Tough mathematics, lengthy physics keep JEE Advanced aspirants on edge

Indore: Around 2,000 engineering aspirants from Indore appeared for the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) 2026 on Sunday at four centres in the city, while many others travelled to Bhopal and Ujjain after being allotted centres outside Indore.

The examination was conducted in two shifts, with Paper 1 held from 9 am to 12 noon and Paper 2 from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Appearing in both papers was mandatory, as ranks for admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) are prepared on the basis of combined scores in both papers. Admissions are conducted through Joint Seat Allocation Authority counselling, while JEE Main serves only as a screening examination to shortlist eligible candidates for JEE Advanced.

According to students and experts, the overall paper was moderate to tough, with mathematics emerging as the most difficult and time-consuming section. Physics was rated moderate to difficult due to concept-heavy and calculation-based questions, while chemistry was comparatively balanced and scoring despite involving lengthy calculations in physical chemistry.

“Overall, the paper was tough and highly conceptual. Mathematics was particularly lengthy, while physics required deep understanding instead of direct formula application,” JEE expert Vijit Jain said. He added that mechanics, electrodynamics, thermodynamics, optics and modern physics had a strong presence in the paper.

Students said Paper 2 appeared tougher than Paper 1 and time management became crucial because of negative marking patterns. “The questions were not straightforward. Even chemistry required careful calculations this time,” an aspirant Raghav Sharma said.

Several candidates also expressed concern over travelling in extreme heat conditions. “I was allotted a centre in Bhopal and had to leave a day earlier. The travel itself was exhausting before such an important exam,” said Priyanshi Dubey, another candidate.

The paper was prepared by Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, which had also conducted JEE Advanced in 2019 under the rotational system followed among the original seven IITs. Since the examination is conducted online, the official question paper PDF is expected to be uploaded on the JEE Advanced website by late Sunday night or Monday morning