Nature of Abstraction

• What is the main topic discussed in the first video of the series?

  The nature of abstraction
• How is abstraction defined in the context of this video?

  Abstraction is the process of separating ideas from reality by hiding unnecessary details and showing important details.
• What does the abstract painting of a mountain landscape illustrate about abstraction?

  It shows how an artist can reveal certain details while exaggerating others to achieve a desired visual style.
• What are some methods of abstraction used in designing computer systems, software, and interfaces?


  Symbols, legends, color coding, and use of icons.
• How do icons serve as a form of abstraction?

  Icons suggest a function or process in a simple, efficient, and familiar way.
• What example is used in the series to explain abstraction in more detail?

  • London and various different map styles
  • Maps are a great example of abstraction
  • Concept has wider applications beyond computer science
• What resource is available to help understand computational thinking better?

  A downloadable cheat sheet that summarizes the five different strands and provides detailed explanations.
• What are the four specific sub-categories of abstraction mentioned in the video?

  Procedural, functional, data, and problem abstraction.
• What is procedural abstraction?

  It is abstracting the actual data values used in a computation to create a procedure.
• How does procedural abstraction change the representation of a computation?

  It changes from specific values like 1 plus 2 equals 3 to a general form like a plus b equals c.
• What is functional abstraction?


  It focuses on what goes in and what comes out of a function, disregarding the internal computational method.
• What does data abstraction isolate?

  It isolates how a compound data object is used from the actual details of how it is constructed.
• What is problem abstraction or reduction?

  It is the process of removing details from a problem until it can be represented in a solvable way.
• How does problem abstraction help in solving issues?

  It reduces a problem to one that has already been solved in the past.