← Previous year papers · GATE AR guide
GATE AR 2024 — Paper analysis
Topic weightage, difficulty trends, and preparation takeaways for the Architecture & Planning paper conducted on 10 February 2024 by IISc Bangalore. Pair with the GATE AR 2024 mock quiz and full solutions.
Overall Paper Structure
| Section | Questions | Marks | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Aptitude (GA) | Q1–Q10 | 15 | 5 × 1m + 5 × 2m |
| Part A – AR Common | Q11–Q49 | 60 | 18 × 1m + 21 × 2m |
| Part B1 – Architecture | Q50–Q65 | 25 | 7 × 1m + 9 × 2m |
| Part B2 – Planning | Q66–Q81 | 25 | 7 × 1m + 9 × 2m |
| Total | 65 | 100 |
Question Type Distribution
| Type | Count | 1-mark | 2-mark | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCQ | 32 | 14 | 18 | 49.2% |
| MSQ | 18 | 10 | 8 | 27.7% |
| NAT | 14 | 4 | 10 | 21.5% |
| MTA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.5% |
The paper has a notably high proportion of MSQ questions (18 out of 65), making it one of the most MSQ-heavy GATE AR papers. This increases difficulty because MSQs have no partial credit and no negative marking but require identifying ALL correct options.
Difficulty Assessment
Section-wise Difficulty
| Section | Difficulty Level | Key Observation |
|---|---|---|
| GA (Q1–Q10) | Easy to Moderate | Standard aptitude; Q4 (infinite series) and Q8 (finance) were the trickiest |
| Part A – 1 mark (Q11–Q28) | Moderate | Heavy on factual recall; Q23 (perspective) and Q25 (slum classification) were confusing |
| Part A – 2 mark (Q29–Q49) | Moderate to Difficult | Multiple match-the-following (6 questions); NAT calculations were time-consuming |
| Part B1 – Architecture | Moderate | Q56 (elevator) and Q62 (strain) had lengthy calculations; Q59 (brick shapes) was unique |
| Part B2 – Planning | Moderate | Q72 (sex ratio) and Q81 (trip generation) required careful computation |
Overall Difficulty: Moderate
The 2024 paper was slightly easier than the 2023 paper but comparable to 2025. The high number of match-the-following questions (7 in Part A alone) meant that students with strong factual knowledge had an advantage, while those relying on conceptual understanding found it challenging.
Topic-wise Distribution (Part A + B1/B2)
Architecture & Building Science Topics
| Topic | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Structural Systems & Curvature | Q11, Q43 | 3 |
| Building Materials & Construction | Q35, Q59, Q63 | 6 |
| Building Services (HVAC, Acoustics, Lighting) | Q37, Q51, Q60, Q64, Q65 | 8 |
| History of Architecture (World) | Q50, Q54, Q57 | 5 |
| History of Architecture (Indian) | Q13, Q53 | 3 |
| Contemporary Architecture | Q30, Q52, Q55, Q58 | 7 |
| Vernacular Architecture | Q61 | 2 |
| Structural Analysis | Q43, Q62 | 4 |
| Drawing & Graphics | Q23, Q53 | 3 |
Planning & Urban Design Topics
| Topic | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Urban Planning Theory & History | Q12, Q31, Q34, Q75 | 7 |
| Urban Renewal & Regeneration | Q32, Q73, Q74 | 5 |
| Housing & Slums | Q21, Q25, Q48 | 5 |
| Transportation Planning | Q15, Q41, Q69, Q76, Q78, Q81 | 9 |
| Environmental Planning | Q33, Q47 | 4 |
| Planning Legislation & Governance | Q24, Q26, Q27, Q42, Q66, Q68 | 8 |
| Demography & Economics | Q70, Q72, Q79, Q80 | 6 |
| Landscape & Botany | Q39, Q40 | 4 |
| Water Supply & Sanitation | Q18, Q20, Q46 | 4 |
| Project Management | Q35, Q44, Q45 | 5 |
| Urban Heat & Climate | Q17, Q37 | 3 |
Comparative Analysis: GATE AR 2024 vs 2023 vs 2025
| Aspect | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Difficulty | Difficult | Moderate | Moderate |
| MSQ Count | 12 | 18 | 11 |
| NAT Count | 15 | 14 | 20 |
| Match-the-Following | 4 | 7 | 5 |
| Focus Areas | Housing, Heritage | Transportation, Software, Building Services | GIS, Governance |
| Unique Topics | — | Brick nomenclature (Q59), Elevator kinematics (Q56) | — |
| Calculation-Heavy NATs | 5 | 6 | 8 |
Key Trends
-
Rising MSQ count in 2024: At 18 MSQs, the 2024 paper tested multi-option identification more than any recent year. This trend shifted back in 2025 (11 MSQs), suggesting 2024 was an outlier.
-
Match-the-following dominance: With 7 full match questions, the 2024 paper demanded extensive factual recall across architecture, planning, software, and construction topics. This is the highest match question count in recent GATE AR history.
-
Building Services emphasis: Q51 (HVAC), Q60 (LPD/EPI), Q62 (strain), Q64 (reverberation), and Q65 (EER) collectively contributed 10 marks in Part B1, making it the most services-heavy B1 section in recent years.
-
Interdisciplinary questions: Q35 (floating floor/float valve/free float) spanned acoustics, plumbing, and project management — a growing trend of cross-domain questions.
-
Planning section balance: The B2 section in 2024 was well-balanced across transportation (3 questions), regional planning (2), governance (3), and demographics (2), with no single topic dominating.
Scoring Strategy
Easy Marks (Recommended to Attempt First)
- GA Q1, Q3, Q6, Q7 — straightforward aptitude
- Q14 (Distress Value), Q15 (Enoscope), Q16 (Rapoport) — direct factual recall
- Q44 (Straight-line depreciation), Q78 (Traffic flow from headway) — simple NAT calculations
Medium Difficulty (Core Scoring Zone)
- Q29–Q35 (Match questions) — high reward if factual knowledge is strong
- Q36 (URDPFI), Q37 (PET/Reynolds), Q38 (Color theory) — MSQs with manageable scope
- Q47, Q48, Q49 — NAT with clear calculation paths
Difficult / Time-Consuming (Attempt Last)
- Q9 (Dice net) — requires 3D visualization
- Q56 (Elevator kinematics) — multi-step physics calculation
- Q62 (Strain calculation) — requires careful unit handling
- Q64 (Sabine’s formula with figure reading) — requires extracting RT60 from graph
- Q72 (Sex ratio with growth) — requires precision in population math
Notable Observations
-
Q42 answer key ambiguity: The official key accepted both “A;B;C” and “A;B;C;D” for the fire-fighting terminology question, acknowledging the debatable status of “Atrium” as a fire-fighting term. Atrium is more of a building feature that necessitates fire protection measures rather than a fire-fighting element per se.
-
Q36 answer discrepancy: The URDPFI population norms for educational facilities in the question’s table may differ slightly from various editions of the guidelines. The answer B (P-3, Q-5, R-4, S-1) aligns with the URDPFI 2015 norms as commonly cited.
-
Q63 calculation: The centre-line method gives 41.10 × 1.10 × 0.30 = 13.563 m³, but the official answer is 13.20. This discrepancy likely arises from the specific adjustment for the two-room structure’s corner overlaps, which the centre-line length of 41.10 m may already account for with slight precision differences.
-
No MTA question in 2024: Despite the answer key listing Q55 as MTA for Part B1, the actual question is a standard MCQ. The MTA label appears only for Q55 in the answer key, which may be a classification error.