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Answer first
Atoms and Nuclei PYQs (previous year questions) for JEE Advanced: Atoms and Nuclei (Physics) had 31 questions across the 22 official JEE Advanced papers we tagged (2016–2026), and appeared in 21 of them. Asked in 11 of 11 years. The concepts asked in the most papers: Radioactive Decay, Bohr Model, Hydrogen Spectrum.
Year-wise question count
Asked in 11 of 11 years, with 2 papers each year.
Most-asked concepts
Sorted by the number of papers a concept appeared in.
| Concept | Questions | Papers | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radioactive Decay | 10 | 10 | 2026, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 |
| Bohr Model | 8 | 8 | 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016 |
| Hydrogen Spectrum | 3 | 3 | 2021, 2019, 2016 |
| Binding Energy | 2 | 2 | 2022, 2016 |
| X-rays | 2 | 2 | 2024, 2020 |
| Alpha Decay | 1 | 1 | 2019 |
| Beta Decay | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| Nuclear Fission | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nuclear Reactions | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Positronium | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| X-rays and Nuclear Energy | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
How to practise Atoms and Nuclei PYQs
- Start with the concepts at the top of the table. They have come back the most.
- Solve one year’s Atoms and Nuclei questions from the official PDF against the clock, then check the answer listed below.
- Log every miss as a concept gap, a calculation slip or a misread. Each needs a different fix.
- Once a concept is clean in two papers, move to the next. Then sit a full paper from the year pages.
Questions by year
Each line gives the question number and paper, type, concept, our one-line summary and the official answer, with a link to the official PDF.
JEE Advanced2026
JEE Advanced2025
- Q.13 (Paper 1) · Numerical · Bohr Model: Temperature at which a neutron matches an orbiting electron wavelength (official answer: 72) PDF
- Q.16 (Paper 1) · Matching · X-rays and Nuclear Energy: Match energy dependences on Z with physical phenomena (official answer: C) PDF
- Q.10 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Positronium: Photon frequency from ionisation of hydrogen and positronium formation (official answer: 11.7–11.9) PDF
JEE Advanced2024
JEE Advanced2023
- Q.8 (Paper 1) · Integer · Bohr Model: Atomic number of a hydrogen-like atom from photoelectric data (official answer: 3) PDF
- Q.14 (Paper 1) · Matching · Radioactive Decay: Match decay processes with emitted alpha and beta particles (official answer: A) PDF
- Q.12 (Paper 2) · Integer · Radioactive Decay: Activity ratio of two sources after different numbers of half-lives (official answer: 16) PDF
JEE Advanced2022
- Q.2 (Paper 1) · Numerical · Nuclear Reactions: Minimum alpha kinetic energy to cause a nuclear reaction in lab frame (official answer: 2.30–2.35) PDF
- Q.14 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Binding Energy: Effect of Coulomb repulsion on proton and neutron binding energies (official answer: A, B, D) PDF
- Q.2 (Paper 2) · Integer · Radioactive Decay: Ratio of alpha to beta particles in a thorium-to-polonium chain (official answer: 2) PDF
JEE Advanced2021
- Q.4 (Paper 1) · MCQ · Radioactive Decay: Number of alpha decays in an hour with branching decay PDF
- Q.14 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Hydrogen Spectrum: Statements on Lyman, Balmer and Paschen series wavelengths PDF
- Q.5 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Nuclear Fission: Kinetic energies and speeds of fission fragments from mass defect PDF
JEE Advanced2020
JEE Advanced2019
- Q.4 (Paper 1) · MCQ · Radioactive Decay: Time for given ratio of stable products to K-40 with two decay modes (official answer: B) PDF
- Q.8 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Hydrogen Spectrum: Absorption and emission in hydrogen: final state and momentum changes (official answer: A, D) PDF
- Q.13 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Alpha Decay: Gamma photon energy after alpha decay of Ra-226 to excited Rn (official answer: 130–140) PDF
JEE Advanced2018
JEE Advanced2017
JEE Advanced2016
- Q.6 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Bohr Model: Relative changes in radius, energy and angular momentum of Rydberg states (official answer: A, B, D) PDF
- Q.15 (Paper 1) · Integer · Beta Decay: Maximum beta-particle energy for decay to an excited carbon nucleus (official answer: 8 or 9) PDF
- Q.16 (Paper 1) · Integer · Hydrogen Spectrum: Number of emission lines after irradiating hydrogen at 970 A (official answer: 6) PDF
- Q.1 (Paper 2) · MCQ · Binding Energy: Nuclear radius from binding energy difference of mirror nuclei (official answer: C) PDF
- Q.2 (Paper 2) · MCQ · Radioactive Decay: Days until radiation falls to a safe level given half-life (official answer: C) PDF
Atoms and Nuclei in other exams
The same chapter in other official papers we tagged: JEE Main (14 questions), NEET (3 questions).
Other Physics chapters
- Units and Measurements PYQs
- Kinematics PYQs
- Laws of Motion PYQs
- Work, Energy and Power PYQs
- Rotational Motion PYQs
- Gravitation PYQs
- Properties of Solids and Liquids PYQs
- Thermodynamics PYQs
- Kinetic Theory of Gases PYQs
- Oscillations and Waves PYQs
- Electrostatics PYQs
- Current Electricity PYQs
- Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism PYQs
- Electromagnetic Induction and AC PYQs
- Electromagnetic Waves PYQs
- Optics PYQs
- Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation PYQs
- Experimental Skills PYQs
FAQ
How many Atoms and Nuclei questions come in JEE Advanced?
In the official papers we tagged: 2 in 2026, 3 in 2025, 2 in 2024, 3 in 2023, 3 in 2022, 3 in 2021, 2 in 2020, 3 in 2019, 3 in 2018, 2 in 2017 and 5 in 2016 (2 papers each year). That is 31 questions in all, about 8% of Physics.
Which Atoms and Nuclei topics repeat in JEE Advanced?
Asked in the most papers: Radioactive Decay, Bohr Model, Hydrogen Spectrum. The concept table lists every one with its count.
Are these official JEE Advanced questions?
Yes. Every question is from an official JEE Advanced paper hosted on our year pages. The one-line summaries are ours; open the PDF linked beside each question for the full text.