GATE 2026 Engineering Science Analysis Live Updates: Difficulty Level, Student Reaction, and Good Attempts

The GATE Engineering Sciences (XE) exam has been concluded on 7 February 2026 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

According to the experts' analysis of Unacademy and the initial reaction of the candidates who took GATE 2026 Engineering Science (XE), the exam was moderate to tough, requiring strong conceptual clarity and problem-solving skills, with total good attempts between 65 - 75 marks

The technical sections were tough and challenging, but the General Aptitude section was easy and scoring.

General Aptitude: Easy to moderate and scoring, with questions from verbal, numerical, and reasoning areas. Good attempts were around 12–14 marks.
Engineering Mathematics: Moderate in difficulty, covering calculus, linear algebra, and ODEs. Expected good attempts ranged from 10–12 marks.
Technical Sections: Moderate to difficult, focusing on core technical concepts and numericals. Good attempts were estimated at 45–55 marks.

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Candidate Reactions GATE 2026 XE

Many candidates found the Engineering Sciences (XE) paper to be moderate to difficult overall.

The general aptitude section was easier, while the core engineering science sections were moderate. Mathematics within XE was challenging, ranging from moderate to difficult.

Aspect	Student Feedback	Data Insight
Overall Difficulty	Paper felt tougher than expected	Majority rated it moderate to tough
Question Nature	Derivations and multi-step numericals dominated	Increased calculation-heavy questions
Time Management	Numerical problems were time-consuming	Time pressure reported by many candidates
Preparation Impact	Strong fundamentals helped manage difficulty	Well-prepared students found it manageable
Exam Conduct	No technical or procedural issues	CBT mode reported as smooth

Expert Reviews GATE 2026 XE

The experts at Jagaran Josh said, “that most of the sections will be calculation-heavy. 2-mark questions in the technical sections may be lengthier than last year.”

Parameter	Expert Observation	Data Insight
Syllabus Coverage	Questions aligned with official syllabus	No out-of-syllabus questions
Question Trend	More application-based than theoretical	Shift towards concept application
Difficulty Balance	Balanced but calculation-heavy	Depth tested over topic spread
Good Attempts	Competitive score range identified	65–75 marks considered strong
Answer Keys	Memory-based papers available	Official key expected on Feb 27 (IIT Guwahati)

GATE 2026:Engineering Science (XE) Paper Analysis

As per the feedback from the candidates, the Engineering Science (XE) paper was moderate to tough:

As per the experts, Most of the sections were calculation-heavy. 2-mark questions in the technical sections may be lengthier than last year.
If you have paired Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, then you can find it easy.

Subjects	Difficulty Level	Key Topics and High Weightage
General Aptitude	Moderate	Data interpretation, Logical reasoning, spatial aptitude
Engineering Mathematics	Easy to moderate	Eigen values, calculus, differential equations
Fluid Mechanics	Moderate	Navier-Stokes equations, pipe flow, dimensional analysis
Polymer Science and Engineering	Moderate	Chemistry of High Polymers, Polymer Blends and Composites
Solid Mechanics	Moderate tough	Bending moment diagram, Mohr’s circle, Torsion
Thermodynamics	Easy-moderate	Thermodynamic cycles (Otto/Diesel), first and second laws.
Food Technology	Easy-moderate	Food microbiology, processing techniques, and nutrition chemistry

Check: What is the rank of 40 marks in GATE?

Good Attempts & Cutoff For Engineering Science Paper Analysis:

As per the experts’ paper analysis, about 55-60 questions were considered good attempts with very high accuracy to score a 90+ Percentile.

GATE Paper	Good Attempts	Expected Cutoff Marks (General)	Expected Cutoff marks (OBC/EWS)	Expected Cutoff Marks (SC/ST)
Engineering Sciences (XE)	55-60	36	32	24

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GATE Questions

1.
Consider a mixture of two ideal gases, X and Y, with molar masses \(M_X\) = 10 kg/kmol and \(M_Y\) = 20 kg/kmol, respectively, in a container. The total pressure in the container is 100 kPa, the total volume of the container is 10 m³, and the temperature of the contents of the container is 300 K. If the mass of gas-X in the container is 2 kg, then the mass of gas-Y in the container is ............... kg. (Rounded off to one decimal place)
Assume that the universal gas constant is 8314 J kmol⁻¹K⁻¹.

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2.
A cylindrical rod of length \(h\) and diameter \(d\) is placed inside a cubic enclosure of side length \(L\). \(S\) denotes the inner surface of the cube. The view-factor \(F_{S-S}\) is

0
1
\(\frac{(\pi dh + \pi d^2/2)}{6L^2}\)
\(1 - \frac{(\pi dh + \pi d^2/2)}{6L^2}\)

View Solution

3.
Consider a fully adiabatic piston-cylinder arrangement as shown in the figure. The piston is massless and the cross-sectional area of the cylinder is \(A\). The fluid inside the cylinder is air (considered as a perfect gas), with \(\gamma\) being the ratio of the specific heat at constant pressure to the specific heat at constant volume for air. The piston is initially located at a position \(L_1\). The initial pressure of the air inside the cylinder is \(P_1 \gg P_0\), where \(P_0\) is the atmospheric pressure. The stop \(S_1\) is instantaneously removed and the piston moves to the position \(L_2\), where the equilibrium pressure of air inside the cylinder is \(P_2 \gg P_0\). What is the work done by the piston on the atmosphere during this process?

0
\(P_0 A(L_2 - L_1)\)
\(P_1 A L_1 \ln\frac{L_1}{L_2}\)
\(\frac{(P_2 L_2 - P_1 L_1)A}{(1 - \gamma)}\)

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4.
Consider incompressible laminar flow of a constant property Newtonian fluid in an isothermal circular tube. The flow is steady with fully-developed temperature and velocity profiles. The Nusselt number for this flow depends on

neither the Reynolds number nor the Prandtl number
both the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers
the Reynolds number but not the Prandtl number
the Prandtl number but not the Reynolds number

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5.
A heat engine extracts heat (\(Q_H\)) from a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 1000 K and rejects heat (\(Q_L\)) to a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 100 K, while producing work (\(W\)). Which one of the combinations of [\(Q_H\), \(Q_L\) and \(W\)] given is allowed?

\(Q_H = 2000\) J, \(Q_L = 500\) J, \(W = 1000\) J
\(Q_H = 2000\) J, \(Q_L = 750\) J, \(W = 1250\) J
\(Q_H = 6000\) J, \(Q_L = 500\) J, \(W = 5500\) J
\(Q_H = 6000\) J, \(Q_L = 600\) J, \(W = 5500\) J

View Solution

6.
Consider a counter-flow heat exchanger with the inlet temperatures of two fluids (1 and 2) being \(T_{1, in} = 300\) K and \(T_{2, in} = 350\) K. The heat capacity rates of the two fluids are \(C_1 = 1000\) W/K and \(C_2 = 400\) W/K, and the effectiveness of the heat exchanger is 0.5. The actual heat transfer rate is ............... kW. (Answer in integer)

View Solution

GATE 2026 Engineering Science Analysis Live Updates: Difficulty Level, Student Reaction, and Good Attempts

Candidate Reactions GATE 2026 XE

Expert Reviews GATE 2026 XE

GATE 2026:Engineering Science (XE) Paper Analysis

Good Attempts & Cutoff For Engineering Science Paper Analysis:

GATE Questions

2.
A cylindrical rod of length \(h\) and diameter \(d\) is placed inside a cubic enclosure of side length \(L\). \(S\) denotes the inner surface of the cube. The view-factor \(F_{S-S}\) is

4.
Consider incompressible laminar flow of a constant property Newtonian fluid in an isothermal circular tube. The flow is steady with fully-developed temperature and velocity profiles. The Nusselt number for this flow depends on

5.
A heat engine extracts heat (\(Q_H\)) from a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 1000 K and rejects heat (\(Q_L\)) to a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 100 K, while producing work (\(W\)). Which one of the combinations of [\(Q_H\), \(Q_L\) and \(W\)] given is allowed?

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Candidate Reactions GATE 2026 XE

Expert Reviews GATE 2026 XE

GATE 2026:Engineering Science (XE) Paper Analysis

Good Attempts & Cutoff For Engineering Science Paper Analysis:

GATE Questions

2.A cylindrical rod of length \(h\) and diameter \(d\) is placed inside a cubic enclosure of side length \(L\). \(S\) denotes the inner surface of the cube. The view-factor \(F_{S-S}\) is

4.Consider incompressible laminar flow of a constant property Newtonian fluid in an isothermal circular tube. The flow is steady with fully-developed temperature and velocity profiles. The Nusselt number for this flow depends on

5.A heat engine extracts heat (\(Q_H\)) from a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 1000 K and rejects heat (\(Q_L\)) to a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 100 K, while producing work (\(W\)). Which one of the combinations of [\(Q_H\), \(Q_L\) and \(W\)] given is allowed?

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2.
A cylindrical rod of length \(h\) and diameter \(d\) is placed inside a cubic enclosure of side length \(L\). \(S\) denotes the inner surface of the cube. The view-factor \(F_{S-S}\) is

4.
Consider incompressible laminar flow of a constant property Newtonian fluid in an isothermal circular tube. The flow is steady with fully-developed temperature and velocity profiles. The Nusselt number for this flow depends on

5.
A heat engine extracts heat (\(Q_H\)) from a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 1000 K and rejects heat (\(Q_L\)) to a thermal reservoir at a temperature of 100 K, while producing work (\(W\)). Which one of the combinations of [\(Q_H\), \(Q_L\) and \(W\)] given is allowed?