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Syllabus · NEET UG
Biology brings 90 of the 180 NEET questions, Physics 45 and Chemistry 45 — and inside Biology, genetics and evolution and human physiology alone account for 18–26 questions in our analysis of recent papers. This is the full unit-by-unit picture, with what each unit is worth in marks and how to use it without gambling on a prediction.
Quick answer
NEET UG is 180 compulsory questions in 180 minutes: Physics 45, Chemistry 45 and Biology 90, split into Botany 45 and Zoology 45. Each correct answer is +4 and each wrong one is −1, so the paper is worth 720 marks and Biology alone is worth 360 of them.
That single fact settles most prioritisation arguments. A student who converts an extra five Biology questions gains 20 marks; the same effort in a light Physics unit might gain four. BrainStride is an AI tutor for JEE, NEET and Olympiad preparation that runs a 20-minute diagnostic, maps your weak chapters and writes a daily plan, with every solution checked by teachers — and this is exactly the arithmetic the plan runs every night.
One warning before the tables. NTA does not publish chapter weightage, and nobody outside NTA knows the 2027 paper. Everything below is our reading of recent papers, written as ranges on purpose. Ranges overlap and are rounded, so they will not add up neatly to 45 or 90 — that is honesty about the data, not an error.
Ten units, 32 NCERT chapters, 90 questions. Genetics and evolution and human physiology are the two that decide most Biology scores.
| Unit | Chapters | Typical questions | How it is tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diversity in Living World | 4 | 8–10 Q | Recall, example-driven |
| Structural Organisation in Animals and Plants | 3 | 5–7 Q | Diagram recall |
| Cell Structure and Function | 3 | 8–10 Q | Recall + reasoning |
| Plant Physiology | 3 | 6–8 Q | Process recall |
| Human Physiology | 6 | 8–12 Q | Recall + application |
| Reproduction | 3 | 8–10 Q | Sequence and diagram recall |
| Genetics and Evolution | 3 | 10–14 Q | Reasoning + numericals |
| Biology and Human Welfare | 2 | 4–6 Q | Recall |
| Biotechnology and its Applications | 2 | 5–7 Q | Process recall |
| Ecology and Environment | 3 | 6–9 Q | Recall, quick marks |
Question counts are BrainStride’s analysis of recent NEET papers, not official figures — NTA publishes no chapter weightage. Ranges overlap and are rounded, so they do not add up exactly to a subject total. Counts shift by a question or two every year. Chapter-level detail: [NEET Biology](/neet-ug/biology).
Genetics and evolution, because it is both heavy and reasoning-based: a student who understands linkage, pedigree analysis and Hardy–Weinberg assumptions converts questions that pure memorisation misses. Human physiology is close behind and rewards the opposite habit — precise recall of sequences, values and NCERT diagram labels.
Ecology is the quiet one. It brings 6–9 questions in our analysis, it is short, and it is almost entirely NCERT recall. Students preparing in a hurry skip it because it feels unglamorous, then lose 24 to 36 marks in a paper where the cut-off for a government seat moves on ten.
The pattern repeats across the syllabus: the fastest marks are usually in the units that are easy to read and easy to postpone. Our NEET Biology page lists all 32 chapters with the mistake each one tends to catch.
Physics is 45 questions and, for most students, the subject that decides the rank. Marks at stake assume +4 per question.
| Unit | Typical questions | Marks at stake |
|---|---|---|
| Electrostatics | 3–5 Q | 12–20 |
| Current Electricity | 3–5 Q | 12–20 |
| Optics | 3–5 Q | 12–20 |
| Magnetic Effects of Current and Magnetism | 3–4 Q | 12–16 |
| Rotational Motion | 2–4 Q | 8–16 |
| Properties of Solids and Liquids | 2–4 Q | 8–16 |
| Oscillations and Waves | 2–4 Q | 8–16 |
| Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Currents | 2–4 Q | 8–16 |
| Kinematics | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
| Laws of Motion | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
Question counts are BrainStride’s analysis of recent NEET papers, not official figures — NTA publishes no chapter weightage. Ranges overlap and are rounded, so they do not add up exactly to a subject total. Counts shift by a question or two every year. Full list with common mistakes: [NEET Physics](/neet-ug/physics).
Chemistry splits into physical, organic and inorganic, and the three reward completely different study habits.
| Unit | Typical questions | Marks at stake |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure | 3–5 Q | 12–20 |
| p-Block Elements | 3–5 Q | 12–20 |
| Organic Compounds Containing Oxygen | 3–5 Q | 12–20 |
| Co-ordination Compounds | 2–4 Q | 8–16 |
| Atomic Structure | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
| Equilibrium | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
| Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
| Some Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
| Hydrocarbons | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
| Biomolecules | 2–3 Q | 8–12 |
Question counts are BrainStride’s analysis of recent NEET papers, not official figures — NTA publishes no chapter weightage. Ranges overlap and are rounded, so they do not add up exactly to a subject total. Counts shift by a question or two every year. Full list with common mistakes: [NEET Chemistry](/neet-ug/chemistry).
The heaviest chapters in each subject, one line each, from the same analysis as the tables. Marks assume +4 a question.
4–6 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 16–24 marks. Class 12, Botany. Chapter guide →
4–5 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 16–20 marks. Class 12, Botany. Chapter guide →
3–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–16 marks. Class 11, Botany.
3–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–16 marks. Class 12, Botany.
3–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–16 marks. Class 12, Zoology.
3–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–16 marks. Class 12, Zoology.
3–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–16 marks. Class 12, Zoology.
2–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 8–16 marks. Class 12, Zoology.
3–5 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–20 marks. Class 12.
3–5 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–20 marks. Class 12. Chapter guide →
3–5 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–20 marks. Class 12.
3–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–16 marks. Class 12.
2–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 8–16 marks. Class 11.
2–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 8–16 marks. Class 11.
3–5 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–20 marks. Class 11.
3–5 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–20 marks. Class 11–12.
3–5 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 12–20 marks. Class 12.
2–4 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 8–16 marks. Class 12.
2–3 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 8–12 marks. Class 11.
2–3 questions in our analysis of recent papers, worth 8–12 marks. Class 11.
Question counts from published paper analyses — the nearest thing to a year-wise weightage that exists. 2026 had two papers: the cancelled 3 May paper and the 21 June re-exam.
| Chapter | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (3 May) | 2026 (21 Jun) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genetics (Inheritance + Molecular Basis) | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 5 |
| Human Physiology (all chapters) | 14 | 13 | 7 | 12 | — |
| Ecology (Organisms, Ecosystem, Biodiversity) | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 7 |
| Cell biology (Cell + Cell Cycle) | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Plant Physiology | 13 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| Reproduction (plant + human) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 8 | — |
| Biotechnology | 6 | 9 | 11 | 8 | — |
| Current Electricity | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Modern Physics (Dual Nature, Atoms, Nuclei) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Chemical Bonding | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Organic Chemistry basics (GOC) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ≤1 |
| Coordination Compounds | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Counts from published analyses (Physics Wallah for 2023–2025 and the 21 June 2026 re-exam; Vedantu for the 3 May 2026 paper), not official data. The 2023 and 2024 papers had 50 questions per subject including the optional section; 2025 onwards 45. A dash means no analysis was published. Our own ranges above come from a separate reading of the papers.
Weightage, the NCERT lines that get asked, the mistakes that cost marks, and a quiz
A 20-minute diagnostic maps your mastery chapter by chapter, then writes a 90-minute daily plan around the overlap between heavy chapters and weak ones.
Multiply, don’t sort. A unit’s value to you is its weight multiplied by how much of it you are currently losing. A heavy unit you already score 90% in has almost nothing left to give; a mid-weight unit where you score 40% is where the next fifty marks live.
The paper is set fresh each year, so a unit that brought five questions last year may bring three this year. That is why every figure here is a range, and why a plan built on a single predicted count breaks. The mistake analysis approach treats weightage as a prior, not a promise, and updates the order from what you actually got wrong this week.
Five checks that stop weightage from becoming an excuse to skip things.
Build a weekly timetableNo. NTA publishes the NEET UG syllabus and the paper pattern, but never a chapter-wise weightage table. Every weightage figure you see online, including ours, is somebody’s analysis of past papers. Treat them as ranges and revision guidance, not as a prediction of the 2027 paper, and never drop a chapter on the strength of one.
In our analysis of recent NEET papers, genetics and evolution brings 10–14 questions and human physiology 8–12, making them the two heaviest Biology units. Cell structure and function, reproduction and diversity in the living world each bring 8–10, and ecology 6–9. Together those units account for most of the 90 Biology questions.
Each correct answer is worth 4 marks and each wrong answer costs 1 mark, with unattempted questions scoring zero. With 180 compulsory questions the paper totals 720 marks. That marking is why weightage matters less than accuracy: three wrong guesses cancel one correct answer, so a 5-question unit is worth 20 marks only if you actually convert it.
No. A unit worth two or three questions is still 8–12 marks, and at the top of the NEET rank list a few marks move thousands of ranks. Low-weightage chapters are also usually short, so they cost little to keep. Use weightage to decide what you revise first, not what you leave out.
They carry identical weight — 45 questions and 180 marks each. In practice Physics decides more ranks, because it is the subject most NEET students score lowest in and the one that needs timed numerical practice rather than recall. Chemistry is more recoverable late, especially inorganic, which follows NCERT closely.
Every year, by a question or two per unit, because each paper is set afresh. The broad shape is stable — Biology is always 90 questions, genetics and human physiology are always heavy — but exact counts move. That is why our tables give ranges and why a plan should be re-cut from your own mock results each month.
Exam facts on this page are dated. Always confirm on the official site before acting on them.
The diagnostic finds the overlap in twenty minutes and turns it into a daily plan you can actually follow.