Trends
NDA Biology 2026 is structurally similar to NDA Biology 2017
The most important pattern in NDA Biology trends is the ABSENCE of one — UNLIKE Physics (which hardened 22× per question), Biology has stayed remarkably stable. Only 4 HARDs across 190 q over 10 years. Chapter mix has shifted (Cell Biology grew, Microbiology faded), but the paper's recall-heavy character is the same. Drill all 10 years equally.
- years analysed
- 10
- papers
- 18
- questions tagged
- 190
- chapters tracked
- 9
The headline: %HARD by year (no trend)
Each year’s HARD share, with the paper-set size for context. 2020 had only NDA-1 (COVID), 2026 has only NDA-1 so far. Notice the oscillation — 2021 had 2 HARDs (9% — the peak); 7 of 10 years had ZERO HARDs. No upward trend.
| Year | Questions | HARD count | % HARD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 20 | 0 | 0% |
| 2018 | 23 | 1 | 4% |
| 2019 | 19 | 0 | 0% |
| 2020 | 13 | 0 | 0% |
| 2021 | 22 | 2 | 9% |
| 2022 | 20 | 0 | 0% |
| 2023 | 23 | 1 | 4% |
| 2024 | 21 | 0 | 0% |
| 2025 | 19 | 0 | 0% |
| 2026 | 10 | 0 | 0% |
Per-question, the 2026 paper is no harder than the 2017 paper. Translation: don’t over-weight recent papers. Drill 2017 papers as seriously as 2024 papers; the difficulty floor is stable. The Recall + Apply + Verify strands are tested in roughly the same proportions year-to-year.
The 4 biggest shifts
%HARD is flat, but chapter mix isn’t. These four shifts come on top of the stable difficulty — drill the called-out cohorts.
- The headline: paper has NOT hardened — drill all 10 years equally
The most important pattern in NDA Biology trends is the absence of a pattern. %HARD oscillates 0% (2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026) to 9% (2021, 2 HARDs) with no trajectory. Average across 10 years: 2.6%. Only 4 HARDs across the entire 190-q bank. Contrast NDA Physics (2% → 44% over the same window) and even Chemistry (which oscillates 0–14%). Translation: drill 2017 papers as seriously as 2024 papers. The 2026 paper is no harder per question than the 2017 paper. Biology's near-pure recall character keeps the difficulty floor stable.
- Cell Biology grew dramatically 2022–2024
Through 2017–2021 the Cell Biology chapter held 2–5 q/year (avg ~3.4). 2022 jumped to 8, 2023 was 6, 2024 hit 10 (the chapter's all-time high). Then 2025 dropped to 2, 2026 NDA-1 to 1. The growth concentrated in Cell Organelles + Functions (17 of 44 chapter q overall). If your prep is from a coaching-class syllabus that pre-dates 2022, you're under-investing in this chapter — it's now the SECOND largest after Human Physiology.
- Microbiology and Disease faded after 2019 — still tested, less frequently
2017–19 carried 7 + 2 + 5 = 14 of the chapter's 21 q. Since 2020 it's been 0–3 q/yr (7 total across 7 years). 2024 + 2026 NDA-1 each carried ZERO. Don't drop the chapter — when it appears, every question is named-fact recall (disease↔pathogen), zero HARD, easy marks. But adjust expectations: it's no longer the steady 2–3 q/paper it was pre-2020.
- Reproduction 2023 spike (7 q) then silence
2023 carried 7 of the chapter's 13 q in a single year — the chapter's all-time high. 2024 + 2025 each carried ZERO; 2026 NDA-1 has 1. Pattern is genuinely noisy — the chapter could come back in 2026 NDA-2 with another spike, or stay silent. Drill the 2023 cohort for the lever practice (pollination types, double fertilisation, oestrus cycle); don't expect 7 q again in any single year.
Year-by-year drift
Counts per year (NDA-1 + NDA-2 combined; 2020 NDA-2 COVID-cancelled, 2026 NDA-2 not yet held — so those columns hold ~half a normal year). Cells are tinted by row magnitude.
| Chapter | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Physiology | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 5 |
| Cell Biology | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Plant Biology | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Microbiology and Disease | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Reproduction | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ecology and Environment | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Biodiversity and Classification | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Genetics and Evolution | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Biochemistry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Recommendation: drill across ALL 10 years
UNLIKE Physics, NDA Biology doesn’t reward a ‘recent-only’ drill plan. Old papers test the same recall-heavy material at the same difficulty. The one exception: Cell Biology grew dramatically in 2022–2024 — drill that cohort with extra weight if your prep predates 2022.