ABOUT GATE

 

   

    Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination administered and conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of the National Coordinating Board - GATE, Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.

The GATE committee, which comprises of representatives from the administering institutes, is the sole authority for regulating the examination and declaring the results.

GATE is conducted through the constitution of eight zones. The zones and the corresponding administrative institutes are:

             Zone 1 - Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
             Zone 2 - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
             Zone 3 - Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
             Zone 4 - Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
             Zone 5 - Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
             Zone 6 - Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
             Zone 7 - Indian Institute of Technology Madras
             Zone 8 - Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee


The overall coordination and responsibility of conducting GATE 2009 lies with Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, designated as the Organizing Institute for GATE 2009.

Admission to postgraduate programmes with MHRD and some other government scholarship/assistantship at engineering
colleges/institutes in the country are open to those who qualify through GATE. GATE qualified candidates with Bachelor's degree
in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy or Master's degree in any branch of Science /Mathematics /Statistics
/Computer Applications are eligible for Master/Doctoral programmes in Engineering/Technology/Architecture/Pharmacy as well
as for Doctoral programmes in relevant branches of Science. To avail the scholarship, the candidate must secure admission to
such a postgraduate programme, as per the prevailing procedure of the admitting institution. GATE qualification, however, is not
required for candidates with Master's degree in Engineering /Technology/Architecture/Pharmacy, who may be seeking
scholarship/ assistantship for relevant doctoral programmes.

Some institutions specify GATE as the mandatory qualification even for admission of self-financing students to postgraduate programmes. GATE qualified candidates are also eligible for the award of Junior Research Fellowship in CSIR Laboratories and CSIR sponsored projects. Some government organizations prescribe GATE qualification as a requirement for applying to the post of a Scientist / Engineer.

      About GATE exam :

 

      Candidates will be required to appear in a single paper of three hours duration. The examination will be held from 09:30 hours to 12:30 hours on Sunday, February 08, 2009. The list of papers for GATE 2009 is given under Structure of GATE. The question papers will be in English only.

      Before applying for GATE 2009, candidates must assure themselves that they have chosen the right paper, which qualifies them to become eligible to seek admission to the specific programme they are interested in. The criteria for postgraduate admission with Scholarship/ Assistantship are different in various Institutes/Universities. GATE Offices will not provide any information in this regard. For more details, the candidates are required to contact the Institutes/Universities to which they are interested in seeking admission.

     The choice of the paper is the responsibility of the candidate.

      Eligibility :

 

      Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture/Pharmacy (4 years after 10+2) and those who are in the
final or pre-final year of such programmes.

Master's degree holders in any branch of Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Computer Applications or equivalent and those who
are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master's degree programme (Post-B.Sc.) in
Engineering/Technology or in the third or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master's degree programme and Dual Degree
programme in Engineering/Technology.

Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE
(e.g. AMIE by IE(I), AME by ICE(I)) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such
professional courses are also eligible.

      Exam Structure

 The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration, which contains 60 questions carrying a maximum of 100
marks. The question paper will consist of only multiple choice objective questions. Each question will have four choices for the
answer. Only one choice will be correct. Candidates have to mark the correct choice on an Optical Response Sheet (ORS) by
darkening the appropriate bubble against each question. There will be negative marking for wrong answers, as given in
question paper pattern.

A candidate can choose any one of the papers listed below.

Paper    

Code

Paper 

Code

  Aerospace Engineering

AE

  Instrumentation Engineering

IN

  Agricultural Engineering

AG

  Mathematics

MA

  Architecture and Planning

AR

  Mechanical Engineering

ME

  Civil Engineering

CE

  MN

 

  Chemical Engineering

CH

  Metallurgical Engineering

MT

 Computer Science and Information Technology

CS

  Physics

PH

  Chemistry

CY

  Production and Industrial Engineering

PI

  Electronics and Communication Engineering

EC

  Pharmaceutical Sciences

PY

  Electrical Engineering

EE 

  Textile Engineering and Fibre Science

TF

  Geology and Geophysics

GG#

  Engineering Sciences

XE*
      Life Sciences

XL*

      Papers XE and XL are of general nature and will comprise the following Sections:                                

 XE paper sections (Engineering Sciences)

XL paper sections (Life Sciences)
Sections Code  Sections Code

Engg. Mathematics (Compulsory)

A

Chemistry (Compulsory)

H

Fluid Mechanics

B

 Bio-Chemistry

I

Material Science

C

 Bio-Technology

J

Solid Mechanics

D

 Botany

K

Thermodynamics

E

 Microbiology

L

Polymer Science and Engineering

F

 Zoology

M

Food Technology

G

 

 

      A candidate appearing in XE or XL paper will be required to answer three sections. Sections (A) and (H) are compulsory in XE and XL papers, respectively. The candidate can choose any two out of the remaining sections listed against the respective papers.

 Gate Score

The GATE 2009 scorecard will consist of actual marks obtained by the candidate, the GATE Score, Percentile Score and All India Rank (AIR). Scorecard will be sent only to the qualified candidates. No information will be sent to candidates who are not qualified.

GATE scorecard is valid for ONE YEAR ONLY. Additional scorecards (up to a maximum of two) will be issued only once on request and on payment of Rs 300 per scorecard. Such requests should reach the Organizing Chairman, GATE 2009, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee – 247 667 before August 31, 2009 together with a bank draft for the amount mentioned as above in favour of Chairman GATE, IIT Roorkee, payable at Roorkee. These scorecards will be labeled as Additional Scorecard -1 and Additional Scorecard - 2.

 GATE Score
The GATE score, awarded in the range of 0 to 1000 reflects the candidate’s academic ability and will be based on his/her performance in GATE 2009 and the performances of all candidates who appeared in GATE in the last four years 2006-2009. Candidates with the same GATE score from different GATE papers and/or years can be considered to have the same performance level.


 



        GATE Score
where ,     m : marks obtained by the candidate.

  a :  average of marks of all candidates who appeared in the paper mentioned on 
      this scorecard in GATE 2009

  s:  standard deviation of marks of all candidates who appeared in the paper 
      mentioned on this scorecard in GATE 2009

& ag : average (global) of marks of all candidates who appeared across all papers
       and years 2006-2009

 sg: standard deviation (global) of marks of all candidates who appeared across all
       papers and years 2006- 2009


 

                 The maximum score can be 1000.

GATE Percentile Score

The percentile score of a candidate indicates the percentage of candidates who appeared in the same paper and scored less
marks than him/her. It is calculated as follows: If N is the total number of candidates appearing in a paper, then the percentile
score P is given as,

P = (number of candidates who have scored less marks than the candidate / N) x 100

the institutions in which he/she wishes to seek admission.

 Paper Pattern :

 Each paper contains 60 questions carrying 100 marks

            Question Paper Pattern of GATE papers bearing the codes AE, AG, AR, CE, CH, CS, CY, EC, EE, IN, MA, ME, MN, MT, PH, PI, PY and TF

Question Paper Pattern of GATE paper bearing the code GG

Question Paper Pattern of SECTION A in GATE paper bearing the code XE

Question Paper Pattern of SECTIONS B to G in GATE paper bearing the code XE

Question Paper Pattern of SECTION H in GATE paper bearing the code XL

Question Paper Pattern of SECTIONS I to M in GATE paper bearing the code XL

Types of multiple choice questions

     Question Papers bearing the codes : AE, AG, AR, CE, CH, CS, CY, EC, EE, IN, MA, ME, MN, MT, PH, PI, PY and TF

 

   Paper 
   Code		  Patterns of Question papers Negative Marks for wrong Answer

AE, AG,
AR, CE,
CH, CS

CY, EC,

EE, IN,

 MA, ME,

MN, MT,

PH, PI ,
PY, TF

 

  Q.1 to Q.20 : Will carry one mark each (sub-total 20 marks).  1/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
 Q.21 to Q.50 : Will carry two marks each (sub-total 60 marks)  2/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
 Q.51 through Q.56 (3 pairs) will be common data questions.
 Each question will carry two marks		  2/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
 Question pairs (Q.57, Q.58) and (Q.59, Q.60) will be linked answer
 questions. The answer to the second question of the last two pairs
 will depend on the answer to the first question of the pair. If the first 
 question in the linked pair is wrongly answered or is un-attempted,
 then the answer to the second question in the pair will not be
 evaluated. Each question will carry two marks
 There will be negative marks only for wrong answer to
 the first question of the linked answer question pair
 i.e. for Q.57 and Q.59, 2/3 mark will be deducted for
 each wrong answer. There is no negative marking for 
 Q.58 and Q.60.

      GG Paper : (Geology & Geophysics) Paper:

PART A Part A common to both Geology & Geophysics candidates
   (Q.1 to Q.20) carrying one mark each (sub-total 20 marks). 1/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
Sections 1 & 2 Part B will contain two sections : Section 1 (Geology) and Section 2 (Geophysics).

in

PART B

 

 In this section,

 Q.21 to Q.50 (30 questions) will carry two marks each 2/3 mark will be
 deducted for each wrong answer. 		  
 Q.51 to Q.56 (3 pairs) will be common data questions  Each question will
 carry two marks.  		  2/3 mark will be deducted for 
 each wrong answer.

Question pairs (Q.57, Q.58) and (Q.59, Q.60) will be linked answer questions:. The answer to the second question in these two pairs will depend on the answer to the first question of the pair. If the first question in the linked pair is wrongly answered or is un-attempted, then the answer to the second question in the pair will not be evaluated.		  There will be negative marks
 only for wrong answer to the
 first question of the linked
 answer question pair i.e. for
 Q.57 and Q.59, 2/3 mark will
 be deducted for each wrong
 answer. There is no negative
 marking for Q.58 and Q.60.

    
XE Paper - Section A (Engineering Mathematics)

 

 Section A in XE paper  There will be 12 questions carrying 20 marks in XE Section A (Engineering Mathematics) paper
Q.1 to Q.4 (4 questions) will carry one mark each (sub-total 4 marks).  1/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
Q.5 to Q.12 (8 questions) will carry two marks each (sub-total 16 marks) 2/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.




XE section papers (Sections B through G) will contain 24 questions carrying 40 marks
 

Sections

B, C, D, E, F & G

         in  XE papers		  Q.1 to Q.8 (8 questions) will carry one 
 mark each (sub-total 8 marks)		  1/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
 Q.9 to Q.18 (10 questions) will carry two
 marks each (sub-total 20 marks).		  2/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
 Q.19 through Q.22 (2 pairs) will be  
 common data based questions.
 Each will carry two marks 		 2/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.

 Q.23, Q.24 will be linked answer
 questions.

 The answer to the second question of the
 pair of linked question will depend on the
 answer to the first question of the pair. If
 the first question in the linked pair is
 wrongly answered or is un-attempted, then
 the answer to the second question in the
 pair will not be evaluated.  Each will carry
 two marks
 For Q.23, 2/3 mark will be deducted for wrong answer. There will
 be no negative mark for Q.24.

XL Paper Section H (Chemistry)
 

Section H in XL paper

There will be 18 questions carrying 30 marks in XL Section H paper
 Q.1 to Q.6 (6 questions) will carry one mark each (sub-total 6 marks).  1/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
Q.7 to Q.14 (8 questions) will carry two marks each (sub-total 16 marks)  2/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.

 

(Q.15, Q.16) will be common data questions . Each question will carry two marks each
 2/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
 Question pair (Q.17, Q.18) will have linked answer question. Each question will carry two marks each. There will be negative marks only for wrong answer to the first question of the linked answer question pair. For Q.17, ⅔ mark will be deducted for wrong answer. There is no negative mark for Q.18.

            XL Paper Sections (Sections I through M)

        

Sections
I, J, K, L & M
in XL paper /span>

 XL section papers (Sections I through M) will contain 21 questions carrying 35 marks
 Q.1 to Q.7 (7 questions) will carry one 
 mark each (sub-total 7 marks). 		  1/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.
 Q.8 to Q.21 (14 questions) will carry two 
 marks each (sub-total 28 marks).		  2/3  mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.


Types of multiple choice questions

 Multiple choice questions in all papers and sections will contain four answers, of which only one is correct. The types of questions in a paper may be based on following logic:

(i) Recall:

These are based on facts, principles, formulae or laws of the discipline. 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

 (A) to develop a starting torque                  (B) to compensate for auxiliary field ampere turns
 (C) to limit armature current at starting     (D) to 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) 10.0          (B) 5.0
(C) 12.0          (D) 8.0

(iv) Analysis and Synthesis: These can be linked 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 one another.

Common data questions:

Multiple questions may be linked to a common data problem, passage and the like. Two or three questions can be formed from the given common data problem. Each question is independent and its solution obtainable from the above problem data/passage directly. (Answer of the previous question is not required to solve the next question). Each question under this group will carry two marks.

Example

Common Data, for instance, Questions 55 and 56 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.55 The mean of the random variable Y is

 (A) 1/2       (B) 1
 (C) 3/2       (D) 2

Second question using common data:

Q.56 The variance of the random variable Y is
 (A) 1/2        (B) 2/3
 (C) 1           (D) 2


 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.

 Example

Statement for Linked Answer Questions, for instance, for Questions 59 and 60 in Main Paper: Consider a machine with a byte addressable main memory of 216 bytes. Assume that a direct mapped data cache consisting of 32 lines of 64 bytes each is used in the system. A 50x50 two dimensional array of bytes is stored in the main memory starting from memory location 1100H. Assume that the data cache is initially empty. The complete array is accessed twice. Assume that the contents of the data cache do not change in between the two accesses.

First question of the pair:

 Q.59 How many data cache misses will occur in total?

(A) 48      (B) 50     
(C) 56     (D) 59

Second question of the pair:

Q.60 Which of the following lines of the data cache will be replaced by new blocks in accessing the array for the second time?

(A) line 4 to line 11      (B) line 4 to line 12
(C) line 0 to line 7     (D) line 0 to line 8

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 types questions.

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