Module 09 Knowledge Check
5 questions. Pass mark 4 out of 5. Answer every question before checking the answer key below, then retry after reading the feedback.
1. The most expensive common failure is…
- A. A slow tool
- B. Agents looping - handing work back and forth without converging
- C. Long prompts
- D. Large outputs
2. Every crew should have…
- A. A backstory
- B. Iteration and budget limits with a defined behaviour when they are hit
- C. More agents
- D. A bigger model
3. Agents agreeing with each other is dangerous because…
- A. It is slow
- B. Apparent consensus can be conformity, not verification
- C. It costs more
- D. It breaks tools
4. Context passed between many agents tends to…
- A. Shrink
- B. Grow, raising cost and diluting attention on what matters
- C. Stay constant
- D. Improve accuracy
5. The most effective cost control is usually…
- A. A cheaper model
- B. Removing unnecessary agents and steps
- C. Shorter outputs
- D. Fewer tools
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Answer Key and Explanations
Check these only after attempting every question.
1. B - Agents looping - handing work back and forth without converging
Loops multiply every per-step cost until a limit stops them.
2. B - Iteration and budget limits with a defined behaviour when they are hit
Unbounded execution is unsafe operationally regardless of task quality.
3. B - Apparent consensus can be conformity, not verification
A reviewer agent that rubber-stamps adds cost and false confidence, not quality.
4. B - Grow, raising cost and diluting attention on what matters
Trim deliberately at each handoff or the run becomes both expensive and vaguer.
5. B - Removing unnecessary agents and steps
Structural simplification beats per-call savings and usually improves quality too.
Practical Check
Apply this module to your own work: complete the module activity for *Multi-Agent Failure Modes and Cost Controls*, then write one sentence naming what your result shows and one naming what it does not.
Strong Answer Pattern
A strong answer names the task, the evidence used, the check performed, and the remaining limitation. It avoids "proved", "guaranteed", or "always" unless the evidence genuinely supports it.