PBL Unit 1 / Week 11

Simulations

  • A simulation, in context of computer science, is a digital representation of a situation in the real world.
  • Examples:
    • Experiments: When an experiment is to dangerous to perform in the real world or too expensive, a simulation can be made of it and be performed digitally.
    • Training and Education: Simulations such as flight simulators and medical simulation can be very practical in aiding dangerous proffesions to receive training.
    • Video Games: Some video games try to aim to be as releastic as possible with physics and graphics to try to simulate the real world.

      Algorithmic Effeciency

  • A problem is a general description of a task that can (or cannot) be solved algorithmically
    • A decision problem is a problem with a yes/no answer
    • An optimization problem is a problem with the goal of finding the “best” solution among many
  • Efficiency is an estimate of the amount of computational resources used by an algorithm
  • An algorithm’s efficiency is determined through formal or mathematically reasoning