Paper 1 Flashcards by Billy Turner

What are some supported programming languages in AQA AS and A-level Computer Science?

C#, Java, Python, VB.Net

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Which programming language version is no longer supported in the curriculum?

Python 2

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What concept of data types involves variables used as stores for memory addresses of objects created at runtime?

Pointer or reference data types

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Name the three basic combining principles in imperative programming languages.

Sequence, iteration/repetition, selection/choice

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What are the types of iteration mentioned in the curriculum?

Definite and indefinite iteration

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List arithmetic operations familiar in programming languages.

Addition, subtraction, multiplication, real/float division, integer division, exponentiation, rounding, truncation

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What relational operations should students be familiar with?

Equal to, not equal to, less than, greater than, less than or equal to, greater than or equal to

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Which Boolean operations are students expected to know?

NOT, AND, OR, XOR

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What is the difference between a variable and a constant?

Variables can change; constants have fixed values, and named constants are advantageous for readability and maintenance.

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Name some string-handling operations students should be familiar with.

length, string to integer, position, substring, integer to string, concatenation, float to string, character code conversions, date/time to string, string conversion operations

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What concept is used for generating random numbers in programming?

Random number generation

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What is exception handling in programming?

A technique to handle runtime errors and exceptions gracefully.

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What is a subroutine or procedure in programming?

A named ‘out of line’ block of code that can be called/executed by its name.

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What are parameters in subroutines used for?

To pass data within programs to the subroutine.

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What does a subroutine return to the calling routine?

A value or values.

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What are local variables in subroutines?

Variables that exist only during execution of the subroutine and are accessible only within it.

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How do local variables differ from global variables?

Local variables are limited to the subroutine, while global variables are accessible throughout the program.

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What is the purpose of a stack frame in subroutine calls?

To store return addresses, parameters, and local variables during a subroutine call.

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What are recursive techniques in programming?

Using functions that call themselves to solve problems, including understanding base cases.

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Name the character of the procedural programming paradigm.

Structured, step-by-step approach to program design and construction.

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What are some concepts of object-oriented programming?

Class, object, encapsulation, inheritance, aggregation, composition, polymorphism, overriding.

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What is encapsulation in object-oriented programming?

The hiding of internal object details and only exposing necessary parts through methods.

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Why use object-oriented programming?

To organize code around objects, promote reuse, and manage complexity.

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In class diagrams, what does a solid line represent?

Inheritance.

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What are data structures?

Ways to organize and store data for efficient access and modification.

What are arrays used for in programming?

Representing vectors or matrices, useful in simple problem solutions.

What is a record?

A collection of fields of data grouped together.

What are abstract data types (ADTs)?

High-level descriptions of data structures like queues, stacks, graphs, etc.

Name three types of queues.

Linear, circular, priority.

What is a stack?

A Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) data structure.

What operations can be performed on stacks?

push, pop, peek/top, test for empty or full.

What is a graph?

A data structure to represent complex relationships between entities.

What is a rooted tree?

A tree with one designated root node, with parent-child relationships.

What is a binary tree?

A rooted tree where each node has at most two children.

What is a hash table?

A data structure that maps keys to values with hashing.

What is a collision in hash tables?

When two keys hash to the same index, causing conflicts.

What is a dictionary in programming?

A collection of key-value pairs for data retrieval.

What notation is used to represent a list of numbers in a vector in the AQA specification?

[2.0, 3.14159, -1.0, 2.718281828]

How can a 4-vector over ℝ be written as a dictionary in Python?

{0:2.0, 1:3.14159, 2:-1.0, 3:2.718281828}

What does vector addition achieve in vector operations?

Translation

What is scalar-vector multiplication used for in vectors?

Scaling

What is a convex combination of two vectors u and v?

An expression of the form αu + βv where α, β ≥ 0 and α + β = 1

How do you find the dot product of two vectors u and v?

u ∙ v = u1v1 + u2v2 + ... + unvn

What is the key purpose of a depth-first search algorithm?

Navigating a maze

What is an in-order tree traversal primarily used for?

Outputting the contents of a binary search tree in ascending order

What is the main advantage of converting infix expressions to Reverse Polish Notation (RPN)?

Eliminates need for brackets in sub-expressions

What is the time complexity of binary search?

O(log n)

What sorting algorithm exemplifies 'divide and conquer' approach?

Merge sort

What is the typical time complexity of bubble sort?

O(n^2)

What is Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm used for?

Finding the shortest path in a graph

What does an algorithm always consist of?

A sequence of steps that terminates

What is the purpose of abstraction in computer science?

To create simplified models by removing unnecessary details or grouping by characteristics

What is procedural abstraction?

It represents a computational method, or procedure

What does data abstraction enable us to do?

Hide implementation details of data objects, allowing construction from previously defined types

What is a finite state machine (FSM)?

A model used for describing computations with states and transitions

What notation is used in set comprehensions in Python?

{x | x ∈ ℕ ∧ x ≥ 1}

What does the symbol Ø represent in set theory?

The empty set

What is a language called if it can be described by a regular expression?

Regular language

What is the significance of Backus-Naur Form (BNF)?

It can represent some languages that regular expressions cannot

How can algorithms be compared?

By their complexity as a function of problem size

What is a set?

An unordered collection of values where each value occurs at most once

What does the symbol ⊂ indicate?

Proper subset of

What does the set operation A ext B represent?

The set of elements in A that are not in B (set difference)

What does the regular expression * represent?

Zero or more repetitions of the preceding element

What character in regular expressions represents a choice between patterns?

| (alternation)

What type of languages can FSMs accept?

Regular languages

What is a linear function?

A function that graphs as a straight line, e.g., y = 2x

Give an example of a polynomial function.

y = 2x^2

What is an exponential function?

A function where the variable appears as an exponent, e.g., y = 2^x

How is the number of permutations of n distinct objects calculated?

n factorial (n!)

What does Big-O notation express?

The time complexity of an algorithm

Name the growth requirements categorized by Big-O notation.

Constant, logarithmic, linear, polynomial, exponential

What limits what can be computed?

Algorithmic complexity and hardware limitations

What are tractable problems?

Problems that have a polynomial or less time solution

What characterizes intractable problems?

problems that are theoretically solvable, but for which no known efficient algorithm (polynomial time or less) exists to find a solution

Can all problems be solved algorithmically?

No, some problems are non-computable.

What is the Halting problem?

An unsolvable problem of determining whether a program will stop or not for a given input.

What is a Turing machine?

A theoretical machine with a fixed program that performs simple computations.

Describe the components of a Turing machine.

States, symbols, an infinite tape, and a read-write head

Paper 1 Flashcards

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