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GATE 2023 AE question paper PDF and answer key

The official GATE 2023 Aerospace Engineering paper, organised by IIT Kanpur: 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 Kanpur for GATE 2023 (official GATE site). Spotted a mistake? Email team@lemyte.com.

General Aptitude
10 · 15 marks
Aerospace Engineering
55 · 85 marks
MCQ / MSQ / NAT
30 / 11 / 24
Marks to all
None

Not in 2027 1 question (Q 27) is on topics removed from the GATE 2027 syllabus. They are marked in the answer key below. What changed for AE

Where the marks were

GATE 2023 AE topic-wise marks

Aerospace Engineering questions only; General Aptitude adds 15 marks on top. The top three topics carried 55 of the 85 subject marks.

TopicQuestionsMarks
Structures1219
Aerodynamics1118
Propulsion1218
Flight Mechanics812
Calculus46
Differential Equations35
Space Dynamics35
Linear Algebra22

Free solved questions

5 solved questions from GATE 2023 AE

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.

Q4 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

In 2022, June Huh was awarded the Fields medal, which is the highest prize in Mathematics.

When he was younger, he was also a poet. He did not win any medals in the International Mathematics Olympiads. He dropped out of college.

Based only on the above information, which one of the following statements can be logically inferred with certainty?

  • (A)
    Every Fields medalist has won a medal in an International Mathematics Olympiad.
  • (B)
    Everyone who has dropped out of college has won the Fields medal.
  • (C)
    All Fields medalists are part-time poets.
  • (D)
    Some Fields medalists have dropped out of college.

Answer (official key): D

Solution

June Huh is a Fields medalist who dropped out of college, so some Fields medalists have dropped out. The other statements generalise beyond (or contradict) the one example.

Q5 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

A line of symmetry is defined as a line that divides a figure into two parts in a way such that each part is a mirror image of the other part about that line.

The given figure consists of 16 unit squares arranged as shown. In addition to the three black squares, what is the minimum number of squares that must be coloured black, such that both PQ and MN form lines of symmetry? (The figure is representative)

Figure for GATE 2023 AE question 5 (Spatial Aptitude)

  • (A)
    3
  • (B)
    4
  • (C)
    5
  • (D)
    6

Answer (official key): C

Solution

Reflect the three black squares across PQ and across the diagonal MN repeatedly until the set is closed under both reflections. The closed set has 8 black squares, so 5 more must be coloured.

Q14 · Aerodynamics · MCQ · 1 mark

A two-dimensional potential flow solution for flow past an airfoil has a streamline pattern as shown in the figure. Which of the following conditions is additionally required to satisfy the Kutta condition?

Figure for GATE 2023 AE question 14 (Aerodynamics)

  • (A)
    Addition of a source of strength Q>0Q > 0
  • (B)
    Addition of a source of strength Q<0Q < 0
  • (C)
    Addition of a circulation of strength Γ>0\Gamma > 0 (counter-clockwise)
  • (D)
    Addition of a circulation of strength Γ<0\Gamma < 0 (clockwise)

Answer (official key): D

Solution

In the non-lifting solution the flow wraps round the sharp trailing edge, with the rear stagnation point on the upper surface. Adding clockwise circulation (flow left to right) moves the rear stagnation point back to the trailing edge, satisfying the Kutta condition. A source would change the body shape, not the circulation.

Q25 · Structures · MSQ · 1 mark

Which of the following statement(s) is/are true about harmonically excited forced vibration of a single degree-of-freedom linear spring-mass-damper system?

  • (A)
    The total response of the mass is a combination of free vibration transient and steady-state response.
  • (B)
    The free vibration transient dies out with time for each of the three possible conditions of damping (under-damped, critically damped, and over-damped).
  • (C)
    The steady-state periodic response is dependent on the initial conditions at the time of application of external forcing.
  • (D)
    The rate of decay of free vibration transient response depends on the mass, spring stiffness and damping constant.

Answer (official key): A, B, D

Solution

The response is transient + steady state (A); with any positive damping the transient decays (B) at a rate set by mm, kk and cc (D). The steady-state part depends only on the forcing, not on initial conditions (C false).

Q35 · Propulsion · Numerical · 1 mark

A supersonic vehicle powered by a ramjet engine is cruising at a speed of 1000 m/s. The ramjet engine burns hydrogen in a subsonic combustor to produce thrust. The heat of combustion for hydrogen is 120 MJ/kg. The overall efficiency of the engine ηo\eta_o, defined as the ratio of propulsive power to the total heat release in the combustor, is 40%. Taking acceleration due to gravity g0=10g_0 = 10 m/s², the specific impulse of the engine is _____________ seconds. (round off to the nearest integer).

Answer (official key): 4800 to 4900

Solution

ηo=FVm˙fQ\eta_o = \dfrac{FV}{\dot{m}_fQ} and Isp=Fm˙fg0=ηoQVg0=0.4×120×1061000×10=4800I_{sp} = \dfrac{F}{\dot{m}_fg_0} = \dfrac{\eta_oQ}{Vg_0} = \dfrac{0.4 \times 120 \times 10^6}{1000 \times 10} = 4800 s.

The other 60 questions are solved in your report when you take GATE 2023 AE as a 3-hour test.

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Official answer key

GATE 2023 AE answer key

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

Download the official GATE 2023 AE answer key (PDF)
QTopicTypeMarksAnswer
1Verbal AptitudeMCQ1B
2Verbal AptitudeMCQ1C
3Quantitative AptitudeMCQ1B
4Analytical AptitudeMCQ1D
5Spatial AptitudeMCQ1C
6Analytical AptitudeMCQ2D
7Quantitative AptitudeMCQ2A
8Verbal AptitudeMCQ2C
9Quantitative AptitudeMCQ2A
10Spatial AptitudeMCQ2D
11CalculusMCQ1A
12CalculusMCQ1C
13Differential EquationsMCQ1A
14AerodynamicsMCQ1D
15AerodynamicsMCQ1B
16AerodynamicsMCQ1B
17Flight MechanicsMCQ1A
18AerodynamicsMCQ1D
19Flight MechanicsMCQ1D
20PropulsionMCQ1C
21PropulsionMCQ1B
22PropulsionMCQ1D
23StructuresMCQ1D
24Space DynamicsMCQ1D
25StructuresMSQ1A, B, D
26StructuresMSQ1A, D
27StructuresNot in GATE 2027 syllabus: Characteristics of aircraft structures and materialsMSQ1B, C, D
28PropulsionMSQ1A, B
29Linear AlgebraMSQ1A, C, D
30StructuresNumerical12
31Linear AlgebraNumerical13
32Flight MechanicsNumerical12.4 to 2.6
33PropulsionNumerical13.5 to 4
34Flight MechanicsNumerical10.89 to 0.91
35PropulsionNumerical14800 to 4900
36CalculusMCQ2B
37AerodynamicsMCQ2A
38PropulsionMCQ2C
39AerodynamicsMCQ2C
40Flight MechanicsMCQ2A
41PropulsionMCQ2B
42Differential EquationsMSQ2C, D
43CalculusMSQ2A, B
44AerodynamicsMSQ2B, D
45Flight MechanicsMSQ2A, C, D
46AerodynamicsMSQ2A, B, C
47StructuresMSQ2A, C, D
48StructuresNumerical21.1 to 1.3
49StructuresNumerical210
50StructuresNumerical20.5
51StructuresNumerical22.8 to 2.86
52StructuresNumerical2196 to 198
53StructuresNumerical23.4 to 3.5
54Differential EquationsNumerical20.24 to 0.26
55PropulsionNumerical21.24 to 1.26
56AerodynamicsNumerical20.55 to 0.57
57AerodynamicsNumerical2-0.69 to -0.67
58AerodynamicsNumerical212.61 to 12.81
59Flight MechanicsNumerical22615 to 2625
60Flight MechanicsNumerical2190 to 195
61PropulsionNumerical20.57 to 0.6
62Space DynamicsNumerical24.9 to 5.1
63Space DynamicsNumerical2260 to 300
64PropulsionNumerical215948 to 16048
65PropulsionNumerical216

Questions about GATE 2023 AE

How many questions are in the GATE 2023 AE paper?

65 questions for 100 marks: 10 General Aptitude questions worth 15 marks and 55 Aerospace Engineering questions worth 85 marks. By type, there were 30 MCQs, 11 MSQs, 24 numerical answer (NAT) questions. The paper lasted 3 hours.

Is there negative marking in GATE 2023 AE?

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 2023 AE?

Outside General Aptitude, the biggest topics were Structures (19 marks), Aerodynamics (18 marks), Propulsion (18 marks). The full topic-wise split is in the table on this page.

Were any GATE 2023 AE questions awarded marks to all?

No. Every question was graded with the answer in the official key.

Where does this GATE 2023 AE answer key come from?

From the official answer key published by IIT Kanpur, which organised GATE 2023. 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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