Objective Solving Tricks for GATE exam
Most of time students complain that they couldn’t complete their objective paper; they were struck in one or another problem and wasted a lot of time. Some says that their guess went wrong and marks were deducted due to negative marking, some could not read paper completely and missed some easy questions etc.
I’ll like to stress that objective paper solving is different from subjective paper. You don’t need to study extra for objective questions but practice little bit.
Your guess in solving objective can bring you in difficulty but some intelligent/educated guess can add valuable marks to your score. Most of time objective questions havesome hint in the form of multiple choices for the question.
Following can be used as guidelines for solving objective paper:
General Tips
Keep the structure of GATE in mind(25 Quest 1 Mark each, 30 Quest. 2 Marks each with 4 common data questions and 4 Linked Questions).
Plan your time. Allow more time for high point value questions; reserve time at the end to review your work, and for emergencies. I'll suggest following sequence, but you can keep as per your choice: 2 Marks question, Common Data Questions, Linked questions and then single mark questions.
Look the whole test over, skimming the quesitons and developing a general plan for your work. If any immediate thoughts come to you, jot them down in the margin
Start with the section of the test that will yield the most points, but begin working with the easiest questions to gain time for the more difficult ones and to warm up.
Work quickly, check your timing regularly, and adjust your speed when necessary.
Avoid reading into the questions. When you find yourself thinking along the lines of "this is too easy; there must be a trick..." mark the question and move on to another. Interpret questions literally.
Mark key words in every question. To help find the key words, ask yourself WHAT, WHO, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW?
Multiple Choice Specific Tips
Remember in GATE each question will have four choices for the answer, only one is correct and wrong answer carry 33% negative marks
Read the question (without reading choices) very carefully.
Mark important key words and look for special key words like not, but, except , or, nor, always, never, and only . Mark these key words. E.g.
Ques The number of leaf nodes in a rooted tree of n(n>0) nodes, with each node having 0 or 3 children is:
Important words to mark in this are, "n>0" and "or"
The number of leaf nodes in a rooted tree of n(n>0) nodes, with each node having 0 or 3 children is:
Many times we miss words like "or" and whole question in changed.
If you can think of answer before reading choices, keep it in mind before reading choices
Compare with choices and select the best suited answer.
Most of times choices are made to confuse. If there are two or more options that could be the correct answer, compare them to each other to determine the differences between them.
If there is an encompassing answer choice, for example "all of the above", and you are unable to determine that there are at least two correct choices, select the encompassing choice.
Make educated/intelligent guesses - eliminate options any way you can.
Multiple choices can provide direct short cut to get correct answer, especially in numerical problems. For example in the above question
Example
The number of leaf nodes in a rooted tree of n(n>0) nodes, with each node having 0 or 3 children is:
Choices:
A n/2
B (n-1)/3
C (n-1)/2
D (2n+1)/3
Direct solving the problem can be difficult. Use following short cut.
Imagine few such trees and try to get answer from choices. Lets start with tree with one node, i.e. n = 1. In this case obviously number of leaves should be one(same as root). Putting n=1 in above options only option "D" gives 1. But assure your self with more tries. Next possible value of n = 4 with number of leaves = 3. Putting this is multiple choices only "D" satisfies confirming our solution.
I’ll like to stress that objective paper solving is different from subjective paper. You don’t need to study extra for objective questions but practice little bit.
Your guess in solving objective can bring you in difficulty but some intelligent/educated guess can add valuable marks to your score. Most of time objective questions havesome hint in the form of multiple choices for the question.
Following can be used as guidelines for solving objective paper:
General Tips
Keep the structure of GATE in mind(25 Quest 1 Mark each, 30 Quest. 2 Marks each with 4 common data questions and 4 Linked Questions). Plan your time. Allow more time for high point value questions; reserve time at the end to review your work, and for emergencies. I'll suggest following sequence, but you can keep as per your choice: 2 Marks question, Common Data Questions, Linked questions and then single mark questions. Look the whole test over, skimming the quesitons and developing a general plan for your work. If any immediate thoughts come to you, jot them down in the margin Start with the section of the test that will yield the most points, but begin working with the easiest questions to gain time for the more difficult ones and to warm up. Work quickly, check your timing regularly, and adjust your speed when necessary. Avoid reading into the questions. When you find yourself thinking along the lines of "this is too easy; there must be a trick..." mark the question and move on to another. Interpret questions literally. Mark key words in every question. To help find the key words, ask yourself WHAT, WHO, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW? Multiple Choice Specific Tips
Remember in GATE each question will have four choices for the answer, only one is correct and wrong answer carry 33% negative marks Read the question (without reading choices) very carefully. Mark important key words and look for special key words like not, but, except , or, nor, always, never, and only . Mark these key words. E.g. Ques The number of leaf nodes in a rooted tree of n(n>0) nodes, with each node having 0 or 3 children is:
Important words to mark in this are, "n>0" and "or"
The number of leaf nodes in a rooted tree of n(n>0) nodes, with each node having 0 or 3 children is:
Many times we miss words like "or" and whole question in changed.
If you can think of answer before reading choices, keep it in mind before reading choices Compare with choices and select the best suited answer. Most of times choices are made to confuse. If there are two or more options that could be the correct answer, compare them to each other to determine the differences between them. If there is an encompassing answer choice, for example "all of the above", and you are unable to determine that there are at least two correct choices, select the encompassing choice. Make educated/intelligent guesses - eliminate options any way you can. Multiple choices can provide direct short cut to get correct answer, especially in numerical problems. For example in the above questionExample
The number of leaf nodes in a rooted tree of n(n>0) nodes, with each node having 0 or 3 children is:
Choices:
A n/2
B (n-1)/3
C (n-1)/2
D (2n+1)/3
Direct solving the problem can be difficult. Use following short cut.
Imagine few such trees and try to get answer from choices. Lets start with tree with one node, i.e. n = 1. In this case obviously number of leaves should be one(same as root). Putting n=1 in above options only option "D" gives 1. But assure your self with more tries. Next possible value of n = 4 with number of leaves = 3. Putting this is multiple choices only "D" satisfies confirming our solution.
Changes in GATE exam 2011
1. Offline examination in two sessions.
In GATE 2011 offline examination will be conducted in two sessions on sunday, Feburary 13,2011. the OFFLINE examination in AR, BT, CE, CH, ME, PH and PI papers will be held in the forenoon session from 09.00 hrs to 12.00 hrs. The offline examination in AG, CY, EC, IN, MA,MT, XE and XL will be held in the afternoon session from 14.00 hrs to 17.00 hrs
2. New Paper introduced in GATE 2011:
With effect from GATE 2011, Food Technology will be introduced as an optional section in XL paper also
3. ONLINE Examination in two additional papers:
* In GATE 2011, two additional papers AE and GG will als have online examination. So in total online examination will be for four papers MN, TF, AE and GG
4. Numerical answer type questions in AE and TF papers:
In AE and TF papers, the question paper will consist of 60 question of multiple choice type and 5 question of numerical answer type. For multiple choice type questions, each question will have four choices for the answer. For numerical type question, each question will have a number as the answer.
In GATE 2011 offline examination will be conducted in two sessions on sunday, Feburary 13,2011. the OFFLINE examination in AR, BT, CE, CH, ME, PH and PI papers will be held in the forenoon session from 09.00 hrs to 12.00 hrs. The offline examination in AG, CY, EC, IN, MA,MT, XE and XL will be held in the afternoon session from 14.00 hrs to 17.00 hrs
2. New Paper introduced in GATE 2011:
With effect from GATE 2011, Food Technology will be introduced as an optional section in XL paper also 3. ONLINE Examination in two additional papers:
* In GATE 2011, two additional papers AE and GG will als have online examination. So in total online examination will be for four papers MN, TF, AE and GG
4. Numerical answer type questions in AE and TF papers:
In AE and TF papers, the question paper will consist of 60 question of multiple choice type and 5 question of numerical answer type. For multiple choice type questions, each question will have four choices for the answer. For numerical type question, each question will have a number as the answer.
How to prepare for GATE exam
Preparing for GATE can be as easy as preparing for your college examinations. Just take little cautions while studying any topic and do remember that GATE paper focus on your in depth knowledge of subject, your basics, presence of mind during examination etc.
I’ll recommend following while preparing for your GATE exams people may differ as this is my personnel opinion :
I’ll recommend following while preparing for your GATE exams people may differ as this is my personnel opinion :
Always follow standard books for GATE. Try to cover complete syllabus. If not possible expertise in what ever portion of syllabus you practice. Try preparing notes after reading every chapter/topic. This may initially take some time but will help you while revising before paper. While reading any chapter/topic do ask your self following questions "What", "How", and "Why" and see improvement Best way to prepare is to follow cycle Learn, Test, Analyze, Improve, Learn, Test, Analyze, Improve Do remember that GATE is completely objective question based test. Most of time solving objective questions is tricky. Learn tips to solve GATE objective questions from GATE Tutor. In case of doubts ask some expert or use forums to discuss questions as provided by examcrazy.com or ask me at gate.tutor@gmail.com Don’t worry if your percentage in university exams is low as GATE admissions do not consider them. Just maintain minimum percentage required by many colleges including IIT’s. Look at GATE Cutoff and eligibility section to know eligibility and cut off of various colleges. Group study is one of the best ways of preparation. Divide sections/topics between you and your partner and have a brief session on topic from your friend before you actually start topic. This will save your time and efforts and will improve your and your partner’s understanding on the topic. Normally coaching GATE is not required but if you are not able to concentrate much then this is a good option.
EXAMINATION CITIES
The city codes will be useful to the candidates while filling the application forms. The choice of the examination city depends on the examination type (online / offline examination). Even for the cities where both online and offline examinations are to be conducted, the city codes will be different for online and offline examinations.
Online Examination Cities:
For candidates whose choice of GATE paper is one of the following: AE, GG, MN and TF.
Offline Examination Cities:
For candidates whose choice of GATE paper is one of the following: AG, AR, BT, CE, CH, CS, CY, EC, EE, IN, MA, ME, MT, PH, PI, XE and XL.
AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATION FORMS
Information Brochure and Application Form can be obtained on cash payment of Rs 1000/- (Rs 500/- for SC/ST/PD) from the designated Bank Branches corresponding to each zone (as given below). Application Form can also be obtained from the zonal GATE Offices after handing over Demand Draft for the appropriate amount.
The following table lists out the designated bank branches info:
| Zone | Name of the Bank | Branches |
| IISc Bangalore | State Bank of India | Anantapur (Sainagar), Bangalore (IISc; Jayanagar IV Block; St. Marks Road), Bagalkot (Kalati Road) , Davangere (T.M.N. Complex), Hassan (Subhash Square), Hubli (Keshwapur), Hyderabad (Begum Bazar; Nampally; Parishrama Bhavan), Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Mysore (Sayyaji Rao Road), Secundrabad (Patni Circle, PBB, SP Road), Surathkal (Srinivasa Nagar), Tumkur (M.G. Road) |
| IIT Bombay | State Bank of India | Ahmednagar (Manamad Road), Akola (Sastri Nagar), Amravati (Near Shyam Talkies), Aurangabad (Kranti Chowk), Gulbarga (Super Market), Jalgaon, Jodhpur (High Court Complex), Kolhapur (Dasara Chowk), Latur (Opp. Bus Stand), Loni (Near Swami Samarth Mandir) Mumbai (Andheri W- Shopper's Stop; Dadar-SS Wagh Marg; IIT Powai; Main Br-Samachar Marg), Nagpur (Rly. Stn.), Nanded (Vazirabad), Nashik (Near Hotel Samrat), Navi Mumbai (Belapur), Pandharpur (Sawarkar Road), Panjim (Near Hotel Mandavi), Pune (Main; Deccan Gymkhana), Rajkot (Near Civil Hospital), Sangli (Ganapati Mandir), Satara (Pratap Ganj), Shegaon, Solapur (Budhwar Peth), Surat (Near Sambhaji Garden), Thane (Tembi Naka), Vadodara (Mandvi Branch), Wardha (Dr. J.C. Kumarappa Marg) |
| IIT Delhi | Canara Bank | Ahmedabad (Bhadra; Ashram Road), Ajmer (Kutchery Road), Alwar (Medalganj), Bhilwara (Pur Road),Bikaner (Kote Gate), Faridabad (Nehru Ground, NIT), Gurgaon (Old Railway Road), Indore (Siyaganj), Jaipur (M.I. Road, Malviya Nagar), Jammu (Sector 3, Trikuta Nagar), Jhunjhunu (Gandhi Chowk), New Delhi (IIT Delhi; Janpath; Maharani Bagh; Mayur Vihar-I; R.K. Puram; Shakti Nagar; Tagore Garden; Vivek Vihar), Sikar (Fatehpur Road), Srinagar (Residency Road), Udaipur (Madhuban), Ujjain (Ghee Mandi Daulatganj) |
| IIT Guwahati | State Bank of India | Agartala (Hari Ganga Basak Rd.), Asansol (Bijoy Pal Sarani), Bhagalpur (Main), Bongaigaon (Main), Dhanbad (Main), Durgapur (Main), Gangtok (M.G. Marg), Guwahati (Pan Bazar), Imphal (Main), Itanagar (Main), Jorhat (Main), Kalyani (Main), Patna (West Gandhi Maidan), Shillong (Kachari Road), Silchar (Main), Siliguri (Main), Tezpur (Main). |
| IIT Kanpur | Union Bank of India | Agra (Wasan Plaza); Aligarh (Patthar bazar); Allahabad (Civil Lines), Bareily (Civil Lines); Bhopal (Jumerati), Etawah (Civil Lines), Faizabad (Motibagh), Gorakhpur (Golghar), Jabalpur (Cantt.), Jhansi (Civil Lines), Kanpur (Birhana Road; IIT), Lucknow (Hazratganj), Rewa (Raniganj), Sagar (Katra Bazar), Sultanpur (Super Market), Varanasi (Godowlia) |
| IIT Kharagpur | Canara Bank | Angul (Nataraj Building, Amalpadh), Balasore (Sahadevakunta), Berhampur (Orissa) (Chinna Bazar), Bhimavaram (P P Road), Bhubaneswar (Bapujinagar; Saheednagar), Bilaspur (Juna Bilaspur Main Road), Cuttack (Chowdhury Bazar), Eluru (Korrapativari Street, Powerpet), Howrah (N.S.Road), Jamshedpur (Bistupur), Kakinada (A.P.) (Jawhar Street), Kharagpur (Fatak Bazar, Kharida), Kolkata (Gariahat Road, Gole Park; Middleton Row, Park Street; Sector III, Near Tank No.13, Salt Lake; APC Roy Road, Sealdah), Machilipatnam (Valluri Raja Center), Raipur (Malviya Road), Rajahmundry (Hotharasi Street, Innespeta), Ranchi (S.N.Ganguly Road), Rourkela (Udit Nagar), Sambalpur (Modi Para), Sindri (Monohari Tand Marketing Complex), Srikakulam (New Chandra Mahal, G.T.Road), Tadepalligudem (K.N.Road), Vijayawada (Governor Pet; Patamata), Visakhapatnam (Dwarakanagar; MVP Colony; Dabagardens) |
| IIT Madras | State Bank of India | Bapatla, Chennai (Annanagar West; IIT), Chidambaram, Chittoor, Coimbatore (Race Course Road), Dindigul, Ernakulam (Broadway), Gudur, Guntur (SPBB), Kadapa (Cuddapah), Kannur (Town), Karaikudi, Karimnagar, Khammam, Kollam (Chinnakada), Kothagudem, Kottayam, Kozhikode (Kallai Road), Madurai (Vinayaga Nagar), Manchiryal, Nagercoil, Nalgonda, Nellore (Town), Ongole (Bapuji Mkt.), Palakkad (Civil Stn.), Pondicherry, Salem (Srirangapalayam), Tenali (Kothapet), Thanjavur, Thiruvananthapuram (Statue Br), Thrissur (Town), Tiruchirapalli (Palakarai), Tirunelveli (Palayamkottai), Tirupati (Tilak Road), Warangal (Battala Bazaar) |
| IIT Roorkee | Punjab National Bank | Amritsar (Lawrence Road), Bathinda (Bank Street), Bijnor (Civil Lines), Chandigarh (Sector 17-C Market), Dehradun (Aarhat Bazar), Ghaziabad (Nehru Nagar), Gwalior (Naya Bazar), Haldwani (Nainital Road), Hamirpur (HP) (New Road), Haridwar (Mayapur Chowk), Hissar (Dabra Chowk), Jalandhar (Civil Lines), Kota (Bhimganj), Kurukshetra (Railway Road, Thanesar), Ludhiana (Civil Lines), Mathura (Chatta Bazar), Meerut (Eastern Kachari Road), Muzaffarnagar (South Bhopa Road), Nainital (Mall Road), Noida (Sector 18, Chillera Aterial Mkt.), Pantnagar (Main Branch), Patiala (The Mall), Pauri Garhwal (Main Branch), Rohtak (Civil Lines), Roorkee (IIT Campus), Saharanpur (Civil Lines), Shimla (The Mall), Yamunanagar (New Grain Mkt.) |
HOW TO APPLY?
Candidates can submit Application Form in two different modes : Online and Offline. The preferred mode of application process is Online
| Application | Category | Application Fee |
| Online | General/OBC | Rs.800/- |
SC/ST/ PD | Rs.400/- | |
| Offline | General/OBC | Rs.1,000/- |
| SC/ST/PD | Rs.500/- |
Service Charges Extra (Maximum Rs.30/-) PD: Person with Disability
|
|
GATE EXAMINATION STRUCTURE
A candidate can apply for only ONE of the 21 papers listed in the table given below. In the tables given below, the columns titled 'Paper Title' and 'Section Title' provide links to the appropriate syllabus.
The choice of the appropriate paper is the responsibility of the candidate. Some guidelines in this respect are suggested below.
The candidate is expected to appear in a paper appropriate to the discipline of his/her qualifying degree. The candidate is, however, free to choose any paper according to his/her admission plan, keeping in mind the eligibility criteria of the institutions in which he/she wishes to seek admission.
GATE Examination Papers
XE (Engineering Sciences) and XL (Life Sciences) papers are of general nature and will comprise of the sections listed below. A candidate appearing in XE or XL paper will be required to answer three sections apart from the General Aptitude (GA) questions. Section A is compulsory in XE paper and Section H is compulsory in XL paper. The candidate can choose any two out of the remaining sections listed against the respective papers, at the time of examination.| XE: Engineering Sciences | ||
| Paper | Section | Section Title |
| XE | A | Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) |
| XE | B | Fluid Mechanics |
| XE | C | Materials Science |
| XE | D | Solid Mechanics |
| XE | E | Thermodynamics |
| XE | F | Polymer Science and Engineering |
| XE | G | Food Technology |
| XL: Life Sciences | ||
| Paper | Section | Title of the Section |
| XL | H | Chemistry (Compulsory) |
| XL | I | Biochemistry |
| XL | J | Botany |
| XL | K | Microbiology |
| XL | L | Zoology |
| XL | M | Food Technology |
GATE Examination 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. In all papers other than AE and TF, all the questions are of multiple choice type. In AE and TF papers, the question paper will consist of 60 questions of multiple choice type and 5 questions of 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. Click here to view the pattern of question papers. The examination for the papers with codes AE, GG, MN and TF will be carried out ONLINE using computers where the candidates will be required to enter the answer for each question using keyboard/mouse. For all other papers, the candidates will 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 each wrong answer, except for the numerical answer type questions.
Each GATE paper shall have a General Aptitude (GA) component carrying 15 marks.
ELIGIBILITY FOR GATE EXAMINATION
The following categories of candidates are eligible to appear for GATE:
- Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/Technology/Architecture (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), AMICE(I) by the Institute of Civil Engineers (India)-ICE(I)) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.
IMPORTANT DATES
| Commencement of sale of Application Form and Information Brochure | Tuesday | September 21, 2010 |
| Commencement of Online Application Form submission | Tuesday | September 21, 2010 (09:00 Hrs onwards) |
| Last date for issue of Information Brochure and Application Form at Bank Counters | Wednesday | October 27, 2010 |
| Last date for issue of Information Brochure and Application Form at zonal GATE office counters | Friday | October 29, 2010 |
| Last date for Submission of Online Application Form (website closure) | Wednesday | October 27, 2010 (18:00 Hrs) |
| Last date for the Receipt of completed Offline/Online Application Form at the respective zonal GATE Office | Tuesday | November 02, 2010 |
| Website display of final list of registered candidates, choices of test paper and examination city | Friday | December 10, 2010 |
| Date for reporting any discrepancy in the choice of examination cities or in the choice of GATE paper | Friday | December 31, 2010 |
| Date for reporting the non-receipt of admit cards for ONLINE examination papers | Thursday | January 20, 2011 |
| Last date for reporting the non-receipt of admit cards for OFFLINE examination papers | Monday | January 31, 2011 |
| GATE 2011 Online Examination Papers: GG and TF | Sunday | January 30, 2011 (09:00 Hrs to 12:00 Hrs) |
| GATE 2011 Online Examination Papers: AE and MN | Sunday | January 30, 2011 (14:00 Hrs to 17:00 Hrs) |
| GATE 2011 Offline Examination Papers: AR, BT, CE, CH, CS, ME, PH and PI | Sunday | February 13, 2011 (09:00 Hrs to 12:00 Hrs) |
| GATE 2011 Offline Examination Papers: AG, CY, EC, EE, IN, MA, MT, XE and XL | Sunday | February 13, 2011 (14:00 Hrs to 17:00 Hrs) |
| Announcement of results | Tuesday | March 15, 2011 (10:00 Hrs) |
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