Let L1 be a recursive language, and let L2 be a recursively enumerable but not…

2005

Let L1 be a recursive language, and let L2 be a recursively enumerable but not a recursive language. Which one of the following is TRUE?

L1' --> Complement of L1
L2' --> Complement of L2 

  1. A.

    L1' is recursive and L2' is recursively enumer­able

  2. B.

    L1' is recursive and L2' is not recursively enumerable

  3. C.

    L1' and L2' are recursively enumerable

  4. D.

    L1' is recursively enumerable and L2' is recursive

Attempted by 15 students.

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Correct answer: B

L1 is recursive, so its complement L1' must also be recursive because recursive languages are closed under complement. L2 is recursively enumerable but not recursive, meaning it cannot be decided by a Turing machine. The complement of such a language (L2') is not recursively enumerable, as this would imply L2 is recursive—a contradiction. Therefore, L1' is recursive and L2' is not recursively enumerable.

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