Physics - Wave Optics
Practise 19 JEE Advanced previous year questions on Wave Optics, compiled from papers spanning 2008 to 2026. Each question is pulled directly from the actual exam paper it appeared in, so you're practising in the exact style and difficulty JEE Advanced tests.
Wave Optics has been asked in 14 of the 27 years of JEE Advanced papers analysed (2000–2026), with 19 questions in all. 26% of them were easy, 42% moderate and 32% tough. Most of its questions came from 2026, with 3 questions that year. In the last three years (2024–2026) it had 8 questions across 6 papers, about 1.3 per paper.
The chapter's 6 topics are not weighted equally: Youngs Double Slit Experiment (9 questions, 47%), Polarization of Light (3 questions, 16%), and Interference of Light (2 questions, 11%) have been asked the most. Over the last five years the most frequent topics have been Polarization of Light (3), Youngs Double Slit Experiment (2), and Diffraction of Light (2). Youngs Double Slit Experiment has produced the most tough questions (4).
- 1In the List-I, four optical effects are mentioned. The physical phenomena of light which are essential to describe these optical effects are2026 (Paper 1)Polarization of Light
- 2In a single slit diffraction experiment, a slit of width mm is used to measure the wavelength of a monochromatic light source. In the diffra2026 (Paper 2)Diffraction of Light
- 3As shown in the figure, a ray of unpolarized light enters from water of refractive index into a medium of refractive index after passing thr2026 (Paper 2)Polarization of Light
- 4A single slit diffraction experiment is performed to determine the slit width using the equation, , where is the slit width, the shortest di2025 (Paper 1)Diffraction of Light
- 5In a Young's double slit experiment, a combination of two glass wedges and , having refractive indices 1.7 and 1.5, respectively, are placed2025 (Paper 2)Young's Double Slit Experiment
- 6A point source emits unpolarized light uniformly in all directions. At two points and , the ratio of the intensities of light is 2. If a set2024 (Paper 1)Polarization of Light
- 7Paragraph I: In a Young's double slit experiment, each of the two slits A and B, as shown in the figure, are oscillating about their fixed c2024 (Paper 2)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 8In a Young's double slit experiment, each of the two slits A and B, as shown in the figure, are oscillating about their fixed center and wit2024 (Paper 2)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 9A double slit setup is shown in the figure. One of the slits is in medium 2 of refractive index n 2 . The other slit is at the interface of 2022 (Paper 2)Wave Theory and Wavefronts
- 10A parallel beam of light strikes a piece of transparent glass having cross section as shown in the figure below. Correct shape of the emerge2020 (Paper 1)Wave Theory and Wavefronts
- 11In a Young's double slit experiment, the slit separation d is 0.3 m m and the screen distance D is 1 m . A parallel beam of light of wavelen2019 (Paper 2)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 12Two coherent monochromatic point sources S 1 and S 2 of wavelength λ = 600 n m are placed symmetrically on either side of the center of the 2017 (Paper 2)Interference of Light
- 13While conducting the Young's double slit experiment, a student replaced the two slits with a large opaque plate in the x-y plane containing 2016 (Paper 2)Interference of Light
- 14A Young's double slit interference arrangement with slits S 1 and S 2 is immersed in water (refractive index = 4 3 ) as shown in the figure.2015 (Paper 1)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 15A light source, which emits two wavelengths 1 = 400 n m and 2 = 600 n m , is used in a Young s double slit experiment. If recorded fringe wi2014 (Paper 1)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 16In the Young s double slit experiment using a monochromatic light of wavelength , the path difference ( in terms of an integer n ) correspon2013 (Paper 1)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 17Young's double slit experiment is carried out by using green, red and blue light, one color at a time. The fringe widths recorded are and , 2012 (Paper 1)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 18Column I shows four situations of standard Young's double slit arrangement with the screen placed far away from the slits and . In each of t2009 (Paper 2)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- 19In a Young's double slit experiment, the separation between the two slits is and the wavelength of the light is . The intensity of light fal2008 (Paper 1)Youngs Double Slit Experiment
Frequently Asked Questions
1.How many questions are available for Wave Optics?
This chapter includes 19 questions compiled from JEE Advanced papers spanning 2008 to 2026.
2.Are these questions only from JEE Advanced, or from other exams too?
These are JEE Advanced questions specifically for the Wave Optics chapter. Questions from other exams like JEE Main or NTA Abhyas (JEE Main) are organised separately under their respective exam sections.
3.Is Wave Optics an important chapter for JEE Advanced Physics?
Wave Optics has appeared in 14 of the 21 years of JEE Advanced papers covered here, with 19 questions across 17 papers - about one per paper it appears in.
4.What is the difficulty level of Wave Optics questions in JEE Advanced?
Of the 19 questions analysed for this chapter, 26% are easy, 42% moderate and 32% tough. 2026 had the most, with 3 questions.
5.Which topics in Wave Optics should I focus on?
These topics have carried the most weightage in Wave Optics:
- Youngs Double Slit Experiment - 9 questions (47%)
- Polarization of Light - 3 questions (16%)
- Interference of Light - 2 questions (11%)
- Youngs Double Slit Experiment has produced the most tough questions (4).
6.Is Wave Optics's weightage in JEE Advanced going up or down?
Across all 17 papers analysed, Wave Optics has averaged about 1.1 questions per paper. In the last three years (2024–2026), that average has risen, at about 1.3 questions per paper. Use the year-wise numbers on this page for the exact trend before you decide how much time to give it.