Combining retrieval with agent reasoning in Agentic AI - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to initialize the retrieval agent with a knowledge base.

Agentic AI

agent = RetrievalAgent(knowledge_base=[1])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aresponse

Bquery

Ckb

Dagent

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'query' instead of the knowledge base variable.

Passing the agent itself as the knowledge base.

The retrieval agent needs the knowledge base object, usually named 'kb', to access stored information.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to perform a retrieval before reasoning.

Agentic AI

retrieved_docs = agent.retrieve([1])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aresponse

Bagent

Cknowledge_base

Dquery_text

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Passing the agent object instead of the query string.

Using the knowledge base variable instead of the query.

The agent retrieves documents based on the input query text.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the reasoning step by filling the correct method to process retrieved documents.

Agentic AI

answer = agent.[1](retrieved_docs)

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Athink

Breason

Cprocess

Dquery

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'query' which is for searching, not reasoning.

Using 'process' or 'think' which are not valid method names.

The agent uses the 'reason' method to analyze retrieved documents and generate an answer.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to combine retrieval and reasoning in one step.

Agentic AI

final_answer = agent.[1](agent.[2](query_text))

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Areason

Bretrieve

Cquery

Danswer

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Reversing the order of 'reason' and 'retrieve'.

Using 'query' or 'answer' which are not correct method names here.

First, the agent retrieves documents with 'retrieve', then reasons over them with 'reason'.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a function that takes a query, retrieves documents, reasons, and returns the answer.

Agentic AI

def answer_query([1]):
    docs = agent.[2]([3])
    return agent.reason(docs)

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aquery_text

Bretrieve

Dresponse

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using different variable names for the function input and retrieval argument.

Using 'response' instead of 'query_text' as input.

The function takes 'query_text' as input, uses 'retrieve' to get docs, then reasons to return the answer.

Practice

1. What is the main benefit of combining retrieval with agent reasoning in AI?

easy

A. It makes AI run faster without using any data.

B. It helps AI find and use information more accurately.

C. It allows AI to ignore facts and guess answers.

D. It reduces the AI's ability to explain its answers.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand retrieval role

   Retrieval helps AI find relevant facts from data sources.

2. Step 2: Understand reasoning role

   Reasoning uses those facts to form thoughtful, accurate answers.

3. Final Answer:

   It helps AI find and use information more accurately. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Combining retrieval and reasoning = better accuracy [OK]

Hint: Remember: retrieval finds facts, reasoning uses them [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking retrieval ignores data
• Believing reasoning guesses without facts
• Assuming combination slows AI
• Confusing retrieval with ignoring facts

2. Which code snippet correctly shows how an agent uses retrieval results for reasoning?

easy

A. facts = retriever.get_facts(query)
answer = reasoner.use(facts)

B. answer = reasoner.get_facts(query)
facts = retriever.use(answer)

C. retriever = reasoner.get_facts()
query = answer.use(facts)

D. facts = reasoner.get_facts()
answer = retriever.use(facts)

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify retrieval step

   Retriever should get facts first using the query.

2. Step 2: Identify reasoning step

   Reasoner uses those facts to produce the answer.

3. Final Answer:

   facts = retriever.get_facts(query)\nanswer = reasoner.use(facts) -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Retriever gets facts, reasoner uses facts [OK]

Hint: Retriever gets facts first, then reasoner uses them [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping roles of retriever and reasoner
• Calling reasoner before retrieval
• Using wrong method names
• Mixing variable assignments

3. Given this code, what will be the output?

facts = ['Paris is capital of France', 'France is in Europe']
answer = reasoner.use(facts)
print(answer)

Assuming reasoner.use() combines facts into a summary sentence.

medium

A. "Paris is capital of France and France is in Europe."

B. "Paris is capital of Europe."

C. "France is capital of Paris."

D. "Europe is in France."

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand input facts

   Facts list contains two true statements about Paris and France.

2. Step 2: Reasoner combines facts

   Reasoner merges facts into a combined sentence preserving meaning.

3. Final Answer:

   "Paris is capital of France and France is in Europe." -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Combined facts form correct summary [OK]

Hint: Look for combined true facts in output [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Mixing up place names
• Ignoring fact order
• Assuming reasoner changes facts
• Choosing unrelated sentences

4. Identify the error in this code snippet combining retrieval and reasoning:

facts = reasoner.get_facts(query)
answer = retriever.use(facts)
print(answer)

medium

A. Variables facts and answer are swapped.

B. The print statement is missing parentheses.

C. Retriever should get facts, not reasoner.

D. No error; code runs correctly.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check roles of components

   Retriever is responsible for getting facts from query.

2. Step 2: Identify misuse

   Code wrongly calls reasoner.get_facts instead of retriever.get_facts.

3. Final Answer:

   Retriever should get facts, not reasoner. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Retriever gets facts first [OK]

Hint: Retriever finds facts; reasoner uses them [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing retriever and reasoner roles
• Ignoring method names
• Assuming print syntax error
• Thinking variables are swapped

5. You want an AI agent to answer questions about a large document collection. Which approach best combines retrieval with reasoning to improve answer quality?

hard

A. Use only a reasoner without any retrieval step.

B. Use a reasoner to guess answers, then a retriever to check if facts exist.

C. Use only a retriever to return raw documents as answers.

D. Use a retriever to find relevant document parts, then a reasoner to synthesize an answer from those parts.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand retrieval role

   Retriever finds relevant parts from large documents to reduce search space.

2. Step 2: Understand reasoning role

   Reasoner uses retrieved parts to create a clear, accurate answer.

3. Step 3: Evaluate options

   Use a retriever to find relevant document parts, then a reasoner to synthesize an answer from those parts. correctly sequences retrieval then reasoning for best quality.

4. Final Answer:

   Use a retriever to find relevant document parts, then a reasoner to synthesize an answer from those parts. -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   Retrieve first, then reason [OK]

Hint: Retrieve relevant info first, then reason for answer [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Reversing retrieval and reasoning order
• Skipping retrieval step
• Using only raw documents as answers
• Relying on guessing without facts