Course Level
CS1
Knowledge Unit
Fundamental Programming Concepts
Collection Item Type
Assignment
Synopsis

In this assignment students work individually to write functions that find the longest common subsequence (LCS) and sequence alignment of two given strings. First, students must modify a given function that uses recursion to find the length of the LCS of two strings to find the actual LCS. They then modify their LCS function to return the sequence alignment of the strings, strings with dashes wherever the original strings mismatch. This assignment reviews both recursion and string manipulation.

Recommendations

Create an Interdisciplinary Connection to CS by inviting a faculty member from the program in biotechnology to discuss how DNA sequencing is used by practitioners. Consider highlighting work of other faculty members on your campus to employ more relevant and meaningful content.

Engagement Highlights

Uses concepts from biology to provide Interdisciplinary Connections to CS. Uses humorous biology examples and work of a local faculty member to Employ Meaningful and Relevant Content.

Materials and Links

Computer Science Details

Programming Language
Python

Material Format and Licensing Information

Creative Commons License
CC BY-NC