SECTIONS Topics and Sub-Topics Gate

Section 1: Engineering Mathematics

Linear Algebra: Matrix algebra;
Systems of linear equations; Eigenvalues and Eigen vectors.(videos
done)

Calculus: Functions of single variable; Limit, continuity and

differentiability; Mean value theorems, local maxima and minima;
Taylor series; Evaluation of definite and indefinite integrals,
application of definite integral to obtain area and volume; Partial
derivatives; Total derivative; Gradient, Divergence and Curl, Vector
identities;Directional derivatives; Line, Surface and Volume integrals.
Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE):
First order (linear and nonlinear) equations; higher order linear
equation with constant coefficients; Euler-Cauchy equations; initial
and boundary value problems.
Partial Differential Equation (PDE)
: Fourier series; separation of variables; solutions of one- dimensional
diffusion equation; first and second order one-dimensional wave
equation and two-dimensional Laplace equation.
Probability and Statistics:
Sampling theorems; Conditional probability; Descriptive statistics –
Mean, median, mode and standard deviation; Random Variables –
Discrete and Continuous, Poisson and Normal Distribution ;Linear
regression.
Numerical Methods:
Error analysis. Numerical solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic
equations; Newton’s and Lagrange polynomials; numerical
differentiation; Integration by trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule; Single
and multi-step methods for first order differential equations.

Section 2: Structural Engineering

Engineering Mechanics: System of forces, free-body diagrams,
equilibrium equations; Internal forces in structures; Frictions and its
applications; Centre of mass; Free Vibrations of undamped SDOF
system.
Solid Mechanics: Bending moment and shear force in statically
determinate beams; Simple stress and strain relationships; Simple
bending theory, flexural and shear stresses, shear centre; Uniform
torsion, Transformation of stress; buckling of column, combined and
direct bending stresses.
Structural Analysis: Statically determinate and indeterminate
structures by force/ energy methods; Method of superposition;
Analysis of trusses, arches, beams, cables and frames;
Displacement methods: Slope deflection and moment distribution
methods; Influence lines; Stiffness and flexibility methods of
structural analysis.
Construction Materials and Management: Construction Materials:
Structural Steel – Composition, material properties and behaviour;
Concrete – Constituents, mix design, short-term and long-term
properties.
Construction Management: Types of construction projects; Project
planning and network analysis – PERT and CPM; Cost estimation.
Concrete Structures: Working stress and Limit state design
concepts; Design of beams, slabs, columns; Bond and development
length; Prestressed concrete beams.
Steel Structures: Working stress and Limit state design concepts;
Design of tension and compression members, beams and beam-
columns, column bases; Connections – simple and eccentric, beam-
column connections, plate girders and trusses; Concept of plastic
analysis – beams and frames.

Section 3: Geotechnical Engineering

Soil Mechanics: Three-phase system and phase relationships, index
properties; Unified and Indian standard soil classification system;
Permeability – one dimensional flow, Seepage through soils – two –
dimensional flow, flow nets, uplift pressure, piping, capillarity,
seepage force; Principle of effective stress and quicksand condition;
Compaction of soils; One- dimensional consolidation, time rate of
consolidation; Shear Strength, Mohr’s circle, effective and total shear
strength parameters, Stress-Strain characteristics of clays and sand;
Stress paths.
Foundation Engineering: Sub-surface investigations – Drilling bore
holes, sampling, plate load test, standard penetration and cone
penetration tests; Earth pressure theories – Rankine and Coulomb;
Stability of slopes –Finite and infinite slopes, Bishop’s method; Stress
distribution in soils – Boussinesq’s theory; Pressure bulbs, Shallow
foundations – Terzaghi’s and Meyerhoff’s bearing capacity theories,
effect of water table; Combined footing and raft foundation; Contact
pressure; Settlement analysis in sands and clays; Deep foundations –
dynamic and static formulae, Axial load capacity of piles in sands and
clays, pile load test, pile under lateral loading, pile group efficiency,
negative skin friction.

Section 4: Water Resources Engineering

Fluid Mechanics: Properties of fluids, fluid statics; Continuity,
momentum and energy equations and their applications; Potential
flow, Laminar and turbulent flow; Flow in pipes, pipe networks;
Concept of boundary layer and its growth; Concept of lift and drag.

Hydraulics: Forces on immersed bodies; Flow measurement in

channels and pipes; Dimensional analysis and hydraulic similitude;
Channel Hydraulics – Energy-depth relationships, specific energy,
critical flow, hydraulic jump, uniform flow, gradually varied flow and
water surface profiles.
Hydrology: Hydrologic cycle, precipitation, evaporation, evapo-
transpiration, watershed, infiltration, unit hydrographs, hydrograph
analysis, reservoir capacity, flood estimation and routing, surface run-
off models, groundwater hydrology – steady state well hydraulics and
aquifers; Application of Darcy’s Law.

Irrigation: Types of irrigation systems and methods; Crop water

requirements – Duty, delta, evapo-transpiration; Gravity Dams and
Spillways; Lined and unlined canals, Design of weirs on permeable
foundation; cross drainage structures.
Section 5: Environmental Engineering
Water and Waste Water Quality and Treatment: Basics of water
quality standards – Physical, chemical and biological parameters;
Water quality index; Unit processes and operations; Water
requirement; Water distribution system; Drinking water treatment.
Sewerage system design, quantity of domestic wastewater, primary
and secondary treatment. Effluent discharge standards; Sludge
disposal; Reuse of treated sewage for different applications.

Air Pollution: Types of pollutants, their sources and impacts, air

pollution control, air quality standards, Air quality Index and limits.
Municipal Solid Wastes:Characteristics, generation, collection and
transportation of solid wastes, engineered systems for solid waste
management (reuse/ recycle, energy recovery, treatment and
disposal).

Section 6: Transportation Engineering

Transportation Infrastructure: Geometric design of highways –
cross-sectional elements, sight distances, horizontal and vertical
alignments.
Geometric design of railway Track – Speed and Cant,
Concept of airport runway length, calculations and corrections;
taxiway and exit taxiway design.

Highway Pavements: Highway materials – desirable properties and

tests; Desirable properties of bituminous paving mixes; Design factors
for flexible and rigid pavements; Design of flexible and rigid
pavement using IRC codes.

Traffic Engineering: Traffic studies on flow and speed, peak hour

factor, accident study, statistical analysis of traffic data; Microscopic
and macroscopic parameters of traffic flow, fundamental
relationships; Traffic signs; Signal design by Webster’s method;
Types of intersections; Highway capacity.
Section 7: Geomatics Engineering
Principles of surveying; Errors and their adjustment; Maps – scale,
coordinate system; Distance and angle measurement – Levelling and
trigonometric levelling; Traversing and triangulation survey; Total
station; Horizontal and vertical curves.
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing – Scale, flying height; Basics
of remote sensing and GIS.

General Aptitude (15)

GATE Quantitative Aptitude PDF for Civil Engineering
Pdfs are available

Verbal Aptitude
Basic English grammar: tenses, articles, adjectives, prepositions,
conjunctions, verb-noun agreement, and other parts of speech Basic
vocabulary: words, idioms, and phrases in context Reading and
comprehension Narrative sequencing

Quantitative Aptitude Data interpretation: data graphs (bar graphs,

pie charts, and other graphs representing data), 2- and 3-dimensional
plots, maps, and tables

Numerical computation and estimation: ratios, percentages,

powers, exponents and logarithms, permutations and combinations,
and series Mensuration and geometry

Elementary statistics and probability Analytical Aptitude Logic:

deduction and induction, Analogy, Numerical relations and reasoning
Spatial Aptitude

Transformation of shapes: translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring,

assembling, and grouping Paper folding, cutting, and patterns in 2
Paper 1 consists of six topics:
(i) Building Materials
(ii) Solid Mechanics
(iii) Structural Analysis
(iv) Design of Steel Structures
(v) Design of Concrete and Masonry Structures
(vi) Construction Practice, Planning and Management.

Paper 2 consists of six units:

(i) Flow of Fluids, Hydraulic Machines and Hydro Power
(ii) (ii) Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering
(iii) (iii) Environmental Engineering
(iv) (iv) Geo-technical Engineering and Foundation Engineering
(v) (v) Surveying and Geology
(vi) (vi) Transportation Engineering.

Paper 1
1. Building Materials
Stone, Lime, Glass, Plastics, Steel, FRP, Ceramics, Aluminum, Fly Ash, Basic
Admixtures, Timber, Bricks and Aggregates: Classification, properties and selection
criteria;
Cement: Types, Composition, Properties, Uses, Specifications and various Tests;
Lime & Cement Mortars and Concrete: Properties and various Tests; Design of
Concrete Mixes: Proportioning of aggregates and methods of mix design.
2. Solid Mechanics
Elastic constants, Stress, plane stress, Strains, plane strain, Mohr’s circle of stress
and strain, Elastic theories of failure, Principal Stresses, Bending, Shear and
Torsion.
3. Structural Analysis
Basics of strength of materials, Types of stresses and strains, Bending moments and
shear force, concept of bending and shear stresses; Analysis of determinate and
indeterminate structures; Trusses, beams, plane frames; Rolling loads, Influence
Lines, Unit load method & other methods; Free and Forced vibrations of single
degree and multi degree freedom system; Suspended Cables; Concepts and use of
Computer Aided Design.
4. Design of Steel Structures
Principles of Working Stress methods, Design of tension and compression members,
Design of beams and beam column connections, built-up sections, Girders, Industrial
roofs, Principles of Ultimate load design.
5. Design of Concrete and Masonry Structures
Limit state design for bending, shear, axial compression and combined forces;
Design of beams, Slabs, Lintels, Foundations, Retaining walls, Tanks, Staircases;
Principles of pre-stressed concrete design including materials and methods;
Earthquake resistant design of structures; Design of Masonry Structure.
6. Construction Practice, Planning and Management
Construction - Planning, Equipment, Site investigation and Management including
Estimation with latest project management tools and network analysis for different
Types of works; Analysis of Rates of various types of works; Tendering Process and
Contract Management, Quality Control, Productivity, Operation Cost; Land
acquisition; Labour safety and welfare.
Paper 2
1. Flow of Fluids, Hydraulic Machines and Hydro Power
(a) Fluid Mechanics, Open Channel Flow, Pipe Flow: Fluid properties;
Dimensional Analysis and Modeling; Fluid dynamics including flow kinematics and
measurements; Flow net; Viscosity, Boundary layer and control, Drag, Lift, Principles
in open channel flow, Flow controls. Hydraulic jump; Surges; Pipe networks.
(b) Hydraulic Machines and Hydro power: Various pumps, Air vessels, Hydraulic
turbines - types, classifications & performance parameters; Power house -
classification and layout, storage, pondage, control of supply.
2. Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering
Hydrological cycle, Ground water hydrology, Well hydrology and related data
analysis; Streams and their gauging; River morphology; Flood, drought and their
management; Capacity of Reservoirs.
Water Resources Engineering: Multipurpose uses of Water, River basins and their
potential; Irrigation systems, water demand assessment; Resources - storages and
their yields; Water logging, canal and drainage design, Gravity dams, falls, weirs,
Energy dissipaters, barrage Distribution works, Cross drainage works and head-
works and their design; Concepts in canal design, construction & maintenance; River
training, measurement and analysis of rainfall.
3. Environmental Engineering
(a) Water Supply Engineering: Sources, Estimation, quality standards and testing
of water and their treatment; Rural, Institutional and industrial water supply; Physical,
chemical and biological characteristics and sources of water, Pollutants in water and
its effects, Estimation of water demand; Drinking water Standards, Water Treatment
Plants, Water distribution networks.
(b) Waste Water Engineering: Planning & design of domestic waste water, sewage
collection and disposal; Plumbing Systems. Components and layout of sewerage
system; Planning & design of Domestic Waste-water disposal system; Sludge
management including treatment, disposal and re-use of treated effluents; Industrial
waste waters and Effluent Treatment Plants including institutional and industrial
sewage management.
(c) Solid Waste Management: Sources & classification of solid wastes along with
planning & design of its management system; Disposal system, Beneficial aspects of
wastes and Utilization by Civil Engineers.
(d) Air, Noise pollution and Ecology: Concepts & general methodology.
4. Geo-technical Engineering and Foundation Engineering
(a) Geo-technical Engineering: Soil exploration - planning & methods, Properties of
soil, classification, various tests and interrelationships; Permeability & Seepage,
Compressibility, consolidation and Shearing resistance, Earth pressure theories and
stress distribution in soil; Properties and uses of geo-synthetics.
(b) Foundation Engineering: Types of foundations & selection criteria, bearing
capacity, settlement analysis, design and testing of shallow & deep foundations;
Slope stability analysis, Earthen embankments, Dams and Earth retaining structures:
types, analysis and design, Principles of ground modifications.
5. Surveying and Geology
(a) Surveying: Classification of surveys, various methodologies, instruments &
analysis of measurement of distances, elevation and directions; Field astronomy,
Global Positioning System; Map preparation; Photogrammetry; Remote sensing
concepts; Survey Layout for culverts, canals, bridges, road/railway alignment and
buildings, Setting out of Curves.
(b) Geology: Basic knowledge of Engineering geology & its application in projects.
6. Transportation Engineering
Highways - Planning & construction methodology, Alignment and geometric design;
Traffic Surveys and Controls; Principles of Flexible and Rigid pavements design.
Tunneling - Alignment, methods of construction, disposal of muck, drainage, lighting
and ventilation.
Railways Systems - Terminology, Planning, designs and maintenance practices;
track modernization.
Harbours - Terminology, layouts and planning.
Airports - Layout, planning & design.

General Aptitude15%15%15% 14% 15%

Geotechnical Engineering 16% 14.5% 15% 13% 16%

Engineering Mathematics 10.5% 11.5% 13% 13% 13%

Environmental Engineering 9% 11%11% 10% 11%

Transportation Engineering 9.5% 11% 9% 7% 6%

Irrigation & Hydrology 5.5%5.5% 4% 3% 7%

Fluid Mechanics 9% 7.5%8% 9% 7%

Structural Analysis 4.5% 6% 6% 8% 5%

R.C.C. 5% 5% 5% 5% 4%

Solid Mechanics 3.5% 4% 2% 2% 7%

Geomatics Engineering 6% 14.5% 5% 8% 4%

Steel Structures5%2.5%3%2%3%

Construction Materials & Management 1%0.5%1%3% 0%

Engineering Mechanics 0.5%1%0%1%1%