Variable Assignment: x <- value

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which is the correct VCAA pseudocode assignment statement?

A x = 5

B x <- 5

2. In VCAA pseudocode, which side of <- does the variable name go on?

A Left side: x <- 5

B Right side: 5 <- x

3. What does total <- total + 1 do in VCAA pseudocode?

A Increases total by 1 and stores the result back in total

B Compares total to total + 1

4. Which statement correctly initialises a counter to zero in VCAA pseudocode?

A count <- 0

B count = 0

5. Can a variable appear on both the left and right side of <- in the same statement?

A No — the variable can only appear once

B Yes — for example score <- score + points

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1x <- 5		Atotal <- 0 total <- total + price print total
2count <- count + 1		Bscore <- 0 score <- score + 10 score <- score + 5
3The variable name must appear on the LEFT side of the <- operator		CWrong — VCAA pseudocode uses <- for assignment, not =. The correct statement is total <- total + 1
4A variable stores a value that can be updated at any point using the <- operator		DIncreases count by 1 — the right side is evaluated using count's current value, then the result is stored back into count
55 <- x		EAssigns the value 5 to the variable x using the VCAA pseudocode left-arrow assignment operator
6total = total + 1		FWrong — the variable must be on the LEFT of <-, not the right. The correct form is x <- 5

Definitions

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

x __ 5

total __ 0

count <- _____ + 1

score <- score + ______

______ <- price * quantity

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Algorithm: set a value

B 5 <- x

C print x

Question 2

A Algorithm: update counter

B count <- 0

C count = count + 1

D print count

Question 3

A Algorithm: store input

B input price

C price < 0

D print price

Question 4

A algorithm: running total

B total <- 0

C total <- total + 10

D print total

Question 5

A input base, height

B area <- base * height

C area <- area / 2

D print area

Answer Key

Variable Assignment: x <- value

Section A: Quick Questions

B — x <- 5

A — Left side: x <- 5

A — Increases total by 1 and stores the result back in total

A — count <- 0

B — Yes — for example score <- score + points

Section B: Match the Pairs

x <- 5 → Assigns the value 5 to the variable x using the VCAA pseudocode left-arrow assignment operator

count <- count + 1 → Increases count by 1 — the right side is evaluated using count's current value, then the result is stored back into count

The variable name must appear on the LEFT side of the <- operator → total <- 0 total <- total + price print total

A variable stores a value that can be updated at any point using the <- operator → score <- 0 score <- score + 10 score <- score + 5

5 <- x → Wrong — the variable must be on the LEFT of <-, not the right. The correct form is x <- 5

total = total + 1 → Wrong — VCAA pseudocode uses <- for assignment, not =. The correct statement is total <- total + 1

Section C: Definitions

<- — The assignment operator in VCAA pseudocode. It stores a value in a named variable: x <- 5 places the value 5 into the variable x

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

x <- 5

total <- 0

count <- count + 1

score <- score + points

result <- price * quantity

Section E: Spot the Error

B — The variable name must appear on the left of <-, not the value. The correct form is `x <- 5`. You assign a value TO a variable, not the other way around. Line 1 is wrong.

C — VCAA pseudocode uses <- for assignment, not =. The correct statement is `count <- count + 1`. The equals sign is a comparison operator, not an assignment operator in VCAA pseudocode. Line 2 is wrong.

C — `price < 0` is a comparison, not an assignment. To assign 0 to price the correct statement is `price <- 0`. The <- operator is required for assignment. Line 2 is wrong.

A — In VCAA pseudocode the keyword Algorithm has a capital A. Writing `algorithm` in lowercase is incorrect — the header must read `Algorithm: running total`. Line 0 is wrong.

A — The algorithm is missing its Algorithm header. The first line must be the Algorithm declaration before any input or assignment statements. The input statement cannot appear on line 0 without a preceding Algorithm header. Line 0 is wrong.