Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A problem statement is a description of an issue to be addressed, or a condition to be improved upon. It identifies the gap between the current problem and goal. The first condition of solving a problem is understanding the problem, which can be done by way of a problem statement. [1]
A decision problem is a question which, for every input in some infinite set of inputs, requires a "yes" or "no" answer. [2] Those inputs can be numbers (for example, the decision problem "is the input a prime number?") or values of some other kind, such as strings of a formal language.
Many, if not most, undecidable problems in mathematics can be posed as word problems: determining when two distinct strings of symbols (encoding some mathematical concept or object) represent the same object or not. For undecidability in axiomatic mathematics, see List of statements undecidable in ZFC.
The universal halting problem, also known (in recursion theory) as totality, is the problem of determining whether a given computer program will halt for every input (the name totality comes from the equivalent question of whether the computed function is total). This problem is not only undecidable, as the halting problem is, but highly ...
NC = P problem The P vs NP problem is a major unsolved question in computer science that asks whether every problem whose solution can be quickly verified by a computer (NP) can also be quickly solved by a computer (P). This question has profound implications for fields such as cryptography, algorithm design, and computational theory.
In mathematical logic, Tarski's high school algebra problem was a question posed by Alfred Tarski. It asks whether there are identities involving addition , multiplication , and exponentiation over the positive integers that cannot be proved using eleven axioms about these operations that are taught in high-school-level mathematics .
Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business and technical fields. The former is an example of simple problem solving (SPS) addressing one issue, whereas the latter is complex problem solving (CPS) with multiple interrelated obstacles. [1]
An example of a decision problem is deciding with the help of an algorithm whether a given natural number is prime. Another example is the problem, "given two numbers x and y, does x evenly divide y?" A method for solving a decision problem, given in the form of an algorithm, is called a decision procedure for that problem.