Practice Flashcards: A-Level Computer Science: Computational Thinking and Theory | Zestly

Question 1

Abstraction

Accepted Answer

The process of removing unnecessary detail to focus on the essential features of a problem. A common mistake is confusing this with decomposition, which is the act of breaking a problem into parts.

Question 2

Decomposition

Accepted Answer

The process of breaking a complex problem into smaller, more manageable sub-problems. Students often incorrectly assume this is the same as abstraction.

Question 3

Finite State Machine

Accepted Answer

A model of computation consisting of a finite number of states and transitions between them. The mistake often made is assuming it can count an infinite number of items.

Question 4

Accepting State

Question 5

Regular Expression

Question 6

Order of Growth

Question 7

Worst Case

Question 8

Space-Time Trade-off

Question 9

Tractable Problem

Question 10

Intractable Problem

Question 11

Heuristic

Question 12

Halting Problem