GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024 and Exam Pattern | Books, Weightage

GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus

GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024: IIT Kharagpur is the conducting authority for GATE Exam 2024. You can prepare correctly for the examination by knowing the details regarding the topics to study through the GATE Syllabus 2024 for Environmental Science and Engineering.

To know more about the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2024, read the whole blog.

Table of Contents

GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024

GATE Environmental Science and Engineering syllabus2024 consists of 9 different subjects and a section on General Aptitude Section. Environmental Science and Engineering is one of the new papers included last year. 

The core subjects that are a part of GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024 are

Mathematics Foundation
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Microbiology
Water Resources and Environmental Hydraulics
Water & Wastewater Treatment and Management
Air and Noise Pollution
Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Global and Regional Environmental Issues
Environmental Management and Sustainable Development.

The details of the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024 is given below :

Section 1: Mathematics Foundation

  • Linear Algebra: Determinants and matrices, Systems of linear equations, Eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
  • Calculus: Functions, Limit, Continuity, Differentiability, Local maxima and minima, Taylor series, Tests for convergence, Definite and indefinite integrals, Application of definite integral to obtain area and volume, Partial and total derivatives.
  • Differential Equations: Linear and non-linear first order ordinary differential equations (ODE), Higher order linear ODEs with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Laplace transform and its application in solving linear ODEs.
  • Probability and Statistics: Descriptive statistics, Measurement of central tendency, Dispersion, Skewness and kurtosis, Probability concepts, Conditional probability, Bayes theorem, Risk and reliability, Probability distributions, Correlation, Single and multiple regression models, Hypothesis testing (t-test, F-test, chi-square test).

Section 2: Environmental Chemistry

  • Fundamentals of Environmental Chemistry: Covalent and ionic bonding; Chemical equations, concentration and activity; Structure and chemistry of organic molecules; Radioactivity of elements; Chemical equilibria; Thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions.
  • Principles of water chemistry: Water quality parameters and their measurement; Acid-base equilibria; Buffer solution; Carbonate system; Solubility of gases in water; Complexation, precipitation, and redox reactions; Inorganic and organic contaminants in water and their speciation.
  • Soil chemistry; Organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, and sodium absorption ratio.
  • Atmospheric Chemistry: Composition of the atmosphere; Reactivity of trace substances in the atmosphere; Urban atmosphere—smog and particulate pollution; Chemistry of ozone formation; Chemistry of stratosphere.

Section 3: Environmental Microbiology

  • Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms; Characteristics of diverse groups of microorganisms; Classification of microorganisms; Microbial diversity; Plant-microbe and soil- microbe interactions; Role of microorganisms in wastewater treatment, bioremediation and biogeochemical cycling.
  • Cell chemistry and cell biology: Structure of proteins, nucleic acid (DNA & RNA), lipids and polysaccharides; Bonds in biomolecules; Stereoisomerism in biomolecules; Structure of cell; Structure and function of cytoplasmic membrane, cell wall, outer membrane, glycocalyx, chromosomes, endospores, storage products, mitochondria and chloroplasts.
  • Microbial metabolism: Anabolism and catabolism; Phosphorylation; Glycolysis; TCA cycle; Electron transport chain; Fermentation; Anaerobic respiration; Energy balances; Enzymes and Enzyme kinetics.
  • Growth and control of microorganisms: Bacterial nutrition and growth; Specific growth rate and doubling time; Monod’s model; Types of culture media; Batch and continuous culture; Effects of environmental factors on growth; Control of microbes using physical and chemical methods.
  • Microbiology and health: Pathogens and modes of transmission; Indicator organisms; Quantification of coliforms using MPN and membrane filtration techniques.

Section 4: Water Resources and Environmental Hydraulics

  • Global Water Resources: Structure, properties and distribution of water; Water quality; Threats to water resources; Water conservation.
  • Surface Water Resources: Hydrological cycle and water balance – precipitation, infiltration, evapotranspiration, runoff; Flow hydrographs; Unit hydrographs; Stage-discharge relationship; Reservoir capacity; Reservoir and channel routing; Surface run-off models; Surface water management; Rain water harvesting and storage.
  • Groundwater Resources: Geologic formations as aquifers; Vadose and saturated zones; Confined and unconfined aquifers and their parameters – porosity, permeability, transmissivity and storage coefficient; Darcy’s law and applications; Steady state well hydraulics.
  • Environmental Hydraulics: Concepts of mechanics; Properties of fluids; Pressure measurement; Hydrostatic force on surfaces; Buoyancy and flotation; Laminar and turbulent flow; Flow through pipes; Pipe networks; Boundary layer theory; Forces on immersed bodies; Flow measurement in channels and pipes; Kinematics of flow; Continuity, momentum and energy equations; Channel hydraulics – specific energy, critical flow, hydraulic jump, rapid and gradually varied flow; Design of lined and unlined channels.

Section 5: Water & Wastewater Treatment and Management

  • Water and wastewater quality parameters; Eutrophication and thermal stratification in lakes; River pollution – Oxygen sag curve.
  • Water treatment methods – screening, sedimentation with and without coagulation, filtration, desalination, disinfection; Water distribution and storage
  • Point and nonpoint sources of wastewater; Population forecasting methods; Design of sewer and storm water sewers; Sewer appurtenances; Preliminary, primary, secondary and tertiary sewage treatment; Sludge generation, processing and disposal methods; Sewage farming.
  • Sources and characteristics of industrial effluents; Concept of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP); Wastewater recycling and zero liquid discharge.
  • Kinetics and reactor design: Mass and energy balance, Order and rate of reactions, Batch reactors, Completely mixed flow reactors, Plug flow reactors.

Section 6: Air and Noise Pollution

  • Structure of the atmosphere; Natural and anthropogenic sources of pollution; Atmospheric sources, sinks, transport; Indoor air pollution; Effects on health and environment; Air pollution: gases and particulate matter; Air quality standards; Primary and secondary pollutants; Criteria pollutants, ambient and source standards, air quality indices, visibility.
  • Particulate pollutants: measurement and control methods; Control of particulate air pollutants using gravitational settling chambers, cyclone separators, wet collectors, fabric filters (Bag- house filter), electrostatic precipitators (ESP).
  • Gaseous Pollutants: Measurement and control methods; Control of gaseous contaminants: absorption, adsorption, condensation and combustion; Control of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons; Vapour-liquid and vapour-solid equilibria; Diffusion, Fick’s law and interfacial mass transfer.
  • Automotive emission controls, fuel quality, diesel particulate filters, catalytic convertors.
  • Air quality management: Point, line and area sources; Inventory; Influence of meteorology – wind rose diagrams, stability, mixing height, topography, dispersion modelling, monitoring.
  • Noise pollution: Sources; Health effects; Standards; Measurement and control methods.

Section 7: Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

  • Integrated solid waste management; Waste hierarchy; Rules and regulations for solid waste management in India.
  • Municipal solid waste management: Sources, generation, characteristics, collection and transportation, waste processing and disposal (including reuse options, biological methods, energy recovery processes and landfilling).
  • Hazardous waste management: Characteristics, generation, fate of materials in the environment, treatment and disposal.
  • Soil contamination and leaching of contaminants into groundwater.
  • Management of biomedical waste, plastic waste and E-waste: Sources, generation and characteristics; Waste management practices including storage, collection and transfer.

Section 8: Global and Regional Environmental Issues

  • Global effects of air pollution – Greenhouse gases, global warming, climate change, urban heat islands, acid rain, ozone hole.
  • Ecology and various ecosystems; Biodiversity; Factors influencing increase in population, energy consumption, and environmental degradation.

Section 9: Environmental Management and Sustainable Development

  • Environmental Management Systems; ISO14000 series; Environmental auditing: Environmental Impact Assessment; Life cycle assessment; Human health risk assessment
  • Environmental Law and Policy – Objectives; Polluter pays principle, Precautionary principle; The Water and Air Acts with amendments; The Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) 1986; National Green Tribunal Act, 2010; National Environment Policy; Principles of International Law and International treaties.
  • Energy and Environment: Energy sources – overview of resources and reserves; Renewable and non-renewable energy sources; Energy-Environment nexus.
  • Sustainable Development: Definition and concepts of sustainable development; Sustainable development goals; Hurdles to sustainability; Environment and economics

Download GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024 PDF

GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024 On General Aptitude 

Subject GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024
Verbal Aptitude English grammar – articles, verb-noun agreement, tenses, adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions, other parts of speech etc.; vocabulary – words, phrases, idioms; comprehension & reading; narrative sequencing.
Analytical Aptitude Logic – Induction & Deduction; analogy; number relations & reasoning.
Spatial Aptitude Shape transformation – mirroring, rotation, translation, grouping, assembling, and scaling; Paper cutting, folding & 2-D and 3-D patterns.
Numerical Aptitude Elementary statistics & probability; geometry; data and graphs (bar graph, histogram, pie chart, and other data graphs), 2- and 3- dimensional plots, maps, and tables; mensuration; numerical computation & estimation – powers, exponents, percentages, permutations & combinations, ratios, logarithms, etc.

GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Exam Pattern 2024

GATE Environmental Science and Engineering paper will consist of 65 questions worth 100 marks. The Mathematics Foundation Section will be worth 13 marks, General Aptitude will be 15 marks and core Environmental Science and Engineering subjects will be worth 72 marks.

You will be required to answer Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Multiple Select Questions, and /or Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions during the examination which will be 3 hours in duration.

  • Exam mode : Online, Computer Based Test
  • Duration : 3 hours
  • Type of questions : MCQs & NATs 
  • No/name of sections : 3 sections, General Aptitude, Mathematics, Subject-based
  • No. of questions : 65
  • No. of marks : 100 marks
  • Negative marking : for MCQs only

You can look at the exam pattern below. 

Section  Distribution of Marks Total Marks Types of questions
GA 5 questions of 1 mark each
5 questions of 2 marks each

15 marks 

MCQs
ES – Subject-Based 25 questions of 1 mark each
30 questions of 2 marks each 
85 marks MCQs and NATs

Marking scheme

You can look at the  marking scheme of GATE 2024 below. 

Type of question Negative marking for wrong answer Marking for correct answer
MCQs ⅓ for 1 mark questions
⅔ for 2 marks questions
1 or 2 marks
NATs No negative marking  1 or 2 marks

Topic-wise Weightage For GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024

Here you can check Topic-wise Weightage For GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024.

Important Topics Weightage in terms of Question asked

General Aptitude

10

Mathematics Foundation

10

Environmental Chemistry

4

Air and Noise Pollution

6

Environmental Microbiology

5

Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

9

Global and Regional Environmental Issues

3

Environmental Management and Sustainable Development

6

Water & Wastewater Treatment and Management

8

Water Resources and Environmental Hydraulics

4

Other Important Information for GATE Environmental Science and Engineering 2024

Click on the link to access other information & study materials related to the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering 2024.

Important Books Based On GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024

You can check the list of Important books based on GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2024.

Title of the book Name of the Author/ Publication
Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks – Designing Processes for the Effective Use of Science in Decision Making AE Farrell 
Environmental Management for Sustainable Development (Routledge Environmental Management Series) Chris Barrow
Solid and Hazardous Waste Management S. Bhatia
Solid and Hazardous Waste Management M.N Rao
Air and Noise pollution control  Lawrence K Wang
Wastewater Treatment Technologies: Design Considerations (Challenges in Water Management Series) Mritunjay Chaubey
Now you have a detailed guide on GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2024. To know more about the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering 2024 Exam, ask in the comment section.

FAQs on GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2024

Here you can check FAQs on GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2024.

What is the paper code for GATE Environmental Science and Engineering?

The paper code for GATE Environmental Science and Engineering is ES.

How many sections are there in the GATE ES Syllabus 2022?

The GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus includes 9 sections.

What sections are in the GATE Syllabus for Environmental Science and Engineering 2022? 

GATE Syllabus for Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) 2022 will have questions in 3 broad sections: Mathematics Foundation, General Aptitude and Core ES subjects.

What are the topics covered under the section 5 Water and Waste Water Treatment and Management of the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus 2022?

Topics included in this section of the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering syllabus are:
Water and wastewater quality parameters; Eutrophication and thermal stratification in lakes; River pollution – Oxygen sag curve.
Water treatment methods – screening, sedimentation with and without coagulation, filtration, desalination, disinfection; Water distribution and storage
Point and non-point sources of wastewater; Population forecasting methods; Design of sewer and storm water sewers; Sewer appurtenances; Preliminary, primary, secondary and tertiary sewage treatment; Sludge generation, processing and disposal methods; Sewage farming.
Sources and characteristics of industrial effluents; Concept of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP); Wastewater recycling and zero liquid discharge.
Kinetics and reactor design: Mass and energy balance, Order and rate of reactions, Batch reactors, Completely mixed flow reactors, Plug flow reactors.

 Which are the core subjects of the GATE Syllabus for Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) 2022? 

The core subject of the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Syllabus (ES) 2022 are as follows: 
Mathematics Foundation
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Microbiology
Water Resources and Environmental Hydraulics
Water & Wastewater Treatment and Management
Air and Noise Pollution
Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Global and Regional Environmental Issues, Environmental Management 
Sustainable Development

 What is the difficulty level of GATE Environmental Science and Engineering (ES)? 

The difficulty level of GATE Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) varies from easy to moderate. 

What is the GATE Marking Scheme for Environmental Science and Engineering (ES)? 

The GATE Marking Scheme for Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) is as follows: 
MCQ: 1/3 for 1 mark questions 2/3 for 2 marks questions,
NAT/MSQ: No negative marking

Which are the best GATE Books for preparing the GATE Syllabus for Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) 2022?

The best GATE Books for Environmental Science and Engineering 2022 are as follows: 
Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks – Designing Processes for the Effective Use of Science in Decision Making by AE Farrell 
Environmental Management for Sustainable Development (Routledge Environmental Management Series) by Chris Barrow
Solid and Hazardous Waste Management by S. Bhatia
Wastewater Treatment Technologies: Design Considerations (Challenges in Water Management Series) by Mritunjay Chaubey

How many questions are asked in the GATE Environmental Science and Engineering 2022 exam? 

The GATE Environmental Science and Engineering Question paper will have 65 questions, out of which approximately 45 questions will be ES Core Subject Questions. 10 Questions would be from Mathematics, and 10 would be from the Aptitude section

Which subject can be taken along with GATE for Environmental Science and Engineering 2022?

If you have chosen Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) as your first paper, have a choice for selecting either Agricultural Engineering (AG) or Civil Engineering (CE) as your second paper.

How much time is required to prepare the GATE Syllabus for Environmental Science and Engineering 2022?

You should take at least 6 months to complete the GATE Syllabus for Environmental Science and Engineering 2022.

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