GATE EXPERIENCE

Siddhesh Wawge Silabrata Pahari

AIR 41 AIR 74
Why GATE/ Benefits after GATE
 PSU Recruitment: It is the only path to get into the
Blue Chip companies; ONGC, IOCL, BPCL & many
more. (Best compensation in the core sector in India,
higher than the Campus core/non core employers)
 Direct admission to IISc/IITs & other Govt.
Universities for M.Tech/Ph.D.
 NUS/NTU (Singapore Universities) & some German
Universities accept GATE score
 Objective mode of study, no need of any coaching/
test series, self preparation is good enough
Paper Pattern
• General Aptitude & English: 15 marks
• Mathematics: 15 marks

• Chemical: 70 marks

i. Major Subjects- FM, SP, KRD, PDC, CET, HT

ii. Minor Subjects- CPC, CPT, CEL-I,II, NMCE & other
electives
GATE comprises of 60-70% MCQs & 30-40% integer
type questions.
SP
 Frequently asked topics: Distillation, Absorption,
Diffusion, Drying & Adsorption
 Every section is important, most conceptual subject
 Theoretical part involving various theories, correlations
& Diagrams has a good weightage (Ex: Diffusivity
relations & Kremser eqn.)
 Practicing subjective questions before 2000 would be
very helpful
 SP I slides & SP II notes are good to start rather than
jumping to those big books. (Unit Operation and Mass
Transfer by Trebal is strongly recommended)
Fluid Mechanics
 Frequently asked topics: Fluid statics, Renyolds Transport
Theorem, Contunity and Navier stokes Equation,
Vorticity, Potential flow, Buckingham Pi’s Theorem,
Boundary layer( mostly BL thickness and flow
separation), Pumps, Head-loss problems.
 Practice numerical and conceptual questions (mostly
from Boundary layer which are sometimes tricky).
 The flow meter equation(orifice plate & venturi meter).
 Shell momentum balance for deriving velocity profile.
 Three different acceleration in the NV equation.
 Please go through FOX and Mcdonald’s
KRD
 Limited formulas, CSTR, PFR & Batch reactor; expect
some lengthy numerical questions.
 RTD: Non-ideal reactors(One and two parameter
models), Isothermal and Non-Isothermal Reactors,
Catalysis: Heat Transfer in PBRs: Please cover these
topics.
 Avoid silly mistakes, keep your cool & try to solve
them in an attempt
 Practice as many question as you can
 Don’t forget to revise your basic Chemical Kinetics
Heat Transfer
 Frequently asked questions: Fourier’s law(conduction),
Thermal Resistance, Transient HT( lumped capacity
model), Convection(forced & free), Thermal boundary
layer, Radiation( Planck’s law, Kirchhoff's law radiation
face factors), Heat Exchanger( refer to Kern for
theory), condensation & Boiling HT( Pool boiling).
 The most scoring part of CHE section.
 Numerical mostly from all mentioned above.
 Refer to Holman and Kern.
 Correlations like Sider-tate and Dittus Boelter should be
remembered.
 If possible have a look at the plate frame HE.
PDC
 Imp topics: Transfer function, Bode Plot, Stability
Analysis & Controller characteristics.
 Instrumentation: The basic measuring instruments for
fluid flow, Temperature and Pressure.
 Keep yourself restricted to the syllabus, last years
papers will give you some understanding about the
type of questions
 Class notes of PDC are good enough for 70-80%
of the syllabus
 Formulas & definitions are the key to score
CET
 Fugacity, Excess & Residual Properties, Maxwells
relations, VLE & other non ideal concepts, Raoult’s law;
don’t leave these headings for the last. The chapter
solution thermodynamics( Chapter 11: Van Ness-Smith),
is very important, Gibbs-Duhem equation.
 Conceptual clarity required, be cautious before
applying formulas.
 One can practice questions based on laws of
thermodynamics from CET (Smith), a great variety of
problems are available
 Mostly, this section is mathematical, graphs are
necessary too
Mathematics
 M I, M II & M III slides cover the complete syllabus
except Num. methods
 Don’t neglect it, questions are straightforward, these
are guaranteed 15 marks
 Imp Topics: Diff. Eqns, Calculus apps (Ex: Lagrange’s
identity, Taylor Series) Prob., Matrices & Eigen
values, Num. Methods
 Keep practicing regularly, remember the diff.
approaches for diff. types of problems
Process calculation/CPT
 Mass balance and Energy balance
 Elemental balance and component balance
 6-7 questions from process calculation
 Mostly refining process Ammonia, Sulfuric acid and
Nitric acid.
 4-5 questions maximum from CPT and please study
this once you are done with main CDC’s.
Guidelines
 Keep an eye on the watch, time management is
crucial
 The more syllabus you cover, the higher you will
score
 Questions (2-4 marks) can come from the smallest of
the topics, no point in taking chance
 Don’t go for mock tests/test series in the starting, at
least you can go through books, NPTEL lecture slides
or prepare accordingly.
 Practice GATE papers within time limit.
GATE Trends
 Last years questions are of great importance, More than
50% questions (Chemical) are of the same type
 GATE score is given a heavy weightage in PSU recruitments,
generally companies shortlist candidates up to100 rank.
 If looking for IITs/IISc, Cut off for IIT B & IISc is high (100-
150 rank) whereas you can get others till 300
 Students having PS/Thesis in Ist semester are having plenty
of time to invest in GATE
 GATE score valid for 3 years (not for PSUs recruitment)
 Keep a watch on the PSU application dates most of them
have deadline before gate exam date. IISC’s deadline
comes before GATE results are declared.
Sources
 NPTEL lectures
 Course Textbooks
 UnitOperation.com
 GATE prep book (Arihant/GKP)
 9 pointers
 You need to search for the subjective GATE papers
Feel free to ask questions ?

Siddhesh: 8830915710, swawge@gmail.com

Silabrata: 8239818524, silabrata.93@gmail.com