In JEE Main 2025 January Session, the 28th January Shift-1 was reported to be the toughest shift by the candidates and experts. Physics was reported as the toughest among all subjects.
- While a few other shifts, like- 28th January Shift-2, 24th January Shift-1, were also reported as tough.
- Conceptually deep questions, lengthy calculations made the paper tougher for students.
- Chemistry was the most scoring among all, based heavily on the NCERT.
| JEE Main Question Paper 2025 (Jan 28 Shift 1) | Download PDF | Check Solutions |
Also Read: Download JEE Main 2025 Session-1 Question Papers and Solutions (PDF)
Key Summary
- NTA uses a normalisation process to balance difficulty differences between shifts.
- 28th January Shift-1 was the toughest shift of JEE Main 2025 Session 1, as reported by students and experts.
- Physics was the toughest subject in this shift due to lengthy calculations, deep concepts, and a few out-of-syllabus-type questions.
- Mathematics was moderately tough with lengthy questions from Calculus, 3-D Geometry, and Sequence & Series.
JEE Main 2025 28th January Shift-1
The 28th January shift-1 was reportedly the toughest shift of the session-1 of the exam.
The subject-wise analysis is provided below:
Physics Chapter-wise analysis for 28th January Shift-1
- Physics was the toughest of all three subjects as it was very calculative and lengthy.
- A few students had also reported questions from Carnot Engine and Reynolds’ Number, which were out of the syllabus.
The Chapter-wise question paper breakdown was as follows:
| Chapter/Topic | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Ray Optics | 2 |
| Modern Physics | 2 |
| Electrostatics | 2 |
| Thermodynamics | 1 |
| Fluid Mechanics | 2 |
| Magnetic Effects of Current | 1 |
| Rotational Mechanics | 2 |
| Units And Dimensions | 1 |
| Current Electricity | 2 |
| Gravitation | 1 |
| Semiconductor Electronics | 1 |
| Wave Optics | 1 |
| Capacitance | 1 |
| Work, Power and Energy | 1 |
| Electromagnetic Waves | 1 |
| EMI | 0 |
| Errors | 1 |
| Kinematics-2D | 0 |
| Centre of Mass | 1 |
| SHM | 0 |
| Heat Transfer | 0 |
| Calorimetry | 0 |
| Alternating Current | 0 |
| Kinematics-1D | 0 |
| KTG | 1 |
| Elasticity | 0 |
| NLM | 0 |
| Circular Motion | 0 |
| Sound Waves | 1 |
| Vectors | 0 |
| Magnetism | 0 |
| Wave on String | 0 |
| Friction | 0 |
| Thermal Expansion | 0 |
Source: Super Detailed Analysis of JEE Mains 2025 January Attempt | Every Small Detail of 10 Shifts | eSaral
Also Read:
- JEE Mains chapter-wise weightage of the last 10 years
- JEE Main chapter-wise previous year question paper
Ques. Was the 24th January JEE Main 2025 shift tough or easy?
Ans. The 1st shift of 24th January JEE Main was reportedly on the tougher side. While the second shift on the 24th of January was relatively easier.
Also Read:
Must-do topics and easy scoring strategy of waves for JEE Main 2026
Chemistry Chapter-wise analysis for 28th January Shift-1
The Chemistry section was reportedly of a moderate nature. Overall, it was a scoring section. The chapter-wise question breakdown will provide you with the idea of important and high-weightage topics.
| Chapter Name | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Coordination Compound | 0 (other shifts had 2-4 questions) |
| Mole Concept | 2 |
| Hydrocarbons | 1 |
| Electrochemistry | 1 |
| Chemical Bonding | 2 |
| d & f Block | 1 |
| GOC | 2 |
| Liquid Solution | 2 |
| Chemical Kinetics | 1 |
| Periodic Table | 1 |
| Biomolecules and Polymers | 1 |
| Halogen Derivatives | 1 |
| Carboxylic Acid and Its Derivatives | 2 |
| Atomic Structure | 1 |
| Carbonyl Compound | 1 |
| p-block | 1 |
| Ionic Equilibrium | 1 |
| Thermochemistry | 1 |
| Thermodynamics | 0 |
| Alcohol, Phenol, Ether | 0 |
| Practical Organic Chemistry | 0 |
| Chemical Equilibrium | 0 |
| Salt Analysis | 1 |
| Nomeclature | 0 |
| Redox Reaction | 2 (only 1 other shift had a question from this topic) |
| Isomerism | 0 |
Source: Super Detailed Analysis of JEE Mains 2025 January Attempt | Every Small Detail of 10 Shifts | eSaral
Also Read: Coordination compounds weightage in JEE Main 2026
Ques. How was Chemistry on the 28th January shift 1 JEE Main 2025?
Ans. The chemistry section was relatively on the easier side and was scoring. It was heavily based on NCERT. So it makes revision of the NCERT important for Chemistry.
Maths Chapter-wise analysis for 28th January Shift-1
- The Maths section was reportedly from moderate to tough, with lengthy and tough questions, and calculus with lengthy calculations.
- The questions covered almost every topic, with questions ranging from 1-2 for each topic.
The chapter-wise question breakdown is provided below:
| Number of Questions | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| 3-Dimensional | 2 |
| Sequence and Series | 2 |
| Definite Integration | 2 |
| Vectors | 1 |
| Probability | 2 |
| Binomial Theorem | 2 |
| Straight Line | 0 |
| Area Under the Curve | 1 |
| Sets and Relations | 1 |
| Parabola | 1 |
| Differential Equation | 0 |
| Permutation and Combinations | 1 |
| Function | 1 |
| Complex Number | 1 |
| Matrices | 1 |
| Quadratic Equation | 1 |
| Continuity + Differentiability | 2 |
| Limit | 0 |
| Determinant | 0 |
| ITF | 1 |
| Ellipse | 1 |
| Circle | 1 |
| AOD | 1 |
| Hyperbola | 0 |
| Trigonometry and Equations | 0 |
| Indefinite Integration | 0 |
| Statistics | 0 |
Source: Super Detailed Analysis of JEE Mains 2025 January Attempt | Every Small Detail of 10 Shifts | eSaral
Also Read:
- Functions Weightage in JEE Main 2026: Must-do topics and easy scoring strategy
- Probability weightage in JEE Main 2026
Ques. How was the mathematics section in JEE Main 2025 toughest shift?
Ans. Mathematics was from moderate to tough on the 28th January 1 shift with lengthy and tough questions. Calculus had lengthy calculations. Few topics with high weightage included- 3-D, Sequence and Series and Definite Integration.
Shift-wise Difficulty Level
The table below provides the shift-wise difficulty level of JEE Main session-1 exams in decreasing order:
| S. No. (Most difficult to least difficult) | Date and Shift |
|---|---|
| 1 | 28th January Shift-1 |
| 2 | 28th January Shift-2 |
| 3 | 24th January Shift-1 |
| 4 | 29th January Shift-2 |
| 5 | 23rd January Shift-1 |
| 6 | 23rd January Shift-2 |
| 7 | 29th January Shift-1 |
| 8 | 24th January Shift-2 |
| 9 | 22nd January Shift-1 |
| 10 | 22nd January Shift-2 |
To watch a detailed video, click
How is Shift-wise Difficulty Decided?
As the JEE Main exam is conducted in multiple shifts, questions vary from one session to another. To maintain fairness, NTA tries to balance the difficulty level of each shift.
- Before exam: A mix of easy, moderate and tough questions is distributed across all shifts.
- After exam: The normalisation process converts the raw scores into a normalised score which accounts for the difference in difficulty level across various shifts to make the exam more fair.
Other than NTA, after the exam, coaching institutes and subject matter experts analyse the types of questions (lengthy, calculative, conceptual, etc.), and the average number of attempts made by students in a shift to predict the shift-wise difficulty level.
Students also share their views and experiences about the shift’s difficulty level.
JEE Main Previous Year Question Paper Pdf with Solutions
| Year of Paper | Download Link |
|---|---|
| JEE Main 2024 Previous Year Question Paper | Download Here |
| JEE Main 2023 Previous Year Question Paper | Download Here |
| JEE Main 2022 Previous Year Question Paper | Download Here |
| JEE Main 2021 Previous Year Question Paper | Download Here |
| JEE Main 2020 Previous Year Question Paper | Download Here |
| JEE Main 2019 Previous Year Question Paper | Download Here |
| JEE Main 2018 Previous Year Question Paper | Download Here |
Impact of Shift Difficulty Variation
The variation in shift difficulty is balanced by the process of normalisation by NTA to ensure fairness among students taking exams in different shifts.
- It ensures that no candidate is disadvantaged due to a tough question paper, creating a level field and accurately ranking the relative performance of all candidates.
- In tougher shifts, the same raw score can get you a higher percentile than that in the easier shifts.
For Future Aspirants- How to Tackle Tough Shifts
If your shift is on the tougher side, you need not to worry about the raw marks. If the shift is tough, it will be tough for everyone.
- The raw marks are not used to decide your rank in the exam.
- The tougher the shift higher will be the normalised score for the same raw marks.
- You should stay calm and focused.
- Time management is the key in tougher shifts. Attempt the easier questions first and leave the lengthy and tough questions for later to avoid going over time.
- Chemistry is generally scored relative to Physics and Mathematics, and is based on the NCERT. So, revision of the NCERT is a must.
What Was the Toughest Shift in JEE Main 2025 Session 1 FAQs
Ques. Is there a disadvantage in taking the exam in tougher shifts/?
Ans. No, there is no disadvantage in taking the exam in tougher shifts. The average marks scored by the candidates are lower, but raw marks are not used for ranking. The normalised marks are higher for the same score relative to an easier shift. Normalisation ensures fairness across different shifts.
Ques. Which shifts in JEE Main 2025 January session were toughest?
Ans. 28th Jan shift 1, 28th Jan shift 2, 24th Jan shift 1, 29th Jan shift 2 were among the toughest shifts in the JEE Main 2025 session 1 exam.
Ques. Which subject was toughest in Session 1 of the JEE Main 2025 exam?
Ans. The difficulty level of each subject was different in different shifts. For the 28th January shift 1, the Physics section was the toughest with deep conceptual and lengthy questions. Some questions were reportedly asked out of the syllabus.
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