The number of symbols necessary to simulate a Turing machine with m symbols and n states
A)4m × n + m
B)4m × n + n
C)m+n
D)none of them

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The number of symbols necessary to simulate a Turing machine with m symbols and n states is 4m × n + m. This is because the Turing machine needs to be able to represent the current state, the current symbol, the next state, and the next symbol. The current state and the next state can be represented with n symbols each, and the current symbol and the next symbol can be represented with m symbols each. Therefore, the total number of symbols needed is 4m × n + m.

The Number of Symbols Necessary to Simulate a Turing Machine