The GATE Physics (PH) 2026 exam was concluded on 7th February 2026 from 2:30 PM –  5:30 PM.

Institutes like Collegedunia and Jagran Josh rated the paper moderate to difficult, emphasizing that top scorers would excel in high-weightage areas like Quantum Mechanics and Electromagnetic Theory.

Many candidates said: "GA was easy, but core sections like QM needed deep concepts."

The Paper Analysis will cover the overall difficulty, topic-wise difficulty, and good attempts to help candidates check their performance and prepare for the next shifts.

Also Read: Download GATE 2026 PH Question Paper (Available) with Solution Pdf

GATE 2026: Physics (PH) Paper Analysis

The difficulty level of the exam was moderate to difficult

  • Quantum mechanics and electromagnetic theory dominated the paper, as these topics cover nearly 30% of the total marks.
  • A few MSQ questions were a bit tricky.
Subjects Difficulty Level Key Topics and High Weightage
General Aptitude Easy to moderate English grammar, spatial aptitude, Ratios and percentages
Mathematical Physics Moderate Eigenvalues, complex analysis, Differential equations
Classical Mechanics Moderate Lagrangian & Hamiltonian Dynamics, Central Forces, Rigid Body Dynamics.
Electromagnetic theory Moderate to difficult Maxwell/s equation, wave propagation, Poynting vector, polarization
Quantum Mechanics Difficult Schrodinger equation, operators, variational method, 1D/3D potentials.
Solid state and nuclear Moderate Crystallography, Band theory, shell model, Radioactive decay.

Check: What is the rank of 40 marks in GATE?

Expected Good Attempts & Cutoff For Physics Paper Analysis:

As per the previous year's paper analysis, you need to attempt about 45-55 questions with very high accuracy to score a good mark.

GATE Paper Expected Good Attempts Expected Cutoff Marks (General) Expected Cutoff marks (OBC/EWS) Expected Cutoff Marks (SC/ST)
Physics (PH) 45-55 25.5-27.5 23-25 17-18

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