🧩 UNIT I – Introduction to AI & Problem Solving

1. What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Definition:

Artificial Intelligence is the science and engineering of making

intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs.

Key Points:

 AI enables machines to simulate human intelligence processes

like learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and
language understanding.

 AI is a branch of computer science.

Goals of AI:

 Create systems that think logically and rationally.

 Automate tasks requiring human intelligence.

 Develop machines that can act independently and improve

through learning.

2. Foundations and History of AI

Foundations of AI:

AI draws knowledge from several fields:

 Mathematics: Logic, probability, algorithms

 Computer Science: Programming, data structures, algorithms

 Psychology: Human thinking models

 Philosophy: Logic, reasoning

 Linguistics: Language processing

 Neuroscience: Understanding human brain functions

Historical Milestones:

Year Event

1950 Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test

1956 The term "Artificial Intelligence" was coined at the

Year Event

Dartmouth Conference

1960
Early AI programs like ELIZA (chatbot)
s

1970
Development of expert systems like MYCIN
s

1980
Rise of machine learning algorithms
s

1997 IBM’s Deep Blue defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov

2010
Advances in deep learning, computer vision, NLP
s

2016 Google DeepMind's AlphaGo beat world Go champion

3. Intelligent Agents

3.1 Agents & Environments

 Agent: Any entity that can perceive its environment through

sensors and act upon it through actuators.

 Environment: The external context in which the agent operates.

Example:

Agent Sensors Actuators

Self-driving Steering,
Cameras, LIDAR, GPS
car brakes

Robot Infrared sensors, Wheels,

vacuum cameras suction

3.2 Rationality

 A rational agent selects actions that maximize its performance

based on available knowledge.

 Rationality ≠ Perfection. It is about making the best decision with

available information.
3.3 Types of Agents

Type Description

Simple Reflex
Acts on current perception (no memory).
Agent

Model-Based
Uses internal state and memory.
Reflex Agent

Goal-Based Agent Chooses actions to achieve specific goals.

Utility-Based
Maximizes utility (happiness/satisfaction).
Agent

Improves performance over time by learning from

Learning Agent
the environment.

4. Problem-Solving Agents & Problem Formulation

4.1 Problem-Solving Agents

Problem-solving agents are designed to find solutions by exploring

possible states.

Components of a Problem-Solving Agent:

1. Initial state: Starting point.

2. Actions: Possible moves from the current state.

3. Transition model: Describes the result of an action.

4. Goal test: Determines whether the current state meets the goal.

5. Path cost: The cost of reaching a state.

4.2 Problem Formulation

 Problem formulation: Process of defining the problem clearly

before attempting to solve it.

A well-formulated problem includes:

 Initial state

 Possible actions

 Goal state

 Path cost function

Example – Vacuum Cleaner Problem

Element Description

Initial state Both rooms are dirty.

Move Left, Move Right,

Actions
Clean

Transition Action updates the room’s

model state

Goal test All rooms clean

Path cost Number of actions taken

✅ Summary of Unit 1 Key Points

✔ Artificial Intelligence aims to create intelligent systems.

✔ It has roots in math, computer science, and neuroscience.
✔ Agents interact with environments to solve problems.
✔ Rational agents aim for optimal decisions.
✔ Problem-solving agents need a clear problem formulation.

📑 UNIT 1 – Important Questions

(Artificial Intelligence – JNTUK R23, 3-1 CSE)

Short Answer / 2M – 4M Questions:

1. Define Artificial Intelligence and list its applications.

2. Explain the foundations of Artificial Intelligence.

3. Differentiate between an agent and an environment with examples.

4. What is Rationality? Explain rational agents.

5. List and describe the types of agents.

6. Explain the role of problem formulation in problem-solving.

7. Write a short note on the history of AI.

Long Answer / 8M – 10M Questions:

🔑 Core Theory-Based Questions

1. Define Artificial Intelligence. Explain the history and

development of AI in detail.

2. Discuss the different types of intelligent agents with

suitable examples.

3. Explain the concept of an intelligent agent. Describe agent

architecture and agent environment relationships.

4. What is a rational agent? How is rationality different from

omniscience?

5. Write about the structure of a problem-solving agent.

Explain the steps in problem formulation.

🔑 Application & Example-Based Questions

6. Discuss an example problem and explain how a problem-solving

agent formulates and solves it.

7. Compare simple reflex agents and model-based reflex agents with

examples.

8. Explain the task environment and classify the environments in AI.

9. Describe the characteristics of AI problems with relevant examples.

Possible Repeated Questions (Previous Trends)

✔ Explain the PEAS (Performance measure, Environment, Actuators,

Sensors) framework with an example.
✔ Compare different types of agents in AI.
✔ Explain problem formulation with a suitable real-world example (e.g.,
vacuum cleaner world or chess game).
🧩 UNIT II – Searching Techniques

1. Introduction to Search in AI

AI agents use searching techniques to find solutions for problems by

exploring various possibilities.

 Search space: All possible configurations of a problem.

 Nodes: Represent different states in the search space.

 Goal: Find the most optimal path from start to goal state.

2. Uninformed Search (Blind Search)

Uninformed searches do not have any domain-specific knowledge.

They explore all possibilities blindly.

2.1 Breadth-First Search (BFS)

 Explores all nodes at the present depth before going deeper.

 Data Structure: Queue (FIFO)

 Time Complexity: O(b^d)

 Space Complexity: O(b^d)

where b = branching factor, d = depth of the shallowest goal node

 Complete: Yes

 Optimal: Yes (if all steps cost the same)

✅ Example: Finding the shortest path in an unweighted graph.

2.2 Depth-First Search (DFS)

 Explores a path completely before backtracking.

 Data Structure: Stack (LIFO) or recursion

  Time Complexity: O(b^m), where m is the maximum depth

 Space Complexity: O(bm)

 Complete: No (may get stuck in infinite loops)

 Optimal: No

✅ Example: Puzzle solving without worrying about the shortest solution.

3. Informed Search (Heuristic Search)

Informed search uses domain knowledge or heuristics to make

smarter choices.

3.1 Hill Climbing Algorithm

 Chooses the neighbor that appears to lead closest to the goal.

 Problem: Can get stuck in local maxima, plateaus, or ridges.

Types:

 Simple Hill Climbing

 Steepest-Ascent Hill Climbing

 Stochastic Hill Climbing

3.2 A Algorithm*

 Combines cost to reach a node (g(n)) and estimated cost to

the goal (h(n)).

 Evaluation Function: f(n) = g(n) + h(n)

 Complete: Yes

 Optimal: Yes, if h(n) is admissible (never overestimates the cost).

✅ Example: Google Maps shortest route.

3.3 AO Algorithm*

 Used for AND-OR graphs.

 Handles problems where actions have multiple sub-goals

(AND nodes).
  Best suited for decision trees with both AND/OR conditions.

4. Problem Reduction & Game Playing

4.1 Problem Reduction

 Break down complex problems into simpler sub-problems.

 Solve each sub-problem individually and combine solutions.

4.2 Game Playing: Minimax Algorithm

Minimax:

 Used in two-player games like chess.

 The player maximizes their score; the opponent minimizes it.

Example Tree:

css

CopyEdit

[MAX]

/ \

[MIN] [MIN]

/\ /\

3 5 2 9

 MAX chooses the path giving them the highest minimum

guaranteed score.

4.3 Alpha-Beta Pruning

 Improves Minimax by eliminating branches that do not influence the

final decision.

 Alpha: Best score MAX can guarantee.

 Beta: Best score MIN can guarantee.

 Reduces computation time without affecting the result.

4.4 Evaluation Functions

  Heuristic functions to evaluate the desirability of a game position.

 Example: In chess, assign scores based on the number of pieces left.

✅ Summary of Unit 2 Key Points

✔ Uninformed Search explores without heuristics (BFS, DFS).

✔ Informed Search uses heuristics (Hill Climbing, A*, AO*).
✔ Game playing strategies include Minimax and Alpha-Beta Pruning.
✔ Evaluation functions are used to assess non-terminal game states.

📑 UNIT 2 – Important Questions

(Artificial Intelligence – JNTUK R23, 3-1 CSE)

Short Answer / 2M – 4M Questions:

1. Define search in AI. What are the types of search techniques?

2. Explain the difference between uninformed and informed search.

3. List the advantages and disadvantages of Depth-First Search (DFS).

4. What is a heuristic function? Give an example.

5. Write the steps involved in the Breadth-First Search (BFS) algorithm.

6. What is Alpha-Beta Pruning? When is it used?

7. Define evaluation function with an example.

8. Write short notes on Hill Climbing search.

Long Answer / 8M – 10M Questions:

🔑 Core Algorithm-Based Questions:

1. Explain the Breadth-First Search (BFS) and Depth-First

Search (DFS) algorithms. Compare them.

2. Describe the A search algorithm in detail. Explain the role of

heuristic and cost functions in A.**

3. Explain the working of the AO* algorithm. Where is it used?

4. What is the Hill Climbing algorithm? Explain its types and

drawbacks.
 5. Write the Minimax algorithm and explain its application in
game playing.

🔑 Application & Example-Based Questions:

6. Explain Alpha-Beta pruning with a neat example tree.

7. Compare problem reduction search and heuristic search techniques.

8. Discuss the importance of evaluation functions in game playing.

9. Describe how search algorithms can be applied in real-time games.

Possible Repeated Questions (Previous Trends):

✔ Explain the differences between informed and uninformed search with

examples.
✔ Draw and explain the Minimax search tree for a two-player game.
✔ Explain the working of Alpha-Beta pruning and how it improves the
Minimax algorithm.
✔ Describe heuristic search techniques with suitable examples.