End of Unit Quiz – Unit 2.

2 Programming
Techniques
1.
a. Compare the use of variables and constants in a computer program, giving one
similarity and one difference.

bi. A programmer creates the following code:

01 input y
02 x = y MOD 5
03 if x == 0 then
04 print “True”
05 end if

How is the = sign on line 02 and line 03 used differently?

bii. What is one input that would case the program to output True and explain why this
is the case?

biii. What are two basic programming constructs that have been used in the code
above?

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 biv. What is the name of one programming construct that has not been used in the code
above and give an example of how this construct could be used?

2. Create an algorithm that will allow the user to enter a word and then count how many times
the letter A appears in that word. Both upper case (“A”) and lower case (“a”) letters must be
counted. The algorithm should repeat until a word is entered that has 3 or more letter As.

3.
a. The following algorithm prints out the times table of the number entered using a
count controlled loop.

01 input b
02 for x = 1 to 100
03 print b * x
04 next

Rewrite the algorithm to produce the same result using a condition controlled
loop.

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 b. Write an algorithm that will ask the user for their age (in years) and then print the
message “happy birthday” that many times.

4.
a. Complete the data type column on the below table to show the most appropriate
data type for each:

Data recorded Example data Data type

Number of goals 2
scored

Training venue Bycars Park

Session completed True

(True / False)

Best sprint time 12.7

(seconds)

b. What is meant by the term casting in relation to data types?

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 c. The data from part (a) is stored in an array called trainingdata. The training
sessions are stored in a text file called allsessions.txt

Complete the algorithm below to add the new trainingdata to the text file.

trainingdata = [2, “Bycars Park”, True, 12.7]

d. Using the trainingdata array from the previous question, give the pseudocode
that a programmer would use to output just the training venue details(“Bycars
Park”) from this array. You may assume that the array is zero-indexed.

e. How could a 2 dimensional array be used to allow a programmer to hold details of

multiple training sessions?

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 5.
a. A database table called songs is used to store details of music that is played on an
Internet radio station.

The songs table is shown below

MusicID BandName SongTitle Length Fade

0001 Penguin Steak Along The Way 3.27 False
0002 Faustus Round At Jessica’s 2.55 False
0003 Scholar Green The Mule 3.12 True
0004 Penguin Steak Insomnia 3.06 False
0005 Faustus The Last Train Home 4.19 False
0006 Elvis Fontenot Dear Love 4.07 True

What is meant by the term database record?

b. Write SQL statements to display the following data from the songs table:
(i) Show the SongTitle and Length for all songs by the band Penguin Steak

(ii) Show the SongTitle for all songs that are over 3 minutes in length.

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 6.

a. Procedures and functions are both examples of subroutines. What are two
advantages of producing modular code using subroutines?

b. What two ways in which procedures differ from functions?

ci. A password must have at least 8 characters to be valid.

Using pseudocode, create a function which will accept a password string as a

parameter passed into the function, returning True if the password is a valid length
or False if it is not valid.

cii. Use the function defined in part (i) above to check whether “HELLO123” is a valid
password, printing out True or False as appropriate. You must use the function
defined in part (i).

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Answers
1.
a. Compare the use of variables and constants in a computer program, giving one
similarity and one difference.

Similarity:
Both refer to a memory location
Both are given an identifier
Both are used to store data whilst the program is running

Difference:
Variable’s value can be changed / Constant’s value cannot be changed whilst the
program is running

bi. A programmer creates the following code:

01 input y
02 x = y MOD 5
03 if x == 0 then
04 print “True”
05 end if

How is the = sign on line 02 and line 03 used differently?

Line 02 = is an assignment operator / assigns a value to x

Line 03 = is a comparison operator / compare the value of x with 0.

Do not award for simply rewording the line (eg “on line 03, if x is equal to zero then
it…”

bii. What is one input that would case the program to output True and explain why this
is the case?

Any integer value that is divisible by 5 (so ends in 5 or 0). Eg 35, 90, 5. MOD
produces the remainder when y is divided by 5……this has to be zero to allow the
output to be True.

biii. What are two basic programming constructs that have been used in the code
above?

Sequence, Selection.

biv. What is the name of one programming construct that has not been used in the code
above and give an example of how this construct could be used?

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 1biv. Iteration. Any reasonable example (eg use of a FOR / WHILE loop, any
reference to looping or repeating code).

2. Create an algorithm that will allow the user to enter a word and then count how many times
the letter A appears in that word. Both upper case (“A”) and lower case (“a”) letters must be
counted. The algorithm should repeat until a word is entered that has 3 or more letter As.

Example:

word = input(“Enter a word”)

count = 0
while count < 3
for x = 1 to word.length
if x.upper = “A” then
count = count + 1
endif
next x
endwhile

Inputting word from the user

Initialising a counter variable to 0 at the start
Use of a count controlled loop…
….to loop around until the correct number of times (until 3 As are entered
Dealing with upper and lower case (eg by converting all to upper case)
Checking each individual letter for an A…
…and adding 1 to the counter if an A is found
Alternative solution (especially for students familiar with Python) would be to use .split or
treat the string as an array of characters rather than using the FOR loop. This should be
credited under bullet point 6 if done correctly.

3.
a. The following algorithm prints out the times table of the number entered using a
count controlled loop.

01 input b
02 for x = 1 to 100
03 print b * x
04 next

Rewrite the algorithm to produce the same result using a condition controlled
loop.

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 Example:

input b
x = 1
while x <=10
print b * x
x = x + 1
endwhile

Repeating the input b line as in line 01

Initialising a variable to use a counter (x used here)
Correct use of condition controlled loop (eg WHILE), with the counter being < or <=
to 9 or 10 (depending on use – either could be correct)
Repeating the print b * x line as in line 03.
Manually incrementing the counter variable
Ending the loop correctly (eg ENDWHILE)

b. Write an algorithm that will ask the user for their age (in years) and then print the
message “happy birthday” that many times.

Example:

input age
for x = 1 to age
print “happy birthday”
next x

Inputting the age from the user

Repeating this many times
…Printing out “happy birthday” that many times

4.
a. Complete the data type column on the below table to show the most appropriate
data type for each:

Data recorded Example data Data type

Number of goals 2 Integer

scored

Training venue Bycars Park String

Session completed True Boolean

(True / False)

Best sprint time 12.7 Real / Float

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 (seconds)

b. What is meant by the term casting in relation to data types?

Changing how a variable’s data type is interpreted / a temporary conversion of

data type.
Suitable example – eg str(123) will treat 123 as a string, not an integer / so a string
and an integer can be concatenated.

c. The data from part (a) is stored in an array called trainingdata. The training
sessions are stored in a text file called allsessions.txt

Complete the algorithm below to add the new trainingdata to the text file.

trainingdata = [2, “Bycars Park”, True, 12.7]

Example:

Trainingdata = [2, “Bycars Park”, True, 12.7] (already given)

open allsessions.txt…
…for append
write trainingdata
close file

d. Using the trainingdata array from the previous question, give the pseudocode
that a programmer would use to output just the training venue details(“Bycars
Park”) from this array. You may assume that the array is zero-indexed.

print trainingdata[1]

e. How could a 2 dimensional array be used to allow a programmer to hold details of

multiple training sessions?

2D array has rows and columns / treated like a table / accessed via two indexes.
First index / rows / columns can hold data for one training session.
Second index / subsequent rows / columns can hold other training sessions.
Suitable example.

5.
a. A database table called songs is used to store details of music that is played on an
Internet radio station.

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 The songs table is shown below

MusicID BandName SongTitle Length Fade

0001 Penguin Steak Along The Way 3.27 False
0002 Faustus Round At Jessica’s 2.55 False
0003 Scholar Green The Mule 3.12 True
0004 Penguin Steak Insomnia 3.06 False
0005 Faustus The Last Train Home 4.19 False
0006 Elvis Fontenot Dear Love 4.07 True

What is meant by the term database record?

A collection of fields / data about one person / thing / entity.
Suitable example from the table (could be a whole record from the table or a new
record that could be entered into the table).

b. Write SQL statements to display the following data from the songs table:
(iii) Show the SongTitle and Length for all songs by the band Penguin Steak

SELECT SongTitle, Length

FROM songs
WHERE BandName = “Penguin Steak”

(iv) Show the SongTitle for all songs that are over 3 minutes in length.

SELECT SongTitle
FROM songs
WHERE Length > 3

6.

a. Procedures and functions are both examples of subroutines. What are two
advantages of producing modular code using subroutines?

Can reuse code / can use pre-built or external subroutines. Easier to debug /
maintain. Work can be split between programmers / programmers can concentrate
on their areas of expertise.

c. What two ways in which procedures differ from functions?

Procedures are called by their name / functions are called by assign their return
value to something. Procedures do not return values / Functions always return a

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 single value.

ci. A password must have at least 8 characters to be valid.

Using pseudocode, create a function which will accept a password string as a

parameter passed into the function, returning True if the password is a valid length
or False if it is not valid.

Example:

function checkpassword(password)
if password.length >= 8 then
return True
else
return False
endfunction

Correct function definition with a single value passed in as a parameter

Check if the length is >= 8…
….return True if it is
…return False if it is not.

Does not matter what the function is called or the parameter is called, but this must
logically work.

cii. Use the function defined in part (i) above to check whether “HELLO123” is a valid
password, printing out True or False as appropriate. You must use the function
defined in part (i).
print checkpassword(“HELLO123”)

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