GATE EXAM PATTERN

GATE EXAM PATTERN

QUESTION TYPE	MARKS	NEGATIVE MARKETING
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION	1 MARKS	0.33
	2 MARKS	0.66
Numerical Type question	1 MARKS	NIL
	2 MARKS	NIL

GATE 2021-2022 EXAM PATTERN

GATE 2021-2022 Exam Pattern – The exam pattern of GATE 2021-2022 will be organised by IIT Guwahati and it gives complete details about number of papers, marking scheme, question distribution, nature of the test papers, among other details. Having a knowledge about GATE Exam Pattern 2021-2022 in advance, helps the aspirants in preparing for the entrance exam in a better and organised way. GATE 2021-2022 will be conducted by IIT Guwahati for 23 papers in online mode on February 2021-2022. Candidates can appear for only one paper in GATE 2021-2022. Check the GATE Exam Pattern in detail below.

General Details about the GATE 2021-2022 Exam Pattern

In all the papers, there will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks, out of which  Engineering Mathematics will carry around 15% of the total marks, the General Aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks and the remaining  70% of the total marks is devoted to the subject of the paper.

• The GATE 2021-2022 exam will consist of a single paper of 3-hour duration that contains 65 questions carrying a maximum of 100 marks.
• The GATE 2021-2022 question paper will consist of both multiple choice questions (MCQ) and numerical answer type (NAT) questions.
• The Tests for all the papers will be carried out in an ONLINE Computer Based Test (CBT) mode where the candidates will be shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen.
• Candidates are required to select the answer (for MCQ type) and enter the answer for numerical answer type question using a mouse on a virtual keyboard (keyboard of the computer will be disabled).
• Each candidate will be provided with a scribble pad for rough work. The scribble pad has to be returned after the examination.
• At the end of the 3-hour window, the computer will automatically close the screen from further actions.

Types of Questions in GATE 2021-2022

GATE 2021-2022 would contain questions of two different types in various papers
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ):

• These carry 1 or 2 marks each in all papers and sections.
• These questions 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).

Numerical Answer Questions:

• These carry 1 or 2 marks each in all papers and sections.
• For these questions the answer is a real number, to be entered by the candidate using the virtual keypad.
• No choices will be shown for this type of questions.

GATE 2021-2022 Marking Scheme:

• All papers will have 65 questions for 100 marks in total
• All papers will have a compulsory section on General Aptitude with 10 questions carrying a total of 15 marks.
• Paper bearing the codes AE, AG, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF and XE, will have a compulsory Engineering Mathematics section that will carry around 15% of the total marks. The remaining 70% of the total marks is devoted to the subject of the paper.
• Papers bearing the codes AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH and XL will have 85% of the total marks devoted to the subject of the paper
• Negative marking will be only for the multiple choice questions (MCQs). For 1-mark multiple choice questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2-mark multiple choice questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer.
• There will be no negative marking for a wrong answer in numerical answer type questions.

Question Papers other than GG, XE and XL: These papers would contain 25 questions carrying 1-mark each (subtotal 25 marks) and 30 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 60 marks).
GG (Geology and Geophysics) Paper: In addition to 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 comprises two sections: Section 1 (Geology) and Section 2 (Geophysics).
• Candidates are required to attempt questions in Part A and either Section 1 or Section 2 in Part B. Part A comprises 25 multiple-choice questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 25 marks and some of these may be numerical answer type questions).
• Each section in Part B (Section 1 and Section 2) comprises 30 multiple choice questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 60 marks and some of these may be numerical answer type questions).

GATE 2021-2022 Paper Codes are as follows

Paper	Code	Paper	Code
Aerospace Engineering	AE	Geology and Geophysics	GG
Agricultural Engineering	AG	Instrumentation Engineering	IN
Architecture and Planning	AR	Mathematics	MA
Biotechnology	BT	Mechanical Engineering	ME
Civil Engineering	CE	Mining Engineering	MN
Chemical Engineering	CH	Metallurgical Engineering	MT
Computer Science and Information Technology	CS	Petroleum Engineering	PE
		Physics	PH
Chemistry	CY	Production and Industrial Engineering	PI
Electronics and Communication Engineering	EC	Textile Engineering and Fibre Science	TF
Electrical Engineering	EE	Engineering Sciences	XE*
Ecology and Evolution	EY	Life Sciences	XL**

GATE 2021-2022 Engineering Sciences (XE) Paper Details

• The XE Paper will have compulsory Sections A – Engineering Mathematics and GA – General Aptitude. In addition, candidates have to answer any two of XE sections, from B to H.
• Candidates can make the choice of two sections from B to H during the examination after viewing the questions.
• Only two optional sections can be answered at a time.
• A candidate willing to change midway of the GATE 2021-2022 examination to another optional section must first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (B to H) and then select the new ones.

XE Paper (Engineering Sciences) Marking Scheme

• Engineering Mathematics section (Section A) is compulsory in this paper. This section contains 11 questions carrying a total of 15 marks with 7 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 7 marks), and 4 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 8 marks).
• Each of the other sections of the XE paper (Sections B through H) has 22 questions carrying a total of 35 marks with 9 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 9 marks) and 13 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 26 marks).
• Some questions in each section may be of numerical type questions.

Life Sciences (XL) Paper Details

• The XL Paper will have compulsory Sections P– Chemistry and GA – General Aptitude. In addition, candidates must answer any two of XL sections Q to U.
• The choice of two sections from Q to U can be made during the examination after viewing the questions.
• Only two optional sections can be answered at a time.
• A candidate wishing to change midway of the examination to another optional section has to first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (Q to U) prior to choosing the new ones.

GATE 2021-2022 XL Paper (Life Sciences) Marking Scheme

• In XL paper, Chemistry section (Section P) is compulsory with 15 questions carrying a total of 25 marks out of which 5 questions carry 1-mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and 10 questions carry 2-marks each (sub-total 20 marks).
• Each of the other sections of the XL paper (Sections Q through U) has 20 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 questions in each section may be of numerical type questions.

Engineering Sciences XE	Section Code	Life Science XL	Section Code
Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory)	A	Chemistry (Compulsory)	P
Fluid Mechanics	B	Biochemistry	Q
Materials Science	C	Botany	R
Solid Mechanics	D	Microbiology	S
Thermodynamics	E	Zoology	T
Polymer Science and Engineering	F	Food Technology	U
Food Technology	G
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences	H

Design of questions in GATE 2021-2022 Paper

 The questions in GATE 2021-2022 are designed to test the following abilities:

• Recall: These questions are based on facts, principles, formulae or laws of the discipline of the paper and test the candidates on their memory or deductions skills.
• Comprehension: These questions test the candidate’s understanding of the basics concepts of their field and require them to derive the answers by drawing simple conclusions from fundamental ideas.
• Application: In these questions, candidates are expected to apply their knowledge either through computation or by logical reasoning.
• Analysis and Synthesis: For these questions, candidates are presented with data, diagrams, and images. They must analyse these and answer the questions.

General Instructions in GATE 2021-2022 examination hall (to be followed after entry in the examination centre)

1. Virtual calculator will be available on the screen. If a candidate chooses to have a full screen view, then he/she can hide answer palette by clicking on the arrow marks.
2. The clock will be set at the server. The countdown timer in the top right corner of screen will display the remaining time available to complete the examination. When the timer reaches zero, the examination will end by itself. Candidates will not be required to end or submit your examination.
3. The question palette displayed on the right side of screen will show the status of each question using one of the following symbols:

Navigating to a question:

4. Candidates need to click on the question number in the palette to go to that question directly.
5. All the questions can be viewed by clicking on the Question Paper button. Options for multiple choice type questions will not be displayed.
Answering a question:

6. Procedure for answering multiple choice type question:
   • To select answer, candidates shall click on the button of one of the options.
   • To deselect chosen answer, they need to click on the button of the chosen option again or click on the Clear Response button.
   • To change chosen answer, they are required to click on the button of another option.
7. Procedure for answering numerical answer type question:
   • To enter a number as the answer, virtual numerical keypad has to be used.
   • A fractional number in decimal notation (eg. -0.3 or -.3) can be entered as an answer with or without ‘0’ before the decimal point.
   • To clear the answer, candidates must click on the Clear Response button.
8. In order to change an answer to a question that has already been answered, candidates need to first select that question for answering and then follow the procedure for answering that type of question. Saving the answer
9. To save an answer, candidates shall click on the Save & Next button. To mark the question for review, Mark for Review & Next button should be clicked.
10. After completion of examination time (3 hours) all the answers will be automatically submitted.

More Instructions

1. Test takers must go through all the symbols used in GATE 2021-2022 and understand their meanings before starting the examination.
2. After commencement of examination, all the questions in the question paper can be viewed by clicking on the Question Paper button on the screen.
3. GATE 2021-2022 paper comprises 85 marks subject specific and General Aptitude (GA) section for 15 marks. Both are mandatory.
4. The useful data, if given in the question paper, has to be used for answering. If no such data is given, and the candidate needs it, then he/she may find the data by clicking on Useful Data at top, right side of the screen.
5. The question paper comprises multiple choice questions (MCQs) and numerical answer type (NAT). Multiple choice type questions will have four choices A, B, C, D, out of which only one will be the correct answer. The candidate has to choose the correct answer by clicking on the radio button placed before the choice. For numerical answer type questions, a numerical answer should be entered with the help of the numeric keypad, which will appear on the monitor.
6. All questions that are not attempted will result in zero marks. However, wrong answers for multiple choice type questions (MCQ) will result in negative marking. For multiple choice type questions, a wrong answer will result in deduction of ⅓ marks for a 1-mark question and ⅔ marks for a 2-mark question. There is no negative marking for questions of numerical answer type (NAT).
7. The answers will be updated and saved on server periodically and also at the end of the examination. The examination will stop automatically at the end of 180 minutes (3 hours).
8. A candidate is not allowed to leave the examination hall till the completion of the examination.
9. Candidates are not allowed to carry any charts, graph sheets, calculators and mathematical tables inside the examination hall. They must use the scribble pad provided to them at the examination centre for all rough work. The scribble pad has to be returned at the end of the examination.