MODULE -2 Solved TIE

1. How a Well-Defined Problem Can Be Formulated:

- Answer: A well-defined problem can be formulated by following a structured
process that involves several key steps:

1. Identify the Problem: Clearly define and understand the problem that needs to be
solved. This involves identifying the goals, objectives, constraints, and requirements
associated with the problem.

2. Gather Information: Collect relevant information and data related to the problem.
This may involve researching existing solutions, gathering domain knowledge, and
understanding the context in which the problem exists.

3. Define the Problem Space: Define the problem space by specifying the set of
possible states, actions, and outcomes that characterize the problem. This helps in
understanding the scope and boundaries of the problem.

4. Formulate Objectives: Clearly articulate the objectives or goals that the solution
should achieve. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and
time-bound (SMART).

5. Identify Constraints: Identify any constraints or limitations that must be considered

when solving the problem. Constraints may include resource limitations, time
constraints, legal or ethical considerations, and technical constraints.

6. Generate Alternatives: Generate a range of alternative solutions or approaches to

solving the problem. Brainstorming and creative thinking techniques can be used to
explore different possibilities.

7. Evaluate Alternatives: Evaluate each alternative solution against the defined

objectives, constraints, and requirements. Consider the potential benefits, risks, costs,
and feasibility of each alternative.

8. Select the Best Solution: Select the most promising solution based on the evaluation
criteria and the identified objectives. The selected solution should best meet the needs
of the problem while satisfying the defined constraints.

9. Plan Implementation: Develop a plan for implementing the selected solution. This
may involve breaking down the solution into actionable steps, assigning
responsibilities, and setting timelines and milestones.

10. Monitor and Evaluate: Continuously monitor the implementation of the solution
and evaluate its effectiveness. Adjustments may need to be made based on feedback
and performance metrics to ensure that the solution is achieving the desired outcomes.

2. Problem-Solving Agent and Its Components, Problem-Solving Techniques for

Given Problems

- Answer: A problem-solving agent is an intelligent agent designed to solve problems

by searching for sequences of actions that lead from an initial state to a goal state. It
operates in an environment where it can perceive the current state, perform actions, and
receive feedback about the outcomes of its actions. The goal of a problem-solving
agent is to find a solution that achieves a desired goal state.

Components of a Problem-Solving Agent:

1. Problem Formulation: This involves defining the problem, including specifying the
initial state, possible actions, transition model, goal test, and cost function (if
applicable).

2. Search Algorithm: The search algorithm is responsible for exploring the space of
possible states and actions to find a sequence of actions leading to the goal state.
Various search algorithms such as breadth-first search, depth-first search, A* search,
etc., can be used based on the problem characteristics.

3. Solution: Once a goal state is reached, the solution is a sequence of actions that
transforms the initial state into the goal state.

Now, let's apply the problem-solving technique to the given problems:

(i) 8 Queens Problem:

- Problem Formulation:
- Initial State: An empty 8x8 chessboard.
- Actions: Place a queen on an empty square.
- Transition Model: Add a queen to the board at a valid position.
- Goal Test: No two queens attack each other (i.e., no two queens share the same row,
column, or diagonal).
- Search Algorithm: A suitable algorithm for solving the 8 Queens Problem is the
depth-first search algorithm, where each state represents a partially filled board.
- Solution: A solution is a sequence of actions (queen placements) leading to a valid
configuration where no two queens attack each other.

(ii) Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP):

- Problem Formulation:
- Initial State: The starting city (e.g., city A).
- Actions: Move from one city to another.
- Transition Model: Move from one city to another, respecting the constraint of
visiting each city exactly once.
- Goal Test: Return to the starting city after visiting all other cities.
- Search Algorithm: The TSP can be solved using various algorithms such as branch
and bound, dynamic programming, or heuristic search algorithms like simulated
annealing or genetic algorithms.
- Solution: A solution is a sequence of city-to-city transitions that form a complete tour,
visiting each city exactly once and returning to the starting city.

(iii) 8 Puzzle Problem:

- Problem Formulation:
- Initial State: A scrambled configuration of the puzzle tiles on the board.
- Actions: Move a tile into the empty space (up, down, left, or right).
- Transition Model: Move a tile into the empty space to create a new state.
- Goal Test: Reach the goal state where tiles are arranged in the correct order.
- Search Algorithm: Common search algorithms for solving the 8 Puzzle Problem
include A* search with an appropriate heuristic function or iterative deepening search.
- Solution: A solution is a sequence of tile movements that transform the initial
configuration into the goal configuration.

3. Breadth-First Search (BFS) , Depth-First Search (DFS) and IDDFS

-Breadth-First Search (BFS):

Breadth-first search explores all neighbor nodes at the present depth prior to moving on
to nodes at the next depth level. It visits nodes in levels, starting from the root, and
gradually moves to deeper levels. BFS uses a queue data structure to keep track of the
nodes to be explored.

Algorithm:
```
BFS(G, start):
queue.enqueue(start)
visited[start] = true

while queue is not empty:

current = queue.dequeue()
process(current)

for neighbor in neighbors(current):

if neighbor is not visited:
queue.enqueue(neighbor)
visited[neighbor] = true
```

Advantages of Breadth-First Search:

- Guaranteed to find the shortest path in an unweighted graph.
- Complete for finite graphs (if memory is sufficient).
- Suitable for finding the shortest path, maze-solving, and other search problems where
finding the shallowest solution is desirable.

Disadvantages of Breadth-First Search:

- Requires more memory to store the entire queue.
- Not suitable for large graphs due to memory constraints.
- May visit many unnecessary nodes at deeper levels before finding the solution.

Depth-First Search (DFS):

Depth-first search explores as far as possible along a branch before backtracking. It

traverses one branch of the tree as deeply as possible before backtracking to explore
other branches. DFS uses a stack data structure to keep track of nodes to be explored.

Algorithm:

```
DFS(G, start):
stack.push(start)
visited[start] = true
 while stack is not empty:
current = stack.pop()
process(current)

for neighbor in neighbors(current):

if neighbor is not visited:
stack.push(neighbor)
visited[neighbor] = true
```

Advantages of Depth-First Search:

- Requires less memory compared to BFS as it only needs to store the path from the
root to the current node.
- Suitable for solving puzzles, topological sorting, and other search problems where
finding any solution is sufficient.
- May be more efficient in searching deep branches or paths.

Disadvantages of Depth-First Search:

- May get stuck in infinite loops if the graph has cycles.
- Not guaranteed to find the shortest path.
- Performance highly depends on the branching factor of the graph and may become
inefficient in graphs with high branching factors.

Iterative Deepening Depth-First Search (IDDFS):

Iterative deepening depth-first search is a combination of BFS and DFS. It

repeatedly performs DFS with a maximum depth limit, gradually increasing the
depth limit in each iteration until the goal is found.

Example:

Consider a tree where we want to find a target node:

```
A
/|\
B C D
 /\ /\
E FG H
```

Starting from node A, IDDFS performs DFS with a depth limit of 1, then 2, and so on
until the goal node is found. It first explores nodes at depth 1 (B, C, D), then at depth 2
(E, F, G, H), and continues until the goal is found or all nodes are explored. This
approach combines the benefits of DFS (low memory usage) and BFS (finding the
shallowest solution).

Iterative Deepening Depth-First Search (IDDFS):

Algorithm:

```
IDDFS(G, start, target):
depth = 0
while true:
result = DFS(G, start, target, depth)
if result == FOUND or result == NOT_FOUND:
return result
depth++
```

DFS (within IDDFS):

```
DFS(G, current, target, depth):
if current == target:
return FOUND
if depth == 0:
return NOT_FOUND

for neighbor in neighbors(current):

result = DFS(G, neighbor, target, depth - 1)
if result == FOUND:
return FOUND
 return NOT_FOUND
```

Advantages of Iterative Deepening Depth-First Search:

- Guarantees to find the shortest path in a tree with uniform edge costs.
- Has the same memory usage as DFS.
- Avoids the drawbacks of BFS such as high memory usage.

Disadvantages of Iterative Deepening Depth-First Search:

- Inefficient for graphs with high branching factors and depths.
- May still explore redundant nodes in the search space.

Example:

Let's say we have a tree structure as described earlier:

```
A
/|\
B C D
/\ /\
E FG H
```

We want to find node G using IDDFS.

1. We start with a depth limit of 0. Since G is not found at this depth, we

increment the depth limit.
2. With a depth limit of 1, we perform DFS starting from node A. Node G is found
at this depth, so we return FOUND.
3. The search terminates, and node G is successfully found.

This demonstrates how IDDFS progressively increases the depth limit until the
goal node is found, combining the advantages of DFS (low memory usage) with
the benefits of BFS (finding the shallowest solution).

4. Iterative Deepening Depth-First Search (IDDFS):

 - Answer: refer above answer
.

5. State Space and Search Algorithms q5

- Answer: To address the given task, let's first draw the portion of the state space for
states 1 to 15, considering each state \(n\) having two successors: \(2n\) and \(2n + 1\).

i) Drawing the portion of the state space for states 1 to 15:

```
1
/ \
2 3
/ \ / \
4 5 6 7
/\ /\ /\ /\
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
```

Now, let's apply different search algorithms to find the path to the goal state, which is
11.

ii) Applying search algorithms:

Breadth-First Search (BFS):

- The order of nodes visited: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
- BFS explores all nodes at the current depth level before moving to the next level.
Since the goal state 11 is found at level 4, BFS visits all nodes up to level 4.

Depth-First Search (DFS):

- The order of nodes visited: 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 5, 10, 11
- DFS explores as far as possible along each branch before backtracking. It goes deep
into the tree first, visiting nodes 2, 4, 8, 9 before backtracking to node 5 and exploring
its children.

Depth-Limited Search (DLS) with limit 3:

- The order of nodes visited: 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 5, 10, 11
- Similar to DFS, but with a depth limit of 3. It stops exploring further when the depth
limit is reached.

Iterative Deepening Search (IDS):

- Iteration 1: Visits nodes at depth 1: 1
- Iteration 2: Visits nodes at depth 2: 1, 2, 3
- Iteration 3: Visits nodes at depth 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
- Iteration 4: Visits nodes at depth 4: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
- IDS combines the benefits of BFS and DFS by gradually increasing the depth limit
until the goal state is found. In this case, IDS reaches the goal state 11 in the fourth
iteration.