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The IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) is one of the most competitive science entrance exams in India. It tests candidates on four subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. While all four carry equal weightage of 15 questions each (60 marks per subject, 240 total), they are far from equal in difficulty - on the basis of a student's perspective. Year after year, students walking out of IAT exam centres share one consistent observation: not all subjects feel the same.
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This article breaks down the difficulty level of each subject in the IAT 2026. It is based on student reactions, past paper trends and subject wise analysis. We have also given you previous years difficulty analysis from 2022 to 2025 to help you understand which section is the toughest and how to prepare for it.
Physics was the toughest section in the IAT 2026 Paper because it was lengthy, time-consuming, and concept-based. Questions were based on multiple concepts, and solving a single numerical problem required various concepts and formulas. Questions came from topics like Mechanics, Modern Physics, Current Electricity, Electrostatics, and Thermodynamics.
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The IAT 2026 exam was conducted on June 7, 2026. The subject-wise difficulty level along with IAT toughest subject for this year is updated below.
Section | Difficulty Level | Analysis |
Overall | Moderate to Difficult | The overall paper difficulty level of the exam was Moderate to Difficult. |
Difficult | Physics was Moderate to Difficult. Physics was time-consuming and concept-based. | |
Moderate | Chemistry was Moderate and Scoring. A mix of direct theoretical questions and application-based questions was asked. | |
Moderate to Difficult | Mathematics was Difficult and Lengthy. Questions were lengthy and consisted of multiple calculation steps. | |
Easy to Moderate | Biology was Easy to Moderate. Questions were direct and concept-based |
The overall paper difficulty level of the exam was Moderate to Difficult.
Biology and Chemistry were easy and based on fundamental concepts.
Mathematics and Physics were calculation-based and involved multiple concepts.
Biology was Easy to Moderate
Questions were direct and concept-based
Questions were aligned with NCERT.
Topics like Genetics, Human Physiology, Ecology, and Biotechnology were asked.
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Chemistry was Moderate and Scoring
A mix of direct theoretical questions and application-based questions was asked.
Physical Chemistry was calculation-based, while Organic and Inorganic focused heavily on fundamental understanding.
Questions were asked from topics like Organic Reaction Mechanisms, Chemical Bonding, Coordination Compounds, and Electrochemistry.
Physics was Moderate to Difficult
Physics was time-consuming and concept-based.
Questions were based on multiple concepts, and to solve a single numerical problem, various concepts and formulas were required.
Questions came from topics like Mechanics, Modern Physics, Current Electricity, Electrostatics, and Thermodynamics.
Mathematics was Difficult and Lengthy
Questions were lengthy and consisted of multiple calculation steps.
Advanced application-based questions were also asked.
Questions were asked from topics like Calculus, Probability, Matrices & Determinants, and Coordinate Geometry.
Based on student reactions and IAT 2026 paper analysis here is how the four subjects rank in terms of difficulty:
Rank | Subject | Difficulty Level | Why |
1 | Physics | Hard | Application-based, multi-concept questions, unpredictable chapter coverage |
2 | Mathematics | Moderate to Hard | Calculus-heavy, requires problem-solving depth; varies year to year |
3 | Chemistry | Moderate | Mostly NCERT-based; Inorganic can be tricky |
4 | Biology | Easy to Moderate | Most scoring; largely NCERT-based, factual questions |
You can check the IISER Previous Year Question Paper to analyze the difficulty level trends. A summary of the above has been given for you in this table:
Year | Physics | Chemistry | Mathematics | Biology | Overall IAT Difficulty |
2025 | Hard | Moderate | Moderate–Hard | Moderate | Moderate |
2024 | Moderate–Hard | Easy–Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
2023 | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Easy–Moderate | Moderate |
2022 | Moderate–Hard | Moderate | Moderate–Hard | Easy | Moderate–Hard |
The IISER 2026 results will be announced by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research on its official website. Students will be able to download their results using their application number and date of birth a few days after the exam gets over.
The IISER 2026 official answer key has been released on the official website. You can use this to estimate your marks and results. After calculating your estimated result, you can also check the below information for getting an idea of tentative ranking.
IISER 2026 rank vs marks details are given below. Please note that the below details are estimates and subjective to change.
Marks (Out of 240) | Expected Rank Range |
200+ | 1 - 80 |
180 - 199 | 81 - 250 |
160 - 179 | 251 - 800 |
140 - 159 | 801 - 2,000 |
120 - 139 | 2,001 - 4,000 |
100 - 119 | 4,001 - 7,000 |
80 - 99 | 7,001 - 12,000 |
60 - 79 | 12,001 - 20,000 |
Below 60 | 20,000+ |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Physics is consistently rated as the toughest subject in the IAT.
Yes, Biology is generally considered the easiest and most scoring section in IAT.
The overall difficulty level of the IAT 2026 was moderate to difficult.
The IAT is not directly comparable to JEE Mains since it also tests biology. But overall JEE level is harder than IAT.
On Question asked by student community
Hi! To prepare for the IISER Aptitude Test, you need to understand the syllabus, exam pattern, and follow a proper preparation strategy. Click on the links below to learn more.
You can find IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) previous year question papers and answer keys on educational websites like Careers 360. They provide with the official question papers as well as the answer key.
Read more at
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/iiser-2025-question-paper-solutions
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Right now, if the correction window is
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