Uninformed Search and Heuristic Search Previous Year Questions (PYQs) for GATE DA: 4+ Solved Questions with Step-by-Step Solutions

Solve 4+ Uninformed Search and Heuristic Search previous year questions for GATE DA with answers and detailed solutions. Free sample questions below.

Chapter Roadmap: Search Strategies in AI

Chapter Journey: From Blind Search to Smart Search

TOPIC 1: Uninformed Search (Current)

BFS, DFS & Strategy Classification

Learn how computers explore state spaces blindly. Understand the trade-offs between Breadth-First and Depth-First search.

Weightage Hint: High Foundation

TOPIC 2: Heuristic Search (Next)

A* Search & Admissible Heuristics

Introduce smart guesses, called heuristics, to guide search. Master the A-star algorithm and the concept of admissibility.

What you will master in this topic:

The mechanics of BFS and DFS.
How to classify search strategies based on completeness, optimality, time, and space.
Solving complex tracing questions on state expansion with custom constraints.

The Search Problem: States, Actions, and Goals

Defining the Search Space

To solve any problem using search, we need four components:

Initial State: Where you start ( $s_{0}$ ).
Actions: What moves are available? For a state $s$ , $A c t i o n s (s)$ returns possible moves.
Transition Model: Where do you end up? $R es u l t (s, a)$ gives the new state after action $a$ .
Goal Test: Is this the solution? $I s G o a l (s)$ returns true or false.

The State Space Graph

Nodes: Represent states.
Edges: Represent actions with costs.
Path: A sequence of states from start to goal.

Key Insight: Search algorithms differ only in which node they choose to expand next.

Uninformed Search and Heuristic Search: Solved Questions with Step-by-Step Explanations (4 Problems)

Question 1 · Artificial Intelligence MCQ

Consider a state space where the start state is number 1. The successor function for
the state numbered n returns two states numbered n+1 and n+2. Assume that the
states in the unexpanded state list are expanded in the ascending order of numbers
and the previously expanded states are not added to the unexpanded state list.
Which ONE of the following statements about breadth-first search (BFS) and
depth-first search (DFS) is true, when reaching the goal state number 6?

A.
BFS expands more states than DFS.
B.
DFS expands more states than BFS.
C.
Both BFS and DFS expand equal number of states.
D.
Both BFS and DFS do not reach the goal state number 6.

Question 2 · Artificial Intelligence MCQ

The state graph shows the action cost along the edges and the heuristic function

h

associated with each state.

Suppose

A^{*}

algorithm is applied on this state graph using priority queue to store the frontier. In what sequence are the nodes expanded?

A.
S,A,E,C,B,D,G
B.
S,E,A,C,B,D,G
C.
S,A,E,B,C,D,G
D.
S,A,B,E,C,D,G

Question 3 · Artificial Intelligence MCQ

Let

h_{1}

and

h_{2}

be two admissible heuristics used in

A^{*}

search.
Which ONE of the following expressions is always an admissible heuristic?

A.
$h_{1} + h_{2}$
B.
$h_{1} \times h_{2}$
C.
$h_{1} / h_{2}, (h_{2} \neq = 0)$
D.
$∣ h_{1} - h_{2} ∣$

Question 4 · Artificial Intelligence MCQ

Which of the following algorithms is NOT an example of uninformed search?

A.
Breadth First Search
B.
Depth First Search
C.
A* Search
D.
Depth-limited Search

A question from this chapter

Question 1

Consider a state space where the start state is number 1. The successor function for the state numbered n returns two states numbered n+1 and n+2. Assume that the states in the unexpanded state list are expanded in the ascending order of numbers and the previously expanded states are not added to the unexpanded state list. Which ONE of the following statements about breadth-first search (BFS) and depth-first search (DFS) is true, when reaching the goal state number 6?

Question 2

The state graph shows the action cost along the edges and the heuristic function h associated with each state. S A E B C D G 41222233 h=2 h=2 h=6 h=2 h=0 h=6 Suppose A^{*} algorithm is applied on this state graph using priority queue to store the frontier. In what sequence are the nodes expanded?

Question 3

Let h_{1} and h_{2} be two admissible heuristics used in A^{*} search. Which ONE of the following expressions is always an admissible heuristic?

Question 4

Which of the following algorithms is NOT an example of uninformed search?

Free preview ends here

Login to view the complete previous-year questions and solutions

Creating an account is free. You get the rest of this chapter, step-by-step solutions, and a study plan built around the topics you are actually weak at.

Why MastersUp

Personalised first. High quality throughout.

Most platforms hand everyone the same content. Here the content moves with your performance, topic by topic.

Built around you, not around a syllabus PDF

Every answer you give moves your topic-level intelligence rate. The next question, the next revision card and tomorrow's plan all change with it.

Revision that hits your weak spots

We only revise topics you have actually attempted and are still below the safe bar on — never the same chapter on repeat.

Questions calibrated to the real exam

Each question carries a measured toughness. You are served a rung above your current level, so practice keeps stretching you.

Notes written for recall, not for volume

Full lesson cards for first study, curated short-note cards for the last mile — with derivations, traps and exam patterns marked.

One place for everything

Notes, chapter practice, previous-year questions, test series and full-length papers — all feeding one picture of your preparation.

Honest progress

No vanity streaks. Progress here means chapters mastered and accuracy that held up on harder questions.

Unlock the whole course

Full notes and short notes, the complete question bank with worked solutions, mock tests, full-length papers, and an adaptive plan that rebuilds itself as you improve.

View all plans Start free