Topic 4: Data Types, Data Structures and Algorithms

Question 1

What is XOR

Answer 1

Either or, not both

Question 2

What is a Record

Answer 2

• A row in a file or table
• Widely used in databases
• Made up of fields

Question 3

What is a List

Answer 3

• A number of items
• Items can occur more than once
• Data can be of more than one data type

Question 4

What is a Tuple

Answer 4

• An ordered set of values
• Cannot be changed once initialised
• Initialised with regular rather than square brackets

Question 5

What is an Array

Answer 5

• An ordered set of elements, each of the same type.
• A 1D array is like a list.
• A 2D array is like a table.
• A 3D array is like a multi page spreadsheet.
• 2D arrays are searched first by the rows and then the columns

Question 6

What are Linked Lists

Answer 6

• Dynamic data structure.
• Stores an ordered list.
• Contents need not be in contiguous data locations.

Question 7

How do Linked Lists Work

Answer 7

• Items are called nodes.
• Each node contains a data field and a link or pointer field.
• The data field contains the data itself.
• The pointer field contains the address of the next item

Question 8

What is Normalisation

Answer 8

• Maximises the precision in any number of bits.
• Adjust the mantissa so that it begins with 01 for positive numbers and 10 for negative numbers.

Question 9

What are the names of De Morgan’s 4 Laws

Answer 9

• Distribution
• Association
• Commutation
• Double Negation

Question 10

What are floating point numbers split into

Answer 10

Mantissa and Exponent

Question 11

Describe De Morgan’s Law

Answer 11

not(A and B) is the same as (not A) or (not B)
not(A or B) is the same as (not A) and (not B)