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Regular Expressions and Finite Automata

GATE CSE 2026 Set 2 · Q47

MSQ2 marksHard

Time

Consider the following two finite automata D1D_1 and D2D_2. Which of the following statements is/are true?

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Solution

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Official answer: C) L(D1) ∩ L(D2) = { }; D) (L(D1) ∪ L(D2))* consists of all strings in {0,1}* whose length is divisible by 3

Regular Expressions and Finite Automata

Let us analyze the languages accepted by D1D_1 and D2D_2:

  1. In both automata D1D_1 and D2D_2, the start state is the only accepting state (indicated by the double circle).

  2. Every simple directed cycle from the start state back to itself in both automata has a length of 33. Thus, any accepted string must be composed of cycles of length 33, which means every string in L(D1)L(D_1) and L(D2)L(D_2) has a length that is a multiple of 33.

  3. Examining the transitions of length 33 returning to the start state:

    • In D1D_1, the accepted length-33 strings are: 000000, 001001, 101101, and 000000 (from the other paths). Specifically, L(D1)L(D_1) contains strings of length 33 formed by paths such as 0→0→10 \to 0 \to 1, 0→0→00 \to 0 \to 0, 1→0→11 \to 0 \to 1, etc.

    • In D2D_2, the accepted length-33 strings are generated by its respective paths.

    • No non-empty string is accepted by both automata simultaneously because their transitions for any path of length 33 back to the start state are mutually exclusive. Thus, the only common string accepted by both is the empty string ϵ\epsilon, giving:

      L(D1)∩L(D2)={ϵ}L(D_1) \cap L(D_2) = \{\epsilon\}

      Therefore, (C) is true.

  4. Since L(D1)∩L(D2)={ϵ}L(D_1) \cap L(D_2) = \{\epsilon\}, neither language is a subset of the other, so (A) and (B) are false.

  5. The union of the length-33 strings accepted by D1D_1 and D2D_2 covers all possible binary strings of length 33, i.e., {0,1}3⊆L(D1)∪L(D2)\{0,1\}^3 \subseteq L(D_1) \cup L(D_2). Therefore, (L(D1)∪L(D2))∗(L(D_1) \cup L(D_2))^* generates all strings in {0,1}∗\{0,1\}^* whose length is divisible by 33. Hence, (D) is true.

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This Regular Expressions and Finite Automata previous year question is Q47 of the GATE CSE 2026 Set 2 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on Regular Expressions and Finite Automata in Theory of Computation, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.

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Regular Expressions and Finite Automata in GATE CSE

Regular Expressions and Finite Automata has 41 GATE CSE PYQs across 24 papers from 2011 to 2026. 4 of them are 2-mark MSQs like this one, and it is the only one in GATE CSE 2026 Set 2.

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GateAI solution cardGATE CSE 2026 Set 2 · Q47 · MSQ

Consider the following two finite automata D1 and D2. Which of the following statements is/are true?

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