Flashcards · 9618 · AS Topic 9

Algorithm Design and Problem-solving (AS Level) flashcards

8 cards on AS Topic 9, subtopics 9.1 to 9.2. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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What is abstraction?: Removing unnecessary detail and keeping only the information needed to solve the problem, e.g. a map that shows only stations and lines.
What is decomposition?: Breaking a complex problem down into smaller sub-problems that are easier to understand and solve, often as separate modules.
What are the benefits of abstraction?: Simpler models are quicker to design and program, use less memory and processing, and are easier to understand and maintain.

What is an algorithm?: An ordered set of steps that solves a problem or completes a task.
Name three ways of documenting an algorithm.: Structured English, a program flowchart, and pseudocode.
What is stepwise refinement?: Breaking each step of an algorithm into smaller, more detailed steps, repeated until each step can be written directly as program code.
What is an identifier table?: A table listing each identifier (variable or constant) used in an algorithm, with its data type and a description of what it is used for.
What does a trace table show?: The value of each variable, and any output, after each step of an algorithm, used to dry-run it and find logic errors.