IIT-JEE 2010 – Pattern and Analysis

IIT-JEE, the most challenging of the Engineering Entrance exams in the country and
probably the world has proved that it has not lost its charm at all and has retained its glory as
ever. IIT-JEE 2010 was conducted on 11th April 2010 with paper 1 from 9.00 – 12.00 hrs and
paper 2 from 14.00 to 17.00 hrs.

The order of subjects in both papers were the same – Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics
but the total marks, the number of questions and types of questions in both papers were
distinct from each other.

Paper 1
Paper1 had 84 questions in total - in the order of Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Each
subject had 28 questions and the pattern was exactly the same for all the subjects. All
questions carried 3 marks. Hence the maximum mark for the paper is 252.

Number Marks for Total

Negative
Type of question of a correct Marks for
marking
questions answer the Section
Section I - Single Correct Choice Type 8 3 –1 24
Section II - Multiple Correct Choice
5 3 NIL 15
Type
Section III - Paragraph Type 5 3 –1 15
Section IV - Integer Type 10 3 NIL 30

What was new in IIT-JEE 2010 in comparison with earlier years – Paper 1:
 In the paragraph type 2 passages were there of which one passage had 3 questions and
the other had 2 questions. Earlier all passages used to have the same number of
questions.
 Likewise partial marks are awarded for correct answers in Multiple Correct Type
questions.
 There were NO negative marks for the Integer type questions and for the Multiple
Correct Choice Type.
Part 1 - Chemistry

This is a moderate level paper leaning towards easy level of difficulty. The usual weightage
of Physical > Organic > Inorganic Chemistry is maintained. More importance is given to
structural organic chemistry. Most of the questions in this paper evaluate the skill of the
students in fundamental conceptual applications.

CHEMISTRY - PAPER I - Difficulty Analysis

4%
Easy
29%

Medium

Difficult
68%

The topic wise distribution of the questions is shown below:

CHEMISTRY - PAPER I - Topic wise Analysis

Inorganic
25%
Chemistry
43%
Organic
Chemistry

Physical
32% Chemistry
Part 2 – Mathematics

Mathematics part of the 2010 JEE paper 1 was a lengthy paper compared to that of 2009.
In-depth understanding of the concepts with perseverance in solving problems would help the
students to approach the paper. Trigonometry had a good representation in the paper and
passage on matrices required proper innovative thinking to interpret and solve the questions.
The Integer type questions were difficult to crack in the given time frame. As shown below
paper 1 was a difficult paper requiring more time to crack the questions.

MATHEMATICS - PAPER I - Difficulty Analysis

Easy
43% 29%

Medium

Difficult
29%

Algebra and coordinate geometry had the major shares with Calculus, Trigonometry and
Vectors just following close. Topic wise analysis is given below.

MATHEMATICS - PAPER I - Topic wise Analysis

Algebra

11% Coordinate
33%
14% Geometry

Differential
Calculus

Integral Calculus

7%
Trigonometry
14% 21%
Vectors, 3-D,
Matrices &
Determinants
Part 3 – Physics

Overall the difficulty level of the paper was moderate. Still there were a few questions
involving elaborate mathematical calculations making them difficult. Representation from
modern physics was limited to a single question. Major focus in this paper was on Electricity
and Magnetism (for a total marks of 27). A large number of questions in this paper was
meant for testing the fundamental conceptual clarity of the students.

PHYSICS - PAPER I - Difficulty Analysis

14% 14% Easy

Medium

Difficult

71%

Along with Electricity & Magnetism and Mechanics, Heat and Thermodynamics also had a
large share of the questions, but the remaining areas were represented equally among the
remaining areas.

PHYSICS - PAPER I - Topic wise Analysis

Electricity &
4% Magnetism
7% 4% Heat &
4% 31% thermodynamics
Mechanics
7%
Oscillations &
Waves
Modern Physics

Optics

29% 14% Properties of Matter

General Physics
 Paper 2

Paper 1 had 57 questions in total - in the order of Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Each
subject had 19 questions and as in paper 1 the pattern was exactly the same across the
subjects. But questions had differential markings, each subject had 79 marks and the
maximum mark for the paper is 237.

Number Marks for Total

Negative
Type of question of a correct Marks for
marking
questions answer the Section
Section I - Single Correct Choice Type 6 5 –2 30
Section II - Integer Type 5 3 NIL 15
Section III - Paragraph Type 6 3 –1 18
Section IV – Matrix Type 2 8 NIL 16

What was new in IIT-JEE 2010 in comparison with earlier years – Paper 2:
 Single Correct Choice questions were valued heavier than before - 5 marks for a
correct answer with (– 2) for an incorrect answer.

Part 1 - Chemistry

This is a moderate level paper with few difficult level questions. Equal weightage is given
for all the three areas in Chemistry. Generally the nature of the questions in Physical
chemistry is calculation oriented and in organic Chemistry it is mechanism based. As a whole
this paper assesses the aptitude of application level of the student.

The difficulty analysis and the topic wise analysis are shown below:
 CHEMISTRY - PAPER II - Difficulty Analysis

10% Easy
14%

Medium

Difficult
76%

CHEMISTRY - PAPER II - Topic wise Analysis

Inorganic
Chemistry
32% 34%
Organic
Chemistry

Physical
Chemistry
34%

Part 2 – Mathematics

Paper 2 Mathematics part was easier than the first paper for two reasons – number of
questions were notably lower and only half the number of Integer type questions were there.
Matrix type question on Complex numbers had tricky options given in second column that
only a meticulous eye will find. An excellent knowledge of Analysis was checked by the
paragraph type questions on the cubic polynomial. The Integer type questions were easier
than that in the first paper.
 MATHEMATICS - PAPER II - Difficulty Analysis

Easy
18%
37%

Medium

46% Difficult

The second paper was restricted to lesser number of areas, for e.g. there were no direct
questions from Trigonometry. The topic wise distribution is shown below:

MATHEMATICS - PAPER II - Topic wise Analysis

Algebra

Coordinate
20% 33% Geometry

4% Differential
Calculus

Integral Calculus

18%
Vectors, 3-D,
25% Matrices &
Determinants

Part 3 – Physics

The difficulty level of this paper was almost same as the first one. But the distribution
(area wise) was balanced. Compared to the first paper, mathematical calculations involved in
this paper was really tedious; particularly for paragraph based questions. Matrix Matches
type questions in this paper was moderately difficult, and students must have definitely
answered these two questions.
 PHYSICS - PAPER II - Difficulty Analysis

Easy
14%
24%
Medium

Difficult

62%

Again the colourful distribution of marks across the topics in Physics shown below confirms
the overall distribution of the Physics part of the IIT-JEE 2010 paper 2.

PHYSICS - PAPER II - Topic wise Analysis

Electricity &
Magnetism
6% Heat &
11% thermodynamics
28%
Mechanics

Oscillations &
Waves
Modern Physics

4% Optics
24% 6%
6% Properties of Matter
15%
General Physics