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GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) question paper PDF and answer key

The official GATE 2020 Civil Engineering (Set 2) paper, organised by IIT Delhi: 65 questions for 100 marks in 3 hours. Download the official question paper and answer key as PDFs. Below is how the marks were split by topic, the complete official answer key and 5 questions solved step by step.

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Question paper (PDF)Official answer key (PDF)

Source: the official paper and answer key published by IIT Delhi for GATE 2020 (official GATE site). Spotted a mistake? Email team@lemyte.com.

General Aptitude
10 · 15 marks
Civil Engineering
55 · 85 marks
MCQ / MSQ / NAT
40 / 0 / 25
Marks to all
Q 10, 45, 46

Not in 2027 1 question (Q 51) is on topics removed from the GATE 2027 syllabus. They are marked in the answer key below. What changed for CE

Where the marks were

GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) topic-wise marks

Civil Engineering questions only; General Aptitude adds 15 marks on top. The top three topics carried 44 of the 85 subject marks.

TopicQuestionsMarks
Structural Engineering1017
Geotechnical Engineering914
Water Resources Engineering913
Transportation Engineering711
Environmental Engineering711
Calculus35
Geomatics Engineering24
Ordinary Differential Equations23
Construction Materials and Management22
Linear Algebra12
Numerical Methods11
Partial Differential Equations11
Probability and Statistics11

Free solved questions

5 solved questions from GATE 2020 CE (Set 2)

Question text and figures as in the official paper, the answer from the official key, and a worked solution. The other 60 solutions are in your report after you take the paper.

Q2 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

Select the most appropriate word that can replace the underlined word without changing the meaning of the sentence:

Now-a-days, most children have a tendency to <u>belittle</u> the legitimate concerns of their parents.

  • (A)
    disparage
  • (B)
    applaud
  • (C)
    reduce
  • (D)
    begrudge

Answer (official key): A

Solution

To belittle a concern is to disparage it: to speak of or regard it as unimportant. “Applaud” has the opposite sense; “reduce” and “begrudge” do not express the same attitude.

Official accepted option: A.

Q3 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

Select the word that fits the analogy:

Partial : Impartial :: Popular : _____

  • (A)
    Impopular
  • (B)
    Dispopular
  • (C)
    Mispopular
  • (D)
    Unpopular

Answer (official key): D

Solution

The relation is a word and its negative or opposite formed with an appropriate prefix. The standard negative form of “popular” is “unpopular”.

Official accepted option: D.

Q16 · Structural Engineering · MCQ · 1 mark

The state of stress represented by Mohr’s circle shown in the figure is

Original source figure for Q16

  • (A)
    uniaxial tension
  • (B)
    biaxial tension of equal magnitude
  • (C)
    hydrostatic stress
  • (D)
    pure shear

Answer (official key): D

Solution

The circle is centred at the origin and has nonzero radius. Hence its principal normal stresses are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign, as in a pure-shear state. Equal biaxial normal stresses would produce a point rather than this circle.

Official accepted option: D.

Q64 · Environmental Engineering · Numerical · 2 marks

A sample of water contains an organic compound C8H16O8\mathrm{C_8H_{16}O_8} at a concentration of 10−310^{-3} mol/litre. Given that the atomic weight of C = 12 g/mol, H = 1 g/mol, and O = 16 g/mol, the theoretical oxygen demand of water (in g of O₂ per litre, round off to two decimal places), is _____.

Answer (official key): 0.24 to 0.27

Solution

Complete oxidation balances as C8H16O8+8O2→8CO2+8H2O\mathrm{C_8H_{16}O_8+8O_2\to8CO_2+8H_2O}. Oxygen demand is 10−3(8)(32)=0.25610^{-3}(8)(32)=0.256 g O₂/L, which rounds to 0.26 g O₂/L. The oxygen present in the organic compound is already included in the balanced equation.

Official accepted interval: 0.24 to 0.27.

Q65 · Geomatics Engineering · Numerical · 2 marks

A theodolite is set up at station A. The RL of instrument axis is 212.250 m. The angle of elevation to the top of a 4 m long staff, held vertical at station B, is 7°. The horizontal distance between stations A and B is 400 m. Neglecting the errors due to curvature of earth and refraction, the RL (in m, round off to three decimal places) of station B is _____.

Answer (official key): 257.2 to 257.6

Solution

The staff top is 400tan⁡7∘=49.113824400\tan7^\circ=49.113824 m above the instrument axis. Subtract the 4 m staff length to obtain the ground station: RLB=212.250+49.113824−4=257.363824RL_B=212.250+49.113824-4=257.363824 m. Rounded to three decimals, RLB=257.364RL_B=257.364 m.

Official accepted interval: 257.200 to 257.600.

The other 60 questions are solved in your report when you take GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) as a 3-hour test.

Take GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) as a test

Official answer key

GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) answer key

All 65 answers from the official key. Numerical answers are ranges; “or” means the key accepts either answer.

Download the official GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) answer key (PDF)
QTopicTypeMarksAnswer
1Verbal AptitudeMCQ1B
2Verbal AptitudeMCQ1A
3Verbal AptitudeMCQ1D
4Analytical AptitudeMCQ1C
5Quantitative AptitudeMCQ1C
6Verbal AptitudeMCQ2A
7Analytical AptitudeMCQ2C
8Quantitative AptitudeMCQ2C
9Quantitative AptitudeMCQ2B
10Quantitative AptitudeMCQ2Marks to all
11Ordinary Differential EquationsMCQ1B
12CalculusMCQ1C
13Numerical MethodsMCQ1D
14Partial Differential EquationsMCQ1D
15Structural EngineeringMCQ1C
16Structural EngineeringMCQ1D
17Structural EngineeringMCQ1C
18Construction Materials and ManagementMCQ1D
19Transportation EngineeringMCQ1D
20Geotechnical EngineeringMCQ1A
21Geotechnical EngineeringMCQ1B
22Water Resources EngineeringMCQ1B
23Water Resources EngineeringMCQ1C
24Water Resources EngineeringMCQ1B
25Water Resources EngineeringMCQ1C
26Environmental EngineeringMCQ1B
27Environmental EngineeringMCQ1A
28Probability and StatisticsNumerical10.19 to 0.2
29Construction Materials and ManagementNumerical12 to 2.4
30Transportation EngineeringNumerical112.3 to 12.4
31Transportation EngineeringNumerical11021 to 1024
32Geotechnical EngineeringNumerical119 to 19.5
33Geotechnical EngineeringNumerical10.78 to 0.88
34Water Resources EngineeringNumerical10.45 to 0.49
35Environmental EngineeringNumerical11.4 to 1.42
36Ordinary Differential EquationsMCQ2B
37Linear AlgebraMCQ2D
38Structural EngineeringMCQ2D
39Structural EngineeringMCQ2B
40Structural EngineeringMCQ2C
41Transportation EngineeringMCQ2C
42Transportation EngineeringMCQ2B
43Transportation EngineeringMCQ2C
44Geotechnical EngineeringMCQ2A
45Geotechnical EngineeringMCQ2Marks to all
46Water Resources EngineeringMCQ2Marks to all
47Environmental EngineeringMCQ2A
48Geomatics EngineeringMCQ2B
49CalculusNumerical2-6.61 to -6.55
50CalculusNumerical25.18 to 5.2
51Structural EngineeringNot in GATE 2027 syllabus: Prestressed concreteNumerical23.8 to 4.7
52Structural EngineeringNumerical2-31 to -29
53Structural EngineeringNumerical2220 to 224
54Structural EngineeringNumerical2400 to 420
55Transportation EngineeringNumerical2154 to 178
56Geotechnical EngineeringNumerical274 to 76
57Geotechnical EngineeringNumerical20.7 to 0.73
58Geotechnical EngineeringNumerical22.4 to 2.6
59Water Resources EngineeringNumerical22.4 to 2.7
60Water Resources EngineeringNumerical21.7 to 1.76
61Water Resources EngineeringNumerical215 to 16
62Environmental EngineeringNumerical23.8 to 4.1
63Environmental EngineeringNumerical26963 to 6967
64Environmental EngineeringNumerical20.24 to 0.27
65Geomatics EngineeringNumerical2257.2 to 257.6

Questions about GATE 2020 CE (Set 2)

How many questions are in the GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) paper?

65 questions for 100 marks: 10 General Aptitude questions worth 15 marks and 55 Civil Engineering questions worth 85 marks. By type, there were 40 MCQs, 25 numerical answer (NAT) questions. The paper lasted 3 hours.

Is there negative marking in GATE 2020 CE (Set 2)?

Yes, for MCQs only. A wrong MCQ answer costs one-third of its marks (−⅓ for a 1-mark question, −⅔ for a 2-mark question). MSQ and numerical (NAT) questions have no negative marking, and an MSQ earns marks only when every correct option is chosen.

Which topics carried the most marks in GATE 2020 CE (Set 2)?

Outside General Aptitude, the biggest topics were Structural Engineering (17 marks), Geotechnical Engineering (14 marks), Water Resources Engineering (13 marks). The full topic-wise split is in the table on this page.

Were any GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) questions awarded marks to all?

Yes. The official key awarded full marks to everyone for questions 10, 45, 46.

Where does this GATE 2020 CE (Set 2) answer key come from?

From the official answer key published by IIT Delhi, which organised GATE 2020. Range answers for numerical questions and questions with more than one accepted answer are kept exactly as the key gives them.

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