You need to improve the performance of a weak learner. Which boosting algorithm would you select, and why?
- AdaBoost
- Any boosting algorithm will suffice
- Gradient Boosting without considering the loss function
- Random Boosting
AdaBoost is a boosting algorithm designed to improve the performance of weak learners. By adjusting the weights of misclassified instances and focusing on them in subsequent models, AdaBoost iteratively corrects errors and enhances the overall model's performance.
You are using KNN for a regression problem. What are the special considerations in selecting K and the distance metric, and how would you evaluate the model's performance?
- Choose K and metric considering data characteristics, evaluate using regression metrics
- Choose fixed K and Manhattan metric, evaluate using recall
- Choose large K and any metric, evaluate using accuracy
- Choose small K and Euclidean metric, evaluate using precision
Selecting K and distance metric considering the data characteristics and evaluating the model using regression metrics like RMSE or MAE is the right approach for KNN in regression.
A dataset contains both categorical and numerical features. Which ensemble method might be suitable, and what preprocessing might be required?
- Random Forest with no preprocessing
- Random Forest with normalization
- Random Forest with one-hot encoding
- Random Forest with scaling
Random Forest is an ensemble method suitable for handling both categorical and numerical features. For categorical features, one-hot encoding might be required to convert them into a numerical format that the algorithm can process.
Describe a scenario where Hierarchical Clustering would be more beneficial than K-Means Clustering, and explain the considerations in choosing the linkage method.
- When a fixed number of clusters is required
- When clusters are uniformly distributed
- When clusters have varying sizes and non-spherical shapes
- When computational efficiency is the priority
Hierarchical Clustering is more beneficial than K-Means when clusters have varying sizes and non-spherical shapes. Unlike K-Means, Hierarchical Clustering does not assume spherical clusters and can handle complex structures. The choice of linkage method will depend on the specific characteristics of the clusters, with considerations like distance metric and desired cluster shape guiding the selection.
In reinforcement learning, the agent learns to take actions that maximize the cumulative __________.
- accuracy
- errors
- loss
- rewards
In reinforcement learning, the agent tries to maximize cumulative rewards through its actions.
Machine Learning is commonly used in ____________ to create personalized recommendations.
- Drug Development
- Recommender Systems
- Traffic Management
- Weather Prediction
Machine Learning is extensively used in Recommender Systems to create personalized recommendations, analyzing user behavior and preferences.
Describe the process of Bootstrapping and its applications in model evaluation.
- Repeated sampling with replacement for bias reduction
- Repeated sampling with replacement for variance reduction
- Repeated sampling with replacement to estimate statistics and evaluate models
- Repeated sampling without replacement for model validation
Bootstrapping involves repeated sampling with replacement to estimate statistics and evaluate models. By creating numerous "bootstrap samples," it allows the calculation of standard errors, confidence intervals, and other statistical properties, even with a small dataset. It's valuable for model evaluation, hypothesis testing, and providing insight into the estimator's distribution.
You're comparing two Polynomial Regression models: one with a low degree and one with a high degree. The higher degree model fits the training data perfectly but has poor test performance. How do you interpret this, and what actions would you take?
- Choose the high degree model
- Choose the low degree model or consider regularization
- Ignore test performance
- Increase the degree further
The high degree model is likely overfitting the training data, leading to poor test performance. Choosing the low degree model or applying regularization to the high degree model can improve generalization.
What is dimensionality reduction, and why is it used in machine learning?
- All of the above
- Increasing model accuracy
- Reducing computational complexity
- Reducing number of dimensions
Dimensionality reduction refers to the process of reducing the number of input variables or dimensions in a dataset. It is used to simplify the model and reduce computational complexity, potentially improving model interpretability, but it does not inherently increase model accuracy.
If the relationship between variables in a dataset is best fit by a curve rather than a line, you might use _________ regression.
- Linear
- Logistic
- Polynomial
- Ridge
If the relationship between variables is best fit by a curve rather than a line, Polynomial regression would be used. It can model nonlinear relationships by including polynomial terms in the equation.