INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE 2022/2023 Masters Programmes  

Coursework Administrative Details  

Module/Lecture Course: COMP42215 Introduction to Computer Science  
Deadline for submission: 14:00 Friday 4th November 2022  
Work returned: Week Beginning 28th November 2022  
Submission  
instructions:  
Submit via Ultra.  
Format: You should submit a single Jupyter notebook file that  
contains your code and written answers. Do not put  
your name on your work, just your username.  
Contribution: This coursework contributes 100% to the final mark for  
the module.  


In accordance with University procedures, submissions that are up to 5 working  
days late will be subject to a cap of the module pass mark, and later submissions  
will receive a mark of zero.  

Content and skills covered by the assignment:  
• Be able to write computer programs in python  
• Be able to select appropriate data structures  
• Be able to evaluate the complexity of an algorithm  
• Effective written communication  
• Planning, organising and time-management  
• Problem solving and analysis  

General Requirements  
You should develop an iPython (Jupyter) notebook to assess the performance and  
algorithmic complexity of various algorithms using a range of data structures. Your  
written answers should be at most 250 words per question.  

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE 2022/2023 Masters Programmes  


Section 1 (45%)  

1) Write a function to generate two Python lists of the same size that contain  
random integer data. The function should take as an argument the desired size of  
the list. [5%]  
2) Write a function that takes two Python lists as input and calculates the dot  
product. That is, we are assuming that the two lists represent vectors. You should  
use appropriate Python loops and no additional library functions. You should also  
consider appropriate error checking. [10%]  
3) Write a function to generate two NumPy arrays of the same size that contain  
random integer data. The function should take as an argument the desired size of  
the array. [5%]  
4) Write a function that takes two NumPy arrays as input and applies the built-in  
NumPy dot product. You should consider appropriate error checking. [5%]  
5) Time your functions from Q2 and Q4 on an appropriate range of input sizes  
(using your solutions to Q1 and Q3 to generate the inputs). Use the data you  
collect to draw graphs (using matplotlib) that compare the performance of your  
functions. [10%]  
6) Discuss in 250 words or less what your results show. You should consider the  
computational complexity of your functions. If you don’t manage to collect any  
data you should research and discuss what you would expect the results to show.  
[10%]  


Section 2 (55%)  

7) Write a function to generate an ‘n x n’ matrix of random integer data. Your matrix  
variable should be an object of type “numpy.ndarray”. The function should take  
as an argument the desired size of the matrix (the value ‘n’). [5%]  
8) Write a function that can find the determinant of a 3 x 3 matrix. You should use  
appropriate Python loops and no additional library functions. Use your function  
from Q7 to generate a 3 x 3 matrix and apply this function to that matrix. [10%]  
9) Write a function that takes an ‘n x n’ matrix as an argument and applies the built- 
in NumPy determinant function to that matrix. [5%]  
10) Write a recursive function that can find the determinant of an ‘n x n’ matrix. The  
function should take an ‘n x n’ matrix as an argument. You should use  
appropriate Python loops and no additional library functions. You should also  
consider appropriate error checking. [15%]  
Questions continue onto next page  
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE 2022/2023 Masters Programmes  

11) Time your functions from Q9 and Q10 on an appropriate range of input sizes  
(using your solution to Q7 to generate the inputs). Use the data you collect to  
draw graphs (using matplotlib) that compare the performance of your functions.  
[10%]  
12) Discuss in 250 words or less what your results show. You should consider the  
computational complexity of your functions. If you don’t manage to collect any  
data to discuss you should research and discuss what you would expect the  
results to show. [10%]  






Examiners will stop reading once the word limit has been reached, and work beyond  
this point will not be assessed. Checks of word counts will be carried out on submitted  
work. Checks may take place manually and/or with the aid of the word count provided  
via an electronic submission.  


You should include any relevant references that you have used in writing your written  
answers, and these will not be included in the word count for the question.  



PLAGIARISM and COLLUSION  
Your assignment will be put through plagiarism detection services.  
Students suspected of plagiarism, either of published work or work from unpublished  
sources, including the work of other students, or of collusion, will be dealt with  
according to Computer Science and University guidelines.