JEE (Main) · Physics, Class 11
Gravitation: JEE Main PYQ, 2020–2025
Gravitation (Physics, Class 11) has been asked 129 times in the 111 JEE (Main) shift papers from 2020–2025: about 1.2 questions a paper, 4% of all Physics questions. It is the 13th most-asked of 20 Physics chapters. The 2025 shifts had 12 from it in all. Last checked 28 October 2026.
Questions per year, all shifts
Year by year.
| Year | Questions |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 14in 14 papers |
| 2021 | 36in 26 papers |
| 2022 | 25in 24 papers |
| 2023 | 22in 12 papers |
| 2024 | 20in 18 papers |
| 2025 | 12in 17 papers |
JEE (Main) is sat in many shifts a year, each with its own paper; the counts add up every shift. 2021–2024 papers had 30 questions a subject, the others 25.
Inside the chapter
Topics asked most.
- Acceleration due to gravity40
- Orbital motion25
- Escape velocity23
- Kepler's laws19
- Gravitational potential energy12
- Newton's law of gravitation10
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10 Gravitation questions to practise.
Our own questions, written in the JEE Main pattern and checked, each with an explanation. Pick an option to see the answer.
Q1 · Physics · Gravitation
A planet moves in an elliptical orbit around the Sun, which is at one focus. Compared with its speed at aphelion (the farthest point from the Sun), its speed at perihelion (the nearest point to the Sun) is:
Answer: (A)
Kepler's second law states that the line joining the planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. At perihelion the radius is shortest, so for the same swept area per unit time the planet must move fastest. At aphelion the radius is longest and the speed is least. Energy conservation gives the same conclusion: potential energy is lowest at perihelion, so kinetic energy and speed are greatest there.
Q2 · Physics · Gravitation
Two small spheres of masses m and 9m are fixed 12 m apart. At what distance from the sphere of mass m, on the line joining them, is the net gravitational force on a third small mass zero?
Answer: (B)
At the balance point Gm/x² = G(9m)/(12 − x)², so (12 − x)/x = 3 and x = 3 m from the lighter sphere. The point lies nearer the smaller mass, where its weaker pull is made up for by the shorter distance.
Q3 · Physics · Gravitation
A planet of period T moves round a star in an elliptical orbit of eccentricity e. The star is at the focus S nearer to the perihelion P. B is an end of the minor axis. Using Kepler's law of areas, what is the time the planet takes to travel from B to P along the arc BP (the shorter arc, which does not pass through the aphelion)?
Answer: (C)
By the law of areas, time is proportional to area swept at the Sun, so t/T = (area SPB)/(πab). Let O be the centre, so OS = ae, OP = a and OB = b. The quarter-ellipse region OPB has area πab/4. It consists of the triangle OSB, of area ½·ae·b, plus the region SPB. So area SPB = πab/4 − abe/2. Then t = T(πab/4 − abe/2)/(πab) = T(1/4 − e/2π).
Q4 · Physics · Gravitation
The orbital radius of a planet round the Sun is four times that of the Earth. What is its period of revolution? (The Earth's period is 1 year.)
Answer: (B)
By Kepler's third law, T² ∝ r³, so T = 1 year × 4^(3/2) = 8 years.
Q5 · Physics · Gravitation
Using g = 9.8 m s⁻², the radius of the Earth R = 6.4 × 10⁶ m and G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N m² kg⁻², the mean density of the Earth, taken as a uniform sphere, is closest to:
Answer: (A)
g = GM/R² gives M = gR²/G. The volume is V = (4/3)πR³, so ρ = M/V = 3g/(4πGR). Substituting, ρ = (3 × 9.8)/(4π × 6.67×10⁻¹¹ × 6.4×10⁶) = 29.4/(5.36×10⁻³) ≈ 5.5×10³ kg m⁻³.
Q6 · Physics · Gravitation
A pendulum clock keeps correct time at the surface of the Earth. It is taken down a mine shaft to a depth of 3.2 km. Treat the Earth as a uniform sphere of radius 6400 km, and neglect temperature effects and the Earth's rotation. The time the clock loses in one day (86400 s) is closest to:
Answer: (B)
Below the surface of a uniform Earth, g' = g(1 - d/R). With d/R = 3.2/6400 = 5 × 10^-4, g falls by 0.05%. The period of a simple pendulum is T = 2π√(L/g), so T is proportional to g^(-1/2) and ΔT/T ≈ (1/2)(Δg/g) = 2.5 × 10^-4. The clock runs slow, and in 86400 s it loses about 86400 × 2.5 × 10^-4 = 21.6 s. The two common slips are skipping the factor 1/2 and using the height formula 2h/R for a depth.
Q7 · Physics · Gravitation
A planet has twice the mass and twice the radius of the Earth. If the escape speed from the Earth is 11.2 km s⁻¹, what is it from the planet?
Answer: (C)
The escape speed is v = √(2GM/R). For the planet, M/R is (2M)/(2R) = M/R, the same as for the Earth, so v = 11.2 km s⁻¹.
Q8 · Physics · Gravitation
A satellite moves in a circular orbit just above the surface of a planet that has no atmosphere. By what percentage must its speed be increased for it to escape from the planet?
Answer: (A)
Near the surface the orbital speed is √(gR) and the escape speed is √(2gR), which is √2 times as large. The speed must therefore rise by (√2 − 1) × 100 = 41.4%. In terms of energy, the kinetic energy must double so that the total energy rises from −GMm/2R to zero.
Q9 · Physics · Gravitation
Suppose the force of attraction between a star and a planet of mass m were F = k/r^(5/2) instead of an inverse-square law, where k is a constant. For planets in circular orbits of radius r about the star, the period T is proportional to r^n. What is n?
Answer: (B)
The gravitational-type force supplies the centripetal force: mω²r = k/r^(5/2). So ω² = k/(m r^(7/2)), and ω ∝ r^(-7/4). Then T = 2π/ω ∝ r^(7/4). The inverse-square case gives the familiar T² ∝ r³ by the same steps.
Q10 · Physics · Gravitation
In vacuum, a feather and a stone are released from rest at the same height near the surface of the Earth. Which statement is correct?
Answer: (C)
Acceleration due to gravity near the Earth's surface is g = GM/R², which depends only on the Earth's mass and radius, not on the mass of the falling object. The force on a body is mg, so acceleration is mg/m = g for any mass. In vacuum, with no air resistance, all bodies released from rest fall with the same acceleration and reach the ground together.
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All 129 real JEE Main questions from Gravitation.
The questions from the actual papers, with the official answer and an explanation for each — chapter by chapter, or as full timed papers.
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About Gravitation in JEE Main.
How many questions come from Gravitation in JEE Main?
Gravitation (Physics, Class 11) has been asked 129 times in the 111 JEE (Main) shift papers from 2020–2025: about 1.2 questions a paper, 4% of all Physics questions. It is the 13th most-asked of 20 Physics chapters. The 2025 shifts had 12 from it in all.
Which topics of Gravitation are asked most in JEE Main?
Acceleration due to gravity (40), Orbital motion (25), Escape velocity (23), Kepler's laws (19), counted over the papers from 2020–2025.
Is Gravitation important for JEE Main 2027?
It is in the syllabus in force, so it can be asked. By past papers it ranks 13 of 20 in Physics; use that to decide how much time it gets, not whether to study it.
Where can I solve Gravitation JEE Main previous year questions?
On Nikaalle, free: sign up and practise every past JEE Main question from Gravitation with an explanation for each, or sit the full papers timed. The ten questions on this page are our own, written in the same pattern.
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