AQA 7517 4.4.1.8: Problem abstraction/reduction
The free BugBot lessons that teach this point, a robot to try it on, and the past-paper questions that test it.
What it covers
At GCSE, abstraction meant removing unnecessary detail (F4.4). At A level you need to say more precisely what kind of abstraction is being used, why it is needed, and where the model and reality part company. This lesson is about abstraction as a way of thinking, and about building an abstract model of the robot's world.
- What abstraction is, and why it is needed
- Representational abstraction
- Abstraction and reality
- Abstraction by generalisation
- Problem abstraction and reduction
Or do it in the simulator, with tasks that mark themselves
Lessons that teach it
- A2.4 Abstraction and models Recursion and computational thinking
Representational abstraction, generalisation, problem reduction, and a grid model of the mat that differs from reality. - A2.9 Computational methods Recursion and computational thinking
Problem recognition, divide and conquer, backtracking, heuristics, performance modelling, data mining and visualisation.
Try it on a robot
The task from A2.4 Abstraction and models, running here. Change the program and press Run.
The specification is AQA's own document; this page says which of our lessons teach point 4.4.1.8 and is not endorsed by the board.