NDA Mathematics Guide
How NDA Mathematics actually works
A 2,160-question analysis of every paper from 2017 to 2026. We mapped the principles, the compound tricks, the year-on-year drift, and the distractor traps — so you can study what the exam actually tests, not what a textbook tells you to.
- Past-year questions
- 2,160
- Papers (2017–2026)
- 18
- Chapters
- 31
- Principle atoms
- 79
How the 2,160 questions break down
All 31 chapters tested in NDA Mathematics, sized by question count across the 2017–2026 bank. Focus column names the top 1–2 subtopics to drill within each chapter. Sorted by share of bank.
| Chapter | Questions | Share | % HARD | Focus topics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Matrices & DeterminantsNotes | 170 | 7.9% | 31% | Determinant Properties (59), Matrix Operations (33). Highest-reliability chapter — 8–11 q/paper. |
ProbabilityNotes | 162 | 7.5% | 17% | Counting (46), Conditional/Bayes (29), Event Algebra (21). Mostly classical; Bayes is the harder slice. |
StatisticsNotes | 160 | 7.4% | 13% | Central Tendency (75), Dispersion (44). Gentlest chapter in the bank — best marks-per-hour. |
Trigonometric Identities | 138 | 6.4% | 34% | Compound Angle (38), Multi/Half-Angle (30), Product-to-Sum (27). High-HARD — cherry-pick by subtopic. |
Functions | 109 | 5.0% | 10% | Domain/Range (48), Composition (28). High-easy ratio — low-cost wins, skip Functional Equations. |
VectorsNotes | 97 | 4.5% | 20% | Cross/Triple Product (37), Dot Product (32). Four formulas cover ~70%. |
Lines | 97 | 4.5% | 21% | Triangles/Quads (32), Equation+Slope (27), Distance+Section (22). |
Sequence & SeriesNotes | 89 | 4.1% | 21% | AP (43), GP+HP+AM-GM-HM (37). Six formulas dominate; AM-GM is the cross-chapter lever. |
3D GeometryNotes | 89 | 4.1% | 22% | Direction Cosines (24), Foundations/Distance (20), Sphere (20), The Plane (14), Lines (11). |
Differentiation | 85 | 3.9% | 24% | Chain Rule + Logarithmic (48), Parametric/Implicit (21). Differentiability questions overlap with Limits & Continuity. |
Limits & Continuity | 81 | 3.8% | 14% | Continuity/Differentiability (34), Limit Techniques (31). Edge cases with |x|, ⌊x⌋ are the lever. |
Permutation & Combination | 78 | 3.6% | 19% | Digit-Forming (20), Factorials (17), Arrangements with Restrictions (17). |
Application of Derivatives | 73 | 3.4% | 16% | Monotonicity/Extrema (38), Optimisation — AM-GM compound (30). |
Complex Numbers | 72 | 3.3% | 22% | Modulus/Argument (39), Cube Roots of Unity (18), Powers/Roots (15). |
Sets & Relations | 69 | 3.2% | 13% | Counting Sets + Inclusion-Exclusion (27), Set Operations (23). Easy 2–3 marks if given an hour. |
Definite Integration | 66 | 3.1% | 20% | Properties — King's, symmetry (32), |x|/floor integrals (17). |
Quadratic Equations | 63 | 2.9% | 40% | Vieta's Relations (26), Nature of Roots (21). High-HARD; AM-GM + ω compounds live here. |
Differential Equations | 63 | 2.9% | 29% | Separable/IVP (29), Order/Degree (22). |
Binomial Theorem | 54 | 2.5% | 17% | Coefficients & Specific Terms (29), Sum Identities (14). |
Properties of Triangle | 49 | 2.3% | 45% | Sine/Cosine Rules (29), Triangle Identities (14). High-HARD — punishing yield. |
Indefinite IntegrationNotes | 40 | 1.9% | 23% | Substitution (17), Standard Forms — exp/log (13). |
Conics | 38 | 1.8% | 21% | Ellipse (14), Parabola (13). |
Inverse Trigonometry | 34 | 1.6% | 24% | Identities + Sum-Difference (17), Composite Evaluation (11). |
Trigonometric Equations | 33 | 1.5% | 33% | Specific Forms — double-angle, product (13), General Solutions (13). |
Binomial Distribution | 30 | 1.4% | 10% | Computing Probabilities (15), Mean/Variance (15). One chapter, two formulas — 60 minutes, 2 marks. |
Logarithms | 27 | 1.3% | 19% | Identities + Change of Base (16), Log Equations (11). |
Circles | 27 | 1.3% | 41% | Circle Equation — centre/radius (11). High-HARD for the size. |
Applications of Integration | 25 | 1.2% | 20% | Area Bounded by Curve (16). |
Height & Distance | 24 | 1.1% | 71% | Angles of Elevation (16). Hardest chapter in the bank — 71% HARD. |
Binary Numbers | 13 | 0.6% | 31% | Tiny chapter — 0.7 q/paper average. |
Linear Inequalities | 5 | 0.2% | 0% | Near-irrelevant — 0.3 q/paper, zero HARD across the bank. |
What’s inside
Five sections, each answering a different question a student walks in with. Read top-to-bottom or jump to what you need.
Strategy
Score 100+ marks with 50 hours of focused, evidence-led prep.
Principles
79 atoms behind every question. Drill the 11 cross-chapter principles first.
Compound Tricks
4 principle pairs that spike HARD — 40–67% HARD vs 22.5% bank average. The chains paper-setters love.
Trends
How NDA Maths has shifted from 2017 to 2026, and what to practice first.
Traps
Distractor patterns NDA reuses. The last-step verification rules that recover marks.
Why we built this
Most NDA Maths preparation is generic — practice everything, hope something sticks. We took the opposite approach: we extracted every question from every paper since 2021, classified them by the underlying principle, and looked at the patterns.
Every claim on this site is verifiable. Click any “Drill these X questions →” link and you’ll see the exact set we’re talking about.
Data snapshot: 17 May 2026. Numbers refresh as new papers land.