Question 1Section A: multiple choice
Two fair dice are thrown. Given that at least one die shows a , what is the probability that the sum is at least ?
JEE Main marking scheme: +4, -1 and guessing
Both sections of the maths paper score +4 for a right answer, -1 for a wrong one and 0 for a question left unanswered.
| Right answer | +4 |
|---|---|
| Wrong answer | -1, in Section A and Section B |
| Unanswered | 0 |
| Section B entry | An integer, on an on-screen keypad |
Section B answers are integers
In Section B you enter the answer as an integer with the mouse and an on-screen numeric keypad. The bulletin says the answer should be rounded off to the nearest integer.
What -1 means for guessing
A pure guess on a four-option question is right one time in four, so on average it is worth 1/4 × 4 − 3/4 × 1 = 1/4 of a mark. Rule out one option and the average rises to 1/3 × 4 − 2/3 × 1 = 2/3 of a mark. An average is not a promise: each wrong guess still costs a mark, so solve what you can first and guess only after ruling options out.
How our timed papers mark
Our two timed papers use the same rule: +4, -1 and 0, for 20 multiple-choice and 5 numerical questions in 60 minutes. The result is marks out of 100 by section, never a percentile or a rank.
Try 2 questions
Question 2Section A: multiple choice
In how many arrangements of the letters of the word CRICKET are the two C's not next to each other?
Next step
Questions people ask
Is there negative marking in Section B?
Yes. The 2027 bulletin gives -1 for an incorrect answer in Section B as well as Section A.
What if a question is dropped?
The bulletin says that if a question is found to be incorrect or is dropped, every candidate in that shift gets 4 marks for it.