Sample QP1

Question 1

State what is meant by real time

Answer 1

The system gives a response within a guaranteed time frame

Question 2

Why is a real time operating system suitable for hospital equipment

Answer 2

If something happens to a patient the response must be immediate
Other types of system have delays in their response
This could result in the patient not receiving treatment in time

Question 3

Explain 2 advantages of storing a real-time operating system in ROM

Answer 3

ROM is quick to start up so can be booted up quickly in an emergency
ROM is read only so there is no chance of the OS being changed

Question 4

What happens to the content of RAM and ROM when power to the system is removed

Answer 4

RAM is cleared
ROM stays the same

Question 5

What are the ethical benefits and drawbacks of automatically delivering doses of medicine to patients

Answer 5

Benefits
Computers are always able to act deterministically unlike medical staff
The computer can respond instantly to changes in the patient’s condition
It becomes easier to monitor the patient round the clock
Staff shortages will not affect the computer
Drawbacks
The computer system may not be programmed to take in all the relevant factors
If there are bugs in the programming, then the patient may die
Patients may be able to communicate better with medical staff

Question 6

Describe why film title is not a good primary key

Answer 6

A primary key must be unique however it is possible for 2 films to have the same title

Question 7

Describe why film title would make a good secondary key

Answer 7

A secondary key is indexed allowing for faster searching and users are likely to want to search by file title

Question 8

State what the opcode SUB does

Answer 8

Subtraction

Question 9

Convert 43 from denary into 8-bit binary

Answer 9

00101011

Question 10

Using twos compliment convert -43 into 8 bit binary

Answer 10

11010101

Question 11

Convert 1.75 into normalized 8 bit binary, using 4 bits for the exponent and 4 for the mantissa

Answer 11

0111 0001

Question 12

Describe what is meant by JavaScript

Answer 12

A programming language that runs in a web browser that can be embedded into HTML to make a website interactive

Question 13

Why is JavaScript interpreted not compiled

Answer 13

JS is likely to run on a number of different computers with different architectures. Compiled languages are machine dependent whereas interpreters can run on anything.