Chapter 7, Problem 41E

Program Plan Intro

Problem-solving strategy:

• It is an idea for solving a problem.
• Different type of strategies is used to solve the different type of problems.
• User can use a one or more strategy to solve a single problem.
• The problem can be solved by many ways but, the user should have to find which way provides better solution with proper steps.

Types of strategies in problem-solving:

There are three strategies are present in the problem solving:

• Ask questions:
  • This strategy usually asks questions about the problem or task, and identifies the clear information and facts about the problem.
  • This strategy asks the questions such as “when”, “why”, and “where” until the problem or task is clearly and entirely understood.
• Looks for familiar things:
  • Some problems have repeatedly happened in computing so it is useful for user identifying the familiar steps that will useful to solve the problem.
  • If the solutions already exist for the given or same problem, then just repeat the given steps to solve the problem.
    • User need not to determine the new steps to solve the given problem.
• Divide and conquer:
  • User can easily handle the problem by dividing the larger problems into smaller ones.
    • It means tasks are split into subtasks. Each subtask is split into sub-subtask if needed.
    • This strategy can be applied repeatedly until each subtask is determined.
      • Example for this strategy is quick sort and binary search algorithm.

In the question, the problem-solving strategy for buying a toy for 4-year-old cousin, organizing an awards banquet for the soccer team, and buying a dress for an awarding event at which you are being honored are discussed.