Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering commonly known as GATE is an exam used for admissions to post–graduate engineering programmes (M. E., M. Tech, and Ph.D) at IITs, IISc, NITs, GFTIs and other Universities in India. It is important to understand exam pattern and details of GATE to succeed in the exam. So in this article we are discussing about exam pattern and details of GATE . To know more about GATE read our article Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).
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Exam Pattern and Details of GATE
Frequency of Exam
GATE is conducted once in every year. It is mostly conducted in February.
Mode and Duration of Exam
The exam is conducted only in online mode, that is only computer based test is there for GATE. The duration of exam is 3 hours (180 minutes).
Number, Marks and Nature of Questions
The GATE exam consists a total of 65 questions (which include 10 general aptitude questions) with worth of 1 or 2 marks. Total marks of exam is 100.
The nature of questions are of Multiple Choice (MCQs) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT). MCQs are objective in nature, and each will have a choice of four answers, out of which the candidate has to mark the correct answer(s). For NAT questions the answer is a real number, to be entered by the candidate using the virtual keypad. No choice will be shown for this type of questions.
The questions aim to test candidate’s abilities of recall, comprehension, application, analysis and synthesis. Other than this the question includes common data questions, and linked answer questions.
Subjects (Papers) for GATE 2020
There are 25 subjects (papers) are there for GATE 2020. Candidate can select any one of them for the examination. The list of papers with their subject code are given below:
- Aerospace Engineering – AE
- Agricultural Engineering – AG
- Architecture and Planning – AR
- Bio-medical Engineering – BM
- Biotechnology – BT
- Chemical Engineering – CH
- Chemistry – CY
- Civil Engineering – CE
- Computer Science and Information Technology – CS
- Ecology and Evolution – EY
- Electronics and Communication Engineering – EC
- Electrical Engineering – EE
- Engineering Sciences – XE
- Geology and Geophysics – GG
- Instrumentation Engineering – IN
- Mathematics – MA
- Mechanical Engineering – ME
- Metallurgical Engineering – MT
- Mining Engineering – MN
- Life Sciences – XL
- Petroleum Engineering – PE
- Physics – PE
- Production and Industrial Engineering – PI
- Statistics – ST
- Textile Engineering and Fibre Science – TF
GATE 2020 Paper Codes for XE Papers
- Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) – A
Any two optional section
- Fluid Mechanics – B
- Materials Science – C
- Solid Mechanics – D
- Thermodynamics – E
- Polymer Science and Engineering – F
- Food Technology – G
- Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences – H
GATE 2020 Paper Codes for XL Papers
- Chemistry (Compulsory) – P
Any two optional sections
- Biochemistry – Q
- Botany – R
- Microbiology – S
- Zoology – T
- Food Technology – U
Sections and Marks for each Category
Questions in all the subjects are divided into two sections namely general aptitude (GA) and subject selected by the candidate. Marks allotted for general aptitude is 15 for all subjects. Papers AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH and XL have questions from subject concerned for 85 marks. All other subjects have questions from engineering mathematics for 15 marks and technical questions for 70 marks.
Negative marking
Candidate should be careful about the negative marks in the examination. 1/3 marks will be deducted for the questions carrying 1 mark while 2/3 marks will be cut for questions carrying 2 marks. Negative marking is done for multiple choice type questions (MCQs). No negative marking is for numerical answer type (NAT) questions.