GATE Life Sciences Question Papers 2026: IIT Guwahati will release the GATE 2026 life sciences question papers on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. Candidates can check the GATE life sciences question papers 2026 on this page once it is released. The Chemistry Section (Section P) consists of 15 questions, with 5 one-mark questions and 10 two-mark questions, totaling 25 marks. Sections Q to U include 20 questions, with 10 one-mark questions and 10 two-mark questions, totaling 30 marks. The authority will conduct the GATE entrance exam as computer based test. In this articles, candidates can refer to the previous year question paper for GATE life sciences. The GATE 2026 exam will be held on February 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2026.
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The authority will release the GATE life science 2026 question paper on the official website. Candidates can check the previous year's question paper for GATE 2026 in the table below.
In the given table, candidates can download the GATE previous year question papers for Life Sciences engineering.
GATE XL question paper link |
| GATE 2025 Life Sciences Question Paper |
To have a better understanding of the exam candidates are advised to know the weightage of the GATE 2026 question paper. The candidates can check the weightage of GATE XL question paper 2026 in the given table:
Section | Type of Questions | Number of Questions | Sub-Total (Marks) |
Chemistry Section or Section P (Compulsory) | 1 mark questions | 5 | 5 |
2 mark questions | 10 | 20 | |
Sections Q to U | 1 mark questions | 10 | 10 |
2 mark questions | 10 | 20 |
Candidates preparing for the GATE Life Sciences must be familiar with the exam pattern. The authority will release the GATE exam pattern online. GATE Life Science question paper consists of three sections: General Aptitude, Chemistry, and Core Discipline. The question paper of GATE Life Sciences includes 65 questions, with a weightage of 100 marks. Candidates should prepare every topic mentioned in the syllabus carefully to score good marks.
Particulars | Details |
GATE Exam Mode | Computer Based Test (CBT)/ Online |
GATE exam duration | 3 Hours |
GATE Life Sciences paper Sections | General Aptitude (GA) + Chemistry + Life Sciences (Core Subject) |
GATE XL Number of Questions | 10 (GA) + 15(Chemistry)+ 40 (Life Sciences)=65 Questions |
Distribution of Marks in Life Sciences paper | General Aptitude: 15 Marks + Chemistry: 25 Marks + Subject Questions: 60 Marks = Total: 100 Marks |
The authority conducts the GATE Life Sciences for 100 marks. The GATE XL question paper will be divided into three sections: General Aptitude (GA), Chemistry (mandatory), and any two optional sections. The Chemistry section is mandatory and carries a weightage of 25 marks. The optional sections carry a weightage of 30 marks each. GATE Life Sciences marking schemes will be based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Multiple Select Questions (MSQs). Check the below table to understand the GATE XL marking scheme.
GATE Paper Code | General Aptitude (GA) Marks | Subject Marks | Total Marks | Total Time (Minutes) |
XL (Section P + Any TWO Sections) | 15 | 25 + (2 x 30) | 100 | 180 |
From the given set of available options candidates appearing for the upcoming exam can opt for any combination of GATE Life Sciences question paper.
Code of the First (Primary) Paper | Codes of Papers Allowed as The Second Paper |
XL | BT, CY, EY |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Candidates can check the previous year for GATE question papers on the official website.
The GATE Life Sciences exam consists of three sections: General Aptitude, Section P (Chemistry), and Section Q-U (any two of these). There will be two types of questions including Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions, and the total number of questions is 65.
Yes, candidates can appear for 2 GATE papers. However, the choice of GATE papers can be made only based on the GATE Paper Combination released by the authorities.
On Question asked by student community
Hello Student,
A two year gap after b tech is not automatically affect your career negatively, especially if you have used this time productively to prepare for GATE. Many students take one or two years to prepare for competition examinations, and employers or University generally understand this provided you can
Yes, you can apply for GATE if you satisfy the eligibility criteria prescribed for the examination. GATE is open to eligible Indian and foreign nationals from approved countries. Since you are currently studying in India, your nationality alone does not automatically make you ineligible. It is advisable to check the
Hello Dear Student,
The GATE cutoff varies widely by subject paper and candidate category (General, OBC, SC/ST). For instance, the general category qualifying mark for Computer Science (CSE) was 27.6 in 2025 and 25.0 in 2024, while Mechanical Engineering (ME) was 35.8 in 2025.
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Hello Student,
The topic wise mark distribution for GATE 2027 has not been officially released. GATE does not prescript fixed marks for each topic. The weightage varies every year independence on the question paper.
Please mention your GATE paper/branch (such as CSE, ECE, EE, ME, CE, DA, etc.), and we
Hello Dear Student,
Yes, you can appear for the GATE Mechanical Engineering (ME) paper even if you have a B.E./B.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering , provided you meet the GATE eligibility criteria.
However, qualifying GATE ME does not automatically make you eligible for PSU jobs .
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