JEE Mains 2026 Day 1 Exams: NTA's shift-1 chemistry, shift-2 maths papers toughest, say experts
Suviral Shukla | January 21, 2026 | 08:11 PM IST | 2 mins read
In JEE Mains 2026 shift 1, the Chemistry section was the toughest, followed by Mathematics and Physics, whereas in shift 2, Mathematics was more challenging than Chemistry and Physics.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has wrapped up the Joint Entrance Examination Mains 2026 (JEE Mains) examination for day 1 today. The JEE Mains 2026 shift 1 was more challenging as compared to shift 2. The testing agency will resume the college entrance test tomorrow.
As per the subject experts, the difficulty level of the JEE Mains 2026 shift 1 was moderate to tough, while the shift 2 was easy to moderate.
In JEE Mains 2026 shift 1, the Chemistry section was the toughest, followed by Mathematics and Physics, whereas in shift 2, Mathematics was more challenging than Chemistry and Physics, according to the subject experts.
The testing agency will resume the JEE Mains 2026 session 1 examination tomorrow. The shift 1 will be conducted from 9 am to 12 noon, whereas shift 2 will be held from 3 pm to 6 pm.
According to the subject experts, the JEE Mains 2026 shift 1 paper was “relatively moderate to tough”, therefore, the higher percentile will be for a little lesser marks than that of the easy difficulty level papers.
Similarly, the shift 2 paper was relatively “moderate to tough”, the higher percentile will be for a little lesser marks than those of the easy difficulty level papers.
JEE Mains 2026: Overall analysis
Here is the analysis for JEE Mains 2026 shift 1 and 2 for all subjects. The analysis is based on memory-based information gathered from students and subject experts.
| JEE Mains shift 1 | JEE Mains shift 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Physics |
Chemistry |
Mathematis |
Physics |
Chemistry |
Mathematics |
|
Easy to Moderate |
Toughest |
Less lengthy |
Easy |
Moderate difficulty level |
Moderate to hard |
|
Easy with Maths |
Tough against Maths |
Calculation-intensive |
Easy to moderate than morning shift |
Easy than shift 1 |
Questions more lengthy, calculative than shift 1 |
|
More challenging to Chemistry |
More challenging from Physics |
Difficulty level - moderate |
Easier with respect to Maths, Chemistry |
Easy with Maths, but difficulty with Physics |
More difficulty questions than Chemistry, Physics |
|
Easy compared to last year |
Tough compared to last year |
Needed strong calculation accuracy |
Formula-based questions |
Paper was doable |
Moderate but lengthy |
|
Formula-based questions |
Assertion-type questions |
Moderate in difficulty |
Included previous years questions |
Statement-based questions |
Tricky, demanded careful calculations |
| - |
Lengthy paper |
Extensive calculations |
- |
Reaction-based queries |
Time management needed |
| - |
Inorganic |
Multi-step solving |
- |
Organic portion had more named reaction |
Multi-step problem solving |
| - |
60-70 minutes spent by students |
Needed speed, precision |
- | - |
Needed speed, precision |
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