Amazon · ML & AI Fundamentals
Choose regularization norms and model formulations
TrueInterview
October 7, 2026 · 1 min read
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For both linear and logistic regression, write the objective functions with , , , and penalties in both constrained and penalized forms (for example, minimize the loss subject to a norm constraint; and minimize the loss plus times the norm). For each norm, state the expected coefficient patterns (sparsity, shrinkage, robustness to outliers) and the associated optimization difficulty.
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Given features where two groups of predictors are highly collinear and a few outliers exist in and , explain which penalty (or elastic net mixing) you would select and why.
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Contrast linear regression and logistic regression by explicitly writing out the model formulas (link function, conditional distributions) and stating when linear regression is inappropriate for classification.
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Discuss how feature scaling interacts with and , and what happens if scaling is omitted.
Overview: This question assesses understanding of regularization norms (, , , ), objective formulations for linear and logistic regression, and practical skills in dealing with collinearity, outliers, feature scaling, and optimization difficulty.