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Permutations and Combinations PYQs (previous year questions) for JEE Advanced: Permutations and Combinations (Mathematics) had 16 questions across the 22 official JEE Advanced papers we tagged (2016–2026), and appeared in 14 of them. Asked in 10 of 11 years. The concepts asked in the most papers: Selections, Distribution, Counting Numbers.
Year-wise question count
Asked in 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selections | 3 | 3 | 2018, 2017, 2016 |
| Combinations | 2 | 2 | 2024, 2022 |
| Counting | 2 | 2 | 2021, 2017 |
| Counting Numbers | 2 | 2 | 2025, 2022 |
| Distribution | 2 | 2 | 2026, 2020 |
| Arrangements | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| Circular Arrangements | 1 | 1 | 2019 |
| Counting Functions | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Divisibility Counting | 1 | 1 | 2018 |
| Selection with Restrictions | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
How to practise Permutations and Combinations PYQs
- Start with the concepts at the top of the table. They have come back the most.
- Solve one year’s Permutations and Combinations 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.10 (Paper 1) · Numerical · Counting Numbers: Count seven-digit numbers from 0, 1, 2 with a digit-occurrence condition (official answer: 762) PDF
JEE Advanced2024
- Q.11 (Paper 1) · Integer · Combinations: Ways to form three teams with restrictions on two students (official answer: 665) PDF
JEE Advanced2022
JEE Advanced2021
- Q.1 (Paper 2) · MSQ · Counting: Number of elements in sets of ordered tuples with conditions PDF
JEE Advanced2020
JEE Advanced2019
- Q.10 (Paper 2) · Numerical · Circular Arrangements: Ways to give coloured hats with different colours for neighbours (official answer: 30) PDF
JEE Advanced2018
JEE Advanced2017
- Q.47 (Paper 1) · Integer · Arrangements: Ratio of word counts with and without a repeated letter (official answer: 5) PDF
- Q.41 (Paper 2) · MCQ · Counting: Count 3x3 matrices over {0,1,2} with trace of M^T M equal to 5 (official answer: B) PDF
- Q.42 (Paper 2) · MCQ · Selections: Total five-element subsets of 1..9 by number of odd elements (official answer: D) PDF
JEE Advanced2016
- Q.38 (Paper 1) · MCQ · Selections: Ways to pick a team with captain and at most one boy (official answer: A) PDF
Permutations and Combinations in other exams
The same chapter in other official papers we tagged: JEE Main (12 questions).
Other Mathematics chapters
- Sets, Relations and Functions PYQs
- Complex Numbers and Quadratic Equations PYQs
- Matrices and Determinants PYQs
- Binomial Theorem PYQs
- Sequences and Series PYQs
- Limits, Continuity and Differentiability PYQs
- Integral Calculus PYQs
- Differential Equations PYQs
- Coordinate Geometry PYQs
- Three-Dimensional Geometry PYQs
- Vector Algebra PYQs
- Statistics and Probability PYQs
- Trigonometry PYQs
FAQ
How many Permutations and Combinations questions come in JEE Advanced?
In the official papers we tagged: 2 in 2026, 1 in 2025, 1 in 2024, 2 in 2022, 1 in 2021, 2 in 2020, 1 in 2019, 2 in 2018, 3 in 2017 and 1 in 2016 (2 papers each year). Not asked in the other year. That is 16 questions in all, about 4% of Mathematics.
Which Permutations and Combinations topics repeat in JEE Advanced?
Asked in the most papers: Selections, Distribution, Counting Numbers. 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.