IIT JAM Biotechnology 2026 Question Paper with Answer Key

The most abundant phospholipid in E. coli plasma membrane is

1. Aphosphatidyl ethanolamine
2. Bphosphatidyl choline
3. Cphosphatidyl serine
4. Dphosphatidyl inositol

If y(x) = 15 cos(x) − 13 sin(x), then d²y/dx² will be

1. A2
2. Bπ/y
3. C−y
4. Dy²/x

Which one of the following is NOT a second messenger in mammalian cells?

1. ACyclic AMP
2. BDiacyl glycerol
3. CCalcium ion
4. DPotassium ion

Which one of the following is the correct decreasing order for the magnitude of Electron Gain Enthalpy (Δ_egH) for the elements given below?

1. ABr > Cl > At > I
2. BCl > Br > I > At
3. CI > Br > Cl > At
4. DAt > Br > Cl > I

Coenzyme A is a co-factor of vitamin

1. Ariboflavin
2. Bpantothenic acid
3. Cfolic acid
4. Dpyridoxine

Which one of the following is the correct graphical representation for functions, sin(x) and sin²(x) for 0 ≤ x ≤ π?

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Which one of the following is NOT an essential amino acid?

1. AThreonine
2. BTryptophan
3. CTyrosine
4. DValine

Which one of the following classes of membrane protein requires ATP for transport of some specific ions or molecules across the cellular membranes?

1. AIon channels
2. BPumps
3. CSymporters
4. DAntiporters

The derivative of x log_e(x) is

1. A1
2. B0
3. Ce^x
4. D1 + log_e(x)

Which one of the following processes causes the ‘Founder effect’ in a population?

1. AGenetic drift
2. BMutations
3. CNatural selection
4. DGenetic recombination

The repulsive interaction between different types of electron pairs increases in the order of

1. Abond pair – bond pair < lone pair – bond pair < lone pair – lone pair
2. Blone pair – lone pair < lone pair – bond pair < bond pair – bond pair
3. Clone pair – bond pair < lone pair – lone pair < bond pair – bond pair
4. Dlone pair – lone pair < bond pair – bond pair < lone pair – bond pair

Consider a block of mass ‘m’ hanging using a string and pulley arrangement, as shown in the figure. The weight ‘mg’ and tension ‘T’ are working on the block in such a way that the block is not moving and the string is parallel to the perfectly vertical wall. If the block is just in contact (but not attached/fixed) with the wall and the coefficient of static friction is ‘μ’, then the static frictional force acting on the block is

1. A0
2. Bμmg
3. CμT
4. Dμ(mg + T)/2

Which one of the following vector types is suitable to clone 2000 kb DNA insert?

1. ABacterial plasmid
2. BBacteriophage
3. CCosmid
4. DYeast artificial chromosome

In the genetic code, 61 codons code for 20 amino acids. How many types of aminoacyl tRNA synthetases are required for correct matching of tRNAs to their corresponding amino acids?

1. A61
2. B64
3. C40
4. D20

The correct gas phase acidity order for alcohols FCH₂OH, CH₃OH, ClCH₂OH and BrCH₂OH is

1. AClCH₂OH > BrCH₂OH > CH₃OH > FCH₂OH
2. BFCH₂OH > BrCH₂OH > ClCH₂OH > CH₃OH
3. CCH₃OH > FCH₂OH > BrCH₂OH > ClCH₂OH
4. DClCH₂OH > BrCH₂OH > FCH₂OH > CH₃OH

Which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

1. AIn the Northern Hemisphere many mammals hibernate in winter
2. BThe vegetation in Tundra is predominantly herbaceous
3. CThe dominant trees in the Northern Hemisphere are deciduous
4. DAverage temperature in Tundra is above 30 °C

Which one of the following is a characteristic of apoptosis?

1. AEndocytosis
2. BUncontrolled cell proliferation
3. CDNA fragmentation
4. DCell migration

Which one of the following is NOT an auxin?

1. AIndole-3-acetic acid
2. BAbscisic acid
3. CPhenylacetic acid
4. DIndole-3-butyric acid

Which one of the following bonds is formed at the branch point in glycogen?

1. Aα-1, 4 glycosidic bond
2. Bα-1, 6 glycosidic bond
3. Cβ-1, 4 glycosidic bond
4. Dβ-1, 6 glycosidic bond

Identify the INCORRECT statement about the immunoglobulins (Ig)

1. AIgM forms pentamer
2. BIgA forms dimer
3. CIgD is the most abundant immunoglobulin
4. DIgE is associated with allergic reactions

Bacterial conjugation

1. Aoccurs through the uptake of free DNA from environment
2. Brequires direct contact between two bacterial cells through pilus
3. Cinvolves the transfer of genetic material from virus to bacteria
4. Dis a form of asexual reproduction

If a simple pendulum has length l and time period T then a pendulum of length 2l will have a time period of

1. A2πT
2. BT/(2π)
3. C√2 T
4. DT/√2

Which one of the following characteristics is ABSENT in Archaea?

1. APseudomurein
2. BParacrystalline surface layer (S-layer)
3. CPeptidoglycan
4. DCircular chromosome

Identify the correct match between the vitamins and their deficiency symptoms

1. A(i) – (p), (ii) – (q), (iii) – (r), (iv) – (t), (v) – (s)
2. B(i) – (p), (ii) – (r), (iii) – (q), (iv) – (s), (v) – (t)
3. C(i) – (q), (ii) – (p), (iii) – (r), (iv) – (s), (v) – (t)
4. D(i) – (p), (ii) – (q), (iii) – (t), (iv) – (r), (v) – (s)

In the context of the nitrogen cycle in plants, identify the correct match between the nitrogen compound and the oxidation state of nitrogen

1. A(i) – (s)
2. B(ii) – (p)
3. C(iii) – (r)
4. D(iv) – (q)

The correct relation between equilibrium constants, K_C (forward direction) and K′_C (reverse direction) of the reaction given below, at the same temperature, is

H₂(g) + I₂(g) ⇌ 2 HI(g)

1. AK_C = K′_C
2. BK_C = 1/K′_C
3. CK_C = −K′_C
4. DK_C = √K′_C

Consider the differential equation dy/dx + 4x = 0. The solution of this equation for the particular case of y = 1, at x = 0 is

1. Ay = 4x
2. By = −4x² + 1
3. Cy = 1 − 2x²
4. Dy = log(x) + 4x

Which one of the following animal viruses contains double stranded RNA as genetic material?

1. AInfluenza virus
2. BRous sarcoma virus
3. CPolio virus
4. DReovirus

Which one of the following σ (sigma) factors is responsible for the transcriptional regulation of nitrogen assimilation?

1. Aσ⁷⁰
2. Bσ⁵⁴
3. Cσ²⁸
4. Dσ²⁴

Which one of the following statements regarding plant Photosystems is NOT true?

1. APhotosystem I is present in unstacked thylakoid membrane
2. BPhotosystem II is present in stacked thylakoid membrane
3. CPhotosystem I absorbs light of 700 nm wavelength
4. DPhotosystem I is responsible for water splitting

Which of the following is/are true for the data given below?

15, 8, 10, 6, 11, 9, 15, 7, 14, 5, 17, 14, 8, 14, 12

1. AMedian is 11
2. BMode is 11
3. CMedian is 14
4. DMode is 14

Which of the following is/are present in the human brain?

1. AAstrocytes
2. BPodocytes
3. COligodendrocytes
4. DMicroglial cells

Which of the following statements is/are true about phenoxide ions?

1. APhenoxides undergo O-alkylation in ethers
2. BPhenoxides undergo extensive C-alkylation in trifluoroethanol
3. CEthers make strong hydrogen bonds with the oxygen atom of phenoxide ions to improve solvation
4. DC-alkylation disrupts aromatic conjugation of phenoxide ions

Select the value(s) of x for which the determinants below are equal

1. A√3
2. B3
3. C−1
4. D−√3

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor will get doubled if

1. Athe area of each plate is doubled
2. Bthe area of each plate is halved
3. Cthe distance between the plates is doubled
4. Dthe distance between the plates is halved

In a protein, trypsin catalyzes the hydrolysis of peptide bonds with carbonyl group contributed by

1. Aglutamine
2. Basparagine
3. Clysine
4. Darginine

In circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, the difference in molar extinction coefficients (Δε) is plotted as a function of wavelength λ (in nm). In a CD spectrum of an alpha helical protein, Δε will have a

1. Anegative value at 210 nm
2. Bpositive value at 195 nm
3. Cnegative value at 220 nm
4. Dnegative value at 195 nm

Which of the following statements is/are true for sterilization?

1. AAutoclaving at 121 °C for 20 minutes destroys endospores
2. BFiltration through 0.22 μm membrane removes viruses from liquid
3. CDry heat sterilization requires higher temperature and longer time than moist heat sterilization
4. DGamma radiation sterilizes heat-sensitive medical equipment

If a light beam (solid arrow in the shown figure) is entering from Air medium to Glass medium (having refractive index of 1.5), then while entering

1. Aspeed of light will decrease
2. Bspeed of light will increase
3. Clight will bend (deviate from original path) if θ ≠ 0
4. Dlight will undergo total internal reflection

Which of the following methods is/are used for local alignment of nucleotide sequences?

1. ASmith-Waterman algorithm
2. BNeedleman-Wunsch algorithm
3. CBLAST
4. DNeighbour-joining method

Consider that M, L, and T indicate mass, length and time, respectively. If [ML²T⁻ⁿ] is the dimensional formula for the physical quantity Torque, then the value of n is _______. (in integer)

Type a number as your answer.

The volume of 4M NaOH (in ml) required to make 350 ml solution of 1.2M NaOH is ____. (in integer)

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The nucleotide sequence of one of the DNA strands is GCTGTAACGATAGCACGC. The GC content (in %) of the double stranded DNA will be ________. (round off to two decimal places)

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In a geometric progression, the 3^rd term is 36 and the 5^th term is 324. The 7^th term of the same progression will be _______. (in integer)

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A ball is thrown vertically upward with a speed of 19.6 m/s. The value of acceleration due to gravity at that place is 9.8 m/s². The maximum height (in cm) that the ball reaches is _______. (in integer)

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The number of double bonds present in the isohypsic transformation product of allylic alcohol (Z) is ________. (in integer)

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The value of lim_x→3 (x³ − 3x²) / (x² − 5x + 6) is _________. (in integer)

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A photon has energy of 3.1 × 10⁻¹⁹ J. Its wavelength (in Å) is __________. (round off to one decimal place)

(Consider Planck’s constant, h = 6.6 × 10⁻³⁴ J s; speed of light in vacuum, c = 3 × 10¹⁰ cm/s)

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Assuming atomic mass number of C = 12, N = 14, O = 16, H = 1, the molecular mass (in Daltons) of a tripeptide made up of only glycine amino acids is ______. (in integer)

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If the real diameter of an RBC is 8 μm, then the magnification of its image given below is ________. (in integer)

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Consider an ATP synthase having twelve C-rings to sense proton motive force. The average number of protons required per ATP synthesis is __________. (in integer)

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A particular animal population has 4400 individuals with annual per capita birth rate of 0.035 and the annual per capita death rate of 0.02. Net change in the population size in a year will be ______. (in integer)

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During anaerobic glycolysis in muscle, each mole of glucose is converted into two moles of lactate, yielding two moles of ATP. Assume molar mass of glucose is 180 g/mol. If 1 kg of glucose undergoes complete conversion to lactate, the number of moles of ATP produced is _____. (round off to one decimal place)

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Consider a spherical epithelial cell (C1) of diameter 20 μm and a cubic shaped liver cell (C2) of side 20 µm. The ratio of the surface areas of C1 : C2 is _______. (round off to two decimal places)

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If a weak acid HA is 0.1% ionized (dissociated) in a 0.2M solution, its pH will be ______. (round off to one decimal place)

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A 9.2 kb plasmid DNA shown below has four BamHI sites (p), (q), (r), (s). If a mutation results in the loss of BamHI site (r), assuming the complete digestion by BamHI, the number of DNA fragments seen in agarose gel after electrophoresis will be _______. (in integer)

Type a number as your answer.

The number of distinct products formed after the nitration of tetralone in the presence of HNO₃ and H₂SO₄ is _______. (in integer)

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The standard enthalpy of formation of methane (CH₄), using the standard enthalpy of reaction values from the following reaction steps, is −x kcal/mol. The value of x is ________. (round off to one decimal place)

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Applying the Hückel rule, the number of aromatic compounds among the following is ______. (in integer)

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Consider that 120 cells of bacteria are inoculated in a nutrient rich media. If the doubling time of the bacteria is 20 minutes and assuming no cell death, the number of bacterial cells present after 2 hours will be ________. (in integer)

Type a number as your answer.