1 INFORMATION IN MEMORY

Question 1

What is the fundamental requirement for a computer program to function?

Answer 1

The ability to store and access data from memory.

Question 2

What do variables represent in a computer program?

Answer 2

Names representing the location (or address) of a piece of data in the computer’s memory.

Question 3

Why are variables essential in programming?

Answer 3

They enable programs to track information that changes throughout the course of execution.

Question 4

What happens when you create a variable?

Answer 4

The system allocates and assigns it a location behind the scenes.

Question 5

How are variables visualized in computer memory?

Answer 5

As a long column of bins.

Question 6

What analogy is used to describe variables?

Answer 6

They are like labels on file folders.

Question 7

What determines the type of data a variable can store?

Answer 7

The associated type of the variable, such as integers, floats, or Booleans.

Question 8

What is an example of defining a variable in pseudocode?

Answer 8

<type>: <name> format, e.g., Integer: coffee_count = 5.
</name></type>

Question 9

What are composite data structures?

Answer 9

Structures that gather multiple individual variables into a single group.

Question 10

What is an example of a composite data structure for coffee?

Answer 10

CoffeeRecord containing Name, Brand, Rating, Cost_Per_Pound, Is_Dark_Roast, Other_Notes.

Question 11

Why are composite data structures useful?

Answer 11

They simplify tracking and passing related pieces of data.

Question 12

What is an array used for?

Answer 12

To store multiple related values.

Question 13

What is the structure of an array?

Answer 13

A contiguous block of equal-sized bins in memory.

Question 14

How do you access an element in an array?

Answer 14

By specifying its location, or index.

Question 15

What indexing system do most programming languages use for arrays?

Answer 15

Zero-indexed arrays.

Question 16

How do you reference the value at index i of an array A?

Answer 16

A[i].

Question 17

What is the formula to compute the location of an item in an array?

Answer 17

Location(item i) = Location(start of array) + Size of each element × i.

Question 18

What is a common operation to set a value in an array?

Answer 18

Using the syntax A[index] = value.

Question 19

What is the significance of the insertion sort algorithm?

Answer 19

It sorts the values in an array by expanding a sorted range.

Question 20

What is the process of insertion sort?

Answer 20

It iterates through each element, finds the correct location in the sorted section, and inserts it.

Question 21

What is a potential drawback of using arrays?

Answer 21

You need to manage the individual bins for operations like shifting or swapping values.

Question 22

True or False: Each bin in an array behaves like an individual variable.

Answer 22

True.

Question 23

Fill in the blank: An array is effectively a row of _______.

Answer 23

variables.

Question 24

What is the primary function of the insertion sort algorithm?

Answer 24

To sort elements by moving each element into the correct location of the sorted section.

Question 25

At the start of iteration i in insertion sort, which sections of the array are sorted?

Answer 25

Bins 0 through i − 1 are all in sorted order.

Question 26

How does the insertion sort algorithm determine where to insert the current item?

Answer 26

It finds the correct location in the sorted prefix by comparing the current value to preceding values.

Question 27

What is the initial sorted prefix in the coffee sorting example?

Answer 27

A single bag at the front of the shelf.

Question 28

What happens when the algorithm compares the second bag to the first in the coffee sorting example?

Answer 28

It determines whether to swap their positions based on their best-by dates.

Question 29

What is the time complexity of insertion sort in the worst case?

Answer 29

Proportional to the square of the number of items.

Question 30

What does the outer loop in the insertion sort algorithm do?

Answer 30

It iterates through each value in the unsorted range.

Question 31

What does the inner loop in insertion sort do?

Answer 31

It shifts the current value down into the sorted prefix.

Question 32

True or False: Insertion sort is particularly efficient for large datasets.

Answer 32

False.

Question 33

What are strings often thought of as in programming?

Answer 33

A special kind of arrays.

Question 34

What does each bin in a string hold?

Answer 34

A single character, which can be a letter, number, symbol, space, or special indicator.

Question 35

What is the purpose of a special character in a string?

Answer 35

To indicate the end of the string.

Question 36

How is string equality typically checked in programming?

Answer 36

By iterating through each character and comparing them.

Question 37

Fill in the blank: The algorithm for checking the equality of two strings starts by comparing their _______.

Answer 37

[size]

Question 38

What does the worst-case computational cost of string comparison grow with?

Answer 38

The length of the strings.

Question 39

Why is it important to understand the performance of string comparisons?

Answer 39

To avoid underestimating the cost of comparing long strings.

Question 40

What do variables and arrays provide in computer programming?

Answer 40

The very foundations for programming and data structures.

Question 41

What will later chapters explore in relation to dynamic data structures?

Answer 41

Their impact on algorithms and trade-offs among efficiency, flexibility, and complexity.