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Answer first
Optics PYQs (previous year questions) for JEE Advanced: Optics (Physics) had 44 questions across the 22 official JEE Advanced papers we tagged (2016–2026), and appeared in 22 of them. Asked in 11 of 11 years. The concepts asked in the most papers: Refraction, Interference, Prism.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refraction | 6 | 6 | 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016 |
| Interference | 5 | 4 | 2024, 2022, 2017, 2016 |
| Lenses | 4 | 4 | 2022, 2019, 2018, 2016 |
| Prism | 4 | 4 | 2024, 2023, 2021, 2017 |
| Total Internal Reflection | 4 | 4 | 2021, 2019, 2016 |
| Refraction at Curved Surface | 3 | 3 | 2024, 2020, 2019 |
| Lens Combination | 2 | 2 | 2022, 2021 |
| Young Double Slit | 2 | 2 | 2025, 2019 |
| Brewster Angle | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Lens Maker Formula | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Lens-Mirror System | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| Mirrors | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mirrors and Lenses | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mirrors and Slab | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Optical Phenomena | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Polarisation | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Prism Dispersion | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Prism Refraction | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Reflection | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Refraction at Spherical Surface | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Spherical Mirrors | 1 | 1 | 2018 |
| Wavefronts | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
How to practise Optics PYQs
- Start with the concepts at the top of the table. They have come back the most.
- Solve one year’s Optics 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
- Q.4 (Paper 1) · MCQ · Lens Maker Formula: Plot of lens power versus refractive index of surrounding liquid (official answer: A OR B) PDF
- Q.14 (Paper 1) · Matching · Optical Phenomena: Match optical effects with the light phenomena behind them (official answer: A) PDF
- Q.3 (Paper 2) · MCQ · Prism Dispersion: Minimum deviation of a thin prism at the wavelength of least index (official answer: B) PDF
- Q.5 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Prism Refraction: Conditions on two prisms and a mirror for a ray to emerge (official answer: A, C, D) PDF
- Q.12 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Brewster Angle: Incidence angle for polarised reflection after a glass plate and water (official answer: 60) PDF
JEE Advanced2025
- Q.11 (Paper 1) · Numerical · Refraction at Spherical Surface: Ray path through a glass sphere containing an air cavity (official answer: 0.5 OR 0.75) PDF
- Q.6 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Mirrors and Slab: Image positions with two facing concave mirrors and a glass slab (official answer: A, B) PDF
- Q.14 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Young Double Slit: Fringe shift from two glass wedges placed before the slits (official answer: 1.2) PDF
JEE Advanced2024
- Q.7 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Refraction at Curved Surface: Image in a liquid-filled beaker with a mirrored plano-convex base (official answer: A, B) PDF
- Q.10 (Paper 1) · Integer · Polarisation: Intensity ratio after placing two polaroids at 45 degrees (official answer: 8) PDF
- Q.16 (Paper 1) · Matching · Refraction: Deviation of a ray refracted and reflected inside a sphere (official answer: A) PDF
- Q.11 (Paper 2) · Integer · Prism: Angle of incidence for minimum deviation through two prisms (official answer: 12) PDF
- Q.14 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Interference: Range of oscillation of a bright fringe with moving slits (official answer: 598.00–602.00) PDF
- Q.15 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Interference: Maximum fringe speed with oscillating slit separation (official answer: 23.50–24.50) PDF
JEE Advanced2023
- Q.2 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Prism: Prism angle, refractive indices and polarisation of light through a prism (official answer: A, C, D) PDF
- Q.9 (Paper 1) · Integer · Mirrors and Lenses: Lens position so that an image coincides with the object (official answer: 80 or 150 or 220) PDF
- Q.5 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Refraction: Light through a slab with linearly varying refractive index (official answer: B, D) PDF
JEE Advanced2022
- Q.4 (Paper 1) · Numerical · Lenses: Angle of image of an inclined rod formed by a convex lens (official answer: 5.95–6.05) PDF
- Q.12 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Reflection: Ray in an equilateral triangle of mirrors exiting through the entry hole (official answer: A, B) PDF
- Q.18 (Paper 1) · Matching · Lens Combination: Final image positions for four two-lens combinations (official answer: A) PDF
- Q.5 (Paper 2) · Integer · Refraction: Number of layered units for a ray to emerge at a given offset (official answer: 4) PDF
- Q.8 (Paper 2) · Integer · Mirrors: Mirror speed that keeps the image at rest in the lab frame (official answer: 3) PDF
- Q.13 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Interference: Fringe pattern for a double slit with slits in two media (official answer: A, B) PDF
JEE Advanced2021
- Q.3 (Paper 1) · MCQ · Lens Combination: Total magnification of a convex-concave lens system PDF
- Q.12 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Total Internal Reflection: Ray in a two-layer slab near critical angle: lateral shift PDF
- Q.3 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Prism: Deviation through a prism with two halves of different indices PDF
JEE Advanced2020
- Q.5 (Paper 1) · MCQ · Wavefronts: Shape of emergent wavefront after light passes a glass piece PDF
- Q.1 (Paper 2) · Integer · Refraction: Separation of two images of a wire seen from a corner of a water tank PDF
- Q.7 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Refraction at Curved Surface: Rotating beaker of water: surface curvature and image formation PDF
JEE Advanced2019
- Q.10 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Lenses: Change in focal length of a lens made of two materials (official answer: B, C, D) PDF
- Q.18 (Paper 1) · Numerical · Total Internal Reflection: Maximum travel time of a ray in a two-media planar waveguide (official answer: 49–51) PDF
- Q.6 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Refraction at Curved Surface: Apparent depths in glass cylinders with flat, convex and concave tops (official answer: A, C) PDF
- Q.7 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Young Double Slit: Interference at points on screen for oblique incidence in YDSE (official answer: C) PDF
- Q.11 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Total Internal Reflection: Refractive index of coating for TIR on a prism face (official answer: 1.50) PDF
JEE Advanced2018
JEE Advanced2017
- Q.7 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Prism: Isosceles prism whose minimum deviation equals the prism angle (official answer: A, C, D) PDF
- Q.10 (Paper 1) · Integer · Refraction: Ray through stack of glass layers with decreasing refractive index (official answer: 8) PDF
- Q.11 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Interference: Interference spots on a circle around two coherent sources (official answer: B, C) PDF
JEE Advanced2016
- Q.4 (Paper 1) · MCQ · Total Internal Reflection: Prism angle for TIR at a face given minimum incidence angle (official answer: A) PDF
- Q.9 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Lenses: Plano-convex lens with refraction and reflection images (official answer: A, D) PDF
- Q.13 (Paper 1) · MSQ · Refraction: Ray through a slab with depth-varying refractive index (official answer: A, C, D) PDF
- Q.5 (Paper 2) · MCQ · Lens-Mirror System: Image position for a lens followed by a tilted convex mirror (official answer: C) PDF
- Q.13 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Interference: Fringe pattern on a screen placed along the line of two sources (official answer: B, D) PDF
Optics in other exams
The same chapter in other official papers we tagged: JEE Main (32 questions), NEET (4 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
- Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation PYQs
- Atoms and Nuclei PYQs
- Experimental Skills PYQs
FAQ
How many Optics questions come in JEE Advanced?
In the official papers we tagged: 5 in 2026, 3 in 2025, 6 in 2024, 3 in 2023, 6 in 2022, 3 in 2021, 3 in 2020, 5 in 2019, 2 in 2018, 3 in 2017 and 5 in 2016 (2 papers each year). That is 44 questions in all, about 11% of Physics.
Which Optics topics repeat in JEE Advanced?
Asked in the most papers: Refraction, Interference, Prism. 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.