0984
Problem Solving and Design
Algorithm Design and Problem Solving · 4 question types
Exam Frequency Analysis
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 6% of your exam marks.
stable
Low
Stable6%
Decomposition, abstraction and structure charts appear as design-focused questions.
Programming is not just typing code. Before any code is written, the programmer has to understand the problem, break it into manageable parts, and decide what the solution needs to do. This thinking phase is called .
Three skills make up computational thinking:
| Skill | What it means |
|---|---|
| Decomposition | Break a large problem into smaller sub-problems that can be solved one at a time |
| Abstraction | Strip away the unimportant details so you can focus on what really matters |
| Pattern recognition | Spot similarities between sub-problems so a single approach can be reused |
The first two are the ones the syllabus tests directly.