JEE Main Physics · Gravitation

Orbital Mechanics in JEE Main

Name: Orbital Mechanics: JEE Main previous year questions
Creator: Lumi

Orbital Mechanics (Physics, Gravitation) came 17 times in 16 of the 42 JEE Main shifts Lumi analysed, across 8 distinct ideas. 8 of them came in 2024–26; it was last asked in 2026.

Questions: 17; in 16 shifts
Ideas asked: 8; 5 asked more than once
Numerical answer: 2; 12% of its questions
Pattern: Asked most years; last asked 2026

Questions each year

In the shifts Lumi analysed for each year.

Difficulty and format

Easy 9Medium 6Hard 2

Format

Single correct13 Q
Numerical value2 Q
Assertion–reason1 Q
Two statements1 Q

Ideas inside the topic

8 ideas

Escape Velocity6 Q
Areal Velocity and Angular Momentum2 Q
Energy of Orbiting Bodies2 Q
Kepler's Laws2 Q
Orbital Time Period2 Q
Angular Momentum Dependence on Radius1 Q
Binary Star Systems1 Q
Work Done to Shift Orbits1 Q

Where it sits

Part of Gravitation, which had 39 questions in all. Orbital Mechanics accounts for 44% of them. In Lumi's JEE taxonomy it belongs to Mechanics.

Every question

All 17 Orbital Mechanics questions

Newest first, each with its options and official answer.

2 Apr 2026, Shift 1 · Q30A planet ( $P_1$ ) is moving around the star of mass $2M$ in the orbit of radius $R$ . Another planet ( $P_2$ ) is moving around another star…EasySingle correct
2 Apr 2025, Shift 2 · Q47A satellite of mass 1000 kg is launched to revolve around the earth in an orbit at a height of 270 km from the earth's surface. Kinetic…MediumNumerical value
7 Apr 2025, Shift 2 · Q31Given below are two statements : one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A) : The radius…EasyAssertion–reason
8 Apr 2024, Shift 1 · Q38Two planets A and B having masses $m_1$ and $m_2$ move around the sun in circular orbits of $r_1$ and $r_2$ radii respectively. If angular…HardSingle correct
9 Apr 2024, Shift 1 · Q36An astronaut takes a ball of mass m from earth to space. He throws the ball into a circular orbit about earth at an altitude of $318.5$ …MediumSingle correct
9 Apr 2024, Shift 2 · Q38A satellite of $10^3$ kg mass is revolving in circular orbit of radius $2R$ . If $\frac{10^4R}{6}$ J energy is supplied to the satellite,…MediumSingle correct
30 Jan 2024, Shift 2 · Q36Escape velocity of a body from earth is $11.2\ km/s$ . If the radius of a planet be one-third the radius of earth and mass be one-sixth…EasySingle correct
31 Jan 2024, Shift 2 · Q36The mass of the moon is $\frac{1}{144}$ times the mass of a planet and its diameter is $\frac{1}{16}$ times the diameter of a planet. If…EasySingle correct
8 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q37The orbital angular momentum of a satellite is L, when it is revolving in a circular orbit at height h from earth surface. If the distance…MediumSingle correct
13 Apr 2023, Shift 2 · Q35Given below are two statements: Statement I : For a planet, if the ratio of mass of the planet to its radius increases, the escape…EasyTwo statements
29 Jun 2022, Shift 1 · Q44The escape velocity of a body on a planet 'A' is $12\ \mathrm{kms^{-1}}$ . The escape velocity of the body on another planet 'B', whose…EasySingle correct
3 Aug 2021, Shift 2 · Q6A particle is projected from the mid-point of the line joining two fixed particles each of mass $m$ in free space. If the separation…HardSingle correct
3 Aug 2021, Shift 2 · Q26Two particles of equal mass 'm' go round a circle of radius $R$ under the action of their mutual gravitational attraction. The speed of…MediumNumerical value
25 Jul 2021, Shift 1 · Q19The minimum and maximum distances of a planet revolving around the Sun are $x_1$ and $x_2$ . If the minimum speed of the planet on its…EasySingle correct
18 Mar 2021, Shift 1 · Q14The time period of a satellite in a circular orbit of radius R is T. The period of another satellite in a circular orbit of radius 9R is :EasySingle correct
9 Jan 2020, Shift 2 · Q7Planet A has mass $M$ and radius $R$ . Planet B has half the mass and half the radius of Planet A. If the escape velocities from the…EasySingle correct
2 Sep 2020, Shift 1 · Q6The mass density of a spherical galaxy varies as $\frac{K}{r}$ over a large distance 'r' from its centre. In that region, a small star is…MediumSingle correct