Pattern of GATE 2014

PATTERN OF THE GATE 2014

Duration and Exam Type

The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration which contains 65 questions carrying a maximum of 100 marks. The question paper will consist of only objective questions. The pattern of question papers is discussed separately in detail.

The examination for the papers with codes AE, AG, AR, BT, CE, CH, CY, GG, PH, MA, MN, MT, TF, XE, and XL will be carried out as ONLINE  computer based test where the candidates will be shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen. The candidates are required to enter the answer for each question using a mouse  (keyboards will be disabled).  Candidates will be provided with blank paper sheets for rough work. At the end of the three hour window, the computer will automatically close the screen from further actions.

For all other papers (CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, and PI), the candidates will be given the questions printed on a paper, and they have to mark the correct choice on an Optical Response Sheet (ORS) by darkening the appropriate bubble against each question using a black ink ball point pen.

Pattern of Question Papers and Marking Scheme

Pattern of Question Papers

The examination for the papers with codes AE, AG, AR, BT, CE, CH, CY, GG, MA, MN, MT, PH, TF, XE and XL will be conducted ONLINE using computers where the candidates will be required to select the answer for each question using a mouse. For all other papers (CS, EC, EE, IN, ME & PI), the exam will be conducted OFFLINE in whicih candidates will have to mark the correct choice on an Optical Response Sheet (ORS) by darkening the appropriate bubble against each question.

In all the papers, there will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks, out of which 10 questions carrying total of 15 marks are in General Aptitude (GA). The remaining of 85% of the total marks is devoted to the syllabus of the paper (as indicated in the syllabus section)

GATE 2013 would contain questions of four different types in various papers:

(i) Multiple choice questions carrying 1 or 2 marks each; Each of  the multiple choice objective questions in all papers and sections will contain four answers,  of which one correct answer is to be marked.

(ii) Common data questions (which are also multiple choice questions), where two successive questions use the same set of input data;

Example

Statement for Common Data Questions, for instance, for Questions 48 and 49 in Main Paper: 

Let X and Y be jointly distributed random variables such that the conditional distribution of Y, given X=x, is uniform on the interval (x-1,x+1). Suppose E(X)=1 and Var(X)=5/3.

First question using common data:

Q.48 The mean of the random variable Y is

(A) 1/2  (B) 1  (C) 3/2  (D) 2

Second question using common data:

Q.49 The variance of the random variable Y is

(A) 1/2  (B) 2/3  (C) 1  (D) 2

(iii) Linked answer questions (which are also multiple choice questions), where the answer to the first question in the pair is required to answer its successor;

Example: Statement for Linked Answer Questions, for instance, for Questions 52 and 53 in Main Paper: 

An E. coli cell of volume 10-12 cm3 contains 60 molecules of lac-repressor. The repressor has a binding affinity (Kd) of 10-8 M and 10-9 M with and without lactose respectively, in the medium.

First question of the pair:

Q.52 The molar concentration of the repressor in the cell is

(A) 0.1 nM (B) 1 nM (C) 10 nM (D) 100 nM

Second question of the pair:

Q.53 Therefore the lac-operon is

(A) repressed and can only be induced with lactose.
(B) repressed and cannot be induced with lactose.
(C) not repressed.
(D) expressed only when glucose and lactose are present.

(iv) Numerical answer questions, where the answer is a number, to be entered by the candidate using the mouse and a virtual keypad that will be provided on the screen.

Design of Questions

The questions in a paper may be designed to test the following abilities:

(i) Recall: These are based on facts, principles, formulae or laws of the discipline of the paper. The candidate is expected to be able to obtain the answer either from his/her memory of the subject or at most from a one-line computation.

Example

Q. During machining maximum heat is produced

(A)  in flank face
(B)  in rake face
(C)  in shear zone
(D)  due to friction between chip and tool

(ii) Comprehension: These questions will test the candidate’s understanding of the basics of his/her field, by requiring him/her to draw simple conclusions from fundamental ideas.

Example

Q. A DC motor requires a starter in order to
(A)  develop a starting torque
(B)  compensate for auxiliary field ampere turns
(C)  limit armature current at starting
(D) provide regenerative braking

(iii) Application: In these questions, the candidate is expected to apply his/her knowledge either through computation or by logical reasoning.

Example

Q. The sequent depth ratio of a hydraulic jump in a rectangular channel is 16.48. The Froude number at the beginning of the jump is:

(A)  5.0  (B) 8.0    (C)  10.0  (D) 12.0

(iv) Analysis and Synthesis:  These can be linked answer questions, where the answer to the first question of the pair is required in order to answer its successor. Or these can be common data questions, in which two questions share the same data but can be solved independently of each other.

Common data based questions: Two questions are linked to a common data problem, passage and the like. Each question is independent and its solution is obtainable from the above problem data or passage directly. (Answer of the previous question is not required to solve the next question). Each question under this group will carry two marks.

Linked answer questions: These questions are of problem solving type. A problem statement is followed by two questions based on the problem statement. The two questions are designed such that the solution to the second question depends upon the answer to the first one. In other words, the first answer is an intermediate step in working out the second answer. Each question in such ‘linked answer questions’ will carry two marks.

Examples of each of this design is given in the types of questions above.

The questions based on the above four logics may be a mix of single stand alone statement/phrase /data type questions, combination of option codes type questions or match items type questions. 

Marking Scheme

For 1 mark multiple choice questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2 marks multiple choice questions, 2/3  mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. However, for the linked answer question pair, where each question carries 2 marks, 2/3  mark will be deducted for a wrong answer to the first question only. There is no negative marking for wrong answer to the second question of the linked answer question pair. If the first question in the linked pair is wrongly answered or is unattempted, then the answer to the second question in the pair will not be evaluated. There is no negative marking for numerical answer type questions (numerical answer type questions will appear only in the papers for which the exam is ONLINE only).

General Aptitude (GA) Questions 

In all papers, GA questions are of multiple choice type, and carry a total of 15 marks.  The GA section includes 5 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and 5 questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 10 marks).

Question papers other than GG, XE and XL

These papers would contain 25  questions carrying one mark each (sub-total 25 marks) and 30  questions carrying two marks each (sub-total 60 marks).  Out of these, two pairs of questions would be common data questions, and two pairs of questions would be linked answer questions.  In the ONLINE papers, the question paper will consist of  questions of multiple choice type and numerical answer type. For multiple choice type questions, each question will have four choices for the answer. For numerical answer type questions, each question will have a number as the answer and choices will not be given. The answer is to be entered using the mouse and a virtual keypad that will appear on the screen.

GG (Geology and Geophysics) Paper

Apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the GG question paper consists of two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A is common for all candidates. Part B contains two sections: Section 1 (Geology) and Section 2 (Geo-physics). Candidates will have to attempt questions in Part A and either Section 1 or Section 2 in Part B.

Part A consists of 25 multiple choice questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 25 marks & some of these may be numerical questions). Each section  in Part B (Section 1 and Section 2) consists of 30 multiple choice questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 60 marks and some of these may be numerical questions). Out of these, two pairs of questions would be common data questions, and two pairs of questions would be linked answer questions.

XE Paper (Engineering Sciences)

In XE paper, Engineering Mathematics section (Section A) is compulsory. This section contains 11 multiple choice questions carrying a total of 15 marks: 7 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 7 marks), and 4 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 8 marks). Some of the multiple choice questions may be replaced by numerical questions.

Each of the other sections of the XE paper (Sections B through G) contains 22 questions carrying a total of 35 marks:  9 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 9 marks) and 13 questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 26 marks).  Out of the 2 mark questions, 2 pairs are common data questions and 1 pair is linked answer questions. Some of the multiple choice questions may be replaced by numerical questions.

XL Paper (Life Sciences)

In XL paper,  Chemistry section (Section H) is compulsory. This section contains 15 multiple choice questions carrying a total of 25 marks: 5 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and  10 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 20 marks).  Out of the 2-mark questions, 1 pair is common data questions, and 1 pair is linked answer questions. Some of the multiple choice questions may be replaced by numerical questions.

Each of the other sections of the XL paper (Sections I through M) contains 20 multiple choice questions carrying a total of 30 marks: 10 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 10 marks) and 10 questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 20 marks). Some of the multiple choice questions may be replaced by numerical questions.