2.2.2 Computational methods

Question 1

What makes a problem computable?

Answer 1

• Can be solved by an algorithm
• In a finite, reasonable time

Question 2

What is decomposition?

Answer 2

• Continually breaking down a problem into smaller subproblems

Question 3

What is divide and conquer?

Answer 3

• Divide: halving size of problem
• Conquer: solve subproblems
• Merge: solutions combined to form final solution

Question 4

What are the advantages of divide and conquer?

Answer 4

• Simplifies very complex problems
• Lower time complexity

Question 5

What are the disadvtages of divide and conquer?

Answer 5

• Stack overflow
• Difficult to trace

Question 6

What is backtracking?

Answer 6

• Methodically visitng each path
• Building a solution based on correct paths
• If path is incorrect backtracks to previous stage and takes alternative path

Question 7

What is data mining?

Answer 7

• Idetify patterns or outliers in large sets of data
• Spot trends and correlations which arent obvious
• Can be used to make predictions

Question 8

What are heuristics?

Answer 8

• Non-optimal approach
• Not all data is gathered
• Approximate solution
• Used when its unfeasible to look at all eventualities

Question 9

What is pipelining?

Answer 9

• Completing subtasks simultaneously
• Using the output of one subtask as the input for another

Question 10

What is visualisation?

Answer 10

• Data represented visually (graphs,trees etc) to make it easier to understand
• Helpful to identify trends that may not be obvious otherwise