Go With the Flow
This programming structure is used to perform repeated actions, commonly implemented using a for or while keyword in Python.
What is a loop?
In Python, variables defined outside of any function that can be accessed and modified anywhere in the code are known by this scope-related term.
What are global variables?
This mathematical notation is used by computer scientists to analyze the scalability and worst-case time complexity of an algorithm.
What is Big O notation?
This manual debugging technique involves drawing a grid on paper to track the changing values of variables and the output step-by-step as a Python program executes.
What is a trace table?
In Python, this three-letter keyword is used to begin the definition of a modular, reusable function.
What is def?
Abstraction, algorithmic design, decomposition, and pattern recognition are the four fundamental concepts of this overarching problem-solving approach.
What is computational thinking?
While Python lists are dynamic, this term describes data structures (like standard arrays in Java or C++) that have a fixed, rigid memory size determined at compile time.
What is static?
This search algorithm works on unsorted Python lists by checking each element sequentially from index 0 to n.
What is a Linear Search?
Similar to a line of network packets waiting to be routed, a Queue operates on this four-letter acronym representing its processing order.
What is FIFO (First In, First Out)?
This programming technique, required for HL students, occurs when a function solves a complex problem by calling a smaller version of itself.
What is recursion?
In Python, this statement acts as a selection structure, allowing the computer to execute a block of code only if a specific condition evaluates to True.
What is an if statement?
The Python slice syntax word[1:4] is used to extract one of these from a larger sequence of characters.
What is a substring?
This sorting algorithm works by repeatedly stepping through the list, comparing adjacent elements, and swapping them if they are in the wrong order.
What is a Bubble Sort?
The "undo" feature in a text editor relies on this "Last In, First Out" (LIFO) data structure.
What is a Stack?
To write data to a sequential text file without destroying the data that is already inside it, you must open the file in Python using this specific mode string.
What is append mode (or mode='a')?
Before writing code, developers create this document which outlines the problem statement, constraints, objectives, and input/output specifications.
What is a problem specification?
To add a new element to the very end of a dynamic list called my_list in Python, you must call this specific built-in method.
What is my_list.append()?
For a Binary Search to successfully find an item in O(log n) time, the Python list provided to it must meet this strict prerequisite.
What is "it must be sorted"?
To gracefully handle a runtime exception in Python without crashing the program (such as dividing by zero), you should place the risky code inside this keyword block.
What is a try block? (Accept: try/except block)
After reading data from a text file in Python using f = open("data.txt", "r"), you must call this method to free up system memory and release the resource lock.
What is f.close()?
When tracking the execution flow of a Python algorithm visually, this standard flowchart shape is used to represent a decision or branch (like an if/elif statement).
What is a diamond?
Attempting to combine a string and an integer in Python without typecasting (e.g., print("Age: " + 17)) will crash the program and yield this specific type of runtime exception.
What is a TypeError?
This is the worst-case time complexity for both Bubble Sort and Selection Sort, revealing why they are not scalable for massive datasets.
What is O(n2)?
In modern IDEs, placing one of these on a line of Python code tells the debugger to intentionally pause execution so you can inspect the current state of your variables.
What is a breakpoint?
To prevent a recursive Python function from calling itself infinitely and triggering a "Maximum Recursion Depth Exceeded" error, the function must contain this crucial logical component.
What is a base case?