NEET UG · Biology · Cell Cycle and Cell Division

Meiotic Prophase I: NEET previous year questions

11 questions in ten years of NEET, in 7 of 10 papers. Pattern: Every year. Here is how it is asked and which ideas come back.

Asked in 10 years: 11; about 1.0 per paper
Years asked: 7/10; last asked 2026
Chance of a question next paper: 64%; historical rate, how we compute it
Weighted estimate: 1.1; model; history: 1.0 a paper on average, typically 0–2

Key findings

01
Asked in 7 of 10 papers, 11 questions in all: #64 of 204 topics by ten-year total. It comes back every 1.3 years on average.
02
73% of its questions since 2018 tested an idea never asked before; 1 repeated an idea from the year before.
03
The most repeated idea is Chiasmata Formation, asked 2 times (2018, 2024), usually as “identify stage of meiotic prophase”.
04
NEET has asked 8 of the 85 ideas in this topic; 71 have never been asked, directly or indirectly.
05
Mostly asked as one-line MCQ (55%); 64% easy, 0% hard.

Questions per year

Up to 2023: 1.1; per paper
Since 2024: 0.9; -0.1
Usual gap: 1.3 yrs; between papers asking it
Swing: ±0.8; questions, year to year

Revise first

Maximum Condensation in Diakinesis (2026); Sequence of Prophase I Stages (2020 2024); Recombination Nodule Identification (2022 2023)

How it is asked

Difficulty, format and skill

Across all 11 questions on Meiotic Prophase I since 2017.

Difficulty

QUESTIONS

Easy7 · 64%
Medium4 · 36%
Hard0 · 0%

Format

One-line MCQ · 6 Q55%
Two statements · 2 Q18%
Match the lists · 2 Q18%
Other · 1 Q9%

Skill tested

Recall · 8 Q73%
Concept · 3 Q27%

Repeats

New idea, or one asked before?

Each column is a paper. Blue questions tested an idea NEET had not asked before; navy ones went back to an idea from an earlier paper. 2017 is the first paper, so everything in it counts as new.

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Idea asked for the first time
Idea asked in an earlier paper

Coverage of the topic

NEET has asked 8 of the 85 ideas in this topic. 71 have never been asked yet.

871

Asked directly8 · 9%
Touched inside another question6 · 7%
Never asked71 · 84%

Ideas come from Lumi’s syllabus map of NCERT. A never-asked idea is not a safe skip: most new questions come from exactly these.

Drill down

Idea, year, question

Every idea NEET tested in this topic, with its ten papers. Open one to read the questions.

ideaAskedShareYears’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Repeated2 · 18%18%2/10
- 2024 · Q111
  Given below are two statements: Statement I : Chromosomes become gradually visible under light microscope during leptotene stage.…
  mediumTwo statements
- 2018 · Q123
  The stage during which separation of the paired homologous chromosomes begins is
  easyOne-line MCQNew idea
Repeated2 · 18%18%2/10
Repeated2 · 18%18%2/10
1 · 9%9%1/10
1 · 9%9%1/10
1 · 9%9%1/10
1 · 9%9%1/10
1 · 9%9%1/10

Squares are the ten papers, 2017 to 2026; darker means more questions. Share is of the level above.

Ideas

Every idea inside this topic

8 different ideas were tested; 3 came more than once. Chiasmata Formation is the foundation for 27 other ideas in the syllabus.

Chiasmata Formation2×
identify stage of meiotic prophase
One-line MCQ · 6% next · foundation for 27
Sequence of Prophase I Stages2×
match list on meiotic prophase i stages
Match the lists · 6% next · foundation for 1
Recombination Nodule Identification2×
identify sub-stage of meiotic prophase i
One-line MCQ · 6% next
Maximum Condensation in Diakinesis1×
statement i/ii on meiosis
Two statements · 6% next
Non-Sister Chromatid Exchange1×
count correct statements on cell division stages
Other · 4% next · foundation for 3
DNA Replication Timing Trap1×
select incorrect statement on meiosis
One-line MCQ · 4% next
Terminalisation1×
identify meiotic stage by feature
One-line MCQ · 4% next · foundation for 13
Initiation of Synaptonemal Complex Dissolution1×
identify stage of meiotic prophase i
One-line MCQ · 4% next

Idea	Times	Format	Chance next	Foundation for
Chiasmata Formationidentify stage of meiotic prophase	2	One-line MCQRecall	6%	27 ideas
Sequence of Prophase I Stagesmatch list on meiotic prophase i stages	2	Match the listsRecall	6%	1 ideas
Recombination Nodule Identificationidentify sub-stage of meiotic prophase i	2	One-line MCQRecall	6%	–
Maximum Condensation in Diakinesisstatement i/ii on meiosis	1	Two statementsConcept	6%	–
Non-Sister Chromatid Exchangecount correct statements on cell division stages	1	OtherConcept	4%	3 ideas
DNA Replication Timing Trapselect incorrect statement on meiosis	1	One-line MCQConcept	4%	–
Terminalisationidentify meiotic stage by feature	1	One-line MCQRecall	4%	13 ideas
Initiation of Synaptonemal Complex Dissolutionidentify stage of meiotic prophase i	1	One-line MCQRecall	4%	–

Chance next is the historical rate at which an idea with this record came back in the following paper. It is low for every idea, which is why learning the topic beats memorising past questions. All repeated ideas

Every question

Meiotic Prophase I questions, year by year

The opening words of each question as it appeared in the official paper, with the idea it tested.

NEET 20261 question

Q131
Given below are two statements: Statement I: Chromosomes are fully condensed at the end of prophase-I. Statement II: Meiosis I resembles…
Idea: Maximum Condensation in Diakinesis
New ideaMediumTwo statements

NEET 20242 questions

Q111
Given below are two statements: Statement I : Chromosomes become gradually visible under light microscope during leptotene stage.…
Idea: Chiasmata Formation
MediumTwo statements
Q157
Match List I with List II List-I (Sub Phases of Prophase I) | List-II (Specific Characters) A. Diakinesis | I. Synaptonemal complex…
Idea: Sequence of Prophase I Stages
EasyMatch the lists

NEET 20232 questions

Q115
The process of appearance of recombination nodules occurs at which sub stage of prophase I in meiosis?
Idea: Recombination Nodule Identification
Asked last yearEasyOne-line MCQ
Q197
Select the correct statements. A. Tetrad formation is seen during Leptotene. B. During Anaphase, the centromeres split and chromatids…
Idea: Non-Sister Chromatid Exchange
New ideaMediumOther

NEET 20222 questions

Q128
The appearance of recombination nodules on homologous chromosomes during meiosis characterizes :
Idea: Recombination Nodule Identification
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ
Q172
Regarding Meiosis, which of the statements is incorrect ?
Idea: DNA Replication Timing Trap
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

NEET 20211 question

Q176
Which stage of meiotic prophase shows terminalisation of chiasmata as its distinctive feature ?
Idea: Terminalisation
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

NEET 20202 questions

Q52
Match the following with respect to meiosis : (a) Zygotene | (i) Terminalization (b) Pachytene | (ii) Chiasmata (c) Diplotene | (iii)…
Idea: Sequence of Prophase I Stages
New ideaMediumMatch the lists
Q86
Dissolution of the synaptonemal complex occurs during :
Idea: Initiation of Synaptonemal Complex Dissolution
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

NEET 20181 question

Q123
The stage during which separation of the paired homologous chromosomes begins is
Idea: Chiasmata Formation
New ideaEasyOne-line MCQ

Questions from the official NEET UG papers published by NTA (CBSE before 2019). Topic and idea tags, counts and notes are Lumi’s.