4g Expert Systems

Question 0

Identify three components of an expert system.

Answer 0

One per component:
 knowledge base (1)
 inference engine (1)
 user interface (1)

Question 1

Describe what is meant by an expert system.

Answer 1

Any three from:
 a computer program that attempts to solve a
problem/ draws conclusions (1)
 in the same way as a (human) expert (1)
 it has a knowledge base/inference engine/user
interface (1)
 narrow range of expertise (1)
 can learn from experience/heuristic (1)
 asks questions based on previous response (1)
 based on probabilities not certainties (1)

Question 2

Describe three applications of an expert system.

Answer 2

Three from:
One mark for identification of application, one for expansion e.g.
 car engine fault diagnosis (1) to identify problems with the car engine (1)
 medical diagnosis (1) to find out the illness the person has (1)
 broadband ISP fault diagnosis (1) to find out why the broadband is not working
(1)
 social services (1) to find out benefits entitlement (1)
 HM revenue and customs (1) to determine the amount of tax due (1).

Question 3

Explain the advantages of using an expert system to diagnose faults on a central heating system.

Answer 3

5–6 The candidate has given detailed explanations of the advantages of 6 the use of an expert system
3–4 The candidate has given limited explanations of the advantages of the use of an expert system
1–2 The candidate has identified advantage(s) of the use of an expert system

Points may include:
 engineer does not need to know all the systems, as long as they have a basic knowledge they can follow the computer instructions which
reduces training time and costs
 only one expert in the system needs to be employed to program the system, less technical employees can be hired who will be cheaper
 customer can use the software to work out the basic problems and decide who to call allowing the company to spend more time on the repair work and less on the diagnosis.