GATE question papers: Mechanical Engineering, 2011 (ME)

A streamline and an equipotential line in a flow field

(A) are parallel to each other
(B) are perpendicular to each other
(C) intersect at an acute angle
(D) are identical
If a mass of moist air in an airtight vessel is heated to a higher
temperature, then
(A) specific humidity of the air increases
(B) specific humidity of the air decreases
(C) relative humidity of the air increases
(D) relative humidity of the air decreases
In a condenser of a power plant, the steam condenses at a temperature
of 60C. The cooling water enters at 0 30C and leaves at 0 45C. The
logarithmic mean temperature difference (LMTD) of the condenser is
(A) 16.2 C
(B) 21.6 C
(C) 30 C
(D) 37.5 C
A simply supported beam PQ is loaded by a moment of 1 kN-m at the
mid-span of the beam as shown in the figure. The reaction forces
RP and RQ at supports P and Q respectively are

(A) 1 kN downward, 1 kN upward

(B) 0.5 kN upward, 0.5 kN downward
(C) 0.5 kN downward, 0.5 kN upward
(D) 1 kN upward, 1 kN upward
A double parallelogram mechanism is shown in the figure. Note that
PQ is a single link. The mobility of the mechanism is

(A) 1
(B) 0
(C) 1
(D) 2

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(C)

The maximum possible draft in cold rolling of sheet increases with the
(A) increase in coefficient of friction
(B) decrease in coefficient of friction
(C) decrease in roll radius
(D) increase in roll velocity
The operation in which oil is permeated into the pores of a powder
metallurgy product is known as
(A) mixing
(B) sintering
(C) impregnation
(D) infiltration
A hole is dimension

mm. The corresponding shaft is of

dimension
mm. The resulting assembly has
(A) loose running fit
(B) close running fit
(C) transition fit
(D) interference fit
Heat and work are
(A) intensive properties
(B) extensive properties
(C) point functions
(D) path functions
A column has a rectangular cross-section of 10mm 20mm and a
length of 1m. The slenderness ratio of the column is close to
(A) 200
(B) 346
(C) 477
(D) 1000
A series expansion for the function sin is

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(B)

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Green sand mould indicates that
(A) polymeric mould has been cured
(B) mould has been totally dried
(C) mould is green in colour
(D) mould contains moisture
What is
(A)
(B) sin
(C) 0
(D) 1

equal to?

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(D)

Eigenvalues of a real symmetric matrix are always

(A) positive
(B) negative
(C) real
(D) complex
A pipe of 25 mm outer diameter carries steam. The heat transfer
coefficient between the cylinder and surroundings is 5 W/m2 K. It is
proposed to reduce the heat loss from the pipe by adding insulation
having a thermal conductivity of 0.05 W/mK. Which one of the following
statements is TRUE?
(A) The outer radius of the pipe is equal to the critical radius
(B) The outer radius of the pipe is less than the critical radius
(C) Adding the insulation will reduce the heat loss
(D) Adding the insulation will increase the heat loss
The contents of a well-insulated tank are heated by a resistor of 23 in
which 10 A current is flowing. Consider the tank along with its contents
as a thermodynamic system. The work done by the system and the
heat transfer to the system are positive. The rates of heat (Q), work
(W) and change in internal energy (U) during the process in kW are
(A) Q = 0, W = 2.3, U = +2.3
(B) Q = +2.3, W = 0, U = +2.3
(C) Q = 2.3, W = 0, U = 2.3
(D) Q = 0, W = +2.3, U = 2.3
Match the following criteria of material failure, under biaxial
stresses 1 and 2 and yield stress y, with their corresponding graphic
representations :

(A) P-M, Q-L, R-N

(B) P-N, Q-M, R-L
(C) P-M, Q-N, R-L
(D) P-N, Q-L,R-M
The product of two complex numbers 1 + i and 2 5i is
(A) 7 3i
(B) 3 4i

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(A)

(C) 3 4i
(D) 7 + 3i
Cars arrive at a service station according to Poisson's distribution with
a mean rate of 5 per hour. The service time per car is exponential with
a mean of 10 minutes. At steady state, the average waiting time in the
queue is
(A) 10 minutes
(B) 20 minutes
(C) 25 minutes
(D) 50 minutes
The word kanban is most appropriately associated with
(A) economic order quantity
(B) justintime production
(C) capacity planning
(D) product design

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(D)
If f(x) is an even function and a is a positive real number, then
equals
(A) 0
(B) a
(C) 2a

(D)
The coefficient of restitution of a perfectly plastic impact is
(A) 0
(B) 1
(C) 2
(D)
A thin cylinder of inner radius 500mm and thickness 10mm is subjected
to an internal pressure of 5 MPa. The average circumferential (hoop)
stress in MPa is
(A) 100
(B) 250
(C) 500
(D) 1000
Which one among the following welding processes uses nonconsumable electrode?
(A) Gas metal arc welding
(B) Submerged arc welding
(C) Gas tungsten arc welding
(D) Flux coated arc welding
The crystal structure of austenite is
(A) Body centered cubic
(B) Face centered cubic
(C) Hexagonal closed packed
(D) Body centered tetragonal
A torque T is applied at the free end of a stepped rod of circular crosssections as shown in the figure. The shear modulus of the material of
the rod is G. The expression for d to produce an angular twist at the
free end is

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(B)

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)
Figure shows the schematic for the measurement of velocity of air
(density = 1.2kg /m3) through a constant-area duct using a pitot tube
and a water-tube manometer. The differential head of water (density =
1000 kg /m3) in the two columns of the manometer is 10mm. Take
acceleration due to gravity as 2 9.8m/ s2. The velocity of air in m/s is

(A) 6.4
(B) 9.0
(C) 12.8
(D) 25.6
The values of enthalpy of steam at the inlet and outlet of a steam
turbine in a Rankine cycle are 2800kJ/kg and 1800kJ/kg respectively.
Neglecting pump work, the specific steam consumption in kg/kW-hour
is
(A) 3.60

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(A)

(B) 0.36
(C) 0.06
(D) 0.01
Answer:
(C)
The integral
, when evaluated by using Simpson's 1/3 rule on two
equal subintervals each of length 1, equals
(A) 1.000
(B) 1.098
(C) 1.111
(D) 1.120
Two identical ball bearings P and Q are operating at loads 30 kN and 45
kN respectively. The ratio of the life of bearing P to the life of bearing Q
is
(A) 81/16
(B) 27/8
(C) 9/4
(D) 3/2
For the four-bar linkage shown in the figure, the angular velocity of link
AB is 1 rad/s. The length of link CD is 1.5 times the length of link AB. In
the configuration shown, the angular velocity of link CD in rad/s is

(A) 3
(B) 3/2
(C) 1
(D) 2/3
A stone with mass of 0.1 kg is catapulted as shown in the figure. The
total force Fx(in N) exerted by the rubber band as a function of distance
x (in m) is given by
Fx = 300x2. If the stone is displaced by 0.1m from the un-stretched
position
(x = 0) of the rubber band, the energy stored in the rubber band is

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(B)

(A) 0.01 J
(B) 0.1 J
(C) 1 J
(D) 10 J
Consider the differential equation
with constant c is

= (1 + y ) x. The general solution

Answer:
(D)

(A) y =
(B) y =
(C) y =

(D) y =
An unbiased coin is tossed five times. The outcome of each toss is
either a head or a tail. The probability of getting at least one head is

Answer:
(D)

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
A mass of 1 kg is attached to two identical springs each with stiffness k
= 20 kN/m as shown in the figure. Under frictionless condition, the
natural frequency of the system in Hz is close to

Answer:
(A)

(A) 32
(B) 23
(C) 16
(D) 11
The shear strength of a sheet metal is 300 MPa. The blanking force
required to produce a blank of 100 mm diameter from a 1.5 mm thick
sheet is close to
(A) 45 kN
(B) 70 kN
(C) 141 kN
(D) 3500 kN
The ratios of the laminar hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness to
thermal boundary layer thickness of flows of two fluids P and Q on a flat

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(A)

plate are and 2 respectively. The Reynolds number based on the

plate length for both the flows is 104. The Prandtl and Nusselt numbers
for P are and 35 respectively. The Prandtl and Nusselt numbers for Q
are respectively
(A) 8 and 140
(B) 8 and 70
(C) 4 and 70
(D) 4 and 35
The crank radius of a single-cylinder I. C. engine is 60 mm and the
diameter of the cylinder is 80 mm. The swept volume of the cylinder in
3 cm is
(A) 48
(B) 96
(C) 302
(D) 603
A pump handling a liquid raises its pressure from 1 bar to 30 bar. Take
the density of the liquid as 990 3 kg /m3. The isentropic specific work
done by the pump in kJ/kg is
(A) 0.10
(B) 0.30
(C) 2.50
(D) 2.93
A spherical steel ball of 12 mm diameter is initially at 1000 K. It is
slowly cooled in a surrounding of 300K. The heat transfer coefficient
between the steel ball and the surrounding is 5 W/m2 K. The thermal
conductivity of steel is 20 W/mK. The temperature difference between
the centre and the surface of the steel ball is
(A) large because conduction resistance is far higher than the

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(D)

convective resistance
(B) large because conduction resistance is far less than the convective
resistance
(C) small because conduction resistance is far higher than the
convective resistance
(D) small because conduction resistance is far less than the convective
resistance
An ideal Brayton cycle, operating between the pressure limits of 1 bar
and 6 bar, has minimum and maximum temperatures of 300 K and
1500 K. The ratio of specific heats of the working fluid is 1.4. The
approximate final temperatures in Kelvin at the end of the compression
and expansion processes are respectively
(A) 500 and 900
(B) 900 and 500
(C) 500 and 500
(D) 900 and 900
A disc of mass m is attached to a spring of stiffness k as shown in the
figure. The disc rolls without slipping on a horizontal surface. The
natural frequency of vibration of the system is

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(C)

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
A 1 kg block is resting on a surface with coefficient of friction = 0.1. A
force of 0.8 N is applied to the block as shown in figure. The friction
force is

(A) 0
(B) 0.8 N
(C) 0.98 N
(D) 1.2 N
Consider the following system of equations:
2x1 + x2 + x3 = 0,
x2 x3 = 0,

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(C)

x1 + x2 = 0.
This system has
(A) a unique solution
(B) no solution
(C) infinite number of solutions
(D) five solutions
A single-point cutting tool with 12 rake angle is used to machine a
steel work-piece. The depth of cut, i.e. uncut thickness is 0.81 mm. The
chip thickness under orthogonal machining condition is 1.8mm. The
shear angle is approximately
(A) 22
(B) 26
(C) 56
(D) 76
Match the following non-traditional machining processes with the
corresponding material removal mechanisms :
Machining process
Mechanism of material
removal
P. Chemical machining
1. Erosion
Q. Electro-chemical machining
2. Corrosive reaction
R. Electro-discharge machining 3. Ion displacement
S. Ultrasonic machining
4. Fusion and vaporization
(A) P-2, Q-3, R-4, S-1
(B) P-2, Q-4, R-3, S-1
(C) P-3, Q-2, R-4, S-1
(D) P-2, Q-3, R-1, S-4
A cubic casting of 50 mm side undergoes volumetric solidification
shrinkage and volumetric solid contraction of 4% and 6% respectively.
No riser is used. Assume uniform cooling in all directions. The side of
the cube after solidification and contraction is
(A) 48.32 mm
(B) 49.90 mm
(C) 49.94 mm
(D) 49.96 mm
Common Data Questions
Common Data Questions: 48 & 49
In an experimental set-up, air flows between two stations P and Q
adiabatically. The direction of flow depends on the pressure and
temperature conditions maintained at P and Q. The conditions at
station P are 150 kPa and 350 K. The temperature at station Q is 300K.
The following are the properties and relations pertaining to air:
Specific heat at constant pressure, cp = 1.005 kJ/kgK;
Specific heat at constant volume, cv = 0.718 kJ/kgK;
Characteristic gas constant, R = 0.287 kJ/kgK.
Enthalpy, h = cp T.
Internal energy, u = cv T.
If the air has to flow from station P to station Q, the maximum possible
value of
pressure in kPa at station Q is close to
(A) 50
(B) 87
(C) 128
(D) 150

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(B)

If the pressure at station Q is 50 kPa, the change in entropy (sQ sP ) in

kJ/kgK is
(A) 0.155
(B) 0
(C) 0.160
(D) 0.355
Common Data Questions: 50 and 51
One unit of product P1 requires 3 kg of resource R1 and 1 kg of resource
R2. One unit of product P2 requires 2 kg of resource R1 and 2 kg of
resource R2. The profits per unit by selling product P1 and P2 are Rs.
2000 and Rs. 3000 respectively. The manufacturer has 90 kg of
resource R1 and 100kg of resource R2.
The unit worth of resource R2, i.e., dual price of resource R2 in Rs. Per
kg is
(A) 0
(B) 1350
(C) 1500
(D) 2000
The manufacturer can make a maximum profit of Rs.
(A) 60000
(B) 135000
(C) 150000
(D) 200000
Linked Answer Questions
Statement for Linked Answer Questions: 52 & 53
A triangular-shaped cantilever beam of uniformthickness is shown in
the figure. The Young's modulus of the material of the beam is E. A
concentrated load P is applied at the free end of the beam.

Answer:
(C)

The area moment of inertia about the neutral axis of a cross-section at

a distance x measured from the free end is

Answer:
(B)

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(B)

The maximum deflection of the beam is

Answer:
(D)

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Statement for Linked Answer Questions: 54 & 55
The temperature and pressure of air in a large reservoir are 400 K and
3 bar respectively. A converging-diverging nozzle of exit area 0.005
m2 is fitted to the wall of the reservoir as shown in the figure. The static
pressure of air at the exit section for isentropic flow through the nozzle
is 50 kPa. The characteristic gas constant and the ratio of specific heats
of air are 0.287 kJ/kgK and 1.4 respectively.

The density of air in kg/m3 at the nozzle exit is

(A) 0.560
(B) 0.600
(C) 0.727
(D) 0.800
The mass flow rate of air through the nozzle in kg/s is
(A) 1.30
(B) 1.77
(C) 1.85
(D) 2.06
General Aptitude (GA) Questions
Q. No. 56 60 Carry One Mark Each
Choose the word from the options given below that is most nearly
opposite in meaning to the given word:
Amalgamate
(A) merge
(B) split
(C) collect
(D) separate
Which of the following options is the closest in the meaning to the word
below:

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(A)

Inexplicable
(A) Incomprehensible
(B) Indelible
(C) Inextricable
(D) Infallible
If Log (P) = (1/2) Log (Q) = (1/3) Log (R), then which of the following
options is TRUE?
(A) P2 = Q3 R2
(B) Q2 = PR
(C) Q2 = R3 P
(D) R = P2 Q2
Choose the most appropriate word(s) from the options given below to
complete the following sentence.
I contemplated ______ Singapore for my vacation but decided against it.
(A) to visit
(B) having to visit
(C) visiting
(D) for a visit
Choose the most appropriate word from the options given below to
complete the following sentence.
If you are trying to make a strong impression on your audience,
you cannot do so by being understated, tentative or______.
(A) hyperbolic
(B) restrained
(C) argumentative
(D) indifferent
Q. 61 to Q. 65 carry two marks each
A container originally contains 10 litres of pure spirit. From this
container 1 litre of spirit is replaced with 1 litre of water. Subsequently,
1 litre of the mixture is again replaced with 1 litre of water and this
process is repeated one more time. How much spirit is now left in the
container?
(A) 7.58 litres
(B) 7.84 litres
(C) 7 litres
(D) 7.29 litres
Few school curricula include a unit on how to deal with
bereavement and grief, and yet all students at some point in
their lives suffer from losses through death and parting.
Based on the above passage which topic would not be included in a
unit on bereavement?
(A) how to write a letter of condolence
(B) what emotional stages are passed through in the healing process
(C) what the leading causes of death are
(D) how to give support to a grieving friend
P, Q, R and S are four types of dangerous microbes recently found in a
human habitat. The area of each circle with its diameter printed in
brackets represents the growth of a single microbe surviving human
immunity system within 24 hours of entering the body. The danger to
human beings varies proportionately with the toxicity, potency and
growth attributed to a microbe shown in the figure below:

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(B)

Answer:
(D)

Answer:
(C)

Answer:
(D)

A pharmaceutical company is contemplating the development of a

vaccine against the most dangerous microbe. Which microbe should
the company target in its first attempt?
(A) P
(B) Q
(C) R
(D) S
The variable cost (V) of manufacturing a product varies according to
the equation V= 4q, where q is the quantity produced. The fixed cost
(F) of production of same product reduces with q according to the
equation F = 100/q. How many units should be produced to minimize
the total cost (V+F)?
(A) 5
(B) 4
(C) 7
(D) 6
A transporter receives the same number of orders each day. Currently,
he has some pending orders (backlog) to be shipped. If he uses 7
trucks, then at the end of the 4th day he can clear all the orders.
Alternatively, if he uses only 3 trucks, then all the orders are cleared at
the end of the 10th day. What is the minimum number of trucks
required so that there will be no pending order at the end of the 5th
day?
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 6
(D) 7
End of Question Paper

Answer:
(A)

Answer:
(C)