MHT-CET Mathematics Guide
How MHT-CET Maths actually works
A 2,228-question analysis of every Mathematics shift from 2021 to 2025 — 45 papers in all. 50 questions, 90 minutes, and no negative marking, so the whole game is order and time rather than selection. We mapped the 22 chapter playbooks, the formulas, the year-on-year drift and the distractor traps.
- Past-year questions
- 2,228
- Shifts (2021–2025)
- 45
- Chapters
- 27
- Playbooks
- 22
- of the bank is HARD
- 38.4%
The paper you are actually sitting
MHT-CET Paper I is Mathematics on its own. Everything below is that paper — not the Physics and Chemistry paper, which is scored differently.
- Questions
- 50
- Marks
- 100
- Duration
- 90 min
- Per question
- 1.8 min
2 marks a question
Read this before anything else
MHT-CET Maths has NO negative marking
A wrong answer costs you nothing beyond the time you spent on it. That single fact inverts the advice most candidates carry in from other entrance exams: there is no attempt-versus-skip decision to make, because a blank and a wrong answer score exactly the same. Every one of the 50 questions gets an answer.
So the binding constraint is not accuracy, it is the clock. 90 minutes across 50 questions is 1.8 minutes per question — and 38.4% of this bank is HARD. The decision you actually make, question by question, is the ORDER you take them in and how long you let one run before you commit an answer and move.
The difficulty split behind that: 227 EASY (10.2%), 1,145 MODERATE (51.4%) and 856 HARD (38.4%) across the 2,228 questions. This is a dense paper and we would rather say so than sell you the subject.
Six chapters are 47% of the paper
On recent shifts (2024–2025) the 6 cornerstone chapters run to 23.4 of the 50 questions — 47% of the paper. They are not the easy chapters; they are the ones you cannot afford to be slow in.
- Line and Plane4.96/paper · 42% HARD
- Vectors4.81/paper · 55% HARD
- Applications of Derivative3.81/paper · 23% HARD
- Differential Equations3.35/paper · 38% HARD
- Indefinite Integration3.35/paper · 51% HARD
- Differentiation3.15/paper · 47% HARD
Weightage here is the RECENT rate (2024–2025 shifts), not a lifetime average — the two disagree, and the 2025 syllabus shift is why. See Trends.
How the 2,228 questions break down
All 27 chapters tested across the 45 shifts in the bank, sorted by questions per paper on recent shifts — not by lifetime count, because that is the number worth planning against. Two chapters carry a status: the 2025 syllabus shift moved them.
| Chapter | Q / paper | Questions | Share | % HARD | Focus subtopics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line and Plane | 4.96 | 205 | 9.2% | 42% | Plane — Equation, Normal, and Construction (47 · 38% HARD), Intersection, Coplanarity, and Skew Lines (37 · 62%), Distances in 3-D (33 · 42%), Angles — Line, Plane, and Direction Conditions (29 · 45%), Line — Equation, Direction Cosines, and Vector Form (29 · 21%), Foot of Perpendicular, Image, and Projection (19 · 53%), Tetrahedron Geometry — Centroid, Volume, and Vertices (11 · 27%). The HARD is spread across seven subtopics rather than concentrated, so there is no cherry-pick here. |
| Vectors | 4.81 | 228 | 10.2% | 55% | Scalar Triple Product, Coplanarity, and Volume (71 · 72% HARD), Cross Product, Angle, and Area (66 · 64%), Dot Product, Angle, and Perpendicularity (50 · 28%), Vector Geometry — Section Formula, Triangle, and Parallelogram (16 · 50%), Linear Combinations, Collinearity, and Coplanarity (15 · 53%), Magnitude, Components, and Unit Vectors (10 · 30%). Largest chapter in the bank and the hardest cornerstone — but it DOES cherry-pick: Dot Product is 50 questions at 28% HARD. |
| Applications of Derivative | 3.81 | 183 | 8.2% | 23% | Maxima, Minima, and Optimisation (42 · 29% HARD), Rate of Change and Related Rates (40 · 20%), Tangents, Normals, and the Slope of a Curve (35 · 29%), Increasing and Decreasing Functions (29 · 31%), Rolle's Theorem and Mean Value Theorem (18 · 17%), Approximations using Differentials (11 · 0%), Angle Between Curves and Orthogonality (8 · 13%). The cheapest cornerstone by some distance — no subtopic above 31% HARD. |
| Differential Equations | 3.35 | 144 | 6.5% | 38% | Growth, Decay, and Continuous Models (33 · 27% HARD), Order, Degree, Formation of ODE, and Verification of Solutions (33 · 24%), Variable-Separable Equations (33 · 39%), Linear Differential Equations (Integrating Factor) (24 · 63%), Homogeneous and Reducible Equations (16 · 38%), Newton's Law of Cooling (5 · 60%). The subtopics split by SOLUTION METHOD, which is exactly how the questions are set. |
| Indefinite Integration | 3.35 | 159 | 7.1% | 51% | Integration by Substitution (51 · 51% HARD), Trigonometric Integrals - Rational and Substitution Forms (35 · 74%), Rational Functions and Partial Fractions (27 · 48%), Integration by Parts (26 · 54%), Trigonometric Integrals - Powers and Identities (12 · 8%), Foundations and Standard Formulae (8 · 13%). Half the chapter is HARD and the trigonometric-rational forms are the most expensive block on the paper at 74%. |
| Differentiation | 3.15 | 141 | 6.3% | 47% | Inverse Functions & Inverse Trigonometric Differentiation (39 · 49% HARD), Implicit Differentiation & Special Forms (31 · 52%), Logarithmic Differentiation (25 · 44%), Foundations, Chain Rule & Differentiability (21 · 29%), Parametric, Higher-Order Derivatives & Relations (18 · 50%), Derivative of One Function with Respect to Another (7 · 71%). Feeds Applications of Derivative directly — the two run to 8.0 questions per paper together. |
| Probability Distribution | 2.65 | 115 | 5.2% | 20% | Expectation, Variance and Standard Deviation (37 · 19% HARD), Discrete Random Variables, PMF and CDF (31 · 19%), Conditional Probability, Independence and Bayes' Theorem (26 · 31%), Classical Probability, Addition Theorem and Odds (21 · 10%). The heaviest quick-win: 2.65 questions a paper at only 20% HARD. |
| Limits | 2.08 | 93 | 4.2% | 56% | Continuity at a Point — Finding Parameters (47 · 57% HARD), Limit Evaluation Techniques (46 · 54%). The highest %HARD of any chapter in the bank, and it splits almost evenly, so it does not cherry-pick. |
| Trigonometry - II | 2.08 | 90 | 4.0% | 49% | Properties of Triangles — Sine/Cosine Rules and Projection (52 · 42% HARD), Inverse Trigonometry — Identities, Equations, and Principal Values (21 · 52%), Trigonometric Identities and Compound/Half-Angle Formulas (17 · 65%). Note the overlap: its inverse-trigonometry subtopic sits alongside the separate 73-question Inverse Trigonometric Functions chapter. |
| Inverse Trigonometric Functions | 2.04 | 73 | 3.3% | 37% | Inverse Trigonometric Functions — Identities, Equations, Principal Values, and Sums (73 · 37% HARD) — a single subtopic carrying the whole chapter. A further 21 questions of the same material are filed under Trigonometry - II; drill only one and you miss roughly a fifth of the topic. |
| Trigonometry - I | 1.85 | 99 | 4.4% | 37% | Trig Identities, Compound Angle, and Equations (77 · 36% HARD), Properties of Triangle (22 · 41%). Properties of Triangle also appears in Trigonometry - II at 52 questions — the two chapters are not disjoint. |
| Definite Integration | 1.85 | 73 | 3.3% | 45% | Symmetry, King's Property, and Absolute Value (42 · 38% HARD), Substitution and Standard Form (31 · 55%). The symmetry properties are the time lever: they turn an expensive integral into a two-line answer. |
| Mathematical Logic | 1.92 | 88 | 3.9% | 31% | Negation, Equivalence, Tautology, and Switch Circuits (47 · 36% HARD), Truth Tables and Truth Values (27 · 26%), Converse, Inverse, and Contrapositive (14 · 21%). Self-contained — it borrows nothing from the rest of the syllabus, which makes it the fastest chapter to bank from a cold start. |
| Binomial Distribution | 1.27 | 60 | 2.7% | 22% | Computing Binomial Probabilities (20 · 30% HARD), Parameter Estimation and the Probability Ratio (15 · 27%), Mean, Variance and Standard Deviation of a Binomial Variable (15 · 13%), The Binomial Setting and Probability Mass Function (10 · 10%). Four subtopics off one formula. |
| Determinants and Matrices | 1.12 | 50 | 2.2% | 48% | Inverse, Cayley-Hamilton, and Matrix Polynomial (27 · 41% HARD), Adjoint, Determinant, and A·adj(A) Identity (14 · 64%), System of Linear Equations and Symmetric Matrices (9 · 44%). One question a paper at 48% HARD — expensive for what it returns. |
| Circle | 1.04 | 47 | 2.1% | 38% | Tangent, Locus, and Equation Construction (27 · 37% HARD), Equation of Circle from Diameter, Centre, and Concentric Conditions (11 · 27%), Two Circles — Tangency, Common Tangents, and Relative Position (9 · 56%). Its extremum questions — greatest or least distance from a point to the circle — are answered by centre-distance plus or minus radius, with no calculus. |
| Linear Programming | 1.00 | 46 | 2.1% | 4% | Feasible Region — Identification, Constraints, Classification (23 · 9% HARD), Objective Function — Maximisation and Minimisation (23 · 0%). The lowest %HARD in the bank at 4%, split evenly across two subtopics. One free mark a paper if the method is drilled. |
| Complex Numbers | 1.00 | 46 | 2.1% | 33% | Algebraic Equations, Locus, and Cube Roots (24 · 46% HARD), Modulus, Argument, and Polar Form (22 · 18%). The two halves differ by 28 points of HARD — secure modulus and argument first. Greatest and least modulus on a disc is the same geometric move as the Circle chapter's extremum question. |
| Applications of Definite Integral | 1.00 | 47 | 2.1% | 36% | Area Bounded by Curves, Axes, and Lines (43 · 33% HARD), Definite Integral as Application (4 · 75%). Effectively one subtopic — 91% of the chapter is area between curves. |
| Pair of Straight Lines | 1.00 | 45 | 2.0% | 40% | Combined Equation and Condition for Pair of Lines (28 · 39% HARD), Angle, Distance, and Geometry of Pair (17 · 41%). Its perpendicularity test reads a + b = 0 rather than the slope product used elsewhere — the same condition in a different dialect. |
| Permutations and Combinations | 1.00 | 43 | 1.9% | 42% | Selection and Arrangement with Constraints (33 · 42% HARD), Counting and Geometric Applications (10 · 40%). One question a paper at 42% HARD, and the constraint questions do not reduce to a formula — cost this chapter honestly before investing in it. |
| Straight Line | 0.96 | 46 | 2.1% | 22% | Section Formula, Concurrency, Foot of Perpendicular, and Distance (27 · 19% HARD), Equation of Line — Rotation, Angle, and Bisector (19 · 26%). Cheap, and it underwrites Pair of Straight Lines and Circle — the return is larger than its own 0.96 per paper. |
| Sets, Relations and Functions | 0.73 | 41 | 1.8% | 12% | 12% HARD — the second-cheapest chapter in the bank after Linear Programming. Below the 0.9 q/paper line so it ships no playbook, but a genuine cheap-marks chapter and worth a short drill rather than a skip. |
| Conic SectionsNew for 2025 | 0.69 | 19 | 0.9% | 42% | 19 questions lifetime at 42% HARD, but the lifetime figure is the wrong lens — see the note. Below the playbook line on the 2021-2025 average and above it on 2025 alone. New for 2025: Entered with the 2025 syllabus shift: 3 questions in the whole bank before 2025, then 16 in 2025 alone. The lifetime rate of 0.69 understates it — anyone prepping from 2023-24 papers has never seen this chapter set. |
| Measures of DispersionDropped for 2025 | 0.46 | 32 | 1.4% | 9% | 32 questions lifetime at 9% HARD — the second-lowest %HARD in the bank, and irrelevant, because the chapter is no longer set. See the note. Dropped for 2025: DROPPED for 2025. Ran 1.0 question per paper across the 29 shifts of 2023-24, then ZERO across all 14 papers of 2025. Its 9% HARD makes it look like a cheap chapter in a lifetime table, which is exactly the trap — do not spend time here. |
| Sequences and Series | 0.31 | 10 | 0.4% | 40% | 10 questions in 45 shifts at 40% HARD. Below the playbook line; revise it, do not drill it. |
| Quadratic Equations | 0.15 | 5 | 0.2% | 20% | 5 questions in 45 shifts — the thinnest chapter in the bank. Assumed knowledge from earlier chapters rather than a topic the paper sets in its own right. |
“Q / paper” is the rate on recent shifts (2024–2025); “Questions” and “Share” are lifetime figures across all 45 shifts. Where the two disagree, the rate is the one to plan on. 22 of these 27 chapters ship a full playbook; the rest are covered in the tail block on Strategy.
What’s inside
5 sections, each answering a different question a candidate walks in with. Read top-to-bottom or jump to what you need.
Strategy
Cornerstone, Quick-Win, Long Tail — 6 chapters carry 23.4 of the 50 questions. With no negative marking the decision is order and time, never whether to attempt.
Playbooks
22 playbooks — one per chapter above 0.9 questions per paper. The subtopic split, where the HARD sits, and whether the chapter cherry-picks.
Formulas
Single-page index of the formulas MHT-CET Maths actually tests, with the chapters that touch each. At 1.8 minutes a question, recall has to be instant.
Trends
The 2025 syllabus shift, in numbers — Measures of Dispersion dropped to zero across all 14 papers, Conic Sections went 3 to 16. Prep from 2023-24 alone and you drill a dead chapter.
Traps
The same idea in four chapter dialects — perpendicularity appears in 83 questions across 7 chapters, and inverse trigonometry is filed under two different chapters at once.
The formula compendium indexes 94 formulas across 19 chapters.
Want the teaching, not just the strategy?
This guide tells you what the exam asks and in what order to take it. The notes teach the chapter: foundations, worked examples, self-checks, drills and a per-subtopic mastery checkpoint. 8 of the 22 playbook chapters have full notes shipped — Line and Plane, Vectors, Applications of Derivative, Differential Equations, Indefinite Integration, Differentiation, Probability Distribution and Binomial Distribution.
All MHT-CET Maths notesWhy we built this
Most MHT-CET Maths prep splits two ways: a coaching-class lecture sequence that doesn’t match the chapter weights, or a chapter-list grind with no sense of what the paper actually rewards. We’ve done the third thing — pulled every question, tagged every subtopic, and looked at the patterns.
Every claim on this page is verifiable. Click any “Drill these N questions →” link and you’ll see the exact set we’re talking about.
Data snapshot: 22 August 2026. Numbers refresh as new papers land.