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Optics PYQs (previous year questions) for JEE Main: Optics (Physics) had 32 questions across the 11 official JEE Main papers we tagged (2016–2026), and appeared in 11 of them. Asked in 3 of 3 years. The concepts asked in the most papers: Young’s Double Slit, Prism, Diffraction.
Year-wise question count
Asked in 3 of 3 years.
| Year | Papers | Questions | Per paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| JEE Main 2026 | 9 | 28 | 3.1 |
| JEE Main 2017 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| JEE Main 2016 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Most-asked concepts
Sorted by the number of papers a concept appeared in.
| Concept | Questions | Papers | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young's Double Slit | 6 | 6 | 2026, 2017 |
| Diffraction | 3 | 3 | 2026, 2016 |
| Polarisation | 3 | 3 | 2026 |
| Prism | 3 | 3 | 2026 |
| Combination of Lenses | 3 | 2 | 2026, 2017 |
| Lens Maker's Formula | 2 | 2 | 2026 |
| Refraction at Spherical Surface | 2 | 2 | 2026 |
| Resolving Power | 2 | 2 | 2026 |
| Spherical Mirrors | 2 | 2 | 2026 |
| Compound Microscope | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Interference | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Optical Instruments | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| Refraction | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Silvered Lens | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
| Total Internal Reflection | 1 | 1 | 2026 |
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 Main2026
- Q.40 (2 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Prism: Ratio of incidence angle to minimum deviation for a thin glass prism (official answer: option 2) PDF
- Q.41 (2 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Refraction at Spherical Surface: Image height for an object before a curved refracting surface (official answer: option 1) PDF
- Q.46 (2 April, shift 1) · Numerical · Diffraction: Angular width of the central maximum in single slit diffraction (official answer: 36) PDF
- Q.41 (2 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Total Internal Reflection: Minimum refractive index of paint on a prism face for TIR (official answer: option 4) PDF
- Q.46 (2 April, shift 2) · Numerical · Young's Double Slit: Path difference where intensity is 3/4 of the maximum (official answer: 6) PDF
- Q.49 (2 April, shift 2) · Numerical · Lens Maker's Formula: Refractive index of a convex lens from focal length and curvature (official answer: 20) PDF
- Q.33 (4 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Diffraction: Distance between 1st and 3rd minima in single slit diffraction (official answer: option 3) PDF
- Q.39 (4 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Spherical Mirrors: Image length of a rod placed along the axis of a concave mirror (official answer: option 2) PDF
- Q.44 (4 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Resolving Power: Telescope objective diameter needed for a given angular resolution (official answer: option 2) PDF
- Q.45 (4 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Polarisation: Reflected wave expression for light incident at Brewster angle (official answer: option 1) PDF
- Q.41 (4 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Lens Maker's Formula: Ratio of focal length to radius of an equiconvex lens of μ=1.4 (official answer: option 4) PDF
- Q.42 (4 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Polarisation: Ratio of output intensities with and without a third polariser inserted (official answer: option 3) PDF
- Q.50 (4 April, shift 2) · Numerical · Young's Double Slit: Thickness of mica sheet shifting central fringe to 7th bright fringe (official answer: 5625) PDF
- Q.39 (5 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Young's Double Slit: Fringe width when YDSE is immersed in medium of refractive index 1.2 (official answer: option 2) PDF
- Q.40 (5 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Prism: Minimum deviation in an equilateral prism from light speed inside it (official answer: option 2) PDF
- Q.42 (5 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Compound Microscope: Change in tube length when objective is replaced by a half plano-convex lens (official answer: option 1) PDF
- Q.40 (5 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Combination of Lenses: Behaviour of a convex and concave lens in contact (official answer: option 1) PDF
- Q.41 (5 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Combination of Lenses: Final image formed by two separated convex lenses (official answer: option 2) PDF
- Q.42 (5 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Young's Double Slit: Intensity at a point opposite one slit with d=5λ and D=10d (official answer: option 2) PDF
- Q.36 (6 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Interference: Ratio of intensities at points with path differences lambda/3 and lambda/6 (official answer: option 3) PDF
- Q.41 (6 April, shift 1) · MCQ · Refraction at Spherical Surface: Magnification of image formed by a spherical refracting surface (official answer: option 1) PDF
- Q.47 (6 April, shift 1) · Numerical · Polarisation: Rotation angle by optically active solution between polariser and analyser (official answer: 30) PDF
- Q.42 (6 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Prism: Refractive index of equilateral prism with given minimum deviation (official answer: option 3) PDF
- Q.45 (6 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Young's Double Slit: Path difference where resultant intensity equals single-slit intensity (official answer: option 1, 3) PDF
- Q.50 (6 April, shift 2) · Numerical · Spherical Mirrors: Distance between two object positions giving double-size image (official answer: 10) PDF
- Q.30 (8 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Silvered Lens: Object distance for image to coincide with object for silvered lens (official answer: option 1) PDF
- Q.42 (8 April, shift 2) · MCQ · Refraction: Snell's law with vectors; find component of refracted ray (official answer: option 1) PDF
- Q.47 (8 April, shift 2) · Numerical · Resolving Power: Minimum telescope objective diameter for given angular resolution (official answer: 203) PDF
JEE Main2017
JEE Main2016
Optics in other exams
The same chapter in other official papers we tagged: JEE Advanced (44 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
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- Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism PYQs
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FAQ
How many Optics questions come in JEE Main?
In the official papers we tagged: 28 in 2026 (9 papers), 2 in 2017 (1 paper) and 2 in 2016 (1 paper). That is 32 questions in all, about 11% of Physics.
Which Optics topics repeat in JEE Main?
Asked in the most papers: Young’s Double Slit, Prism, Diffraction. The concept table lists every one with its count.
Are these official JEE Main questions?
Yes. Every question is from an official JEE Main paper hosted on our year pages. The one-line summaries are ours; open the PDF linked beside each question for the full text.