Answers

Section 2: Problem-solving and Program Design

End-of-topic questions 1
1. List the main stages you should go through when trying to solve a general
problem.
A. Stage 1: Define the problem
Stage 2: Analyse the problem
Stage 3: Propose and evaluate possible solutions
Stage 4: Select and justify the optimal solutions
Stage 5: Implementation and review
2. Variables and constants are both identifiers. Explain the difference between
them.
A. Variables are identifiers that are capable of changing their values;
constants are identifiers that have fixed values.
3. What is the difference between an integer and a floating point number?
A. Integers are whole numbers, positive or negative without decimal places;
floating point or real numbers are positive or negative numbers with
decimal values.
End-of-topic questions 2
1. What is an algorithm?
A. An algorithm is a finite number of accurate, unambiguous steps that solve
a problem or task.
2. List four characteristics of a good algorithm.
A. The number of steps must be finite; the steps must be precise; the steps
must be unambiguous; the steps must terminate.
3. What are the three main steps involved in creating an algorithm?
A. Input step; processing step; output step

4. What is meant by assignment?

A. Assignment is where values are allocated to variables.

End-of-topic questions 3
1. Name three types of control structures that are commonly used in
programming languages.
A. Sequencing, selection and repetition.
2. State the difference between bounded iteration and unbounded iteration.
A. Bounded iteration is the repetition of a set of instructions a fixed number of
times; unbounded iteration is repeating a set of steps a number of times
until a particular condition becomes false.
3. Give one example of a statement used in the following control structures:
a. Selection
b. Bounded iteration
c. Unbounded iteration
A. a. if-then-else
b. for-endfor
c. while-endwhile
End-of-topic questions 4
1. For each of the following problem statements:
a. identify the input, output and processing steps.
b. write the algorithm.
- Write an algorithm to read three numbers and find their product.
A. a.

Input

Processing

Three
numbers
(num1,
num2,num3)

Accept numbers
Calculate product
Store results in
product
Display product

Output
Product
b. Step 1:
start
Step 2:

read num1,num2, num3

Step 3: product num1*num2*num3
Step 4: write product
Step 5: stop

Write an algorithm that displays the area of a rectangle by accepting

length and width from the user.

A. a.

Input
length, width

Processing
Accept length, width
Calculate area
Store results in area
Display area

Output
Area

b. Step 1:
start
Step 2:

read length, width

Step 3: area length * width
Step 4: write area
Step 5: stop
3. Write an algorithm that will read the radius of a circle and calculate and
display its perimeter.
A. a.
Input
radius

Processing
Accept radius
Calculate circumference
Store results in
circumference
Display circumference

Output
circumference

b. Step 1:

start
Step 2: read radius
Step 3: circumference 2 * 3.14* radius
Step 4: write circumference
Step 5: stop

End-of-topic questions 5
1. Write a narrative algorithm that will accept the radius of a circle and
calculate and display its area.
A.

Input
radius

Processing
Accept radius
Calculate area
Store results in area
Display area

Output
area

Step 1:
Start
Step 2: Get

radius
Step 3: Calculate area by using the formula 3.14 * radius * radius and store it
in area
Step 4: Display the area
Step 5: Stop
2. Write a pseudocode algorithm that will accept three numbers and calculate
and display the largest of the three.
A.
Input
Three
numbers

Processing
Accept three
numbers
Calculate the total
Store results
Display the result

Output
Sum

Read a, b, c
Sum a+b+c
Write sum

3. Write a pseudocode algorithm that will accept the marks in a test for a group
of 25 students then calculate and display the average mark.
A.
Input
Three
numbers

Processing
Accept twenty-five
numbers
Calculate the total
Store results in sum
Calculate the average
Display the average

Output
Average

Total = 0
For I = 1 to 25
Read mark
Total = total +mark
Endfor
Average = total/25
Write average
4. Add steps to the previous algorithm so it also displays the highest mark.
A.
Largest = 0
For I = 1 to 25
Read mark
If mark>largest then
largest = mark
endif
Total = total +mark
Endfor
Average = total/25
Write average

Check your progress 1

1. Draw flowcharts for the following programs:
a. Program to accept the price of an item and calculate its VAT at 15%.

start

read price

vat price *.15

write vat

stop

b. Program to accept money in US dollars and convert it to its equivalent

local currency.
start

read us

ec us *2.71

write ec

stop

c. Program to accept the length and width of a rectangle and calculate its
area.
start

read length, width

area = length * width

write area

stop

End-of-topic questions 6
1. Draw flowcharts for the following:
a. A program that accepts 20 numbers and finds their product.
start

product = 1
numcount =0

read num

product = product * num

numcount =numcount +1

no
yes

is
numcount<=2
0
write product

stop

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b. A program that accepts 45 numbers and finds the number of zeroes and
non-zeroes in them.
stop

numcount =0
poscount = 0
negcount =0

read num

yes

no
if
num>0

negcount= negcount+1

poscount =poscount +1

no

yes
is
numcount<=4
5

write product

stop

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c. A program that accepts a set of integers and finds the number of positive
and negative numbers. The program stops when the user enters 0 for the
integer value.
stop

numcount =0
poscount = 0
negcount =0

read num

yes

if
num>0

poscount =poscount +1

yes

no

negcount= negcount+1

is
numcount<=4
5

no

write product

stop

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d. A program that accepts a set of numbers and finds the smallest among
them. The program stops when the user enters 999 as the number.

start

smlst -1

read num

is
num< >999?

no = sum + num

yes
no =

sum
+
num

=
sum
Is
+
num>smlst?
num

yes sum + num

smlst num

read num

write sum

stop

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Check your progress 2

1. Create a trace table to determine the output of the following algorithm:
Step 1: set x 5
Step 2: set y 10
Step 3: set z 3
Step 4: set x x+y
Step 5: set y x +z
Step 6: set z x+y+z
Step 7: display x, y,z
A.
x

5
10
3
15
18
36
The output will be 15, 18, 36

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Check your progress 3

Create a trace table to determine the output of the following algorithm:
Step 1: set a 10
Step 2: set b 12
Step 3: set c 23
Step 4: set a a+b+c
Step 5: set b a-b
Step 6: set c b-c
Step 7: if a>b then
set m a
set n b
set p c
else
set m c
set n a
set p b
endif
Step 8: display m,n,p
A.
a

45

33

10

10
12
23
45
33
10
The output will be 45, 33, 10

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Check your progress 4

1. Create a trace table to determine the output of the following algorithm:
Step 1: set a 7
Step 2: set x 1
Step 3: While a<>0
set x x + a
set a a 1
Step 4: endwhile
Step 5: write x
A.
a

7
1
8
6
14
5
19
4
23
3
26
2
28
1
29
0
The output will be 29.

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End-of-topic questions 7
1. Create a trace table to determine the output of the following algorithms:
Step 1: x 5
Step 2: for i 1 to 10
set x = x + 5
endfor
Step 3: write x
A.
x

5
1
10
2
15
3
20
4
25
5
30
6
35
7
40
8
45
9
50
10
55
The output will be 55.

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Check your progress 5

1. What is meant by stepwise refinement or top-down design?
A. Top-down design or stepwise refinement is converting a bigger problem
into main tasks and subtasks. The major tasks are completed first and the
sub-tasks are completed after.
2. List three advantages of using top-down design to solve a problem.
A. Reusability sections of algorithm can be used again in other algorithms
that require a similar solution, which saves time in future development of
algorithms; Easy to follow as each task or subtask performs only one
function; Easy to maintain as each task is by itself, if there is a need for
change in one task you need to concentrate on that task only.
End-of-topic questions 8
1. Explain why a top-down design approach is sometimes used to solve
problems.
A. When we consider a problem it is often easier to view the problem as a
whole, and then break it down into smaller problems. We can then
concentrate on one of the smaller problems and leave the others until
later.

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2. A hotel wants to have a room booking system. When a guest arrives the
receptionist would be able to see which rooms are free and allocate one to the
guest. When the guest leaves, the room would be marked as free again. Each
day the cleaners would be given a list of the rooms that are in use. At any time
the receptionist would be able to use the room number to find the name and
home address of a guest, or could search the room system for a named
guest. Draw a top-down design diagram to show how the room booking
system could be developed.
A.
Room booking

Room allocation

Cleaning tasks

Searches

Search for
name and
address of
guest

Search for
room
occupied by
guest

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End-of-section questions
Multiple-choice questions
1. The following are problem-solving stages
I. analyse the problem
II. suggest possible solutions
III. implement and review
IV. define the problem
V. select the best solution
The correct order of stages is:
A I, IV, II, III, V
B IV, I, II, V, III
C IV, II, I, V, III
D I, II, IV, III, V
A. B
2. Which one of the following is a variable?
Ax
B x
C5
D 5
A. A
3. To store fractional values, use the data type:
A integer
B floating point
C character
D string
A. B
4. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a good algorithm?
A precise
B finite number of steps
C ambiguous
D logical flow of control
A. C

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5. Diagrammatic representation of an algorithm is:

A flowchart
B data flow diagram
C algorithm design
D pseudocode
A. A
6. Which of the following is/are control structures?
A selection
B sequencing
C repetition
D all of the above
A. D
7. An example of a bounded iteration statement used in algorithm is:
A whileendwhile
B whilewend
C forendfor
D repeatuntil
A. C
8. Which one of the following is a selection construct used in algorithms?
A while endwhile
B if then - else
C for endfor
D repeat-until
A. B
9. Which one of the following involves a logical operation?
A x>y
B x>=y
C x>y and x=y
D x< >y
A. C

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10.Consider the following algorithm segment:

x = x+y
y=xy
write y, x
Suppose x = 10 and y = 15, after the completion of the above statements, the
values of x and y will be:
A 25 and 10
B 10 and 25
C 10 and -5
D -5 and 10
A. B

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Structured questions
1 a. List the main stages of problem-solving process for computer-based
problem-solving.
b. For each of the stages identified in 1a above, briefly describe the activities
that are involved in it.
A. a. Stage 1: Definition of the problem
Stage 2: Analyse the problem
Stage 3: Propose and evaluate possible solutions
Stage 4: Develop and represent an algorithm
Stage 5: Test and validate the algorithm
Stage 6: Implement the algorithm
b. Stage 1: Definition of the problem
In this stage, the problem is looked at carefully and if it is not phrased
properly, it is modified to ensure that it is clearly stated.
Stage 2: Analyse the problem
In this stage, identify the inputs to be used, outputs required, values to
be stored (if any), and the processing that needs to be done to get the
correct outputs.
Stage 3: Propose and evaluate possible solutions
Here identify solutions to the problem and evaluate each option to see
which is most appropriate and choose the best option.
Stage 4: Develop and represent an algorithm
In this stage, break down the problem into simple manageable steps
called algorithm so that they can be handled easily.
Stage 5: Test and validate the algorithm
Here, check the algorithm written using some values to ensure that it
produces the required results.
Stage 6: Implement the algorithm
In this stage, write the steps of algorithm using a programming
language so that computer can operate on it.

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2. IPO diagrams can be used to break down a problem into its components.
a. State what is meant by IPO diagrams?
b. Create an IPO chart for the following problem statement: Accept the
values of length and width of a rectangle and calculate its area
A. a. An IPO diagram is a table with three columns showing the input, output
and processing parts of the problem.
b.
Input
length and
width

Processing
Accept length and
width
Calculate area
Store results in area
Display area

output
Area

3. a. State the difference between:

i. constants and variables
ii. integer data type and floating point data type
iii. character data type and string data type
b. Define the following terms:
i. identifier
ii. literal
A. a. i. Constants are fixed values while variables identify a memory location
that is capable of storing values that can be changed.
ii. Integers are whole numbers, positive or negative without decimal
places, e.g. -45, and +126; floating point or real numbers are positive
or negative numbers with decimal values, e.g. -5.6 and +6.7.
iii. Characters are anything that you can key in from a keyboard such as
letters, numbers and special characters; string is a linear group of
characters to be stored as one.
b. i. Identifier is the name used for identifying a variable or a constant.
ii. Literals are constants that are written literally as itself rather than as a
value.
4. Create a narrative algorithm that will prompt the user to enter two numbers
and find their difference.
A. Step 1: Start
Step 2: Get two numbers
Step 3: Subtract second number from the first number
Step 4: Store the results in difference
Step 5: Display difference

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5. Write a pseudocode that prompts the user to enter a value and display its
square and cube values.
A. Step 1: start
Step 2: read num
Step 3: square num * num
Step 4: cube num * num* num
Step5: write square, cube
Step 6: stop
6. Draw a flowchart and write a pseudocode that will prompt the user to enter
two numbers and display their product.
A.
start

read n1,n2

prod = n1 * n2

write prod

stop

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7. You need to calculate the area of rectangle using its length and width.
Draw a flowchart and write a pseudocode that will accept the length and
width and calculate and print the area of the rectangle. (area = length *
width)
A.
start

read length, width

area = length * width

write area

stop

Step 1: start
Step 2: read length, width
Step 3: area length * width
Step 4: write area
Step 5: stop

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8. Write a pseudocode that will accept 25 integers and displays the number
of positive and negative numbers.
A. Step 1: start
Step 2: poscount 0, negcount 0
Step 3: for i 1 to 25
Step 3: read num
Step 4: if num>0 then
poscount = poscount +1
else
negcount = negcount +1
endif
Step 5: endfor
Step 6: write poscount,negcount
9. a. Draw a trace table for the following algorithm:
b. What is printed by the algorithm?
x = 10
y = 20
z=5
x = x+y
y = x-y
z = z+x
x =y
y =z
z=x
print x, y, z
A. a.
x

1
0
2
0
5
3
0
1
0
3
5

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1
0
3
5
1
0
b. The algorithm will print 10 35 10

10.a. Draw a trace table for the following algorithm.

b. What is the output of this algorithm?
x = 10
y = 15
z = 20
x= x+y
y = x+z
z = x+y+z
if x >y then
x = x +5
else
x =x3
endif
if y <z then
y = y+10
else
y = y 10
endif
print x, y, z
A. a.
x

1
0
1
5
2
0
2
5
4
5

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9
0
2
2
5
5
b. The output will be 22 55 90

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