GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) question paper PDF and answer key

The official GATE 2024 Computer Science & Information Technology (Set 2) paper, organised by IISc Bengaluru: 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 IISc Bengaluru for GATE 2024 (official GATE site). Spotted a mistake? Email team@lemyte.com.

General Aptitude: 10 · 15 marks
Computer Science & Information Technology: 55 · 85 marks
MCQ / MSQ / NAT: 32 / 18 / 15
Marks to all: None

Not in 2027 1 question (Q 56) is on topics removed from the GATE 2027 syllabus. They are marked in the answer key below. What changed for CS

Where the marks were

GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) topic-wise marks

Computer Science & Information Technology questions only; General Aptitude adds 15 marks on top. The top three topics carried 29 of the 85 subject marks.

Topic	Questions	Marks
Discrete Mathematics	7	10
Computer Organization and Architecture	6	10
Computer Networks	6	9
Programming and Data Structures	5	8
Databases	6	8
Compiler Design	5	8
Operating System	5	8
Theory of Computation	4	7
Digital Logic	4	6
Algorithms	3	5
Probability and Statistics	2	3
Linear Algebra	1	2
Calculus	1	1

Free solved questions

5 solved questions from GATE 2024 CS (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.

Q4 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

In the sequence

6,\ 9,\ 14,\ x,\ 30,\ 41,

a possible value of $x$ is

(A)
25
(B)
21
(C)
18
(D)
20

Answer (official key): B

Solution

Look at successive differences:

9-6=3,\quad 14-9=5.

Continuing with consecutive odd numbers:

+3,\ +5,\ +7,\ +9,\ +11

x = 14 + 7 = 21.

Check:

21 + 9 = 30,\qquad 30 + 11 = 41.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option B.

Q5 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 1 mark

For positive non-zero real variables $x$ and $y$ , if

\ln\left(\frac{x+y}{2}\right)=\frac{1}{2}[\ln(x)+\ln(y)],

then, the value of

\frac{x}{y}+\frac{y}{x}

(A)
1
(B)
$\frac{1}{2}$
(C)
2
(D)
4

Answer (official key): C

Solution

Using log rules,

\ln\left(\frac{x+y}{2}\right)=\frac{1}{2}[\ln x+\ln y] = \ln(\sqrt{xy}).

Hence,

\frac{x+y}{2} = \sqrt{xy}.

Squaring both sides gives

(x+y)^2 = 4xy \Rightarrow x^2 - 2xy + y^2 = 0 \Rightarrow (x-y)^2 = 0.

x=y.

Therefore,

\frac{x}{y}+\frac{y}{x}=1+1=2.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option C.

Q52 · Operating System · Numerical · 2 marks

Consider a 32-bit system with 4 KB page size and page table entries of size 4 bytes each. Assume $1\text{ KB} = 2^{10}$ bytes. The OS uses a 2-level page table for memory management, with the page table containing an outer page directory and an inner page table. The OS allocates a page for the outer page directory upon process creation. The OS uses demand paging when allocating memory for the inner page table, i.e., a page of the inner page table is allocated only if it contains at least one valid page table entry.

An active process in this system accesses 2000 unique pages during its execution, and none of the pages are swapped out to disk. After it completes the page accesses, let $X$ denote the minimum and $Y$ denote the maximum number of pages across the two levels of the page table of the process.

The value of $X+Y$ is ________

Answer (official key): 1028

Solution

Page size is $4$ KB, and each page table entry is $4$ bytes, so one page-table page can store

\frac{4096}{4} = 1024 = 2^{10}

entries.

Since virtual address size is 32 bits and page offset is 12 bits, VPN bits are

32-12=20.

Hence the 2-level split is:

outer index: 10 bits
inner index: 10 bits

So:

outer page directory always occupies 1 page
each inner page table also occupies 1 page
one inner page table can map 1024 pages

For minimum total pages across both levels:

cluster the 2000 accessed pages into as few inner tables as possible
need $\left\lceil \frac{2000}{1024} \right\rceil = 2$ inner tables

X = 1 + 2 = 3.

For maximum total pages across both levels:

spread the 2000 pages across as many different inner tables as possible
there are only 1024 outer-directory entries, so at most 1024 inner tables can exist

Y = 1 + 1024 = 1025.

Hence,

X+Y = 3 + 1025 = 1028.

Therefore, the correct answer is 1028.

Q54 · Algorithms · Numerical · 2 marks

The number of distinct minimum-weight spanning trees of the following graph is _________

Graph for Q59

Answer (official key): 9

Solution

This is a figure-dependent minimum-spanning-tree counting question. The official accepted answer is 9.

A full worked counting argument can be added later if you want the final polished explanation.

Q58 · Discrete Mathematics · MSQ · 2 marks

Let $G$ be an undirected connected graph in which every edge has a positive integer weight. Suppose that every spanning tree in $G$ has even weight.

Which of the following statements is/are TRUE for every such graph $G$ ?

(A)
All edges in $G$ have even weight
(B)
All edges in $G$ have even weight OR all edges in $G$ have odd weight
(C)
In each cycle $C$ in $G$ , all edges in $C$ have even weight
(D)
In each cycle $C$ in $G$ , either all edges in $C$ have even weight OR all edges in $C$ have odd weight

Answer (official key): D

Solution

Take any spanning tree $T$ of $G$ . For any non-tree edge $e$ , adding $e$ to $T$ creates a unique cycle. If we remove any tree edge $f$ on that cycle, we get another spanning tree.

Since every spanning tree has even total weight,

w(T) \equiv 0 \pmod 2 \quad\text{and}\quad w(T) - w(f) + w(e) \equiv 0 \pmod 2.

Hence,

w(e) \equiv w(f) \pmod 2.

So, within any cycle, all edges must have the same parity. They may all be even or all be odd. Therefore (D) is true.

The other statements are not forced in general.

Therefore, the correct answer is D.

The other 60 questions are solved in your report when you take GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) as a 3-hour test.

Take GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) as a test

Official answer key

GATE 2024 CS (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 2024 CS (Set 2) answer key (PDF)

Q	Topic	Type	Marks	Answer
1	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	1	C
2	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
3	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
4	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	1	B
5	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	1	C
6	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	2	C
7	Analytical Aptitude	MCQ	2	A
8	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	2	C
9	Spatial Aptitude	MCQ	2	A
10	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	2	D
11	Programming and Data Structures	MCQ	1	A
12	Discrete Mathematics	MCQ	1	B
13	Databases	MCQ	1	A
14	Discrete Mathematics	MCQ	1	A
15	Digital Logic	MCQ	1	B
16	Discrete Mathematics	MCQ	1	A
17	Probability and Statistics	MCQ	1	B
18	Computer Organization and Architecture	MCQ	1	C
19	Calculus	MCQ	1	B
20	Databases	MCQ	1	A
21	Databases	MSQ	1	A, B
22	Databases	MSQ	1	A, C, D
23	Compiler Design	MSQ	1	B, D
24	Operating System	MSQ	1	B, C, D
25	Computer Networks	MSQ	1	B, C
26	Compiler Design	MCQ	1	B
27	Digital Logic	MSQ	1	B, C
28	Operating System	MSQ	1	A, B
29	Computer Networks	MSQ	1	B
30	Theory of Computation	MCQ	1	A
31	Computer Networks	MSQ	1	C, D
32	Computer Organization and Architecture	MSQ	1	A
33	Discrete Mathematics	Numerical	1	5
34	Algorithms	Numerical	1	3
35	Programming and Data Structures	MSQ	1	A, B, D
36	Programming and Data Structures	MCQ	2	A
37	Computer Networks	MCQ	2	A
38	Operating System	MCQ	2	B
39	Programming and Data Structures	MCQ	2	B
40	Compiler Design	MCQ	2	A
41	Linear Algebra	MSQ	2	A, B
42	Digital Logic	MSQ	2	A, B, D
43	Probability and Statistics	MCQ	2	D
44	Digital Logic	MSQ	2	C, D
45	Programming and Data Structures	MSQ	2	B, C, D
46	Theory of Computation	MCQ	2	B
47	Compiler Design	MCQ	2	A
48	Algorithms	MCQ	2	B
49	Databases	MCQ	2	B
50	Operating System	MSQ	2	B, C
51	Computer Organization and Architecture	Numerical	2	2.9 to 3.1
52	Operating System	Numerical	2	1028
53	Computer Networks	Numerical	2	500
54	Algorithms	Numerical	2	9
55	Theory of Computation	Numerical	2	15
56	Computer Organization and ArchitectureNot in GATE 2027 syllabus: Secondary storage (magnetic disk)	Numerical	2	29.5 to 30.5
57	Discrete Mathematics	Numerical	2	4
58	Discrete Mathematics	MSQ	2	D
59	Computer Organization and Architecture	Numerical	2	32
60	Theory of Computation	MSQ	2	B, C
61	Databases	Numerical	2	50
62	Discrete Mathematics	Numerical	2	2
63	Compiler Design	Numerical	2	9
64	Computer Organization and Architecture	Numerical	2	34
65	Computer Networks	Numerical	2	4

Questions about GATE 2024 CS (Set 2)

How many questions are in the GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) paper?

65 questions for 100 marks: 10 General Aptitude questions worth 15 marks and 55 Computer Science & Information Technology questions worth 85 marks. By type, there were 32 MCQs, 18 MSQs, 15 numerical answer (NAT) questions. The paper lasted 3 hours.

Is there negative marking in GATE 2024 CS (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 2024 CS (Set 2)?

Outside General Aptitude, the biggest topics were Discrete Mathematics (10 marks), Computer Organization and Architecture (10 marks), Computer Networks (9 marks). The full topic-wise split is in the table on this page.

Were any GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) questions awarded marks to all?

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

Where does this GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) answer key come from?

From the official answer key published by IISc Bengaluru, which organised GATE 2024. Range answers for numerical questions and questions with more than one accepted answer are kept exactly as the key gives them.

GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) question paper PDF and answer key

GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) topic-wise marks

5 solved questions from GATE 2024 CS (Set 2)

GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) answer key

Questions about GATE 2024 CS (Set 2)

How many questions are in the GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) paper?

Is there negative marking in GATE 2024 CS (Set 2)?

Which topics carried the most marks in GATE 2024 CS (Set 2)?

Were any GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) questions awarded marks to all?

Where does this GATE 2024 CS (Set 2) answer key come from?

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