AI Course
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January 2026
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Artificial Intelligence (CSC-350)1: Assignments, MCQs, and Viva QuestionsW ithSolutions)
Instructions
This document contains assessment material for Chapter 1: Introduction to
Artificial Intelligence (based on Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach,
3rd Edition). It is designed for beginner-level undergraduate students.
Answers are provided for instructor reference.
1 Assignment Questions (Descriptive)
[label=Q1.]
1. Define Artificial Intelligence. Why is it considered an interdisciplinary
field?
Solution: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the study of building intelligent
agents that perceive their environment and take actions to maximize the
chance of achieving goals. It is interdisciplinary because it combines ideas
from philosophy, mathematics, economics, neuroscience, psychology, lin-
guistics, and computer engineering.
2. Explain how philosophy contributed to the foundations of AI.
Solution: Philosophy contributed by introducing logic, reasoning, and
questions about the nature of mind and knowledge. Aristotle’s syllogisms
showed that valid conclusions can be drawn mechanically from premises,
forming the basis of logical reasoning in AI.
3. What is the role of mathematics in AI? Mention two key contributions.
Solution: Mathematics provides formal logic, probability theory, and
computation theory. Two key contributions are (i) Algorithms, intro-
duced by Al-Khwarizmi, and (ii) Turing Machines, introduced by Alan
Turing to define what can be computed.
1
4. How does economics influence decision-making in AI systems?
Solution: Economics influences AI through decision theory and game the-
ory. AI agents make decisions by maximizing expected utility, considering
rewards, probabilities, and long-term outcomes, especially in multi-agent
environments.
5. Explain the inspiration of neural networks from neuroscience.
Solution: Neural networks are inspired by biological neurons in the hu-
man brain. Each artificial neuron mimics the behavior of biological neu-
rons by receiving inputs, applying weights, and producing outputs. How-
ever, neural networks are simplified mathematical models, not exact repli-
cas of the brain.
6. What caused the first AI Winter ?
Solution: The AI Winter was caused by over-optimistic promises, limited
computational power, lack of large datasets, and failure of early AI systems
to scale beyond simple problems.
7. Differentiate between expert systems and machine learning systems.
Solution: Expert systems rely on hand-coded rules provided by human
experts and cannot learn from experience. Machine learning systems learn
patterns automatically from data and improve performance over time.
8. Why is deep learning successful in modern AI applications?
Solution: Deep learning is successful due to the availability of large
datasets, powerful hardware such as GPUs/TPUs, and improved learn-
ing algorithms like backpropagation, allowing models to learn complex
representations.
9. Explain one benefit and one risk of AI.
Solution: A benefit of AI is improved efficiency and accuracy in areas such
as medical diagnosis. A risk is biased decision-making when AI systems
are trained on biased data.
10. Why is AI described as narrow intelligence rather than general intelli-
gence?
Solution: AI is considered narrow intelligence because it performs well on
specific tasks (e.g., image recognition or chess) but lacks general reasoning,
common sense, and adaptability across domains like humans.
2 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
[label=MCQ2.]
1. Which of the following best defines Artificial Intelligence?
2
[label=(a)]
(a) Machines that replace humans
(b) Study of human intelligence only
(c) Study of rational agents that act to achieve goals
(d) Programming with data only
Answer: (c)
2. Who introduced the concept of syllogistic reasoning?
[label=(b)]
(a) Plato
(b) Aristotle
(c) Alan Turing
(d) John Locke
Answer: (b)
3. The word algorithm originates from the name of:
[label=(c)]
(a) Alan Turing
(b) Euclid
(c) Al-Khwarizmi
(d) John von Neumann
Answer: (c)
4. Which theory combines probability and utility for decision-making?
[label=(d)]
(a) Control theory
(b) Game theory
(c) Decision theory
(d) Learning theory
Answer: (c)
5. Neural networks are inspired by:
[label=(e)]
(a) Logic gates
(b) Human brain neurons
(c) Economic models
3
(d) Programming languages
Answer: (b)
6. Which event officially introduced the term Artificial Intelligence?
[label=(f)]
(a) Turing Test
(b) AI Winter
(c) Dartmouth Conference (1956)
(d) Invention of perceptron
Answer: (c)
7. Which of the following caused AI Winter?
[label=(g)]
(a) Too much data
(b) Lack of logic
(c) Limited hardware and over-promises
(d) Ethical concerns
Answer: (c)
8. Expert systems primarily fail because they:
[label=(h)]
(a) Are too fast
(b) Cannot learn automatically
(c) Use probability
(d) Use neural networks
Answer: (b)
9. Deep learning became practical mainly due to:
[label=(i)]
(a) Philosophy
(b) Game theory
(c) GPUs and big data
(d) Rule-based systems
Answer: (c)
10. AI systems today are best described as:
[label=(j)]
(a) Human-level intelligence
4
(b) Superintelligence
(c) Narrow intelligence
(d) Conscious intelligence
Answer: (c)
3 Viva / Oral Examination Questions
[label=V3.]
1. What is an intelligent agent?
Answer: An intelligent agent is an entity that perceives its environment
through sensors and acts upon that environment through actuators to
achieve goals.
2. Why is logic important in AI?
Answer: Logic allows AI systems to represent knowledge formally and
derive valid conclusions using inference rules.
3. What is the Turing Test?
Answer: The Turing Test evaluates a machine’s intelligence based on
whether it can exhibit behavior indistinguishable from a human in con-
versation.
4. What is the difference between learning and programming?
Answer: Programming involves explicitly coding rules, while learning
allows systems to automatically extract patterns from data.
5. Why are neural networks called learning models?
Answer: Because they adjust internal parameters (weights) based on
errors during training, improving performance over time.
6. What is AI Winter?
Answer: A period of reduced funding and interest in AI due to unmet
expectations and technical limitations.
7. Give one real-world application of AI.
Answer: Medical image diagnosis, recommendation systems, autonomous
vehicles, or speech recognition.
8. What is meant by biased AI?
Answer: AI systems that produce unfair or discriminatory outcomes due
to biased training data or flawed design.
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9. Is AI dangerous? Briefly justify.
Answer: AI is not inherently dangerous, but misuse, lack of regulation,
and biased systems can create serious risks.
10. Why is Chapter 1 important for understanding AI?
Answer: Chapter 1 provides historical context, foundational disciplines,
and realistic expectations about AI capabilities and limitations.