The set of all recursively enumerable languages is
Topic-wise GATE CS PYQs with verified steps
GATE CSE 2018 · Q7
Time
Select one answerSingle correct
Solution
Official answer: B) closed under intersection.
Turing Machines and UndecidabilityLet us analyze the properties of the set of all Recursively Enumerable (RE) languages:
Closure under intersection: If and are recursively enumerable, there exist Turing machines and that recognize them. We can construct a Turing machine that runs and in sequence (or in parallel) on an input , accepting if and only if both accept. Thus, RE languages are closed under intersection (Option B is correct).
Option A is incorrect: RE languages are not closed under complementation (e.g., the Halting Problem language is RE, but its complement is not RE).
Option C is incorrect: Recursive languages are a proper subset of recursively enumerable languages, not the reverse ().
Option D is incorrect: Every RE language is recognized by some Turing machine. Since the description of any Turing machine is a finite binary string, the set of all Turing machines is countably infinite. Therefore, the set of all RE languages is countably infinite, not uncountable.
Try the question first, then check your work.
Examiner trap
Recall the closure properties of Turing-recognizable (recursively enumerable) languages under basic operations.
This Turing Machines and Undecidability previous year question is Q7 of the GATE CSE 2018 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on Turing Machines and Undecidability in Theory of Computation, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.
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Turing Machines and Undecidability has 30 GATE CSE PYQs across 20 papers from 2012 to 2026. 13 of them are 1-mark MCQs like this one, and it is the only one in GATE CSE 2018.
How GATE tests Turing Machines and UndecidabilityIndependent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.