Informed (Heuristic) Search

CSC 261 - Artificial Intelligence - Weinman



Answer the following questions. Record your answers in your Reading Journal.
  1. Pages 94-95 give arguments for the optimality of A* under two heuristic conditions: admissibility and consistency. State which argument or condition you find more intuitive and/or convincing. Briefly explain your choice. (Be sure to relate aspects of both in your explanation).
  2. Select the sentence from today's reading that best illustrates the difference between a pruned subtree in A* and a forgotten subtree in SMA*. Briefly explain why you selected this particular sentence.
  3. Of those suggested in the text, identify the technique for creating heuristics that you would likely try first on a new problem. Briefly explain your choice.
  4. Select the sentence from today's reading that best summarizes the advantage of A* over other search algorithms you know about. Briefly explain why you chose this sentence.
  5. Identify (and briefly elaborate on) the sentence, section, or concept from the current or previous reading that remains the most confusing to you.