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GATE Chemistry 2026

  • Paper code: CY
  • Language: English
  • 46 pages
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Chemistry (CY)



General Aptitude (GA)
Q.1 – Q.5 Carry ONE mark Each

 Q.1         “He often _____ the numbers. False claims are not going to help. Honesty _____
             trust”, said the manager.

             Choose the option with the correct order of words to fill the blanks.




 (A)         exaggerates; engenders


 (B)         excels; encourages


 (C)         aggravates; alleviates


 (D)         diminishes; eliminates




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 Q.2         In the sequence of tiles shown below, the missing tile indicated by the question
             mark should be




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.3         A school has 100 students distributed among 1st to 10th standards.

             Based on this, which one of the following statements is always correct?




 (A)         There are at least 10 students who belong to the same standard.


 (B)         There is at least one student in each standard.


 (C)         There are at most 10 students in 10th standard.


 (D)         The total number of students from 1st to 5th standards is at least 50.




 Q.4         How many 3-digit numbers can be formed using three distinct single digit prime
             numbers?




 (A)         64


 (B)         24


 (C)         12


 (D)         4




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 Q.5         In a group of students, 10 students like Mathematics, 12 students like English,
             4 students like both Mathematics and English, and 6 students like neither
             Mathematics nor English. The number of students in the group is ____




 (A)         18


 (B)         20


 (C)         24


 (D)         32




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Q.6 – Q.10 Carry TWO marks Each

 Q.6         Charity : P :: Retaliation : Q

             Choose the appropriate pair of words P and Q that fit the analogy.




 (A)         P = Parsimonious; Q = Vengeful


 (B)         P = Altruistic; Q = Amicable


 (C)         P = Resentful; Q = Spiteful


 (D)         P = Magnanimous; Q = Vindictive




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 Q.7         A paper shown in Panel I is folded along the dashed lines (- - -) to construct a
             cube. The shaded regions shown in Panel I appear on the outer surface of the cube.
             Referring to cubes shown in Panel II, which one of the options is correct?




 (A)         Only (i) can correspond to the unfolded cube in Panel I.


 (B)         Only (ii) can correspond to the unfolded cube in Panel I.


 (C)         Both (i) and (ii) can correspond to the unfolded cube in Panel I.


 (D)         Neither (i) nor (ii) can correspond to the unfolded cube in Panel I.




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 Q.8         Consider the cube shown below with its 8 corners labelled a, b, c, d, e, f, g,
             and h. The figure is representative. All corners are to be colored such that any two
             corners that are connected by an edge must be of different colors. The minimum
             number of colors required to achieve this is ________




 (A)         8


 (B)         4


 (C)         3


 (D)         2




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 Q.9         Four hills H1, H2, H3, and H4 are present in an area. The following observations
             are made about them:

                 i.     Neither H2 nor H3 is the easternmost hill.
                ii.     Neither H2 nor H3 is the westernmost hill.
               iii.     Neither the easternmost hill nor the westernmost hill is the southernmost
                        hill.
               iv.      Two hills are located to the west of H2.
                v.      The southernmost hill has at least two hills to its east.


             The southernmost hill is ________.




 (A)         H1


 (B)         H2


 (C)         H3


 (D)         H4




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 Q.10        As shown in the figure, circle C1 with center O1 and radius r1 touches the square
             VWXY at points P and Q while circle C2 with center O2 and radius r2 touches the
             square VWXY at points R and S. The two circles touch each other at T.

             Given r1 = 1 cm and ̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅̅̅ = 4 cm, r2 = _____ cm.
                                 VY = VW




 (A)         4 − 3√2


 (B)         1 + 2√2


 (C)         7 − 4√2


 (D)         5 + 3√2




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Q.11 – Q.35 Carry ONE mark Each

 Q.11        The major product formed in the following reaction is




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.12        The correct statement about the following quaternary ammonium ion is




 (A)         It has only C2-symmetry, hence chiral


 (B)         It has S4-symmetry, hence achiral


 (C)         It has no symmetry, hence chiral


 (D)         It has a centre of symmetry, hence achiral




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 Q.13        The major product formed in the following reaction sequence is




 (A)


 (B)




 (C)



 (D)




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 Q.14        The major product formed in the following reaction is




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.15        The species that undergoes β-elimination is




 (A)         [Rh(C5H5)(P(CH3)3)(C2H5)]+


 (B)         [Rh(NH3)5(C2H5)]2+


 (C)         [Pt(P(C6H5)3)2(C6H5)I]


 (D)         [Cr(CH2Si(CH3)3)4]




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 Q.16        According to molecular orbital theory, the correct ground state electronic
             configuration for [Co(NH3)6]3+ ion is




              2   6       6
 (A)         a1g t1u eg4 t2g eg∗0

              2   6   6
 (B)         a1g t1u t2g eg4 eg∗0

              6   2       6
 (C)         t1u a1g eg4 t2g eg∗0


              2   6       4
 (D)         a1g t1u eg4 t2g eg∗2




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 Q.17        The species which follows 18-electron rule is

             (en = ethylenediamine)




 (A)         [Rh(PPh3)3Cl]


 (B)         [Co(NH3)6]2+


 (C)         [V(CO)6]–


 (D)         [Ni(en)3]2+




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 Q.18        The point group of CH2=C=CH2 is




 (A)         D2h


 (B)         C2h


 (C)         C2v


 (D)         D2d




 Q.19        Among the following, the one for which the infrared active vibrational modes are
             Raman inactive and vice versa is




 (A)         H2O


 (B)         trans-planar conformer of H2O2


 (C)         eclipsed conformer of ethane


 (D)         CH4




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 Q.20        For the following reaction,



                                      5
             If the value of Δ‡ U o = 2 RT, then the value of ∆‡ H o is

             (X‡ is an activated complex; Δ‡ U o is standard change in internal energy; Δ‡ H o is
             standard enthalpy of activation; R is gas constant; T is temperature)




             1
 (A)           RT
             2


             3
 (B)           RT
             2


             7
 (C)           RT
             2


             5
 (D)           RT
             2




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 Q.21        The reagent(s) that will effect the following transformation is(are)




 (A)         Pd/C, H2


 (B)         ZnBr2


 (C)         Pyridinium p-toluenesulfonate (PPTS), tBuOH

             n
 (D)             Bu4NF




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 Q.22        The reaction(s) that give(s) meso-1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diol as the major product
             is(are)




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.23        In the 1H NMR spectrum of compound X, the coupling constant (Jab) between Ha
             and Hb is 3 Hz. The amino alcohol(s) that give(s) X on reaction with methyl iodide
             followed by heating is(are)




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.24        The correct statement(s) regarding plastocyanin is(are)




 (A)         It is an electron transfer protein


 (B)         It is intensely colored in its oxidised form


 (C)         Its central metal ion has a distorted tetrahedral geometry


 (D)         It contains S 2− bridged metal cluster




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 Q.25        The correct statement(s) about Mössbauer spectroscopy of iron compounds is(are)




             57
 (A)            Co is used as a source


 (B)         Their Mössbauer spectra are obtained using -ray with resonance energy of
             14.4 keV


 (C)         K2[Fe(CN)5NO] shows large quadrupole splitting


 (D)         Isomer shift of FeSO4∙7H2O is smaller than that of K3[Fe(CN)6]




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 Q.26        The interconversion of oxidation states of metal(s) observed in Wacker process
             is(are)




 (A)         Pd(II) / Pd(0)


 (B)         Cu(II) / Cu(I)


 (C)         Pd(IV) / Pd(II)


 (D)         Cu(II) / Cu(0)




 Q.27        For the wavefunction  = x(a − x), where a is a constant, the correct statement(s)
             is(are)




 (A)         It represents a stationary state


 (B)         It is an odd function


 (C)         It represents the wavefunction of a particle moving on a circular ring of radius a


 (D)         It is an eigen function of the momentum operator




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 Q.28        The correct statement(s) about spherical harmonics (Ylm ) is(are)




 (A)         All spherical harmonics are complex functions


 (B)         They are eigen functions of L̂2


 (C)         They are eigen functions of L̂z


 (D)         The spherical harmonics Y11 and Y1–1 are degenerate




 Q.29        The difference in the number of gauche interactions present in diaxial and
             diequatorial chair conformations of trans-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane is ______
             (in integer).




 Q.30        The total number of symmetry operations (order, h) present in the point group of
             [PdCl6]2− is x and that in trans-[PdBr2Cl4]2− is y. The value of x – y is ______
             (in integer).




 Q.31        A 0.005 M solution of compound X transmits 80% of the incident light of
             wavelength () 500 nm. The absorbance of 0.01 M solution of X is ______ (rounded
             off to three decimal places).

             (Given: path length = 1.0 cm)




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 Q.32        The microwave spectrum of gaseous HF consists of a series of lines separated by
             41.11 cm–1. The bond length (in Å) of HF is ______ (rounded off to two decimal
             places).

             (Given: Atomic mass (in amu): H = 1.008, F = 18.998;
             1 amu = 1.661  10–27 kg; h = 6.626  10–34 J s; c = 2.998  108 m s–1)




 Q.33        In a 1H NMR spectrum obtained from a spectrometer operating at a magnetic field
             of 14.1 T, two resonances are observed at 1.25 ppm and 5.75 ppm. The separation
             between the two resonances (in Hz) is ______ (rounded off to one decimal place).

             (Given: gyromagnetic ratio () of H = 2.675  108 T–1 s–1)




 Q.34        The maximum work (|Wmax|, in kJ) that can be obtained by complete combustion of
             1.0 mol of CH4 at constant pressure and 25 C is ______ (rounded off to one decimal
             place).

             (Given: ΔS = –241.60 J K–1 mol–1; ΔH = –890.01 kJ mol–1; R = 8.314 J mol–1 K–1)




 Q.35        If the ionic mobility of Ag+ ion in a very dilute aqueous solution of AgNO3 at
             298 K is y  10–8 m2 V–1 s–1, then the value of y is ______ (rounded off to two
             decimal places).

             (Given: viscosity of water at 298 K = 8.94  10–4 kg m–1 s–1; k = 1.38  10–23 J K–1;
             F = 96500 C mol–1; R = 8.314 J mol–1 K–1; Stokes radius of Ag+ = 0.15 nm)




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Q.36 – Q.65 Carry TWO marks Each

 Q.36        The major product formed in the following reaction is




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.37        The correct match for the protons labeled in compound X in Column M with the
             corresponding chemical shifts (δ, ppm) in Column N is




               Column M                           Column N


               P         Ha                       I       7.00 (ddd, J = 8.4, 7.3, 1.4 Hz, 1H)


               Q         Hb                       II      7.17 (dd, J = 8.4, 1.4 Hz, 1H)


               R         Hc                       III     7.59 (ddd, J = 8.4, 7.3, 1.4 Hz, 1H)


               S         Hd                       IV      8.12 (dd, J = 8.4, 1.4 Hz, 1H)




 (A)         P → II; Q → III; R → I; S → IV


 (B)         P → I; Q → IV; R → II; S → III


 (C)         P → II; Q → IV; R → I; S → III


 (D)         P → I; Q → III; R → II; S → IV




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 Q.38 The correct statement about the intermediate formed in the following reaction is




 (A)
                                     is formed through conrotatory opening of X



 (B)
                                     is formed through disrotatory opening of X



 (C)
                                       is formed through conrotatory opening of X



 (D)
                                       is formed through disrotatory opening of X




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 Q.39 The major product formed in the following reaction sequence is




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.40        Consider the figure given below, where M is a metal and L is a monodentate ligand.
             The -bonding ligand group orbital (LGO) having same symmetry with dz 2 orbital
             of M in the octahedral coordination geometry is




              1
 (A)             (21 + 22 − 3 − 4 − 5 − 6)
             √12


              1
 (B)             (21 − 22 + 3 − 4 + 5 − 6)
             √12


             1
 (C)            (1 + 2 − 3 − 4 − 5 − 6)
             √6


             1
 (D)            (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6)
             √6




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 Q.41        The correct electronic configuration of central metal ion in ferrocene with z-axis
             passing through the centre of two C5 H5− rings and the metal ion is




 (A)          2
             dxy = dx22 −y2 < dz22 < dxz
                                      0     0
                                         = dyz


 (B)          2
             dxz    2
                 = dyz < dz22 < dx02 −y2 = dxy
                                            0




 (C)          2
             dxy    2
                 = dxz    2
                       = dyz < dx02 −y2 = dz02


 (D)          2
             dxy    2
                 < dxz    2
                       = dyz < dx02 −y2 < dz02




 Q.42        The pair of complex ions that exhibits the slowest outer-sphere electron-exchange
             reaction at 25 °C is




 (A)         [Co(NH3)6]3+ and [Co(NH3)6]2+


 (B)         [Fe(H2O)6]3+ and [Fe(H2O)6]2+


 (C)         [Ru(NH3)6]3+ and [Ru(NH3)6]2+


 (D)         [Mn(CN)6]3− and [Mn(CN)6]4−




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 Q.43        The structure of B4H10 is given below. Its styx number is




 (A)         4012


 (B)         4102


 (C)         2104


 (D)         2014




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 Q.44        For the following reaction,



             The correct option showing the number of phases (P), number of components (C)
             and degrees of freedom (F) is




 (A)         P = 3, C = 2, F = 1


 (B)         P = 3, C = 3, F = 2


 (C)         P = 2, C = 3, F = 3


 (D)         P = 2, C = 2, F = 2




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 Q.45        The correct option for the average value of kinetic energy and the average value of
             potential energy of a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator with
             frequency ν in its ground state is




 (A)         ℎν          ℎν
                  and         , respectively
              2          4



 (B)         ℎν          ℎν
                  and         , respectively
              2          2



 (C)         ℎν          ℎν
                  and         , respectively
              4          4



 (D)         ℎν          ℎν
                  and         , respectively
              4          2




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 Q.46        For a reaction between neutral molecules X and Y in a solution at temperature T,
             the measured rate of reaction is equal to the rate of diffusion. Assume X is stationary
             and Y is moving. If the diameter of the molecule X is five times that of Y, then the
             rate constant for the reaction is

             (η is viscosity of the solvent; k is Boltzmann constant)




 (A)         8kT⁄
                 3η


 (B)         4kT⁄
                 η


 (C)         24kT⁄
                  5η


 (D)         15kT⁄
                  4η




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 Q.47        For the following electrochemical cells, liquid junction potentials affect the cell
             potential (Ecell).




             The correct order of their Ecell at 25 C is




 (A)         I > II > III


 (B)         II > I > III


 (C)         III = I > II


 (D)         II > I = III




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 Q.49        The reaction(s) that produce(s) the following compound is(are)




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.50        The reaction(s) that produce(s) 2-methylindole as the major product is(are)




 (A)




 (B)




 (C)




 (D)




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 Q.51        Chymotrypsin selectively cleaves a peptide at the carboxyl side of the amino acids
             having an aryl sidechain. The tripeptide(s) formed on hydrolysis of the peptide,
             Val-Phe-Leu-Met-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Trp-Cys, with chymotrypsin is(are)




 (A)         Leu-Met-Tyr


 (B)         Phe-Leu-Met


 (C)         Pro-Gly-Trp


 (D)         Tyr-Pro-Gly




 Q.52        Consider the given pairs of complex ions. The correct pair(s) in which each complex
             ion exhibits three spin-allowed d-d transitions (excluding those arising due to
             distortions) is(are)




 (A)         [V(H2O)6]3+ and [Ni(H2O)6]2+


 (B)         [Cr(H2O)6]3+ and [NiCl4]2−


 (C)         [Ti(H2O)6]3+ and [Mn(H2O)6]2+


 (D)         [FeF6]3− and [FeCl4]2−




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 Q.53        The correct statement(s) about the structure of metal oxides is(are)




 (A)         Spinel has 8 tetrahedral sites and 4 octahedral sites per formula unit


 (B)         BaTiO3 has a perovskite structure


 (C)         In Fe3O4, Fe2+ occupies both tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the unit cell


 (D)         -Al2O3 is a defect spinel




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 Q.54        The pair(s) of lanthanide ions whose ground state term symbols have same spin
             multiplicity (2S+1) and orbital angular momentum (L), but different spin-orbit
             coupling (J) is(are)

             (Given: Atomic number: Nd = 60; Pm = 61; Ho = 67; Er = 68)




 (A)         Pm3+ and Ho3+


 (B)         Nd3+ and Er3+


 (C)         Pm3+ and Nd3+


 (D)         Ho3+ and Er3+




 Q.55        The correct statement(s) about enterobactin (ent) is(are)




 (A)         It has three catechol moieties


 (B)         It has a serine-trilactone backbone


 (C)         It binds with Fe3+ ion to form [Fe(ent)]3− ion


 (D)         It has three hydroxamic acid groups




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Chemistry (CY)




 Q.56        The correct statement(s) for a surface catalyzed unimolecular gaseous reaction
             is(are)




 (A)         It follows Freundlich adsorption isotherm


 (B)         Zero order kinetics is followed at sufficiently high pressure of the reacting
             molecules


 (C)         First order kinetics is followed at very low pressure of the reacting molecules


 (D)         Rate of the reaction is proportional to the fraction of surface covered by the reacting
             molecules




 Q.57        Consider the following reaction sequence, where A and B are the major products.
             In proton-decoupled 13C NMR spectra, the total number of carbon signals observed
             for A and B is ______ (in integer).




 Q.58        On heating, the compound Z undergoes a series of 1,5-H/D shifts to give a mixture
             of its isomers. The total number of isomers present in the mixture (including Z) is
             ______ (in integer).




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Chemistry (CY)




 Q.59        The sum of bond orders of metal–metal bonds in [Os2Cl8]2−, [Re2Cl8]2−,
             [W2(NMe2)6] and [Mo(C5H5)(CO)2]2 is ______ (in integer).




 Q.60        The sum of the number of α-particles and β-particles emitted in the nuclear decay
             process, 238     206
                       92U → 82Pb , is ______ (in integer).




                                                                                         π   π
 Q.61        The positions of two atoms in spherical polar coordinates (r, θ, Φ) are (1, 2 , 2 ) and
                   π    3π
             (1, 4 , 2 ), where the distance is in Å and the angles are in radian. The interatomic
             distance (in Å) is ______ (rounded off to two decimal places).




 Q.62        If the translational partition function for H2 confined in a 1 L vessel at 300 K is
             y  1027, then the value of y is ______ (rounded off to one decimal place).

             (Given: Atomic mass (in amu): H = 1.008; 1 amu = 1.661  10–27 kg;
             h = 6.626  10–34 J s; k = 1.381  10–23 J K–1)




 Q.63        In a calibrated pH meter comprising of glass electrode-standard calomel electrode,
             the potential for a buffer solution of pH 4.01 is measured as 0.814 V at 25 C. For
             a 4.0  10–3 M solution of acetic acid, the measured potential (in V) is ______
             (rounded off to three decimal places).

             (Given: Ka of acetic acid at 25 C = 1.75  10–5; 2.303RT/F = 0.059;
             Assume: aH + = [H+])




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GATE Chemistry 2026 question paper, GATE 2026, Chemistry, page 46 of 46
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Chemistry (CY)




 Q.64        The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement data for adsorption
                                                                                            z
             of N2 gas at 77 K on 1.0 g of an adsorbent fits into a straight line, when            is
                                                                                          (1−z)V
             plotted against z. The slope and intercept of the straight line are 6  10–4 mm–3 and
             4  10–6 mm–3, respectively. The surface area (in m2 g–1) of the adsorbent is ______
             (rounded off to one decimal place).

             (Given: 1 mm3 of N2 gas corresponds to 2.7  1016 molecules and each molecule
             occupies 0.16 nm2. V is the volume of gas adsorbed in mm3, z is p/po, where p is
             the pressure of the N2 gas and po is equilibrium vapour pressure of liquid N2)




 Q.65        The orbital angular momentum (L) of an electron is √12ℏ. The minimum angle
             between L and its z-component (in degrees) is ______ (rounded off to one decimal
             place).




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Source: GATE. Question paper published by GATE.