JEE Main 2026 (6 Apr, Shift 2) Maths Analysis: Chapter Weightage, Difficulty & Expected Cutoff

The 6 April 2026 evening shift was a moderate-to-tough Mathematics paper, and it closed the last full two-shift day of the April session. Algebra and Calculus led the weightage as usual, both Matrices questions were hard, and eight of the 25 questions overall fell in the hard band.

Here is the full breakdown: what was asked, where the marks sat, how hard it really was, and roughly what a good attempt looked like.

The paper at a glance

Field	Detail
Exam	JEE Main 2026 · 6 Apr · Shift 2 (Evening)
Questions	25 (Q1–Q20 single-correct MCQ, Q21–Q25 numerical)
Marks	100 (+4 correct, –1 wrong on MCQs; no negative on numericals)
Overall difficulty	Moderate, leaning tough
Biggest units	Algebra (36 marks) · Calculus (24 marks)
Toughest questions	Q4, Q9, Q18, Q24
Answer key	Independently verified — no errors found

Overall verdict

A demanding paper that returned to the usual Algebra-and-Calculus backbone after the more spread-out morning shift. The hard questions were scattered through Section A rather than saved for the numerical block — and both Matrices problems were tough. There was only one genuinely easy question, so a strong score depended on clean work through a large medium band.

Unit-wise weightage

• Algebra — 9 questions · 36 marks. Two Sets/Relations/Functions, two Matrices, plus Complex Numbers, Quadratics, Sequences, Permutations & Combinations and Binomial.
• Calculus — 6 questions · 24 marks. Limits, two Definite Integration, a Differential Equation, Area and Continuity.
• Coordinate Geometry — 4 questions · 16 marks. Two Circle and two Ellipse.
• Vectors & 3D — 3 questions · 12 marks.
• Statistics & Probability — 2 questions · 8 marks.
• Trigonometry — 1 question · 4 marks.

Algebra + Calculus = 60 of 100 marks — the familiar backbone.

Chapter weightage

Six chapters gave two questions each Sets/Relations/Functions, Matrices & Determinants, Definite Integration, Circle, Ellipse and 3D Geometry — while 13 other chapters gave one apiece.

Chapter	Questions	Marks
Sets, Relations & Functions	2	8
Matrices & Determinants	2	8
Definite Integration	2	8
Circle	2	8
Ellipse	2	8
3D Geometry	2	8
13 other chapters	1 each	4 each

Difficulty split

Level	Questions	Share
Easy	2	8%
Medium	15	60%
Hard	8	32%

At 32% hard (DI 2.24) this was on the tougher side of moderate a clear step up from the balanced morning shift.

The four questions that decided the paper

Q4 — Nilpotent binomial matrix power (Hard).

▸ SHOW SOLUTION

Writing $A=I+P$ with $P^3=0$ gives $A^{99}=I+99P+\binom{99}{2}P^2$; reading off the entries of $B=A^{99}-I$ gives $\dfrac{b_{31}-b_{21}}{b_{32}}=149$. Answer: (3).

Q9 — All mixed pairs probability (Hard).

▸ SHOW SOLUTION

The probability that every drawn pair from 6 blue and 6 green is one of each colour is $\dfrac{6!\,6!\,(2!)^6}{12!}=\dfrac{16}{231}$. Answer: (3).

Q18 — Functional equation feeding an ODE (Hard).

▸ SHOW SOLUTION

$f(xy)=f(x)f(y)$ with $f(0)\ne0$ forces $f\equiv1$; the integral relation then gives the linear ODE $g'+\tfrac3x g=1$, so $g(2)=\dfrac{15}{32}$. Answer: (3).

Q24 — Reflections forming a parallelogram (Hard).

▸ SHOW SOLUTION

Reflecting $P$ and $Q$ in the two lines gives $R$ and $S$; the parallelogram $PQRS$ has perpendicular diagonals of lengths $6\sqrt2$ and $3$, so its area is $9\sqrt2$ and the square of the area is 162. Answer: 162.

Expected good attempt & cutoff read

Directional only actual percentiles depend on normalisation across shifts:

• Excellent (top percentile): 20+ correct with clean numericals.
• Strong: 16–19 correct.
• Safe: 13–16 correct banking the medium block.

With only one easy question and eight hard, time-management and accuracy through the medium band decided the outcome.

What to take away for your prep

1. Matrices reward depth. Both questions were hard a determinant-and-trig system and a nilpotent binomial power.
2. Algebra was 36 percent of the paper. Sets/Relations/Functions and Matrices each appeared twice, so keep them sharp.
3. Conics gave the reachable marks. Two Circle and two Ellipse questions, mostly medium, were a steady source of points.

FAQ

How difficult was JEE Main 2026 Maths on 6 April Shift 2?

Moderate-to-tough (DI 2.24) 8 of 25 questions hard and only one easy.

Which chapters had the highest weightage?

Sets/Relations/Functions, Matrices & Determinants, Definite Integration, Circle, Ellipse and 3D Geometry — two questions each.

What were the toughest questions?

Q4 (nilpotent binomial matrix), Q9 (all-mixed-pairs probability), Q18 (functional equation feeding an ODE) and Q24 (reflections forming a parallelogram).

Were there any errors in the answer key?

No every answer was independently verified.

Want the fully worked, step-by-step solution to all 25 questions of this shift? Practise these exact chapters on IITIANFORUM and download the complete verified solutions PDF below.