Exam-style question
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A student creates a representation of a computation that includes only the information needed for the computation's purpose. The student then groups similar items in that representation and places the groups into broader and narrower categories. Identify and explain the two forms of abstraction used.
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- The student first uses representational abstraction because unnecessary details are removed from the representation.
- The student then uses abstraction by generalisation or categorisation because similar items are grouped by common characteristics and placed into a hierarchy in which a narrower group can be a kind of a broader group.
Explanation
Why this works
Both forms can be used together. Removing unnecessary details concerns the representation itself, while grouping by shared characteristics concerns the categories and their hierarchical relationships.
Common mistake
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