QUESTION 5:
In the "destroy a rock" problem of the previous chapter, what was the base case?
11 plus the number of pins in 10 rows.
This keeps on going. Each round divides the problem into an integer and a problem that is smaller by one. Eventually you reach the end:
number of pins in 12 rows = 12 + number of pins in 11 rows
number of pins in 11 rows = 11 + number of pins in 10 rows
. . .
number of pins in 3 rows = 3 + number of pins in 2 rows
number of pins in 2 rows = 2 + number of pins in 1 row
= 2 + 1
The number of pins in 1 row is called a base case. A base case is a problem that can solved immediately. In this example, the number of pins in 1 row is 1.
In the "destroy a rock" problem of the previous chapter, what was the base case?