Scribd
Upload
68 views4 pages

Prereq Solutions

This document provides instructions and problems for an entrance exam. It instructs examinees to not open the booklet until instructed, write their name on each page, and that they have 60 minutes to complete the exam. It also specifies that no outside materials are allowed. The problems include evaluating sets, expected values of random variables, congruences, proving statements about graphs by induction, and common mistakes.

Uploaded by

Khatia Ivanova
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
68 views4 pages

Prereq Solutions

This document provides instructions and problems for an entrance exam. It instructs examinees to not open the booklet until instructed, write their name on each page, and that they have 60 minutes to complete the exam. It also specifies that no outside materials are allowed. The problems include evaluating sets, expected values of random variables, congruences, proving statements about graphs by induction, and common mistakes.

Uploaded by

Khatia Ivanova
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Introduction to Algorithms February 11, 2018

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6.006 Fall 2018


Instructors: Jason Ku, Vinod Vaikuntanathan, and Virginia Williams Solution: Entrance Exam

Solution: Entrance Exam

• Do not open this quiz booklet until directed to do so. Read all the instructions on this page.

• When the quiz begins, write your name on the top of every page of this quiz booklet.

• You have 60 minutes to take this exam. Do not spend too much time on any one problem.
Read through all problems first, then solve them in an order that allows you to make the
most progress.

• No calculators, cell phones, or other programmable or communication devices are permitted.

• Write your solutions in the space provided. Pages will be scanned and separated for grad-
ing. If you need more space, write “Continued on S1” and continue your solution on the
referenced scratch page at the end of the exam.

Name:

School Email:
2 6.006 Solution: Entrance Exam Name

Problem 1. Let A = {i2 | i ∈ {2, 3, 4, 5}} and B = {2i | i ∈ N and 0 < i < 10}. Evaluate:

(a) |A ∩ B| Solution: 2

(b) |A ∪ B| Solution: 11

(c) A − B Solution: {9, 25}

Common Mistakes: Providing the sets for (a) and (b) instead of their cardinality.

Problem 2. Let X be the random variable representing the outcome of rolling one fair 6-sided
die. Let Y be the random variable representing how many chosen numbers are even, after choosing
exactly two numbers uniformly at random without replacement from set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. Evaluate:

(a) E [X] Solution: 7/2 = 3.5

(b) E [Y ] Solution: 4/5 = 0.8

(c) E [X + Y ] Solution: 43/10 = 4.3

Common Mistakes:
• Not knowing what an expected value is
• Thinking that E [X + Y ] = E [X] E [Y ] instead of E [X + Y ] = E [X] + E [Y ].

Problem 3. Let A = 600 × 6 and B = (60 × 4) + 2. Are the following statements True or False?

(a) A ≡ B mod 2 Solution: True

(b) A ≡ B mod 3 Solution: False

(c) A ≡ B mod 4 Solution: False

n
n+1 n n!
P  
Problem 4. Prove by induction that i= 2
for any positive integer n. Note k
= k!(n−k)!
.
i=1
n+1
 (n+1)! n(n+1)
Solution: Note that 2
= 2!(n−1)!
=
Induct on n. Base case: statement is true for n = 1,
2
.
n
1(1+1)
i = n(n+1)
P
since 2
= 1. Now assume by induction that 2
is true for n = k. We prove that the
i=1
statement is also true for n = k + 1:
k+1 k
X X 2(k + 1) k(k + 1) (k + 1)(k + 2)
i = (k + 1) + i= + = , as desired.
i=1 i=1
2 2 2
6.006 Solution: Entrance Exam Name 3

Problem 5. Prove by induction that the number of edges in any connected acyclic undirected
graph G = (V, E) is exactly one less than the number of vertices in the graph, i.e., |E| = |V | − 1.
You may use the fact that every connected acyclic undirected graph having more than one vertex
contains a vertex with degree one.
Solution: Induct on the number of vertices k. Base case: a graph with k = 1 cannot contain
edges without forming a cycle, so |E| = 1 − 1 = 0 as desired. Now assume by induction that the
claim is true for any connected acyclic undirected graph having k vertices, and consider any graph
G = (V, E) where |V | = k + 1 > 1. By the fact above, G contains a vertex v connected to exactly
one edge. Removing v and the edge connected to it yields a graph G0 = (V 0 , E 0 ), where |V 0 | =
|V | − 1 = k and |E 0 | = |E| − 1. G0 cannot contain a cycle since G is acyclic, and removing v and
its adjacent edge cannot separate the graph; so G0 is connected and acyclic. Then by the inductive
hypothesis, |E 0 | = |V 0 |−1, so |E| = |E 0 |+1 = |V 0 |−1+1 = |V |+1−1+1 = |V |+1, as desired.
Common Mistakes:

• Arguing base case |V | = 2 and not |V | = 1


• Arguing for induction that, given a graph with k vertices, adding a leaf will maintain the
claim. You need to show the claim holds for any graph with k + 1 vertices, not that the claim
works for any graph constructed from a graph on k vertices. This was a common mistake.
4 6.006 Solution: Entrance Exam Name

SCRATCH PAPER 1. DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE EXAM.

You can use this paper to write a longer solution if you run out of space, but be sure to write
“Continued on S1” on the problem statement’s page.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy