Competitive Exams

Section 1: Engineering Mathematics

Linear Algebra: Matrix algebra, systems of linear equations, consistency and rank, Eigenvalue and Eigenvectors.

Calculus: Mean value theorems, theorems of integral calculus, partial derivatives, maxima and minima, multiple integrals, Fourier series, vector identities, line, surface and volume integrals, Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems.

Differential Equations: First order equation (linear and nonlinear), second order linear differential equations with constant coefficients, method of variation of parameters, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, initial and boundary value problems, solution of partial differential equations: variable separable method.

Analysis of Complex Variables: Analytic functions, Cauchy’s integral theorem and integral formula, Taylor’s and Laurent’s series, residue theorem, solution of integrals.

Probability and Statistics: Sampling theorems, conditional probability, mean, median, mode, standard deviation and variance; random variables: discrete and continuous distributions: normal, Poisson and binomial distributions.

Numerical Methods: Matrix inversion, solutions of non-linear algebraic equations, iterative methods for solving differential equations, numerical integration, regression and correlation analysis.

Section 2: Electricity and Magnetism

Coulomb's Law, Electric Field Intensity, Electric Flux Density, Gauss's Law, Divergence, Electric field and potential due to point, line, plane and spherical charge distributions, Effect of dielectric medium, Capacitance of simple configurations, Biot‐Savart’s law, Ampere’s law, Curl, Faraday’s law, Lorentz force, Inductance, Magnetomotive force, Reluctance, Magnetic circuits, Self and Mutual inductance of simple configurations.

Section 3: Electrical Circuits and Machines

Voltage and Current Sources: Independent, dependent, ideal and practical; v-i relationships of resistor, inductor, mutual inductance and capacitor; transient analysis of RLC circuits with dc excitation.

Kirchoff’s laws, mesh and nodal analysis, superposition, Thevenin, Norton, maximum power transfer and reciprocity theorems.

Peak-, average- and rms values of AC quantities; apparent-, active- and reactive powers; phasor analysis, impedance and admittance; series and parallel resonance, locus diagrams, realization of basic filters with R, L and C elements. transient analysis of RLC circuits with ac excitation.

One-port and two-port networks, driving point impedance and admittance, open-, and short circuit parameters.

Single Phase Transformer: Equivalent circuit, phasor diagram, open circuit and short circuit tests, regulation and efficiency; Three phase induction motors: principle of operation, types, performance, torque-speed characteristics, no-load and blocked rotor tests, equivalent circuit, starting and speed control; Types of losses and efficiency calculations of electric machines.

Section 4: Signals and Systems

Periodic, aperiodic and impulse signals; Laplace, Fourier and z-transforms; transfer function, frequency response of first and second order linear time invariant systems, impulse response of systems; convolution, correlation. Discrete time system: impulse response, frequency response, pulse transfer function; DFT and FFT; basics of IIR and FIR filters.

Section 5: Control Systems

Feedback principles, signal flow graphs, transient response, steady-state-errors, Bode plot, phase and gain margins, Routh and Nyquist criteria, root loci, design of lead, lag and lead- lag compensators, state-space representation of systems; time-delay systems; mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic system components, synchro pair, servo and stepper motors, servo valves; on-off, P, PI, PID, cascade, feed forward, and ratio controllers, tuning of PID controllers and sizing of control valves.

Section 6: Analog Electronics

Characteristics and applications of diode, Zener diode, BJT and MOSFET; small signal analysis of transistor circuits, feedback amplifiers. Characteristics of ideal and practical operational amplifiers; applications of opamps: adder, subtractor, integrator, differentiator, difference amplifier, instrumentation amplifier, precision rectifier, active filters, oscillators, signal generators, voltage controlled oscillators and phase locked loop, sources and effects of noise and interference in electronic circuits.

Section 7: Digital Electronics

Combinational logic circuits, minimization of Boolean functions. IC families: TTL and CMOS. Arithmetic circuits, comparators, Schmitt trigger, multi-vibrators, sequential circuits, flipflops, shift registers, timers and counters; sample-and-hold circuit, multiplexer, analog- to-digital (successive approximation, integrating, flash and sigma-delta) and digital-to- analog converters (weighted R, R-2R ladder and current steering logic). Characteristics of ADC and DAC (resolution, quantization, significant bits, conversion/settling time); basics of number systems, Embedded Systems: Microprocessor and microcontroller applications, memory and input-output interfacing; basics of data acquisition systems, basics of distributed control systems (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PLC).

Section 8: Measurements

SI units, standards (R, L, C, voltage, current and frequency), systematic and random errors in measurement, expression of uncertainty - accuracy and precision, propagation of errors, linear and weighted regression. Bridges: Wheatstone, Kelvin, Megohm, Maxwell, Anderson, Schering and Wien for measurement of R, L, C and frequency, Ǫ-meter. Measurement of voltage, current and power in single and three phase circuits; ac and dc current probes; true rms meters, voltage and current scaling, instrument transformers, timer/counter, time, phase and frequency measurements, digital voltmeter, digital multimeter; oscilloscope, shielding and grounding.

Section G: Sensors and Industrial Instrumentation

Resistive-, capacitive-, inductive-, piezoelectric-, Hall effect sensors and associated signal conditioning circuits; transducers for industrial instrumentation: displacement (linear and angular), velocity, acceleration, force, torque, vibration, shock, pressure (including low pressure), flow (variable head, variable area, electromagnetic, ultrasonic, turbine and open channel flow meters) temperature (thermocouple, bolometer, RTD (3/4 wire), thermistor, pyrometer and semiconductor); liquid level, pH, conductivity and viscosity measurement. 4- 20 mA two-wire transmitter.

Section 10: Communication and Optical Instrumentation

Amplitude- and frequency modulation and demodulation; Shannon's sampling theorem, pulse code modulation; frequency and time division multiplexing, amplitude-, phase-, frequency-, quadrature amplitude, pulse shift keying for digital modulation; optical sources and detectors: LED, laser, photo-diode, light dependent resistor, square law detectors and their characteristics; interferometer: applications in metrology; basics of fiber optic sensing. UV-VIS Spectrophotometers, Mass spectrometer.

The previous year questions with their solutions are a part of our course material. So when you subscribe for the course material, you will get solutions for GATE Instrumentation Engineering questions from GATE 2011 onwards.

Preparation for GATE Instrumentation Engineering is a 5-step process.

1. Understand the GATE Instrumentation Engineering syllabus and make a study plan based on time left for exam. Plan in a way that gives you atleast 2 months just to answer tests and Mocks.
2. GATE requires you to have strong concepts. So get the best books for each subject along with GATE specific study material from Career Avenues.
3. For better clarity, you can also refer to Career Avenues videos for GATE Instrumentation Engineering, which have been made by some of the best GATE Instrumentation Engineering faculty.
4. As you study, keep making notes. Also solve previous year questions and master the concepts behind each of the question.
5. Answer a lot of GATE Instrumentation Engineering Mocks and Section tests. Career Avenues provides a complete series, which includes Mathematics and Aptitude.

Career Avenues can help you in 3 ways.

1. Best study material for GATE Instrumentation Engineering made specifically for the GATE Instrumentation Engineering syllabus. The study material can be purchased both in online (read access) or offline (printed) mode)
2. Excellent video lectures for GATE Instrumentation Engineering that helps in understanding the concepts better and faster.
3. Exhaustive test series with a combination of easy, moderate and difficult questions.

Yes, you can. A trial course is available for Rs. 100 for each of the three courses (study material, video lectures and test series). The trial course will unlock all features and content of the course for a period of 2 days.

Once you are satisfied with the quality of the course, you can then purchase for a duration appropriate to your GATE preparation.

For someone who is serious about his or her GATE preparation, the course is good and sufficient. Since 2011, when we started GATE Instrumentation Engineering courses, hundreds of our students have made it into top colleges like IISc, IITs and NITs.