2015 paper

Question 1

what’s the most suitable file type for:

• An image showing a map of the school
• A text document containing information for parents about the school rules
• A high resolution picture of all the staff and pupils
• A short video clip of some pupils saying why they like the school

Answer 1

• JPG
• PDF
• JPG
• MPEG

Question 2

explain why lossy compression is suitable for a video clip but not suitable for a text document

Answer 2

when a file is compressed, some data is lost which is not noticeable in a video but would make a text file unreadable

Question 3

state the data type of the following variables used in the flow diagram

Answer 3

gender- string
dose- real
isPregnant- boolean

Question 4

use the flow diagram to calculate the correct dose of medicine for a male aged 30

Answer 4

show your working

Question 5

use the flow diagram to calculate the correct dose of medicine for a pregnant female aged 19

Answer 5

show your working

Question 6

utility programs include antivirus, file transfer, firewall, and system cleanup. which two can be used for security

Answer 6

anti virus

firewall

Question 7

identify and describe two methods by which the operating system can provide additional security directly

Answer 7

password, only allows authorised users to access the system

encryption, prevents hackers from understanding data if it’s accessed

Question 8

describe what is meant by high level code

Answer 8

this is code which is dependent on machines and needs to be translated before it can be executed

Question 9

describe what is meant by machine code

Answer 9

this is code which is specially designed for the CPU to execute, it consists of binary instructions

Question 10

state what a compiler is needed

Answer 10

to pick up syntax errors

Question 11

describe the standards that should be applied to the code produced

Answer 11

the code should be written using things like the use of functions and comments. this will allow multiple people to work on the same project so that it can be developed more efficiently

Question 12

state what is meant by off the shelf software

Answer 12

software which is designed for more than one user

Question 13

describe how the data handling software can be used to set up the structure of the database

Answer 13

it can be used to create tables with fields that can organise data clearly

Question 14

state two tasks the hairdresser can perform using the data handling software, once the database is it use

Answer 14

1. add appointment data

2. save data about appointments for later use (ie archive it)

Question 15

describe how the CPU and RAM work together to enable the tablet computer to operate

Answer 15

programs in use are stored in RAM. The CPU executes instructions in order to fetch data from RAM

Question 16

describe the purpose of cache memory cuff y

Answer 16

it speeds up the performance of the computer as data doesn’t need to be fetched from RAM

Question 17

describe how the advances in memory technology have allowed significant improvement in the performance devices such as tablet computers

Answer 17

the memory is smaller in size, it also has faster assess and costs less. the technology can be smaller and have similar capacity

Question 18

what is an opcode

Answer 18

it specifies the operation to be carried out. ie…

Question 19

what is an operand

Answer 19

part of the instruction that supplies the data needed for an operation. ie…..

Question 20

state two ways the local area network can be used to monitor the work of employees

Answer 20

for controlling log off and on times

Question 21

describe two differences between ip addresses and mac addresses

Answer 21

IP addresses are configured by software and MAC addresses are configured by hardware

Question 22

describe what is meant by failover and justify the need for it in a network

Answer 22

it allows the bank to operate without downtime

Question 23

state one input, output and storage device of a mobile phone

Answer 23

input: touch screen
output: screen
storage: SD card