Updated on, Dec 19, 2024
byBhaskar Das Academic Content Specialist
GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2025 has been released by IIT Roorkee on iitr.ac.in/gate/. The GATE Exam syllabus for Chemistry includes three sections which are Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2025 helps aspirants to align their preparation strategy to ace the exam with a top score. You can download the GATE Chemistry syllabus pdf from the link below:
| Syllabus | |
|---|---|
| Chemistry Syllabus | Download PDF |
| General Aptitude Syllabus | Download PDF |
The Core Chemistry Subjects consist of 85% of the total marks. The General aptitude will have 15% marks. You will get 25 questions worth 1 mark each and 30 questions carrying 2 marks each in GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2025. The syllabus covers kinetics, transition elements, radioactivity, lanthanides, actinides, pericyclic reactions, photochemistry, etc.
Key Statistics Related to GATE Chemistry Syllabus from the Previous Year:
- Increased Focus on Numerical Questions: Especially in Physical Chemistry.
- Conceptual Emphasis: Organic Chemistry questions often test reaction mechanisms and logical reasoning.
- Cross-disciplinary Applications: Some subjects will overlap with biology (Biomolecules) and materials science (Organometallics) in recent years.
- Students Enrolled: 35382 students registered and 26825 appeared for the test.
- Qualifying Percentage: Around 12–18% of candidates qualify for GATE Chemistry exam.
- Cutoff Marks:
| Year | Cut Off Marks |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
|
| 2023 |
|
| 2022 |
|
Table of Contents
- GATE Exam Pattern for Chemistry 2025
- GATE Chemistry Questions Based on Previous Year Papers
2.1 Is GATE chemistry easy or hard?
2.2 Is Chemistry compulsory for GATE?
- GATE Chemistry Syllabus Weightage
- GATE Chemistry Syllabus Previous Year Question Papers
- GATE Syllabus for Chemistry: Explained GATE Chemistry Topics in Details
5.1 Section 1: Physical Chemistry
5.2 Section 2: Inorganic Chemistry
5.3 Section 2: Organic Chemistry
5.4 Is it possible to crack GATE in one month??
5.5 GATE Chemistry Preparation Plan for 1 Month
- GATE Chemistry Important Books to Prepare
GATE Exam Pattern for Chemistry 2025
The GATE Chemistry syllabus 2025 paper will be an online test consisting of 65 questions. These questions will be multiple-choice, multiple-select, and numerical answer types in nature, carrying 100 marks in total.
| GATE Chemistry Exam Pattern 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sections in GATE CY Paper | Number of Questions | Types of Questions | Total Marks | Exam Duration |
| General Aptitude | 10 | MCQ | 15 | 3 hours |
| Chemistry | 55 | MCQ, MSQ or NAT | 85 | |
| Total | 65 | 100 | ||
| Marking Scheme in GATE Chemistry Syllabus (CY) Paper | ||||
| 1/3 for 1-mark questions 2/3 for 2 marks for multiple-choice questions | ||||
| No negative marking for NATs or MSQs | ||||
Check:
GATE Chemistry Questions Based on Previous Year Papers
Based on the previous year’s question papers, the common trend of questions expected to arise from the GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2025 mentioned below:
| Section | Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Chemical Equilibrium | 4 |
| Chemical Kinetics | 5 |
| Group Theory | 3 |
| Transitional Elements | 3 |
| Stereochemistry | 4 |
| Organics Synthesis | 5 |
| Biomolecules | 2 |
| Experimentation Techniques in Organic Chemistry | 2 |
| Reaction Mechanisms | 5 |
| Spectroscopy | 2 |
| Main Group Elements | 4 |
| Organometallics | 3 |
| Structure | 3 |
| Spectroscopy | 2 |
| Solids | 2 |
| Radioactivity | 2 |
| Heterocyclic Compounds: | 2 |
| Pericyclic Reactions and Photochemistry | 2 |
Is GATE chemistry easy or hard?
GATE Chemistry Syllabus is considered as Moderately difficult. However, the difficulty always depends on how the student has prepared for the exam. Difficulty Level of GATE Previous Year Question Paper
Is Chemistry compulsory for GATE?
Yes, GATE Chemistry is mandatory for the candidates who choose XL (Life Sciences) as a secondary paper. They are required to take Chemistry (the mandatory subject) and two other sections. The topics of the Chemistry section of the GATE Life Sciences Syllabus are: Thermodynamics. Atomic Structure and Periodicity.
GATE Chemistry Syllabus Weightage
the approximate topic-wise weightage for the GATE Chemistry syllabus is as follows:
| Section | Topic | Approximate Weightage (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Chemistry | Chemical Equilibrium | 6 |
| Chemical Kinetics | 8 | |
| Group Theory | 4 | |
| Quantum Mechanics | 10 | |
| Thermodynamics | 8 | |
| Inorganic Chemistry | Coordination Chemistry | 11 |
| Main Group Elements | 5 | |
| Organometallics | 3 | |
| Bioinorganic Chemistry | 2 | |
| Organic Chemistry | Reaction Mechanisms | 17 |
| Stereochemistry | 5 | |
| Spectroscopy | 5 | |
| Biomolecules | 3 |
After checking the GATE Chemistry syllabus question papers from 2019 to 2023, we have observed the following distribution of questions across major topics:
| Year | Physical Chemistry | Organic Chemistry | Inorganic Chemistry | Analytical Chemistry | Total Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 55 |
| 2020 | 18 | 20 | 12 | 5 | 55 |
| 2021 | 22 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 55 |
| 2022 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 55 |
| 2023 | 21 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 55 |
Also Check:
GATE Chemistry Syllabus Previous Year Question Papers
| Session | |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Download Question Paper |
| 2023 | Download Question Paper |
| 2022 | Download Question Paper |
| 2021 | Download Question Paper |
| 2020 | Download Question Paper |
GATE Syllabus for Chemistry: Explained GATE Chemistry Topics in Details
Section 1: Physical Chemistry
| Topics | Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Structure | Postulates of quantum mechanics. Operators. Time dependent and time independent, Schrödinger equations. Born interpretation. Dirac bra-ket notation. Particle in a box: infinite and finite square wells; concept of tunneling; particle in 1D, 2D and 3D-box; applications. Harmonic oscillator: harmonic and anharmonic potentials; Hermite polynomials. Rotational motion: Angular momentum operators, Rigid rotor. Hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms: atomic orbitals; radial distribution function. Multi-electron atoms: orbital approximation; electron spin; Pauli exclusion principle; slater determinants. Approximation Methods: Variation method and secular determinants; first-order perturbation techniques. Atomic units. Molecular structure and Chemical bonding: Born-Oppenheimer approximation; Valence bond theory and linear combination of atomic orbitals – molecular orbital (LCAO-MO) theory. Hybrid orbitals. Applications of LCAOMO theory to H2+, H2; orbital theory (MOT) of homo- and heteronuclear diatomic molecules. Hückel approximation and its application to annular π – electron systems. |
| Group Theory | Symmetry elements and operations; Point groups and character tables; Internal coordinates and vibrational modes; symmetry adapted linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO-MO); construction of hybrid orbitals using symmetry aspects. |
| Spectroscopy | Atomic spectroscopy; Russell-Saunders coupling; Term symbols and spectral details; origin of selection rules. Rotational, vibrational, electronic and Raman spectroscopy of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. Line broadening. Einstein’s coefficients. Relationship of transition moment integral with molar extinction coefficient and oscillator strength. Basic principles of nuclear magnetic resonance: gyromagnetic ratio; chemical shift, nuclear coupling. |
| Equilibrium | Laws of thermodynamics. Standard states. Thermochemistry. Thermodynamic functions and their relationships: Gibbs-Helmholtz and Maxwell relations, Gibbs-Duhem equation, van’t Hoff equation. Criteria of spontaneity and equilibrium. Absolute entropy. Partial molar quantities. Thermodynamics of mixing. Chemical potential. Fugacity, activity and activity coefficients. Ideal and Non-ideal solutions, Raoult’s Law and Henry’s Law, Chemical equilibria. Dependence of equilibrium constant on temperature and pressure. Ionic mobility and conductivity. Debye-Hückel limiting law. Debye-Hückel-Onsager equation. Standard electrode potentials and electrochemical cells. Nernst Equation and its application, the relationship between Electrode potential and thermodynamic quantities, Potentiometric and conduct metric titrations. Phase rule. Clausius- Clapeyron equation. Phase diagram of one component system: CO2, H2O, S; two component systems: liquid- vapour, liquid-liquid and solid-liquid systems. Fractional distillation. Azeotropes and eutectics. Statistical thermodynamics: microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles, Boltzmann distribution, partition functions and thermodynamic properties. |
| Kinetics | Elementary, parallel, opposing and consecutive reactions. Steady state approximation. Mechanisms of complex reactions. Unimolecular reactions. Potential energy surfaces and classical trajectories, Concept of Saddle points, Transition state theory: Eyring equation, thermodynamic aspects. Kinetics of polymerization. Catalysis concepts and enzyme catalysis. Kinetic isotope effects. Fast reaction kinetics: relaxation and flow methods. Diffusion controlled reactions. Kinetics of photochemical and photophysical processes. |
| Surfaces And Interfaces | Physisorption and chemisorption. Langmuir, Freundlich and Brunauer– Emmett–Teller (BET) isotherms. Surface catalysis: Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. Surface tension, viscosity. Self-assembly. Physical chemistry of colloids, micelles and macromolecules. |
Section 2: Inorganic Chemistry
| Topics | Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Main Group Elements | Hydrides, halides, oxides, oxoacids, nitrides, sulfides – shapes and reactivity. Structure and bonding of boranes, carboranes, silicones, silicates, boron nitride, borazines and phosphazenes. Allotropes of carbon, phosphorous and sulphur. Industrial synthesis of compounds of main group elements. Chemistry of noble gases, pseudohalogens, and interhalogen compounds. Acid-base concepts and principles (Lewis, Brønsted, HSAB and acid base catalysis). |
| Transition Elements | Coordination chemistry – structure and isomerism, theories of bonding (VBT, CFT, and MOT). Energy level diagrams in various crystal fields, CFSE, applications of CFT, Jahn-Teller distortion. Electronic spectra of transition metal complexes: spectroscopic term symbols, selection rules, Orgel and Tanabe-Sugano diagrams, nephelauxetic effect and Racah parameter, charge-transfer spectra. Magnetic properties of transition metal complexes. Ray-Dutt and Bailar twists, Reaction mechanisms: kinetic and thermodynamic stability, substitution and redox reactions. Metal-metal multiple bond. |
| Lanthanides And Actinides | Recovery. Periodic properties, spectra, and magnetic properties. |
| Organometallics | 18-Electron rule; metal-alkyl, metal-carbonyl, metal-olefin and metal- carbene complexes and metallocenes. Fluxionality in organometallic complexes. Types of organometallic reactions. Homogeneous catalysis - Hydrogenation, hydroformylation, acetic acid synthesis, metathesis and olefin oxidation. Heterogeneous catalysis - Fischer- Tropsch reaction, ZieglerNatta polymerization. |
| Radioactivity | Detection of radioactivity, Decay processes, half-life of radioactive elements, fission and fusion processes. |
| Bioinorganic Chemistry | Ion (Na+ and K+) transport, oxygen binding, transport and utilization, electron transfer reactions, nitrogen fixation, metalloenzymes containing magnesium, molybdenum, iron, cobalt, copper and zinc. |
| Solids | Crystal systems and lattices, Miller planes, crystal packing, crystal defects, Bragg’s law, ionic crystals, structures of AX, AX2, ABX3 type compounds, etc. |
| Instrumental Methods Of Analysis | UV-visible, fluorescence and FTIR spectrophotometry, NMR and ESR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy (Fe and Sn) and X-ray crystallography. Chromatography including GC and HPLC. Electroanalytical methods- polarography, cyclic voltammetry, ion-selective electrodes. Thermoanalytical methods. |
Section 2: Organic Chemistry
| Topics | Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
| Stereochemistry | Chirality and symmetry of organic molecules with or without chiral centres and determination of their absolute configurations. Relative stereochemistry in compounds having more than one stereogenic centre. Homotopic, enantiotopic and diastereotopic atoms, groups and faces. Stereoselective and stereospecific synthesis. Conformational analysis of acyclic and cyclic compounds. Geometrical isomerism and optical isomerism. Configurational and conformational effects, atropisomerism, and neighbouring group participation on reactivity and selectivity/specificity |
| Reaction Mechanism | Basic mechanistic concepts – kinetic versus thermodynamic control, Hammond’s postulate and Curtin-Hammett principle. Methods of determining reaction mechanisms through kinetics, identification of products, intermediates and isotopic labelling. Linear free-energy relationship – Hammett and Taft equations. Nucleophilic and electrophilic substitution reactions (both aromatic and aliphatic). Addition reactions to carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom (N and O) multiple bonds. Elimination reactions. Reactive intermediates — carbocations, carbanions, carbenes, nitrenes, arynes and free radicals. Molecular rearrangements. |
| Organic Synthesis | Synthesis, reactions, mechanisms and selectivity involving the following classes of compounds – alkenes, alkynes, arenes, alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, nitriles, halides, nitro compounds, amines and amides. Uses of Mg, Li, Cu, B, Zn, P, S, Sn and Si based reagents in organic synthesis. Carbon-carbon bond formation through coupling reactions - Heck, Suzuki, Stille, Sonogoshira, Negishi, Kumada, Hiyama, Tsuji-Trost, olefin metathesis and McMurry. Concepts of multistep synthesis - retrosynthetic analysis, strategic disconnections, synthons and synthetic equivalents. Atom economy and Green Chemistry, Umpolung reactivity – formyl and acyl anion equivalents. Selectivity in organic synthesis – chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity. Protection and deprotection of functional groups. Concepts of asymmetric synthesis – resolution (including enzymatic), desymmetrization and use of chiral auxiliaries, organocatalysis. Carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond forming reactions through enolates (including boron enolates), enamines and silyl enol ethers. Stereoselective addition to C=O groups (Cram, Prelog and Felkin-Anh models). |
| Pericyclic Reaction And Photochemistry | Electrocyclic, cycloaddition and sigmatropic reactions. Orbital correlations - FMO and PMO treatments, Woodward-Hoffmann rule. Photochemistry of alkenes, arenes and carbonyl compounds. Photooxidation and photoreduction. Di-π-methane rearrangement, Barton-McCombie reaction, Norrish type-I and II cleavage reaction. |
| Heterocyclic Compounds | Structure, preparation, properties and reactions of furan, pyrrole, thiophene, pyridine, indole, quinoline and isoquinoline. |
| Biomolecules | Structure, properties and reactions of mono- and di-saccharides, physicochemical properties of amino acids, chemical synthesis of peptides, chemical structure determination of peptides and proteins, structural features of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, steroids, terpenoids, carotenoids, and alkaloids. |
| Experimental Techniques In Organic Chemistry | Optical rotation (polarimetry). Applications of various chromatographic techniques such as thin-layer, column, HPLC and GC. Applications of UV-visible, IR, NMR and Mass spectrometry in the structural determination of organic molecules. |
Is it possible to crack GATE in one month??
It is difficult to crack GATE with a preparation of one month. However, with the correct strategy and study schedule, one can make it. Clearing GATE in one month totally depends upon your effort, enthusiasm, planning, and moreover, practice but long time preparation is preferable. However, a few tips that can help are:
- Choose any four core subjects which are highest in marks. Select the important topics of these four subjects allot time for one week for one subject and mostly try to solve problems (6 hours)
- Daily allot (3 hours) for mathematics and quantitative aptitude
- Try to solve previous years' question papers and test series daily (2 hours)
You can also check GATE Chemistry Preparation Plan for 2025.
GATE Chemistry Preparation Plan for 1 Month
| Week | Focus Area | Topics | Activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Core Concepts and Fundamentals | Atomic Structure, Periodic Table, Chemical Bonding, Thermodynamics |
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| Quantum Chemistry, Molecular Spectroscopy |
| ||
| Week 2 | Organic and Inorganic Chemistry | Reaction Mechanisms: SN1, SN2, E1, E2, and aromatic substitution reactions. |
|
| Transition Metals, Coordination Chemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry |
| ||
| Week 3 | Physical Chemistry and Advanced Topics | Thermodynamics, Chemical Kinetics, Electrochemistry, Surface Chemistry |
|
| Polymers, Solid State Chemistry, and Nuclear Chemistry |
| ||
| Week 4 | Revision and Mock Tests | Full syllabus revision |
|
| Mock Tests: 3 full-length tests + analysis |
|
GATE Chemistry Important Books to Prepare
| Books | Author/Publisher |
|---|---|
| GATE Chemistry: Previous Years’ Solved Papers (Latest Edition) | Atlantic Research Division |
| Chapter-wise Solved Papers (2000-2021) | Dr. Sanjay Saxena & Preeti Gupta |
| 2000+ Physical Chemistry MCQs Questions & Answers for CSIR NET, GATE, BARC & SET | Rajiv Abhyankar |
| UGC CSIR NET/SET IIT GATE CHEMICAL SCIENCES | Subrata Sengupta , and Dipendu Patra |
| Concept Check in Organic Chemistry | Avinash More |
| Success Guide to Inorganic Chemistry | Tauheed Nadeem |
| Success Guide to Organic Chemistry | Tauheed Nadeem |
| Chapter-wise Solved Papers Chemistry GATE 2022 | Sanjay Saxena & Preeti Gupta |
| GATE 2022: Chemistry Year-wise Previous Solved Papers 2000-2019 | GKP |
| GATE Chemistry Solved Papers | Career Endeavour Publications |
| Wiley’s Gate Chemistry Chapter Wise Solved papers | Wiley Editorial |
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.
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