Question

One subtask in the game is to ‘refuel a car’. Explain why ‘refuel a car’ is an abstraction.

Answer 1

In a game, 'refuel a car' is an abstraction because it simplifies the complex real-world process of refueling into a basic action, which is similar to how engineering challenges are broken down into simpler subproblems for easier management.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of 'refuel a car' in a game is an example of an abstraction, because it represents a simplified version of a real-world process. In reality, refueling involves a series of complex steps, such as finding a gas station, selecting the type of fuel, paying, and physically pumping the gas into the car's tank. In the context of a game, these steps are represented by a simple action or command. This mirrors how the SCV team in an engineering challenge divided the larger problem into subproblems such as the energy source and vehicle configuration, which simplifies complex engineering tasks into more manageable components. Similarly, the game abstraction neglects the detailed physics involved in transporting and burning the fuel as well as the loss of energy through factors like air resistance and friction, which partly analogizes to how a car operates within a physical environment. Fuel transfer rates and the impact of fuel mass on vehicle performance are additional complexities that are abstracted away in such game mechanics.

Answer 2

Refueling a car in a game is an abstraction because it simplifies the complex real-world processes into a straightforward action, removing detailed aspects such as oil extraction, refining, and the physics of fuel combustion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of 'refuel a car' in a game is an abstraction because it simplifies the complex processes involved in refueling. In reality, refueling a car involves extracting oil, refining it into gasoline, transporting the gasoline to a station, and then physically pumping it into the car's tank, accounting for the car's energy source, vehicle configuration, and drive mechanism. Abstraction in computer science and gaming means representing these processes in a simplified manner, typically by just a few clicks or a single action in a game, without the need to depict every underlying detail. This allows the game to focus on gameplay mechanics rather than the minutia of every real-world task.

When refueling a car in a game, players do not have to worry about the actual physics of fuel combustion or the energy dynamics involved in using fuel. Additionally, this abstraction does not reflect all the energy-related challenges like air resistance or friction losses that a real car would encounter. It's a simplified representation focusing on the action's basic outcome: restoring the vehicle's ability to operate.