GATE TF study guide
GATE TF · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
GATE 2026 is a national-level examination that assesses candidates for a comprehensive understanding of undergraduate-level subjects in Engineering, Technology, Science, Commerce, Arts, Architecture and Humanities. It is conducted by IIT Guwahati in collaboration with IISc Bengaluru and all other 22 IITs, on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. IIT Guwahati is the Organizing Institute. This page covers the Engineering Sciences (XE) sectional paper, which for GATE 2026 includes a newly introduced sectional paper on Energy Science (XE-I). Topics on this exam: Engineering Sciences (XE) - sectional paper and Energy Science (XE-I) - new sectional paper within XE. The GATE TF study guide has 2 sections and about 719 words.
01Engineering Sciences (XE) - sectional paper
The Engineering Sciences (XE) sectional paper begins with a compulsory Engineering Mathematics section (Section A) that supplies the common analytical toolkit for every specialised section. Questions test whether you can set up and execute a calculation cleanly: rank and consistency of linear systems, eigenvalues and quadratic forms, partial differentiation and multiple integrals, first- and second-order ordinary differential equations, analytic functions and residues, probability distributions, and numerical iteration. A linear system Ax=b is consistent iff rank(A)=rank([A b]); if the common rank equals the number of unknowns the solution is unique. For a symmetric matrix, positive definiteness follows from positive leading principal minors; eigenvalues of a real symmetric matrix are real.
351 words, about 2 min02Energy Science (XE-I) - new sectional paper within XE
Energy Science (XE-I) is a specialised sectional paper inside XE. It examines the physical limits and practical metrics of energy conversion: thermodynamic availability, solar and wind resources, biomass and hydro, nuclear fission, storage, and the economics of delivered energy. Numerical questions dominate, so unit discipline and correct limiting efficiencies matter. Carnot efficiency for a heat engine is η=1−T c/T h with absolute temperatures; no real cycle between the same reservoirs can exceed it.
368 words, about 2 min