What is Theory of Computation? | Theory of Computation | Master's in Computer Science

Question 1

How does theory of computation contribute to the theoretical foundations of computer science?

Accepted Answer

It provides a mathematical framework for understanding computation.

Answer

It offers practical guidance for algorithm design and implementation.

Answer

It has limited relevance to practical computer science.

Answer

It is only applicable to theoretical research in computer science.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a core concept in Theory of Computation?

Accepted Answer

Number theory

Answer

Formal languages

Answer

Automata theory

Answer

Computability theory

Question 3

A formal language can be precisely defined as a set of:

Accepted Answer

Words constructed from a finite alphabet of symbols

Answer

Sentences that make sense in a particular natural language

Answer

Instructions for solving computational problems

Answer

Data structures for organizing information

Question 4

Which type of automaton can recognize the language of all binary strings with an even number of 0's?

Accepted Answer

A deterministic finite state automaton

Answer

A non-deterministic pushdown automaton

Answer

A universal Turing machine

Answer

A linear bounded automaton

Question 5

The halting problem is infamous for being an example of a problem that is:

Accepted Answer

Undecidable

Answer

Decidable in polynomial time

Answer

NP-complete

Answer

PSPACE-complete

Question 6

When we say that a problem belongs to the complexity class P, we mean that it can be solved in:

Accepted Answer

Polynomial time on a deterministic Turing machine

Answer

Polynomial time on a non-deterministic Turing machine

Answer

Exponential time on a deterministic Turing machine

Answer

Exponential time on a non-deterministic Turing machine

Question 7

A regular expression is a formal language that can be described using:

Accepted Answer

A finite set of basic operations

Answer

Recursion and iteration

Answer

Context-free grammar

Answer

Turing machine

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a property of context-free languages?

Accepted Answer

They can be recognized by a finite state automaton

Answer

They can be generated by a pushdown automaton

Answer

They are closed under union and concatenation

Answer

They properly include regular languages

Question 9

The Church-Turing thesis posits that:

Accepted Answer

Any computable function can be computed by a Turing machine

Answer

Any problem that a computer can solve can also be solved by a human

Answer

Any algorithm can be implemented on a physical computer

Answer

The human brain is a more powerful computer than any machine

Question 10

The primary objective of Theory of Computation is to:

Accepted Answer

Understand the fundamental limits of computation

Answer

Develop faster algorithms for practical problems

Answer

Design new programming languages and software systems

Answer

Build more powerful computers and networks

Question 11

In theory of computation, formal languages are used primarily to describe:

Accepted Answer

The set of valid inputs to a computer program

Answer

The behavior of a Turing machine

Answer

The correctness of algorithms

Answer

The efficiency of algorithms

Question 12

Which type of automaton is capable of recognizing regular languages?

Accepted Answer

Finite automaton

Answer

Pushdown automaton

Answer

Linear bounded automaton

Answer

Turing machine

Question 13

The halting problem refers to:

Accepted Answer

Determining whether a given Turing machine will ever halt on a given input

Answer

Finding the shortest program that solves a given problem

Answer

Determining the complexity of a given algorithm

Answer

Proving the correctness of a given program

Question 14

Which complexity class represents the set of problems that can be solved in polynomial time?

Accepted Answer

P

Answer

NP

Answer

NP-complete

Answer

EXPTIME

Question 15

What is the essence of the Church-Turing thesis?

Accepted Answer

Any computation that can be carried out by a physical computer can also be carried out by a Turing machine

Answer

There is no algorithm that can solve the halting problem

Answer

All problems in NP are solvable in polynomial time

Answer

Any problem that can be solved by a computer can be solved by a finite automaton

Question 16

Which of the following is **not** a fundamental concept of theory of computation?

Accepted Answer

Algorithm analysis

Answer

Formal languages

Answer

Automata theory

Answer

Complexity theory

Question 17

Which type of automata can recognize the language {a^n b^n : n >= 1}?

Accepted Answer

Pushdown automaton

Answer

Finite-state automaton

Answer

Turing machine

Answer

Linear bounded automaton

Question 18

The halting problem is undecidable because:

Accepted Answer

There is no algorithm that can determine whether any given program will halt on all inputs.

Answer

There is an algorithm that can determine whether any given program will halt on all inputs.

Answer

The halting problem is only undecidable for certain types of programs.

Answer

The halting problem is decidable, but it is too complex to solve in practice.

Question 19

Which of the following complexity classes represents problems that can be solved in polynomial time?

Accepted Answer

P

Answer

NP

Answer

NP-complete

Answer

NP-hard

Question 20

Which of the following is a property of regular languages?

Accepted Answer

They can be recognized by regular expressions.

Answer

They can be generated by context-free grammars.

Answer

They can be parsed by LL(1) parsers.

Answer

They can be used to represent floating-point numbers.

Question 21

Which of the following is a type of Turing machine that can simulate any other Turing machine?

Accepted Answer

Universal Turing machine

Answer

Nondeterministic Turing machine

Answer

Linear bounded automaton

Answer

Finite-state automaton

Question 22

Which of the following is a limitation of theory of computation?

Accepted Answer

It cannot solve all computational problems.

Answer

It cannot be used to design efficient algorithms.

Answer

It cannot be used to analyze the performance of programs.

Answer

It cannot be used to verify the correctness of software.

Question 23

How does Theory of Computation contribute to the progress of computer science?

Accepted Answer

Provides a framework for algorithm design and programming language development

Accepted Answer

Helps understand the limits of what computers can do

Answer

Enhances hardware performance

Question 24

Formal languages are used to represent:

Accepted Answer

Sets of strings over an alphabet

Answer

Sets of numbers

Answer

Sets of symbols

Answer

Sets of tuples

Question 25

Which type of automata is used to recognize regular languages?

Accepted Answer

Finite state machines (FSMs)

Answer

Pushdown automata

Answer

Turing machines

Answer

Linear bounded automata

Question 26

The halting problem is an example of a problem that is:

Accepted Answer

Undecidable

Answer

Decidable

Answer

Semi-decidable

Answer

NP-complete

Question 27

A formal proof in theory of computation involves using:

Accepted Answer

Logical reasoning and mathematical techniques

Answer

Inductive arguments

Answer

Empirical evidence

Answer

Computational experiments

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a limitation of theory of computation?

Accepted Answer

It can efficiently solve all problems.

Answer

It cannot determine the correctness of all programs.

Answer

It cannot predict the running time of all algorithms.

Answer

It can prove the unsolvability of certain problems.

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a fundamental concept in Theory of Computation?

Accepted Answer

Database management systems

Answer

Formal languages

Answer

Automata theory

Answer

Computability theory

Question 30

What is a Turing machine?

Accepted Answer

A theoretical model of computation that can simulate any algorithm

Answer

A finite state machine that can read and write on a tape

Answer

A programming language used to implement algorithms

Answer

A computer that can perform any computation

Question 31

Which of the following is a regular language?

Accepted Answer

The set of all strings containing the substring 'ab'

Answer

The set of all strings that are palindromes

Answer

The set of all strings that are not palindromes

Answer

The set of all strings that are divisible by 3

Question 32

What is the Halting Problem?

Accepted Answer

The problem of determining whether a given program will terminate or run indefinitely

Answer

The problem of finding the shortest possible program that solves a given problem

Answer

The problem of finding the most efficient algorithm for a given problem

Answer

The problem of proving that a given program is correct

Question 33

Which of the following complexity classes represents the set of problems that can be solved in polynomial time?

Accepted Answer

P

Answer

NP

Answer

NP-complete

Answer

NP-hard

Question 34

What is the key difference between a deterministic and a non-deterministic finite state machine?

Accepted Answer

A deterministic FSM makes a single transition for each input symbol, while a non-deterministic FSM can make multiple transitions

Answer

A deterministic FSM cannot accept any input, while a non-deterministic FSM can accept some inputs

Answer

A non-deterministic FSM is more efficient than a deterministic FSM

Answer

There is no difference between a deterministic and a non-deterministic FSM

Question 35

Which of the following is a property of context-free grammars?

Accepted Answer

They can generate some non-regular languages

Answer

They can generate all regular languages

Answer

They are always finite and deterministic

Answer

They can only generate deterministic languages

Question 36

Describe the relationship between P and NP-complete problems.

Accepted Answer

There are NP-complete problems that are not P problems, and no P problems that are not NP-complete problems

Answer

Every P problem is also an NP-complete problem

Answer

Every NP-complete problem is also a P problem

Answer

There are P problems that are not NP-complete problems, and no NP-complete problems that are not P problems

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT a major subfield of Theory of Computation?

Accepted Answer

Artificial Intelligence

Answer

Automata Theory

Answer

Complexity Theory

Answer

Computability Theory

Question 38

What is the primary goal of Automata Theory?

Accepted Answer

To analyze abstract computational models.

Answer

To analyze the complexity of computations.

Answer

To examine undecidable problems.

Answer

To create practical algorithms.

Question 39

Which of the following is a foundational concept in Formal Languages?

Accepted Answer

Grammar

Answer

Quantum Algorithm

Answer

Big-O Notation

Answer

Register Machine

Question 40

What does the Church-Turing Thesis propose?

Accepted Answer

Any computation feasible by humans can be performed by a Turing Machine.

Answer

All computational problems can be solved efficiently.

Answer

Quantum computers exceed the capabilities of classical computers.

Question 41

Which of the following is a measure of computational efficiency?

Accepted Answer

Time complexity

Answer

Storage complexity

Answer

Parallelism

Answer

Concurrency

Question 42

What is the significance of the Halting Problem?

Accepted Answer

It establishes that not all computational problems can be solved algorithmically.

Answer

It provides a method to determine the time complexity of any algorithm.

Answer

It enables the design of computers capable of solving any problem.

Question 43

Which of the following is a type of finite automaton?

Accepted Answer

Deterministic Finite Automaton (DFA)

Answer

Turing Machine

Answer

Pushdown Automaton (PDA)

Answer

Neural Network

Question 44

What is the primary focus of the Theory of Computation?

Accepted Answer

Understanding the fundamental limits and capabilities of computation.

Answer

Designing efficient algorithms for specific problems.

Answer

Developing new programming languages and software tools.

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT a fundamental concept within the Theory of Computation?

Accepted Answer

Database design and management.

Answer

Formal languages.

Answer

Automata theory.

Answer

Computability theory.

Question 46

A Turing machine is a theoretical model of computation that is capable of:

Accepted Answer

Solving any problem that can be algorithmically solved.

Answer

Simulating the human brain.

Answer

Only performing simple arithmetic operations.

Question 47

Which of the following is an example of a problem that is considered undecidable?

Accepted Answer

The Halting Problem.

Answer

Sorting a list of numbers in ascending order.

Answer

Finding the shortest path between two points on a map.

Question 48

What is the primary distinction between P and NP classes of problems in complexity theory?

Accepted Answer

Problems in P can be solved in polynomial time, while problems in NP can be verified in polynomial time.

Answer

Problems in P are easier to solve than problems in NP.

Question 49

A finite automaton is a mathematical model of computation that is limited by:

Accepted Answer

A finite amount of memory.

Answer

The size of the input data.

Answer

The complexity of the algorithm.

Answer

The speed of the processor.

Question 50

What is the significance of the Chomsky Hierarchy in the Theory of Computation?

Accepted Answer

It provides a classification of formal languages based on their computational power.

Answer

It defines the optimal algorithms for solving specific problems.

Answer

It describes the evolution of programming languages over time.

Question 51

Which of the following is a practical application of the Theory of Computation?

Accepted Answer

Designing efficient algorithms for compression and encryption.

Answer

Creating virtual reality simulations.

Answer

Developing new types of operating systems.

Question 52

What is the main implication of the Church-Turing Thesis?

Accepted Answer

Any problem that can be solved by an algorithm can also be solved by a Turing machine.

Answer

The human brain is essentially a Turing machine.

Answer

All computers are equally powerful in terms of computation.

Question 53

Given a problem that is known to be NP-complete, which of the following is the most likely outcome?

Accepted Answer

It is unlikely to find an efficient algorithm to solve it in polynomial time.

Answer

It can be solved efficiently using dynamic programming techniques.

Answer

It can be easily solved using a brute-force approach.