GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) question paper PDF and answer key

The official GATE 2023 Civil Engineering (Set 2) 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
Civil Engineering: 55 · 85 marks
MCQ / MSQ / NAT: 35 / 11 / 19
Marks to all: None

Where the marks were

GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) topic-wise marks

Civil Engineering questions only; General Aptitude adds 15 marks on top. The top three topics carried 49 of the 85 subject marks.

Topic	Questions	Marks
Structural Engineering	13	20
Geotechnical Engineering	10	16
Water Resources Engineering	8	13
Environmental Engineering	8	13
Transportation Engineering	4	6
Linear Algebra	3	5
Geomatics Engineering	3	4
Partial Differential Equations	2	3
Probability and Statistics	2	2
Ordinary Differential Equations	1	2
Calculus	1	1

Free solved questions

5 solved questions from GATE 2023 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.

Q3 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

In how many ways can cells in a $3\times3$ grid be shaded, such that each row and each column have exactly one shaded cell? An example of one valid shading is shown.

Example valid shading for Q3

(A)
2
(B)
9
(C)
3
(D)
6

Answer (official key): D

Solution

Choose the shaded cell in the first row in 3 ways. The second row must use one of the remaining two columns, and the last row is then forced.

Equivalently, each valid shading corresponds to a permutation of the three columns.

Hence the number of possibilities is

3!=6.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option D.

Q4 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

There are 4 red, 5 green, and 6 blue balls inside a box. If $N$ number of balls are picked simultaneously, what is the smallest value of $N$ that guarantees there will be at least two balls of the same colour?

One cannot see the colour of the balls until they are picked.

(A)
4
(B)
15
(C)
5
(D)
2

Answer (official key): A

Solution

There are only three colours. In the worst case, the first three selected balls could be one red, one green, and one blue.

The fourth ball must then have one of those three colours, guaranteeing a repeated colour by the pigeonhole principle.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option A.

Q20 · Water Resources Engineering · MCQ · 1 mark

Identify the cross-drainage work in the figure.

Cross-drainage work for Q20

(A)
Super passage
(B)
Aqueduct
(C)
Siphon aqueduct
(D)
Level crossing

Answer (official key): A

Solution

The figure shows the drainage/natural stream carried above the canal, while the canal continues below it with its full-supply level below the drainage trough.

A cross-drainage structure in which the drainage passes over the canal is a super passage.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option A.

Q25 · Linear Algebra · MSQ · 1 mark

For the matrix

A= \begin{bmatrix} 1&-1&0\\ -1&2&-1\\ 0&-1&1 \end{bmatrix},

which of the following statements is/are TRUE?

(A)
$A x=b$ has a unique solution
(B)
$A x=b$ does not have a unique solution
(C)
$A$ has three linearly independent eigenvectors
(D)
$A$ is a positive definite matrix

Answer (official key): B, C

Solution

The row sums of $A$ are zero, so

A \begin{bmatrix} 1\\1\\1 \end{bmatrix} = \mathbf{0}.

Hence $A$ is singular and $Ax=b$ does not have a unique solution for arbitrary $b$ . Thus (B) is true and (A) is false.

The matrix is real and symmetric, so it possesses an orthogonal basis of three linearly independent eigenvectors. Thus (C) is true.

Because zero is an eigenvalue, $A$ is positive semidefinite, not positive definite. Thus (D) is false.

Therefore, the correct answers are Options B and C.

Q31 · Partial Differential Equations · Numerical · 1 mark

The steady-state temperature distribution in a square plate ABCD is governed by the 2-dimensional Laplace equation. The side AB is kept at a temperature of 100 °C and the other three sides are kept at a temperature of 0 °C. Ignoring the effect of discontinuities in the boundary conditions at the corners, the steady-state temperature at the center of the plate is obtained as $T_0$ °C.

Due to symmetry, the steady-state temperature at the center will be the same ( $T_0$ °C) when any one side of the square is kept at 100 °C and the remaining three sides are kept at 0 °C.

Using the principle of superposition, the value of $T_0$ is ______ (rounded off to two decimal places).

Answer (official key): 24.9 to 25.1

Solution

Construct four Laplace-equation solutions, one for each choice of the side held at 100 °C. By symmetry, each solution has centre temperature $T_0$ .

Superposing the four solutions makes all four sides equal to 100 °C. The unique steady solution is then a uniform temperature of 100 °C throughout the plate, including at the centre.

Therefore,

4T_0=100,

T_0=25.00^\circ\text{C}.

Therefore, the answer is 25.00 (official accepted range 24.90 to 25.10).

The other 60 questions are solved in your report when you take GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) as a 3-hour test.

Take GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) as a test

Official answer key

GATE 2023 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 2023 CE (Set 2) answer key (PDF)

Q	Topic	Type	Marks	Answer
1	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
2	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
3	Analytical Aptitude	MCQ	1	D
4	Analytical Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
5	Spatial Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
6	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	2	D
7	Analytical Aptitude	MCQ	2	A
8	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	2	D
9	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	2	C
10	Spatial Aptitude	MCQ	2	C
11	Calculus	MCQ	1	A
12	Probability and Statistics	MCQ	1	B
13	Probability and Statistics	MCQ	1	B
14	Structural Engineering	MCQ	1	B
15	Structural Engineering	MCQ	1	C
16	Structural Engineering	MCQ	1	A
17	Structural Engineering	MCQ	1	A
18	Geotechnical Engineering	MCQ	1	B
19	Geotechnical Engineering	MCQ	1	A
20	Water Resources Engineering	MCQ	1	A
21	Water Resources Engineering	MCQ	1	A
22	Environmental Engineering	MCQ	1	B
23	Transportation Engineering	MCQ	1	A
24	Geomatics Engineering	MCQ	1	A
25	Linear Algebra	MSQ	1	B, C
26	Structural Engineering	MSQ	1	A, B, D
27	Structural Engineering	MSQ	1	A, B, D
28	Geotechnical Engineering	MSQ	1	B
29	Environmental Engineering	MSQ	1	D
30	Transportation Engineering	MSQ	1	A, C
31	Partial Differential Equations	Numerical	1	24.9 to 25.1
32	Geotechnical Engineering	Numerical	1	38
33	Water Resources Engineering	Numerical	1	140 to 141
34	Environmental Engineering	Numerical	1	0.84 to 0.85
35	Geomatics Engineering	Numerical	1	20000
36	Ordinary Differential Equations	MCQ	2	A
37	Linear Algebra	MCQ	2	A
38	Linear Algebra	MCQ	2	B
39	Structural Engineering	MCQ	2	C
40	Structural Engineering	MCQ	2	B
41	Geotechnical Engineering	MCQ	2	A
42	Geotechnical Engineering	MCQ	2	C
43	Water Resources Engineering	MCQ	2	A
44	Water Resources Engineering	MCQ	2	A
45	Environmental Engineering	MCQ	2	D
46	Geomatics Engineering	MCQ	2	B
47	Water Resources Engineering	MSQ	2	C, D
48	Environmental Engineering	MSQ	2	A, C, D
49	Environmental Engineering	MSQ	2	B, C
50	Transportation Engineering	MSQ	2	B, C, D
51	Transportation Engineering	MSQ	2	B, D
52	Partial Differential Equations	Numerical	2	0.394 to 0.396
53	Structural Engineering	Numerical	2	195 to 200
54	Structural Engineering	Numerical	2	6
55	Structural Engineering	Numerical	2	295 to 305
56	Structural Engineering	Numerical	2	5
57	Structural Engineering	Numerical	2	17.5 to 18.5
58	Geotechnical Engineering	Numerical	2	3 to 3.5
59	Geotechnical Engineering	Numerical	2	145 to 149
60	Geotechnical Engineering	Numerical	2	4.5 to 4.6
61	Geotechnical Engineering	Numerical	2	500
62	Water Resources Engineering	Numerical	2	912.28 to 912.82
63	Water Resources Engineering	Numerical	2	8.4 to 8.6
64	Environmental Engineering	Numerical	2	1.8 to 2
65	Environmental Engineering	Numerical	2	10.58 to 10.78

Questions about GATE 2023 CE (Set 2)

How many questions are in the GATE 2023 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 35 MCQs, 11 MSQs, 19 numerical answer (NAT) questions. The paper lasted 3 hours.

Is there negative marking in GATE 2023 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 2023 CE (Set 2)?

Outside General Aptitude, the biggest topics were Structural Engineering (20 marks), Geotechnical Engineering (16 marks), Water Resources Engineering (13 marks). The full topic-wise split is in the table on this page.

Were any GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) questions awarded marks to all?

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

Where does this GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) 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.

GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) question paper PDF and answer key

GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) topic-wise marks

5 solved questions from GATE 2023 CE (Set 2)

GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) answer key

Questions about GATE 2023 CE (Set 2)

How many questions are in the GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) paper?

Is there negative marking in GATE 2023 CE (Set 2)?

Which topics carried the most marks in GATE 2023 CE (Set 2)?

Were any GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) questions awarded marks to all?

Where does this GATE 2023 CE (Set 2) answer key come from?

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