CREATIVE BRITISH SCHOOL
CAMBRIDGE (IGCSE)
Unit 1 - Types and components of computer systems
TOPIC BASED QUESTIONS
UNIT – 1
Types and components of computer systems
February / March - 2020
1. Smartphones are more likely to be used than laptop computers for everyday ICT use.
Describe three advantages of using a smartphone rather than a laptop computer.
[3 marks]
February / March - 2021
1. A tablet computer consists of both hardware and software.
(a) Define the term hardware.
(b) One input device used on a tablet computer is a touch screen.
Name two other input devices built into a tablet computer.
(c) Write down two examples of system software.
February / March - 2022
[1 mark]
[2 marks}
{2 marks]
1. 1. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using a smartphone rather than a laptop
computer to access the internet.
[6 marks]
February / March - 2023
1. (a) Explain what is meant by the term software.
[1 mark]
(b) State the two types of software used by computers
[2 marks]
2. Some computers have touch screens.
Describe three benefits of using a touch screen.
[3 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 11
1. A computer consists of both hardware and software.
(a) Define the term software.
(b) There are two types of software.
Identify the types.
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
2. The headteacher of a school has decided to replace desktop computers with laptop computers.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using a laptop computer rather than a desktop
computer.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
Unit 1 - Types and components of computer systems
1. Tablet computers tend to be used more than desktop computers.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using a tablet computer rather than a desktop
computer.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 13
1. The use of laptop computers and tablet computers by people on the move is becoming very
popular.
Describe four advantages of using a tablet computer rather than a laptop computer
[4 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 11
1. Describe four characteristics of a tablet computer.
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
[4 marks]
1. Some people use dialogue-based user interfaces to operate their car audio system.
(a) Describe what is meant by a dialogue-based user interface.
[2 marks]
(b) Describe the benefits and drawbacks of using a dialogue-based user interface in this way.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
1. Some gaming systems use gesture based user interfaces to operate a game.
(a) Describe what is meant by a gesture based user interface.
(b) Describe the drawbacks of using gesture based user interfaces in this way.
May / June – 2023 – Paper 13
[2 marks]
[4 marks]
1. A group of students are producing a class newsletter which they will email to parents of
students in the class. They are deciding whether to use a laptop computer or a smartphone
to type the newsletter.
(a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a laptop computer rather than a
smartphone for this purpose.
[6 marks]
(b) The students have decided to use a smartphone. Data for the newsletter will be input,
stored and output by the smartphone.
(i) Identify two devices that are part of the smartphone that could be used to input
the data for the newsletter.
[2 marks]
(ii) Identify two devices that are part of the smartphone that could be used to output
data from the newsletter.
[2 marks]
(iii) Identify two appropriate devices that could be used to store data for the
newsletter.
[2 marks]
(c) The newsletter is to be saved as a PDF and sent as an email attachment to parents.
Describe two benefits of saving the newsletter as a PDF
[2 marks]
(d) Describe the features that the students must include to make the newsletter appeal to
the parents.
[4 marks]
Unit 1 - Types and components of computer systems
October / November – 2020 – Paper 12
1. Describe the differences between using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and a Command Line
Interface (CLI).
[4 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 11
1. Describe two advantages of using a tablet computer rather than a laptop computer.
October / November – 2021 – Paper 12
[2 marks]
1. (a) Describe two disadvantages of using a tablet computer rather than a laptop computer.
[2 marks]
(b) Modern computers often do not have an optical drive.
State two ways music can be transferred onto a computer that does not contain an optical
drive.
[2 marks]
2. As a student you often use a computer keyboard. This could be a virtual keyboard or a physical
keyboard on a desktop computer, a laptop computer or even a smartphone.
Evaluate your use of computer keyboards in terms of health risks, and explain any strategies you
use to minimise these health risks.
[8 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 13
1. Rockit Motors has opened a car store in a shopping mall.
Customers can test drive the cars they are planning to purchase using virtual reality systems
within the store.
(a) Name two devices which would be used in this virtual reality system.
[2 marks]
(b) Explain the term virtual reality.
[3 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Smartphones and smartwatches can be used in everyday life. A smartwatch is a wearable
computer in the form of a wrist-watch.
(a) Apart from accessing the internet, give three other uses of a smartphone.
[3 marks]
(b) Give two advantages of using a smartwatch rather than a smartphone.
[2 marks]
(c) Give two disadvantages of using a smartwatch rather than a smartphone.
[2 marks]
2. Use of smartphones to access the internet has increased by over 200% in the past five years.
Compare the use of smartphones to access the internet with the use of desktop computers to
access the internet. Your answer must include similarities and differences.
[6 marks]
Unit 1 - Types and components of computer systems
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. Smartphones use a Graphical User Interface (GUI).
(a) Give three benefits of using a GUI.
(b) Give three characteristics of a smartphone.
2. A computer system uses a Graphical User Interface (GUI).
Write down two features of a GUI and for each give a reason why they are needed.
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
[3 marks]
[3 marks]
[4 marks]
1. A group of students are carrying out a study of the quality of river water for a project. They can
either use a tablet computer or a smartphone to monitor and record their findings.
(a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a tablet computer rather than a
smartphone for this project.
[6 marks]
(b) Identify two devices that could be used by the students to enter data.
[2 marks]
2. A headteacher is considering setting up a card system for students to buy food in the school
canteen.
The headteacher is trying to decide whether to install a system that uses magnetic stripe card
readers or one that uses chip and PIN card readers.
Compare the use of magnetic stripe card readers with the use of chip and PIN card readers. Your
answer must include similarities and differences.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A group of pupils is planning to create a newsletter for a history project. The group can either
use a smartphone or a phablet computer.
(a) Explain what is meant by a phablet computer.
[2 marks]
(b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a phablet computer rather than a
smartphone for this project.
[6 marks]
UNIT – 2
Input and output devices
February / March - 2021
Unit 2 – Input and output devices
1. Tawara school uses an optical mark recognition (OMR) system for its school register. An
example of the register is shown. For each session of the school there are two lozenges to be
shaded in.
At the start of the registration period the teacher shades in a lozenge [P] on the register to show
that a pupil is present and shades in a lozenge [A] for each pupil who is absent. If a pupil is late
then the teacher shades in both the [P] and the [A] lozenges. The register sheets are sent to the
school office to be processed and the data from them is stored in the computer’s database.
(a) Describe the inputs and computer processing of the registers when they are sent to the school
office, prior to them being stored on the computer’s database.
[6 marks]
(b) The headteacher of the school is considering modernising the registration system so that pupils
can register using a facial recognition system.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a facial recognition registration system
rather than the OMR system they currently use.
[8 marks]
(c) Biometric data, like facial recognition, is an example of personal data.
Give two other examples of personal data that could be stored on the school registration
database.
[2 marks]
February / March - 2023
Unit 2 – Input and output devices
1. Every computer contains input and output devices and a central processing unit (CPU).
(a) Describe the CPU including its role.
[4 marks]
[b] Data can be read directly by using a number of different devices.
Name the most appropriate device used to read the following data.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
1. A river authority is concerned about levels of pollution in a major river. The quality of the water in
the river needs to be monitored using sensors.
(a) Name three sensors that could be used to measure the pollution in the river.
[3 marks]
(b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using computers to measure the pollution in
the river rather than humans measuring the pollution.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 13
1. Tawara Hotel uses magnetic stripe cards to allow guests access to their bedrooms. The hotel is
changing the electronic lock it uses on its bedroom doors so the lock can work with RFID cards.
Compare the use of magnetic stripe cards and RFID cards for key entry. Your answer must include
similarities and differences.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
1. (a) Compare Optical Mark Readers (OMRs) with Optical Character Readers (OCRs). Your
answer must include similarities and differences.
[6 marks]
(b) Identify two uses of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR).
[2 marks]
Unit 2 – Input and output devices
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
1. (a) The products in a warehouse contain either a bar code or a Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) tag.
The data about each product is read electronically.
Compare bar code readers and RFID readers. Your answer must include similarities and
differences.
[6 marks]
(b) Identify two other uses of RFID.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. A student is carrying out a scientific experiment to measure the temperature of a liquid as it
cools down. The student uses a sensor connected to a computer to read the temperature.
(a) Give three advantages of using computers and sensors rather than the student taking the
temperature readings herself.
[3 marks]
(b) Describe how the readings taken by the sensor are displayed on a graph using the computer.
[6 marks]
(c) Explain the differences between measurement systems and control systems.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. In 2019 Cambridge recorded the highest temperature for July in the UK. The data was collected
automatically using sensors by a weather station and sent to a computer.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using sensors to collect data rather than humans
collecting the data.
[8 marks]
2. A village is built next to a river. During heavy rain the river floods and endangers the people
living in the village. If the river is in danger of flooding, an email is sent to all members of the
village.
(a) Explain why an email group is used when contacting the villagers.
[3 marks]
Sensors are placed in the river to check the water level. If the water level in the river rises more
than 5m above normal river levels, a flood barrier is raised to safeguard the village. The flood
barrier remains raised until the water level drops to normal levels.
(b) Explain why the data from the sensors cannot be read directly by the computer and name the
device that needs to be used so that the computer can read the data.
[3 marks]
(c) Describe how a microprocessor uses the data from the sensors to raise and lower the flood
barrier.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
1. A computer controlled glasshouse is used to grow plants.
State three sensors that could be used in the glasshouse
[3 marks]
Unit 2 – Input and output devices
October / November – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A computer system uses both analogue and digital data.
(a) Explain what is meant by these types of data.
(i) analogue data
[1 mark]
(ii) digital data
[1 mark]
(b) Digital data is processed in a computer system. Sometimes digital data needs to be converted
to analogue data.
Explain why digital data may need to be converted to analogue data.
[1 mark]
(c) Use the most appropriate phrase from the list to complete the sentences. Your answer
must be different in each case.
analogue data
digital data
display a graph on a monitor
input the maximum safe water level for a river
measure acidity levels in a river
control humidity levels
open the windows in a greenhouse
(i) A motor is used to
[1 mark]
(ii) A DAC outputs
[1 mark]
(iii) A sensor is used to
[1 mark]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 13
1. Many devices in the home can be connected to the internet so they can be controlled remotely.
These devices are called smart devices. A house contains a smart security system.
(a) Describe the benefits and drawbacks of using a smart security system.
[4 marks]
(b) Identify two sensors that could be used with the smart security system.
[2 marks]
(c) Part of the smart security system involves an automatic gate for vehicles approaching the
house. There is a CCTV camera at the gate and the smart security system has software for
recognising each vehicle’s number plate.
Explain how automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems work.
[4 marks]
(d) Describe three problems that could occur when the ANPR system reads a vehicle number
plate.
[3 marks]
UNIT – 3
Storage devices and media
February / March - 2021
1. Computer data can be stored on physical storage devices. Data can also be stored in the ‘cloud’.
Explain what is meant by the cloud, giving two advantages of storing data in the cloud compared
with physical storage devices.
[4 marks]
Unit 3 – Storage devices and media
February / March - 2022
1. The internal memory of a computer consists of both ROM and RAM.
(a) Describe the terms ROM and RAM.
[4 marks]
(b) Modern laptop computers use Solid State Drives (SSD) rather than Hard Disk Drives (HDD).
State three advantages of using SSDs rather than HDDs in a laptop computer.
[3 marks]
February / March - 2023
1. Compare RAM and ROM. Your answer must include similarities and differences
[4 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
1. Modern laptop computers tend to use external solid state storage rather than external optical
storage.
Compare and contrast the use of solid state storage with the use of optical storage to store data.
[8 marks]
2. There are two types of storage within a computer, internal memory and backing storage.
Discuss the differences between internal memory and backing storage.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 13
1. Lanfen has purchased a new computer. The computer has no internal storage. All the data is
stored in the cloud.
Compare and contrast computers that use cloud-based storage and computers that have internal
backing storage.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. Magnetic tapes are used in organisations for backing up data.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using magnetic tapes rather than flash memory for
backing up data.
[6 marks]
Unit 3 – Storage devices and media
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Many laptop computers use the cloud to store data. A technician has produced a report on his
laptop computer but has stored the report on a memory stick rather than storing it on the cloud.
Describe two advantages of using a memory stick rather than the cloud to store data.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 12
1. Laptop computers use Solid State Drives (SSD) rather than Hard Disc Drives (HDD).
Describe two disadvantages of using an SSD rather than an HDD in a laptop computer. [2 marks]
2. (a) Explain what is meant by cloud storage and how it is used.
(b) Describe two issues related to the security of data in the cloud.
May / June – 2022 – Paper 13
[6 marks]
[2 marks]
1. Computers can store data in the cloud rather than using storage devices in the computer.
(a) Describe three benefits of storing data in the cloud.
[3 marks]
(b) Describe three drawbacks of storing data in the cloud.
[3 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
1. A headteacher is setting up a newsletter to send to parents of pupils at a school. She has some
photographs saved on storage devices that she needs to place in the newsletter.
State two communication methods which the headteacher could use to upload the photographs
onto the school network.
[2 marks]
2. Portable hard drives can be Solid State Drives (SSDs) or Hard Disk Drives (HDDs).
Explain why the SSD may be better to use than the HDD.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A headteacher is producing a web page about the history of her school. She has been given
some old hard-copy photographs which she will include on the web page. She has a digital camera
and a scanner to use to convert the hard-copy photographs into a digital format.
Compare the use of a digital camera with a scanner in this scenario. Your answer must include
similarities and differences.
[4 marks]
2. Movies can be stored on Blu-ray discs or an internal hard disk.
(a) Describe why Blu-ray discs are preferred to an internal hard disk for storing movies. [4 marks]
(b) Hard disks and Blu-ray discs are examples of backing storage.
(i) State two characteristics of backing storage.
[2 marks]
(ii) Identify two other types of backing storage.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
Unit 3 – Storage devices and media
1. Many students prefer to store data on external storage devices like pen drives or portable hard
disk drives.
Describe four advantages of using a pen drive rather than a portable hard disk drive
[4 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. Many organisations store data in the cloud.
(a) Explain what is meant by the ICT term cloud.
[3 marks]
(b) Explain the issues of storing data in the cloud.
[6 marks]
As our use of the cloud increases, new ways of accessing it safely need to be developed.
(c) The use of typed passwords is being replaced by biometric methods.
Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using biometric methods.
[8 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
1. (a) For each of the following types of backing storage give one example of its associated media.
Your answers must be different in each case.
Optical
Magnetic
Solid state
[3 marks]
(b) Describe three differences between optical and magnetic backing storage.
[3 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 11
1. Rowena’s laptop computer contains a small capacity Solid State Drive (SSD) of 32Gb and
a large capacity Hard Disk Drive (HDD) of 1024Gb.
(a) State, giving a reason for your choice, a use for the SSD and a use for the HDD in the
laptop computer. Your answers must be different in each case.
(i) SSD
[2 marks]
(ii) HDD
[2 marks]
(b) The laptop computer also contains internal memory.
Give two examples of internal memory.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 13
1. A student needs to purchase a new computer for use on his university course.
The laptop computers available to him are one that contains a solid-state drive (SSD) or one that
only stores data on the internet, using the cloud.
Evaluate these two types of laptop computer.
[6 marks]
UNIT – 4
Networks and the effects of using them
February / March - 2021
1. A company has placed a firewall between their Local Area Network (LAN) and their internet
connection. This is used to increase security in their computer systems.
Discuss the effectiveness of using this firewall to increase security.
[6 marks]
Unit 4 – Networks and the effects of using them
February / March - 2022
1. A family has a number of different devices connected to the internet.
(a) Identify three items of computer hardware that may need to be purchased in order to set up
a computer network so the devices can use the internet.
[3 marks]
(b) Arjun is a member of the family. He uses the internet to carry out research and send work to
his office.
Describe three other ways he could make appropriate use of the internet.
[3 marks]
(c) Arjun uses the internet to carry out research for his work.
Describe two drawbacks of Arjun using the internet for research
[2 marks]
(d) Arjun can log directly into his office system from his home computer. The office system only
requires users to enter their user id and a password.
(i) Explain why this is not very secure.
[2 marks]
(ii) Describe two other ways the office system could identify the user securely.
[4 marks]
February / March - 2023
1. Bluetooth is a method of wireless communication.
State two devices found in the home which could be connected via Bluetooth
[2 marks]
2. Many devices in the home can connect to the internet. These are called smart devices.
Describe four benefits of using these smart devices.
[4 marks]
3. A student has downloaded a file which contains a virus.
(a) Describe the possible effects on his computer system if he opens the file.
[2 marks]
(b) Explain how the student could prevent the computer from being infected by viruses. [3 marks]
(c) Some files containing viruses have to be quarantined as they cannot be deleted.
(i) State the type of files that may have to be quarantined rather than deleted.
[1 mark]
(ii) Explain how the software detects and quarantines the file.
[3 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
Unit 4 – Networks and the effects of using them
1. Complete the following sentences using the most appropriate network term.
A communication method that wirelessly connects a mobile phone to a car, to allow hands-free
use of the mobile phone is ........................................... .
A network device that allows a stand-alone computer, using a dial-up analogue connection, to
connect to an ISP is a .......................................... .
A network device that allows a LAN to connect to the internet is a ........................................ .
A wireless communication method used in WLAN is ......................................... .
[4marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 12
1. Compare and contrast the features of a switch and a hub.
[6 marks]
2. (a) Describe two uses of a company intranet.
[2 marks]
(b) Social networking is used to communicate with friends; this is one use of the internet.
Describe four other uses of the internet.
[4 marks]
(c) A major part of the everyday use of the internet is social networking. Currently some social
networks are not policed. The owners of a website have full discretion on what material is
removed and what is allowed to be kept.
Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of policing social networking sites.
[8 marks]
3. When an email is sent, it could have a digital certificate attached.
Explain why a digital certificate is required. Include in your answer items that could be found in a
digital certificate.
[5 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. A family has purchased a wireless router for use in their home to allow their devices to be
connected via WiFi to form a wireless local area network (WLAN).
(a) When the family purchased the wireless router they were advised to change the default
password.
Explain why they should change the default password.
[2 marks]
(b) Describe the process of using WiFi to connect to a WLAN.
[4 marks]
(c) Their son produces large complex diagrams on his desktop computer at home. He needs to
be able to access the diagrams when he is at university. Even if reduced in file size, the
diagrams would be too large to send using email.
Describe in detail how he could transfer the diagrams from his home desktop computer to be
able to access them at university, without using additional hardware.
[4 marks]
(d) One of the parents in the family works for a government department and sends sensitive data
from their home computer to the office.The data is encrypted before being sent to ensure it is
harder to understand if it is intercepted.
Describe four other preventative measures that could be taken to avoid network security
issues.
[4 marks]
Unit 4 – Networks and the effects of using them
May / June – 2022 – Paper 13
1. The Internet of Things (IoT) allows devices as well as computers to connect to the internet using
a router. Each device uses an IP address.
(a) Explain what is meant by an IP address.
[3 marks]
(b) Explain how a router sends data packets to another network.
[3 marks]
(c) The network has a firewall.
Explain why a firewall is needed.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 12
1. Define the following internet terms.
(a) Hyperlink
(b) ISP
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
1. Bluetooth is a method of communication to connect devices together.
Describe how a smartphone can use Bluetooth to connect to another device.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 11
October / November – 2021 – Paper 12
1. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a computer network which allows users to control household
devices remotely. It has many benefits, for example a user can turn on the house central heating
via a smartphone. The IoT can use WiFi and Bluetooth which can cause problems regarding data
security.
Describe the methods that could be taken to protect the user’s data.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. According to research carried out on passwords the top three most used passwords are 12345,
qwerty and sunshine.
Describe, using other examples, the difference between a weak password and a strong password.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 11
1. A bridge and a router are examples of networking devices.
(a) Explain the differences between a bridge and a router.
(b) IP addresses are used in computer networks.
Explain what is meant by an IP address.
(c) Explain the purpose of a routing table.
[2 marks]
[4 marks]
[2 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 12
1. Identify three different network communication devices and describe what each one does.
[6 marks]
UNIT – 5
The effects of using IT
February / March - 2021
1. Geeta spends a great deal of time at work entering data into her computer.
State three items of hardware that Geeta should be provided with to help avoid RSI when she
enters data into the computer.
[3 marks]
Unit 5 – The effects of using IT
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
1. People rely heavily on microprocessor-controlled devices in the home.
(a) Describe two drawbacks in terms of lifestyle changes this has produced for the users of such
devices.
[2 marks]
(b) Many of the microprocessor-controlled devices in our homes use WiFi connections.
Describe the benefits and drawbacks of using WiFi connections in this way.
[6 marks]
2. (a) Describe repetitive strain injury (RSI) and explain what causes it.
[2 marks]
(b) Give three ways of minimising the risk of RSI.
[3 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 13
1. The modern home relies heavily on microprocessor-controlled devices. One of the benefits is
that a worker is able to return home to a warm house having set the heater control to switch on at a
certain time.
(a) Describe four benefits in terms of lifestyle changes that this has produced for the users of
such devices.
[4 marks]
(b) The worker has set the heater control to switch on at 16:00 for two hours.
Explain how the microprocessor can operate the automatic heater to turn on and off at the
correct times.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 11
1. A road through a village has a speed limit of 45 kilometres per hour. The police are checking and
recording the speed of vehicles passing through the village using measuring hardware and
software, so they can produce a report of their findings.
(a) Explain the difference between measurement and control when using microprocessors.
[2 marks]
(b) Describe the role of the microprocessor in this scenario.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
Unit 5 – The effects of using IT
1. 1. When using computers people can suffer from Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).
(a) Describe the term RSI. Include in your answer the causes of RSI.
(b) Identify three methods of reducing the effects of RSI.
[3 marks]
[3 marks]
2. Many company computer network systems use WiFi as a communication system to help prevent
the issue of tripping over trailing cables.
(a) For each of the following physical safety issues describe two ways of helping to prevent them.
(i) Fire
[2 marks]
(ii) Electrocution
[2 marks]
A common use of home computers is online gaming.
(b) Describe three eSafety measures which should be taken when playing games on the internet.
[3 marks]
(c) In order to log onto online gaming a user ID and password is needed.
Explain what is meant by a user ID and password and why they are needed.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 13
1. Identify two appropriate IT-related causes for each of the health issues. Your answers
must be different in each case.
(a) repetitive strain injury (RSI)
[2 marks]
(b) eye strain
[2 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 13
1. A house contains a microprocessor-controlled central heating system.
(a) Identify two input devices that would be used in this system.
[2 marks]
(b) Describe how a microprocessor would use the data from these devices to control the central
heating system.
[6 marks]
2. Autonomous vehicles such as taxis are being tested on the world’s roads. This type of taxi is
able to drive between two points without the driver having control of the vehicle. The vehicles use
satellite navigation and wireless technology with sensors to navigate and control the vehicle.
Evaluate the use of these technologies when navigating and controlling vehicles in this way.
[8 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 11
1. As a student you often use a computer screen. This could be a screen on a desktop computer, a
laptop computer or even a smartphone.
Evaluate your use of computer screens, in terms of health risks, and explain any strategies you
use to minimise these health risks.
[6 marks]
Unit 5 – The effects of using IT
2. Robots are used to spray paint cars in a car production company.
(a) Describe two other jobs that robots can perform in car production.
[2 marks]
(b) When the spray paint can is empty it needs to be refilled. There is a sensor in the can which
measures the amount of paint.
Describe the use of the sensor and microprocessor in this application.
[6 marks]
(c) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the introduction of robots rather than employing
humans to spray paint the cars.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 12
1. Many young people now use social media rather than other forms of communication.
Evaluate your own use of social media and explain any eSafety strategies you could use to help
minimise the potential dangers.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 11
1. Microprocessor-controlled devices are used in the home.
Describe, with examples, how using these devices can affect the health and fitness of their users.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A video of a race can be recorded using a camera either on an autonomous flying vehicle
(drone) or in a helicopter. A person would be needed in the helicopter to operate the camera.
Describe two advantages and two disadvantages of using an autonomous flying vehicle (drone)
to record the video of the race.
[4 marks]
Unit 6 – ICT applications
UNIT – 6
ICT applications
February / March - 2020
1. Arjun is taking a gap year between his studies and will be travelling through Kenya. He needs to
remain in contact with his parents and is considering using either a cell phone or VoIP.
(a) Describe the benefits of using each of these communication methods to stay in contact with
his parents.
Cell phone
VoIP
[4 marks]
(b) From time to time Arjun’s parents transfer money from their bank account to his bank account
using online banking.
Identify one type of transaction they cannot do using online banking.
[1 mark]
(d) (d) Give three benefits of Arjun using online banking in this scenario.
[3 marks]
(e) Give two drawbacks of Arjun using online banking in this scenario.
[2 marks]
2. Chess players can use expert systems to help them practise chess moves.
Name two other applications which involve the use of expert systems.
[2 marks]
3. Robots are used in many car production lines.
Discuss how their use has affected the nature of employment in the car production industry.
[6 marks]
February / March - 2021
1. A school is planning to introduce a contactless card system for pupils to pay for school meals.
Each card contains an amount of money which is topped up by parents. Parents transfer amounts
of money into the school system and pupils place the card close to a reader to upload the money
onto the card.
(a) Discuss the benefits and drawbacks, to the pupils, of using a contactless card system rather
than paying by cash.
[6 marks]
(b) The terminals in the school use electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS).
Describe the computer processing that takes place to pay for a meal at the EFTPOS terminal
using the card.
[6 marks]
February / March - 2022
1. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are used for many different applications.
(a) Describe how GPS is used by a smartphone to pinpoint its location
(b) Give three other examples of the use of GPS.
[4 marks]
[3 marks]
2. Tawara School is presenting a concert. For previous concerts the booking of tickets was carried
out manually using pen and paper.
For this concert they are going to use an online booking system.
(a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Tawara School using an online booking system
rather than the manual system.
[8 marks]
(b) Identify the most appropriate method of implementation of the new online booking system in
this scenario.
[1 mark]
(c) Explain, giving reasons, why your answer to part (b) is the most appropriate method of
implementation for this scenario.
[3 marks]
February / March - 2023
1. The number of people using online shopping has increased. This has led to an increase in the
number of journeys for the delivery drivers.
Describe how an expert system can be used to produce the best route for the delivery of items.
[6 marks]
Unit 6 – ICT applications
2. People can watch a movie either by streaming or from a Blu-ray disc.
Give two advantages of watching the movie by streaming rather than from a Blu-ray disc.
[2 marks]
3. A school car park is controlled by a barrier. When teachers enter the car park their number plate
is read and the barrier is raised automatically.
(a) Visitors can use the keypad as an input device to enter a code which allows the barrier to be
raised.
Identify three other input devices shown in Fig. 16.1.
[3 marks]
(b) Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is used to read and check the number plate of
the vehicle.
Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using an ANPR system.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
1. Music scores can now be produced using computer systems and appropriate software.
Describe the features of this technology.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 11
1. Many banks have reduced the number of staff in their branches and replaced them with
automatic teller machines (ATMs). These ATMs, which can be located within the bank, can be
used by customers to deposit and withdraw money from their bank accounts.
(a) ATMs can be used to deposit cheques.
Describe the computer processing involved in depositing a cheque at an ATM.
[6 marks]
(b) Customers can visit these banks or use internet banking.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to a customer of visiting the bank rather than using
internet banking.
[6 marks
Unit 6 – ICT applications
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. Streaming movies and music is replacing downloading or purchasing a physical copy of the files.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of streaming files rather than using other methods.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Identify two devices which are used in control systems.
[2 marks]
2. Many bank cards now use contactless technology.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using these cards rather than cards that use chip
and PIN.
[4 marks]
3. A customer is booking a seat on a theatre’s online booking system. The customer reserves
seats using the theatre’s website and a debit card. The website displays the seats that are
available and a database stores the customer details, the payment details and the seat details.
When the customer enters their debit card details for a seat, the theatre’s computer communicates
with the bank’s computer.
(a) Describe four checks that the bank’s computer will make on the customer’s bank account.
[4 marks]
(b) Describe the processing carried out by the theatre’s computer when making a booking.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 12
1. A library is considering the way it issues books. The librarians are planning to use RFID rather
than bar codes.
Describe the advantages of using RFID rather than bar codes.
[4 marks]
2. A car manufacturing company uses computer-controlled robots to manufacture its cars.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to the company of using computer-controlled robots
rather than using humans to manufacture the cars.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 13
Unit 6 – ICT applications
1. Identify two input devices which are used in computer control systems.
[2 marks]
2. People can manage their banking transactions using the internet. However, if the internet signal
is poor telephone banking can be used.
A person wishes to use telephone banking without speaking to an operator to transfer money from
one bank account to another.
Describe the steps needed to do this.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
1. Manymedia companies now providemedia streaming for users to watch their television
programmes.
(a) Explain what is meant by the term media streaming.
[2 marks]
(b) Describe the benefits and drawbacks of media streaming.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 11
1. Autonomous vehicles are being tested on some of the world’s roads. These vehicles can travel
in convoys with each vehicle following the one in front with a set distance between them. The
whole operation is computer controlled. If the vehicle in front slows down, then the following vehicle
also slows down to maintain the distance between them.
A proximity sensor is used to detect how close the vehicle is to the vehicle in front.
Describe how the microprocessor would maintain the set distance between the vehicles. [6 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 13
1. The director of a museum in China is planning an exhibition on ancient civilisations. One of the
exhibits is a full representation of a 10 000-year-old human. The Natural History Museum in
London is planning to send a complete skeleton, but it is too fragile.
(a) Describe how a computer could be used to create a 3D copy of the skeleton which will then
be printed in China.
[5 marks]
(b) Describe four benefits of using 3D printers.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 13
1. (a) Identify two applications that use expert systems.
(b) Identify three components found in an expert system.
[2 marks]
[3 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. High street banks now offer customers access to internet banking when they are in the physical
bank.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to the bank of using internet banking in this way.
[6 marks]
Unit 6 – ICT applications
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
1. A person contacts an online medical website that uses an expert system to allow users to
self-diagnose illnesses.
(a) Write down the component within the expert system that matches the definition given.
(i) This component contains a database of facts.
[1 mark]
(ii) This component carries out the reasoning of the expert system.
[1 mark]
(iii) This component allows the person to interact with the system.
[1 mark]
(b) Describe how an expert system is used to diagnose an illness.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 13
1. Each box delivered to the school shop includes a QR code.
Explain why QR codes are used.
[4 marks]
2. Rockit Aircraft manufactures and flies aeroplanes.
(a) The pilots at Rockit Aircraft are trained using extended reality.
Describe what is meant by extended reality.
[2 marks]
(b) Some of the components used in the manufacture of aircraft are produced using a 3D printer.
Analyse the use of a 3D printer to make the components rather than making the components
by hand.
[6 marks]
Unit 8 – Safety and security
UNIT – 8
Safety and security
February / March - 2020
1. A company is considering developing a laptop computer that only uses biometric methods to
authorise user access to this laptop computer. The developers are considering using facial
recognition.
(a) Explain, giving other examples, why biometric methods are considered to be a more secure
way of authorising access to the laptop computer rather than typing in passwords.
[6 marks]
(b) Describe the disadvantages of using facial recognition to authorise access to the laptop
computer.
[4 marks]
2. When people use the internet for shopping and banking it is essential that they use a website
that has a secure server.
(a) Describe the features of a web page that identify it as using a secure server.
[4 marks]
(b) As more and more people use smartphones as computer systems, security can be breached.
Smishing and pharming are ways in which data can be compromised on a smartphone.
Compare and contrast smishing and pharming.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 11
1. Phishing and pharming can affect the security of a user’s data.
(a) Compare and contrast phishing and pharming.
[6 marks]
(b) Smishing is another security issue. Describe the methods which can be used to help
prevent smishing.
[6 marks]
2. Following recent data protection issues the personal data we allow organisations to share about
us may be reduced.
(a) Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of trying to keep personal data confidential and secure.
[6 marks]
(b) The sharing of email addresses can lead to spam.
Explain what is meant by the term spam email.
[2 marks]
(c) Explain why spam email should be prevented.
[4 marks]
3. (a) The school is planning to use fingerprints as a way to record when students arrive in the
class.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using fingerprint data entry for student
registration systems rather than magnetic ID cards.
[4 marks]
(b) Fingerprints are one example of biometrics.
Identify three other examples of biometrics
[3 marks]
4. Most data protection acts include the principle that data should be accurate and, where
necessary, kept up to date.
List four other principles of a typical data protection act.
[4 marks]
Unit 8 – Safety and security
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
1. Smishing and phishing can affect the security of a user’s data.
(a) Compare and contrast smishing and phishing.
[6 marks]
(b) Describe the methods which can be used to help prevent phishing.
[6 marks]
2. Students often use IT equipment; therefore it is important to have a good physical safety
strategy.
Evaluate your own use of IT equipment, in terms of physical safety, and describe the strategies
you will need to minimise the potential physical safety risks.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 12
1. A patient has an injury and the doctor treating him needs to find out information about the
patient. Most of the data he needs to collect is personal data.
The data collected is protected by data protection legislation. Most data protection acts include the
principle that data should be kept confidential and secure.
(a) List four other principles of a typical data protection act.
[4 marks]
(b) Explain what is meant by personal data. Include two examples of personal data in your answer.
[3 marks]
(c) Explain why personal data should be kept confidential and secure.
[4 marks]
2. The prolonged use of computers can cause several health problems particularly when sitting
down and using monitors.
Discuss the strategies that you have developed to minimise health risks which only relate to sitting
down and using a monitor.
[8 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 13
1. Eye strain is one of the health issues associated with using computers.
(a) Explain three causes of eye strain when using computers.
(b) Identify four methods of reducing the effects of eye strain.
[3 marks]
[4 marks]
2. The protection of personal data is important as many transactions are carried out online.
(a) Explain how to avoid inappropriate disclosure of personal data.
[4 marks]
(b) Controlling the freedom of speech is part of policing the internet.
Discuss whether the internet should be policed or not.
[4 marks]
Unit 8 – Safety and security
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
1. A student has set up a password for his laptop computer. The password he has chosen is
Px2zY!Cg3?bd
(a) Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using this password.
[6 marks]
(b) The student could have protected his laptop computer by using two-factor authentication. This
could have combined his password with a biometric method.
State two examples of biometric methods he could use.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A company requires its employees to regularly change their login passwords for the company’s
computer systems. Passwords must be strong and cannot be reused.
(a) Explain three problems that may occur when the employees change their passwords regularly.
[6 marks]
(b) The company has a website which uses a digital certificate.
Explain the purpose of the digital certificate.
[1 mark]
(c) A digital certificate is attached to an email.
State three items contained in a digital certificate.
[3 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 11
1. Many young people play online games. One problem with online gaming is that it is easy to give
out personal details accidentally. Some users create weak passwords which could lead to their
personal details being accessed.
(a) Name two pieces of personal data that could be accessed.
[2 marks]
(b) Write down three rules that should be applied when setting a strong password.
[3 marks]
(c) Describe safety measures that should be taken by gamers to ensure their data is safe other
than using strong passwords.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 12
1. Students in Tawara College are using the internet to find information for a project. They have
been told that the college has a firewall.
(a) Explain what is meant by a firewall and why it is used.
[6 marks]
The students visit different websites to get information for their project.
(b) Explain why it is not always easy for the students to find reliable information on the internet.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 13
1. Keeping data secure is very important in any computer system. Many organisations use
encryption when sending data.
(a) Describe the term encryption.
[4 marks]
(b) Another way of protecting data in a computer system is to use passwords.
Identify methods to prevent hackers from gaining knowledge of someone’s password. [4 marks]
Unit 8 – Safety and security
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. There have been major issues regarding the accuracy of facial recognition systems for
identifying suspects by the police.
Tawara Airport has installed biometric security including facial recognition systems to help the
police recognise known criminals entering and leaving the country. Previously video was taken of
all passengers and then checked manually.
(a) Discuss the effectiveness of using facial recognition systems rather than the manual video
system to increase security in this way.
[8 marks]
(b) Give three examples of biometric data.
[3 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. Workers in an office log onto the office computer network using a password.
Aaron is using his name as his password.
(a) Give two reasons why this is not a good idea.
[2 marks]
(b) One method that hackers use to find people’s passwords is to install key-logging spyware onto
computers.
Give two methods that could be used to safely enter passwords even if key-logging spyware
has been installed on a computer.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
1. An organisation has changed the way in which members of staff can enter the building.
Previously they typed in a four-digit code on a key pad; now they use a device that reads a
handprint.
(a) Discuss the effectiveness of using a handprint to enter the building rather than keying in a
code.
[8 marks]
Handprint scans are an example of a biometric method to enter a building.
(b) Give two other examples of biometric methods that could be used in this scenario. [2 marks]
2. A teacher is concerned that students are playing online computer games at home without
considering eSafety. The teacher is going to create a set of rules that he feels they should be
following.
Write down a list of eSafety rules that he could include.
[6 marks]
Unit 8 – Safety and security
October / November – 2023 – Paper 12
1. Many teachers use multimedia projectors in their lessons.
(a) State two health issues associated with the use of multimedia projectors.
(b) State two safety issues associated with the use of multimedia projectors.
October / November – 2023 – Paper 13
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
1. A company’s computer system is protected by both a user ID and a password.
(a) Explain how a user ID and a password are used to increase the security of data.
[6 marks]
(b) The company plans to improve the security of its computer system by using biometric methods.
Describe what is meant by biometric methods. Give two examples of biometrics.
[4 marks]
UNIT – 9
Audience
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. Tawara College is setting up a new website for its older students. The website will publicise the
events in the college, as well as revision and sporting activities. The headteacher wants the
website to be attractive to the older students and it must meet their needs.
Before the website can be produced the needs of the audience have to be taken into account.
Analyse the needs of this audience
[8 marks]
Unit 9 – Audience
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
1. (a) Explain the need for copyright legislation when data is published on the internet. [4 marks]
(b) Describe methods that software producers use to prevent software copyright being broken.
[4 marks]
(c) Emails are used by people to communicate with each other. Copyright and using acceptable
language in the email are two of the constraints that affect the use of email.
(i) Describe four other constraints that may affect the use of email.
[4 marks]
(ii) Describe two rules of the use of acceptable language in emails.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
1. ePublishing software is used to create an ePublication to display a school’s yearly magazine.
(a) Describe the characteristics of an ePublication.
[4 marks]
(b) The ePublishing software is subject to software copyright legislation.
Give two methods that could be used to prevent software copyright legislation being broken.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 12
1. When software is bought, the purchaser is subject to copyright legislation.
Give four actions that would breach copyright legislation.
October / November – 2023 – Paper 13
[4 marks]
1. The secretary of Tawara University has created web pages for former students. The former
students are adults.
(a) State the design features of the web pages that would meet the needs of this target audience.
[6 marks]
Unit 10 – Communication
UNIT – 10
Communication
February / March - 2022
1. The World Wide Web (WWW) is often mistaken for the internet.
(a) Explain the differences between the WWW and the internet.
(b) The web address for Cambridge IGCSE is:
https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/IGCSE
Describe the following parts of the web address.
https://
cambridgeinternational
.org
/IGCSE
[4 marks]
[4 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
2. When using the internet, FTP can be used.
Explain what is meant by the term FTP.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 13
1. A school is planning to set up a student work files area. The school is considering allowing
students to log in to the student work files area either using the school’s intranet or the internet.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using the school’s intranet rather than the internet
to access this student work files area.
[8 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 11
1. You have been asked by the secretary of a soccer club to create a website to publicise its
results, fixtures and other events.
When the website has been created it has to be published on the internet. You plan to upload it
onto the internet using FTP.
(a) Explain what is meant by FTP.
[2 marks]
(b) Explain how to upload and publish the content of a website using FTP.
[4 marks]
(c) Before the website is published it needs to be tested.
Write down three different features of the web pages that could be tested. For each feature,
describe the method you would use to carry out the test.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 12
1. Uniform Resource Locators (URL) are used to locate websites and resources. A teacher needs
Unit 10 – Communication
to find a teaching guide from Cambridge Assessment International Education. To download the
teaching guide she types in:
(a) Write down only the part of the URL which shows the file name of the teaching guide.
[1 mark]
(b) Write down only the part of the URL which is the folder where the teaching guide is stored.
[1 mark]
(c) Write down only the part of the URL which is the domain name.
[1 mark]
(d) Explain what is meant by https
[1 mark]
2. Spam is associated with ICT systems.
(a) Explain what is meant by the term spam.
(b) Describe the ways that a user can recognise spam and methods to help prevent it.
May / June – 2022 – Paper 13
1. Both the internet and the intranet are used for communication.
(a) Define the terms internet and intranet.
(i) Internet
(ii) Intranet
2. The World Wide Web is part of the internet.
Explain why the World Wide Web has become so popular.
[2 marks]
[6 marks]
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
[6 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
1. (a) Describe the purpose of a web browser.
(b) A company may use an intranet or an extranet.
Describe the differences between an intranet and an extranet.
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A company uses an extranet.
(a) Explain what is meant by an extranet.
(b) Describe the differences between the internet and an extranet.
[2 marks]
[2 marks[
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 13
1. A company uses an intranet. They are considering using an extranet.
Compare an intranet with an extranet. Your answer must include similarities and differences.
[6 marks]
Unit 10 – Communication
2. A school secretary is composing an email. She will send the email to a teacher and will
copy the headteacher into the message. She can either copy the headteacher in as cc or
bcc.
(a) Describe what is meant by cc and bcc.
(b) A teacher is considering setting up either a forum or a blog for his class to help his
students with their studies.
Describe the benefits of using a forum rather than a blog.
[4 marks]
1. (a) Compare and contrast an intranet with the internet.
(b) Protocols are associated with the internet and an intranet.
Identify three protocols and for each one, identify a use.
[8 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 12
October / November – 2020 – Paper 13
[5 marks]
[5 marks]
1. Email is a common way of communicating with other people. Netiquette is associated with
emailing.
A headmistress of a school has asked the network manager to produce a document listing
netiquette rules the staff and students should follow when sending emails from the school.
Describe, giving reasons, three rules that he could produce.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 11
1. An organisation uses the internet and an intranet.
(a) Explain how the purpose of the internet differs from the purpose of an intranet.
2. The use of social networking is a part of modern living.
(a) Define the term social networking.
(b) Describe the benefits of using social networking.
[4 marks]
[2 marks]
[6 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 12
1. The internet has both moderated and unmoderated forums.
Explain what is meant by a moderated forum.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 13
Unit 10 – Communication
1. The internet has both moderated and unmoderated forums.
Explain what is meant by an unmoderated forum.
[4 marks]
2. Many customers now use contactless payment and internet banking.
(a) Describe the computer processing involved in using contactless bank cards to pay for
purchases.
[4 marks]
Fewer and fewer customers now use high street banks, preferring to bank online using the internet.
(b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of internet banking for the customer.
[6 marks]
Transactions with the bank’s website use a variety of technologies including SSL.
(c) Explain what is meant by SSL. Include in your answer why SSL is used.
[3 marks]
d) The web address of the bank is:
https://www.tawarabank.com
Describe the following parts of the web address.
https://
tawarabank
.com
[3 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Discuss the moral implications which need to be considered when creating an ICT solution.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
1. The use of email has replaced many forms of communication.
Describe the constraints that you need to consider when writing and sending an email. [6 marks]
2. A student is carrying out some research for school.
(a) Explain two ways she could search for information on the World Wide Web (WWW). [2 marks]
(b) Explain the differences between the internet and the World Wide Web (WWW).
[4 marks]
UNIT – 11
File Management
February / March - 2020
Unit 11 – File Management
1. A teacher has created a hierarchical file structure to save the registers and marks of each of her
classes on her laptop computer. Part of the structure is shown.
(a) Write down the file path to locate a document which is stored in the folder Examination Marks.
[3 marks]
(b) The teacher could have saved the document as a .txt or an .rtf file format.
Describe what is meant by .txt and .rtf file formats.
[2 marks]
(c) Explain the differences between the two file formats.
[3 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
1. gif and jpg file formats are used to store images.
(a) Give one reason for using each of the file formats. Each of your reasons must be different.
gif
jpg
[2 marks]
(b) Explain the differences between the two file formats.
[6 marks]
(c) The file size of an image can be reduced by changing the file format of the image.
State two other ways of reducing the file size of an image.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 12
1. Generic file formats allow data to be opened in any platform.
Identify two generic text formats.
[2 marks]
1. rtf and pdf are file types.
(a) Describe what is meant by an rtf and a pdf file type.
(b) Explain the differences between the two file types.
[2 marks]
[3 marks]
1. A web page can contain images saved as png or gif file types.
(a) State what is meant by png and gif file types.
(b) Explain the differences between the two file types.
[2 marks]
[3 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
Unit 11 & 15– File Management & Proofing
October / November – 2023 – Paper 11
1. A cricket club secretary saves a list of players as a PDF file.
(a) Describe two disadvantages of saving the list of players as a PDF file.
[2 marks]
The cricket club has a junior team for 6−8-year-old players. The secretary has produced an
ePublication to attract new members to the junior team.
(b) State two features of an ePublication that could not appear on a paper poster.
[2 marks]
(c) Describe the features that could be used to make the ePublication attractive to a younger
audience.
[6 marks]
UNIT – 15
Proofing
May / June – 2022 – Paper 12
1. A librarian in a college department library is entering data into a student borrowers’ file. As the
data is entered it needs to be verified.
(a) Describe the two types of verification
[4 marks]
(b) Explain, using examples, why it is necessary to carry out validation as well as verification for
this system.
[4 marks]
UNIT – 17
Document Production
February / March - 2020
1. A master document has been created. The teacher will mail merge the personal details of
Unit 17 – Document Production
each student into the document.
Explain why mail merged documents are used.
February / March - 2021
[4 marks]
1. Falyaz has created a diary using word processing software. The diary entry for 17th May 2020 is
shown.
(a) Write down four formatting features of the word processing software used to make this diary
entry.
[4 marks]
(b) The original diary entry typed into the word processing software did not include an image.
Describe the steps that would be carried out by Falyaz to include in his diary entry an image
taken from his digital camera.
[6 marks]
(c) Name two other sources of digital images apart from using a digital camera
[2 marks]
(d) Falyaz wants to add a header in his word processed diary.
Explain what is meant by a header and why it is needed.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 13
1. Mason is the head of a year group at a school. Every term he needs to send to parents a report
on their child’s progress. This will include a written report and the percentage attendance over the
term.
Each term he loads the comments from his tutors into the word processing software. He then adds
the attendance data from the database. The report is then printed and sent to parents.
He has decided that in future he will use mail merge to print the reports.
(a) Give four advantages of using mail merge instead of typing the reports.
[4 marks]
(b) As it is entered, the data on the database is checked using validation routines. The percentage
attendance field uses a range check.
Describe, using the percentage attendance field, the steps that need to be taken to create this
validation routine.
[4 marks]
(c) Before the database can be implemented the validation routines need to be tested.
Describe, using the percentage attendance field, how the validation routine will be tested by
Mason.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 11
Unit 17 – Document Production
1. An image has been changed in a number of different ways.
Original image
For each of the following images describe the software editing technique used in order to produce
the edited images shown from the original image.
Edited images
[4 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. The director of a zoo is writing a document about wallabies. He has taken an image of some
wallabies (Fig. 12.1) and is planning the layout of the pages which will include part of the image.
The image he plans to use is shown in Fig. 12.2.
(a) Name the editing technique that was used to change Fig. 12.1 to Fig. 12.2.
[1 mark]
Unit 17 – Document Production
(b) The director will include images and information about the wallabies in the document. Each
page will be set out in 2 columns with a line between them.
(i) Describe the steps taken to create the columns. Assume the software has been loaded
and the text has been entered.
[3 marks]
(ii) Describe the steps taken to add the image as shown.
[4 marks]
(c) As the document is being written for the zoo it needs to conform to the corporate house style.
Explain what is meant by corporate house style.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 12
Unit 17 – Document Production
1. Many word processing packages have a number of formatting features.
The paragraph below shows some of the formatting features that can be used.
(a) Write down four of the formatting features that have been used in the paragraph shown
[4 marks]
(b) The logo for the Summer Steam Festival is shown and labelled A. The organisers of the event
are planning to create a second logo for all their correspondence. This is shown and labelled B.
Describe the steps that have been used to transform logo A into logo B.
[4 marks]
2. A company uses corporate house style within the headers and footers in its documents.
(a) Explain what is meant by corporate house style.
[2 marks]
(b) Explain why headers and footers are needed.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 13
Unit 17 – Document Production
1. An image has been taken of a bird watcher and a bird. The original image has been saved as a
jpg file type. You have been asked to remove parts of the image to just show the bird and to save
it as a png file type to become the new image.
(a) Explain the steps needed to change the original image to the new image
(b) Explain the differences between a jpg and a png file type.
[4 marks]
[4 marks]
2. In a college library if a book is not available students can reserve the book. When the book
becomes available the librarian needs to inform the student. He does this by typing a letter and
printing it.
He has a database of students and has decided that in future he will use mail merge to produce
the letters.
Give four advantages of using mail merge instead of typing out the letter each time.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 13
1. Many books contain a gutter margin.
Explain what is meant by a gutter margin.
Unit 17 – Document Production
October / November – 2021 – Paper 11
[3 marks]
1. A student is working on a project on the World Games. He has produced some information but
has
decided to produce a second layout including a table. The original layout and the new layout are
shown.
2021 World Games
This will be the 11th World Games, a major international multi-sport event, for sports, or disciplines
within a sport, that were not contested in the Olympic Games.
Dates: Thu, 15 Jul 2021 – Sun, 25 Jul 2021
Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Host city: Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Opening ceremony: July 15
Closing ceremony: July 25
Main venue: The New Birmingham Stadium
2021 World Games
The original layout
This will be the 11th World Games, a major international multi-sport event, for sports, or disciplines
within a sport, that were not contested in the Olympic Games.
The new layout
(a) Explain, step by step, how the table was created, without the text being entered by hand.
[4 marks]
(b) The student checks the text he has written using a spell checker.
Explain how a spell checker works.
[2 marks]
(c) Explain why the suggestions made by the spell checker do not always give the correct
response.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 12
Unit 17 – Document Production
1. A school is planning to change the way it reports back to parents about their child’s academic
progress. They plan to produce a mail merged document and then email this to parents.
They have created a spreadsheet which shows the pupil’s name, target, attainment and effort
levels for Maths and the Science subjects.
Part of the spreadsheet is shown.
(a) Design a suitable document layout to display the information of one pupil. The name of the
pupil must be clearly shown separated from the rest of the data. It must have appropriate
spacing. Do not include the pupil’s data.
[6 marks]
(b) The attainment levels range from 1 to 9 and the effort levels range from 1 to 3. Before teachers
are allowed to enter data, the spreadsheet needs to be tested.
Write down one example of extreme data to test the attainment field and one example of
abnormal data to test the effort field.
Attainment – extreme data
Effort – abnormal data
[2 marks]
(c) Describe four advantages of using a mail merge for this document.
[4 marks]
(d) When the mail merge is created, a special field containing the date needs to be added. This
date will change automatically each time the merged document is sent or printed.
Explain how the date field can be added.
[3 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 13
1. The manager of Rockit Motors has created many different types of documents including letters
and memos for the company. Each of them is produced using its corporate house style.
(c) Explain why corporate house styles are required.
[4 marks]
2. A student has taken a photograph of him and his friend, using a digital camera. He needs to
increase the size of the image to include it on a poster.
(a) Give one disadvantage of increasing the size of this image.
[1 mark]
(b) He now wishes to edit the image to remove his friend. He edits the image by cropping it and
removing part of the image.
Describe, step by step, how he would crop the image.
[5 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. A receptionist in a medical centre is going to send out emails to patients about medical results.
The receptionist will use the data from patients’ medical and personal records and mail merge
these.One of the disadvantages of this system is that the receptionist will have access to personal
data.
(a) Describe four other disadvantages of using mail merge.
[4 marks]
Due to data protection laws, personal data should be kept confidential and secure.
(b) Explain why personal data should be kept confidential and secure.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. Explain why page, section and column breaks are used in documents.
October / November – 2023 – Paper 11
[3 marks]
Unit 17 – Document Production
1. A student has produced some work for a school project. A page of the work is shown.
Fig. 12.1
(a) The student has placed a column break in his document.
Explain the purpose of setting a column break.
[2 marks]
(b) After running a spell check and proofreading his document the student notices that one word
is still showing an error.
Explain why this word has caused an error and how the student could ensure that the error
does not reappear when this word is used in future.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 13
1. A student has created a document with images for her geography project.
(a) The layout of page one is portrait orientation. The student needs to set page two as landscape
orientation. Before she can set the landscape orientation she needs to insert a break.
State the type of break that is needed.
[1 mark]
(b) The student has placed images in the document.
State two file formats she could have used for the images.
[2 marks]
(c) Each page of the document includes a footer.
Explain why a footer is used.
[3 marks]
2. The web pages conform to the university’s corporate house style.
Describe why a corporate house style is used.
(c) Give four design features of a corporate house style.
[3 marks]
UNIT – 18
Databases
February / March - 2020
1. A headteacher plans to use a computer database to keep records of the members of staff that
teach in her school. She must choose between using a flat file database or a relational database.
(a) Explain the differences between a flat file database and a relational database.
[2 marks]
(b) The school keeps details of the teachers in one file and the subjects they teach in another file.
A teacher teaches more than one subject.
Describe the steps the headteacher would need to take to create a relational database from
this data.
[4 marks]
Unit 18 – Databases
February / March - 2021
1. The owner of a bookshop has a database of all the books she has in stock. As some of the data
is being entered into the database it is checked using validation checks.
An example of some of the records in the database is shown.
Explain, using a field name and examples of the data stored in that field in the database, why
validation checks must be appropriate to the data that is being checked.
[4 marks]
February / March - 2022
1. The manager of a car garage has asked a systems analyst to create a new database system for
the checking of cars making sure they are safe to drive. The checking of cars is known as a
service.
Each car has a unique licence plate.
The cars can either be powered by electric or petrol.
Cars are serviced every 10000 km, for example 10000 km, 20000 km.
Unit 18 – Databases
The minimum cost of the service is 1500 rupees and the maximum is 5000 rupees depending on
the model of car.
Different models of car are serviced.
The date of the service is agreed.
(a) Complete this table, filling in the field names and the most appropriate data types to create
the database using the information given above. For any numeric field, specify the type of
number.
[6 marks]
(b) The systems analyst is planning to create a relational database.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of creating a relational database rather than a flat
file database.
[6 marks]
(c) For each of the fields shown, name and describe one validation check that could be used on
the data. Your answers must be different in each case.
(i) Vehicle_licence_plate
[2 marks]
(ii) Cost_of_service
[2 marks]
(iii) Date_of_service
[2 marks]
February / March - 2023
1. Describe the characteristics of a primary key and a foreign key.
(a) Primary key
[2 marks]
(b) Foreign key
[2 marks]
Unit 18 – Databases
May / June – 2020 – Paper 11
1. A hospital is creating a database to store blood donors’ medical details. The fields in the
database include Health_number, Date_of_birth, Gender and Blood_group.
(a) When a new blood donor wishes to give blood they need to fill in a form.
Each blood donor has a unique health number which uses a 10-digit number, for example
9434765919.
Blood group can be A, B, AB or O.
Part of the form is shown below.
Name a suitable data type for the answers given to each of the questions in the form. For
any numeric field, specify the type of number.
[4 marks]
(b). The administrator needs a list of all the blood donors in the database with blood group A
as well as in the same list all the blood donors with blood group AB. This list will only
include female blood donors.
To find the blood donor with the health number 9434765919 he will need to type in the
following query.
Health_number = 9434765919
Write a query to find all the female blood group donors with the blood group A as well as
those with AB.
[6 marks]
(c) When the details of a new donor are added to the database the person’s date of birth is
entered.
Explain why the administrator would prefer their date of birth to be stored rather than their
age.
[4 marks]
(d) Name the most appropriate validation check for the Health_number.
[1 mark]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 13
1. The secretary of the Tawara Rowing Club is organising a presentation evening for its members.
A systems analyst is creating a database for the club to store the details of the members. She is
also creating a spreadsheet to show who is attending the presentation evening.
Unit 18 – Databases
The systems analyst has set up the following fields for the database.
(a) For the following fields write down the most appropriate data type. Each data type must be
different. For any numeric field, specify the type of number.
[3 marks]
Gender
Membership_type
Year_joined
(b) Design an online data entry form which could be used to enter the details of one member,
using all the fields shown in the table.
In your design include appropriate spacing for each field and navigational aids. Do not include
data in the form.
[8 marks]
(c) A spreadsheet has been created to show which members are attending the presentation
evening and who has paid.
Part of the spreadsheet is shown.
Write down three of the formatting features that have been used in the part of the spreadsheet
shown.
[3 marks]
(d) A formula has been created and placed in cell G3. The formula is:
IF(E3=''Y'',VLOOKUP(D3,J$3:K$5,2)*F3,0)
Explain what the formula does.
[6 marks]
(e) The secretary needs to identify different types of members in the club.
Describe the steps he would take to sort the data by type of member so that Junior members
are at the top of the list.
[3 marks]
Unit 18 – Databases
May / June – 2021 – Paper 11
1. A systems analyst has created a new computer system to keep records in a medical centre. She
has created a relational database to store the medical records of patients.
The database uses primary and foreign keys.
(a) Describe what is meant by a relational database.
[3 marks]
(b) Explain the difference between a primary key and a foreign key.
[4 marks]
(c) A dentist works at the medical centre. The dentist stores the medical records of his patients.
Describe four other uses of the database software that the dentist can use to help him in his
work.
[4 marks]
(d) The data stored on the computer system needs to be protected from unauthorised access.
Discuss the effectiveness of different methods of increasing security of this data.
[8 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 12
1. Petr has set up a database for a science project on planets in the solar system. Part of the
database is shown.
(a) When Petr was designing his database, he had to set the data types for each field.
Complete the design table below by filling in the data types for each named field. Use the most
appropriate data type. Each data type must be different. For any numeric field, specify the type
of number.
(b) Operators such as AND, OR, NOT, LIKE, >, >=, <, <=, =, <> can be used to search Petr’s
planet database. The search criteria for all the gas giant planets with more than 20 moons
would look like this:
Type_of_planet = ''Gas Giant'' AND Number_of_moons > 20
Write down the search criteria that will produce a list of planets that are not gas giants but
have at least one moon and were first observed after 1800.
[7 marks]
(c) Write down the names of the planets that are not gas giants but have at least one moon and
were first observed after 1800.
[2 marks]
Unit 18 – Databases
(d) Petr has copied the data from the Orbital period field into a spreadsheet. The data for the
orbital period for Mars, 1.88, is stored in cell A2. In cell B2 he has entered a function of:
ROUND(A2,0)
Explain in detail the function used in cell B2.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. Aimi works for a shop that sells toys. She is setting up a relational database of the stock in the
shop. She has started designing the database. Aimi has written down the questions that are asked
about each toy and needs to produce appropriate field names from them. An example of the type
of data that is to be stored is shown.
What is the toy? Tawara Doll
Who manufactured the toy? Tinky
What year was it manufactured? 2020
What price was it bought for? $12.99
(a) Complete the design table below by filling in an appropriate field name for each question. Each
field name must be different. Field names must not include spaces.
[4 marks]
(b) When Aimi created the whole database one of the fields was set as integer. However, as data
is entered Aimi realises that the field should have been set to two decimal places.
Describe the steps that need to be taken, by Aimi, to change the field from an integer to a
decimal. This field will be set to two decimal places.
[4 marks]
(c) Aimi created a relational database but could have created a flat file database.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a relational database rather than a flat
file database.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Two types of database are relational and flat file.
(a) Compare and contrast relational databases and flat file databases. Your answer must include
similarities and differences.
[8 marks]
(b) Give, using an example, one reason why flat file databases are used in certain applications
rather than relational databases.
[2 marks]
Unit 18 – Databases
2. The manager of a medical centre keeps the doctor’s stock records in a database. The stock for
any item is not allowed to fall below 15 items and the manager keeps a maximum of 100 items in
stock.
The table shows examples of the stock.
As data is entered it needs to be verified and validated.
(a) Explain why verification is carried out.
[2 marks]
(b) Write down the field name from the table that would be the most appropriate for each of these
validation checks. Each answer must be different.
[3 marks]
Check digit
Length
Type
(c) Name the most appropriate field from the table that could be used as a primary key in the
database.
[1 mark]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 11
1. A new database system has been set up for a bookshop. Part of a record from the database
system is shown. Each field has a validation check which needs to be tested.
(a) For each field identify the most appropriate validation check. Each check must be different.
The validation checks for two fields have already been identified; these types of validation
check must not be used for the other fields.
[3 marks]
(b) The Purchase_price field uses a range check. The prices of books range from 1 to 100.
Identify three items of test data which could be used with the Purchase_price field, giving
reasons for your choice. The reasons must be different in each case.
[6 marks]
2. A student is creating a database for her geography project to show all the earthquakes that
occurred in 2019. She has produced part of the database which is shown.
Unit 18 – Databases
When she has completed her database, she needs to carry out some searches on the data. To
search for all the earthquakes with a depth of more than 20 km she will need to type the following
search criteria.
Depth(km) >20
(a) Write the search criteria to find all the earthquakes of a magnitude greater than or equal to
6.5, with a depth less than 15 km.
[5 marks]
(b) Give the name of the country that satisfies the search criteria in part (a).
[1 mark]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 13
1. A library system has two tables; one for borrowers and one for books. Extracts from these tables
are shown.
(a) Name the most appropriate validation check for each of these fields. Your answer must be
different for each field.
ISBN
Date_due_back
[2 marks]
(b) (i) For the books table, name the most appropriate field that could be used as a primary
key.
[1 mark]
(ii) The librarian has created a relationship between the books table and the borrowers
table.
For the books table, name the most appropriate foreign key field that would be used to
create the relationship.
[1 mark]
(c) The data type for Contact_telephone has been set as text.
Explain why this field has been set to text rather than integer.
[2 marks]
(d) At the end of each day the tables are searched to issue reminders to borrowers about books
that are overdue.
Describe the automatic processing involved in searching and issuing of reminders for overdue
books.
[6 marks]
Unit 18 – Databases
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. A teacher is setting up a database which she will use to record her student’s exam marks.
(a) The teacher is planning to test the mark range using different types of test data. The range of
marks that the teacher can award is 0 to 100.
(i) Write down one example of extreme test data that the teacher can use to check the
range.
[1 mark]
(ii) Extreme test data is one type of test data. The teacher uses two other pieces of test
data.
Write down the type of test data for each of the examples.
[2 marks]
TEN
55
(b) Part of the database is shown
Write down the field name which is the most appropriate for the data type, based on the data
shown in the table. Your answers must be different in each case.
Boolean
Numeric: integer
Numeric: decimal
Alphanumeric
[4 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. A club has many members. The secretary of the club wants to keep details of the club members
in a database.
(a) Describe the benefits and drawbacks of storing membership details on a computer database.
[6 marks]
(b) The secretary collects data from the members on paper-based forms.
Describe five features of a well-designed paper-based data capture form.
[5 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
Unit 18 – Databases
1. A school librarian is setting up a database of all the revision books he has in stock. The school
library sells revision books to students. The books range in value from $1 to $10 and are available
either in electronic book type (E) or physical book type (P).
(a) The librarian is planning to set up a number of different types of validation rule for the fields
to check data entry. Write down the most appropriate field name from the table that could be
used with each of the validation rules. Your answers must be different in each case.
Presence
Lookup
Range
Length
[4 marks]
The librarian needs to set up a primary key field.
(b) Write down the most appropriate field name from the table that could be used as a primary
key field
[1 mark]
Most of the revision books are available in electronic book type as digital versions of the printed
books. These are stored as interactive PDF files.
(c) Describe the benefits and drawbacks of using the digital versions.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2023 – Paper 11
1. A newsagent has created a database with fields to store details of each newspaper and
magazine he sells. Part of the database is shown.
(a) Tick (✓) the field name that would be the most appropriate primary key for the database.
(b) The newsagent has added a field called Bar_code to store the bar code number of the product.
Explain why a presence check is not a suitable validation check for the Bar_code field. [1 mark]
(c) The newsagent could use a relational database rather than a flat file database.
Describe the advantages of using a relational database rather than a flat file database. [4 marks]
(d) From the data shown in the part of the database, identify the most appropriate data type
for the:
(i) Selling_price
[1 mark]
(ii) Name_of_publication
[1 mark]
Unit 18 – Databases
October / November – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A teacher is creating a database for a class library. The teacher types the details of each book
into the database. The teacher has entered a number of records.
Identify and describe a validation check based on the data shown in the database table, which
could be applied to the data as it is entered into each of the fields. Each validation check must be
different.
Book_number
Validation check
Description
Date_acquired
ISBN
Validation check
Description
Validation check
Description
[6 marks]
UNIT – 19
Presentations
February / March - 2020
Unit 19 – Presentations
1. A sales representative is planning a presentation about a new product. He is considering
whether to use a multimedia presentation or to give a talk and hand out leaflets.
(a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a multimedia presentation rather than
printed leaflets.
[8 marks]
(b) The sales representative decides to create a multimedia presentation and wishes to place an
image of the new product on one of the slides.
Explain the steps he would need to take to do this.
[4 marks]
February / March - 2023
1. A tennis coach is creating a presentation to explain to teenagers the basics of playing tennis.
(a) Describe the design features that must be included to make the presentation appeal to the
teenagers.
[4 marks]
(b) The designer needs to be aware of copyright legislation when creating the presentation.
Explain the need for copyright legislation.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
1. A headteacher is planning to produce a presentation to showcase the school’s achievements.
(a) Describe two methods the headteacher could use to gather information about the requirements
of the target audience.
[2 marks]
(b) The presentation is to be shown on large monitors at the entrance to the school. The school
is planning to embed music into the presentation so that music could be played as the
presentation is shown.
Describe the steps the headteacher would need to take to play music in the background of
the slides.
[4 marks]
(c) After showing the presentation to the parents the headteacher wishes to use the presentation
to show to young children to encourage them to come to the school.
Describe the features that the headteacher must include to make the presentation meet the
needs of an audience of young children.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Martin, who is a teacher, is creating a multimedia presentation to explain a topic to his students.
(a) He produces a master slide.
Write down four objects he could include in the master slide.
[4 marks]
(b) Martin wants to record a message for his students. His voice will be added to the presentation.
He will also need to listen to his voice to make sure the sound is of good quality.
Name two devices that he will need.
[2 marks]
(c) Martin will need to use software to create different types of content before including them in
the presentation.
Name two types of software that he might use and for each one, write down what he would
use it for.
[4 marks]
Unit 19 – Presentations
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. A group of students in a school are planning to publicise a school concert. They can either
produce a web page which will be sent to the company that runs the school website or create a
multimedia presentation and show this to students and visitors.
(a) Give two types of content which could be used in a multimedia presentation that cannot be
used in a printed leaflet.
[2 marks]
(b) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using a multimedia presentation rather than
a web page on the school website.
[6 marks]
The students need to test their multimedia presentation before it can be used.
(c) Name two output devices they can use and for each one, write down a reason for its use.
[4 marks]
UNIT – 20
Spreadsheets
February / March - 2020
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
1. A school examinations officer has set up a spreadsheet of candidates for the IGCSE
examinations.
Part of the spreadsheet is shown:
The formula in cell A3 is IF(A2<>'''',VLOOKUP(A2,E3:F6,2),'''')
(a) Explain what the formula in cell A3 does.
[5 marks]
(b) The examinations officer is planning to change the range E3 to F6 in the formula to a named
range.
(i) Explain why he should do this rather than using the cell references.
[3 marks]
(ii) Give an example of an appropriate name he should give the range.
[1 mark]
(c) A formula has been placed in cell F9. The formula is COUNTIF(A4:A15,''E'')
Explain what the formula in cell F9 does.
[2 marks]
February / March - 2021
1. A computer system is being created to calculate the scores in a diving competition. Every dive
by an athlete is awarded a score out of 10 by each judge.
The system is being tested using live data. An athlete completes his dive with a difficulty of 3.4 and
achieves the following scores, which are displayed in a spreadsheet.
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
(a) Before the overall score is calculated the judges’ scores need to be sorted into ascending
order.
Describe the steps that would be carried out to sort the data into ascending order.
[3 marks]
(b) Cell B12 contains the formula, ROUND((SUM(B5:B9)*D1),1).
Explain what the formula in cell B12 does.
[3 marks]
(c) The judges’ score column will be tested using normal, abnormal and extreme data.
Explain, giving examples of test data which would be used, what is meant by:
[4 marks]
Abnormal test data
Extreme test data
May / June – 2020 – Paper 12
1. A teacher is creating a spreadsheet that will record the grades students achieved in recent tests
and compare the average grades of these tests with the students’ forecast grades. The grading
the teacher is using awards 1 for the highest grade down to 10 for the lowest. The teacher has
created a validation rule on the grade entered.
(a) Give examples of data used to test the validation rule. Your answers for abnormal test data
must be for a different reason in each case.
[4 marks]
(b) Part of the spreadsheet is shown, column G subtracts the Forecast grade from the Average
grade.
(i) Describe the steps the teacher can take to edit the spreadsheet to prevent new data
being typed into the Forecast grade column.
[5 marks]
(ii) The teacher has typed a formula in cell E3. The formula is ROUNDUP(AVERAGE(B3:D3),0)
Explain, in detail, what the formula does.
[4 marks]
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
(c). The teacher has produced a graph showing the differences between the forecast grade and
the average grade for each student. The graph looks like this.
Describe the steps taken to create the graph. Include in your answer three improvements that
could be made to the graph.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 11
1. Tawara school has a shop that sells items needed by pupils in school. Part of a spreadsheet
with details of the items is shown.
(a) Write down the number of rows that are shown in the spreadsheet that contain text.
[1 mark]
(b) Write down the number of columns that are shown in the spreadsheet that contain text.
[1 mark]
(c) Tax is paid on certain items sold in the shop. The tax rate that has to be paid is 20% of the
selling price. If tax is to be paid on an item, then ‘Y’ is placed underneath the Tax heading.
The formula in I4 is: IF(F4=''Y'',($I$1*D4*G4),'''')
Explain, in detail, what the formula does.
[5 marks]
(d) Explain the steps that need to be taken to display cell H4 as US dollars.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. Many teachers feel that monitoring student progress is an important part of the teaching and
learning process.
Describe how the features of a spreadsheet can be used by a teacher to help monitor student
progress.
[6 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 12
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
1. A student is creating a spreadsheet of airports for a project.
The formula in G2 is:
=VLOOKUP(F2,A2:B9,2,0)
(a) Explain, in detail, what the formula in G2 does.
[4 marks]
(b) Before the spreadsheet can be used, data needs to be entered to test the spreadsheet.
There are three types of test data: normal, abnormal and extreme.
Explain what is meant by these three types of test data.
[3 marks]
Normal
Abnormal
Extreme
(c) Explain, using examples, the differences between a function and a formula
[6 marks]
(d) The completed file could have been created using a database.
Describe two reasons why databases are used in certain applications rather than spreadsheets.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
1. A student is creating a spreadsheet that includes a formula to check a number entered in a cell
is between two values.
• The number is entered in cell A10 as an integer.
• If the number is between the two values then a message ‘OK’ is displayed, otherwise ‘error’
is displayed.
The formula the student has created is:
=IF(AND(A10>1,A10<32),"OK","error")
Data will be used to test the formula.
(a) Identify two items of extreme test data the student should use and give the reason why this
data was chosen.
[3 marks]
(b) The student has entered an item of abnormal test data.
Explain why abnormal test data is used.
[3 marks]
2. Weather forecasters use computer modelling.
(a) Explain why computer modelling is used to forecast the weather.
[4 marks]
(b) Data is collected by different types of sensor and then input to the computer model to be
processed.
Identify two sensors that could be used to collect weather data.
[2 marks]
(c) The processed data is then output.
Identify two output devices that could be used.
[2 marks]
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
May / June – 2023 – Paper 13
1. A teacher is creating a spreadsheet as an electronic mark book. Part of the electronic mark
book displays how well a student did on a piece of work. When a student completes a piece
of work the teacher will enter the mark into the electronic mark book and a message will be
displayed.
• If the student gains 60 or more marks then ‘Merit’ is displayed
• If the student gains 50 to 59 marks then ‘Pass’ is displayed
• If the student gains a mark below 50 marks then ‘Not Pass’ is displayed.
The formula the teacher has used is:
=IF(A1>=60,"Merit",IF(A1>50,"Pass","Not Pass"))
The formula will need to be tested. The teacher will do this by entering test data into cell A1.
(a) Explain the steps that need to be taken to test the formula. Include in your answer any
test data used and the reasons why these were chosen.
[5 marks]
(b) When the teacher enters a mark of 50 he expects ‘Pass’ to be displayed.
State the changes he needs to make to the formula to ensure ‘Pass’ is displayed.
[1 mark]
(c) When the electronic mark book is complete it needs to be tested with live data.
Explain what is meant by live data.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 11
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
1. Khalid keeps a spreadsheet to record his expenses and to plan for future spending. This
spreadsheet is split into two separate sheets, which he has named Plan and Model.
Plan contains details of his future spending.
Model contains a model of his income and expenses.
(a) Khalid has entered a formula in cell C4 of the Model sheet. The formula is B4+(B4*Plan!$B13)
Explain, in detail, what the formula does. Include in your answer an explanation of why the $
and the ! are used in the formula.
[5 marks]
(b) He is saving up to buy a new car; this will cost at least $35,000.
Khalid has entered a formula in cell B21 of the Model sheet. The formula is
IF(B20>35000,"Y","N")
Explain, in detail, what the formula does.
[3 marks]
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
(c) Khalid is planning to create an appropriate graph/chart to be placed in a new sheet. The
graph/chart will display the % of income and the names of the expenditure items from the
Plan sheet.
Identify the most appropriate graph/chart he could use and describe the steps he needs to
take to produce this graph/chart in a new sheet.
[7 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 13
1. A spreadsheet has been produced showing the final places in one of the events in the 2018
Winter Olympic Games.
The event consists of four heats. The times taken to complete each heat are added together to
give the Total Time, in seconds. This is then displayed as minutes and seconds.
Two formulae form this calculation; they are stored in column H and column J.
The formula in cell H3 is: =INT(G3/60)
(a) Explain what the formula in cell H3 does.
[2 marks]
The formula in cell J3 is: =ROUND(I3,1)
(b) Explain what the formula in cell J3 does.
[2 marks]
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
At the end of the competition, the table must be sorted into ascending order of Total Time. The top
athlete would be in the gold medal position, the second in silver medal position and the third in
bronze medal position. The Medal and Rank columns must be added.
This display should look like this:
(c) Explain the steps that must be taken to amend the spreadsheet and to display the data in this
way.
[6 marks]
The heat times are measured by a computer system, but could be measured by officials with
stopwatches.
(d) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using computers in measurement rather than
humans.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 11
1. (a) Explain the differences between a VLOOKUP function and a LOOKUP function.
(b) A spreadsheet contains a list of staff and the rooms they work in at a school.
[3 marks]
(i) Explain, in detail, what the formula in cell E2 does.
[3 marks]
(ii) When certain room numbers are typed into cell D2 unexpected results appear in cell E2.
Suggest improvements that could be made to ensure the correct result is displayed.
[2 marks]
A teacher in the school has created a spreadsheet to display whether a student has good
timekeeping when arriving at lessons. He has produced a formula but thinks it could be improved.
The formula is:
=IF(B4>=A$18,B$18,IF(B4>=A$17,B$17,IF(B4>=A$16,B$16,IF(B4>=A$15,B$15,IF(B4>=A$14,B$
14,"")))))
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
(c) Write down the value that should appear in cell C4.
[1 mark]
(d) The teacher has improved the formula and has typed in =VLOOKUP(B4,A$14:B$18,2)
Explain the advantages of using this formula compared to the original one.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 12
1. You are creating a presentation on the World Games. You have created a spreadsheet showing
the number of gold, silver and bronze medals awarded to different countries.
You are planning to create a graph in the presentation showing the country, the number of gold
medals and the total number of medals.
Original data
(a) Explain how you would create a vertical bar chart, showing the name of the country, the
number of gold medals and the total number of medals awarded to each country, on a new
slide in the presentation.
[6 marks]
(b) The total number of medals has been calculated manually and entered as a value. This could
lead to errors.
Explain how you could create a formula to calculate the total number of medals awarded for
Italy, using only the mouse.
[4 marks]
(c) Explain how the data could be sorted by the total number of medals won by each country.
The country with the largest number of medals should be at the top of the list.
[4 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 13
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
1. A doctor measures the blood pressure of some of his patients regularly. The patients take home a
blood pressure machine and record their results on a spreadsheet which the doctor has created.
Part of the spreadsheet is shown.
(a) When a reading produces a Severe or Low warning then the text automatically changes to a
red font on a light red background.
Explain how the doctor could set up automatic colour change for these warnings on the
spreadsheet.
[5 marks]
The doctor has set up a named range called Bloodpressure for the cells F3 to H7.
(b) Explain why the doctor has used a named range.
The formula =VLOOKUP(B3,Bloodpressure,3) has been entered into cell D3.
(c) Explain what the formula does.
[3 marks]
[4 marks]
The doctor has created a graph of the readings for one patient and has displayed it on the
spreadsheet. However, there are elements missing.
(d) Explain how the doctor created the graph. Write in your answer one improvement that could
be made to the graph.
[3 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 12
1. In June 2000 the London Millennium Bridge opened to the public but closed shortly afterwards
for repairs. The bridge was swaying as people walked across it. Before bridges are built, computer
models are produced and the models are tested.
Explain why computer models are used before building a bridge.
[4 marks]
Unit 20 – Spreadsheets
October / November – 2023 – Paper 13
1. A teacher is setting up a school shop. The teacher is setting up a spreadsheet to keep the
accounts of the shop.
(a) Fig. 3.1 shows a box containing 50 Choco Bars to sell in the shop. The information on the box
will be entered into the spreadsheet.
Fig.3.1
(b) State the most appropriate display format in the spreadsheet for each piece of data shown on
the box. Your answer must be different in each case.
A
B
C
D
[4 marks]
(c) The teacher has created a formula in the spreadsheet that calculates the cost of purchasing
a number of different items.
She has created a formula that:
• subtracts the discount per item from the price of the item to find the cost of the item
• then multiplies the cost of the item by the quantity.
The formula she enters into cell E2 is:
=B2-C2*D2
When this formula is entered into cell E2 the result is not what she expected. The result should
be $15.00
Explain why the result was not $15.00
[2 marks]
2. A computer model can be used to design and test a bridge before it is built.
Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using a computer model before building a bridge.
[6 marks]
UNIT – 21
Website Authoring
February / March - 2020
1. He searches his company website to find a suitable image for his multimedia presentation.
Part of the markup language from the web page to load the image is shown.
<img src =''New_product.jpg'' alt=''company logo''>
When the markup is run, the words ‘company logo’ are displayed and not the image.
Explain why this may be the case.
[2 marks]
Unit 21 – Website Authoring
February / March - 2023
1. A web page can contain three web development layers. One of these is the content layer.
(a) State one use of the content layer.
[1 mark]
(b) Identify the other two web development layers and give a use for each.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2021 – Paper 13
1. A student is looking for information on the internet for his school project. He has found a number
of web pages that are useful.
(a) Explain the following terms when referring to web pages:
(i) Bookmark
[2 marks]
(ii) Anchor
[2 marks]
(iii) Hyperlink
[2 marks]
(b) The student has found a website that is very useful and is planning to bookmark it.
Describe the steps he will need to take to set up a bookmark for the website.
[2 marks]
May / June – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Stylesheets are used in web pages.
(a) Explain the term stylesheets when used in web pages.
(b) Explain the differences between attached stylesheets and inline style attributes.
May / June – 2023 – Paper 11
[2 marks]
[4 marks]
1. (a) Absolute and relative file paths are used in the content layer when creating a web page.
(i) Explain the differences between an absolute file path and a relative file path.
[2 marks]
(ii) Explain why absolute file paths should not be used for hyperlinks to locally-saved web
pages.
[1 mark]
(b) Anchors and hyperlinks are both used in HTML.
Compare an anchor with a hyperlink. Your answer must include similarities and differences.
[4 marks]
May / June – 2023 – Paper 12
Unit 21 – Website Authoring
1. Metatags can be used in a web page.
(a) A metatag can be used to define the viewport settings.
Identify three other items that can be defined in metatags.
(b) Metatags are used in the HTML of web pages.
State the section of the HTML which contains the metatags.
May / June – 2023 – Paper 13
[3 marks]
[1 mark]
1. A web page has an attached stylesheet in the head section and also has an inline style
attribute in the body section.
Explain why the inline style attribute is used.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2020 – Paper 11
1. The HTML of a web page consists of a head section and a body section.
(a) The head section can contain the link to the stylesheet.
Identify two other items found in the head section of HTML.
(b) Explain the purpose of the body section of HTML.
(c) A stylesheet can contain styles and classes.
Explain the difference between a style and a class.
October / November – 2020 – Paper 13
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
1. When a website is created, three web development layers are used: the content layer, the
presentation layer and the behaviour layer.
(a) Describe what is meant by the content layer.
[3 marks]
(b) Describe what is meant by the presentation layer.
[3 marks]
October / November – 2021 – Paper 12
1. Identify and describe the three web development layers.
[6 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 11
1. Hyperlinks, bookmarks and anchors are software tools used in web pages and web browsers.
(a) Describe the function of a hyperlink.
[2 marks]
(b) Describe the term bookmark.
[2 marks]
(c) Describe the function of an anchor.
[2 marks]
October / November – 2022 – Paper 13
1. The internet contains three web development layers. One layer is the content layer. This layer is
used to enter the content of a web page structure.
(a) Name and describe the other two web development layers.
[4 marks]
(b) Explain why tables can be used to structure elements within a web page.
[3 marks]