Algorithm design and problem-solving / computational thinking

Using Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science by David Watson and Sylvia Langfield, Dave Duddell - Cambridge International AS and A Level Computer science Helen williams AND

what is abstraction

extracting information that is essential, while ignoring what is not relevant, for the provision of a solution

what is decomposition

process of breaking a complex problem into smaller parts

what is pattern recognition

identification of parts of a problem that are similar and could use the same solution

what is structured English

method of showing the logical steps in an algorithm

what is a flowchart

diagrammatic representation of an algorithm

what is an algorithm

an ordered set of steps to be followed in the completion of a task

what is pseudocode

a method of showing the detailed logical steps in an algorithm

what is stepwise refinement

breaking down the steps of an outline solution into smaller and smaller steps

what does pseudocode use

keywords, identifiers with meaningful names, mathematical operators

what is computational thinking used for

studying a problem and formulating effective solutions that can be provided using a computer

why is abstraction good

less space, quicker to understand

why is decomposition good

makes you focus on one specific part of the program question

why is pattern recognition good

you can reuse program code for other codes

what does this represent

abstraction

what does this represent

decomposition

what does this represent

structured english

what does this represent

pseudocode

what does this represent

flowchart

what does a singular line a pseudocode represent

single steps in algorithms

how are the identifiers in a pseudocode

case insensitive

what is an identifier table

structured list or data structure used to track identifiers

what do flowcharts help with

identifying variables required

what is computational thinking

problem-solving process where a number of steps are taken in order to reach a solution

what is assignment

value given a name or value associated with a given identifier is changed

what is sequence

number of steps are performed, one after the other

what is selection

under certain conditions some steps are performed, otherwise different steps are performed

what is repetition

sequence of steps is performed a number of times.

what is a variable

storage location for a data value that has an identifier

what does this operator mean: =

is equal to

what does this operator mean: <

is less than

what does this operator mean: >

is greater than

what does this operator mean: <=

is less than or equal to

what does this operator mean: >=

is greater than or equal to

what does this operator mean: <>

is not equal to

what is a rogue value

a value used to terminate a sequence of values

what is a nested loop

loop containing another loop

what are modules

procedures and functions

what is a procedure

sequence of steps that is given an identifier and can be called to perform a sub-task

what is a function

sequence of steps that is given an identifier and returns a single value

what is a local variable

a variable that is accessible only within the module in which it is declared

what is a global variable

a variable that is accessible for all modules