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GATE 2026 Chemistry (CY) Paper Analysis: Difficulty, Weightage & Expected Cutoff

Comprehensive Review of CY 2026, Subject-wise Marks Distribution, and Admission Safe Scores for IITs & PSUs.

Updated 8 months agoGATE 2026 · Paper Analysis · Chemistry.
#GATE 2026 Chemistry Analysis#CY Paper Review#GATE CY Expected Cutoff#Physical Chemistry Weightage#IIT M.Sc/M.Tech Admissions.
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GATE 2026 Chemistry (CY) Paper Analysis: Difficulty, Weightage & Expected Cutoff

GATE 2026 Chemistry (CY) In-Depth Paper Analysis

Exam Date: February 7, 2026 | Session: Forenoon

1. Overall Paper Difficulty & Pattern

The GATE 2026 Chemistry paper was rated Moderate to Difficult. Unlike the 2025 paper, which was relatively balanced, the 2026 session featured more numerical-intensive questions in Physical Chemistry and analytical MSQs in Inorganic Chemistry.

MCQs: ~38-40 Questions
MSQs: ~8-10 Questions
NATs: ~15-17 Questions

2. Subject-Wise Marks Distribution

Domain Weightage Critical Topics (2026 Trends)
Physical Chemistry ~28-30 Marks Quantum Chemistry, Thermodynamics (Partial Molar), Kinetics (Steady State).
Inorganic Chemistry ~25-27 Marks Coordination Chemistry (CFT/MOT), Organometallics, Main Group Elements.
Organic Chemistry ~28-30 Marks Reaction Mechanisms, Stereochemistry, Pericyclic Reactions, Spectroscopy.
General Aptitude 15 Marks Quantitative (Ratio/Speed), Verbal, Venn Diagrams.

3. Expected Qualifying Cutoff 2026

Due to the moderate-tough difficulty level, the qualifying marks are expected to be slightly lower than 2024 but similar to the 2025 cycle.

Category 2026 (Expected) 2025 (Actual) 2024 (Actual)
General (GEN) 25.0 - 27.5 25.0 25.2
OBC-NCL / EWS 22.5 - 24.7 22.5 22.6
SC / ST / PwD 16.6 - 18.3 16.6 16.7

4. Target Ranks for Top Institutions

  • IISc / IIT Bombay / IIT Kanpur: AIR Under 150 (Score: 780+)
  • Mid-Tier IITs (Roorkee/Madras): AIR Under 400 (Score: 720+)
  • PSU Recruitments (ONGC/IOCL): AIR Under 100 (Marks: 75+)

Stay tuned! Official answer keys are expected by the fourth week of February on the GOAPS portal.

Revision kit710 GATE GA questions of 2017–2026, ranked
  • Marks booster + cheatsheet: most-asked concepts in 2 lines each
  • 8 high-yield rules
  • 14 grammar rules GATE tested
  • 16 algebra formulas with solved PYQs
  • 130+ past questions solved in a line
  • 16% since 2021: spatial reasoning
Page 1 free about 8 min read, Full kit about 1 h 5 min read
₹129
Read page 1 freeabout 8 minView details

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