What is a GATE Virtual Calculator and How to Use It?

Because the GATE candidates are not allowed to carry physical calculators, the officials allow the use of virtual calculators to assist the candidates to solve complex equations. Check out everything about the GATE virtual calculator from the article below.

Table of Contents

Detailed Procedure to Operate the GATE Virtual Calculator
Important Pointers Regarding the GATE Virtual Calculator
Related GATE Links
Faqs

GATE Virtual Calculator: One of the most important parts of getting a good score in GATE is utilizing the Virtual Calculator effortlessly during the test. Because applicants are not permitted to bring a real calculator to the GATE test, they must solve numerical-based problems using a virtual calculator. As a result, every GATE aspirant must be familiar with utilising a Virtual Calculator and must use it frequently during GATE test preparation . The online virtual calculator for GATE is a calculator that has all of the functions and operators needed to carry out operations. On the GATE exam day, applicants can use the virtual calculator. The online calculator will only be available through the mouse and no keyboard will be required. GATE exam dates are February 3, 4, 10 and 11. Candidates will be able to appear for the exams in two shifts. Forenoon session, i.e. 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and Afternoon session, i.e. 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

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Also read: GATE Syllabus

The GATE virtual calculator was first introduced during the 2016 exam. The calculator is a bit complex and the aspiring candidates must have a good idea regarding how to use the GATE virtual calculator. Here are some important pointers regarding the same and the detailed instructions regarding how to use the calculator.

Detailed Procedure to Operate the GATE Virtual Calculator

The detailed procedure to operate the GATE virtual calculator and pointers regarding the functions of the same has been discussed in this section -

Function	Input
Clear all inputs	Press “C”
Delete values entered in the input box	Press “←”
Arithmetic operators	Press “+/-/*/➗”
Logarithmic functions	log, ln, log2x, logyx
Trigonometric operations using degree	Sin/Cos/Tan (0)
Trigonometric operations using radians	Sin (π)
Cube operations	X3
Square operations	X2
Power of ten	10x
Exponential	ex
Factorial	n!
Modulus or Absolute Function	(I x I)
Percent operator	%
Modulo function	(mod)
Reciprocal	1/x
Constants	(π = 3.14; e=2.71)
Exp	a*10b
Unary plus and minus	Or -
Power roots	√

Examples

Arithmetic operators	To calculate 1+23, press “1”, “+”, “”, “3” and “=”
Logarithmic functions	To calculate 1* ln (20) +3, press “1”, “*”, “20 log”, “+”, “3” and “=”
Trigonometric operations using degree	To calculate 1* Sin (40)+55, press “1”, “*”, “(,40, sin,)”, “+”, “55” and “=”
Trigonometric operations using radians	To calculate 1 * sin π, press “1”, “*”, “π”, “sin” and “=”
Cube operations	To calculate 1 * 23, press “1”, “*”, “2”, “x3 “ and “=”
Square operations	To calculate 1 * 22, press “1”, “*”, “2”, “x2 “ and “=”
Power of ten	To calculate 1 * 210, press “1”, “*”, “2”, “10x “ and “=”
Exponential	To calculate 1 * e5 , press “1”, “*”, “5”, “ex “ and “=”
Factorial	To calculate 2!, press “2”, “n!” and “=”
Modulus or Absolute Function	To calculate I (-10) I, press “(, -, 10,)”, “I x I” and “=”
Percent operator	To calculate 10 % of 100, press “10”, “%”, “100” and “=”
Modulo function	To calculate 10 mod 2, press “10”, “mod”, “2” and “=”
Reciprocal	To calculate 1/10, press “10”, “1/x” and “=”
Constants	To calculate 2π, press “2”, “*”, “π”, and “=”
Exp	To calculate 2 * 103 , press “2”, “exp”, “3”, and “=”
Unary plus and minus	To calculate -210, press “2”, “-”, “”, “10” and “=”
Power roots	To calculate 10 * √21, press “10”, “*”, “21”, “√”, and “=”

Important Pointers Regarding the GATE Virtual Calculator

Some important pointers regarding the GATE virtual calculator are mentioned in this section -

The officials at the exam centres will authorize candidates taking the GATE entrance examination to utilise the virtual calculator
Simple operation keys will be present on the right side of the GATE virtual calculator
The keys for scientific functions and operations will be located on the virtual calculator's left side
Inverse functions will have their own keys, so applicants will not need press the “Shift” or “Inv” keys and the inverse functions will be listed below the corresponding functions
Candidates will be able to locate the trigonometric functions that have been grouped together
In the virtual calculator, the hyperbolic functions will also be grouped together
At the top of the virtual calculator, candidates will see two display boxes in which one of the boxes will show the key sequence pushed by the candidate for reference and the other box will display the actual entered numbers or the results of the computation
Because there are no capabilities for doing matrix calculations on the virtual calculator, these must be done manually
A drawback of the calculator is that complex numbers cannot be represented on it. Nevertheless, complex numbers linked to power systems or any other field that may be solved can be expressed on the GATE virtual calculator
There will be no specific keys for converting polar to rectangular and vice versa so, the candidate must utilise the GATE Virtual calculator to do the necessary conversions

GATE answer key	GATE result
GATE subject-wise paper analysis	GATE: List of Top 25 Government & Private Colleges for M.Tech Admission
GATE Response Sheet - PDF Download Here	Why Mock Test is Important for GATE Preparation
GATE Exam Day Instructions - Documents to Carry, Guidelines	GATE syllabus
GATE exam pattern and marking scheme	-

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FAQs

How to calculate Exponential using a GATE virtual calculator?

Let us take an example, To calculate 1 * e5 , candidates will have to press “1”, “*”, “5”, “ex “, and “=”.

When is GATE 2023 scheduled to be conducted?

GATE 2023 exam dates are February 4,5, 11, and 12, 2023. Candidates will be able to appear for the exams in two shifts. Forenoon session, i.e. 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and Afternoon session, i.e. 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

How to calculate cubic operations using a GATE virtual calculator?

Let us take an example, To calculate 1 * 23, using a GATE virtual calculator, candidates are required to press “1”, “*”, “2”, “x3 “ and “=”.

What are the inputs for the Logarithmic functions using a GATE virtual calculator?

log, ln, log2x, logyx are the inputs required to do Logarithmic functions using a GATE virtual calculator.

How to do ‘Trigonometric operations using degree’ in the GATE virtual calculator?

For doing Trigonometric operations using degree operating a GATE virtual calculator, candidates are required to input Sin/Cos/Tan (0).

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My gate score is 534 and air is 2362 , general category. Where can I expect my admission. Can I get microelectronics in bits

-dibya das mohapatraUpdated on December 09, 2025 08:33 PM

13 Answers

sampreetkaur, Student / Alumni

With a GATE score of 534 and AIR 2362 in general category, admission to top IITs in microelectronics may be tough. BITS also has very high cutoffs. but LPU offers strong M.tech programs in VLSI & microelectronics with good labs, industry tie-ups and placements, making it a great choice.

Any Job vacancy for administration

-muthulakshmi jayaramanUpdated on December 15, 2025 03:04 PM

1 Answer

Shuchi Bagchi, Content Team

Dear Sir/Madam,

To know about the job vacancy in Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology, you need to check out the vacancy list in the official website. As of now, there is no vacancy in admininstration department.

Thank you!

I am from the "Electronics and Computer Science" branch. If I appear for GATE in the Electronics and Communication (EC) paper, will I still be eligible for the PSU hiring process, considering their strict branch‑specific criteria?

-PranavUpdated on December 15, 2025 11:25 PM

1 Answer

Tiyasa Khanra, Content Team

If you are a Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) graduate appearing for GATE in Electronics and Communication (EC) paper, you may face challenges in PSU hiring, since there are specific eligibility for the qualifying degree branch. For example, PSUs like NTPC, BHEL, Power Grid, and NPCIL only accept graduates in BE/B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE). Graduates in ECS may qualify for CS/IT-focused PSUs through CS paper instead. However, recruitment to certain PSUs like ONGC, IOCL will be done through GATE 2026 only.