Unit 13: Intractable Problems - Practice Quiz

ECAP538 60 Questions
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1 What is an intractable problem?

Basic concepts Easy
A. A problem solvable only recursively
B. A problem with no known efficient algorithm
C. A problem with no valid inputs
D. A problem requiring no computation

2 Which running time is polynomial?

Basic concepts Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

3 Which running time is exponential?

Basic concepts Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

4 What is a decision problem?

Basic concepts Easy
A. A problem calculating a real number
B. A problem returning yes or no
C. A problem producing a sorted list
D. A problem generating every solution

5 Why are polynomial-time algorithms generally considered efficient?

Basic concepts Easy
A. They examine only one input
B. Their running time is always constant
C. They use no additional memory
D. Their running time grows at a manageable rate

6 Which problem form asks for the best solution among all feasible solutions?

Basic concepts Easy
A. Verification problem
B. Decision problem
C. Optimization problem
D. Search problem

7 What does a non-deterministic algorithm conceptually do when several choices are available?

Non-deterministic algorithms Easy
A. It explores only the first choice
B. It rejects every possible choice
C. It sorts the available choices
D. It guesses a suitable choice

8 What are the two common conceptual phases of a non-deterministic algorithm?

Non-deterministic algorithms Easy
A. Compilation and execution
B. Sorting and searching
C. Guessing and verification
D. Encoding and compression

9 When does a non-deterministic algorithm accept an input?

Non-deterministic algorithms Easy
A. When at least one computation path accepts
B. When no computation path terminates
C. When exactly two computation paths accept
D. When every computation path rejects

10 In complexity theory, what is a certificate?

Non-deterministic algorithms Easy
A. A candidate solution used for verification
B. A program that generates random inputs
C. A table containing running times
D. A proof that every algorithm is fast

11 How is non-determinism mainly used in the definition of NP?

Non-deterministic algorithms Easy
A. As a physical computer requirement
B. As a programming language feature
C. As a data compression method
D. As a theoretical computation model

12 Which machine model can conceptually branch into multiple computation paths?

Non-deterministic algorithms Easy
A. Deterministic finite automaton
B. Fixed instruction processor
C. Non-deterministic Turing machine
D. Sequential access machine

13 What does the complexity class P contain?

NP-completeness Easy
A. Undecidable problems with finite inputs
B. Optimization problems with no solutions
C. Decision problems solvable in polynomial time
D. Decision problems requiring factorial time

14 What does the complexity class NP contain?

NP-completeness Easy
A. Problems that have exactly one solution
B. Problems solvable only with constant memory
C. Problems whose certificates are polynomial-time verifiable
D. Problems whose solutions are never checkable

15 Which relationship between P and NP is known to be true?

NP-completeness Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

16 What two conditions must an NP-complete problem satisfy?

NP-completeness Easy
A. It must be recursive and exponential
B. It must be in NP and NP-hard
C. It must be finite and deterministic
D. It must be in P and undecidable

17 What is the purpose of a polynomial-time reduction?

NP-completeness Easy
A. To remove every input from a problem
B. To convert one problem into another efficiently
C. To change a decision problem into code
D. To prove that an algorithm uses no memory

18 Which problem was the first to be proven NP-complete?

NP-completeness Easy
A. Binary Search
B. Matrix Multiplication
C. Boolean Satisfiability
D. Minimum Spanning Tree

19 What would follow if one NP-complete problem were solved in polynomial time?

NP-completeness Easy
A. would be empty
B.
C. would be undecidable
D.

20 How does an NP-hard problem differ from an NP-complete problem?

NP-completeness Easy
A. It must have no valid solution
B. It must always belong to P
C. It need not belong to NP
D. It must be polynomial-time solvable

21 Which statement best describes a decision problem in the complexity class ?

Basic concepts Medium
A. It can be solved only by using polynomial space
B. It can be solved by a deterministic algorithm in polynomial time
C. It requires exponential time for every possible input
D. It can be verified only by a nondeterministic algorithm

22 An algorithm for a problem with input size runs in time, where is a fixed constant. How should its running time be classified with respect to ?

Basic concepts Medium
A. Exponential, because the expression contains a power of
B. Factorial, because both and appear
C. Logarithmic, because does not depend on
D. Polynomial, because is a constant factor

23 Why is the decision version of an optimization problem commonly used in complexity theory?

Basic concepts Medium
A. It provides a yes-or-no form suitable for complexity-class definitions
B. It guarantees that the resulting problem belongs to
C. It eliminates the need to represent candidate solutions
D. It always has a lower running time than the optimization version

24 A dynamic programming algorithm for SUBSET SUM runs in time, where is the target value encoded in binary. Why is this called pseudo-polynomial rather than polynomial?

Basic concepts Medium
A. Its time depends on both the target value and the number of items
B. Its time is polynomial only when all input values are distinct
C. Its time uses dynamic programming instead of direct enumeration
D. Its time is polynomial in but may be exponential in the bit length of

25 Suppose an algorithm examines all subsets of an -element set and spends time on each subset. What is its overall asymptotic running time?

Basic concepts Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

26 If a decision problem is proved NP-complete, which practical conclusion is most appropriate under the assumption ?

Basic concepts Medium
A. No polynomial-time exact algorithm exists for every instance
B. Approximation algorithms cannot be designed for the problem
C. No algorithm can solve any instance of the problem
D. Every instance requires the same exponential running time

27 How does a nondeterministic algorithm accept an input?

Non-deterministic algorithms Medium
A. It accepts when most computation branches reach an accepting state
B. It accepts when every computation branch reaches an accepting state
C. It accepts when a randomly selected branch reaches an accepting state
D. It accepts when at least one computation branch reaches an accepting state

28 For the CLIQUE decision problem, which object is an appropriate polynomial-size certificate for a yes-instance asking whether a graph has a clique of size ?

Non-deterministic algorithms Medium
A. A sequence of all permutations of the graph's vertices
B. A list of vertices claimed to form a clique
C. A table containing every clique in the entire graph
D. A list of all paths between every pair of vertices

29 A nondeterministic machine guesses a certificate of polynomial length and verifies it in polynomial time. What does this establish about the corresponding decision problem?

Non-deterministic algorithms Medium
A. The problem belongs to
B. The problem belongs to
C. The problem is undecidable
D. The problem is NP-hard

30 A nondeterministic algorithm has polynomially many steps along each branch but exponentially many branches. Why can it still represent an computation?

Non-deterministic algorithms Medium
A. The rejecting branches are excluded from the running time
B. Only the length of each accepting branch must be polynomial
C. All branches can be merged into one constant-time branch
D. The total number of branches must also be polynomial

31 A nondeterministic algorithm for HAMILTONIAN CYCLE first guesses an ordering of all vertices. What should its deterministic verification stage check?

Non-deterministic algorithms Medium
A. Every vertex has the same degree and consecutive vertices have distinct labels
B. Every vertex is reachable from the first through some path in the graph
C. Every edge appears once and consecutive edges have different endpoint pairs
D. Every vertex appears once and consecutive vertices are joined, including the last and first

32 Which statement correctly distinguishes nondeterministic computation from randomized computation?

Non-deterministic algorithms Medium
A. Nondeterminism selects choices uniformly, while randomness always selects the best choice
B. Nondeterminism accepts if an accepting choice exists, while randomness assigns probabilities to choices
C. Nondeterminism permits infinite certificates, while randomness permits only finite certificates
D. Nondeterminism solves only search problems, while randomness solves only decision problems

33 If a nondeterministic polynomial-time algorithm is simulated deterministically by exploring every computation branch, what commonly happens to the running time?

Non-deterministic algorithms Medium
A. It may become exponential in the input size
B. It becomes independent of the number of branches
C. It necessarily becomes logarithmic in the input size
D. It always remains polynomial in the input size

34 Which two conditions are sufficient to prove that a decision problem is NP-complete?

NP-completeness Medium
A. is NP-hard, and reduces to every problem in
B. is decidable, and every instance has a unique solution
C. is in , and reduces to a known NP-complete problem
D. is in , and a known NP-complete problem reduces to

35 To prove that a new problem is NP-hard using a known NP-complete problem , which reduction direction is required?

NP-completeness Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

36 Suppose and has a polynomial-time algorithm. What follows?

NP-completeness Medium
A. must be NP-complete
B. cannot have a polynomial-time verifier
C. also has a polynomial-time algorithm
D. must be harder than every problem in

37 A polynomial-time algorithm is discovered for one NP-complete problem. Which consequence follows?

NP-completeness Medium
A. becomes equal to
B. becomes undecidable
C.
D.

38 In the standard reduction from 3-SAT to CLIQUE, a 3-SAT formula with clauses is transformed into a graph. What clique size is requested?

NP-completeness Medium
A. , excluding one clause from the selection
B. , selecting two literals from each clause
C. , selecting every literal from each clause
D. , selecting one compatible literal from each clause

39 Which statement about NP-hard problems is correct?

NP-completeness Medium
A. Every NP-hard problem is also an NP-complete problem
B. An NP-hard problem need not belong to
C. An NP-hard problem must be a decision problem in
D. Every NP-hard problem has polynomially verifiable certificates

40 A student proves that a restricted special case of an NP-complete problem can be solved in polynomial time. What can be concluded about the general problem?

NP-completeness Medium
A. Nothing definitive; the unrestricted instances may remain NP-complete
B. The restricted case must have been NP-hard as well
C. The general problem can no longer belong to
D. The general problem must now belong to

41 A numerical problem has input length and largest numeric value . An algorithm solves it in time. Which classification is most accurate when is encoded in binary?

Basic concepts Hard
A. It is strongly polynomial because is part of the input
B. It is exponential because every numerical algorithm requires unary encoding
C. It is pseudo-polynomial because may be exponential in its bit length
D. It is polynomial because the runtime has two factors

42 Suppose a polynomial-time oracle decides whether a Boolean formula is satisfiable. How can a satisfying assignment be recovered when one exists?

Basic concepts Hard
A. Query once because a decision oracle also returns a witness
B. Fix variables successively and use at most satisfiability queries
C. Convert to DNF and select a term containing no contradiction
D. Query all assignments and retain the first satisfying assignment

43 Let be NP-complete under polynomial-time many-one reductions. What follows if ?

Basic concepts Hard
A. necessarily follows
B. becomes complete for PSPACE
C. necessarily follows
D. must have a constant-size certificate

44 Suppose and has a polynomial-time algorithm. Which conclusion is guaranteed?

Basic concepts Hard
A. is in P because its instances can be transformed and solved
B. is NP-complete because it reduces to a tractable problem
C. is in coNP because polynomial reductions preserve complements
D. is NP-hard because it can solve transformed instances of

45 A strongly NP-complete numerical problem admits an algorithm polynomial in and the largest input value . What would this imply?

Basic concepts Hard
A. The equality follows from the bounded-value restriction
B. The problem is weakly NP-complete but remains outside P
C. The algorithm is polynomial only when all values use binary encoding
D. The equality follows without resolving P versus NP

46 For a nondeterministic decision algorithm, which condition correctly characterizes rejection of an input?

Non-deterministic algorithms Hard
A. More rejecting branches exist than accepting branches
B. At least one computation branch reaches a rejecting state
C. The lexicographically first branch reaches a rejecting state
D. Every computation branch reaches a rejecting state

47 Which verifier condition is sufficient to establish that a language belongs to NP?

Non-deterministic algorithms Hard
A. Yes-instances have polynomial certificates checked by a polynomial-time deterministic verifier
B. No-instances have polynomial certificates checked by a polynomial-time nondeterministic verifier
C. Every input has a polynomial certificate accepted by an exponential-time verifier
D. Yes-instances have arbitrary certificates checked using polynomially many oracle queries

48 A nondeterministic machine has at most successors per step and runs for at most steps on every branch, where is constant. What is the direct deterministic simulation bound?

Non-deterministic algorithms Hard
A. by grouping branches by depth
B. by selecting one canonical branch
C. by encoding each transition
D. by exploring the computation tree

49 Which nondeterministic procedure correctly decides whether an -vertex graph contains a Hamiltonian cycle?

Non-deterministic algorithms Hard
A. Guess an arbitrary walk, then accept if its length is at least
B. Guess vertices, then accept if every graph edge appears in the sequence
C. Guess a permutation of all vertices, then verify consecutive and closing edges
D. Guess a vertex subset, then accept if the induced subgraph is connected

50 Given polynomial-time verifiers for and , which certificate proves that is in NP?

Non-deterministic algorithms Hard
A. A certificate rejected by at least one of the two verifiers
B. A pair of certificates accepted by their respective verifiers
C. A certificate for either verifier, selected nondeterministically
D. An exponentially padded certificate shared by both verifiers

51 A proposed NP algorithm guesses a witness of length and verifies it in time polynomial in the witness length. Why does this not establish membership in NP?

Non-deterministic algorithms Hard
A. NP forbids guessing because witnesses must be computed deterministically
B. The verifier must reject at least half of all possible witnesses
C. The witness and branch runtime are exponential in the input length
D. The witness must be unique for every accepted input instance

52 A nondeterministic machine has a polynomial-length accepting branch for every yes-instance, but some other branches loop forever. Does this prove that its language is in NP?

Non-deterministic algorithms Hard
A. Yes, because one short accepting branch is sufficient
B. No, because all branches must execute identical transitions
C. Yes, provided no branch accepts any no-instance
D. No, because every branch must halt within a polynomial bound

53 Given a known NP-complete language , which pair of results is sufficient to prove that a language is NP-complete?

NP-completeness Hard
A. Prove and prove that belongs to coNP
B. Prove and prove that belongs to P
C. Prove and prove that belongs to NP
D. Prove and prove that belongs to NP

54 In the standard reduction from a 3-CNF formula with clauses to CLIQUE, how is the graph constructed?

NP-completeness Hard
A. Create assignment vertices and join assignments differing in exactly one variable
B. Create literal-occurrence vertices and join compatible vertices from different clauses
C. Create one vertex per variable and seek a clique of size
D. Create one vertex per clause and seek a clique of size three

55 For an -vertex graph , which statement correctly relates CLIQUE to VERTEX-COVER?

NP-completeness Hard
A. has a -clique iff has a vertex cover of size at most
B. has a -clique iff has a vertex cover of size at most
C. has a -clique iff has a vertex cover of size at most
D. has a -clique iff has a vertex cover of size at most

56 What key property makes the Cook–Levin reduction polynomial for a nondeterministic machine running in time ?

NP-completeness Hard
A. Each nondeterministic branch can be encoded using one Boolean variable
B. Every computation has only a constant number of configurations
C. The entire computation tableau has polynomial dimensions and local constraints
D. The reduction evaluates all branches before constructing the Boolean formula

57 Suppose produces instances of size , and produces instances of size . What size bound follows for the composed reduction from to ?

NP-completeness Hard
A. because the second bound receives an input
B. because reduction exponents are added
C. because composed reductions need not remain polynomial
D. because both reduction bounds must be squared

58 Assume a sparse language is NP-complete under polynomial-time many-one reductions. Which consequence follows from Mahaney's theorem?

NP-completeness Hard
A. because no sparse language can be NP-complete otherwise
B. because sparse languages are closed under complement
C. is finite because every sparse NP language has constant density
D. because sparse languages have polynomial density

59 Let be NP-complete under many-one reductions, and suppose while . What is the strongest conclusion justified directly?

NP-completeness Hard
A. belongs to P because adaptive queries preserve tractability
B. is NP-complete under many-one reductions
C. is NP-hard but cannot itself belong to NP
D. is NP-complete under polynomial-time Turing reductions

60 In the decision version of TSP with binary-encoded nonnegative edge weights and bound , why is a proposed tour a polynomially verifiable certificate?

NP-completeness Hard
A. The verifier needs to compare only the largest edge weight with
B. Binary weights can be replaced by unary weights without increasing input size
C. Its total weight can be computed using polynomial-time binary arithmetic
D. Every valid tour necessarily has total weight polynomial in the vertex count