Study Guide for CS 303E Test 2 (Fall 2008)

For this test you are responsible for all of the material
we have covered in class so far. Use the lecture notes
and a subset of the material from Chapters 1 through 4,
6 through 8, and Recursion.

* Use if-else, if-elif-else in a computation

* Write while and for loops and be able to convert one
  type of loop into another, i.e. say convert a for loop
  into a while loop

* Use strings and string functions

* Write formated output

* Read, write, and append to text files

* Use the functions in the math module to perform computations

* Write functions with their proper signatures for problems like
  the following:
  - a function to determine if a number is prime
  - a function to determine if a number is perfect (number = sum
    of its divisors)
  - a function that reverses a number
  - a function that sums the digits of a number
  - a function that determines if a number is palindromic
  - a function that prints a string in reverse
  - a function that determines if two strings are anagrams
  - a function that given the amount to be returned as change
    prints out the minimum number of coins (quarters, dimes,
    nickels, and pennies) needed to do so

* Use user defined functions to write another function. For example,
  functions X() and Y() are defined for you, use them in function Z()
  to solve a given problem.

* Given a recurrence relation write a recursive and / or iterative
  method that returns the nth term in that relation. Here are some
  examples of recurrence relations:
  f(n) = 3 + f(n - 1), f(1) = 0
  f(n) = 2 * f(n - 1), f(1) = 1
  f(n) = 4 + 2 * f(n - 1), f(3) = 4
  f(n) = 2 * n + 1 + f(n -1), f(2) = 2

* Given a recursive method, you will be asked to determine the output
  for a given set of input parameters. 

* Illustrate how merge sort works on a given list of numbers by showing
  the placement of the numbers after each merge operation.