GATE 2017 Exam Analysis for Electronics and Communications Engg - Session 1 & 2
By MV Reddy
In the first slot of the third session of GATE 2017 held on Feb 5, most of the questions were tested on fundamentals of Electronics and Communications Engineering. General Aptitude is easy to answer. Questions from Engg.Mathematics are little difficult in this paper and has more weightage ( viz. 16 Marks) compared to previous papers.
Check GATE 2017 exam analysis for ME by experts here!
Questions from Fourier Transforms, LTI systems, DTFT, Z Transforms are covered from Signals & Systems. Questions from Networks were mostly from Transient analysis & RLC circuits.
Difficulty Level of Questions from Electronic Devices was very high as most of them were appeared from the concepts of Transport of carriers, Device Physics, Capacitance of junctions, Built in potential of junctions, MOSFET currents. Analog Electronics questions were easy to solve as they were from OP-Amp, Small signal analysis of BJT, Feedback amplifiers.
Microprocessors, K maps, FSM topics were covered in Digital Electronics.Most of communications questions were from Digital Communications topics.In Electromagnetics, questions were asked from Antennas, Wave propagation. In Control Systems most of the questions were asked from Frequency analysis. Overall questions from Signals &Systems, Engineering Mathematics, Electronic Devices, Communications subjects were found to be difficult as the framing of questions from these subjects was little tricky.
Out of 65 questions 24 are Numerical Answer Type (NAT) and 41 are Multiple Choice Questions(MCQ's). 60% of the questions similar to previous year models.
The question paper has no changes compared to previous year, It look same as Mock test given in GATE 2017 Website.The calculator is same as given in website, but students should practice more on the online calculator before GATE exam, as it is not like scientific calculator students used in classroom.
Overall Paper was little Difficult.
Distribution of Marks:
| S. No |
Subject |
1 Mark Q |
2 Mark Q |
Total Marks |
| 1 |
General Aptitude: |
|
|
|
| Verbal ability | 2 |
1 |
4 |
|
| Numerical ability | 3 |
4 |
11 |
|
| 2 |
Engineering Mathematics |
4 |
6 |
16 |
| 3 |
Networks |
1 |
2 |
5 |
| 4 |
Signals and Systems |
3 |
4 |
11 |
| 5 |
Electronic Devices and Circuits |
3 |
4 |
11 |
| 6 |
Analog Electronics |
3 |
3 |
9 |
| 7 |
Digital Electronics |
3 |
4 |
11 |
| 8 |
Communications |
3 |
3 |
9 |
| 9 |
Electromagnetic Theory |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| 10 |
Control Systems |
3 |
3 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
100 |
Total No.of Questions:
| No.of NAT Questions |
11 |
13 |
24 |
| No.of MCQ's |
19 |
22 |
41 |
No. of Questions Based on Level of Difficulty
| S. No |
Subject |
Difficult |
Moderate |
Easy |
| 1 |
General Aptitude: |
|
|
|
| Verbal ability | 1 |
1 |
1 |
|
| Numerical ability | 2 |
3 |
2 |
|
| 2 |
Engineering Mathematics |
3 |
4 |
3 |
| 3 |
Networks |
0 |
2 |
1 |
| 4 |
Signals and Systems |
3 |
3 |
1 |
| 5 |
Electronic Devices and Circuits |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| 6 |
Analog Electronics |
1 |
3 |
2 |
| 7 |
Digital Electronics |
2 |
4 |
1 |
| 8 |
Communications |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| 9 |
Electromagnetic Theory |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| 10 |
Control Systems |
2 |
3 |
1 |
(b) Session-4, Feb 5, 2017, After Noon Slot, 02:00 PM-05:00 PM:
The Exam Conducted in the After Noon Slot was Easy compared to the one in the Fore Noon Slot.
Most of the Questions tested the Fundamental Concepts of Engineering.One who is strong with his Basics & Fundamentals Concepts of Electronics & Communication Engineering can attempt the questions without difficulty.
Questions from Networks covered areas like Transient analysis, RLC circuits and Theorems. However majority of questions from EDC were asked from advanced topics like MOSFET Design Techniques, Opto electronics etc. In Analog, questions are from Diode circuits and Op Amp.
Questions from Control Systems were majorly asked from State Space Analysis, RH criteria and Nyquist plots & most of the questions from Signals and Systems were asked from Transforms and Filter concepts.
In Digital electronics, the questions are from MUX, ADDERS, State Diagram and PLA. Majority of the questions from Communications are from AM, FM, PCM and Information theory. In EMF most of the questions are from Electrostatic fields, Transmission lines and Wave guides.
Overall Paper was Moderate.
Distribution of Marks:
| S. No |
Subject |
1 Mark Q |
2 Mark Q |
Total Marks |
| 1 |
General Aptitude: |
5 |
5 |
15 |
| 2 |
Engineering Mathematics |
5 |
4 |
13 |
| 3 |
Networks |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| 4 |
Signals and Systems |
2 |
4 |
10 |
| 5 |
Electronic Devices and Circuits |
3 |
4 |
11 |
| 6 |
Analog Electronics |
3 |
3 |
9 |
| 7 |
Digital Electronics |
3 |
3 |
9 |
| 8 |
Communications |
2 |
4 |
10 |
| 9 |
Electromagnetic Theory |
2 |
3 |
8 |
| 10 |
Control Systems |
3 |
3 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
100 |
Subject-wise Level of Difficutly
| S. No |
Subject |
Level of Difficutly |
| 1 |
General Aptitude: |
Easy |
| 2 |
Engineering Mathematics |
Medium |
| 3 |
Networks |
Medium |
| 4 |
Signals and Systems |
Medium |
| 5 |
Electronic Devices and Circuits |
Difficulty |
| 6 |
Analog Electronics |
Difficulty |
| 7 |
Digital Electronics |
Medium |
| 8 |
Communications |
Medium |
| 9 |
Electromagnetic Theory |
Medium |
| 10 |
Control Systems |
Medium |
GATE 2017 is being conducted by IIT Roorkee, the organizing institute of the exam in two slots – from 9 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 5 pm.
Check GATE 2017 important dates here!
Check out GATE 2017 Pre-exam analysis here!
Last Minute Tips for GATE 2017
Also read:
- GATE 2017 Mock Test For Different Papers
- PSUs accepting GATE scores for recruitment
- GATE 2017 Eligibility & Exam Centers
About the author:
MV Reddy is the President, TIME.
