Computer Science - Induction Tasks

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Table of Contents

Section 1 – Research Tasks.........................................................2

1. Data Compression and Encryption.....................................................2

2. Programming Languages...................................................................2
3. Internal Components of a Computer..................................................2

Section 2 – Key terms.................................................................3

Getting to grips with terminology.............................................................3

Sections 3 - Algorithms: from theory to practice.........................5

Q1.............................................................................................................5
Q2.............................................................................................................5
Q4.............................................................................................................6

Section 4 – Programming............................................................7

Programming Basics.................................................................................7
Programming Questions...........................................................................8
Q1.............................................................................................................8
Q2.............................................................................................................9
Q3...........................................................................................................10
Q4...........................................................................................................11

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Section 1 – Research Tasks

Create a presentation that can be viewed by other students in the group. Your
presentation should include clear definitions with examples to explain the
concept clearly.

1. Data Compression and Encryption – this must cover the

following:

 Lossy and lossless data compression

 Run length encoding vs dictionary-based methods of data

compression

 Caesar and Vernam cipher methods of data encryption

2. Programming Languages – this must cover the following:

 High level and low-level languages

 Compilation vs interpretation

 Assembly language and embedded systems

3. Internal Components of a Computer – this must cover the

following:

 Components of a processor and how they work together

 Factors affecting the performance of a processor

 Von Neumann vs Harvard architectures

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Section 2 – Key terms

Getting to grips with terminology

An important aspect of being successful with your study of Computer Science is
getting to grips with subject related terminology. There are over 240 specific
terms you will need to learn!
Below are a handful of the key terms you will need to become familiar with.
1. Research each of the key terms and write a definition.
2. Resist the urge to simply cut and paste a definition from the first website
you find.
Many definitions found on The Internet are overly complicated and wordy.
3. Ask yourself:

a) Does my definition make sense?

b) Is it succinct, to the point?
c) Does the definition have appropriate depth and detail for A Level?
d) Could I give this definition to another student so they could revise
from it?

Control Unit

Register

Busses

Von Neuman
Architecture

Optical Storage

Operating System

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Intermediate Code

Device Driver

Compiler

Assembly Language

Machine Code

Lossy Compression

Hashing

Normalisation

TCP/IP Stack

Packet Switching

ASCII

Problem
Decomposition

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Sections 3 - Algorithms: from theory to
practice

Q1. Describe what the linear search algorithm does.

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Q2. What are the applications of the linear search algorithm?

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Q3. Write out the steps of the linear search algorithm in simple-structured
English.

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Q4. Write out pseudocode for the linear search algorithm.

The algorithm should use an array called items which is pre-populated with the
following values: "Florida","Georgia","Delaware","Alabama","California“
The algorithm should ask the user to “Enter the state to find:”
If the algorithm locates the state entered by the user in the array it should report
back to the screen “Item found at position n”
If the algorithms can not locate the state entered by the user in the array it
should report back to the screen “Item not found”

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Section 4 – Programming

Programming Basics

Learning to “code” is a fun and essential part of A Level Computer Science. This
task is ideal if you haven't done the GCSE in Computer Science, or you simply
want a nice refresher ahead of starting your A Level course.

Head over to the web site: https://www.learnpython.org/

Complete the following python tutorials under the heading:
• Hello, World!
• Variables and Types

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• Lists
• Basic Operators
• String Formatting
• Basic String Operations
• Conditions
• Loops
• Functions
Each section presents you with theory, code to run and exercises to try out.
If you want to practice writing your own python programs you can download and
install a simple python development tool here:
https://www.python.org/downloads/

Programming Questions

Q1. Write a program which will:

 Input three numbers from the user and store them in three separate
variables
(hint: https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_user_input.asp )

 Store these numbers in an Array

(hint: https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_arrays.asp )

 Sort the numbers from smallest to largest

(hint: https://www.w3schools.com/python/ref_list_sort.asp )

 It should then print the sorted numbers

 Extension: print the sorted numbers in reverse order

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Answer – copy/screenshot your code below:

Q2. Write a function/procedure or equivalent which:

• Takes a year as a parameter, and returns a Boolean value
(hint:
https://www.w3schools.com/python/gloss_python_return_boolean.asp )
• It should calculate if that year is a leap year. If it is, it should return the
value True and if not then it should return the value False. A leap year is a
year which is divisible exactly by 400 or, it is exactly divisible by 4 but not
100
(hint: https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_conditions.asp )
• Use this input to call your function/procedure and the returned value to
tell the user if the year is a valid leap year or not.
• Extension: Write code that asks the user to enter a date between 0 and
9999, validate that this value is correct and keep asking until the user enters a
valid date

(hint: https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_while_loops.asp )
Extension: while loop to ensure user input is between 0 and 9999.

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Answer – copy/screenshot your code below:

Q3. A thief has managed to find out the four digits for an online PIN code, but
doesn’t know the correct sequence needed to hack into the account.
Design and write a program that displays all the possible combinations for any
four numerical digits entered by the user.
The program should avoid displaying the same combination more than once.
Submit a fully detailed showcase for your program.

Answer – copy/screenshot your code below:

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Q4. Caesar Cipher - Implement a Caesar cipher, both encoding and decoding.
The key is an integer from 1 to 25.
This cipher rotates the letters of the alphabet (A to Z).
The encoding replaces each letter with the 1st to 25th next letter in the alphabet
(wrapping Z to A). So key 2 encrypts “HI” to “JK”, but key 20 encrypts “HI” to
“BC”.

Answer – copy/screenshot your code below:

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