GATE Life Sciences Question Papers PDF- Download XL Previous Year Papers

GATE Life Sciences Question Papers PDF- Download XL Previous Year Papers

Upcoming Event

GATE Exam Date:07 Feb' 26 - 08 Feb' 26

Team Careers360Updated on 17 Sep 2025, 02:34 PM IST

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.

This Story also Contains

  1. GATE 2026 Life Sciences Question Paper
  2. GATE Question Paper 2026 Weightage
  3. GATE Life Sciences Exam Pattern
  4. GATE Life Sciences Marking Scheme
  5. GATE Life Sciences Paper Combination
GATE Life Sciences Question Papers PDF- Download XL Previous Year Papers
GATE Life Sciences Paper

GATE 2026 Life Sciences Question Paper

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.

GATE Life Sciences Previous year papers

In the given table, candidates can download the GATE previous year question papers for Life Sciences engineering.

GATE Question Paper 2026 Weightage

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

GATE Life Sciences Exam Pattern

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


GATE Life Sciences Marking Scheme

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

GATE Life Sciences Paper Combination

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)

Q: How can I download all the GATE previous year question papers for Life Sciences?
A:

Candidates can check the previous year for GATE question papers on the official website.

Q: What is the exam pattern for GATE Life Sciences?
A:

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. 

Q: Can I appear for more than one GATE paper in 2025?
A:

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.

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Questions related to GATE

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to GATE ?

Hello,

Yes, you as a Bachelor of Science graduate in home science can appear for the GATE 2026 exam, as the eligibility criteria include graduates from "Science" and other fields, as well as those in the 3rd year or higher of an undergraduate program.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hey! The GATE exam (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is very important for long-term career growth. It opens opportunities for postgraduate studies (M.Tech, MS, PhD) in top institutes like IITs and NITs and is also used by many public sector companies (PSUs) for recruitment, often with higher salary packages. In the long run, qualifying GATE can enhance your technical knowledge, career prospects, and credibility in the engineering field.

If your GATE application shows failed status even after a successful payment, don’t worry, this usually happens due to server or transaction update delays. First, wait for 24–48 hours as sometimes the status gets updated automatically. If it still shows failed, you should raise a query through the GATE application portal by providing your enrollment ID and payment receipt or transaction details. You can also contact the GATE zonal office via email or helpline with proof of payment. Keeping a screenshot of the payment success message will also help in resolving the issue quickly.

Hi dear candidate,

You can refer to the online E Books for GATE examination available on our official website that you can download anytime.

Kindly refer to the link attached below to access them for practice.

Link: GATE E-books and Sample Papers

BEST REGARDS

Hey! The qualifying cutoff for GATE CSE in 2025 was around 29.2 marks for General, 26.2 for OBC/EWS, and 19.4 for SC/ST/PwD. For GATE 2026, the official cutoff is not declared yet, but if we look at the past trends, it usually stays around 30–32 marks for General category. So, if you are preparing, it’s better to target a score well above this range to be on the safer side.