Abstraction, Decomposition

What is abstraction?

• The process of filtering out unnecessary detail

• The process of filtering out irrelevant characteristics

• The process of filtering out irrelevant characteristics and unnecessary detail

Which of the following is a general characteristic?

• Dogs run quickly

• This dog has a wet nose

• This dog has a brown coat

Which of the following is a general characteristic?

• This boat has an engine

• Some boats have sails

• This boat is blue

Which of the following is NOT a general characteristic?

• Dogs run quickly

• Dogs have a nose

• This dog has a brown coat

When drawing a dog, which of the following characteristics could be ignored?

• Dogs run quickly

• Dogs have paws

• Dogs have a nose

To be able to draw cars, which of the following characteristics is it necessary to know about?

• Who owns them

• Who sells them

• If they have wheels

Houses have walls, doors and people live in them. How many of these characteristics do we need to know to draw a house?

• One

• Two

• Three

What is decomposition?

• Breaking down a complex problem or system into smaller, more manageable parts

• Adding detail to make a problem more complex

• When you ignore the unnecessary detail in a problem

Why do we decompose a complex problem?

• To make it more difficult to solve

• To change the problem we have

• To make it easier to solve

Which of these is an example of decomposition?

• Watching a mechanic repair a bicycle

• Looking at different bicycles for similarities between them

• Finding out how a bicycle works by looking in detail at the different parts that make up the bicycle