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Stack Frames & Recursive Techniques

AQA 75174.1.1.15–16A-levelLesson packSubscription
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  • 10 questions
  • 39 marks
  • about 55 minutes
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Question types: multiple choice, true or false, fill the gap, matching, short answer.

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About this resource

AQA A-level Computer Science (7517) Paper 1, 4.1.1.15–4.1.1.16 — how a stack frame stores a subroutine call's return address, parameters and local variables; how the call stack grows and shrinks through nested calls; and recursive techniques (general case, base case, and the mechanism of implemen…

28 slides.

Lesson outline

  1. Do Now — Retrieval
  2. I-Do: Why Does a Program Need to Remember Where to Return To?
  3. Quick Check — Why the Return Address Matters
  4. I-Do: What's Inside a Stack Frame?
  5. Hinge Check — What a Stack Frame Stores
  6. I-Do: The Call Stack Is LIFO — Pushing and Popping
  7. The Call Stack in Action
  8. I-Do: A Worked Example — Nested Calls Growing and Shrinking the Stack
  9. We-Do — Trace the Call Stack at a Given Moment
  10. Hinge Check — LIFO Misconception
  11. I-Do: Every Call Gets Its OWN Frame
  12. Hinge Check — Shared Frame Misconception
Unit bundlePaper 1
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