Practice Questions for Quantum Computing
1. What is a qubit? How is it different from a classical bit?
2. What are the key differences between classical computing and quantum computing (give at least 5
differences).
3. Write the truth table for the Pauli-X, -Y, -Z gates and the Hadamard gate. Which among these
gates is used to create superposition state from a computational state?
4. Show the output of a CNOT gate using truth table. Also show the matrix form of the gate.
5. A general qubit state is written as
|ψ⟩ = α|0⟩ + β|1⟩.
What is the physical meaning of the condition |α|2 + |β|2 = 1?
6. Explain why the global phase of a quantum state is physically irrelevant.
7. Write the general form of a single-qubit state on the Bloch Sphere using angles θ and ϕ.
8. What do the north and south poles of the Bloch Sphere represent?
9. Why is the Bloch Sphere a useful tool for visualizing qubit states?
10. How many basis states exist for a two-qubit system? List them.
11. What is the dimension of the Hilbert space for two qubits?
12. Distinguish between separable and entangled two-qubit states with one example each.
13. Determine whether the state
|00⟩ + |01⟩
|ψ⟩ = √
2
is entangled. Justify your answer.
14. Write the four Bell states.
15. Explain why Bell states cannot be written as a tensor product of single-qubit states.
16. What does the term “non-local correlation” mean in the context of entanglement?
17. What do the Pauli X, Y , and Z gates represent geometrically on the Bloch Sphere?
18. Explain how the Hadamard gate creates a superposition, using an example.
19. Why is the Hadamard gate considered a “basis changer”?
20. Write the matrix representation of the CNOT gate.
21. Explain the roles of the control and target qubits in the CNOT gate.
22. What is the output of applying a CNOT gate on the state |10⟩?
23. Describe the steps to generate the Bell state
|00⟩ + |11⟩
|Φ+ ⟩ = √
2
using a Hadamard and a CNOT gate.
1
24. Why are two-qubit gates essential for creating entanglement while single-qubit gates alone are
insufficient?
25. Consider the state √
3 1
|ψ⟩ = |0⟩ + |1⟩.
2 2
Compute: (a) Probability of measuring 0, (b) Probability of measuring 1, (c) Verify normalization.
26. Normalize the state
|χ⟩ = 3|0⟩ + 4|1⟩.
27. Compute the following gate actions:
(a) X|0⟩,
(b) Z|1⟩,
(c) H|1⟩.
28. For the Bloch sphere state
θ θ
|ψ⟩ = cos |0⟩ + eiϕ sin |1⟩,
2 2
find the values of θ and ϕ that yield the state |+⟩.
29. Compute the tensor product
|+⟩ ⊗ |1⟩,
|0⟩+|1⟩
where |+⟩ = √
2
.
30. Apply a CNOT gate (first qubit as control) on the state
|0⟩ + |1⟩
|ψ⟩ = √ ⊗ |0⟩
2
and write the final state.
31. Determine whether
|00⟩ + |10⟩
|ψ⟩ = √
2
is entangled by attempting to factorize it.
32. For the Bell state
|01⟩ − |10⟩
|Ψ− ⟩ = √ ,
2
compute: (a) Probability of measuring 0 on the first qubit, (b) Probability of measuring 1 on the
first qubit, (c) Conditional state of the second qubit after measurement.
33. Show how applying a Hadamard gate to |0⟩ leads to an equal superposition state. Explain the role
of interference.
34. Explain the action of the Pauli X, Y , and Z gates as rotations on the Bloch Sphere.
35. Describe how to generate all four Bell states from |00⟩ using single-qubit gates and a CNOT gate.
Circuit-style diagrams may be used.
36. Show that XY X = −Y where X, Y and Z are Pauli gates.
37. Prove the following three circuit identities: (i) HXH = Z, (ii) HY H = −Y and (iii) HZH = X.