JAMB 2017 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

We hold 305 questions from the 2017 JAMB papers in 7 subjects, each with the answer and an explanation. Below are ten of them, from seven subjects, and then every 2017 paper we hold.

Ten JAMB 2017 questions with answers

From the Use of English paper
1.
Choose the option opposite in meaning to the word or phrase in italics:
The students received a mild reproof from the teacher.
1. A
  praise
  Correct
2. B
  censure
3. C
  admonition
4. D
  rebuke
Show answerHide answer
Answer: A
Reproof means a mild scolding or expression of disapproval — a gentle rebuke for doing wrong. Its opposite must be a word showing approval, not disapproval.
Praise is correct because it means to express approval or admiration, the direct opposite of being reproved (scolded).
From the Mathematics paper
2.Find ∫(x² + 3x − 5)dx
1. A
  x³ + 3x²/2 − 5x + C
2. B
  x³/3 + 3x²/2 − 5x + C
  Correct
3. C
  2x + 3
4. D
  x³/3 + 3x² − 5x + C
Show answerHide answer
Answer: B
∫(x² + 3x − 5)dx is found by integrating each term separately using the power rule, which raises the power by 1 and divides by the new power.
For x²: add 1 to the power to get x³, then divide by 3, giving x³/3.
For 3x: add 1 to the power to get x², divide by 2, giving 3x²/2.
For −5: this is a constant, so it integrates to −5x.
Putting it together with the constant of integration gives x³/3 + 3x²/2 − 5x + C, which is correct.
The option x³/3 + 3x² − 5x + C is close but forgets to divide the coefficient of the second term by the new power (2), leaving 3x² instead of 3x²/2.
The option x³ + 3x²/2 − 5x + C makes the same mistake on the first term, forgetting to divide x³ by 3.
From the Physics paper
3.A string of length 5cm is extended by 0.04m when a load of 0.8kg is suspended at the end. How far will it extend if a force of 16N is applied? [g = 10ms^{-2}]
1. A
  0.08m
  Correct
2. B
  0.16m
3. C
  0.02m
4. D
  0.32m
Show answerHide answer
Answer: A
The 0.8kg load has weight F = mg = 0.8 × 10 = 8N, which produces an extension of 0.04m, so the spring constant is k = F/x = 8/0.04 = 200N/m.
For a new force of 16N: extension = F/k = 16/200 = 0.08m.
Using the original 0.8kg mass directly with the new 16N force, instead of first finding k, is a common wrong shortcut.
From the Chemistry paper
4.Tin is unaffected by air at ordinary temperature due to its
1. A
  Its low melting point
2. B
  The protective oxide layer that forms on its surface
  Correct
3. C
  Its high electrical conductivity
4. D
  Its position at the bottom of the reactivity series
Show answerHide answer
Answer: B
Tin reacts with the oxygen in air to form a thin, adherent layer of tin(IV) oxide on its surface. This oxide layer is impervious and protects the metal underneath from further attack, so tin appears unaffected by air at room temperature.
Its melting point and electrical conductivity have nothing to do with its resistance to corrosion, and although tin is a moderately unreactive metal, it is the protective oxide film — not merely its place in the reactivity series — that actually stops further reaction.
From the Biology paper
5.Coloration of the eye is ______ variation
1. A
  Morphological
  Correct
2. B
  Physiological
3. C
  Discontinuous only
4. D
  Behavioural
Show answerHide answer
Answer: A
Eye colour is a difference in physical appearance, so it falls under morphological variation — the category of variation that covers structural and physical features of an organism.
From the Principles of Accounts paper
6.The authority warrant issued prior to the approval of the appropriate bill at the beginning of the year
1. A
  provisional general warrant
  Correct
2. B
  supplementary general warrant
3. C
  annual general warrant
4. D
  reserve expenditure warrant
Show answerHide answer
Answer: A
This is straight public sector accounting. Warrants are the written authority the Minister of Finance gives the Accountant-General to release money, and each type has its own timing.
Provisional general warrant is the correct one. At the start of a new financial year the Appropriation Bill is often still before the National Assembly. Government cannot simply stop paying salaries, pensions and debt charges while it waits, so the Minister issues a provisional general warrant. It permits recurrent expenditure to continue for a limited period, pegged to the previous year's approved provisions, until the bill is passed into law.
From the Home Economics paper
7.Textile labels help to identify the
1. A
  Manufacturer's profit margin
2. B
  Fibre content and care instructions
  Correct
3. C
  Shop location
4. D
  Selling price only
Show answerHide answer
Answer: B
Textile labels state the fibre content and give care/washing instructions so consumers know how to use and maintain the fabric.
From the Use of English paper
8.
Select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the sentence:
The letter was being written by the principal.
1. A
  The principal wrote the letter
2. B
  The principal had written the letter
3. C
  The principal was writing the letter
  Correct
4. D
  The letter was written by the principal
Show answerHide answer
Answer: C
The sentence "The letter was being written by the principal" is in the past continuous passive. To explain what it conveys, we convert it to the active voice while keeping the same time and aspect (an action in progress in the past).
From the Mathematics paper
9.The locus of a point which is equidistant from the line PQ forms a
1. A
  circle with PQ as diameter
2. B
  angle bisector at P
3. C
  perpendicular bisector of PQ
4. D
  pair of straight lines parallel to PQ
  Correct
Show answerHide answer
Answer: D
A point that stays equidistant from a straight line (not from two fixed points) moves along a path that is always the same perpendicular distance from that line. On each side of the line PQ, this traces out a straight line running parallel to PQ, so the full locus is a pair of straight lines, one on either side of PQ, both parallel to it.
The perpendicular bisector of PQ is the locus of a point equidistant from the two endpoints P and Q, which is a different condition (distance to two points, not distance to a line), so it does not apply here.
A circle with PQ as diameter is the locus of a point from which PQ subtends a right angle - again a different rule entirely.
From the Physics paper
10.Calculate the angle of minimum deviation of a 60^o prism of a refractive index [sin^-10.75 = 49^o]
1. A
  20°
2. B
  38°
  Correct
3. C
  58°
4. D
  49°
Show answerHide answer
Answer: B
At minimum deviation, sin[(A+D)/2] = n sin(A/2). The question's own hint tells us that sin⁻¹0.75 = 49°, i.e. (A+D)/2 = 49°.
With the prism angle A = 60°: A+D = 2 × 49 = 98°, so D = 98 − 60 = 38°.
Reporting the 49° from the hint directly as the answer, instead of using it to complete the (A+D)/2 step, is the easy mistake to make.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Practise every 2017 JAMB paper in the Skolra app

All 305 questions, each with the answer and an explanation, on a timed CBT screen.

Download for Windows Download for Mac

About the app · Skolra for Windows · Skolra for Mac

The 2017 JAMB papers we hold

Each paper has its own page with ten questions and answers.

The 2017 JAMB papers and the questions we hold from each
Subject	Questions we hold
Use of English	43
Mathematics	41
Physics	45
Chemistry	45
Biology	50
Principles of Accounts	47
Home Economics	34

Other years

All JAMB past questions, by subject