# This page still under construction The 2017 study design is located here

Key outcomes :

Unit 3

AOS 1 Outcome 1 : Abstract Data types (page 9) :

This outcome’s key knowledge and skills can be split into two parts - General data structures and graphs.

The key things to know for both are why, what and how.

  • What are ADTs?

  • Why do we use them/what for

  • How do we use them?

It is important to be familiar with all of the properties and types of graph, including

  • cyclicity and connectedness as properties of graphs
  • trees and decision trees
  • directed graphs and directed acyclic graphs
  • weighted graphs, weighted path lengths and topological distance

Not only do you have to know what they are, you also need to know how to use them, as per the key skills :

  • explain the role of ADTs for data modelling
  • read and write ADT signature specifications
  • use ADTs in accordance with their specifications
  • select and apply appropriate ADTs to model real-world problems
  • model basic network and planning problems with graphs

AOS 2 Outcome 2 : Algorithm design (page 10)

This outcome moves on to the design, creation of and implementation of algorithms. The key knowledge again, can be seperated into three parts; structure, techniques and existing algorithms.

The structural component of this outcome refers to the basic structure of algorithms, that is, variables, assignment, sequence, iteration, conditionals and functions. Additionally, it includes the logical operators of AND, OR and NOT.

The techniques component of the outcome requires an understanding of iteration and recursion, as well as different types/designs of algorithms. This includes brute-force , greedy and decrease/divide and conquer.

The third and final part of this outcome is the understanding of existing algorithms, specifically

  • Graph Traversal (Breadth first, Depth first searches)
  • Prim’s Minimal Spanning tree Algorithm
  • Dijkstra’s Shortest path Algorithm
  • Bellman-Ford’s Shortest path Algorithm
  • Warshall’s transitive closure Algorithm
  • Floyd’s Algorithm for All-Pair Shortest Paths
  • The Pagerank algorithm for estimating the importance of a node

You also need to be able to demonstrate the correctness of these algorithms.

The key skills involved in this outcome revolve around implementation. You should be able to interpret and execute pseudocode, as well as identify and correct errors in it. Additionally, you should be able to write pseudocode, apply algorithm design patterns, and select the appropriate graph algorithms, justifying your choice based on the limitations and properties of the algorithm. This includes recursive and iterative algorithms.

AOS 3 Outcome 3 :

This outcome is about implementation; that is, taking the key knowledge and skills from outcomes 1 and 2 an applying them to a real-world problem. Students must evaluate algorithms and ADTs for solving their problem, relative to other options, then justify their proposal. They must also be able to argue for why this algorithm is correct, and be able to communicate the design of the algorithms, as well as the meaning of the information they produce.

Assessment for Unit 3

VCAA have kindly provided the details for the school assessed tasks for all three outcomes, set out in the table (image) here

Unit 4 TO BE DONE