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JEE Syllabus: Main & Advanced Subject Guide

The JEE syllabus is built on senior secondary Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Knowing exactly which topics are listed — and which are not — saves a great deal of wasted study time.

How the JEE syllabus works

Both examinations publish their own syllabus. The JEE Main syllabus is released by the National Testing Agency as part of the information bulletin, and the JEE Advanced syllabus is published separately by the organising IIT. The two lists overlap heavily because both are based on the Class 11 and Class 12 curriculum, but they are not identical: each has a few topics the other omits, and both have been trimmed and revised in recent years. Work from the official list for the year you are appearing in, not from an old coaching booklet.

Physics

Physics carries the reputation of being the hardest of the three, mainly because questions combine ideas from different chapters. The syllabus spans these areas:

Mechanics
  • Units, dimensions and measurement; errors in measurement.
  • Kinematics in one and two dimensions, relative motion, projectile motion.
  • Newton's laws, friction, circular motion, work, energy and power.
  • Centre of mass, momentum, collisions.
  • Rotational motion: moment of inertia, torque, angular momentum, rolling.
  • Gravitation, satellite motion, escape and orbital velocity.
  • Elasticity, fluid statics and dynamics, viscosity, surface tension, Bernoulli's principle.
  • Simple harmonic motion, springs, pendulums; waves, superposition, standing waves, sound.
Thermal physics
  • Thermal expansion, calorimetry, heat transfer.
  • Kinetic theory of gases, ideal gas equation, degrees of freedom.
  • Laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamic processes and cycles, efficiency.
Electricity and magnetism
  • Electrostatics: Coulomb's law, electric field and potential, Gauss's law, capacitors.
  • Current electricity: Ohm's law, circuits, Kirchhoff's rules, measuring instruments.
  • Magnetic effects of current, force on charges and conductors, magnetic materials.
  • Electromagnetic induction, self and mutual inductance, alternating current, transformers.
  • Electromagnetic waves and the spectrum.
Optics and modern physics
  • Reflection and refraction, lenses and mirrors, prisms, optical instruments.
  • Wave optics: interference, diffraction, polarisation.
  • Dual nature of matter and radiation, photoelectric effect.
  • Atomic structure and spectra, nuclei, radioactivity, binding energy.
  • Semiconductor devices and basic electronic circuits.

JEE Main has historically included an experimental-skills section covering standard laboratory experiments and their sources of error; JEE Advanced tests similar ground inside regular questions. Treat practical physics as examinable in both.

Chemistry

Chemistry is the most scoring subject for many candidates because a large part of it is definite and testable. It is organised in three blocks.

Physical chemistry
  • Mole concept, stoichiometry, concentration terms.
  • Atomic structure and quantum numbers; periodic properties.
  • Chemical bonding, molecular orbital ideas, hybridisation, shapes of molecules.
  • Gaseous state, thermodynamics and thermochemistry.
  • Chemical and ionic equilibrium, pH, buffers, solubility product.
  • Electrochemistry, conductance, electrolysis, cells.
  • Chemical kinetics, order of reaction, activation energy.
  • Solutions and colligative properties; surface chemistry and adsorption.
  • Nuclear chemistry and radioactive decay.
Inorganic chemistry
  • Classification of elements and periodic trends.
  • Hydrogen, s-block and p-block elements and their important compounds.
  • d-block and f-block elements, transition metal chemistry.
  • Coordination compounds: nomenclature, isomerism, bonding theories.
  • Metallurgy and principles of extraction.
  • Qualitative analysis of salts.
Organic chemistry
  • Basic concepts: nomenclature, isomerism, electronic effects, acidity and basicity.
  • Reaction mechanisms: substitution, elimination, addition, rearrangements.
  • Hydrocarbons, haloalkanes and haloarenes.
  • Alcohols, phenols, ethers; aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and derivatives.
  • Amines, diazonium salts and nitrogen-containing compounds.
  • Biomolecules and polymers; practical organic chemistry and functional-group tests.

Some applied topics such as chemistry in everyday life have appeared in the JEE Main list while being outside the JEE Advanced list, and JEE Advanced goes deeper into mechanism-heavy organic and coordination chemistry. Compare both official documents if you are preparing for the IITs.

Mathematics

Algebra
  • Sets, relations and functions; complex numbers.
  • Quadratic equations, theory of equations, sequences and series.
  • Permutations and combinations, binomial theorem.
  • Matrices and determinants; systems of linear equations.
  • Mathematical reasoning and, where listed, mathematical induction.
Calculus
  • Limits, continuity and differentiability.
  • Differentiation and its applications: tangents, normals, maxima and minima, monotonicity.
  • Indefinite and definite integration, properties of definite integrals, area under curves.
  • Differential equations of first order and first degree.
Coordinate geometry and vectors
  • Straight lines, circles, parabola, ellipse and hyperbola.
  • Three-dimensional geometry: lines, planes and distances.
  • Vector algebra, dot and cross products, scalar triple product.
Trigonometry, probability and statistics
  • Trigonometric ratios, identities and equations; inverse trigonometric functions.
  • Heights and distances; properties of triangles.
  • Probability, conditional probability, Bayes' theorem, random variables.
  • Measures of central tendency and dispersion.

JEE Main mathematics rewards fast, reliable technique across all of the above. JEE Advanced tends to ask fewer, longer questions that combine two or three of these areas in one problem.

Aptitude, drawing and planning sections

Candidates taking JEE Main Paper 2A or 2B also prepare a separate syllabus: awareness of persons, places, buildings and materials, three-dimensional visualisation, freehand drawing and perspective for architecture, and comprehension, general awareness and simple analytical reasoning around development and planning for the planning paper. See the exam pattern page for how these sections are structured.

Using the syllabus while you study

  • Print the official syllabus and tick topics off only after you can solve problems on them unaided.
  • Mark topics that appear in one exam's list and not the other, so you allocate time correctly.
  • Map each topic to the number of questions it has attracted in past papers — this tells you where revision time is best spent.
  • Turn the list into a schedule using the preparation guide.

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