Computational Physics Quiz

Which of the following statements is true regarding variables in programming?

• D. Variables can be placed anywhere in a program.

• A. Variables are always on the right side of the assignment operator.

• C. Variables are not used in programming.

• B. Variables are always on the left side of the assignment operator.

What is the relationship between root finding and optimization?

• D. Optimization is a type of root finding method.

• C. Root finding is a type of optimization technique.

• B. They both involve searching for zeros of a function.

• A. They are completely unrelated concepts.

What does it mean when MATLAB is described as case-sensitive?

• A. MATLAB is not sensitive to upper and lowercase letters.

• D. MATLAB only recognizes lowercase letters.

• B. MATLAB treats uppercase and lowercase letters as different.

• C. MATLAB only recognizes uppercase letters.

What is the goal of single-variable optimization?

• C. To find the value of x that yields a zero of f(x).

• B. To find the value of x that yields a minimum of f(x).

• D. To find the value of x that yields a negative of f(x).

• A. To find the value of x that yields a maximum of f(x).

What is the purpose of Runge-Kutta methods?

• D. To solve differential equations numerically.

• A. To eliminate the need for differentiation of differential equations.

• B. To approximate values of a function.

• C. To solve linear equations.

What is the main use of upper triangular Gauss elimination method?

• C. To find the roots of a polynomial equation.

• B. To calculate matrix determinants.

• A. To solve unknown variables of linear equations.

• D. To perform matrix multiplication.

What does the first derivative of F(x) provide an estimate of?

• C. The integral of F(x).

• B. The slope at a specific point xi.

• A. The area under the curve of F(x).

• D. The maximum value of F(x).

What causes roundoff errors in computational physics?

• B. The precision of the computer hardware.

• D. The speed of the programming language.

• A. The nature of the techniques used to approximate values.

• C. The complexity of the mathematical functions.

What is the aim of LU decomposition of a matrix?

• C. To eliminate the need for repeated differentiation.

• B. To calculate the determinant of the matrix.

• A. To find the inverse of the matrix.

• D. To solve systems of linear equations.

What is the main purpose of linear interpolation?

• A. To find the roots of a polynomial equation.

• B. To approximate values between known data points.

• C. To solve differential equations.

• D. To calculate matrix determinants.