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01 - Abstraction

 1. Jeanette Wing, credited with coining the term, abstraction , says it lies at the heart of computational thinking. Fill in the blanks: 
The abstraction process – deciding what details we need to highlight and ________________________ underlies computational thinking.’ Computational thinking and thinking about computing (The Royal Society, 2008)

  what details we can duplicate

  what details we can copy

  what details we can include

  what details we can ignore

 2. Another definition of abstraction is that it is about ______ things; identifying what is important without __________________ Abstraction allows us to manage complexity. 
#this is a start of a rocket game program

speed = 0
score = 0
rocket_position = 0,2

#We are using abstraction because..
#...only the relevant variables are being used
#More detail can be added but....
#When solving a problem it is useful to first abstract!

  simplifying /worrying too much about the detail.

  underestimating / worrying about the fine details

  complicating / worrying about the detail

  killing / destroying the detail

 3. How is the school timetable an abstraction of what happens in a typical school week?
abstraction1.png

   it captures key information such as who is taught what subject where and by whom, but leaves to further layers of complexity, such as the learning objectives and activities out

  It is not an abstraction of the school week, it is an over complicated representation of it

  It captures the fine details as well as the abstracted processes such as learning objectives and activites that happen

  It captures the fine detais of what occurs in a typical school week

 4. This image is an abstraction of a computer because It shows the names of the components and how they interact with each other but _________________
abstraction2.png

  reflects the fine details of what is hidden inside a computer

  hides the complexity of each type of component.

  shows the complexity of each type of component

  reflects the details of every component, cable and wire inside a computer

 5. An example of abstraction in geography would be….

  A map in which the irrelevant details such as the dirt on the road, tiny plants etc. are left out

  It is not possible to have abstraction in Geography

  A road in which every single aspect has been re-created carefully to show detail

  A physical mountain that is re-created stone by stone.

 6. This library system menu screen is an example of abstraction as it focuses on the bare basics necessary for a user to interact with the library
abstracrion3.png

  TRUE

  FALSE

 7. Using examples from this scenario, explain what is meant by abstraction. 
A theme park uses a 3D computer simulation of a rollercoaster. Riders must wear a virtual reality headset to experience the ride.

  a conceptual thought cloud of an object which cannot be seen, heard or touched.

  a representation of a concept / object / thing… …in this case, the rollercoaster.

  A detailed and thought provoking novel that accurately describes a thing - e.g. a rollercoaster

  an exact recreation of a concept/object thing - in this case a rollercoaster

 8. In abstraction it is important to pick out the important / relevant parts / components / ideas / details. 
In the scenario of simulating a rollercoaster this would be: track / rider / car / physics  / etc

  TRUE

  FALSE

 9. In the example of a rollercoaster 3d simulation examples of the unimportant details you would NOT include would be:

  general physics

  track, rider

  car

  queues / weather / smells / etc.

 10. One definition is: Abstraction is the process of removing unnecessary detail from a problem. Why is this useful?

  So a programmer can focus on what is needed to get on with problem solving!

  It is important because the details just don't matter - the devil is in the detail!

  It is important because detail orientated people are entirely pointless and inefficient

  It isn't important - it's just an art


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