Computer Science 1

• Computational thinking is a systematic approach to solving a problem.
• Decomposition is breaking down larger problems into smaller problems which are more manageable.
• A structure diagram can be used to show the decomposition of a problem.
• Abstraction is removing the unnecessary information so that one can focus on the more important details. (allows the problem to be solved.)
• Algorithmic thinking is developing an algorithm to solve a problem
• Algorithm is a step-by-step solution to a problem which can be replicated by humans or computers
• Algorithms describe the logic of a solution
• A flowchart visually represents am algorithm or program.
• Trace tables allow one to formally record the state of variables.
• Subroutines make it easier to spot errors (and fix them) as you are dealing with a smaller problem.
• Subroutines make it easier to reuse code.
• Subroutines can be used with multiple different applications
• Subroutines allow a user to decompose the problem in a structured format