Paper 1

Question 1

What is an algorithm?

Answer 1

A step-by-step set of instructions to solve a problem or perform a task.

Question 2

What is decomposition?

Answer 2

Breaking down a problem into smaller, more manageable parts.

Question 3

What is abstraction?

Answer 3

Removing unnecessary details to focus on what’s important.

Question 4

What is pseudocode?

Answer 4

A structured but informal way of writing algorithms that looks like code.

Question 5

What is a flowchart?

Answer 5

A diagram that shows the steps of an algorithm using symbols.

Question 6

What is structured programming?

Answer 6

A method of writing programs using sequence, selection, iteration, and subroutines to make them clear and maintainable.

Question 7

What is linear search?

Answer 7

A method that checks each item in a list one by one.

Question 8

What is binary search?

Answer 8

A method for searching sorted lists by repeatedly halving the search range.

Question 9

Which is faster for large lists: linear or binary search?

Answer 9

Binary search — but only for sorted lists.

Question 10

What is bubble sort?

Answer 10

A simple sorting method that compares and swaps adjacent items repeatedly.

Question 11

What is merge sort?

Answer 11

A sorting method that splits the list into halves, sorts them, and merges the results.

Question 12

Which sort is better for large lists?

Answer 12

Merge sort — it’s more efficient but uses more memory.

Question 13

What is a variable?

Answer 13

A named location in memory that stores data that can change.

Question 14

What is a constant?

Answer 14

A named value that does not change during the program’s execution.

Question 15

What is assignment?

Answer 15

Giving a variable a value.

Question 16

What is iteration?

Answer 16

Repeating code using loops like FOR, WHILE, or REPEAT UNTIL.

Question 17

What is selection?

Answer 17

Making decisions in code using IF, ELSE, or ELSEIF.

Question 18

What is a subroutine?

Answer 18

A named block of code that performs a task; can be a procedure or function.

Question 19

What is a parameter?

Answer 19

A variable passed into a subroutine.

Question 20

What is a return value?

Answer 20

The result that a function gives back when called.

Question 21

What is a local variable?

Answer 21

A variable that exists only within a subroutine.

Question 22

What is an integer?

Answer 22

A whole number.

Question 23

What is a real?

Answer 23

A number with a fractional part.

Question 24

What is a Boolean?

Answer 24

A value that is either TRUE or FALSE.

Question 25

What is a character?

Answer 25

A single letter, number, or symbol.

Question 26

What is a string?

Answer 26

A sequence of characters.

Question 27

What is an array?

Answer 27

A data structure that holds multiple values of the same type.

Question 28

What is a record?

Answer 28

A data structure that holds multiple values of different types.

Question 29

Name three arithmetic operators.

Answer 29

+ (add), - (subtract), / (divide), × (multiply), DIV, MOD.

Question 30

Name three relational operators.

Answer 30

=, ≠, <, >, ≤, ≥

Question 31

Name three Boolean operators.

Answer 31

AND, OR, NOT

Question 32

What does string concatenation do?

Answer 32

Joins two strings together.

Question 33

What does the LEN function return?

Answer 33

The number of characters in a string.

Question 34

What does substring do?

Answer 34

Extracts part of a string.

Question 35

What is a trace table?

Answer 35

A table used to track variable values as an algorithm runs.

Question 36

Why are trace tables useful?

Answer 36

They help identify errors and understand how code works step-by-step.

Question 37

What is time efficiency?

Answer 37

A measure of how the number of steps an algorithm takes increases with input size.

Question 38

Which search is more efficient for large sorted data: linear or binary?

Answer 38

Binary search — it checks fewer items.

Question 39

Which sort is faster for large data: bubble sort or merge sort?

Answer 39

Merge sort — it's more efficient overall.