids P and P are placed parallel to each other with common axis.The light of intensity I passes through a polaroid…
Idea: Malus's Law Calculation
Asked the year beforeEasySingle correct - 25 Jun, Shift 2Q45A light whose electric field vectors are completely removed by using a good polaroid, allowed to incident on the surface of the prism at…
Idea: Brewster's Angle
Asked the year beforeMediumSingle correct
JEE Main 20213 questions in 3 shifts
- 3 Aug, Shift 1Q16A beam of light is incident on the surface of a transparent liquid at an angle of 60°. The reflected and refracted lights are found to be…
Idea: Brewster's Angle
New ideaEasySingle correct - 26 Aug, Shift 2Q26A source of light is placed in front of a screen. Intensity of light on the screen is I. Two Polaroids and …
Idea: Intensity Halving of Unpolarized Light
New ideaMediumNumerical value - 24 Feb, Shift 1Q22An unpolarized light beam is incident on the polarizer of a polarization experiment and the intensity of light beam emerging from the…
Idea: Malus's Law Calculation
New ideaEasyNumerical value
JEE Main 20201 question in 1 shift
- 4 Sep, Shift 1Q17A beam of plane polarised light of large cross-sectional area and uniform intensity of 3.3 Wm falls normally on a polariser (cross…
Idea: Time-Averaged Intensity in Rotating Analyzer
New ideaHardSingle correct
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.