practice questions

Question 1

describe differences between RAM and secondary storage

Answer 1

• ## secondary storage is non-volatile whilst RAM is volatile

Question 2

define the term relational database

Answer 2

a database that contains multiple tables that are linked by relationships

Question 3

state one benefit of using relational databases

Answer 3

• reduces data redundancy
• reduces data inconsistency

Question 4

give three advantages of using a wireless network instead of a wired network

Answer 4

• easier to connect more devices
• no need to lay cables, so reduced cost
• devices are portable within a certain range of the wireless access point

Question 5

describe one security measure that could be used, in addition to a password, to make sure that a user is who they are claiming to be

Answer 5

• biometric measures e.g TouchID, FaceID

Question 6

which application layer protocol is used for sending emails from a client device to a mail server?

Answer 6

SMTP

Question 7

state two issues with only using usernames and passwords in an authentication system

Answer 7

• a user may forget their password
• a hacker could use measures to obtain someone’s password e.g. brute force attack, shouldering

Question 8

explain the purpose of the HTTPS protocol

Question 9

state one wireless method used to connect devices on a PAN

Answer 9

bluetooth

Question 10

describe two differences between a LAN and a WAN

Answer 10

• LAN covers a small geographical area, whereas, WAN covers a wide geographical area
• LAN is usually owned by a single person or organisation, whereas, WAN often under collective ownership
• LANs and WANs use different protocols
• WANs have a much larger number of devices than LANs

Question 11

explain why solid-state storage is not fitted to every new computer

Answer 11

It is expensive and has similar storage capacity to magnetic storage

Question 12

define the term sample resolution

Answer 12

the number of bits per sample

Question 13

state one disadvantage of a high sample resolution

Answer 13

• larger file size/takes up more storage space
• sound files will take longer to download
• uses more memory/processing power when recording

Question 14

state four functions of an operating system

Question 15

why is hexadecimal often used instead of binary

Answer 15

• easier for humans to understand
• easier for humans to read
• reduces the risk of typing errors
• numbers are expressed more compactly than in binary

Question 16

what is colour depth?

Answer 16

the number of bites used to represent each pixel

Question 17

explain how an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) works

Answer 17

• analogue sound is received by a microphone
• this is converted into an electrical analogue signal
• the signal amplitude is measured at regular intervals
• the values are rounded to a level
• the values are stored as a series of binary numbers

Question 18

how do you calculate the size of a sound file?

Answer 18

sample rate x sample resolution x number of seconds

Question 19

why is compression used?

Answer 19

• reduce the amount of storage needed on a computer to save files
• allow large files to be transmitted as an email attachment
• allow a file to be transmitted in less time, owing to the smaller file size