NPTEL Blockchain & Its Applications - Summary Notes & MCQs

Comprehensive Notes

1. Blockchain Fundamentals:

- Decentralized, distributed ledger.

- Immutable, transparent, secure.

- Block components: index, timestamp, data, prev hash, hash, nonce.

2. Cryptographic Concepts:

- Hash Functions: deterministic, collision-resistant, pre-image resistant, avalanche effect.

- Merkle Trees: binary hash trees for verification.

3. Bitcoin Overview:

- Digital currency with max supply 21 million.

- Mining with reward halving.

- Double spending prevented via consensus.

4. Consensus Mechanisms:

- Types: crash fault, Byzantine fault.

- Properties: termination, validity, integrity, agreement.

- Proof of Work (PoW) used in Bitcoin.

5. Smart Contracts:

- Self-executing code-based contracts.

- Trustless, automatic, transparent.

- Limitations: immutability, complexity.

6. Blockchain Types:

- Permissionless: public, e.g., Bitcoin.

- Permissioned: restricted access, e.g., Hyperledger Fabric.

7. Hyperledger Fabric:

- Permissioned enterprise blockchain.

- Components: peers, ordering service, MSP.

- Flow: proposal -> endorsement -> ordering -> validation.

8. Real-World Use Cases:

- Finance, supply chain, healthcare, government.

Practice MCQs
1. What is the primary purpose of a Merkle Tree in blockchain?

A) To store smart contracts

B) To manage user identities

C) To efficiently and securely verify data

D) To generate new blocks

Answer: C

2. In blockchain, what does the 'nonce' represent?

A) The timestamp of the block

B) The hash of the previous block

C) A number used to find a valid hash

D) The index of the block

Answer: C

3. Which consensus mechanism requires miners to solve computational puzzles?

A) Proof of Stake

B) Proof of Work

C) Delegated Proof of Stake

D) Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance

Answer: B

4. What distinguishes a permissioned blockchain from a permissionless one?

A) Use of smart contracts

B) Public accessibility

C) Restricted access to authorized participants

D) Absence of consensus mechanisms

Answer: C

5. Which component in Hyperledger Fabric is responsible for ordering transactions?

A) Peer

B) Client

C) Ordering Service

D) Membership Service Provider

Answer: C
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 1 - Week 1 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10
QUESTION 1

Which of the following statements is true regarding the foundational concepts of blockchain and
cryptography?

a) Decentralization in blockchain ensures that a single authority controls the network for higher
efficiency.
b) SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function widely used in blockchain due to its fixed output
size and collision resistance.
c) A hash chain is a sequence of cryptographic keys used to decode blockchain data.
d) Cryptographic hash ensures that the blockchain data cannot be read by anyone outside the
network.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Option (b) is correct because SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function with features like fixed
output, pre-image resistance, and collision resistance, making it ideal for blockchain.

QUESTION 2

An attacker wants to find a collision in a cryptographic hash function with a 256-bit output. What is
the approximate number of hash operations required to succeed?

a) 1 × 2128
b) 0.75 × 2128
c) 1 × 2256
d) 0.5 × 2256

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Option (a) is correct because If a hash function produces 𝑁 bits of output, an attacker needs to
compute only 2𝑁/2 hash operations on a random input to find two matching outputs.2256/2 = 2128 =1 ×
2128
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QUESTION 3

A blockchain network uses SHA-256 for its hashing process. If it takes 10-6 seconds to compute a
single SHA-256 hash, how long would it take (approximately) to compute 2128 hashes for a collision
attack?

a) 1010 years
b) 1015 years
c) 1020 years
d) 1025 years

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Total time to compute 2128 hashes: 2128 ×10-6 ≈ 3.4 × 1032 seconds.
Convert seconds to years: 1 year = 3.15×107 seconds ⇒ (3.4× 1032) / (3.15× 107) ≈ 1025 years.

QUESTION 4

In a decentralized distributed system with 100 participants, which of the following statements is true
regarding trust and communication?

a) At least 50 participants must trust each other for the system to function.
b) A central body governing communication among all 100 participants is mandatory.
c) Participants may or may not trust each other, as the system ensures integrity using
cryptographic protocols and agreement through consensus protocols.
d) All the 100 participants must trust each other.

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Option (c) is correct because decentralized systems rely on cryptographic mechanisms and consensus
protocols, making trust among participants unnecessary. Option (a) is incorrect, as trust among the
participants is not a requirement for decentralized systems. Option (b) is incorrect, as decentralized
systems operate without a central governing body.
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QUESTION 5

A blockchain network achieves an average block generation time of 5 minutes under normal
conditions. However, due to scheduled maintenance, the network's hash rate is reduced by 50% for 4
hours daily. If the network operates for 12 hours in total (including the maintenance period), how
many blocks will be added to the blockchain?

a) 120
b) 200
c) 216
d) 240

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
For 8 hours at full efficiency: (60 min / 5 min) = 12 blocks/hour, so 12 × 8 = 96 blocks.
For 4 hours at 50% efficiency: (12 blocks / 2 ) 6 blocks/hours, so 6 × 4 = 24 blocks.
Total blocks = 96 + 24 = 120 blocks.

QUESTION 6

Where are the transaction logs stored in a blockchain network?

a) In a centralized SQL database.

b) On an immutable ledger controlled by a central authority.
c) In metadata tables on each peer.
d) In the distributed ledger of each peer across the network.

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Blockchain transaction logs are stored in a distributed ledger across all peers (nodes) in the network,
ensuring decentralization and immutability.
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QUESTION 7

Which of the following describes the avalanche effect in a cryptographic hash function?

a) Given the same input, the hash function returns a different hash 99.99% of the time.
b) It takes 105 attempts to reverse-engineer the original message from the hash.
c) A small change in the input causes a drastic change in the hash, flipping nearly all the bits.
d) The hash function always returns the same hash for the same input.

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
The avalanche effect ensures that even a tiny change in the input (like flipping a single bit) results
in a significantly different hash, with most of the output bits changing.

QUESTION 8

Which of the following statements accurately describes a blockchain?

a) A centralized database where data is stored on a single server.

b) A distributed ledger where data is stored across multiple nodes and is immutable.
c) A system that only stores cryptocurrency transaction data on a single node.
d) A network that uses a single user to control access and updates to the data.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
A blockchain is a decentralized and distributed ledger system where data is stored across multiple
nodes (computers), ensuring that no single entity has control. It is also immutable, meaning once data
is recorded in a block, it cannot be altered without the consensus of the network.
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QUESTION 9

Which of the following is/are possible use cases of blockchain technology?

a) Cross-border payments
b) Supply chain management
c) Centralized Anti-money laundering tracking system
d) Maintaining data over a single database server

Answer: (a) and (b)

Detailed solution:
Blockchain technology is used in cross-border payments, supply chain management, and
decentralized anti-money laundering tracking systems for decentralization, transparency, and
security.

QUESTION 10

In a blockchain using SHA-256, if the hashes of strings A and B are concatenated and then hashed
again, what is the length of the final hash?

a) 256 bits
b) 512 bits
c) 128 bits
d) 1024 bits

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
SHA-256 always produces a fixed 256-bit hash, regardless of input size. Even after concatenating
two hashes and rehashing, the output will still be a 256-bit hash.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
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Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 2 - Week 2 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10
QUESTION 1

Alice employs the RSA cryptosystem with the prime numbers p=11 and q=19 to derive her public
and private keys. Given that her public key is e=11, what is her corresponding private key d?

a) 35
b) 131
c) 101
d) 149

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Compute ϕ(n)=(p−1)(q−1)=180.
Find d as the modular inverse of e=11 modulo ϕ(n)=180 using d = e-1 (mod 180)), giving d=131

QUESTION 2

Alice wants to send a message to Bob with confidentiality and integrity. The steps are as follows:

1. Alice encrypts the message using Bob’s ________ key.

2. Alice then signs the ________ of the message with her ________ key.
3. Bob decrypts the message using his ________ key.
4. Bob verifies Alice's signature using her ________ key.

a) public, hash, private, public, private

b) private, message, public, private, public
c) public, hash, private, private, public
d) public, hash, private, public, public

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Alice first encrypts the message using Bob’s public key for confidentiality and signs the hash of the
message with her private key to ensure integrity and authenticity. Bob then decrypts the message with
his private key and verifies Alice’s signature using her public key to confirm the message’s
authenticity and integrity.
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QUESTION 3

Digitally signing transactions by the sender in Blockchain ensures the resolution of

repudiation/verifiability problems. Based on this, which one of the following is correct:

a) It allows the sender to deny the transaction at any point.

b) It ensures that the sender cannot deny the transaction and the recipient can verify its authenticity.
c) It provides encryption but does not verify the sender’s identity.
d) It guarantees the transaction will remain confidential but does not resolve repudiation issues.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Digital signatures in blockchain ensure that the sender cannot deny sending the transaction (non-
repudiation) and that the recipient can verify the authenticity and integrity of the transaction
(verifiability).

QUESTION 4

What is the primary purpose of Alice signing a message with her private key in a blockchain
transaction?

a) To encrypt the message

b) To prevent others from reading the message
c) To prove the message came from Alice
d) To hide the contents of the message

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
When Alice signs a message with her private key, it serves as proof that the message came from her
(authentication) and ensures the integrity of the message (it hasn't been tampered with).
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QUESTION 5

Consider 6 data points labeled 1 to 6. The post-order traversal of the Merkle Tree is provided as
follows (where 1 represents the hash of data point 1, 43 denotes the combined hash of 4 and 3, and
so on):

a) {12345656, 1234, 12, 1, 2, 34, 3, 4, 5656, 56, 5, 6}

b) {1, 12, 2, 3, 4, 34, 1234, 5, 6, 56, 123456}
c) {1, 2, 12, 3, 4, 34, 1234, 5, 6, 56, 56, 5656, 12345656}
d) {1, 2, 12, 3, 4, 34, 1234, 5, 6, 56, 5656, 12345656}

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:

Post-order traversal : {1, 2, 12, 3, 4, 34, 1234, 5, 6, 56, 56, 5656, 12345656}

QUESTION 6

Which of the following is used to refer to a block in a blockchain?

a) Future nonce
b) Block size
c) Previous Block Hash
d) Transaction Timestamp

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
In a blockchain, each block contains a previous block hash. This hash pointer links the current block
to the previous one, ensuring the integrity and immutability of the blockchain.
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QUESTION 7

Which of the following does not align with the primary design goals of cryptocurrency development?

a) Decentralization of control and decision-making

b) Immutability of transaction records
c) Centralized control over transactions
d) Transparency and accessibility of transaction data

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Centralized control over transactions: This contradicts the essence of cryptocurrencies, which are
designed to operate without central authority or intermediaries.

QUESTION 8

Which of the following statements is/are true regarding Bitcoin and its consensus algorithm?

1. Bitcoin uses Proof of Work (PoW) for transaction validation and block addition.
2. Bitcoin operates on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
3. Bitcoin uses Proof of Stake (PoS) for centralization.
4. Miners are rewarded with transaction fees and block rewards in Bitcoin.

a) 1, 2, 3
b) 2, 3, 4
c) 1, 2, 4
d) 1, 3, 4

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Bitcoin uses Proof of Work (PoW) for consensus, where miners solve cryptographic puzzles to
validate transactions and add blocks to the blockchain. The network operates on a decentralized peer-
to-peer (P2P) model, with no central server, allowing nodes to communicate directly. Miners are
incentivized with transaction fees and block rewards for securing the network by validating and
adding blocks.
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QUESTION 9

What is the primary focus of 'safety' in Bitcoin's protocol?

a) Preventing invalid transactions

b) Ensuring blocks are mined quickly
c) Guaranteeing that only some of the transactions are private
d) Maximizing the number of transactions per block

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
In Bitcoin, safety ensures the integrity of the blockchain by preventing invalid transactions, such as
double-spending.

QUESTION 10

Which of the following is the primary goal of a consensus algorithm in a distributed system?

a) To ensure that all nodes process transactions at the same speed

b) To guarantee that all nodes in the system agree on a single value or state
c) To minimize the number of nodes required for network communication
d) To prevent malicious attacks by encrypting all data transmitted between nodes

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
The primary goal of a consensus algorithm is to ensure that all nodes in a distributed system agree
on a single value or state, even if some nodes may fail or act maliciously. This is crucial for
maintaining consistency and reliability across the system.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 3 - Week 3 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10
QUESTION 1

If the current block reward for Bitcoin is 6.25 BTC, and the difficulty adjustment mechanism is such that,
on average, a new block is found every 10 minutes, how much Bitcoin will be mined per day (24 hours)?

a) 75 BTC
b) 144 BTC
c) 900 BTC
d) 1,080 BTC

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
The block reward is 6.25 BTC.
There are 144 blocks mined in a 24-hour period (24 hours × 60 minutes / 10 minutes per block).
In one day, the total Bitcoin mined would be 144 × 6.25=900 BTC.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following best defines a permissioned blockchain?

a) Anyone can join and validate transactions without approval.

b) Only authorized participants can write and validate transactions.
c) It always uses proof-of-work (PoW) for consensus.
d) A permissioned blockchain does not need cryptographic hash operations

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
A permissioned blockchain restricts the ability to write or validate transactions to authorized
participants. This controlled access enhances security and privacy within the network.
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QUESTION 3

Which of the following combinations is correctly used to compute Bitcoin's current block hash?

a) Previous block’s hash, Merkle root, block reward, nonce, timestamp, and block size
b) Previous block’s hash, timestamp, nonce, Merkle root, difficulty bits, and block version
c) Block creator’s public key, Merkle root, timestamp, block reward, nonce, and difficulty level
d) Previous block’s hash, nonce, Merkle root, height, timestamp, and difficulty bits

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 3 Lecture 13.

QUESTION 4

Which of the following difficulty targets would make it most difficult for miners to find a valid block?

a) 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000056789abcdef123
b) 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002dfe34a1b2c3d555
c) 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000afc123987abc
d) 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000af46789

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
The difficulty target with 52 leading zeros (option d) is the most difficult for miners to find a valid
block.
Therefore,00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000af467
89 is the correct choice.
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QUESTION 5

In the Bitcoin, block identifier refers to

a) SHA1 (128 bits) of the future block header

b) Double SHA256 of the current block header
c) Double SHA256 of the difficulty bits only
d) Triple SHA256 of the future block header

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
The Bitcoin block identifier (block hash) contains Double SHA256 on the current block header. This
means performing SHA256 twice. Please refer to the Week 3 Lecture 13.

QUESTION 6

In a Merkle tree with n transactions (n is a power of 2), if one transaction is invalid, how many
recalculations are needed to detect and correct the invalid transaction?

a) n/2
b) log2 (n) + 1
c) n−1
d) 3log2 (n)

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
The Merkle tree recalculates the hashes at each level up to the root for verification. This requires
recalculating one hash at each of the log2 (n) levels, plus one final hash for the root.
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QUESTION 7
Which of the following Bitcoin script opcode is needed to remove the second-to-top stack item?

a) OP_DELETE
b) OP_2POP
c) OP_DEQUE
d) OP_NIP

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Bitcoin Script uses specific opcodes like OP_DROP, OP_NIP, etc., to manipulate the stack. OP_NIP
is explicitly designed to remove the second-to-top stack item.

QUESTION 8

If a Merkle tree has 8 transactions, how many hashes are required to compute the Merkle root?

a) 8
b) 15
c) 16
d) 7

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
In a Merkle tree with 8 transactions, 7 additional hashes are needed to compute the Merkle root as
pairs of transaction hashes are combined recursively at each level. The total hashes, including the
leaves, are 15: 8 leaf hashes and 7 parent hashes.
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QUESTION 9

What is a nonce in the context of Bitcoin mining?

a) The transaction ID number

b) A miner's ASIC chip array
c) The generator point used in elliptic curve cryptography
d) A value miners iterate through to generate a valid hash

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
In Bitcoin mining, the nonce is a random or arbitrary number that miners adjust in the block header
during mining. This value is modified to change the resulting hash of the block header to meet the
required difficulty target.

QUESTION 10

What happens if the number of transactions in a Merkle tree is odd?

a) The tree cannot be built

b) Dummy (duplicate) hashes are added to adjust
c) Transactions are left out of the block
d) The Merkle root is ignored

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
If the number of transactions is odd, pairs cannot be formed for the suitable structure of the Merkle
tree. To fix this, dummy (duplicate) hashes are added to make the number of transactions even,
allowing the tree to be constructed properly. Please refer to the Week 3 Lecture 14.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
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Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 4 - Week 4 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10
QUESTION 1

What is a "fork" in the context of Bitcoin?

a) A change in the Bitcoin protocol that leads to the creation of a new version of the blockchain
b) A new type of cryptocurrency that does not rely on blockchain technology
c) A collaborative process for miners to resolve conflicts in the blockchain
d) None of the above

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
In the context of Bitcoin, a "fork" refers to a change in the protocol or rules of the network, which
can result in the creation of a new version of the blockchain.
Please refer to the Week 4 Lecture 16.

QUESTION 2

Suppose a miner initially receives 100 bitcoins as a reward for successfully mining a block at time Jan, 2009.
The reward for mining a block is halved approximately every four years (or after every 210,000 blocks).
Based on this halving process, which of the following statements are correct? (Please note that once the
reward is halved, it will remain the same until four years have been completed or after every 210,000 blocks.)

a) In Jan 2013, the miner will receive 50 bitcoins for adding a new block.
b) In Jan 2018, the miner will receive 25 bitcoins for adding a new block.
c) In Jan 2021, the miner will receive 12.5 bitcoins for adding a new block.
d) In Jan 2024, the miner will receive 6.25 bitcoins for adding a new block.

Answer: (a), (b), and (c)

Detailed solution:
The Bitcoin block reward halves approximately every 4 years (after 210,000 blocks). From Jan 2009
reward was 100 bitcoins(same for 2010, 2011, and 2012); By Jan 2013, the reward was 50
bitcoins(same for 2014, 2015, and 2016); by Jan 2018 it was 25 bitcoins(same for 2017, 2019, and
2020); and by Jan 2021 it was 12.5 bitcoins(same for 2022, 2023, and 2024). By Jan 2024, the halving
to 6.25 bitcoins will not yet have occurred, making the last statement incorrect.
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QUESTION 3

How does the Bitcoin network prevent double spending?

a) A centralized authority will be used to verify each transaction before it is added to the blockchain.
b) Relying on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism ensures that only one valid transaction is
accepted.
c) All transactions are stored in a centralized database that tracks each Bitcoin's status.
d) By limiting Bitcoin transactions to one per user per day.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:

The proof-of-work consensus mechanism in Bitcoin prevents double-spending by requiring miners to solve
cryptographic puzzles to add new blocks. This ensures transactions are verified by multiple miners and
nodes, making it nearly impossible for double spending to occur.

QUESTION 4

Which of the following is a challenge of the permissionless model in blockchain?

a) Ensuring that all participants trust a central authority

b) Reaching agreement (consensus) across a decentralized network of participants without a trusted
third-party
c) Limiting the number of participants to improve scalability
d) Preventing participants from accessing the blockchain

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 4 Lecture 18.
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Jan 2025

QUESTION 5
Which of the following is not included in a block of a blockchain?
a) Transaction data
b) Hash
c) Timestamp
d) IP address of the miner

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:

The miner's IP address is not included in a blockchain block. The other options—transaction data,
cryptographic hash, and timestamp—are standard components of a blockchain block.

QUESTION 6

Which of the following is not a failure that blockchain tries to handle , as rather an attack that a blockchain
can try to defend to ensure prevention?
a) Crash Fault
b) Double Spending
c) Byzantine Fault
d) Link Fault

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:

Please refer to the Week 4 Lecture 18.

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QUESTION 7

Which of the following best describes Safety and Liveness in Bitcoin?

a) Safety ensures transactions are irreversible, while Liveness ensures transactions are
eventually added.
b) Safety guarantees quick transaction confirmation, while Liveness prevents forks.
c) Safety prevents double-spending, while Liveness speeds up block creation.
d) Safety ensures blocks are always valid, while Liveness ensures no transaction delays.

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Safety ensures that once a transaction is confirmed, it cannot be reversed, preventing issues like
double-spending. Liveness ensures that transactions will eventually be added to the blockchain, even
if there are delays or forks.
Please refer to the Week 4 Lecture 19.

QUESTION 8

What is the main purpose of the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism in Bitcoin?

a) To validate transactions with the need for a central authority.

b) To speed up transaction processing times by reducing the time needed to add new blocks.
c) To make it easier for miners to add new blocks without computational work.
d) To secure the network and prevent fraudulent transactions through computational difficulty.

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 4 Lecture 19.
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QUESTION 9

What is the correct order of events when adding a new block to the Bitcoin blockchain?

a) Block Mining → Block Propagation → Block Flooding → Transaction Flooding

b) Transaction Flooding → Block Mining → Block Propagation → Block Flooding
c) Transaction Flooding → Block Flooding → Block Propagation → Block Mining
d) Block Propagation → Block Mining → Block Flooding → Transaction Flooding

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 4 Lecture 19.

QUESTION 10

Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding Proof of Work (PoW) in the context of
forks, attacks, and the monopoly problem?

a) PoW forks can occur when two miners independently solve the puzzle at the same time,
leading to a brief divergence in the blockchain.
b) While PoW encourages miners to follow the longest chain, it does not prevent attacks like
51% attacks, where malicious miners can control the blockchain.
c) The Monopoly Problem refers to a situation where a single miner or group controls a majority
of the network’s hashing power, undermining decentralization.
d) Proof of Work ensures complete decentralization by preventing any miner from controlling
the majority of the hashing power.

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 4 Lecture 20.
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Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 5 - Week 5 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10

QUESTION 1

What is/are the limitations of using the consensus algorithm Proof of Work (PoW)?

a. A lot of mining power is wasted as only one gets success in mining at a time
b. PoW is typically used for permissioned blockchain
c. It is used for blockchain mining
d. High costs and difficulty in supporting large-scale adoption

Answer: (a) and (d)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the slide Week 5 slide. The PoW has limitations of wastage of power, high costs, and
large-scale adoption.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following is/are not applicable for PoET(Proof of Elapsed Time) consensus

a. Each participant in the blockchain network waits a random amount of time

b. The first participant to finish becomes the follower for the new block
c. Trusted execution platform and attestation are used to verify that the proposer has really waited
d. The first participant to finish becomes the leader for the new block.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
POET uses a trusted execution platform, say as Intel SGX and H/W attestation. Please refer to the slide for
details.
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QUESTION 3

How an attacker could manipulate the transaction history of an existing blockchain whose ledger cannot be
modified, only it is possible to append?

a. The attacker hard-forked the network and created a new blockchain network.
b. The attacker modified the smart contract and recovered the investor's cryptocurrency.
c. The attacker gained control of more than 51% of the network’s computing power.
d. The attacker gained control of less than 49% of the network’s computing power.

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Refer to the Week 5 Lecture slide for 51% attack.

QUESTION 4

What is the role of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)?

a. To directly connect the Ethereum nodes

b. To execute smart contracts in a decentralized manner
c. To directly mine blocks
d. To disrupt the Ethereum network and cause failures

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
The EVM executes smart contracts and ensures decentralized agreement on computations.

QUESTION 5

Which of the following syntax is correct to write data in a smart contract using solidity

a. myContract.methods.store("10").set()
b. myContract.methods.write("10").send()
c. myContract.methods.store("10").send()
d. myContract.methods.write("10").set()

Answer: (c)
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Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 5 Lecture slides on how to execute a smart contract.

QUESTION 6

2.5 ether equals

a. 25 × 108 Gwei
b. 25 × 1010 Gwei
c. 25 × 107 Gwei
d. 25 × 109 Gwei

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Ether to Wei converter: https://eth-converter.com/.

QUESTION 7

Which JSON-RPC method is used to query the balance of an Ethereum account?

a. eth_sendTransaction
b. eth_getBalance
c. eth_getBlockByNumber
d. eth_getTransactionByHash

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
The eth_getBalance method retrieves the current balance of a specified Ethereum account.

QUESTION 8

What parameter in an Ethereum transaction specifies the fee for computational resources required?

a. Gas
b. Nonce
c. Data
d. Value
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Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Gas defines the fee required for computational operations in a transaction

QUESTION 9

Which of the consensus algorithms requires miners to show a proof of sending coins to a verifiably un‐
spendable address?

a. Proof of Work (PoW)

b. Proof of Stake (PoS)
c. Proof of Burn (PoB)
d. Proof of Elapsed Time (PoET)

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Proof of Burn consensus algorithm requires miners to show a proof of burning coins i.e sending coins to a
verifiably un‐spendable address

QUESTION 10

What is the main difference between PoS (Proof of Stake) and PoW (Proof of Work)?
a. PoS requires computational work; PoW requires a stake.
b. PoS relies on the stake held by miners; PoW relies on computational power.
c. PoS consumes external resources; PoW consumes virtual resources.
d. PoS eliminates the need for block validation.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
In PoS, block mining probability depends on the amount of stake held, unlike PoW, which depends
on computational effort.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 6 - Week 6 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10

QUESTION 1

What is/are the primary distinction between crash faults and Byzantine faults?

a. Crash faults involve deliberate malicious behavior

b. Byzantine faults involve deliberate malicious behavior
c. Crash faults require at least 3F + 1 node for consensus (here, F is the number of crash faults)
d. Byzantine faults can never partition the network

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Byzantine faults involve nodes behaving maliciously, whereas crash faults occur when nodes fail
passively.

QUESTION 2

Suppose you execute your tasks distributedly from four different systems at four different locations. To
maintain the consensus among the systems, you are using the BFT model. You found that one system is
permanently failed due to a hardware fault and another system is compromised by an attacker. Does your
system correctly work at all?

a. No
b. Yes, with the remaining nodes
c. Yes, with all the nodes
d. Yes, but with reduced efficiency

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
We need at least 3F+1=3(1)+1=3F + 1 = 3(1) + 1 = 4 systems to tolerate 1 Byzantine fault. Since one
system has permanently failed (crash fault), the remaining systems cannot maintain consensus.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 3

In Paxos, what will a proposer do if it receives a promise containing an already accepted value?
a. Use the previously accepted value with the highest ID
b. Propose a completely new value
c. Abort the consensus
d. Ignore the promise and continue

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
The proposer will use the value with the highest ID. Refer to week 6 lecture notes.

QUESTION 4

Which of the following is/are true regarding the permissioned blockchain model?

a. Users are anonymous

b. Transactions are publicly visible to everyone
c. Users are authenticated through a Membership Service Provider (MSP)
d. Security and consensus are required

Answer: (c) and (d)

Detailed solution:
In the permissioned blockchain model, users are authenticated through MSP and users know each other.
But security and consensus are still required. The transactions are only visible to authorized participants.

QUESTION 5

In the Paxos algorithm, a majority of promises ensure:

a. Agreement on the ID, value
b. Liveness of the system
c. Safety against conflicting proposals
d. Disagreement on the ID, value

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:

A majority of promises in Paxos ensure safety by preventing conflicting proposals from proceeding
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 6

If there are 3 faulty nodes, at least how many nodes are needed to reach consensus in the Byzantine Fault
Tolerance (BFT) system?
a. 4
b. 8
c. 7
d. 10

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
f = 3 Total nodes required = 3f + 1 = 9 + 1 = 10

QUESTION 7

Which of the following is/are true regarding a consensus when there is one good commander, one good
lieutenant, and one faulty lieutenant in a Byzantine Generals Problem.
a. Consensus is always possible
b. Consensus is not possible because the faulty lieutenant can mislead
c. Consensus is not possible because the commander can mislead
d. Consensus will be possible if there are additional good lieutenants

Answer: (b), (d)

Detailed solution:
One fault. Total nodes required = 3f + 1 = 3 + 1 = 4. But we have 3 nodes. In this case, the faulty
lieutenant can mislead. The consensus is possible if we have additional good lieutenants.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 8

What is/are the purpose of Multi-Paxos?

a. To have a termination guarantee
b. To execute smart contracts on multiple blockchains
c. To reach a consensus for a series of values
d. To prioritize liveness over safety

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Multi-Paxos extends Paxos to achieve consensus over a series of values. There is no termination guarantee.

QUESTION 9

Which of the following is/are false regarding classic Paxos?

a. It requires a majority of acceptors to proceed

b. It achieves consensus on ID and not the value
c. It achieves consensus on the value and not ID
d. It can work with Byzantine faults

Answer: (b), (d)

Detailed solution:
Paxos is designed to handle only crash faults. Also, the consensus is reached on the value, not on
ID.

QUESTION 10

In Paxos, which of the following is/are true about the roles of nodes?
a. A node cannot play more than one role
b. A proposer node cannot become a learner
c. A node can play one or more than one role
d. An acceptor node cannot become a learner

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
In Paxos, a node can play more than one role at the same time.
NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Jan 2025

Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 7 - Week 7 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10

QUESTION 1

Which statement(s) are not true about Byzantine Dissemination Quorum:

a. Any two quorums have at least one correct replica in common
b. There is always a quorum available with no faulty replicas
c. Any two quorums have at most one correct replica in common
d. There is always a quorum available with some faulty replicas

Answer: (c), (d)

Detailed solution:
Refer to Lecture 31: Byzantine Dissemination Quorum: Intersection: Any two quorums have at least one
correct replica in common. Availability: There is always a quorum available with no faulty replicas

QUESTION 2

If you have f number of total faulty nodes, then you need at least how many replicas to reach consensus
considering the possibility of both crash fault or byzantine fault.
a. 2f + 1
b. 3f + 1
c. f +1
d. 3f

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Considering the byzantine fault, 3f + 1 replicas are required to reach a consensus. This is greater than 2f +
1 replicas, which is enough to handle crash faults, too.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 3

Which cryptographic technique is primarily used in PBFT to validate message integrity?

a. Hashing
b. Symmetric encryption
c. Digital signatures
d. Sharding

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
PBFT utilizes digital signatures to ensure the authenticity and integrity of messages

QUESTION 4

Which mechanism ensures PBFT liveness when the primary fails?

a. Cryptographic signatures
b. View change protocol
c. Pre-prepare and Prepare phases
d. Timeout mechanism

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
The view change protocol allows the system to elect a new primary when the current primary fails.

QUESTION 5

Which of the following statement(s) are not true regarding Hyperledger frameworks?
a. Hyperledger frameworks are primarily used for building permissioned blockchains for
organizations.
b. Hyperledger frameworks are developed for mainly building public blockchains.
c. Hyperledger frameworks can not use CouchDB.
d. Hyperledger frameworks are only used for building smart contracts for public blockchains

Answer: (b), (c) and (d)

 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Detailed solution:
Fabric is primarily used for building permissioned blockchains for organizations. It is an open source
project so anyone can use it to build a permissioned blockchain and deploy smart contracts on it. The
states can be maintained using light weight databases such as Level DB, CouchDB etc.

QUESTION 6

Which of the following(s) is/are benefits of Blockchain for Business?

a. Reduced transaction time in general, from days to near instantaneous for legacy based cross-border
interactions
b. The sole centralized authority has been able to remove overheads and cost
c. Supports transparency and traceability in transactions
d. Always increases transaction costs due to complexity

Answer: (a) and (c)

Detailed solution:
Refer to Lecture 33. The benefits of Blockchain for business include reduced transaction time by
enabling near-instantaneous cross-border transactions and supporting transparency and traceability
through immutable ledger. Blockchain does not involve a centralized authority to remove overheads, and
while complexity may increase costs, the goal is to ultimately reduce transaction costs.

QUESTION 7

Which of the following are characteristics of permissioned blockchains (in comparison with permissionless
blockchains)?

a. Closed membership consensus protocol in permissioned blockchains

b. The identities of nodes are not pre-known in permissioned blockchains
c. Always lower transaction throughput in permissioned blockchains
d. Permissioned blockchains are highly scalable for a large number of nodes

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Permissioned blockchains use closed membership consensus algorithms and have a high transaction
throughput. However, they are less scalable in accommodating a large number of nodes compared to
permissionless blockchains. Refer to Lecture 33.

QUESTION 8

Which of the following abstractions in Hyperledger Fabric primarily provides confidentiality to individual
ledgers ?

a. Ordering Services
b. Peers
c. Channels
d. Consensus

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Refer to Lecture 35: Fabric channels refer to different separate ledgers such that only organizations
belonging to a particular channel can read/write to that ledger.

QUESTION 9

What is the role of Membership Service Provider (MSP) in Hyperledger Fabric?

a. Assigning sequence numbers to transactions
b. Identity management for network participants
c. Storing ledger data securely
d. Defining consensus mechanism for network

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
MSP handles the identity management for network participants. It ensures that only authorized participants
are allowed to interact with the network.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 10

Which of the following are key features of Hyperledger Fabric?

a. Modular architecture with pluggable components

b. Permissionless blockchain framework
c. Support for smart contracts (chain codes) in general-purpose languages
d. Use of native cryptocurrencies for transactions

Answer: (a), (c)

Detailed solution:
Hyperledger Fabric is a permissioned blockchain framework with a modular design and support for
smart contracts (chain codes) written in languages like Go, Java, and Node.js. It does not have native
cryptocurrencies.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 8 - Week 8 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10

QUESTION 1

Which of the following is/are correct?

a. PoW always ensures consensus finality
b. PoW does not ensure consensus finality
c. PBFT protocol always ensures consensus finality
d. PBFT protocol does not ensure consensus finality

Answer: (b) and (c)

Detailed solution:
PBFT protocol ensures total ordering of transactions, thus ensuring consensus finality. Whereas
PoW does not ensure consensus finality.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following is/are true regarding the CoSi protocol?

a. Witnesses are organized in a tree structure
b. Three rounds of PBFT can be emulated using one round of CoSi protocol
c. It can be used to sign a message by multiple authorities collectively
d. Three rounds of PBFT can be emulated using two rounds of CoSi protocol

Answer: (a), (c) and (d)

Detailed solution:
Refer to Week 8 Lecture Notes
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 3

Which of the following factor(s) distinguish Bitcoin-NG from Bitcoin?

a. Decoupling the leader election and transaction serialization

b. Use of key blocks and macroblocks
c. Bitcoin-NG has lower transaction throughput as compared to Bitcoin
d. Leader election using PBFT

Answer: (a) and (b)

Detailed solution:
Bitcoin-NG has a higher transaction throughput than Bitcoin. It decouples the leader election from
transaction serialization using key blocks and microblocks.

QUESTION 4

Which of the following is/are true regarding Bitcoin-NG?

a. Microblock generation rate is lower than the key block generation rate
b. Microblock generation rate is higher than the key block generation rate
c. The interval between the generation of two key blocks is exponentially distributed
d. The key block contains the ledger entries

Answer: (b), (c)

Detailed solution:
Microblocks contain the ledger entries and microblocks have a higher generation rate as compared to key
blocks. Refer to Week 8 Lecture Notes

QUESTION 5

Which of the following is/are correct?

a. PBFT protocol ensures total ordering of transactions
b. Bitcoin has lower node scalability as compared to Standard BFT protocols
c. Standard BFT protocols never produces lower transaction throughput as compared to Bitcoin
d. Bitcoin-NG has higher node scalability as compared to Standard bitcoin protocols in general

Answer: (a), (d)

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Detailed solution:
BFT is faster for small networks. Bitcoin NG decouples transaction serialization from leader election.
Refer to ‘Performance vs Scalability’ in Week 8 Lecture Notes.

QUESTION 6

What is the primary function of a Fabric smart contract (Chaincode)?

a. Performing cryptocurrency mining

b. Defining the business rules and logic in the ledger
c. Defining consensus algorithms
d. Monitoring the transaction throughput

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Fabric smart contracts define common data, rules and processes for businesses to transact through the
ledger.

QUESTION 7

Which API is used for implementing Fabric chaincodes?

a. hyperledger-client-api
b. smart-contract-builder
c. fabric-contract-api
d. fabric-identity-manager

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
fabric-contract-api is used for implementing chaincode in Hyperledger Fabric.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 8

Which of the following is/are true regarding fabric transactions?

a. The transactions should be endorsed by peers

b. The transactions are committed without validation
c. A transaction does not change the world state
d. World state holds current updated consensus view

Answer: (a) and (d)

Detailed solution:
In Hyperledger Fabric, transactions are endorsed by peers and are committed only after validation. Also, a
transaction can update the world state.

QUESTION 9

Which of the following factor(s) limits Bitcoin’s scalability?

a. Low transaction fees

b. Fixed block size
c. Wallet address complexity
d. Fixed block frequency

Answer: (b) and (d)

Detailed solution:
Bitcoin’s scalability is limited due to its fixed block size and block frequency. Refer to Week 8 lecture
notes.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Jan 2025

QUESTION 10

Which of the following is/are correct regarding Schnorr Multisignature in CoSi protocol?
a. It is difficult to verify the signature
b. Signature can be verified using a single collective public key
c. It is easy to verify the signature
d. It relies on group G of any composite order

Answer: (b) and (c)

Detailed solution:
In the Cosi protocol, Schnorr Multisignature is easy to verify by using a single collective public key. Also,
it relies on a group of prime order.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 9 - Week 9 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10

QUESTION 1

Which of the following is true about Single Sign-on?

a. The same identity can be used to access multiple services
b. Decentralized providers always maintain the identity of individuals participating in single sign-on
for each service
c. All individuals always use a fixed same identity for every one of them together
d. All identity holders are also always identity providers

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
A single sign-on can be used to log in to multiple services.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following statements regarding Solidity is true?

a. Solidity compiler compiles a solidity program to bytecode which is executed by Ethereum Virtual
Machine.
b. Solidity interpreter always executes the program with Ethereum Virtual Device.
c. Solidity interpreter is responsible for executing smart contracts in Ethereum nodes.
d. Solidity program is compiled to high level ascii code which is executed by Ethereum node’s
interpreter.

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Solidity program is compiled to bytecode, which is executed by Ethereum Virtual
Machine
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 3
Which of the following statements related to Algorand is invalid?
a. A block is prepared
b. The block is propagated through gossiping, Algorand runs Byzantine agreement on the block
c. Prepare the digital signature and propagate
d. A committed block is purged

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
A random user prepares a block using sortition, and the protocol propagates the block through gossiping.
To validate the block created by the random user (can be a valid or adversarial user), a byzantine
agreement is required. Once it is found that the block is valid, then it is digitally signed and propagates the
digital signature in the network.

QUESTION 4

Which of the following is true about selecting the random committee in the Algorand network?
a. There is a dedicated node that chooses the nodes to form the committee
b. A distributed algorithm decides the list of nodes participating in the committee, and the committee
members are always pre-decided and fixed
c. A specific pool of nodes chosen are given the responsibility of forming the committee
d. The nodes can take part as committee members by winning a local computation

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Algorand is an open model, which means anyone can join the network. Also, it is a permissionless model.
It can not have a single node who will select the committee. Cryptographic sortition is used to elect the
user to be part of the committee. Every user can elect to be part of the committee. The individual
committee members run certain local computations on their machines to determine whether they won the
lottery. If they win, they can participate.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 5

Which of the following comes with Verifiable Credentials as a native inbuilt feature?
a. Ethereum
b. Litecoin
c. Hyperledger Aries
d. Solidity

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Aries supports natively verifiable credentials and presentations.

QUESTION 6

Consider the following statement - “Say Alice has generated two Distributed Identifiers (DID), DID1 and
DID2, for her pairwise relationships maintained in Hyperledger Indy and used in Hyperledger Aries”.
Which part of the above statement is false with respect to the concepts of Hyperledger Indy and Aries?
a. Generation of DID by Alice
b. Assignment of SEED to Steward
c. Acceptance of incoming invitation by Alice
d. Saving DID metadata always in a centralized Identity ledger

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
a,b,c are valid for the situation. Please refer to Week 9 Lecture Notes

QUESTION 7

In Verifiable Credential (VC) scheme

a. The verifiable credentials can be verified by the issuer only.
b. The verifiable credentials can be verified by the holder only.
c. The verifiable credentials can be verified by the verifier ( who requests for verifiable presentations)
only.
d. Verifiable credentials can be verified by issue, holder, and verifier.

Answer: (d)
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Detailed solution:
VC is a claim about a subject that can be verified by the issuer, holder, and verifier

QUESTION 8

Data transfer is an important aspect of interoperability in which of the following permissioned

blockchains?
a. Hyperledger Indy
b. Ethereum
c. Hyperledger Fabric
d. Hyperledger Ursa

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Hyperledger Fabric supports interoperability by extending to the Cacti framework.

QUESTION 9

Which of the following is/are true for Hyperledger Indy and related Decentralized Identifier (DID)
context. Please choose all possible correct answers.
a. Digital representation of physical identity and Individuals can control the usage of their own
identity
b. Facilitates Verifiable presentation (VP) of the ID
c. Indy credential schema defines the structure for Verifiable Credential templates
d. Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) uses DID as the backbone of its identity handling.

Answer: a, b,c, d

Detailed Solution:
a,b,c, and d are correct. DID provides a decentralized identity that can be based on open standards and can
perform a verifiable presentation of the ID when required, maintains trust, and is used in SSI . For details
please refer to slides.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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QUESTION 10

Which of the following statements is false in context to Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) protocol in
general?
a. The system can operate correctly as long as the number of faulty nodes does not exceed the
allowable threshold proportion of faulty nodes.
b. Classic BFT Protocol is used in a permissioned system.
c. RAFT is a type of BFT protocol
d. The system assumes all the nodes are honest

Answer: (d)

Detailed Solution: d is the correct option. BFT can perform in the system with malicious nodes within
specified limits, and RAFT is Crash Fault Tolerant. For details please refer to slides.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
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Jan 2025

Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 10- Week 10(Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10

QUESTION 1

What is the purpose of zero-knowledge proofs in Hyperledger Indy?

a. Anonymous cryptocurrency transactions
b. Reduced smart contract execution time
c. Verification of credentials without revealing all details
d. Public visibility of all credential details

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Zero-knowledge proofs allow claims to be verified without disclosing unnecessary information.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following is/are true regarding timelocks and hashlocks in blockchain contracts?
a. Hashlocks allow spending only when a specific secret is revealed
b. Timelocks prevent spending until a predefined time or block height
c. Hashlocks rely on timestamps for cryptographic verification
d. Hashlocks allow spending even if the specific secret is not revealed

Answer: (a) and (b)

Detailed solution:
Refer to Week 10 Lecture Notes
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QUESTION 3

Which of the following is/are true regarding cross-chain Hashed Timelock Contracts?

a. They enable cross-chain transactions without trust

b. They require central authorities to enforce conditions
c. They ensure atomicity in swaps between networks
d. The funds go to the intended recipient instead of returning to the original sender if the secret
is not revealed before the timeout occurs

Answer: (a) and (c)

Detailed solution:
HTLCs ensure trustless cross-chain atomic swaps using hashlock and timelock mechanisms.

QUESTION 4

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding trusted third-party (TTP) based asset transfer?

a. Slow transaction speed in comparison to decentralized asset transfer framework

b. Improved transaction transparency
c. Centralized exchanges can act as TTP for asset transfer
d. Security bias can be caused due to third party in general

Answer: (c), (d)

Detailed solution:
TTP-based transfers rely on centralized control and intermediaries. It also has a possibility of security
bias on third party. There have been several cases of theft from centralized exchanges.

QUESTION 5

Which of the following statements is/are true about public blockchains operating as isolated silos?
a. They use the same protocols across networks.
b. They operate independently without interoperability.
c. They inherently allow seamless cross-chain communication.
d. They often have different standards and protocols.

Answer: (b), (d)

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Detailed solution:
Public blockchains operate with different protocols and standards and lack built-in interoperability.

QUESTION 6

What is an escrow? Select the best possible and concrete answer

a. Escrow is an agreement in which assets are held and distributed when conditions are met
b. Escrow is payment for smart contracts
c. Escrow is a permissioned blockchain
d. Escrow is the cost of execution of smart contracts

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Without the presence of any Escrow, the funds are in control of the sender and
receiver parties.

QUESTION 7

Which of the following are guaranteed in the ideal atomic swap protocol ?

a. All swaps will take place only when all parties conform to the protocol
b. If some parties deviate from the protocol, then all conforming party ends up worse off
c. No coalition has an incentive to deviate from the protocol
d. Swaps can take place partially

Answer: (a), (c)

Detailed solution:
Refer to Week 10 Lecture Notes
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QUESTION 8

Which of the following steps are involved in the verifiable data transfer protocol in permissioned
blockchain?

a. Generate a proof request with verification policies

b. Validate proofs against verification policies
c. Send responses with attestations and proofs
d. Access control policies are not checked

Answer: (a), (b) and (c)

Detailed solution:
Verifiable data transfer involves generating proof requests, validating attestations and checking access
control policies. Refer to Week 10 Lecture Notes.

QUESTION 9

Suppose Alice has a time-locked contract with a target account as:

Funding Contract - 1 BTC
Hash: ...Fa4509
Timeout: 2Δ

What will happen if Alice refuses to reveal the key and a timeout occurs?

a. 1 BTC is refunded to Alice

b. 1 BTC is transferred to a target account
c. BTC less than 1 is refunded to Alice as Some BTC deducted as penalty.
d. BTC less than 1 is transferred to target account

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Refer to Week 10 Lecture Notes.
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QUESTION 10

What is a verifiable credential in Hyperledger Indy?

a. A digital certificate stored on-chain

b. A cryptographic token for mining
c. A smart contract validation key
d. A permissioned blockchain token

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Verifiable credentials are digital certificates stored on a blockchain that provide authenticity.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 11 - Week 11 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10
QUESTION 1

What is Hyperledger Aries primarily used for?

a) Facilitating decentralized identity management

b) Managing cryptocurrency transactions
c) Building supply chain solutions
d) Developing blockchain consensus algorithms

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 11 Lecture 51.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following is/are key jobs(s) that/those Hyperledger Aries mainly perform(s)?

a) Proof-of-Stake consensus
b) Aries can work as IIN (Interoperable Identity Network) agent
c) Verifiable credentials exchange
d) Cryptographic currency generation

Answer: (b), (c)

Detailed solution:
Hyperledger Aries plays a key role as an Interoperable Identity Agent. It supports DID
communication and Verifiable Credential exchange.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 3

Which of the following does NOT pose a direct risk to the security and reliability of blockchain
operations?

a) Vulnerability to 51% attacks

b) Compromise of private key security
c) Exploitation of double-spending vulnerabilities
d) High transaction fees

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Blockchain inherently relies on distributed ledger technology, ensuring redundancy by design. The
other options—51% attacks, private key compromises, and double spending—are well-recognized
risks that can directly undermine blockchain security and integrity. High transaction fees do not pose
any direct risk.

QUESTION 4

In what ways can high computing power/stake be misused in blockchain systems?

a) Taking control of consensus to manipulate transactions and enable double-spending

b) Temporarily accelerating block generation to disproportionately increase mining rewards
c) Compromising transaction privacy by analyzing cryptographic hashes
d) Manipulating the blockchain to censor or exclude competitors' transactions

Answer: (a), (b), and (d)

Detailed solution:
a) Taking control of consensus to reverse transactions and enable double-spending:
With over 50% of the network’s hashing power, an attacker can reverse transactions, enabling double-
spending, and disrupt the blockchain's integrity.

b) Temporarily accelerating block generation to disproportionately increase mining rewards:

High hashing power allows miners to generate blocks faster, collecting more rewards until the network
adjusts difficulty, giving them an unfair advantage.

d) Manipulating the blockchain to censor or exclude competitors' transactions:

Miners with significant hashing power can choose to exclude specific transactions from blocks, blocking
competitors or others from being able to transact.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 5

What is the main objective of a Selfish Mining Attack in a blockchain network?

a) To increase the transaction fees by monopolizing block creation.

b) To disrupt the blockchain's consensus by manipulating the chain's length to gain mining
rewards unfairly.
c) To control over 50% of the network’s hashing power and reverse transactions.
d) To expose private transactions by decrypting the block headers.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
The goal of a Selfish Mining Attack is for miners to withhold their mined blocks, thus secretly
building a longer chain. Once they have a longer chain, they release it, causing the network to adopt
it, and unfairly gaining more mining rewards.

QUESTION 6

A blockchain network has a 10-minute block interval. A miner, "Miner X," controls 40% of the
network's hashing power. Miner X mines a block and does not broadcast it immediately. Instead,
Miner X continues mining a second block in secret.

What is the most likely result of Miner X's actions in this scenario?

a) Miner X's second block will automatically become part of the blockchain, and the first block
will be always discarded.
b) Miner X's second block will possibly create a fork in the blockchain, which will later be
resolved through a chain reorganization
c) Miner X will always successfully steal the rewards of other miners on the network.
d) Miner X's actions must cause the network to collapse due to a 51% attack.

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Miner X's secret mining creates a temporary fork in the blockchain, where two competing chains
exist. The network will eventually adopt the longer chain, causing the shorter chain to be abandoned
and reorganized.
Please also refer to the Week 11 Lecture 53.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 7

Which of the following plays the most crucial role in establishing trust in a blockchain network?

a) Encryption
b) Consensus Mechanism
c) Smart Contracts
d) Distributed Ledger

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
A consensus mechanism ensures that all network participants agree on the validity of transactions before
they are recorded on the blockchain. This decentralized verification process is fundamental to maintaining
trust. Encryption secures data but does not establish consensus. Smart Contracts execute automated
agreements but rely on consensus for validation. Distributed Ledger provides transparency but needs
consensus to maintain integrity and trust.

QUESTION 8

Which of the following is/are primarily responsible for validating transactions in the Ethereum 2.0
blockchain (Proof of Stake)?
a) Miner
b) Validator
c) Peer-to-peer network
d) Core consensus protocol

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
In Ethereum 2.0, which operates on a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, validators are
responsible for validating transactions and creating new blocks, replacing the role of miners from
Ethereum's original Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism in older versions.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 9

Which of the following is a potential consequence of an Eclipse Attack on a blockchain node?

a) The targeted node may mine blocks more efficiently due to controlled connections.
b) The targeted node may accept fraudulent transactions or blocks, leading to potential double-
spending.
c) The targeted node will immediately disconnect from the blockchain network to prevent further
damage.
d) The targeted node will become immune to any form of attack after the Eclipse Attack

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
In an Eclipse Attack, the attacker isolates a node by controlling all its inbound and outbound
connections. This manipulation can cause the targeted node to accept fraudulent or incorrect
information, such as invalid transactions or blocks, leading to issues like double-spending. It does not
enhance mining efficiency or make the node immune to other attacks.
Please also refer to the Week 11 Lecture 54.

QUESTION 10

Which of the following is a common technique used by attackers in a front-running attack on decentralized
exchanges (DEXs)?

a) Manipulating the gas price to prioritize their transaction over others.

b) Encrypting transactions to hide them from miners.
c) Using a 51% attack to gain control over the network.
d) Altering the smart contract code to change transaction outcomes.

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
In a front-running attack on a decentralized exchange (DEX), attackers often manipulate the gas
price (transaction fees) to ensure that their transaction is processed first, ahead of other pending
transactions. By offering a higher gas price, the attacker increases the likelihood of their transaction
being included in the block before the targeted transaction. This allows the attacker to profit from any
price movement caused by the original transaction.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

Course Name: Blockchain and its Applications (NOC25_CS08)

Assignment 12 - Week 12 (Jan 2025)
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10
QUESTION 1

How does the use of blockchain technology enhance the management of Land Registry records?

a) Blockchain eliminates the need for physical land titles by storing them in a centralized digital
ledger.
b) Blockchain ensures that land records can be accessed by any government entity at any time
without restrictions.
c) Blockchain prevents fraud in land transactions by providing a secure, transparent, and
immutable record of ownership.
d) Blockchain allows land records to be altered instantly without the need for a verification
process by authorities

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Blockchain technology improves the security and transparency of land registries by creating a
decentralized ledger that is immutable, meaning once a record is entered, it cannot be altered. This
reduces the risk of fraud, ensures a clear ownership history, and makes the system more trustworthy
and efficient.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following is/are advantages of blockchain?

a) Provides decentralized platforms and marketplace

b) Requires intermediaries for verification
c) Limited scalability
d) Better transparency

Answer: (a) and (d)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 12 Lecture 56.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 3

Which of the following is an essential feature of federated voting?

a) It requires a central authority to validate votes

b) Nodes vote independently without needing majority approval to win
c) A majority of nodes' votes determine the outcome
d) All nodes must agree unanimously for a decision to be accepted

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Please refer to the Week 12 Lecture 57.

QUESTION 4

Which of the following was/were NOT utilized in Singapore’s Project Ubin to enhance interbank
settlements?

a) Distributed Ledger Technology

b) Tokenization of the Singapore Dollar (SGD) for digital representation.
c) cross-border payments
d) Proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to validate transactions

Answer: (d)

Detailed solution:
Singapore's Project Ubin explored blockchain technology to enhance interbank settlements, focusing
on smart contracts for automating transactions and tokenization of the Singapore Dollar (SGD) for
digital representation. The project did not integrate public blockchains for cross-border payments
but rather used private, permissioned blockchains for enhanced security and control. Additionally,
Proof-of-Work (PoW) was not employed, as it is resource-intensive and was not suited for the
project's goals. Instead, the project tested more efficient consensus mechanisms, such as Practical
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT). The project aimed to improve financial systems' efficiency,
privacy, and scalability.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 5

Which type of attack allows an attacker to create multiple fake identities to gain unauthorized access
to consortium services?
a) Byzantine faults
b) Sybil attacks
c) DDoS attacks
d) Sensitive information leakage

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
A Sybil attack occurs when an attacker creates multiple fake identities to gain control or influence
over a system, often to disrupt consensus or access services. This is a specific threat in decentralized
networks, where trust and identity verification are essential.

QUESTION 6

To allocate consumer requests among Service Providers, which of the following scheduling algorithms is
implemented?
a) Fair Scheduling Algorithm
b) Capacity Scheduling Algorithm
c) Dynamic Round Robin
d) A* Algorithm

Answer: (a)

Detailed solution:
In Cloud Federation, to allocate consumer requests among Service Providers, Fair scheduling algorithm is
implemented. Each SP will be allocated the number of consumer requests proportional to its infrastructure
contribution to the federation.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 7

Which of the following are key advantages of Hyperledger?

a) It is open-source
b) The identities of the participants can be accessed by any outsider
c) It supports private channels
d) It is exclusively designed for public blockchain

Answer: (a) and (c)

Detailed solution:
Hyperledger's key advantages include being open-source, allowing for widespread collaboration, and
supporting private channels that ensure confidentiality for participants in a network.

QUESTION 8

Quorum, an enterprise-focused blockchain platform based on Ethereum, supports transaction

management with privacy enhancements. Which type of state can Quorum handle during a
transaction?
a) Only private state
b) Only public state
c) Both private and public state at the same time
d) Either private or public state for a transaction

Answer: (c)

Detailed solution:
Quorum allows both private and public transactions, providing the flexibility to handle sensitive data
privately while also enabling transparent public interactions when required. Therefore, it can handle
either private or public state depending on the needs of the transaction.
 NPTEL Online Certification Courses
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jan 2025

QUESTION 9

What feature of blockchain helps prevent fraud in decentralized marketplaces?

a) Central authority
b) Smart contracts
c) Manual validation
d) Third-party monitoring

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:
Smart contracts automatically execute predefined rules and agreements without intermediaries,
ensuring transactions are tamper-proof and fraud-resistant in decentralized marketplaces. This
eliminates the risk of manual errors or malicious interference.

QUESTION 10

What does a "man-in-the-middle" attack do in a decentralized marketplace?

a) Changes in the price of goods in the marketplace
b) Intercepts and alters messages between users
c) Steals cryptocurrency directly from wallets
d) Prevents users from accessing the marketplace

Answer: (b)

Detailed solution:

A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack in a decentralized marketplace primarily intercepts and alters messages
between users. In this type of attack, the attacker secretly intercepts and potentially manipulates the
communication between two parties (e.g., buyers and sellers) without either party being aware. This could
involve changing transaction details, redirecting payments, or modifying the data being exchanged. MITM
doesn't change the marketplace's prices.
 NOC22-CS44: Blockchain and Its Applications
Assignment 1

Correct choices are highlighted in Yellow . Give partial marks for partially correct answers.

1. Which one is true for an ideal decentralized solution for business management?
a. A centralized authority should decide the overall trust
b. Everyone should trust and cooperate with each other
c. No one should trust and cooperate with each other
d. No one should trust each other, however they should
cooperate

Hint: In a real-time scenario a decentralized system has multiple stakeholders and the
information submitted by them is not guaranteed to be correct. A collective agreement has to be
established.

2. Which of the statements below is/are true for successful run of decentralized
distributed systems?
a. Network of different players
b. Players must trust each other
c. If they cooperate, the society gets benefitted
d. None of the above

Hint: In a decentralized distributed system, a group of parties who may or may not know or
trust each other. But they should cooperate to reach a collective decision to benefit the system
as whole. So in a decentralized system trusting everyone is not always necessary to reach a
decision..

3. Where are the transactions logs recorded in a blockchain?

a. Centralized editable database
b. Editable log file
c. On centralized immutable database
d. On append only distributed immutable ledger
Hint: Refer to the slide of week1. An immutable append only ever growing chain of data is
used for blockchain. Data once added cannot be deleted or modified later.

4. What are the properties of cryptographic hash function?

a. It should be deterministic
b. It should be collision free
c. Ability to hide the input message
d. Puzzle friendly
Hint: Refer to the Week 1 slide. All the above properties are desirable for secure hashing.

5. For a 512 bit hash function, the attacker needs to compute how many hash
operations in order to find two matching outputs in the initial round?
a. 2512
b. 2128
c. 2256
d. 260

Hint: If a hash function produces N bits of output, an attacker needs to compute only 2N/2 hash
operations on a random input to find two matching outputs initially. The attacker can use the
output combination again to use in subsequent rounds.
 6. Which of the following is a correct statement about a cryptographic hash function?
a. given the same message the hash function would not return the same hash
b. it is not very difficult to generate the original message from the hash
c. a small change in the message, impacts the hash value
d. one can easily find two different messages with same hash

Hint: Refer to the Week 1 slide for the properties of cryptographic hash functions.

7. What are the security features of a hash function?

a. Non-deterministic
b. Puzzle-friendly
c. Collision-resistance
d. Preimage resistance

Hint: Refer to the Week 1 slide for the properties of cryptographic hash functions.

8. SHA-512 hashing algorithm used by Bitcoin blockchain to determine the hash of a block.
This above statement is True or False.
a. True
b. False

Hint: SHA-256 is used in Bitcoin mining to construct the Bitcoin blockchain

9. For hash computation in SHA-512, what is the size of the block that the
message is divided into?
a. 1024
b. 512
c. 256
d. 1248

Hint: The message is divided into blocks of size 1024 bits, and the output produced is a 512-bit
message digest.

10. What is the message for hash value of

“8abe09bf65aefdb8e84bd8564efb765179cc01ee3f45809e47c8c9a02f72ff83” if SHA-256
is used? (case sensitive)
a. Consensus
b. Swayam
c. SWAYAM
d. Consensus

Hint: Verify the result https://emn178.github.io/online-tools/sha256.html

 NOC22-CS44: Blockchain and Its Applications
Assignment 3

Correct choices are highlighted in Yellow. Give partial marks for partially correct
answers.

1. Bitcoin mining is performed by ____.

a. Miner nodes
b. Internal Nodes
c. External Nodes
d. Orphan Nodes

Hint: Bitcoin mining is proposed by Miner nodes.

2. DLT can be used to maintain financial information only.

a. False
b. True

Hint: DLT can even be used to store various types of information, codes, etc., apart
from financial data. Please refer to the slide.

3. Which of the following is/are true for basic PoW consensus?

a. Miner needs to propose a block
b. The miner needs to solve a puzzle to obtain target block hash
c. The puzzle solution is added as proof for leadership
d. Successful miner node is rewarded

Hint: All of the above are true for general PoW consensus. Please refer to the slide.

4. Bitcoin Scripting Language:

a. Not Turing Complete
b. Supports Cryptography
c. Stack Based
d. Supports infinite time/memory

Hint: Bitcoin Scripts are simple, compact, stack-based, support cryptography, and not
Turing complete.

5. Permissioned blockchain is regarded as more secure than open blockchain as the

participants are known beforehand and pre-authenticated.
a. True
b. False

Hint: Please refer to the slide. Permissioned blockchain is closed network among
known pre authorized participants and more secure from unknown nodes.

6. What is nonce?
a. The transaction id number
 b. A miners ASIC chip array
c. The generator point used in elliptic curve cryptography

d. The number miners run through to generate a correct hash

Hint: Miners propose new blocks by solving the puzzle i.e., finding the nonce
corresponding to a target block hash, and add that solution as proof.
of solving the challenge to be the leader

7. Which one of the following opcodes is needed to remove the top stack item.
a. OP_POP
b. OP_DEQUE
c. OP_DROP
d. OP_DELETE
Hint: Refer https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Script to get to know more opcodes.

8. Which of these fields is present in a Bitcoin block summary?

a. Difficulty
b. Gas Used
c. Gas Limit
d. Private Key of the Sender
Hint: The bitcoin block header contains mining statistics timestamp, nonce and
difficulty

9. If the four-byte difficulty bits in hex form are 0x1b0404cb, and the target value is
calculated using X * 2^(Y), what is the values for X and Y respectively,
a. X = 0x0404cb, Y = 0x1b
b. X = 0x0404cb, Y = 0x18
c. X = 0x0404cb, Y = 0xc0
d. X = 0x1b0404, Y = 0xcb
Hint: In difficulty = 0x1b0404cb, the exponent is 1b and coefficient is 0404cb
Target = 0x0404cb * 2^(0x08 * (0x1b - 0x03))
On solving the above equation
⇒ target = 0x0404cb * 2^(0x08 * 0x18)
⇒ target = 0x0404cb * 2^(0xc0)

10. In bitcoin block header, the block identifier is calculated

a. Using SHA256 on the current block header

b. Using Double SHA256 on the previous block hash
c. Using Double SHA256 on the Difficulty bits
d. Using Double SHA256 on the current block header

Hint: Block identifier is calculated by using Double SHA256 algorithm on the current
block header