GATE 2026 AE question paper PDF and answer key

Q: How many questions are in the GATE 2026 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 29 MCQs, 14 MSQs, 22 numerical answer (NAT) questions. The paper lasted 3 hours.

Q: Is there negative marking in GATE 2026 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.

Q: Which topics carried the most marks in GATE 2026 AE?

Outside General Aptitude, the biggest topics were Propulsion (25 marks), Aerodynamics (25 marks), Structures (14 marks). The full topic-wise split is in the table on this page.

Q: Were any GATE 2026 AE questions awarded marks to all?

Yes. The official key awarded full marks to everyone for questions 35, 46.

Q: Where does this GATE 2026 AE answer key come from?

From the official answer key published by IIT Guwahati, which organised GATE 2026. Range answers for numerical questions and questions with more than one accepted answer are kept exactly as the key gives them.

The official GATE 2026 Aerospace Engineering paper, organised by IIT Guwahati: 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 Guwahati for GATE 2026 (official GATE site). Spotted a mistake? Email team@lemyte.com.

General Aptitude: 10 · 15 marks
Aerospace Engineering: 55 · 85 marks
MCQ / MSQ / NAT: 29 / 14 / 22
Marks to all: Q 35, 46

Not in 2027 1 question (Q 28) 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 2026 AE topic-wise marks

Aerospace Engineering questions only; General Aptitude adds 15 marks on top. The top three topics carried 64 of the 85 subject marks.

Topic	Questions	Marks
Propulsion	15	25
Aerodynamics	17	25
Structures	9	14
Differential Equations	3	5
Calculus	3	4
Linear Algebra	3	4
Flight Mechanics	3	4
Space Dynamics	2	4

Free solved questions

5 solved questions from GATE 2026 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.

Q8 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 2 marks

Consider the cube shown below with its 8 corners labelled a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. The figure is representative. All corners are to be colored such that any two corners that are connected by an edge must be of different colors. The minimum number of colors required to achieve this is ________

Figure for GATE 2026 AE question 8 (Spatial Aptitude)

(A)
8
(B)
4
(C)
3
(D)
2

Answer (official key): D

Solution

The cube's corners split into two sets of four (like a 3-D checkerboard) such that every edge joins the two sets. Colouring one set with one colour and the other set with another works, so 2 colours suffice.

Q9 · General Aptitude · MCQ · 2 marks

Four hills H1, H2, H3, and H4 are present in an area. The following observations are made about them:

i. Neither H2 nor H3 is the easternmost hill. ii. Neither H2 nor H3 is the westernmost hill. iii. Neither the easternmost hill nor the westernmost hill is the southernmost hill. iv. Two hills are located to the west of H2. v. The southernmost hill has at least two hills to its east.

The southernmost hill is ________.

(A)
H1
(B)
H2
(C)
H3
(D)
H4

Answer (official key): C

Solution

From west to east: H2 has two hills to its west, so it is 3rd; H2 and H3 are not at the ends, so H3 is 2nd, and H1/H4 occupy the ends. The southernmost hill is not at an end, so it is H2 or H3; it has at least two hills to its east, so it is the 2nd one: H3.

Q42 · Propulsion · MCQ · 2 marks

The figure below shows a compressor stage with station numbers 1, 2, and 3 as indicated. If $p_{0i}$ , $T_{0i}$ , and $C_i$ refer to the average values of total pressure, total temperature, and absolute flow speed, respectively, at the $i$ th station, select the CORRECT option considering losses.

Figure for GATE 2026 AE question 42 (Propulsion)

(A)
$p_{01} < p_{02},\ p_{02} > p_{03}$ ; $T_{01} < T_{02},\ T_{02} \approx T_{03}$ ; $C_1 < C_2,\ C_2 > C_3$
(B)
$p_{01} < p_{02},\ p_{02} = p_{03}$ ; $T_{01} < T_{02},\ T_{02} \approx T_{03}$ ; $C_1 < C_2,\ C_2 = C_3$
(C)
$p_{01} < p_{02},\ p_{02} > p_{03}$ ; $T_{01} < T_{02},\ T_{02} < T_{03}$ ; $C_1 > C_2,\ C_2 > C_3$
(D)
$p_{01} < p_{02},\ p_{02} < p_{03}$ ; $T_{01} < T_{02},\ T_{02} < T_{03}$ ; $C_1 = C_2 = C_3$

Answer (official key): A

Solution

The rotor (1→2) does work: total pressure, total temperature and absolute speed all rise. The stator (2→3) does no work, so $T_0$ stays constant, it diffuses the flow ( $C_3 < C_2$ ), and friction losses lower the total pressure ( $p_{03} < p_{02}$ ). That is option (A).

Q44 · Propulsion · MSQ · 2 marks

Which of the following process(es) is/are involved in the compression of air in an ideal ramjet engine?

(A)
oblique shock
(B)
mechanical compression
(C)
normal shock
(D)
subsonic diffusion

Answer (official key): A, C, D

Solution

A ramjet compresses air purely by ram effect: supersonic deceleration through oblique shocks, a terminal normal shock, and then subsonic diffusion. There is no compressor (no mechanical compression).

Q49 · Differential Equations · Numerical · 2 marks

Consider the differential equation with the initial conditions given below. If $y(x)$ is the solution of the equation, the value of the slope, $\dfrac{dy}{dx}$ , at $x = \ln(2)$ is ________ (rounded off to three decimal places).

$\frac{d^2y}{dx^2} + 2\frac{dy}{dx} + y = 0 \quad \text{with} \quad y\big|_{x=0} = 0 \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{dy}{dx}\Big|_{x=0} = 1$

Answer (official key): 0.151 to 0.155

Solution

Repeated root $-1$ : $y = (A + Bx)e^{-x}$ . $y(0) = 0 \Rightarrow A = 0$ and $y'(0) = B = 1$ , so $y = xe^{-x}$ and $y' = (1 - x)e^{-x}$ . At $x = \ln 2$ : $y' = \dfrac{1 - 0.6931}{2} = 0.153$ .

The other 60 questions are solved in your report when you take GATE 2026 AE as a 3-hour test.

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Official answer key

GATE 2026 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 2026 AE answer key (PDF)

Q	Topic	Type	Marks	Answer
1	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
2	Spatial Aptitude	MCQ	1	B
3	Analytical Aptitude	MCQ	1	A
4	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	1	B
5	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	1	C
6	Verbal Aptitude	MCQ	2	D
7	Spatial Aptitude	MCQ	2	A
8	Spatial Aptitude	MCQ	2	D
9	Analytical Aptitude	MCQ	2	C
10	Quantitative Aptitude	MCQ	2	C
11	Calculus	MCQ	1	A
12	Calculus	MCQ	1	C
13	Differential Equations	MCQ	1	A
14	Propulsion	MCQ	1	C
15	Aerodynamics	MCQ	1	C
16	Structures	MCQ	1	B
17	Structures	MCQ	1	B
18	Propulsion	MCQ	1	B
19	Aerodynamics	MCQ	1	D
20	Aerodynamics	MCQ	1	C
21	Aerodynamics	MCQ	1	A
22	Linear Algebra	MSQ	1	A, B
23	Flight Mechanics	MSQ	1	B, C, D
24	Propulsion	MSQ	1	A, B
25	Aerodynamics	MSQ	1	A, C
26	Structures	MSQ	1	A, B, C
27	Propulsion	MSQ	1	A, D
28	PropulsionNot in GATE 2027 syllabus: Compressor surge and stall	MSQ	1	A, C, D
29	Aerodynamics	MSQ	1	A, B
30	Aerodynamics	MSQ	1	B, C
31	Flight Mechanics	Numerical	1	60
32	Linear Algebra	Numerical	1	1
33	Structures	Numerical	1	0.44 to 0.45
34	Aerodynamics	Numerical	1	50
35	Aerodynamics	Numerical	1	Marks to all
36	Space Dynamics	MCQ	2	B
37	Linear Algebra	MCQ	2	D
38	Propulsion	MCQ	2	A
39	Propulsion	MCQ	2	A
40	Structures	MCQ	2	D
41	Propulsion	MCQ	2	C
42	Propulsion	MCQ	2	A
43	Aerodynamics	MCQ	2	B
44	Propulsion	MSQ	2	A, C, D
45	Structures	MSQ	2	A, B, C
46	Propulsion	MSQ	2	Marks to all
47	Aerodynamics	MSQ	2	B, D
48	Aerodynamics	MSQ	2	C, D
49	Differential Equations	Numerical	2	0.151 to 0.155
50	Differential Equations	Numerical	2	0.67 to 0.71
51	Calculus	Numerical	2	1.5
52	Propulsion	Numerical	2	-645.5 to -645.44
53	Propulsion	Numerical	2	513270 to 513272
54	Aerodynamics	Numerical	2	0.2
55	Space Dynamics	Numerical	2	0.167 to 0.169
56	Aerodynamics	Numerical	2	0.43 to 0.45
57	Flight Mechanics	Numerical	2	0.86 to 0.89
58	Structures	Numerical	2	197 to 202
59	Structures	Numerical	2	1000
60	Structures	Numerical	2	0.9 to 1.1
61	Propulsion	Numerical	2	39 to 41
62	Propulsion	Numerical	2	0.26 to 0.29
63	Aerodynamics	Numerical	2	-5.5 to -5
64	Aerodynamics	Numerical	2	27.2 to 27.6
65	Aerodynamics	Numerical	2	4.5 to 5

Questions about GATE 2026 AE

How many questions are in the GATE 2026 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 29 MCQs, 14 MSQs, 22 numerical answer (NAT) questions. The paper lasted 3 hours.

Is there negative marking in GATE 2026 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 2026 AE?

Outside General Aptitude, the biggest topics were Propulsion (25 marks), Aerodynamics (25 marks), Structures (14 marks). The full topic-wise split is in the table on this page.

Were any GATE 2026 AE questions awarded marks to all?

Yes. The official key awarded full marks to everyone for questions 35, 46.

Where does this GATE 2026 AE answer key come from?

From the official answer key published by IIT Guwahati, which organised GATE 2026. Range answers for numerical questions and questions with more than one accepted answer are kept exactly as the key gives them.

Other GATE AE papers

GATE AE topic-wise weightage and 2027 syllabus

Other GATE 2026 papers

GATE 2027 dates and syllabus changes

GATE 2026 AE question paper PDF and answer key

GATE 2026 AE topic-wise marks

5 solved questions from GATE 2026 AE

GATE 2026 AE answer key

Questions about GATE 2026 AE

How many questions are in the GATE 2026 AE paper?

Is there negative marking in GATE 2026 AE?

Which topics carried the most marks in GATE 2026 AE?

Were any GATE 2026 AE questions awarded marks to all?

Where does this GATE 2026 AE answer key come from?

More GATE papers