Paper 1

Question 1

Abstraction

Answer 1

the process of omitting unnecessary details from a
problem can be used to simplify the problem which can in turn
make finding a solution easier

Question 2

representational abstraction

Answer 2

A representation of a problem arrived at by
removing unnecessary details from the
problem

Question 3

Abstraction by generalisation /
categorisation

Answer 3

A grouping by common characteristics to
arrive at a hierarchical relationship of the
“is a kind of” type

Question 4

Information hiding

Answer 4

the process of hiding all details of an object that do not
contribute to its essential characteristics.

Question 5

Procedural abstraction

Answer 5

involves breaking down a complex model into a series of reusable
procedures.

Question 6

Functional abstraction

Answer 6

Procedural abstraction results in a procedure. Abstracting further disregards the particular
method of a procedure and results in just a function

Question 7

Data abstraction

Answer 7

specific details of how data is actually
represented are abstracted away, allowing new kinds of data
structures to be created from previously defined data
structures. Data abstraction forms the basis of abstract data
types

Question 8

Problem abstraction / reduction

Answer 8

In problem abstraction (which is sometimes called reduction),
details are removed from a problem until it is represented in a
way that is solvable. This works because a simplified
problem is often similar to a problem that has already been
solved, meaning that a solution for the problem can be found

Question 9

Decomposition

Answer 9

a problem is divided into a series of smaller sub-problems.
These smaller problems can be solved individually or further divided until all parts of the
original problem have been solved.

Question 10

Composition

Answer 10

composition can be used to combine procedures to
form a larger system. Composition is used in abstract data types, where a complex
abstract data type is formed for smaller and simpler data type

Question 11

Automation

Answer 11

process of putting abstractions of real world phenomena (which are
referred to as models) into action to solve problems. Automation is achieved by creating
algorithms which are later implemented in code, implementing models in data structures
and finally executing the code on the data structur

Question 12

finite state machine

Answer 12

s a computational model for a machine that is
always in a fixed state. Each finite state machine has a finite number of states and can
only ever be in one state at a point in time.

Question 13

set with no elements

Answer 13

empty set, {}, is the set with no elements or Ø

Question 14

Regular expressions

Answer 14

is simply a way of describing a set
and that regular expressions allow particular types of languages to be