Problem decomposition means breaking a large, complex problem into smaller, easier-to-solve parts. Imagine you are organising a school event. You could break it down into smaller tasks like booking a venue, inviting guests, organising food, and so on.

Let’s practise this idea. Think about planning a short trip to a nearby city. Write down 3-5 smaller tasks that would help you plan the trip. For example, one task could be 'Research transportation options.'

Once you’ve written your tasks, move on to the next step.

Abstraction is about focusing only on the important details and ignoring everything else. For example, when you use a map app, you care about the route and travel time, not how the app calculates it.

Think of a car. To drive it, you don’t need to know how the engine works. You only need to know how to use the pedals and steering wheel. That’s abstraction!

Now, think of your trip-planning tasks from the last step. Which details are the most important for planning the trip? Write down 2-3 key details, such as 'Transportation method' and 'Accommodation.'

In this step, we will use Python to demonstrate abstraction by writing a simple function. A function allows us to hide the complexity of the steps it performs and simply use it when needed.

Imagine we want to calculate the area of a rectangle. Instead of writing the formula every time, we can create a function for it.

Add the following code:

def calculate_area(length, width):
    return length * width

# Using the function
length = 5
width = 3
area = calculate_area(length, width)
print(f'The area of the rectangle is: {area}')

Run your code. You should see the output: 'The area of the rectangle is: 15.' Notice how the function hides the calculation details, letting you focus on using it.

Now, let’s apply problem decomposition and abstraction to a real-world scenario. Imagine you are designing a mobile app to help students manage their homework.

Step 1: Break the problem into smaller tasks. For example, 'Create a login system,' 'Allow students to add homework tasks,' etc.

Step 2: Identify the key details (abstraction). For example, 'What information is needed to add a homework task?'

Write down your answers and think about how these ideas could be turned into code later.

Reflect on what you’ve learned. Problem decomposition helps you break down big problems into smaller, solvable tasks. Abstraction allows you to focus on the key details and ignore unnecessary complexity.

Think about how you could use these skills in your daily life or in programming. Write down one example of each to solidify your understanding.