Computational Thinking

Computational Thinking

1. Hannah Ao 11L

2. Understand Computational Thinking: Abstraction, Decomposition, Algorithmic thinking

   • Abstraction - Abstraction removes unecessary detail from a problem so that you can focus on the essentials.
     • The London Underground Map is a good example.
     • Cut out waffle
   • Decompostion - involves breaking a large problem into smaller sub-problems
     • e.g Dice game - rules, players or computer, display a board or not, play game, display game reuslt
     • Bullet points in write up, key parts of question before you start
     • Advantages:
       • The problem becomes easier to solve when it consists of small subtasks or modules
       • Some modules may be reusable on other programs, saving development time
     • Check Word Doc on Decompostion
     • Decomposing a Dice Game:
       • Success Criteria: Must be Clear!
         • Display the Rules
         • Establish whether this particular game is to be two player or one person against the computer
         • Display the 'board' if there is one
           • Play the game
             • Display the result when the game is over

3. An algorithm is a set of instructions for solving a problem or completing a task.

   • e.g- Making a chocolate cake

4. A strategy for solving a big problem is to first try and solve a similar but smaller problem