GATE CE 2018: Civil Engineering Session 2
Text of page 1
GATE 2018 General Aptitude (GA) Set-8
Q. 1 – Q. 5 carry one mark each.
Q.1 “His face ___________ with joy when the solution of the puzzle was _______ to him.”
The words that best fill the blanks in the above sentence are
(A) shone, shown (B) shone, shone
(C) shown, shone (D) shown, shown
Q.2 “Although it does contain some pioneering ideas, one would hardly characterize the work
as _________.”
The word that best fills the blank in the above sentence is
(A) innovative (B) simple (C) dull (D) boring
Q.3 ⏟ + a + a + ⋯ + a = a2 b and b
a ⏟ + b + b + ⋯ + b = ab 2 , where a, b, n and m are
n times m times
natural numbers. What is the value of
(m
⏟ + m + m + ⋯ + m) (n
⏟ + n + n + ⋯ + n)?
n times m times
(A) 2a2 b 2 (B) a4 b 4 (C) ab(a + b) (D) a2 + b 2
Q.4 A three-member committee has to be formed from a group of 9 people. How many such
distinct committees can be formed?
(A) 27 (B) 72 (C) 81 (D) 84
Q.5 For non-negative integers, a, b, c, what would be the value of a + b + c if
log a + log b + log c = 0?
(A) 3 (B) 1 (C) 0 (D) −1
Q. 6 – Q. 10 carry two marks each.
Q.6 In manufacturing industries, loss is usually taken to be proportional to the square of the
deviation from a target. If the loss is Rs. 4900 for a deviation of 7 units, what would be the
loss in Rupees for a deviation of 4 units from the target?
(A) 400 (B) 1200 (C) 1600 (D) 2800
GA 1/2
Text of page 2
GATE 2018 General Aptitude (GA) Set-8
Q.7 A faulty wall clock is known to gain 15 minutes every 24 hours. It is synchronized to the
correct time at 9 AM on 11th July. What will be the correct time to the nearest minute when
the clock shows 2 PM on 15th July of the same year?
(A) 12:45 PM (B) 12:58 PM (C) 1:00 PM (D) 2:00 PM
Q.8 The annual average rainfall in a tropical city is 1000 mm. On a particular rainy day
(24-hour period), the cumulative rainfall experienced by the city is shown in the graph.
Over the 24-hour period, 50% of the rainfall falling on a rooftop, which had an obstruction-
free area of 50 m2, was harvested into a tank. What is the total volume of water collected in
the tank in liters?
(A) 25,000 (B) 18,750 (C) 7,500 (D) 3,125
Q.9 log P log Q log R
Given that = = = 10 for x ≠ y ≠ z, what is the value of the product
y−z z−x x−y
PQR?
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) xyz (D) 10xyz
Q.10 Each of the letters in the figure below represents a unique integer from 1 to 9. The letters
are positioned in the figure such that each of (A+B+C), (C+D+E), (E+F+G) and (G+H+K)
is equal to 13. Which integer does E represent?
A B C
D
E F G
H
K
(A) 1 (B) 4 (C) 6 (D) 7
END OF THE QUESTION PAPER
GA 2/2
Text of page 3
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q. 1 – Q. 25 carry one mark each.
Q.1 dy
The solution of the equation x + y = 0 passing through the point (1,1) is
dx
(A) x (B) x2 (C) x -1 (D) x -2
Q.2 The graph of a function f(x) is shown in the figure.
3h
2h
f(x)
h
0 1 2 3
x
For f(x) to be a valid probability density function, the value of h is
(A) 1/3 (B) 2/3 (C) 1 (D) 3
Q.3 A probability distribution with right skew is shown in the figure.
f(x)
x
The correct statement for the probability distribution is
(A) Mean is equal to mode
(B) Mean is greater than median but less than mode
(C) Mean is greater than median and mode
(D) Mode is greater than median
CE 1/13
Text of page 4
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.4 All the members of the planar truss (see figure), have the same properties in terms of area
of cross-section (A) and modulus of elasticity (E).
P
L
P
L
For the loads shown on the truss, the statement that correctly represents the nature of forces
in the members of the truss is:
(A) There are 3 members in tension, and 2 members in compression
(B) There are 2 members in tension, 2 members in compression, and 1 zero-force member
(C) There are 2 members in tension, 1 member in compression, and 2 zero-force members
(D) There are 2 members in tension, and 3 zero-force members
Q.5 The setting time of cement is determined using
(A) Le Chatelier apparatus (B) Briquette testing apparatus
(C) Vicat apparatus (D) Casagrande’s apparatus
Q.6 A structural member subjected to compression, has both translation and rotation restrained
at one end, while only translation is restrained at the other end. As per IS 456 : 2000, the
effective length factor recommended for design is
(A) 0.50 (B) 0.65 (C) 0.70 (D) 0.80
Q.7 A vertical load of 10 kN acts on a hinge located at a distance of L/4 from the roller support
Q of a beam of length L (see figure).
10 kN
P Q
3L/4 L/4
The vertical reaction at support Q is
(A) 0.0 kN (B) 2.5 kN (C) 7.5 kN (D) 10.0 kN
Q.8 A flownet below a dam consists of 24 equipotential drops and 7 flow channels. The
difference between the upstream and downstream water levels is 6 m. The length of the
flow line adjacent to the toe of the dam at exit is 1 m. The specific gravity and void ratio of
the soil below the dam are 2.70 and 0.70, respectively. The factor of safety against piping is
(A) 1.67 (B) 2.5 (C) 3.4 (D) 4
CE 2/13
Text of page 5
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.9 The contact pressure and settlement distribution for a footing are shown in the figure.
The figure corresponds to a
(A) rigid footing on granular soil
(B) flexible footing on granular soil
(C) flexible footing on saturated clay
(D) rigid footing on cohesive soil
Q.10 Which one of the following statements is NOT correct?
(A) When the water content of soil lies between its liquid limit and plastic limit, the soil is
said to be in plastic state.
(B) Boussinesq’s theory is used for the analysis of stratified soil.
(C) The inclination of stable slope in cohesive soil can be greater than its angle of internal
friction.
(D) For saturated dense fine sand, after applying overburden correction, if the Standard
Penetration Test value exceeds 15, dilatancy correction is to be applied.
Q.11 The clay mineral, whose structural units are held together by potassium bond is
(A) Halloysite (B) Illite (C) Kaolinite (D) Smectite
Q.12 Dupuit’s assumptions are valid for
(A) artesian aquifer
(B) confined aquifer
(C) leaky aquifer
(D) unconfined aquifer
Q.13 For a given discharge in an open channel, there are two depths which have the same
specific energy. These two depths are known as
(A) alternate depths (B) critical depths
(C) normal depths (D) sequent depths
Q.14 As per IS 10500:2012, for drinking water in the absence of alternate source of water, the
permissible limits for chloride and sulphate, in mg/L, respectively are
(A) 250 and 200 (B) 1000 and 400 (C) 200 and 250 (D) 500 and 1000
CE 3/13
Text of page 6
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.15 In the figures, Group I represents the atmospheric temperature profiles (P, Q, R and S) and
Group II represents dispersion of pollutants from a smoke stack (1, 2, 3 and 4). In the
figures of Group I, the dashed line represents the dry adiabatic lapse rate, whereas the
horizontal axis represents temperature and the vertical axis represents the altitude.
Group I Group II
The correct match is
(A) P-1, Q-2, R-3, S-4
(B) P-1, Q-2, R-4, S-3
(C) P-1, Q-4, R-3, S-2
(D) P-3, Q-1, R-2, S-4
Q.16 Peak Hour Factor (PHF) is used to represent the proportion of peak sub-hourly traffic flow
within the peak hour. If 15-minute sub-hours are considered, the theoretically possible
range of PHF will be
(A) 0 to 1.0 (B) 0.25 to 0.75 (C) 0.25 to 1.0 (D) 0.5 to 1.0
CE 4/13
Text of page 7
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.17 As per IRC:37-2012, in order to control subgrade rutting in flexible pavements, the
parameter to be considered is
(A) horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of bituminous layer
(B) vertical compressive strain on top of subgrade
(C) vertical compressive stress on top of granular layer
(D) vertical deflection at the surface of the pavement
Q.18 The initial concavity in the load-penetration curve of a CBR test is NOT due to
(A) uneven top surface
(B) high impact at start of loading
(C) inclined penetration plunger
(D) soft top layer of soaked soil
Q.19 Probability (up to one decimal place) of consecutively picking 3 red balls without
replacement from a box containing 5 red balls and 1 white ball is ______
Q.20 The quadratic equation 2 x2 3x 3 0 is to be solved numerically starting with an initial
guess as x0 2 . The new estimate of x after the first iteration using Newton-Raphson
method is ______
Q.21 As per IS 456 : 2000, the minimum percentage of tension reinforcement (up to two decimal
places) required in reinforced-concrete beams of rectangular cross-section (considering
effective depth in the calculation of area) using Fe500 grade steel is ______
Q.22 A reinforced-concrete slab with effective depth of 80 mm is simply supported at two
opposite ends on 230 mm thick masonry walls. The centre-to-centre distance between the
walls is 3.3 m. As per IS 456 : 2000, the effective span of the slab (in m, up to two decimal
places) is ______
Q.23 A fillet weld is simultaneously subjected to factored normal and shear stresses of 120 MPa
and 50 MPa, respectively. As per IS 800 : 2007, the equivalent stress (in MPa, up to two
decimal places) is ______
Q.24 The intensity of irrigation for the Kharif season is 50% for an irrigation project with
culturable command area of 50,000 hectares. The duty for the Kharif season is 1000
hectare/cumec. Assuming transmission loss of 10%, the required discharge (in cumec, up
to two decimal places) at the head of the canal is ______
Q.25 A culvert is designed for a flood frequency of 100 years and a useful life of 20 years. The
risk involved in the design of the culvert (in percentage, up to two decimal places) is
______
CE 5/13
Text of page 8
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q. 26 – Q. 55 carry two marks each.
Q.26 2 4
The matrix has
4 2
(A) real eigenvalues and eigenvectors
(B) real eigenvalues but complex eigenvectors
(C) complex eigenvalues but real eigenvectors
(D) complex eigenvalues and eigenvectors
Q.27 The Laplace transform F s of the exponential function, f t eat when t 0 , where a
is a constant and s a 0 , is
1
(A)
sa
1
(B)
sa
1
(C)
as
(D)
Q.28 The rank of the following matrix is
1 1 0 2
2 0 2 2
4 1 3 1
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4
Q.29 Two rigid bodies of mass 5 kg and 4 kg are at rest on a frictionless surface until acted upon
by a force of 36 N as shown in the figure. The contact force generated between the two
bodies is
36 N 5 kg
4 kg
(A) 4.0 N (B) 7.2 N (C) 9.0 N (D) 16.0 N
CE 6/13
Text of page 9
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.30 Four bolts P, Q, R and S of equal diameter are used for a bracket subjected to a load of 130
kN as shown in the figure.
Centre-line
200 mm
130 kN
240 mm
Q P
R S
100 mm
The force in bolt P is
(A) 32.50 kN (B) 69.32 kN (C) 82.50 kN (D) 119.32 kN
Q.31 A singly-reinforced rectangular concrete beam of width 300 mm and effective depth 400
mm is to be designed using M25 grade concrete and Fe500 grade reinforcing steel. For the
beam to be under-reinforced, the maximum number of 16 mm diameter reinforcing bars
that can be provided is
(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6
Q.32 A 3 m high vertical earth retaining wall retains a dry granular backfill with angle of internal
friction of 30° and unit weight of 20 kN/m3. If the wall is prevented from yielding (no
movement), the total horizontal thrust (in kN per unit length) on the wall is
(A) 0 (B) 30 (C) 45 (D) 270
CE 7/13
Text of page 10
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.33 Three soil specimens (Soil 1, Soil 2 and Soil 3), each 150 mm long and 100 mm diameter,
are placed in series in a constant head flow set-up as shown in the figure. Suitable screens
are provided at the boundaries of the specimens to keep them intact. The values of
coefficient of permeability of Soil 1, Soil 2 and Soil 3 are 0.01, 0.003 and 0.03 cm/s,
respectively.
560 mm
h
Soil 1 Soil 2 Soil 3 100 mm
150 mm 150 mm 150 mm
The value of h in the set-up is
(A) 0 mm (B) 40 mm (C) 255 mm (D) 560 mm
Q.34 In a 5 m wide rectangular channel, the velocity u distribution in the vertical direction y is
1
given by u 1.25 y 6 . The distance y is measured from the channel bed. If the flow depth is
2 m, the discharge per unit width of the channel is
(A) 2.40 m3/s/m (B) 2.80 m3/s/m (C) 3.27 m3/s/m (D) 12.02 m3/s/m
Q.35 A car follows a slow moving truck (travelling at a speed of 10 m/s) on a two-lane two-way
highway. The car reduces its speed to 10 m/s and follows the truck maintaining a distance
of 16 m from the truck. On finding a clear gap in the opposing traffic stream, the car
accelerates at an average rate of 4 m/s2, overtakes the truck and returns to its original lane.
When it returns to its original lane, the distance between the car and the truck is 16 m. The
total distance covered by the car during this period (from the time it leaves its lane and
subsequently returns to its lane after overtaking) is
(A) 64 m (B) 72 m (C) 128 m (D) 144 m
Q.36 A level instrument at a height of 1.320 m has been placed at a station having a Reduced
Level (RL) of 112.565 m. The instrument reads 2.835 m on a levelling staff held at the
bottom of a bridge deck. The RL (in m) of the bottom of the bridge deck is
(A) 116.720 (B) 116.080 (C) 114.080 (D) 111.050
Q.37 The value (up to two decimal places) of a line integral F (r ) dr , for F(r ) x 2i y 2 j
C
along C which is a straight line joining (0,0) to (1,1) is ______
CE 8/13
Text of page 11
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.38 An 8 m long simply-supported elastic beam of rectangular cross-section (100 mm × 200
mm) is subjected to a uniformly distributed load of 10 kN/m over its entire span. The
maximum principal stress (in MPa, up to two decimal places) at a point located at the
extreme compression edge of a cross-section and at 2 m from the support is ______
Q.39 A prismatic beam P-Q-R of flexural rigidity EI 1104 kNm2 is subjected to a moment of
180 kNm at Q as shown in the figure.
180 kNm
P Q R
5m 4m
The rotation at Q (in rad, up to two decimal places) is ______
Q.40 A prismatic propped cantilever beam of span L and plastic moment capacity M p is
Mp
subjected to a concentrated load at its mid-span. If the collapse load of the beam is ,
L
the value of is ______
Q.41 A 6 m long simply-supported beam is prestressed as shown in the figure.
Neutral axis 50 mm
Prestressing cable
(straight profile)
The beam carries a uniformly distributed load of 6 kN/m over its entire span. If the
effective flexural rigidity EI = 2×104 kNm2 and the effective prestressing force is 200 kN,
the net increase in length of the prestressing cable (in mm, up to two decimal places) is
______
Q.42 A cable PQ of length 25 m is supported at two ends at the same level as shown in the
figure. The horizontal distance between the supports is 20 m. A point load of 150 kN is
applied at point R which divides it into two equal parts.
20 m
P Q
R
150 kN
Neglecting the self-weight of the cable, the tension (in kN, in integer value) in the cable
due to the applied load will be ______
CE 9/13
Text of page 12
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.43 The compression curve (void ratio, e vs. effective stress, σv′ ) for a certain clayey soil is a
straight line in a semi-logarithmic plot and it passes through the points (e = 1.2; σvʹ = 50
kPa) and (e = 0.6; σvʹ = 800 kPa). The compression index (up to two decimal places) of the
soil is ______
Q.44 The total horizontal and vertical stresses at a point X in a saturated sandy medium are 170
kPa and 300 kPa, respectively. The static pore-water pressure is 30 kPa. At failure, the
excess pore-water pressure is measured to be 94.50 kPa, and the shear stresses on the
vertical and horizontal planes passing through the point X are zero. Effective cohesion is
0 kPa and effective angle of internal friction is 36. The shear strength (in kPa, up to two
decimal places) at point X is ______
Q.45 A group of nine piles in a 3 × 3 square pattern is embedded in a soil strata comprising
dense sand underlying recently filled clay layer, as shown in the figure. The perimeter of an
individual pile is 126 cm. The size of pile group is 240 cm × 240 cm. The recently filled
clay has undrained shear strength of 15 kPa and unit weight of 16 kN/m3.
Recently
2m
filled clay
5m Dense sand
240 cm
240 cm
The negative frictional load (in kN, up to two decimal places) acting on the pile group is
______
CE 10/13
Text of page 13
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.46 A three-fluid system (immiscible) is connected to a vacuum pump. The specific gravity
values of the fluids (S1, S2) are given in the figure.
To Vacuum Pump
p
1
S1= 0.88
Fluid I
patm 1.5 m
S2= 0.95 patm
1.0 m
Fluid II 0.5 m
Fluid III: Water
Unit weight of water, γw = 9.81 kN/m3
Atmospheric Pressure, patm = 95.43 kPa
The gauge pressure value (in kN/m2, up to two decimal places) of p1 is ______
Q.47 The total rainfall in a catchment of area 1000 km2, during a 6 h storm, is 19 cm. The
surface runoff due to this storm computed from triangular direct runoff hydrograph is
1×108 m3. The index for this storm (in cm/h, up to one decimal place) is ______
Q.48 A rough pipe of 0.5 m diameter, 300 m length and roughness height of 0.25 mm, carries
water (kinematic viscosity 0.9×106 m2/s) with velocity of 3 m/s. Friction factor (f) for
laminar flow is given by f = 64/Re, and for turbulent flow it is given by
1 r
2log10 1.74 , where, Re = Reynolds number, r = radius of pipe, k = roughness
f k
height and g 9.81 m/s2. The head loss (in m, up to three decimal places) in the pipe due to
friction is ______
Q.49 A flocculation tank contains 1800 m3 of water, which is mixed using paddles at an average
velocity gradient G of 100/s. The water temperature and the corresponding dynamic
viscosity are 30oC and 0.798×10-3 Ns/m2, respectively. The theoretical power required to
achieve the stated value of G (in kW, up to two decimal places) is ______
Q.50 A coal containing 2% sulfur is burned completely to ash in a brick kiln at a rate of 30
kg/min. The sulfur content in the ash was found to be 6% of the initial amount of sulfur
present in the coal fed to the brick kiln. The molecular weights of S, H and O are 32, 1 and
16 g/mole, respectively. The annual rate of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission from the kiln (in
tonnes/year, up to two decimal places) is ______
CE 11/13
Text of page 14
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.51 At a small water treatment plant which has 4 filters, the rates of filtration and backwashing
are 200 m3/d/m2 and 1000 m3/d/m2, respectively. Backwashing is done for 15 min per day.
The maturation, which occurs initially as the filter is put back into service after cleaning,
takes 30 min. It is proposed to recover the water being wasted during backwashing and
maturation. The percentage increase in the filtered water produced (up to two decimal
places) would be ______
Q.52 A schematic flow diagram of a completely mixed biological reactor with provision for
recycling of solids is shown in the figure.
Aeration tank
S = 15 mg/L
X = 3000 mg/L Secondary
Detention time = 2 h settling tank
Q = 15000 m3/d Q Qw = 14950 m3/d
S0 = 100 mg/L S = 15 mg/L
X0 ~ 0 mg/L Xe 0 mg/L
Qr = 5000 m3/d
S = 15 mg/L
Xu = 10000 mg/L Qw = 50 m3/d
S = 15 mg/L
Sludge return Xu =10000 mg/L
S0, S = readily biodegradable soluble BOD, mg/L
Q, Qr, Qw = flow rates, m3/d
X0, X, Xe, Xu = microorganism concentrations (mixed-liquor volatile suspended solids or
MLVSS), mg/L
The mean cell residence time (in days, up to one decimal place) is ______
Q.53 The space mean speed (kmph) and density (vehicles/km) of a traffic stream are linearly
related. The free flow speed and jam density are 80 kmph and 100 vehicles/km
respectively. The traffic flow (in vehicles/h, up to one decimal place) corresponding to a
speed of 40 kmph is ______
Q.54 A 7.5 m wide two-lane road on a plain terrain is to be laid along a horizontal curve of
radius 510 m. For a design speed of 100 kmph, super-elevation is provided as per IRC: 73-
1980. Consider acceleration due to gravity as 9.81 m/s2. The level difference between the
inner and outer edges of the road (in m, up to three decimal places) is ______
CE 12/13
Text of page 15
GATE 2018 Civil Engineering (Set 2)
Q.55 An aerial photograph of a terrain having an average elevation of 1400 m is taken at a scale
of 1:7500. The focal length of the camera is 15 cm. The altitude of the flight above mean
sea level (in m, up to one decimal place) is ______
END OF THE QUESTION PAPER
CE 13/13
Text of page 16
Q.No. Type Section Key/Range Marks 1 MCQ GA A 1 2 MCQ GA A 1 3 MCQ GA B 1 4 MCQ GA D 1 5 MCQ GA A 1 6 MCQ GA C 2 7 MCQ GA B 2 8 MCQ GA C 2 9 MCQ GA B 2 10 MCQ GA B 2 1 MCQ CE C 1 2 MCQ CE A 1 3 MCQ CE C 1 4 MCQ CE D 1 5 MCQ CE C 1 6 MCQ CE D 1 7 MCQ CE A 1 8 MCQ CE D 1 9 MCQ CE A 1 10 MCQ CE B 1 11 MCQ CE B 1 12 MCQ CE D 1 13 MCQ CE A 1
Text of page 17
Q.No. Type Section Key/Range Marks 14 MCQ CE B 1 15 MCQ CE A 1 16 MCQ CE C 1 17 MCQ CE B 1 18 MCQ CE B 1 19 NAT CE 0.5 to 0.5 1 20 NAT CE 1 to 1 1 21 NAT CE 0.17 to 0.17 1 22 NAT CE 3.15 to 3.15 1 23 NAT CE 147.50 to 148.50 1 24 NAT CE 27.00 to 28.00 1 25 NAT CE 17.50 to 18.50 1 26 MCQ CE D 2 27 MCQ CE B 2 28 MCQ CE B 2 29 MCQ CE D 2 30 MCQ CE B 2 31 MCQ CE C 2 32 MCQ CE C 2 33 MCQ CE B 2 34 MCQ CE A 2 35 MCQ CE B 2 36 MCQ CE A 2
Text of page 18
Q.No. Type Section Key/Range Marks
37 NAT CE 0.60 to 0.70 2
38 NAT CE 0.0 to 0.0 2
0.01 to 0.01 (or)
39 NAT CE 2
‐0.01 to ‐0.01
40 NAT CE 6.0 to 6.0 2
41 NAT CE 0.10 to 0.12 2
42 NAT CE 125 to 125 2
43 NAT CE 0.45 to 0.55 2
44 NAT CE 51.50 to 53.50 2
45 NAT CE 472.00 to 472.50 2
46 NAT CE ‐9.0 to ‐8.0 2
47 NAT CE 1.50 to 1.50 2
48 NAT CE 4.50 to 4.70 2
49 NAT CE 14.00 to 15.00 2
50 NAT CE 590.00 to 595.00 2
51 NAT CE 7.75 to 7.95 2
52 NAT CE 7.5 to 7.5 2
53 NAT CE 2000.0 to 2000.0 2
54 NAT CE 0.520 to 0.530 2
55 NAT CE 2520.0 to 2530.0 2Official key not published for this paper.
Page 1 of 18
Source: GATE. Question paper published by GATE.