Which statement best describes recursion?

• A. It solves a problem by repeatedly executing the same approach on progressively smaller subproblems until a simple case is reached.
• B. It uses a fixed number of repeated steps defined by a loop counter.
• C. It stores intermediate results in a queue for later processing.
• D. It translates high-level instructions into machine code.

Answer: (A)

Recursion is solving a problem by breaking it into smaller subproblems and solving them with the same approach, continuing until a simple base case is reached. This means the same rule is applied repeatedly to progressively smaller instances, with a base case providing the stop. A classic example is factorial: n! = n × (n−1)!, with 0! defined as 1, which shows how the problem reduces step by step to a straightforward conclusion. The other descriptions point to different ideas—repeating a fixed number of steps via a loop is iterative control flow, storing intermediate results in a queue relates to buffering or certain data-management strategies, and translating high-level instructions into machine code is what a compiler does.