KARPAGAM ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION

(Deemed to be University)
(Established Under Section 3 of UGC Act 1956)
Coimbatore - 641021.
(For the candidates admitted from 2025 onwards)
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
SUBJECT: PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES USING C SEMESTER: I
BATCH : 2025-2028 SUBJECT CODE : 25CAU101
UNIT I - PROBLEMS INSTANCES

2-MARK QUESTIONS

1. What is a computational problem?

2. What is meant by problem instance?

3. Define the concept of generalization in problem-solving.

4. What is a special case in the context of computational problems?

5. How do you differentiate between a general problem and its special case?

6. What are the types of computational problems?

7. Define an algorithm in simple terms.

8. What is meant by algorithm efficiency?

9. What does the correctness of an algorithm refer to?

10. Explain the role of data structures in algorithm design.

11. What is meant by input validation in algorithms?

12. Why is it important to review a problem-solving approach?

13. What is a subproblem in the context of problem-solving?

14. What are the steps involved in understanding a problem?

15. What is the difference between preconditions and postconditions?

16. What is the role of planning in problem-solving?

17. Give an example of a special case in algorithm design.

18. What is the significance of the "execute" step in problem-solving?

19. Why is it important to break down complex problems into smaller subproblems?

20. What is meant by the “input/output specification” in problem-solving?

6-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Explain the relationship between generalization and specialization in computational problems.

2. Describe the different types of computational problems with examples.

3. What is an algorithm development process? Explain with an example.

4. Discuss the concept of problem classification. How does it help in problem-solving?

5. What is algorithm analysis? Discuss its importance in solving computational problems.

 6. Explain the process of breaking a problem into smaller subproblems using divide-and-
conquer.

7. What are the various steps involved in the problem-solving approach: Understand, Plan,
Execute, Review?

8. Discuss the significance of input validation and provide examples where improper validation
can lead to errors.

9. Explain the difference between the preconditions and postconditions in problem-solving with
examples.

10. Discuss the different approaches to algorithm design and their significance.

11. How does problem-solving contribute to the development of algorithms?

12. Explain how the efficiency of an algorithm can be determined.

13. How do data structures aid in the design of efficient algorithms?

14. What are the steps involved in planning an algorithm?

15. Describe the importance of testing and reviewing algorithms after their execution.

16. What is the role of recursion in breaking problems into subproblems?

17. Discuss the importance of understanding the problem before trying to solve it.

18. Explain the concept of problem instances and how they vary for different types of problems.

19. Discuss the challenges in algorithm design and possible approaches to overcome them.

20. Explain the importance of problem analysis and how it affects the algorithm design process.

10-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Discuss in detail the entire process of problem-solving: Understand the Problem, Plan,
Execute, and Review. Provide examples to illustrate each step.

2. Explain the classification of computational problems. Provide a detailed explanation of how

each classification can impact algorithm design.

3. Describe in detail the concept of breaking a problem into smaller subproblems. Explain the
divide-and-conquer approach with a practical example.

4. Provide a detailed analysis of an algorithm, covering its efficiency, correctness, and the role
of data structures in optimizing performance.

5. Explain the process of algorithm development, from problem understanding to execution.

Discuss how an algorithm can be reviewed and optimized.

6. Describe the importance of input validation in problem-solving. Provide real-world examples

of the consequences of improper input handling in algorithms.

7. Discuss the significance of correctness in an algorithm. How can you verify an algorithm’s
correctness? Illustrate with an example.

8. Explain the relationship between algorithm complexity and efficiency. Discuss how time and
space complexity influence algorithm selection.

9. Describe the steps involved in planning an algorithm. How can planning lead to more
efficient algorithms?
 10. What is the role of data structures in algorithm efficiency? Provide examples of how specific
data structures can improve algorithm performance.

11. Discuss the role of preconditions and postconditions in problem-solving. How do they help in
ensuring correctness and efficiency in algorithms?

12. Explain how to analyze an algorithm for time and space complexity. What tools and
techniques can be used for this analysis?

13. Explain the concept of a problem instance and how it can affect the solution approach. Use a
concrete example to illustrate this.

14. Provide an in-depth explanation of the role of algorithm analysis in ensuring optimal solutions
to computational problems.

15. How do special cases affect the design and efficiency of algorithms? Provide examples of
how handling special cases can simplify or complicate an algorithm.

16. Discuss the various types of computational problems (e.g., decision problems, optimization
problems) and how their solutions differ.

17. Explain the importance of understanding the problem before attempting to solve it. Discuss
how inadequate problem understanding can lead to incorrect algorithms.

18. Discuss the concept of input/output specifications. Why is it crucial for designing correct and
efficient algorithms?

19. How do problem-solving steps (Understand, Plan, Execute, Review) help in the iterative
improvement of algorithms?

20. Provide a detailed example of a problem-solving approach applied to a real-world

computational problem, including the steps of understanding, planning, executing, and
reviewing.

UNIT II

2-MARK QUESTIONS

1. What is C programming?

2. Who developed the C programming language and when?

3. List two important features of the C programming language.

4. What is the structure of a C program?

5. What is the role of the C character set?

6. What are C tokens?

7. Define a keyword in C programming with an example.

8. What is an identifier in C programming?

9. What is the difference between constants and variables?

10. What are data types in C?

11. What is the significance of declaring a variable in C?

12. How do you assign a value to a variable in C?

13. What is a symbolic constant in C?

 14. List two types of operators in C.

15. Explain the arithmetic operator in C with an example.

16. What is an arithmetic expression in C?

17. Explain operator precedence with an example.

18. What is type conversion in expressions?

19. What is the role of the switch statement in C?

20. What is the purpose of the goto statement in C?

6-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Explain the history and evolution of the C programming language.

2. Describe the structure and execution flow of a C program.

3. Discuss the C character set and its components.

4. What are C tokens? Explain the different types of tokens in C.

5. Differentiate between keywords and identifiers in C.

6. What is the difference between constants and variables in C?

7. Explain the process of declaring variables in C with examples.

8. Discuss the various arithmetic operators in C with examples.

9. Explain the concept of operator precedence and associativity in C with examples.

10. What is the purpose of type conversion in expressions? Explain with examples.

11. Describe the evaluation of arithmetic expressions in C.

12. Explain the working of the if...else statement in C with an example.

13. What is the nesting of if...else statements in C? Provide an example.

14. Explain the use of the else-if ladder in C with an example.

15. Describe the switch statement in C and explain its syntax with an example.

16. Explain the ?: (ternary) operator in C with an example.

17. Discuss the different looping statements in C (while, do, and for) with examples.

18. What are jumps in loops? Explain break and continue statements with examples.

19. Explain the difference between the while loop, do-while loop, and for loop in C with
examples.

20. What is the role of the goto statement in C programming, and why is its use generally
discouraged?

10-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Provide a detailed history of the C programming language, its development, and its
significance in modern programming.

2. Explain the structure and execution flow of a C program. Discuss the role of each part of a
program.
 3. Describe the C character set in detail. Explain how different types of characters are
categorized and used in C.

4. Explain C tokens in detail. Provide examples for keywords, identifiers, constants, operators,
and punctuation marks.

5. Discuss the role of keywords and identifiers in C. How are they used differently? Provide
examples of valid and invalid identifiers.

6. Define constants and variables in C. Discuss their use and how you can declare, assign, and
modify them.

7. Explain in detail the different data types available in C. Discuss the importance of choosing
the correct data type for variables.

8. Discuss the process of declaring variables in C. Explain the syntax, scope, and initialization of
variables in C.

9. Discuss arithmetic operators and arithmetic expressions in C. Explain how expressions are
evaluated, including operator precedence and associativity.

10. Explain operator precedence and associativity in C. Provide examples that demonstrate how
different operators interact in expressions.

11. What is type conversion in C? Discuss implicit and explicit type conversions, providing
examples for both.

12. Discuss the working of the if, if...else, and if-else ladder statements in C. Provide examples
and explain how these are used for decision-making.

13. Explain the switch statement in C. Discuss its syntax, working, and how it is used to handle
multiple conditions efficiently.

14. Explain the use of the ternary (?:) operator in C. Provide examples to demonstrate how this
operator can simplify conditional expressions.

15. Describe the various looping constructs in C (while, do-while, for). Discuss the syntax and
working of each loop with examples.

16. Explain how the break and continue statements work in loops in C. Provide examples that
show how they alter the flow of control in loops.

17. Compare the while loop, do-while loop, and for loop in C. Discuss when to use each loop and
provide practical examples.

18. Discuss the role of the goto statement in C programming. Why is its use discouraged, and
what are the alternatives for achieving the same control flow?

19. Explain how to use nested if...else statements and the else-if ladder in C. Provide examples
and discuss their advantages and drawbacks.

20. Provide a detailed explanation of decision-making in C. Discuss all the decision-making

statements (if, if...else, switch, and ?:), including examples for each.

UNIT III

2-MARK QUESTIONS

1. What is an array in C?

2. What is the difference between a character array and a string in C?

 3. How are elements of an array accessed in C?

4. Define a one-dimensional array in C with an example.

5. What is a two-dimensional array? Give an example.

6. What is a string in C?

7. What is the null character '\0' in C strings?

8. Why do strings in C need to end with a null character?

9. What is a user-defined function in C?

10. Why are user-defined functions necessary in C programming?

11. What are the basic components of a function in C?

12. What is the syntax for defining a user-defined function in C?

13. What is a function call in C?

14. What is a return value in a C function?

15. What are the different types of return values in C functions?

16. What is the purpose of function declaration in C?

17. What is recursion in C?

18. Explain the concept of passing arrays to functions.

19. What is the scope of a variable in C?

20. What is the lifetime of a variable in C?

6-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Explain the concept of arrays in C with an example. How are arrays stored in memory?

2. Discuss how to declare and initialize a character array in C. Provide an example with a string.

3. Explain the difference between an array and a string in C. Illustrate with examples.

4. Describe how user-defined functions help in breaking down complex programs into simpler
modules.

5. Explain the general syntax for defining a user-defined function in C with an example.

6. What are the categories of functions in C? Provide examples of each category.

7. Describe how arrays and strings are passed to functions in C. Provide an example.

8. Discuss the concept of recursion in C. Provide an example of a recursive function.

9. What are the differences between passing arrays by value and passing arrays by reference to
functions in C?

10. Explain the difference between local and global variables in terms of scope and visibility.

11. Discuss the concepts of variable scope and lifetime with respect to function calls in C.

12. What are function declarations, and why are they important in C programming?

13. Explain the concept of nesting functions in C. Provide an example to illustrate.

14. Describe how arrays are passed to functions using pointers in C.

 15. Discuss the return types of functions in C. How can functions return values of different types?

16. Explain the importance of returning values from functions. How do return values affect
program flow?

17. How does recursion work in C? What are the advantages and potential issues of using
recursion?

18. Explain the difference between formal and actual parameters in a function call in C.

19. What is the significance of the void return type in C functions?

20. Explain how to use multi-dimensional arrays in C. Provide an example.

10-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Provide a detailed explanation of arrays in C. Discuss the different types of arrays (one-
dimensional, two-dimensional) with examples.

2. Explain the differences between a character array and a string in C. Discuss the memory
layout of a string and how to manipulate it.

3. Discuss the concept of user-defined functions in C. Explain the advantages of using functions
in programs and how they contribute to code reusability and modularity.

4. Provide a detailed explanation of the syntax and components of a user-defined function in C.

Discuss its return type, parameters, and function body.

5. What are the different categories of functions in C? Discuss with examples how each category
is used in programming.

6. Explain the process of passing arrays to functions in C. Discuss how arrays are passed by
reference and how they can be modified inside the function.

7. Describe recursion in C programming. Provide an in-depth example of a recursive function,

explaining the base case, recursive case, and termination condition.

8. Discuss how arrays and strings are passed to functions using pointers in C. Provide examples
to demonstrate how this works in practice.

9. What is the importance of function declarations in C? Discuss how they help in ensuring
proper function calls and avoiding errors.

10. Explain the concept of function nesting in C. Discuss its advantages and limitations with
appropriate examples.

11. Discuss the differences between local and global variables in terms of their scope, visibility,
and lifetime. Provide examples to clarify the differences.

12. Explain the concept of variable scope in C. Discuss how the scope of a variable affects its
visibility within functions and blocks.

13. What is the scope, visibility, and lifetime of variables in C? How do these concepts relate to
function calls and recursion?

14. Explain how multi-dimensional arrays are declared, initialized, and passed to functions in C.
Provide examples to illustrate their usage.

15. Discuss the role of return values in C functions. Explain how returning values allows
functions to communicate results back to the calling code.

16. How does recursion work in C? Discuss the stack mechanism and the potential issues such as
stack overflow. Provide examples where recursion is beneficial.
 17. Provide a detailed example of passing arrays and strings to functions in C. Discuss the impact
on memory and program execution.

18. Explain the significance of the void return type in C functions. How does a function with no
return value differ from those with return values?

19. Explain in detail the process of passing arrays by reference and value to functions. Discuss
the impact on the program’s memory and execution.

20. Provide an in-depth explanation of nested function calls in C. Discuss how functions can call
other functions and the impact on the program flow. Provide examples to illustrate.

UNIT -IV

2-MARK QUESTIONS

1. What is a pointer in C?

2. How do you declare a pointer variable in C?

3. What is the syntax for accessing the address of a variable?

4. What does it mean to initialize a pointer variable?

5. How can you access a variable through its pointer in C?

6. What is a pointer chain in C?

7. Explain pointer expressions with an example.

8. What is a pointer increment in C?

9. What is the scale factor in pointer increments?

10. How do pointers and arrays relate to each other in C?

11. What is a pointer to a function in C?

12. What is the significance of passing a pointer to a function?

13. How do you declare a pointer to a structure in C?

14. What are structures and unions in C?

15. How do pointers work with structures in C?

16. What is the difference between structures and unions in C?

17. What is a function pointer, and how is it used in C?

18. What happens when a pointer points to a structure?

19. Can you assign a pointer to a union variable? Explain.

20. What is the difference between dereferencing a pointer and using a pointer to access data?

6-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Explain the concept of pointers in C. How do pointers work, and why are they useful?

2. Discuss how to declare and initialize pointer variables in C. Provide examples.

3. What is the role of the & (address-of) operator in C? Explain with an example.
 4. How do you access the value of a variable using pointers? Provide an example using
dereferencing.

5. Explain the concept of a chain of pointers in C. How can multiple pointers be used to refer to
the same data?

6. Discuss pointer expressions in C. How are pointer arithmetic and pointer increments used in
pointer expressions?

7. What is the scale factor in pointer increments? Explain how it affects pointer arithmetic with
an example.

8. Explain the relationship between pointers and arrays in C. How can an array name be treated
as a pointer?

9. How do pointers work with functions in C? Explain how function pointers can be used.

10. What are pointers to structures in C? How can you use pointers to manipulate structure
members?

11. Explain the differences between structures and unions in C, and how pointers are used with
them.

12. Discuss how to declare a function pointer in C. Provide an example of how function pointers
can be used to call functions.

13. Explain the use of pointers in dynamic memory allocation using functions like malloc() and
free().

14. What is the purpose of the sizeof operator with respect to pointers and arrays in C? Provide
examples.

15. How can you use pointers to pass structures to functions in C?

16. What is the difference between a pointer to a structure and a structure pointer?

17. Explain how pointer arithmetic works with arrays and how you can access array elements
using pointers.

18. Discuss the concept of passing arrays to functions using pointers in C.

19. How does the * operator work with function pointers? Illustrate with an example.

20. Explain how to declare and initialize a pointer to a structure in C. How do you use this pointer
to access structure members?

10-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Explain in detail the concept of pointers in C. Discuss how pointers are declared, initialized,
and used in C, with examples.

2. Provide a step-by-step explanation of how to access the address of a variable and how to
dereference pointers to get the value stored at that address.

3. Explain pointer arithmetic in C. Discuss how pointer increments, scale factors, and pointer
expressions work with examples.

4. Discuss the relationship between pointers and arrays in C. Explain how arrays are treated as
pointers and how pointer arithmetic is used to traverse arrays.

5. Describe a chain of pointers in C. Provide an example where one pointer points to another
pointer, and how dereferencing works in such cases.
 6. Discuss how to declare and use function pointers in C. Provide examples of how function
pointers can be used for callbacks and dynamic function calls.

7. Explain the concept of passing arrays to functions using pointers in C. Discuss how this
method differs from passing arrays by value.

8. Describe how pointers work with structures in C. Explain how to access structure members
through pointers using both . and -> operators.

9. Discuss the concept of structures and unions in C. Compare their memory layouts and explain
how pointers are used to access structure and union members.

10. Explain the process of declaring, initializing, and using pointers to functions in C. Provide
examples of how they can be passed as arguments to other functions.

11. What is the significance of pointer operations in dynamic memory allocation (e.g., using
malloc(), calloc(), realloc(), and free())?

12. Explain the differences between structures and unions in C. Discuss how memory is allocated
for each, and how pointers can be used with both.

13. Discuss how to implement and use pointers to functions in C. Provide an example where
function pointers are used to implement a simple callback mechanism.

14. Describe how you can use pointers in C to implement a linked list. Provide an example of a
singly linked list and explain how pointers are used to traverse the list.

15. What is the importance of the scale factor in pointer arithmetic? Discuss how the scale factor
differs depending on the type of pointer.

16. Provide a detailed explanation of how to use pointers to dynamically allocate memory for
arrays in C. Use examples to illustrate allocation and deallocation.

17. Discuss the use of pointer arrays and array of pointers in C. Provide examples of both and
explain how they differ.

18. What are the risks of pointer arithmetic and pointer dereferencing in C? Discuss the potential
dangers and how to mitigate them.

19. Explain how the sizeof operator can be used with pointers in C. Discuss how it helps in
understanding pointer behavior and array sizes.

20. Provide an example of using a pointer to a structure to modify its members. Compare it with
directly accessing structure members using the dot operator.

UNIT -V

2-MARK QUESTIONS

1. What is file management in C?

2. What is the purpose of file handling in C programming?

3. How do you define a file in C?

4. What is the syntax for opening a file in C?

5. How do you close a file in C?

6. What is the difference between fopen() and fclose() functions in C?

7. What are the basic file operation modes in C?

 8. What is an error code in file operations, and how can it be handled in C?

9. What is a file pointer in C, and how is it used in file management?

10. Explain the purpose of the fscanf() function in C.

11. What is the role of the fprintf() function in C?

12. What is the purpose of the fseek() function in C?

13. How do you perform random access to files in C?

14. What is the role of command-line arguments in C?

15. What is the syntax for using command-line arguments in C?

16. What are macros in C?

17. How do you define a macro in C?

18. What is the difference between #define and const in C?

19. Explain how error handling is done in file I/O operations.

20. What is the purpose of the feof() function in C?

6-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Explain file management in C. Discuss the functions used to open, read, write, and close a file
in C.

2. Describe the various file opening modes in C (r, w, a, rb, wb, etc.). Explain with examples.

3. How do you handle errors during file operations in C? Discuss how errno and perror() can be
used.

4. What is the role of the fopen() function in file handling? Provide a code example showing
how to open a file for reading and writing.

5. Explain the purpose of the fclose() function and why it is necessary to close a file after usage.

6. What are the different file I/O functions in C, such as fread(), fwrite(), fgets(), and fputs()?
Explain each with examples.

7. What is random access to files in C? Explain the functions fseek(), ftell(), and rewind() with
examples.

8. Describe how to read and write to a file using fscanf() and fprintf() functions in C. Provide
examples.

9. Explain the use of command-line arguments in C. How can command-line arguments be

accessed and used in a C program?

10. What is a macro in C? Discuss the different types of macros such as object-like macros and
function-like macros.

11. Explain how to pass parameters to macros in C. What are the advantages and disadvantages
of using macros?

12. Discuss error handling during I/O operations in C. How can we check for errors using ferror()
and handle file reading/writing failures?

13. Explain how to perform random access file operations. Discuss how to move the file pointer
using fseek().
 14. Describe the importance of closing a file after its use. What might happen if we forget to
close a file in C?

15. Explain how to read and write strings to a file in C using fgets() and fputs(). Provide
examples.

16. Describe the steps to open a file in append mode and write data to it in C.

17. What is the significance of ftell() and fseek() for random access file operations in C?

18. Discuss how to open a binary file in C and perform read/write operations.

19. What is the difference between text and binary file handling in C? Provide examples to
illustrate.

20. Explain how to read and write data to a file in binary mode. What is the difference between
binary and text files in terms of file operations?PPP

10-MARK QUESTIONS

1. Explain the entire process of file handling in C, including opening, reading, writing, and
closing a file. Provide examples demonstrating text file operations.

2. Discuss error handling during file operations in C. How can we handle errors using errno,
perror(), and ferror() functions? Provide examples of handling I/O errors.

3. What are the different types of file access modes in C? Discuss each mode (r, w, a, rb, wb,
etc.) in detail with examples.

4. Provide a detailed explanation of random access to files in C. Discuss the functions fseek(),
ftell(), rewind(), and how they allow for non-sequential file access.

5. Discuss how to handle command-line arguments in C. Provide an example program that

accepts arguments and performs different operations based on the arguments passed.

6. What are macros in C? Explain the differences between object-like macros and function-like
macros. Provide examples of each type and discuss the potential risks of using macros.

7. Explain the entire process of reading and writing data from/to a file in C. Discuss how to use
functions like fscanf(), fprintf(), fread(), and fwrite() in text and binary modes.

8. How do you handle error conditions during file I/O operations in C? Discuss in detail how to
check for errors while reading and writing to files, including using errno and perror().

9. Provide an in-depth explanation of how to use random access in files. Discuss how to move
the file pointer using fseek() and how ftell() can be used to track the file pointer’s position.

10. Describe the importance of closing a file after its use in C programming. What are the
possible consequences of not closing a file and how can you ensure proper file closure?

11. Explain how to write a C program to read a file line by line and display the contents. Discuss
how to use fgets() and handle the end of file (EOF) condition.

12. Explain the differences between text files and binary files in C. How do you handle file
operations differently for these two types of files?

13. Describe the use of function-like macros in C. Provide an example of a function-like macro
and explain the benefits and limitations of using macros.

14. How do you implement error checking while opening a file in C? Discuss the use of fopen()
and how to handle file opening errors gracefully.
15. Provide an in-depth explanation of the significance of using fseek() and ftell() for performing
random access in files. How do they allow you to modify and access data non-sequentially?

16. How would you write data to a file in binary format in C? Explain the difference between
binary and text file writing, and provide examples of reading and writing in binary mode.

17. Discuss the role of command-line arguments in C. Provide an example program that
processes command-line arguments to modify the behavior of the program based on user
input.

18. Explain how to write and read strings to/from a file in C. Discuss the differences between
fgets() and fputs() for reading and writing text.

19. Discuss how to use fopen(), fclose(), fscanf(), fprintf(), and fseek() together in a program that
reads and modifies an existing file.

20. What are the implications of using macros in large programs? Discuss the possible issues with
debugging and maintenance when using macros extensively. Provide examples of potential
problems.