ISYE 6501 Final Exam STUDY
GUIDE QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+ 100%
GUARANTEED PASS [ LATEST
2026-2027]
Convex quadratic program - CORRECT ANSWER-A mathematical program where a convex
quadratic function of the variables is minimized, subject to linear constraints.
Convex set - CORRECT ANSWER-A set of points for which a straight line drawn between any two
points in the set, stays inside the set. A circle is a convex set. A set shaped like the letter "U" is
not convex; the line between the two points on top goes outside of the set.
Cooperative game theory - CORRECT ANSWER-A game theory setting where the participants are
also working together to achieve some goal, while also competing in some way.
Corrected AIC - CORRECT ANSWER-Improved version of AIC, especially when sample size is
small.
Correlation - CORRECT ANSWER-Relationship in which two things are likely to happen together,
regardless of whether one causes the other. (There is also a quantitative statistical definition
measuring the amount of correlation.)
,Covariate - CORRECT ANSWER-A characteristic or measurement that can be used to estimate
the value of something - for example, a person's height or the color of a car. A "feature" or
"attribute"; in the standard tabular format, a column of data.
Cross-validation - CORRECT ANSWER-Validation technique where a model is tested on data
different from what it was trained on.
CUSUM - CORRECT ANSWER-Change detection method that compares observed distribution
mean with a threshold level of change. Short for "cumulative sum".
Data point - CORRECT ANSWER-Observation/record of (perhaps multiple) measurements for a
single member of a population or data set. In the standard tabular format, a row of data.
Decision - CORRECT ANSWER-Choice of action.
Decision point - CORRECT ANSWER-Place in a simulation where there is a branch (or decision to
be made or observed).
Decision tree - CORRECT ANSWER-Tree-based method for decision-making. After branching to
split the data, each subset is analyzed with its own decision model (or just has its own decision
applied).
Deep learning - CORRECT ANSWER-Neural network-type model with many hidden layers.
Descriptive analytics - CORRECT ANSWER-Loosely speaking, the use of analytics to explain or
describe what has happened.
Design of experiments - CORRECT ANSWER-Choosing a set of tests to be made to find the effect
of input variables on an outcome.
,Deterministic simulation - CORRECT ANSWER-Simulation with no randomness/uncertainty, so
results are the same each run
Categorical data - CORRECT ANSWER-Data that classifies observations without quantitative
meaning (for example, colors of cars) or where quantitative amounts are categorized (for
example, "0-10, 11-20, ...").
Causation - CORRECT ANSWER-Relationship in which one thing makes another happen (i.e., one
thing causes another).
Chance constraint - CORRECT ANSWER-A probability-based constraint. For example, a standard
linear constraint might be 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≤ 𝑏𝑏. A similar chance constraint might be Pr(𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≤ 𝑏𝑏) ≥
0.95
Detrending - CORRECT ANSWER-Removal of trend, such as a change in the mean over time,
from timeseries data.
Diagnostic odds ratio - CORRECT ANSWER-Ratio of the odds that a data point in a certain
category is correctly classified by a model, to the odds that a data point not in that category is
incorrectly classified by the model; equal to 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇⁄𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹⁄𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇×𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹×𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 .
Diet problem - CORRECT ANSWER-Classical optimization model for finding the least-costly set of
foods that meets all dietary requirements.
Differencing - CORRECT ANSWER-Using the difference of successive values in time series data,
rather than the values themselves. Sometimes nonstationary data will have stationary
differences.
, Dimension - CORRECT ANSWER-A feature of the data points (for example, height or credit
score). (Note that there is also a mathematical definition for this word.)
Discrete-event simulation - CORRECT ANSWER-A simulation that models a system that changes
when specific events occur
Distance - CORRECT ANSWER-How far it is between two points -- but there are different ways to
measure it (see Minkowski distance).
Distribution-fitting - CORRECT ANSWER-Determining whether a set of data seems to follow a
certain probability distribution, or determining which of several distributions the data is close
to.
Double exponential smoothing - CORRECT ANSWER-Two-parameter exponential smoothing
technique that incorporates trend.
Dynamic programming - CORRECT ANSWER-Optimization approach that involves making a
sequence of decisions over time, based on the current state of a system.
Earth - CORRECT ANSWER-Name of many implementations of multi-adaptive regression spline
(MARS) model, because "MARS" is a trademark.
Edge - CORRECT ANSWER-Connection between two nodes/vertices in a network. In a network
model, there is a variable for each edge, equal to the amount of flow on the arc, and
(optionally) a capacity constraint on the edge's flow. Also called an arc.
Eigenvalue - CORRECT ANSWER-Amount by which an eigenvector gets rescaled in a linear
transformation.
GUIDE QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+ 100%
GUARANTEED PASS [ LATEST
2026-2027]
Convex quadratic program - CORRECT ANSWER-A mathematical program where a convex
quadratic function of the variables is minimized, subject to linear constraints.
Convex set - CORRECT ANSWER-A set of points for which a straight line drawn between any two
points in the set, stays inside the set. A circle is a convex set. A set shaped like the letter "U" is
not convex; the line between the two points on top goes outside of the set.
Cooperative game theory - CORRECT ANSWER-A game theory setting where the participants are
also working together to achieve some goal, while also competing in some way.
Corrected AIC - CORRECT ANSWER-Improved version of AIC, especially when sample size is
small.
Correlation - CORRECT ANSWER-Relationship in which two things are likely to happen together,
regardless of whether one causes the other. (There is also a quantitative statistical definition
measuring the amount of correlation.)
,Covariate - CORRECT ANSWER-A characteristic or measurement that can be used to estimate
the value of something - for example, a person's height or the color of a car. A "feature" or
"attribute"; in the standard tabular format, a column of data.
Cross-validation - CORRECT ANSWER-Validation technique where a model is tested on data
different from what it was trained on.
CUSUM - CORRECT ANSWER-Change detection method that compares observed distribution
mean with a threshold level of change. Short for "cumulative sum".
Data point - CORRECT ANSWER-Observation/record of (perhaps multiple) measurements for a
single member of a population or data set. In the standard tabular format, a row of data.
Decision - CORRECT ANSWER-Choice of action.
Decision point - CORRECT ANSWER-Place in a simulation where there is a branch (or decision to
be made or observed).
Decision tree - CORRECT ANSWER-Tree-based method for decision-making. After branching to
split the data, each subset is analyzed with its own decision model (or just has its own decision
applied).
Deep learning - CORRECT ANSWER-Neural network-type model with many hidden layers.
Descriptive analytics - CORRECT ANSWER-Loosely speaking, the use of analytics to explain or
describe what has happened.
Design of experiments - CORRECT ANSWER-Choosing a set of tests to be made to find the effect
of input variables on an outcome.
,Deterministic simulation - CORRECT ANSWER-Simulation with no randomness/uncertainty, so
results are the same each run
Categorical data - CORRECT ANSWER-Data that classifies observations without quantitative
meaning (for example, colors of cars) or where quantitative amounts are categorized (for
example, "0-10, 11-20, ...").
Causation - CORRECT ANSWER-Relationship in which one thing makes another happen (i.e., one
thing causes another).
Chance constraint - CORRECT ANSWER-A probability-based constraint. For example, a standard
linear constraint might be 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≤ 𝑏𝑏. A similar chance constraint might be Pr(𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≤ 𝑏𝑏) ≥
0.95
Detrending - CORRECT ANSWER-Removal of trend, such as a change in the mean over time,
from timeseries data.
Diagnostic odds ratio - CORRECT ANSWER-Ratio of the odds that a data point in a certain
category is correctly classified by a model, to the odds that a data point not in that category is
incorrectly classified by the model; equal to 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇⁄𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹⁄𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇×𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹×𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 .
Diet problem - CORRECT ANSWER-Classical optimization model for finding the least-costly set of
foods that meets all dietary requirements.
Differencing - CORRECT ANSWER-Using the difference of successive values in time series data,
rather than the values themselves. Sometimes nonstationary data will have stationary
differences.
, Dimension - CORRECT ANSWER-A feature of the data points (for example, height or credit
score). (Note that there is also a mathematical definition for this word.)
Discrete-event simulation - CORRECT ANSWER-A simulation that models a system that changes
when specific events occur
Distance - CORRECT ANSWER-How far it is between two points -- but there are different ways to
measure it (see Minkowski distance).
Distribution-fitting - CORRECT ANSWER-Determining whether a set of data seems to follow a
certain probability distribution, or determining which of several distributions the data is close
to.
Double exponential smoothing - CORRECT ANSWER-Two-parameter exponential smoothing
technique that incorporates trend.
Dynamic programming - CORRECT ANSWER-Optimization approach that involves making a
sequence of decisions over time, based on the current state of a system.
Earth - CORRECT ANSWER-Name of many implementations of multi-adaptive regression spline
(MARS) model, because "MARS" is a trademark.
Edge - CORRECT ANSWER-Connection between two nodes/vertices in a network. In a network
model, there is a variable for each edge, equal to the amount of flow on the arc, and
(optionally) a capacity constraint on the edge's flow. Also called an arc.
Eigenvalue - CORRECT ANSWER-Amount by which an eigenvector gets rescaled in a linear
transformation.
