Macroeconomic 

 

Objectives
To design, implement and document simple modular programs that use functions and flow
control statements.

Assessment
This assignment is an assessed component and the mark for this work will contribute towards
the overall module mark. The weight of Assignment 1 is 12%. The marking criteria can be
found in the Exam Resources section of ELEC129 in VITAL.
This assignment is composed of a number of exercises. The relative weight of each exercise on
the overall assignment mark is indicated between brackets.

Instructions
Students are required to do all exercises and submit a single Word file in the Assessment
section of ELEC129 in VITAL (https://vital.liv.ac.uk) by Tuesday 3/11/2015 at 17:00 (5pm) UK
local time (week 6 of semester 1). Delay penalties apply. Please double check your report and
make sure your work is in its final form before submission as the online application will not
allow resubmissions. Email submissions and/or resubmissions will not be accepted.
Submissions must be a single Word file containing the work done by the student (student
name and student ID should be clearly stated in the first page). The file must contain two
parts for each exercise proposed in this assignment as detailed below.
Part I: The first part must contain the source code. Please use font Courier New with a size of 8
points, use indentation to make the code readable, and observe the following requirements:






The source code must be the result of your own original and individual work.
The source code must be entirely written in the C programming language. Source code
written in any other programming languages (e.g., C++) will receive a mark of zero.
The use of global variables is (in general) not needed in ELEC129 assignments and its
use is not allowed unless otherwise stated. All variables should be local to a function
(i.e., declared within the body of a function). The use of global variables will be
penalised. If you are in doubt, ask a lab demonstrator to check your source code.
All exercises can be solved based on concepts explained in previous lectures. Students
are allowed to use concepts from other (future) chapters but this is not expected. Feel
free to discuss your approach to solving the exercises with a lab demonstrator.

Part II: The second part must contain a detailed explanation of the software development
process followed by the student (i.e., the first five steps of the software development method):
1. Problem specification: Formulation of the problem and its objectives.
2. Analysis: Identification of: i) inputs, ii) outputs, and iii) other relevant aspects,
requirements or constraints (e.g., relevant formulas, etc.).
3. Design: Formulation of the algorithm (list of steps) needed to solve the problem. At
this stage, the problem should be divided into a number of sub-problems that can be
solved using functions.

Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics

Page 2 / 5

University of Liverpool

Introduction to Programming in C (ELEC129)

Assignment 1

4. Implementation: List of functions used in the program (function names), indicating for
each function which step(s) of the algorithm is/are implemented by the function.
5. Testing and verification: Explanation of how the program was tested and verified.
Snapshots of the program’s output window can be obtained by using [Alt] + [PrtScr(or
PrintScreen)] and pasting into the report.
Please indicate clearly if in your opinion the program works correctly. If you do not think the
program works correctly or does not compile, indicate what the problems are. You will then be
able to get points for that programming task. If in the testing section of your design document
you have indicated that the program works correctly but it turns out that your code does not
even compile (because of syntax errors, for example) you will not receive adequate points.

Academic integrity
Students should familiarise themselves with Section 6 of the University’s Code of Practice on
Assessment, which provides important information regarding the submission of assessed
coursework (link: http://www.liv.ac.uk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment).
Students should also familiarise themselves with Section 9 (Academic Integrity) and Appendix L
(Academic Integrity Policy) of the University’s Code of Practice on Assessment which provide
the definitions of academic malpractice and the policies and procedures that apply to the
investigation of alleged incidents (including collusion, plagiarism, fabrication of data, etc.).
Students found to have committed academic malpractice are liable to receive a mark of zero
for the assessment or the module concerned. Unfair and dishonest academic practice will
attract more severe penalties, including possible suspension or termination of studies.
By electronically submitting this coursework you confirm that:

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




You have read and understood the University’s Academic Integrity Policy.
You have acted honestly, ethically and professionally in conduct leading to assessment
for the programme of study.
You have not copied material from another source nor committed plagiarism nor
fabricated data when completing the attached piece of work.
You have not previously presented the work or part thereof for assessment for
another University of Liverpool module.
You have not copied material from another source, nor colluded with any other
student in the preparation and production of this work.
You have not incorporated into this assignment material that has been submitted by
you or any other person in support of a successful application for a degree of this or
any other University or degree awarding body.

Students are encouraged to contact the module instructor if any clarifications are needed.

Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics

Page 3 / 5

University of Liverpool

Introduction to Programming in C (ELEC129)

Assignment 1

Exercise 1 (40% of assignment mark)
Write a program that reads three characters from the keyboard and prints on the screen the
approximate shape of a pyramid using those characters. For example if the characters are ‘%’,
‘#’ and ‘@’, then the program should display the following:
%
%#%
%#@#%
%#@@@#%
%#@@@@@#%
%#@@@@@@@#%

Your program should include:





A function info that displays instructions to the user, reads the three characters from
the keyboard and returns those values to the calling function.
A function pyramid that takes three parameters of type char and prints on the
screen the approximate shape of a pyramid using the characters provided as the actual
arguments.
The main function should call first the info function to instruct the user to input
three characters and read those characters from the keyboard, and then should pass
these values as parameters to the second function pyramid to print the pyramid
shape on the screen.

Exercise 2 (60% of assignment mark)
You have been hired by the IT department of a freight company and your first task is to create
a program to compute the total cost of a journey, which includes the cost of fuel consumption
plus the driver’s salary, based on the following considerations:






The company has 2 types of vehicles:
o Type A: Petrol car with the following fuel consumption in miles per gallon:
 Built-up area:
40 mpg
 Single carriageway:
50 mpg
 Dual carriageway/Motorway: 60 mpg
o Type B: Diesel car with the following fuel consumption in miles per gallon:
 Built-up area:
45 mpg
 Single carriageway:
55 mpg
 Dual carriageway/Motorway: 65 mpg
Costs are calculated using the following fuel prices:
o Unleaded (for Type A cars):
150 pence per litre (£1.50/litre)
o Diesel (for Type B cars):
130 pence per litre (£1.30/litre)
The following conversion factor applies: 1 gallon = 4.54609 litres (imperial gallon).

Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics

Page 4 / 5

University of Liverpool

Introduction to Programming in C (ELEC129)


Assignment 1

The driver’s remuneration for a journey is computed based on fuel cost as follows:
o For the first £10 of fuel, the driver receives £1 per each pound spent in fuel.
o For the next £20 of fuel, the driver receives £2 per each pound spent in fuel.
o For the next £30 of fuel, the driver receives £3 per each pound spent in fuel.
o For the rest, the driver receives £5 per each pound spent in fuel.

Write a program that computes the fuel cost, salary cost, and total cost of a journey based on
the employed car type and the distances travelled in built-up areas, single carriageways and
double carriageways/motorways. All costs should be displayed with 2 decimal digits.
In the test part of your report, indicate the results provided by your program for these cases:








Case I:
o
o
o
o

Car type:
Distance in built-up areas:
Distance in single carriageways:
Distance in double carriageways/motorways:

A
10 miles
15 miles
25 miles

Case II:
o
o
o
o

Car type:
Distance in built-up areas:
Distance in single carriageways:
Distance in double carriageways/motorways:

A
80 miles
30 miles
20 miles

Case III:
o Car type:
o Distance in built-up areas:
o Distance in single carriageways:
o Distance in double carriageways/motorways:

B
20 miles
50 miles
500 miles

Case IV:
o Car type:
o Distance in built-up areas:
o Distance in single carriageways:
o Distance in double carriageways/motorways:

B
50 miles
100 miles
1200 miles

Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics