GATE Civil Engineering Subject-wise Weightage – Important Topics and Their Weightage for GATE CE exam
The Graduate Aptitude Test of Engineering (GATE) is a highly competitive exam conducted by 7 IITs and IISc to evaluate the technical reasoning of engineering graduates. So, if an engineering graduate is willing to appear in GATE for Civil Engineering, they are first supposed to analyse the complete syllabus. They need to be aware of the GATE CE subject wise weightage of all the important topics. This can be learnt by studying the frequency of the different types of questions being asked from various topics in the past GATE CE papers.
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GATE CE subject wise weightage
A list of the GATE CE subject wise weightage for all subjects is given below:
| Subject | Weightage | Category |
| General Aptitude | 15 | |
| Engineering Mathematics | 12 | |
| Geotechnical Engineering | 13 | Group 1 (Mandatory) |
| Environmental Engineering | 11 | |
| Transportation Engineering | 9 | |
| Fluid Mechanics | 8 | |
| Strength of Materials | 3 | |
| Structural Analysis | 6 | Group 2 |
| Geomatics Engineering | 6 | |
| R.C.C. | 6 | |
| Irrigation and Hydrology | 5 | |
| Steel Structures | 3 | Group 3 |
| C.M.M. | 2 | |
| Engineering Mechanics | 1 |
To read more about the paper, its syllabus, and various topics, you can visit the official GATE 2025 website here – gate2024.iisc.ac.in
GATE Civil Engineering preparation tips
After critically analysing the syllabus, the next step is to decide the sequence of reading the subjects. All the technical subjects for Civil Engineering can be classified into three groups, namely Group-1 (Mandatory), Group-2 and Group-3.
Group 1 subjects are the primary subjects which build the foundation for subjects in Group 2 and Group 3. Hence, starting with these subjects is mandatory to understand all the concepts deeply. For example, the basics of the Strength of materials are required for efficiently reading Structural analysis, Reinforced Cement Concrete and Steel Structures. Likewise, the basics of Fluid Mechanics are needed for reading Hydrology, Irrigation and Open Channel Flow.
For General Aptitude, you can take any of the two methods: either study it along with the Group 1 subjects or keep 5 days reserved every month for finishing some chapters.
After finalising the sequence, an aspirant should have adequate and precise study material containing detailed explanations of the concepts and practice questions. IMS GATE Academy has one of the best study materials containing proper explanations of concepts, relevant theories, and strategic practice questions that cover all types of questions. Along with textbooks, exercise books, and other courseware, you also get access to a cache of videos, masterclasses, and seminars. The exercise books have clearly demarcated sections for each subject, with questions well-placed within the different chapters. Questions for every chapter are categorised as Levels 1, 2, and 3 based on their difficulty level, allowing you to build your skills up slowly.
GATE CE subject wise weightage – Important topics for each chapter
Based on the frequency of questions asked in the GATE, some critical areas require more focus and revision. For your reference, here is the list of all such essential topics subject-wise for different chapters for all the subjects of Civil Engineering.
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Important Topics for Engineering Mechanics
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Equilibrium of Particles and Rigid Bodies | Newton’s Law
Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Weight Law of transmissibility of forces for rigid bodies Law of parallelogram of forces |
| Equilibrium of Particles and Rigid Body | Lami’s theorem
resultant of several concurrent forces Varignon’s theorem |
| Friction | Laws of friction
Rolling resistance |
| CG, Centroid, MOI | relationship between CG, CM, Centroid
MOI of composite bodies |
| Dynamics of Translational Motion | Motion of a Projectile
Equation of Motion Impulse and Momentum Work and Kinetic Energy |
| Dynamics of Rotational and General Plane Motion | Relative Acceleration
Motion Relative to Rotating Axes Fixed-Axis Rotation Impulse-Momentum Equations Work-Energy Relations Lagrange’s equation |
| Vibrations | D.O.F of Vibrating System
Methods for Finding Natural Frequency of the System Inertia Effect of Mass of the Spring Combination of Springs Torsional Vibrations (Natural Frequency) |
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Important Topics for Strength of Materials
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Simple Stress and Strain | Hook’s Law
Elastic Constants and Their Relationship Deformation of Bars Deformation of a Rod Under its Own Weight Deformation in Compound Bars due to Loads Thermal Stresses and Strain |
| SFD and BMD | Relation Between q, V and M
Variation of SFD and BMD for different loadings Point of Inflection and Contra-flexure SFD and BMD for combined loading |
| Stresses in Beams | Theory of Pure Bending
Beam of Uniform Strength Shear Stress Distribution Formula |
| Slope and Deflection | Relation Between Curvature, Slope and Deflection
Methods to Evaluate Slope and Deflection |
| Torsion | Torsion Equation
Torsion of Hollow Shafts Shafts in Series, Parallel (Determinate, Indeterminate) |
| Principal stress and Strains | Stress on an Oblique Plane in 2D
Mohr’s Circle for Plane Stress Combined Bending Moment and Torsion Strain Gauge and Rosettes |
| Thin pressure vessels | Thin Cylindrical and spherical Pressure Vessel |
| Euler’s Theory of Columns | Euler’s Theory of Buckling Failure in Columns and their Assumptions |
| Strain Energy and Resilience | Modulus of Resilience
Toughness & Modulus of Toughness Castigilano’s Theorem |
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Important Topics for Structural Analysis
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Introduction of Structures and Indeterminacy | Static Indeterminacy of beams, trusses and frames
Kinematic Indeterminacy of bream, trusses and frames |
| Statically Determinate Trusses | Concept of Zero member Force in Trusses
Method of Sections Deflection of truss joint |
| Slope and Deflections of Structures (Force Method) | Method of Superposition/Method of Consistent Deformation
Strain Energy Method (castigliano’s Theorem) Maxwell’s Reciprocal Theorem & Betti’s Theorem |
| Arches and Cables | Three Hinged Arch |
| Slope-deflection and Moment Distribution Method | Moment Distribution Method
Slope deflection method |
| Influence line Diagram and Moving Loads | Muller Breslau Principle
ILD for Statically Indeterminate Structure ILD for a Truss Member |
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Important Topics for Reinforced Cement Concrete
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Introduction to RCC Materials and Limit State Method | Compressive and Tensile Strength of Concrete
Characteristic and Design Strength of Concrete Characteristic and Design Strength of Reinforcement |
| Design of RCC Beams | Analysis and Design of Singly and Doubly Reinforced Sections
Analysis and Design of Flanged Beams Analysis and Design of Shear Reinforcement IS 456:2000 Recommendations for Development Length |
| Analysis and Design of RCC Slabs & Staircase | IS 456:2000 Recommendations
Effective Span for Different Types of Slabs Depth Criteria Minimum Reinforcement Analysis And Design of Slabs |
| Design of RCC Column and Footing | Analysis and Design of Columns
Analysis and Design of Footings For Two-way Shear (Punching Shear) Design of Dowel Bars |
| Pre-stressed Concrete | Analysis of Pre-stressed Sections
Losses in Pre-stress |
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Important Topics for Steel Structures
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Connections | Bolted, welded, and eccentric connections |
| Tension members | design of tension members |
| Compression members | Design of an axially loaded compression member
lacing and batten columns column bases |
| Beams and Plate girders | Laterally Supported Beams (IS 800:2007)
design of beams design of plate girders and different types of stiffeners provided in plate girders |
| Plastic analysis and collapse load | Shape Factor & Load Factor
Method of Analysis- Static (Lower Bound) & Kinematic (Upper Bound) Plastic hinge length |
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Important Topics for Construction Materials and Management
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Engineering Materials | Steel
Concrete |
| PERT and CPM | Network Analysis
Total float free float and independent float critical path |
| Miscellaneous Topics | Rate Analysis & Standard Specifications
cost estimation |
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Important Topics for Geotechnical Engineering
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Introduction To Soil Mechanics | Sources of Transportation of Soil
Soil Structure Clay Mineralogy Three Phase System |
| Index Properties of Soils & Soil Classification | Index Properties
Consistency Limits, sensitivity, thixotropy, Activity Relative Density/ Density Index Relative Compaction Particle size Classification |
| Effective stress, Permeability & Seepage Analysis | Capillarity effect in soil
Permeability of Stratified Deposits Critical Hydraulic Gradient Safety against Piping Flow Nets Seepage loss Exit Gradient |
| Stress Distribution in soil | Bousinesq’s Theory |
| Compaction | Factors affecting Compaction
Effect of Compaction on Soil Properties |
| Compressibility & Consolidation | Characteristics of primary consolidation
Terzaghi’s Theory of One-Dimensional Consolidation Basic Differential Equation of One-Dimensional Consolidation |
| Shear Strength of soil | Mohr’s theory
Mohr – Coulomb’s law Failure envelope for different types of soil Triaxial compression test Unconfined compression test Skempton’s Pore pressure parameters |
| Lateral Earth Pressure | Rankine’s Earth pressure Theory
Tension crack Critical height/depth |
| Stability of Slopes | FOS for dry/moist/submerged soil
FOS when seepage is there parallel to ground surface Infinite slopes in C-Φ soils |
| Shallow foundation | Criteria for Design of Foundations
Terzaghi’s Bearing Capacity Equations Mayerhoff’s Theory Plate load test |
| Pile Foundation | Load Carrying Capacity of Pile
Group Action of Piles Efficiency of pile group Negative Skin Friction Settlement in pile |
| Subsurface Exploration | Design features affecting sample disturbance
Standard Penetration test |
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Important Topics for Transportation Engineering
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Highway Development & Planning | 20-Year Road Plan
Maximum utility system Highway Alignment & Surveys |
| Highway Geometric Design | Factors controlling Geometric design
Highway Cross Sectional Elements Pavement Surface Characteristics Superelevation Widening of Pavement on Horizontal Curves Transition Curves Curve Resistance Design of Vertical Alignment |
| Traffic Engineering | Traffic Volume Study
Speed & Delay Study Origin & Destination Studies Traffic Flow Characteristics & Studies Relationship between Speed, Flow & Density Traffic Capacity Websters Method |
| Highway Materials | Subgrade Soil
Evaluation of Soil Strength Tests for Road Aggregates Bituminous Materials Marshall Method of Bituminous Mix Design |
| Design of Highway Pavements | Design Factors
Design wheel Load Design of Flexible Pavement Design of Rigid Pavements |
| Railway and Airport Engineering | Geometric Design of Railway Tracks
Grade Compensation on Curves Runway Orientation Basic Runway Length Corrections to Basic Runway Length Correction for Elevation Correction for Gradient Correction for Temperature |
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Important Topics for Environmental Engineering
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Water Demand | Variation in demand
Goodrich’s Equation Population forecasting methods |
| Sources of water | Relation between specific yield and specific retention
Yield of Open Well Recuperation Test Yield of Tube wells |
| Quality Characteristics of Water | Suspended solids
pH of Water Hardness of water Alkalinity of Water MPN test |
| Water Treatment or Water Purification | Plain Sedimentation
Filtration Disinfection by Chlorination Chick’s Law Breakpoint Chlorination |
| Sanitary Engineering | Design of sewers
Hydraulic Properties of Flow |
| Characteristics of Sewage | COD
BOD Theoretical Oxygen demand Total Organic Carbon |
| Disposal of Sewage Effluents | Disposal By Dilution in river water
Zones of pollution in River Oxygen Deficit Curve Streeter – Phelps equation Disposal by Dilution in Lakes |
| Sewage Treatment | Grit Chamber
Trickling Filters Activated Sludge Process Sludge Digestion Gas Production in anaerobic digestion Sludge and its Moisture content |
| Solid Waste Management | Proximate analysis
Energy content Collection of MSW Transport of MSW Methods of Disposal of Refuse Composting |
| Air Pollution | Dispersion of Air Pollutants in the Atmosphere
Methods of Controlling Air Pollution Unit conversion from ppm to μg/m3 |
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Important Topics for Fluid Mechanics
| Chapter | Important Topics |
| Introduction and Properties of fluid | Properties of Fluids
Viscosity surface tension and capillary effect Newtonian Fluid |
| Pressure and Fluid Statics | Absolute, gauge, and Atmospheric Pressure
Pascal’s Law Hydrostatic Law pressure measuring devices Hydrostatic pressure on submerged plane surfaces and curved surfaces buoyancy and stability |
| Fluid Kinematics | Lagrangian and Eulerian Description
Stream lines Equation of streamlines Streamtubes Deformation of fluid Elements Acceleration Stream Function Potential Function Circulation and Vorticity |
| Fluid Dynamics | Euler’s Equation
The Bernoulli Equation Pitot Tube Venturimeter Orifice meter Force Exerted by a flowing fluid on a bend pipe Angular Momentum Equation Vortex Motion, Free Liquid Jet |
| Dimensional Analysis and Modeling | The Buckingham Pi Theorem
Model Analysis Types of similarities Dimensionless number Models Law or Similarity Law |
| Viscous Flow of Incompressible Fluids (Laminar flow) | Darcy-Weisbach Equation
Fully Developed Flow in a Round-pipe Poiseuille Flow Velocity distribution Discharge Average Velocity Kinetic Energy Correction Factor Momentum Correction Factor Pressure Drop Shear Velocity Planar Poiseuille Flow Coutte Flow |
| Flow Losses and Pipe Networks | Major and minor head Losses
Hydraulic Gradient and Total Energy Line Flow through pipes in series, parallel and branched pipes Equivalent Pipe |
| Impact of Jets | Force Exerted by the jet on inclined plate
Force Exerted by the jet on curved plate Force Exerted by the jet on hinged plate |
| Turbulent Flow | Property values in a Turbulent flow
Shear stress in a Turbulent flow Reynolds Theory Prandtl Mixing length Theory Friction factor in Turbulent flow |
| Boundary Layer | Boundary layer thickness
Displacement Thickness Momentum Thickness Energy Thickness Exact solution of the laminar boundary layer over flat plate Von-Karman Integral Momentum Equation Boundary layer flow separation |
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Important Topics for Open Channel Flow
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Open channel flow | Sub-critical, Critical, and super-critical flow
Hydraulically Efficient Channel Specific energy and Specific energy curve Relation between specific energy and depth of critical flow critical flow analysis Dynamic or Differential equation of G.V.F. Hydraulic jump surge |
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Important Topics for Hydrology and Irrigation
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Introduction & Precipitation | Calculation of missing rainfall
Mean Precipitation Calculations Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves |
| Evaporation & Transpiration | Water Budget Method
Energy Balance Method Measurement of Evapotranspiration Penman Equation Blaney-Criddle Equation |
| Infiltration & Runoff | Hortons equation
Infiltration Indices Runoff Coefficient |
| Hydrograph | Unit Hydrograph
S-Curve method |
| Miscellaneous Topics | Methods to Estimate Flood Peaks
Flood Routing Measurement of Discharge by Area-Velocity Method Measurement of Velocity Stage Discharge Curve |
| Water Requirement of Crops | Duty
Delta Outlet factor Relation between Base period, Duty & Delta Irrigation efficiencies Irrigation Requirement of Crops |
| Gravity Dams | Gravity Dams
Modes of failure of Gravity dams Stability or Sliding criterion Stability analysis of Gravity Dams |
| Diversion Head Works | Bligh’s Creep theory
Lane’s Weighted Creep theory Khosla’s theory Design of Canals by Silt Theories Lacey’s theory |
| Miscellaneous Topics | Surface irrigation methods
Sub-Surface irrigation method Sprinkler’s irrigation method Spillways Canal Outlets Canal regulatory works |
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Important Topics for Geomatics
| Chapters | Important Topics |
| Fundamental Concepts of Surveying | Principles of Surveying
Scale of a Map |
| Linear Measurements | Errors in chain and tape
Ranging |
| Compass Surveying | Included Angles
Magnetic Declination Local Attractions |
| Traversing | Angular Measurements
Latitudes and Departures Errors of Closure |
| Levelling | Sensitivity of a Level Tube
Effect of Curvature of Earth and Refraction Reciprocal Levelling Collimation Error |
| Miscellaneous | Tachometry
Trigonometric Levelling Plane Table Surveying Photogrammetry Geographical Information System(GIS) Global Positioning System(GPS) |
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