GATE Biotechnology General Aptitude Syllabus

What does the phrase 'once in a blue moon' indicate?

It indicates something that happens very rarely or almost never.

What does the idiom 'to cut corners' mean?

To do something in the easiest, quickest, or cheapest way, often by sacrificing quality or skipping important steps.

Distinguish the commonly confused words 'affect' and 'effect'.

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence ('The weather affects mood'). 'Effect' is usually a noun meaning a result ('The effect of rain'); as a verb it means to bring about ('to effect change').

Distinguish the words 'stationary' and 'stationery'.

'Stationary' (with an 'a') is an adjective meaning not moving / fixed in place. 'Stationery' (with an 'e') is a noun meaning writing materials such as paper, pens, and envelopes.

What is the difference between 'principal' and 'principle'?

'Principal' means main/chief or the head of a school, or a sum of money. 'Principle' is a noun meaning a fundamental rule, law, or moral belief.

What is a synonym and what is an antonym?

A synonym is a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another (big/large). An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (hot/cold).

In reading comprehension, what is the difference between the main idea and a supporting detail?

The main idea is the central point the passage conveys (often in the topic sentence); supporting details are facts, examples, or reasons that explain, illustrate, or back up the main idea.

In comprehension, what does it mean to infer something from a passage?

To infer is to draw a logical conclusion that is implied but not directly stated, based on evidence and reasoning in the text combined with general knowledge.

What is narrative (sentence) sequencing, and what clues help arrange jumbled sentences correctly?

Narrative sequencing is ordering jumbled sentences into a coherent paragraph. Clues include the opening sentence (introduces the topic), pronoun references, time/sequence connectors (first, then, finally), cause-effect links, and article usage ('a' before 'the' for first mention).

What is the formula for percentage change between an old value and a new value?

$$\text{Percentage change} = \frac{\text{New value} - \text{Old value}}{\text{Old value}} \times 100\%$$ A positive result is an increase; a negative result is a decrease.

In data interpretation, how do you convert a category's value into the percentage it represents of the total?

$$\text{Percentage} = \frac{\text{Category value}}{\text{Total of all categories}} \times 100\%$$

In a pie chart, what is the relationship between a category's percentage and its central (sector) angle?

The full circle is $360^{\circ}$, so a category's angle is $\text{angle} = \frac{\text{percentage}}{100} \times 360^{\circ}$. Equivalently, each $1\%$ corresponds to $3.6^{\circ}$.

What central angle represents a category that is 25% of the total in a pie chart?

$$25\% \times 360^{\circ} = 0.25 \times 360^{\circ} = 90^{\circ}$$

What type of data is a pie chart best suited to display?

A pie chart best displays proportions or percentage composition of a whole, showing how parts contribute to a single total. It is poor for comparing many similar values or showing trends over time.

What type of data is a bar graph best suited to display?

A bar graph is best for comparing discrete categories or quantities, where bar length/height represents the value. It allows easy visual comparison across distinct groups.

What is the difference between a bar graph and a histogram?

A bar graph compares discrete, separate categories with gaps between bars; a histogram displays the frequency distribution of continuous data grouped into intervals (bins), with bars touching to show continuity.

What does a line graph best represent, and what do its axes typically show?

A line graph best represents trends or change over a continuous variable (usually time). The horizontal axis (x) typically shows the independent variable (e.g., time) and the vertical axis (y) shows the dependent variable (the measured quantity).

How do you compute the average (arithmetic mean) of a set of n data values?

$$\text{Mean} = \frac{\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i}{n}$$ that is, the sum of all values divided by the number of values.

How is the ratio of two quantities A and B from a graph or table expressed and simplified?

The ratio is written $A:B$ or $\frac{A}{B}$, and is simplified by dividing both terms by their greatest common divisor. For example, $20:50 = 2:5$.

In a data table, how do you find what percentage one year's value is greater than the previous year's?

Use percentage increase: $\frac{\text{Current year} - \text{Previous year}}{\text{Previous year}} \times 100\%$. For example, from 200 to 250 the increase is $\frac{50}{200}\times100\% = 25\%$.

On a 2-dimensional Cartesian plot, what do the coordinates (x, y) represent?

They represent a point's position: $x$ is the horizontal distance from the origin along the x-axis (abscissa) and $y$ is the vertical distance along the y-axis (ordinate). The origin is $(0,0)$.

What is the distance formula between two points $(x_1, y_1)$ and $(x_2, y_2)$ on a 2D plane?

$$d = \sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^{2} + (y_2 - y_1)^{2}}$$

What additional axis distinguishes a 3-dimensional plot from a 2-dimensional plot, and how is a point specified?

A 3D plot adds the z-axis (depth), perpendicular to both x and y. A point is specified by three coordinates $(x, y, z)$ giving its position in space.

What is a scatter plot used for in data interpretation?

A scatter plot displays paired values of two variables as points on a 2D plane to reveal the relationship or correlation between them (positive, negative, or none), and to identify clusters or outliers.

In data interpretation, what does a 'positive correlation' between two variables mean on a scatter plot?

It means that as one variable increases, the other also tends to increase, so the points trend upward from lower-left to upper-right.

On a map with a scale of 1:100000, what real distance does 2 cm on the map represent?

A scale of $1:100000$ means $1\text{ cm}$ on the map equals $100000\text{ cm} = 1\text{ km}$ in reality. Therefore $2\text{ cm}$ represents $2\text{ km}$.

What is a map's scale, and what do the two parts of a ratio scale like 1:50000 mean?

A map scale relates map distance to actual ground distance. In $1:50000$, one unit of length on the map equals 50000 of the same units on the ground.

When reading a data table, what are rows and columns conventionally used to organize?

Rows (horizontal) typically group one set of related entries (e.g., each item or year), and columns (vertical) group categories or attributes (e.g., different parameters). A value is read at the intersection of a specific row and column.

In data interpretation, how do you compute the value corresponding to a given percentage of a known total?

$$\text{Value} = \frac{\text{Percentage}}{100} \times \text{Total}$$ For example, $30\%$ of $400$ is $\frac{30}{100} \times 400 = 120$.

What is a stacked bar graph, and what does it show that a simple bar graph does not?

A stacked bar graph divides each bar into segments representing sub-categories stacked on top of one another. It shows both the total for each category and the contribution of each sub-component to that total.