Description
For the following problems, write the algorithm using the building blocks discussed
in the Lecture 23 (Five_building_blocks_of_representation.pdf). Use the commands
from the section in the notes titled Lecture 2 – Representation . In your algorithms,
use indentation to show that a line in the algorithm is inside of a loop or a
conditional. For example:
if x equals y
output(x)
The line output(x) only executes if x equals y is true and is therefore indented under
the if statement.
How to Submit:
Your work should be typed. Submit your assignment as a PDF on Moodle using the
Assignment 1 Submit link.
When you submit your assignment, also enter the time you spent this week working
on this class by completing Quiz 1 Time Budget.
Problems:
1. The U.S. Census provides information about the current U.S. population as
well as approximate rates of change. Three rates of change are provided:
a. There is a birth every 2 seconds
b. There is a death every 7 seconds
c. There is a new immigrant every 24 seconds
Using those three rates of change, and a current U.S. population of
318,933,342, write a program to calculate the U.S. population in exactly one
year (365 days). Your algorithm should output the result of your calculations.
2. A day has 86,400 seconds (24*60*60). Given a number of seconds in the
range of 0 to 86,400, output the time as hours, minutes, and seconds for a 24
hour clock. For example, 70,000 seconds is 19 hours, 26 minutes, and 40
seconds. Your program should have user input that is the number of seconds
to convert, and then use that number in your calculations. Your output
should be displayed as “ The time is X hours, Y minutes, and Z seconds ”.
3. In science, temperature is always described in Celsius, but in the U.S. we tend
to use Fahrenheit temperatures. Write an algorithm to convert a Celsius
temperature into Fahrenheit. (Subtracting thirtytwo from the Fahrenheit
CSCI 1300/1310 Assignment 1
value and taking five ninths of that result will provide the Celsius value)
4. Write an algorithm that asks a user to enter a number between 1 and 10.
(This range includes the numbers 1 and 10.) When they enter the number,
check that it is actually between 1 and 10. If it is not, ask them to enter a
number again. Continue to ask until they enter a valid number. Once their
number is valid, output the number.
5. Write an algorithm that asks a user the miles per gallon of their car. If they
say greater than 30, output “Nice job”. If they say between 15 and 29, output
“Not great, but okay.” If they say less than 15, output “So bad, so very, very
bad.”
6. In textbased choose your own adventure games, the game player is
presented with choices throughout the game and then the game responds
based on the user’s choice.
Write the algorithm for a simple choose your own adventure game where the
user has three choices:
a. Fight the dragon
b. Go home
c. Save the princess
The game should repeatedly ask the user which of the three options they
want to do until the user says “Go home”. When “Go home” is selected, the
loop should exit, which effectively ends the game.
If the user selects “Fight the dragon”, the algorithm should output “You win!”.
If “Save the princess” is selected, the algorithm should output “You saved the
princess”. If “Go home” is selected, the algorithm should output “Wimp”.
You can set up your algorithm to check for the user’s input in any way you
like. Checking for the actual words, such as “Go home” is one option. If you
want to assign a number to each option and check for the number, that also
works.
7. Write an algorithm for playing a robotic version of the “treasure hunt” game.
The “treasure hunt” game involves players receiving clues that guide them to
other clues, until eventually the last clue leads them to a “treasure.” For
example, at the beginning of the game the players might receive a slip of
paper that says “go to the big oak tree,” at the oak tree they might find
another slip of paper that says “try swimming,” so they go to the swimming
pool to look for a third clue, and so forth.
CSCI 1300/1310 Assignment 1
Robots can’t read slips of paper, so the “clues” for a robot treasure hunt are
represented by the colors of tiles. Furthermore, robots aren’t smart enough
to think of (or find) oak trees or swimming pools, so every clue in a robot
treasure hunt just requires a robot to move one tile in some direction. After
doing so, the robot examines the color of the tile it is then standing on to
figure out where to go next, and so forth.
Here are the specific rules for interpreting tile colors as clues:
●White tile means that the next clue is the tile directly in front of the robot
●Blue tile means that the next clue is the tile to the robot’s left
●Green tile means that the next clue is the tile to the robot’s right
●Black tile means that the robot should move two tiles backward, then
continue interpreting clues based on its new heading
●Yellow tile is a treasure — it marks the end of a part of a treasure hunt
Rules for your algorithm:
● Robot can only move forward, turn left, or turn right.
● The robot can detect the color of the position it is current on.
8. Challenge exercise (not required)
Once you get the algorithm working for single game, add in another tile:
●Red tile means that the treasure hunt splits into two parts — the next clue
for the first part is the tile to the robot’s left, and the next clue for the
second part is the tile to the robot’s right
