Trends
NDA Physics, 2017 to 2026: 449 questions, and a paper about 22 times harder per question since 2021
Two structural shifts dominate the 2017–2026 window: a chapter-mix reweighting (E&M tripled, Laws of Motion grew 3×, Modern Physics faded) and — far more important — a difficulty hardening. Per-question, the 2026 paper is ~22× more difficulty-dense than 2021. If you only practiced one cohort of papers, you have a blind spot.
- years analysed
- 10
- papers
- 18
- questions tagged
- 449
- chapters tracked
- 14
The headline: %HARD by year
The single most important pattern in NDA Physics. Each year’s HARD share, with the paper-set size for context (2020 had only NDA-1 due to COVID, 2026 has only NDA-1 so far).
| Year | Questions | HARD count | % HARD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 50 | 5 | 10% |
| 2018 | 51 | 9 | 18% |
| 2019 | 53 | 5 | 9% |
| 2020 | 22 | 2 | 9% |
| 2021 | 52 | 1 | 2% |
| 2022 | 51 | 4 | 8% |
| 2023 | 45 | 10 | 22% |
| 2024 | 50 | 14 | 28% |
| 2025 | 50 | 2 | 4% |
| 2026 | 49 | 18 | 37% |
Per-question, the 2026 paper is 22× more HARD-dense than 2021. Translation: drill the most recent papers, not the oldest. Use 2017–2021 for chapter recall + formula practice; use 2023–2026 for HARD-pool calibration.
The 4 biggest shifts
The hardening above is the structural shift. These four chapter-mix shifts come on top — drill the called-out cohorts.
- The paper hardened ~19× per question — 2% HARD (2021) to 37% (2026)
The single most important shift in NDA Physics. 2021 was the easiest paper-year in the window (1 HARD across 52 q = 2%). 2024 jumped to 28%. The completed 2026 pair carries 18 HARD in 49 q = 37%. Per question, 2026 is ~19× more difficulty-dense than 2021. (An earlier version of this page read 44% and ~22×, measured on NDA-1's 25 questions alone; the September paper was the gentler half, which is exactly why a half-year reading should never be quoted as a year.) Translation: if you've practiced 2017–2022 papers, the absolute number of HARD questions you've seen is dwarfed by what 2024–2026 throws at you in a single paper. Drill recent papers ruthlessly.
- E&M tripled in 2022 and held — 5 q → 16 q overnight
Through 2017–2021 the E&M chapter held a steady 5–10 q/year. 2022 jumped to 16 q (highest single-year for any chapter in the bank). 2023–2025 settled at 11–12 q. If you've calibrated your prep against the 2017–2021 baseline, you're underweighting the bank's #1 HARD pool by half. Combination of Resistors (the 38% HARD subtopic) absorbed most of the new q.
- Laws of Motion grew 3× in 2023–2024
Typical 3–5 q/year through 2017–2022 (with 0 in 2017 and 2020). Then 2023 = 7 q, 2024 = 10 q. Settled back to 4 in 2025 and 4 in 2026 NDA-1. The growth was concentrated in Newton's Laws statement-truth and Conservation of Momentum — both are calculation-light, so the trend is more 'NDA likes Newton recently' than 'paper got harder here.'
- Modern Physics faded post-2021 — 6 q → 0–3 q/year
2017, 2019, 2021 each carried 6 q of Modern Physics. Then 2022=0, 2023=2, 2024=3, 2025=1, 2026=0. Cumulative for the chapter dropped from a 6-q-per-year norm to a 1-q-per-year norm. Don't over-invest — the 25-q chapter total looks more substantial than its annual yield, which is ~1 q/paper today. Still drillable for marginal marks (0% HARD throughout).
Year-by-year drift
Counts per year (NDA-1 + NDA-2 combined; 2020 NDA-2 COVID-cancelled, 2026 is now complete (NDA-2 written 2026-09-14) — so only 2020 holds ~half a normal year). Cells are tinted by row magnitude.
| Chapter | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light and Optics | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Electricity and Magnetism | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 6 |
| Laws of Motion and Forces | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 7 |
| Heat and Thermodynamics | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Sound | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Modern Physics | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Kinematics and Motion | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Work, Energy and Power | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Fluid Mechanics and Properties of Matter | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Gravitation | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Units, Measurement and Dimensions | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Oscillations and Waves | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Astronomy and Space | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Energy Sources | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Recommendation: drill 2024+ papers FIRST
The 2024–2026 cohort carries the HARD-hardening signal and the new chapter-mix (E&M ~12/yr, Laws of Motion ~6/yr). Pre-2022 papers undertrain you on circuit-combination reasoning and on the calorimetry / fluid-mechanics HARD pools. Calibrate on recent first, then back-fill formula practice from the older years.