As Levels Paper One

A LEVELS 9608 THEORY FUNDAMENTALS
Page 1 of 380
AS LEVELS 9608
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Page 2 of 380
THEORY FUNDAMENTALS
AS Level Paper One:
MAY/JUNE 2015 ................................................................................................................................... 04-33

PAPER 9608/12 ...........................................................................................................................................04
PAPER 9608/13 ...........................................................................................................................................19
MAY/JUNE 2016 ................................................................................................................................... 34-59

PAPER 9608/12 ...........................................................................................................................................34
PAPER 9608/13 ...........................................................................................................................................48
MAY/JUNE 2017 ................................................................................................................................... 60-85

PAPER 9608/12 ...........................................................................................................................................60
PAPER 9608/13 ...........................................................................................................................................72
MAY/JUNE 2018 ................................................................................................................................ 86-112

PAPER 9608/12 ...........................................................................................................................................86
PAPER 9608/13 ...........................................................................................................................................99
OCT/NOV 2015 .................................................................................................................................113-138

PAPER 9608/12 .........................................................................................................................................113
PAPER 9608/13 .........................................................................................................................................127
OCT/NOV 2016 ................................................................................................................................. 139-163

PAPER 9608/12 .........................................................................................................................................139
PAPER 9608/13 .........................................................................................................................................151
OCT/NOV 2017 ................................................................................................................................. 164-191

PAPER 9608/12 .........................................................................................................................................164
PAPER 9608/13 .........................................................................................................................................176
FREE PAGES ................................................................................................................................... 192-141

MARKING SCHEMES ................................................................................................................... 197-327
Page 3 of 380
Cambridge International Examinations

Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level
* 2 2 5 2 4 9 0 2 7 3 *
COMPUTER SCIENCE 9608/12

Paper 1 Theory Fundamentals May/June 2015
1 hour 30 minutes
Candidates answer on the Question Paper.
No Additional Materials are required.
No calculators allowed.
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST
Write your Centre number, candidate number and name in the spaces at the top of this page.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working.
Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.
DO NOT WRITE IN ANY BARCODES.
Answer all questions.

No marks will be awarded for using brand names of software packages or hardware.
At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
The maximum number of marks is 75.
This document consists of 16 printed pages.
DC (NH/SW) 111425
© UCLES 2015 [Turn over
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2
1 (i) Convert the following binary number into hexadecimal.
10111000
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Convert the following denary number into BCD format.
97
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) Using two’s complement, show how the following denary numbers could be stored in an 8-bit
register:
114
- 93
[2]
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3
2 (a) Sound can be represented in a computer in a digital format.
(i) Give the definition of the term sampling.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Give one reason why 16-bit sampling is used in an audio compact disc (CD).
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) Explain what is meant by the term sampling resolution.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(iv) Give one benefit and one drawback of using a higher sampling resolution.
Benefit ...............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Drawback ..........................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) Describe two typical features found in software for editing sound files.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15 [Turn over

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4
(c) Explain the difference between lossless and lossy data compression techniques.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
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5
3 Five modes of addressing and five descriptions are shown below.
Draw a line to connect each mode of addressing to its correct description.
Mode of addressing Description
the operand is the address of the

direct
address of the value to be used
the operand is the address of the value

immediate
to be used
the operand is the offset from the

indexed current address where the value to be
used is stored
the operand plus the contents of the

indirect index register is the address of the value
to be used
relative the operand is the value to be used
[4]

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6
4 (a) Sensors are one type of input device.
For each of the following situations, name a different sensor that could be used.
(i) air conditioning in an office building
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) maintaining correct growing conditions in a greenhouse
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) detecting an intruder in a building
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Sensors are used to monitor seismic activity. At the end of each day, all the data are
transmitted to a central computer. This is hundreds of kilometres away.
Describe one way of ensuring that the integrity of the data is retained during the transmission
stage.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
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7
5 (a) Telephone calls can be made by using:
• conventional telephones (using the Public Service Telephone Network (PSTN) system)
over a wired network
• a computer, equipped with speakers and microphone, connected to the Internet
Put a tick () in the correct column to match each description to the appropriate communication
method.
Conventional telephone
Description Internet-based system
using PSTN
connection only in use
whilst sound is being
transmitted
dedicated channel used
between two points for the
duration of the call
connection maintained
throughout the telephone
call
encoding schemes and
compression technology
used
lines remain active even
during a power outage
[5]
(b) Distinguish between the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW).
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]

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8
(c) Name the hardware device that is being described:
(i) A device that transfers data from one network to another in an intelligent way. It has the
task of forwarding data packets to their destination by the most efficient route.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) A device used between two dissimilar LANs. The device is required to convert data
packets from one protocol to another.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) A device or software that provides a specific function for computers using a network. The
most common examples handle printing, file storage and the delivery of web pages.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
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9
6 (a) Name the most suitable input or output device for each of the following uses.
Give a different device in each case.
Description of use Input or output device
input of credit card number into an online form
selection of an option at an airport information kiosk
output of a single high-quality photograph
output of several hundred high-quality leaflets
input of a hard copy image into a computer
[5]
(b) All of the uses in part (a) involve the input or output of data.
(i) Describe two methods of preventing accidental loss of data.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Describe one way of ensuring the security of the data against malicious damage.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]

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10
7 A system is monitored using sensors. The sensors output binary values corresponding to physical
conditions, as shown in the table:
Description of Binary
Parameter Description of condition
parameter value
1 pressure >= 3 bar
P oil pressure
0 pressure < 3 bar
1 temperature >= 200°C
T temperature
0 temperature < 200°C
1 rotation <= 1000 revs per minute (rpm)
R rotation
0 rotation > 1000 revs per minute (rpm)
The outputs of the sensors form the inputs to a logic circuit. The output from the circuit, X, is 1 if
any of the following three conditions occur:
either oil pressure >= 3 bar and temperature >= 200°C
or oil pressure < 3 bar and rotation > 1000 rpm
or temperature >= 200°C and rotation > 1000 rpm
(a) Draw a logic circuit to represent the above system.
T X
[5]
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11
(b) Complete the truth table for this system.
Workspace
P T R X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]

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12
8 (a) Explain how the width of the data bus and system clock speed affect the performance of a
computer system.
Width of the data bus ................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Clock speed ..............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(b) Most computers use Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports to allow the attachment of devices.
Describe two benefits of using USB ports.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) The table shows six stages in the von Neumann fetch-execute cycle.
Put the stages into the correct sequence by writing the numbers 1 to 6 in the right hand
column.
Sequence
Description of stage
number
the instruction is copied from the Memory Data Register (MDR) and placed
in the Current Instruction Register (CIR)
the instruction is executed
the instruction is decoded
the address contained in the Program Counter (PC) is copied to the Memory
Address Register (MAR)
the value in the Program Counter (PC) is incremented so that it points to the
next instruction to be fetched
the instruction is copied from the memory location contained in the Memory
Address Register (MAR) and is placed in the Memory Data Register (MDR)
[6]
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14
9 A database has been designed to store data about salespersons and the products they have sold.
The following facts help to define the structure of the database:
• each salesperson works in a particular shop

• each salesperson has a unique first name
• each shop has one or more salespersons
• each product which is sold is manufactured by one company only
• each salesperson can sell any of the products
• the number of products that each salesperson has sold is recorded
The table ShopSales was the first attempt at designing the database.
FirstName Shop ProductName NoOfProducts Manufacturer

Nick TX television set 3 SKC
refrigerator 2 WP
digital camera 6 HKC
Sean BH hair dryer 1 WG
electric shaver 8 BG
John TX television set 2 SKC
mobile phone 8 ARC
digital camera 4 HKC
toaster 3 GK
(a) State why the table is not in First Normal Form (1NF).
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
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15
(b) The database design is changed to:
SalesPerson (FirstName, Shop)
SalesProducts (FirstName, ProductName, NoOfProducts, Manufacturer)
Using the data given in the first attempt table (ShopSales), show how these data are now
stored in the revised table designs.
Table: SalesPerson
FirstName Shop
Table: SalesProducts
FirstName ProductName NoOfProducts Manufacturer
[3]

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16
(c) (i) A relationship between the two tables has been implemented.
Explain how this has been done.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Explain why the SalesProducts table is not in Third Normal Form (3NF).
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(iii) Write the table definitions to give the database in 3NF.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every reasonable
effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the publisher will
be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge International
Examinations Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations and is freely available to download at www.cie.org.uk after
the live examination series.
Cambridge International Examinations is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local
Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.
© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15

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* 1 4 2 4 6 5 1 9 2 4 *

1 hour 30 minutes
Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in.

DC (AC/SG) 101101/3
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2
1 (a) (i) Using two’s complement, show how the following denary numbers could be stored in an
8-bit register:
124
–77
[2]
(ii) Convert the two numbers in part (a) (i) into hexadecimal.
124 ..................................................................................................................................
–77 ...................................................................................................................................
[2]
(b) Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) is another way of representing numbers.
(i) Write the number 359 in BCD form.
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) Describe a use of BCD number representation.
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [2]
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3
2 Assemblers translate from assembly language to machine code. Some assemblers scan the
assembly language program twice; these are referred to as two-pass assemblers.
The following table shows five activities performed by two-pass assemblers.
Write 1 or 2 to indicate whether the activity is carried out during the first pass or during the second
pass.
First pass or
Activity
second pass
any symbolic address is replaced by an absolute address
any directives are acted upon
any symbolic address is added to the symbolic address table
data items are converted into their binary equivalent
forward references are resolved
[5]

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4
3 (a) Give the definition of the terms firewall and authentication. Explain how they can help with the
security of data.
Firewall .....................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Authentication ...........................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[3]
(b) Describe two differences between data integrity and data security.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]
(c) Data integrity is required at the input stage and also during transfer of the data.
(i) State two ways of maintaining data integrity at the input stage. Use examples to help
explain your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [3]
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5
(ii) State two ways of maintaining data integrity during data transmission. Use examples to
help explain your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [3]

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6
4 (a) There are two types of RAM: dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM).
Five statements about DRAM and SRAM are shown below.
Draw a line to link each statement to the appropriate type of RAM.
Statement Type of RAM
requires data to be refreshed

periodically in order to retain
the data
has more complex circuitry

DRAM
does not need to be refreshed

as the circuit holds the data as
long as the power supply is on
requires higher power

consumption which is SRAM
significant when used in
battery-powered devices
used predominantly in cache

memory of processors where
speed is important
[5]
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(b) Describe three differences between RAM and ROM.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [3]
(c) DVD-RAM and flash memory are two examples of storage devices.
Describe two differences in how they operate.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]

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8
5 (a) Name and describe three buses used in the von Neumann model.
Bus 1 .........................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Bus 2 .........................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Bus 3 .........................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[6]
(b) The sequence of operations shows, in register transfer notation, the fetch stage of the fetch-
execute cycle.
1 MAR ← [PC]
2 PC ← [PC] + 1
3 MDR ← [[MAR]]
4 CIR ← [MDR]
• [register] denotes contents of the specified register or memory location

• step 1 above is read as “the contents of the Program Counter are copied to the Memory
Address Register”
(i) Describe what is happening at step 2.
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) Describe what is happening at step 3.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
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(iii) Describe what is happening at step 4.
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(c) Describe what happens to the registers when the following instruction is executed:
LDD 35
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]
(d) (i) Explain what is meant by an interrupt.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [2]
(ii) Explain the actions of the processor when an interrupt is detected.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [4]

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6 (a) Three digital sensors A, B and C are used to monitor a process. The outputs from the sensors
are used as the inputs to a logic circuit.
A signal, X, is output from the logic circuit:
B logic circuit output X
Output, X, has a value of 1 if either of the following two conditions occur:
• sensor A outputs the value 1 OR sensor B outputs the value 0
• sensor B outputs the value 1 AND sensor C outputs the value 0
Draw a logic circuit to represent these conditions.
B X
[5]
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11
(b) Complete the truth table for the logic circuit described in part (a).
Working Space
A B C X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]

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12
(c) Write a logic statement that describes the following logic circuit.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [3]
© UCLES 2015 9608/13/M/J/15
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14
7 The table shows assembly language instructions for a processor which has one general purpose
register, the Accumulator (ACC).
Instruction
Explanation
Op code Operand
LDD <address> Direct addressing. Load contents of given address to ACC
STO <address> Store the contents of ACC at the given address
Indirect addressing. The address to be used is at the given

LDI <address>
address. Load the contents of this second address to ACC
Indexed addressing. Form the address from <address> +

LDX <address> the contents of the index register. Copy the contents of this
calculated address to ACC
INC <register> Add 1 to contents of the register (ACC)
JMP <address> Jump to the given address
END Return control to operating system
The diagram shows the contents of the memory.
Main memory
120 0000 1001
121 0111 0101
122 1011 0110
123 1110 0100
124 0111 1111
125 0000 0001
126 0100 0001
127 0110 1001
200 1000 1000
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15
(a) (i) Show the contents of the Accumulator after execution of the instruction:
LDD 121
Accumulator:
[1]
(ii) Show the contents of the Accumulator after execution of the instruction:
LDI 124
Accumulator:
Explain how you arrived at your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [3]
(iii) Show the contents of the Accumulator after execution of the instruction:
LDX 120
Index Register: 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Accumulator:
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [3]

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16
(b) Trace the assembly language program using the trace table.
300 LDD 321

301 INC
302 STO 323
303 LDI 307
304 INC
305 STO 322
306 END
307 320
320 49
321 36
322 0
323 0
Trace table:
Memory address
Accumulator
320 321 322 323
49 36 0 0
[6]
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* 5 1 6 8 8 9 9 5 3 4 *

1 hour 30 minutes

This document consists of 15 printed pages and 1 blank page.
DC (ST) 126463
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2
1 Three examples of language translators and four definitions are shown below.
Draw lines to link each language translator to the correct one or more definitions.
Language translator Definition
The software reads the source code

and reports all errors. The software
produces an executable file.
Compiler
The software reads each statement

and checks it before running it. The
software halts when it encounters a
syntax error.
Assembler
The software translates a high-level

language program into machine code
for the processor to execute.
Interpreter
The software translates low-level

statements into machine code for the
processor to execute.
[3]
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3
2 (a) Convert the following denary integer into 8-bit binary.
55
[1]
(b) Convert the following Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) number into denary.
10000011
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(c) Convert the following denary integer into 8-bit two’s complement.
-102
[2]
(d) Convert the following hexadecimal number into denary.
4E
...............................................................................................................................................[1]

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3 (a) Describe how special purpose registers are used in the fetch stage of the fetch-execute cycle.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
(b) Use the statements A, B, C and D to complete the description of how the fetch-execute cycle
handles an interrupt.
the address of the Interrupt Service Routine (ISR) is loaded to the Program
A
Counter (PC).
B the processor checks if there is an interrupt.
C when the ISR completes, the processor restores the register contents.
D the register contents are saved.
At the end of the cycle for the current instruction ............................ .
If the interrupt flag is set, ............................ , ............................ and ............................ .
The interrupted program continues its execution.

[4]
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5
4 A group of students broadcast a school radio station on a website. They record their sound clips
(programmes) in advance and email them to the producer.
(a) Describe how sampling is used to record the sound clips.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(b) The students use software to compress the sound clips before emailing them.
(i) Circle your chosen method of compression and justify your choice.
Lossy / Lossless
Justification: .......................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
Students also email images to the radio station for use on its website.
These are compressed before sending using run-length encoding (RLE).
(ii) Explain what is meant by run-length encoding.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]

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(iii) The following diagrams show:
• the denary colour code that represents each colour

• the first three rows of a bitmap image
Colour symbol Colour code

(denary)
B 153
W 255
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
0 B B B B B B B B B B W W W B B B
1 B B B B B B B B B W W W W W W B
2 B B B B B B B W W W W W W W W W
95
Show how RLE will compress the first three rows of this image.
Row 1: ...............................................................................................................................
Row 2: ...............................................................................................................................
Row 3: ...........................................................................................................................[2]
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7
5 Three types of software licensing and four descriptions are shown in the table below.
Put a tick (✓) in each row to match each description to the appropriate type of software licensing.
Type of software
Description Open source Shareware Commercial
Software is purchased
before it can be used
Source code comes with
the software
Software is provided free
on a trial basis
The software can be

modified by the user
[4]
6 A team of software engineers is developing a new e-commerce program for a client.
State three of the principles of the ACM/IEEE Software Engineering Code of Ethics. Illustrate
each one, with an example, describing how it will influence their working practices.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
2 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
3 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................[6]

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7 Access to World Wide Web content uses IP addressing.
(a) State what IP stands for.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) The following table shows four possible IP addresses.
Indicate for each IP address whether it is valid or invalid and give a reason.
Denary / Valid or
Address Reason
Hexadecimal Invalid
3.2A.6AA.BBBB Hexadecimal
2.0.255.1 Denary
6.0.257.6 Denary
A.78.F4.J8 Hexadecimal
[4]
(c) Describe two differences between public and private IP addresses.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
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9
8 A school stores a large amount of data. This includes student attendance, qualification, and
contact details. The school’s software uses a file-based approach to store this data.
(a) The school is considering changing to a DBMS.
(i) State what DBMS stands for.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Describe two ways in which the Database Administrator (DBA) could use the DBMS
software to ensure the security of the student data.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
(iii) A feature of the DBMS software is a query processor.
Describe how the school secretary could use this software.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(iv) The DBMS has replaced software that used a file-based approach with a relational
database.
Describe how using a relational database has overcome the previous problems
associated with a file-based approach.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]

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10
(b) The database design has three tables to store the classes that students attend.
STUDENT(StudentID, FirstName, LastName, Year, TutorGroup)
CLASS(ClassID, Subject)
CLASS-GROUP(StudentID, ClassID)
Primary keys are not shown.
There is a one-to-many relationship between CLASS and CLASS–GROUP.
(i) Describe how this relationship is implemented.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Describe the relationship between CLASS-GROUP and STUDENT.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) Write an SQL script to display the StudentID and FirstName of all students who are
in the tutor group 10B. Display the list in alphabetical order of LastName.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
(iv) Write an SQL script to display the LastName of all students who attend the class whose
ClassID is CS1.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
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12
register, the Accumulator (ACC) and an index register (IX).
Instruction
Explanation
Op code Operand
LDD <address> Direct addressing. Load the contents of the given address to ACC.
LDX <address> Indexed addressing. Form the address from <address> + the contents of the
index register. Copy the contents of this calculated address to ACC.
STO <address> Store contents of ACC at the given address.
ADD <address> Add the contents of the given address to ACC.
INC <register> Add 1 to the contents of the register (ACC or IX).
DEC <register> Subtract 1 from the contents of the register (ACC or IX).
CMP <address> Compare contents of ACC with contents of <address>.
JPE <address> Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was True.
JPN <address> Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was
False.
JMP <address> Jump to the given address.
OUT Output to screen the character whose ASCII value is stored in ACC.
END Return control to the operating system.
(a) The diagram shows the current contents of a section of main memory and the index register:
60 0011 0010
61 0101 1101
62 0000 0100
63 1111 1001
64 0101 0101
65 1101 1111
66 0000 1101
67 0100 1101
68 0100 0101
69 0100 0011
...
1000 0110 1001
Index register: 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
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13
(i) Show the contents of the Accumulator after the execution of the instruction:
LDX 60
Accumulator:
Show how you obtained your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Show the contents of the index register after the execution of the instruction:
DEC IX
Index register:
[1]

Page 45 of 380
14
(b) Complete the trace table on the opposite page for the following assembly language program.
50 LDD 100
51 ADD 102
52 STO 103
53 LDX 100
54 ADD 100
55 CMP 101
56 JPE 58
57 JPN 59
58 OUT
59 INC IX
60 LDX 98
61 ADD 101
62 OUT
63 END
...
100 20
101 100
102 1
103 0
IX (Index Register) 1
Selected values from the ASCII character set:
ASCII Code 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125
Character v w x y z { | }
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15
Trace table:
Memory address
Instruction Working ACC IX OUTPUT
address space 100 101 102 103
20 100 1 0 1
50
51
52
53
54
55
[7]
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* 0 2 7 6 2 3 0 7 1 4 *

1 hour 30 minutes
Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in.

This document consists of 13 printed pages and 3 blank pages.
DC (ST) 122368/2
Page 48 of 380
2
1 Describe two differences between a compiler and interpreter.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
2 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................[4]
2 (a) Convert the following 8-bit binary integer into denary.
01001101
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Convert the following denary number into Binary Coded Decimal (BCD).
82
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(c) Convert the following two’s complement integer number into denary.
11001011
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(d) Convert the following denary number into hexadecimal. Show your working.
198
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
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3
3 A company needs new software to manage its accounts. It is evaluating two different options. One
option is open source software and the other is commercial software.
(a) Explain what is meant by open source software.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) Explain what is meant by commercial software.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) The company has decided to purchase commercial software.
Identify four benefits to the company in choosing the commercial software option.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
4 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]

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5
Instruction Explanation
Op code Operand
Indexed addressing. Form the address from <address> + the contents of the
LDX <address>
index register. Copy the contents of this calculated address to ACC.
JPN <address> Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was False.
OUT Output to screen the character whose ASCII value is stored in ACC.
The diagram shows the contents of the index register:
(a) Show the contents of the index register after the execution of the instruction:
INC IX
Index register:
[1]

Page 51 of 380
6
(b) Complete the trace table on the opposite page for the following assembly language program.
20 LDX 90
21 DEC ACC
22 STO 90
23 INC IX
24 LDX 90
25 DEC ACC
26 CMP 90
27 JPE 29
28 JPN 31
29 ADD 90
30 OUT
31 ADD 93
32 STO 93
33 OUT
34 END
:
:
90 2
91 90
92 55
93 34
IX 2
ASCII Code 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72
Character A B C D E F G H
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7
Trace table:
Memory address
Working ACC IX OUTPUT
Instruction
space 90 91 92 93
2 90 55 34 2
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
[7]

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8
5 (a) A Database Management System (DBMS) provides the following features.
Draw a line to match each feature with its description.
Feature Description
A file or table containing all the details of the

database design
Data dictionary
Data design features to ensure the validity

of data in the database
Data security
A model of what the database will look like,

although it may not be stored in this way
Data integrity Methods of protecting the data including

the uses of passwords and different access
rights for different users of the database
[3]
A school stores a large amount of data that includes student attendance, qualification and contact
details. The school is setting up a relational database to store these data.
(b) The school needs to safeguard against any data loss.
Describe three factors to consider when planning a backup procedure for the data.
Justify your decisions.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[6]
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9
(c) The database design has three tables to store the qualifications and grades each student has
attained. The following is a sample of the data from each table.
STUDENT
StudentID FirstName LastName Tutor
001AT Ahmad Tan 11A
003JL Jane Li 11B
011HJ Heather Jones 10A
QUALIFICATION
QualCode Level Subject
CS1 IGCSE Computer Science
MT9 IGCSE Maths
SC12 IGCSE Science
STUDENT-QUALIFICATION
QualCode StudentID Grade DateOfAward
SC12 011HJ A 31/8/2014
SC12 003JL C 31/8/2014
CS1 003JL B 31/8/2014
(i) Draw an Entity-Relationship (E-R) diagram to show the relationships between these
three tables.
[2]
(ii) State the type of relationship that exists between STUDENT and
STUDENT-QUALIFICATION.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]

Page 55 of 380
10
(iii) Describe how the relationship between QUALIFICATION and

STUDENT-QUALIFICATION is implemented.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(d) (i) The database will store each student’s date of birth.
Write an SQL script to add a date of birth attribute to the appropriate table.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Write an SQL script to display the StudentID, Grade and DateOfAward for the
QualCode value of SC12.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(iii) Write an SQL script to display the FirstName and LastName and QualCode for all
STUDENT-QUALIFICATIONs for which the Grade value is A.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
© UCLES 2016 9608/13/M/J/16
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11
6 (a) Explain the difference between the World Wide Web (WWW) and the Internet.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) Three methods of connecting devices include fibre-optic cables, copper cables and radio
waves. The table below gives descriptions relating to these connection methods.
Tick (✓) one box on each row to show the method that best fits each description.
Description Fibre-optic cable Copper cable Radio waves

Wireless medium
Twisted-pair is an
example
Uses light waves
WiFi
Fastest transmission
medium
[5]
(c) Bit streaming is used for both real-time and on-demand services.
Describe one difference between real-time and on-demand bit streaming.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(d) A device needs an IP address to connect to the Internet. IPv4 is the more common type of
IP address.
Describe, using an example, the format of an IPv4 address.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
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12
(e) A computer user keys in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a web page into a web
browser.
Describe how the browser uses the Domain Name Service (DNS) to display the web page.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
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13
7 A bank holds personal data about its customers and their financial data.
(a) Describe the difference between security and integrity of data.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
(b) Describe three security measures that the bank could implement to protect its electronic
data.
Security measure 1 ...................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[6]
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* 0 2 1 5 2 4 6 1 4 4 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (CE/FC) 129908/3
Page 60 of 380
2
1 Some shops belong to the Rainbow Retail buying group. They buy their goods from one or more
suppliers.
Each shop has:
• a unique shop ID
• a single retail specialism (for example, food, electrical, garden).
Each supplier has:
• a unique supplier ID
• a similar single specialism recorded.
Rainbow Retail creates a relational database to record data about the shops and their suppliers.
The entity-relationship (E-R) diagram for the relationship between the SHOP and SUPPLIER tables
is shown.
SHOP SUPPLIER
(a) Explain what the degree of relationship is between the entities SHOP and SUPPLIER.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
The database design is as follows:
SHOP(ShopID, ShopName, Location, RetailSpecialism)
SUPPLIER(SupplierID, SupplierName, ContactPerson, RetailSpecialism)
SHOP-SUPPLIER(ShopID, SupplierID)
The SHOP–SUPPLIER table stores the suppliers that each shop has previously used.
Primary keys are not shown.
(b) (i) Label the entities and draw the relationships to complete the revised E-R diagram.
SUPPLIER
[3]
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3
(ii) Complete the following table to show for each database table:
• the primary key

• the foreign key(s) (if any):
° Each table may contain none, one or more foreign key(s).
° For a table with no foreign key, write ‘None’.
• an explanation for the use of any foreign key.
Table Primary key Foreign key(s) Explanation

(if any)
SHOP
SUPPLIER
SHOP–SUPPLIER
[5]
(iii) The database designer has implemented SUPPLIER.ContactPerson as a secondary

key.
Describe the reason for this.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) (i) Write an SQL query to display the shop ID and location of all shops with a ‘GROCERY’
specialism.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(ii) The existing shop with ID 8765 has just used the existing supplier SUP89 for the first
time.
Write an SQL script to add this data to the database.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]

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4
2 (a) The first column of the following table gives features of different types of printer.
Put a tick (3) in the cells to show which features describe a laser and an inkjet printer.
Type of printer
Laser Inkjet
Impact printer
Non-impact printer
Line printer
Page printer
[2]
(b) Two of the components of an inkjet printer are a stepper motor and a print head.
Describe how each component is used when printing a page.
(i) Print head ..........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[5]
(ii) Stepper motor
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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5
(c) A student has an old working laptop computer. It has a small capacity internal disk drive with
almost all the storage space taken up by the operating system and application programs.
She needs to buy an external storage device to store her data files.
(i) List two suitable devices.
Device 1 ............................................................................................................................
Device 2 ............................................................................................................................
[2]
(ii) Describe one advantage of choosing one of the devices.
Advantage of choosing device 1 / 2 (circle)
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]

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6
3 (a) A computer has a microphone and captures a voice recording using sound editing software.
The user can select the sampling resolution before making a recording.
Define the term sampling resolution. Explain how the sampling resolution will affect the
accuracy of the digitised sound.
Sampling resolution ..................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Explanation ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[3]
(b) The computer also has bitmap software.
(i) Define the term image resolution.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) A picture is drawn and is saved as a 16-colour bitmap image.
State how many bits are used to encode the data for one pixel.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) A second picture has width 8192 pixels and height 256 pixels. It is saved as a 256-colour
bitmap.
Calculate the file size in kilobytes.
Show your working.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(iv) The actual bitmap file size will be larger than your calculated value as a bitmap file has a
file header.
State two items of data that are stored in the file header.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
2 ....................................................................................................................................[2]
© UCLES 2017 9608/12/M/J/17
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7
4 (a) (i) Explain why a personal computer (PC) needs an operating system (OS).
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) One of the tasks carried out by the OS is the management of the use of the processor.
Name and describe two other management tasks that the OS performs.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[4]
(b) A user has the following issues with the use of their personal computer (PC).
For each case, state the utility software which should provide a solution.
(i) The user wants to send a large file as an attachment to an email. The user knows that
the recipient’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) has a limit of 2MB for file attachments.
Utility software solution: ................................................................................................[1]
(ii) The user is writing a book and is worried that the document files could get damaged or
deleted.
(iii) The computer has recently been slow to load large files. The user has deleted a large
number of small files to try to solve the problem. A friend has advised that there is a
procedure which should be regularly carried out to reorganise file storage on the hard
disk.
(iv) The user clicked on an attachment in an unsolicited email. Since then, the computer has
shown some unexplained behaviours.

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8
5 The following table shows part of the instruction set for a processor. The processor has one
general purpose register, the Accumulator (ACC), and an Index Register (IX).
Instruction
Op code Op code Explanation
Operand
(mnemonic) (binary)
Direct addressing. Load the contents of
LDD <address> 0001 0011 the location at the given address to the
Accumulator (ACC).
Indirect addressing. The address to be used is
LDI <address> 0001 0100 at the given address. Load the contents of this
second address to ACC.
Indexed addressing. Form the address from
<address> + the contents of the Index
LDX <address> 0001 0101
Register. Copy the contents of this calculated
address to ACC.
Immediate addressing. Load the denary
LDM #n 0001 0010
number n to ACC.
Immediate addressing. Load denary number n
LDR #n 0001 0110
to the Index Register (IX).
Store the contents of ACC at the given
STO <address> 0000 0111
address.
The following diagram shows the contents of a section of main memory and the Index Register (IX).
(a) Show the contents of the Accumulator (ACC) after each instruction is executed.
IX 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
(i) LDD 355

Main
ACC .................................................. [1] memory
Address contents
(ii) LDM #355
350
ACC .................................................. [1] 351 86
(iii) LDX 351 352

353
ACC .................................................. [1]
354
(iv) LDI 355 355 351
ACC .................................................. [1] 356
357 22
358
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9
(b) Each machine code instruction is encoded as 16 bits (8-bit op code followed by an 8-bit
operand).
Write the machine code for these instructions:
LDM #67
LDX #7
[3]
(c) Computer scientists often write binary representations in hexadecimal.
(i) Write the hexadecimal representation for the following instruction.
0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) A second instruction has been written in hexadecimal as:
16 4D
Write the assembly language for this instruction with the operand in denary.
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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10
6 Downloading a file from a website is an example of a client-server application.
(a) Describe what is meant by the term client-server for this application.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) The following sequence of steps (1 to 5) describes what happens when someone uses their
personal computer (PC) to request a web page. The web page consists of HTML tags and
text content only. Four of the statements from A, B, C, D, E and F are used to complete the
sequence.
A Browser software interprets the script, renders the page and displays.
B Browser software renders the page and displays.
C Browser software compiles the script, renders the page and displays.
D The web server retrieves the page.
E The Domain Name Service (DNS) uses the domain name from the
browser to look up the IP address of the web server.
F The web server sends the web page content to the browser.
Write one of the letters A to F in the appropriate row to complete the sequence.
1. The user keys in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) into the browser software.
2. ....................................
3. ....................................
4. ....................................
5. ....................................
[4]
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12
(c) The following web page used for data capture consists of:
• two text boxes for the entry of:

° a race runner’s ID code
° their finishing position in a race.
• a button that the user clicks to submit this runner’s result.
1 <html>
2 <head>
3 <title>Untitled Document</title>
4 <script language="JavaScript">
5
6 function myButton_onmousedown()
7 {
8 var Output1 = "Runner ID OK";
9 var Output2 = "ERROR – entry refused";
10
11 var Runner ID = document.forms["form1"]["txtRunnerID"].value;
12 // || in Javascript is the 'OR' operator
13 if (RunnerID.substr(0,3) == "VAR" || RunnerID.substr(0,3) == "CAM")
14 {
15 alert(Output1)
16 }
17 else
18 {
19 alert(Output2)
20 }
21 }
22 </script>
23
24 </head>
25 <body>
26 <form name = form1>
27 <label>Runner ID: </label>
28 <input type="text" name="txtRunnerID" >
29 <label>Position: </label>
30 <input type="text" name="txtPosition" size = "5" >
31 <p>
32 <label>Save data: </label>
33 <input type="button" name="btnSubmit" Value = "Submit"
34
35 onMouseDown = "myButton_onmousedown()" >
36 </p>
37 </form>
38
39 </body>
40 </html>
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13
(i) The developer has used three variables in the JavaScript code. State the identifiers
used.
1. ....................................
2. ....................................
3. .................................... [2]
(ii) The button has an event whose identifier is onMouseDown. When the mouse button is
clicked, some code is run.
State the line numbers which contain this code.
From line .................................... to line .................................... [1]
(iii) The JavaScript code uses a selection statement.
State the line number which contains its condition.
Line number: .................................... [1]
(iv) Describe the purpose of the validation check that the code performs.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(v) Name and describe two other types of validation check which could be appropriate for
this data capture form.
Validation check: ...............................................................................................................
Description ........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Description ........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[4]
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* 7 0 9 6 0 6 9 4 0 5 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (SR/FC) 146091
Page 72 of 380
2
1 A hospital is divided into two areas, Area A and Area B. Each area has several wards. All the ward
names are different.
A number of nurses are based in Area A. These nurses always work on the same ward. Each
nurse has a unique Nurse ID of STRING data type.
A-NURSE A-WARD
(a) Describe the relationship shown above.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) A relational database is created to store the ward and nurse data. The two table designs for
Area A are:
A-WARD(WardName, NumberOfBeds)
A-NURSE(NurseID, FirstName, FamilyName, ...........................................................)
(i) Complete the design for the A-NURSE table. [1]
(ii) Explain how the relationship in part (a) is implemented.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) In Area B of the hospital, there are a number of wards and a number of nurses.
Each Area B ward has a specialism.
Each Area B nurse has a specialism.
A nurse can be asked to work in any of the Area B wards where their specialism matches with
the ward specialism.
The relationship for Area B of the hospital is:
B-NURSE B-WARD
(i) Explain what the degree of relationship is between the entities B-NURSE and B-WARD.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
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(ii) The design for the Area B data is as follows:
B-NURSE(NurseID, FirstName, FamilyName, Specialism)
B-WARD(WardName, NumberOfBeds, Specialism)
B-WARD-NURSE( ............................................................................................................ )
Complete the attributes for the third table. Underline its primary key. [2]
(iii) Draw the relationships on the entity-relationship (E-R) diagram.
B-NURSE B-WARD
B-WARD-NURSE
[2]
(d) Use the table designs in part (c)(ii).
(i) Write an SQL query to display the Nurse ID and family name for all Area B nurses with a
specialism of ‘THEATRE’.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(ii) Fatima Woo is an Area B nurse with the nurse ID of 076. She has recently married, and
her new family name is Chi.
Write an SQL command to update her record.
UPDATE .............................................................................................................................
SET ....................................................................................................................................
WHERE ...............................................................................................................................
[3]

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2 (a) (i) The following sequence of steps (1 to 7) describe how a single page is printed on a laser
printer.
The statements A, B, C and D are used to complete the sequence.
The paper passes through a fuser, which heats up the paper. The toner melts and
A
forms a permanent image on the paper.
B The electrical charge is removed from the drum and the excess toner is collected.
C The image is converted on the drum into an electrostatic charge.
The oppositely-charged paper picks up the toner particles from the drum. After
D
picking up the toner, the paper is discharged to stop it clinging to the drum.
Complete the sequence by writing one of the letters A, B, C or D on the appropriate row.
1. A laser beam and a rotating mirror are used to draw an image of the page on the
photosensitive drum.
2. .........................
3. Electrostatic charge attracts toner.
4. The charged paper is rolled against the drum.
5. .........................
6. .........................
7. ......................... [3]
(ii) A computer user has a laser printer to print letters and documents. The user also prints
digital photographs taken using a digital camera.
State the most suitable type of printer for printing the photographs.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) The user is considering the purchase of a new laptop computer. She has read many product
reviews and knows that there are different types of internal secondary storage available.
List two options for internal secondary storage.
Option 1 ....................................................................................................................................
Option 2 ....................................................................................................................................
Describe one advantage of one of the options.
Advantage of choosing option 1 / 2 (circle)

...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
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3 (a) A computer has a microphone and captures a voice recording using sound recording software.
Before making a recording, the user can select the sampling rate.
Define the term sampling rate. Explain how the sampling rate will influence the accuracy of
the digitised sound.
Sampling rate ...........................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Explanation ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[2]
(b) The computer also has bitmap software.
(i) Define the terms pixel and screen resolution.
Pixel ...................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Screen resolution ..............................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(ii) A picture has been drawn and is saved as a monochrome bitmap image.
State how many pixels are stored in one byte.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) A second picture has width 2048 pixels and height 512 pixels. It is saved as a 256-colour
image.
Calculate the file size in kilobytes.
Show your working.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
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(iv) The actual bitmap file size will be larger than your calculated value.
State another data item that the bitmap file stores in addition to the pixel data.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]

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4 The following table shows part of the instruction set for a processor. The processor has one
general purpose register, the Accumulator (ACC) and an Index Register (IX).
Instruction
Operand
(mnemonic) (binary)
Immediate addressing. Load the denary number n to
LDM #n 0000 0001
ACC.
Direct addressing. Load the contents of the location
LDD <address> 0000 0010
at the given address to ACC.
Indirect addressing. At the given address is the
LDI <address> 0000 0101 address to be used. Load the contents of this second
address to ACC.
Indexed addressing. Form the address from
<address> + the contents of the Index Register
LDX <address> 0000 0110
(IX). Copy the contents of this calculated address to
ACC.
LDR #n 0000 0111 Immediate addressing. Load number n to IX.
STO <address> 0000 1111 Store the contents of ACC at the given address.
The following diagram shows the contents of a section of main memory and the Index Register (IX).
(a) Show the contents of the Accumulator (ACC) after each instruction is executed.
IX 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Main
(i) LDM #500
Memory
Address contents
ACC ................................................................[1]
495 13
(ii) LDD 500
496 86
ACC ................................................................[1] 497 92
(iii) LDX 500 498 486

499 489
ACC ................................................................[1]
500 496
(iv) LDI 500 501 497
ACC ................................................................[1] 502 499
503 502
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(b) Each machine code instruction is encoded as 16-bits (8-bit op code followed by an 8-bit
operand).
Write the machine code for the following instructions:
LDM #17
LDX #97
[3]
(c) Using an 8-bit operand, state the maximum number of memory locations, in denary, that can
be directly addressed.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(d) Computer scientists often write binary representations in hexadecimal.
(i) Write the hexadecimal representation for this instruction:
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) A second instruction has been written in hexadecimal as:
05 3F
Write the equivalent assembly language instruction, with the operand in denary.
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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5 A computer receives data from a remote data logger. Each data block is a group of 8 bytes.
A block is made up of seven data bytes and a parity byte.
Each data byte has a parity bit using odd parity. The parity byte also uses odd parity.
The following table shows a data block before transmission. Bit position 0 is the parity bit.
Bit position
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 1 1 1 0 A
1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Data bytes
1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
1 1 0 0 0 1 1 B
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 Parity byte
(a) (i) Describe how the data logger calculates the parity bit for each of the bytes in the data
block.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) State the two missing parity bits labelled A and B.
A = ..............................
B = .............................. [1]
(iii) Describe how the computer uses the parity byte to perform a further check on the
received data bytes.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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11
(b) (i) A second data block is received as shown in the following table. There are errors in this
data block.
Identify and then circle two bits in the table which must be changed to remove the errors.
Bit position
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1
1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
[2]
(ii) Explain how you arrived at your answers for part (b)(i).
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]

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6 (a) The operating system (OS) contains code for performing various management tasks.
The appropriate code is run when the user performs various actions.
Draw a line to link each OS management task to the appropriate user action.
OS management task Action
Main memory The user moves the mouse on

management the desktop
Input/Output The user closes the

management spreadsheet program
The user selects the Save

Secondary storage
command to save their
management
spreadsheet file
Human computer The user selects the Print

interface command to output their
management spreadsheet document
[3]
(b) A user has the following issues with the use of his PC.
State the utility software which should provide a solution.
(i) The hard disk stores a large number of video files. The computer frequently runs out of
storage space.
Utility software solution .................................................................................................[1]
(ii) The user is unable to find an important document. He thinks it was deleted in error some
weeks ago. This must not happen again.
(iii) The operating system reports ‘Bad sector’ errors.
(iv) There have been some unexplained images and advertisements appearing on the
screen. The user suspects it is malware.
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7 The design of a web-based application can require the use of client-side scripting.
(a) Describe what is meant by client-side scripting.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) A user requests a web page by keying the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) into the address
bar of their web browser.
The requested page contains a client-side script.
Describe the sequence of steps leading to the display of the web page on the computer
screen.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]

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14
(c) A web page used for data capture consists of:
• two text boxes for the entry of:

• a product code
• the number of items to be purchased.
• a button which is clicked when the user wants to submit this order.
Study the following web page.
1 <html>
2 <head>
3 <title>Untitled Document</title>
4 <script language="JavaScript">
5
6 function myButton_onmousedown()
7 {
8 var Message1 = "ERROR – Order refused";
9 var Message2 = "Product code OK";
10 var x = document.forms["form1"]["txtProductCode"].value;
11 if (x == "")
12 {
13 alert(Message1)
14 }
15 else
16 {
17 alert(Message2)
18 }
19 }
20 </script>
21
22 </head>
23 <body>
24 <form name = form1>
25 <label>Product code: </label>
26 <input type="text" name="txtProductCode" >
27 <label>Number: </label>
28 <input type="text" name="txtNumber" size = "5" >
29 <p>
30 <label>Submit order: </label>
31 <input type="button" name="btnSubmit" Value = "Submit"
32
33 onMouseDown = "myButton_onmousedown()" >
34 </p>
35 </form>
36
37 </body>
38 </html>
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15
(i) The developer has used three variables in the JavaScript code. State the identifiers used.
1 ..................................................................
2 ..................................................................
3 .................................................................. [2]
(ii) The button has an event whose identifier is onMouseDown. When the submit button is
clicked, some code is executed.
State the line numbers that contain this code.
From line .............................. to line .............................. [1]
(iii) The JavaScript code uses a selection statement.
State the line number that contains the condition.
Line number: ................................................................. [1]
(iv) Describe the purpose of the validation check that the code performs.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(v) Name and describe two other types of validation check that could be appropriate for this
data capture form.
Description ........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Description ........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[4]
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* 4 8 6 1 1 1 0 3 2 0 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (SC/CGW) 144488/3
Page 86 of 380
2
1 An operating system (OS) is usually pre-installed on a new computer.
(a) The OS performs a number of different tasks such as file management and peripheral
management.
(i) State three file management tasks the OS performs.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
3 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[3]
(ii) State three printer management tasks the OS performs.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
3 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[3]
(b) Utility software is usually pre-installed on a new computer.
(i) The following table lists four programs. Put one tick (3) in each row to indicate whether
or not the program is utility software.
Program True False
Database
Virus checker
Web browser
Backup software
[4]
(ii) Name two other utility programs.
Program 1 .........................................................................................................................
Program 2 .........................................................................................................................
[2]
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4
2 (a) A greenhouse control system has four input parameters (H, D, T, W) and two outputs (X, Y).
Description of
Parameter Binary value Condition
parameter
0 Too low
H Humidity
1 Acceptable
0 Night
D Day
1 Day
0 Too high
T Temperature
1 Acceptable
0 Closed
W Windows
1 Open
The watering system turns on (X = 1) if:
either it is daytime and the temperature is too high
or the humidity is too low.
The fan turns on (Y = 1) if the temperature is too high and the windows are closed.
Draw a logic circuit to represent the greenhouse control system.
T
Y
[6]
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5
(b) Complete the truth table for the logic expression: X = NOT A AND (B NAND C)
Working space
A B C X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]

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6
3 Parity bits can be used to verify data.
(a) The following binary number is transmitted using odd parity.
Add the missing parity bit.
Parity
bit
0 1 0 0 0 0 0
[1]
(b) In the following data transmitted, the first column contains the parity bits, and the last row
contains the parity byte. A device transmits the data using even parity.
Circle the error in the data transmitted.
Parity
Data
bit
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Parity
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
byte
[1]
(c) The following table shows five error detection measures.
Put one tick (3) in each row to indicate whether the measure is validation or verification.
Measure Validation Verification
Checksum
Format check
Range check
Double entry
Check digit
[5]
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7
4 (a) The Accumulator is a register. The current contents of the Accumulator are:
1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1
The current contents of the Accumulator represent an unsigned binary integer.
(i) Convert the value in the Accumulator into denary.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Convert the value in the Accumulator into hexadecimal.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) The current contents of the Accumulator represent a two’s complement binary integer.
Convert the value in the Accumulator into denary.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) The binary integer represents a character from the computer’s character set.
(i) Define the term character set.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Explain the differences between the ASCII and Unicode character sets.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(iii) The ASCII code for ‘A’ is 41 in hexadecimal.
Calculate the ASCII code in hexadecimal for ‘Z’. Show your working.
Working .............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
ASCII code in hexadecimal for ‘Z’ .....................................................................................

[2]

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8
5 A student has recorded a sound track for a short film.
(a) Explain how an analogue sound wave is sampled to convert it into digital format.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(b) Explain the effects of increasing the sampling resolution on the sound file.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) The original sound was sampled at 44.1 kHz. The sample rate is changed to 22.05 kHz.
Explain the effects of this change on the sound file.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
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9
(d) The student uses sound editing software to edit the sound file.
Name two features of sound editing software the student can use to edit the sound file.
Describe the purpose of each feature.
Feature 1 ...................................................................................................................................
Purpose .....................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Feature 2 ...................................................................................................................................
Purpose .....................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[4]
Question 6 begins on the next page.

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10
6 A web page includes the following HTML and JavaScript code.
01 <html>
02 <body>
03
04 <p>Enter your mark</p>
05 <input id="Mark" value="0">
06 <button onclick="calcGrade()">Enter</button>
07
08 <script>
09 function calcGrade() {
10 var mark, grade;
11 mark = document.getElementById("Mark").value;
12 if (mark >= 90) {
13 grade = "A"
14 } else if (mark >= 80) {
15 grade = "B"
16 } else if (mark >= 70) {
17 grade = "C"
18 } else if (mark >= 60) {
19 grade = "D"
20 } else if (mark >= 50) {
21 grade = "E"
22 } else {
23 grade = "U"
24 }
25 alert("Your grade is " + grade)
26 }
27 </script>
28
29 </body>
30 </html>
(a) Give the identifier of two variables used in the JavaScript code.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
[2]
(b) Give the line number where the JavaScript code produces an output.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(c) Describe the purpose of the statement on line 11.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
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11
(d) (i) State whether this JavaScript code will be run client-side or server-side.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Explain the difference between client-side scripting and server-side scripting.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]

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7 A social media website has a relational database, WEBDATA, that stores the site’s information.
The database has three tables to store users’ details, and details of the images and text that they
post.
USER(UserName, FirstName, SecondName, DateOfBirth)

PHOTO(PhotoID, UserName, Comment, UploadDate)
TEXTPOST(PostID, UserName, DateOfPost, TheText)
(a) (i) Explain how the relationship between the tables USER and PHOTO has been implemented.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Draw the entity-relationship (E-R) diagram to show the relationships between the three
tables.
[2]
(b) A database administrator decides to enforce referential integrity.
Use an example from the database WEBDATA to explain what is meant by referential
integrity.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
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(c) The database has been normalised to Third Normal Form (3NF).
Define the three stages of database normalisation.
1NF ............................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2NF ............................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3NF ............................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[3]
(d) The following shows sample data from the USER table.
UserName FirstName SecondName DateOfBirth
gem123 John Smith 01/01/1995
purpleSky Muhammed Ali 23/02/1956
OpenWindow Sunny Amir 03/03/1997
bluebird127 Raziya Bello 04/03/1982
(i) Write an SQL script to create the USER table.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[5]

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14
(ii) The database administrator needs to alter the USER table. A new field, Country, needs
to be added.
Write an SQL script to add the field Country to the USER table.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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* 6 1 8 6 1 5 1 0 2 7 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (NH/SW) 144489/2
Page 99 of 380
2
1 A web page includes the following HTML and PHP code.
01 <?php
02 if(isset($_GET['mark'])) {
03 echo "Grade: " . calculateGrade($_GET['mark']);
04 } else {
05 ?>
06
07 <form action="#" method="get">
08 Enter Mark: <input type="text" name="mark" /><br />
09 <input type="submit" value="Calculate" />
10 </form>
11
12 <?php
13 }
14
15 function calculateGrade($inputMark) {
16 $gradeChar = "U";
17 if($inputMark >= 80) $gradeChar = "A";
18 else if($inputMark >= 70) $gradeChar = "B";
19 else if($inputMark >= 60) $gradeChar = "C";
20 else if($inputMark >= 50) $gradeChar = "D";
21 else if($inputMark >= 40) $gradeChar = "E";
22 return $gradeChar;
23 }
24 ?>
(a) Give the identifier of two variables used in the PHP code.
Identifier 1 .................................................................................................................................
Identifier 2 .................................................................................................................................
[2]
(b) Give the line number where the PHP code produces an output.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(c) Describe the purpose of the expression $_GET['mark'] in line 03.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(d) State whether this PHP code will run client-side or server-side.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
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3
2 A company writes applications (apps) for smartphones. The company has a relational database,
PURPLEGAME, which stores the information for one of its online game apps.
The database has three tables to store player’s details, dates when they have logged into the app
and in-app purchase details.
LOGIN(LoginID, PlayerID, Date)
PURCHASE(PurchaseID, PlayerID, PurchaseDate, Cost)
PLAYER(PlayerID, PlayerName, SkillLevel)
(a) Draw the entity-relationship (E-R) diagram to show the relationships between the three tables.
[2]
(b) The database manager is concerned about data integrity.
State what is meant by data integrity. Give an example of how the manager can ensure data
integrity in the PURPLEGAME database.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]

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4
(c) The database designer states that the PURPLEGAME database is in Third Normal Form (3NF).
Tick (3) one box to indicate whether this statement is true or false.
True False
Justify your choice.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(d) (i) The following table shows some sample data for the PLAYER table.
PlayerID PlayerName SkillLevel

fly918 Kylie 3
elephant11 Mehrdad 9
candy22 Suzi 15
greenGrass Jason 22
Write an SQL script to create the PLAYER table.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[5]
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5
(ii) The table, PLAYER, needs to be altered. A new field, DateOfBirth, needs to be added.
Write an SQL script to add the DateOfBirth field to the PLAYER table.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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6
3 A computer is designed using the Von Neumann model.
(a) Describe the role of the Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit (CU) in the Von
Neumann model.
ALU ...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
CU ............................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[4]
(b) Describe the role of the Status Register and Program Counter (PC).
Status Register .........................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
PC .............................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[4]
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7
(c) H is a register. The current contents of H are:
1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
The current contents of register H represent an unsigned binary integer.
(i) Convert the value in register H into denary.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Convert the value in register H into hexadecimal.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) The current contents of register H represent a two’s complement binary integer.
Convert the value in register H into denary.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iv) State why register H does not currently contain a Binary Coded Decimal (BCD).
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]

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8
4 Parity bits can be used to verify data.
(a) The following binary number is transmitted using odd parity.
Add the missing parity bit.
Parity
bit
0 1 1 1 0 1 0
[1]
(b) In the following parity block, the first column contains the parity bits, and the last row contains
the parity byte. A device transmits the data using even parity.
Circle the error in the data being transmitted.
Parity
Data
bit
0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Parity
0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
byte
[1]
(c) Four error detection measures are shown.
Draw one line from each error detection measure to indicate whether it is verification or
validation.
Error detection measure
Type check
Proof reading Verification
Check digit Validation
Checksum
[4]
© UCLES 2018 9608/13/M/J/18
Page 106 of 380
10
5 (a) A student needs to design a logic circuit to model the requirements for membership of a
snooker club. Membership (X) depends on four criteria, as shown in the table:
Description of Binary
Parameter Condition
parameter value
1 True
A Over 18
0 False
1 True
B Recommended
0 False
1 True
C Full-time
0 False
1 True
D Retired
0 False
Membership is approved (X = 1) if the person:
• is over the age of 18 and has been recommended by a pre-existing member and
• either is working full-time or is retired, but not both.
Draw a logic circuit to represent the membership requirements.
[3]
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11
(b) Complete the truth table for the logic expression: X = (A XOR B) AND NOT C
A B C Working space X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]

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12
6 A black and white bitmap image is shown.
(a) State the minimum number of bits needed to represent each pixel in this image.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Run-length encoding (RLE) is used to store the image with the following colour codes.
Colour Code
Black 1A
White 3B
Show how run-length encoding is used to store the image.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(c) An image has 30 different colours.
State the minimum number of bits needed to represent each pixel in the 30-colour image.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
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13
(d) When the image is saved, a header is added to the file.
State the purpose of the file header. Give two examples of the file header contents.
Purpose ....................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Example 1 .................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Example 2 .................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[3]
(e) Graphics software is used to edit a digital photograph.
Give three features of graphics software that can be used to edit the photograph.
Describe the effect each has on the photograph.
Feature 1 ...................................................................................................................................
Effect .........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Feature 2 ...................................................................................................................................
Effect .........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Feature 3 ...................................................................................................................................
Effect .........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[6]

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14
7 A zoo has a computer system for the visitors to access multimedia content about the zoo and its
animals.
(a) The users interact with the computer system through touchscreens.
Describe the internal operation of a touchscreen.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
(b) (i) Give one output device, other than a touchscreen, that may be part of this computer
system.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Give two input devices, other than a touchscreen, that may be part of this computer
system. State how each device will be used by the visitors.
Device 1 .............................................................................................................................
Use ....................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Device 2 .............................................................................................................................
Use ....................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[4]
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15
(c) Give the most appropriate secondary storage device for this computer system.
Describe two reasons for your choice.
Device .......................................................................................................................................
Reason 1 ...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Reason 2 ...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[5]
(d) This computer system has Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM).
State what will be stored in RAM and ROM for this computer system.
RAM ..........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
ROM ..........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[2]
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* 8 6 6 9 8 3 6 0 5 9 *

Paper 1 Theory Fundamentals October/November 2015
1 hour 30 minutes

DC (ST/SW) 93611/2
Page 113 of 380

2
1 (a) Give three differences between Dynamic RAM (DRAM) and Static RAM (SRAM).
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(b) (i) Examples of primary and secondary storage devices include:
• hard disk
• DVD-RW
• flash memory
For each device, describe the type of media used.
Hard disk ...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
DVD-RW ............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Flash memory ...................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(ii) Describe the internal operation of the following devices:
DVD-RW ............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
DVD-RAM ..........................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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3
2 (a) Describe how a laser mouse operates.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(b) The following table shows a list of five statements which describe the stages when a page is
printed using an inkjet printer.
Put each statement in the correct sequence by writing the numbers 1 to 5 in the right-hand
column.
Sequence
Statement
number
Paper feed stepper motor activated; sheet of paper fed from
paper tray
Printer driver translates data into a suitable format for the
printer
The print head moves across the page; ink is sprayed each
time the print head pauses for a fraction of a second
Paper feed stepper motor advances paper a fraction of a
cm after each complete head pass
Printer receives data from the computer and stores the data
in the printer’s buffer
[5]
© UCLES 2015 9608/12/O/N/15 [Turn over

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4
3 A touch screen has three squares where a selection can be made:
S T U
(a) The x-coordinate of the centre of the three squares is held in three memory locations:
Address Memory contents

S 40 0000 1011 0100
T 41 0010 0101 0100
U 42 0100 0110 1100
(i) Give the hexadecimal value of the memory contents for U.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Convert the denary number 40 into binary.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
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5
(b) Bitmap graphics are used to represent squares S, T and U.
These can be saved in a number of different image resolutions.
(i) Give the number of bits required to store each pixel for a black and white bitmap.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Identify how many bits are required to store each pixel for a 256-colour bitmap.
Explain your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) Images can be compressed to reduce file size.
(i) Describe how lossless compression techniques work.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Describe how lossy compression techniques work.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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6
4 (a) Sound can be represented digitally in a computer.
Explain the terms sampling resolution and sampling rate.
Sampling resolution ..................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Sampling rate ............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
(b) The following information refers to a music track being recorded on a CD:
• music is sampled 44 100 times per second

• each sample is 16 bits
• each track requires sampling for left and right speakers
(i) Calculate the number of bytes required to store one second of sampled music.
Show your working.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) A particular track is four minutes long.
Describe how you would calculate the number of megabytes required to store this track.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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7
(c) When storing music tracks in a computer, the MP3 format is often used. This reduces file size
by about 90%.
Explain how the music quality is apparently retained.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]

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8
5 Bobby is a senior programmer at a software house which produces intruder detection software.
He also runs his own software company which develops and sells various computer applications.
The following table shows seven activities which Bobby carries out.
Put a tick (✓) in the appropriate column to identify if the activity is ethical or unethical.
Activity Ethical Unethical

gives away passwords used in the intruder detection
software
uses source code developed at the software house for
the software he develops for his own company
insists that staff work to deadlines
turns down training opportunities offered by his

employer
writes and sells software that reads confidential data
from client computers
fakes test results of safety-critical software
has the software applications developed overseas for

sale in his own country
[7]
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9
6 (a) A student wrote the following logic statement:
X is 1 if (B is NOT 1 AND S is NOT 1) OR (P is NOT 1 AND S is 1)
Draw a logic circuit to represent the above logic statement.
S X
[6]
(b) Complete the truth table for this system.
Working space
B S P X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]

Page 121 of 380
10
7 (a) The string of characters, “BINARY CODE”, was transmitted using 11 bytes of data. An
additional byte, called the parity byte, was also transmitted.
Parity bytes can be used to identify exactly which bit has been transmitted incorrectly.
The table shows bit patterns for all 12 bytes after transmission. Even parity was used and the
first bit is the parity bit.
character bit 1 bit 2 bit 3 bit 4 bit 5 bit 6 bit 7 bit 8

byte 1 B 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
byte 2 I 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
byte 3 N 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
byte 4 A 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
byte 5 R 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
byte 6 Y 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
byte 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
byte 8 C 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
byte 9 O 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1
byte 10 D 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
byte 11 E 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
parity
0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
byte
(i) There is one error in the transmission.
Indicate the byte number and bit number of the bit which has been incorrectly transmitted.
Byte number ......................................................................................................................
Bit number .....................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Explain your answer to part (i).
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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11
(b) Verification and validation can be applied during data entry.
Describe what is meant by these terms. For each method, explain why it is needed.
Verification ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Validation ..................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]

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12
register – the Accumulator (ACC).
Instruction
Explanation
Op code Operand
Direct addressing. Load the contents of the given address
LDD <address>
to ACC
Index addressing. Form the address from <address> + the
LDX <address> contents of the index register. Copy the contents of this
calculated address to ACC
LDI <address>
address. Load the contents of this second address to ACC
STO <address> Store the contents of ACC at the given address
INC <register> Add 1 to contents of the register (ACC or IX)
ADD <address> Add the contents of the given address to the ACC
END Return control to the operating system
The diagram shows the contents of the memory:
main memory
100 0000 0010
101 1001 0011
102 0111 0011
103 0110 1011
104 0111 1110
105 1011 0001
106 0110 1000
107 0100 1011
200 1001 1110
LDD 102
Accumulator:
[1]
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13
LDX 101
Accumulator:
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(iii) Show the contents of the Accumulator after execution of the instruction:
LDI 103
Accumulator:
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]

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14
(b) Trace the assembly language program using the trace table.
800 LDD 810

801 INC
802 STO 812
803 LDD 811
804 ADD 812
805 STO 813
806 END
810 28
811 41
812 0
813 0
Trace table:
Memory address
Accumulator
810 811 812 813
28 41 0 0
[6]
© UCLES 2015 9608/12/O/N/15

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* 1 2 8 1 8 2 2 1 3 0 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (ST/SG) 118026
Page 127 of 380

2
1 (a) Explain the term bit streaming.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) A person watches a film streamed from a website on a tablet computer.
(i) Give two benefits of using bit streaming for this purpose.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(ii) State two potential problems of using bit streaming for this purpose.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(c) Explain the terms on-demand bit streaming and real-time bit streaming.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
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3
2 (a)
Processor
Registers
System clock
B Control
unit ALU C
A
Main memory
The diagram above shows a simplified form of processor architecture.
Name the three buses labelled A, B and C.
A ...............................................................................................................................................
B ...............................................................................................................................................
C ...............................................................................................................................................
[3]
(b) State the role of each of the following special purpose registers used in a typical processor.
Program Counter ......................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Memory Data Register ..............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Current Instruction Register ......................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Memory Address Register ........................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[4]

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4
3 (a) The table shows four statements about IP addresses.
Tick (✓) to show which of the statements are true.
Statement True (✓)

The IP address consists of any number of digits separated by
single dots (.)
Each number in an IP address can range from 0 to 255
IP addresses are used to ensure that messages and data reach
their correct destinations
Public IP addresses are considered to be more secure than private
IP addresses
[2]
(b) Consider the URL:
http://cie.org.uk/computerscience.html
(i) Give the meaning of the following parts of the URL.
http ....................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
cie.org.uk ...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
computerscience.html .......................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[3]
(ii) Sometimes the URL contains the characters %20 and ?.
Describe the function of these characters.
%20 ...................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
? ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
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5
4 Paul works part-time for a large software company. The company sells security software to
a number of banks. He also runs his own software company that produces and sells computer
games.
Six statements about computer ethics are shown below.
Draw lines to indicate whether each statement describes ethical or unethical behaviour.
Statement
To save time, Paul fakes the test results

when testing the bank security software.
Paul uses the software developed in his

day job to help write some of the games
software routines.
Ethical
To allow him to concentrate on his games

software, Paul has frequently turned down
job opportunities in his day job.
To make the games software more

realistic, Paul uses password protection
code used in the bank security software.
Unethical
Because his work load is increasing, Paul
is now using overseas companies to write
some of the routines used in his games
software.
Paul carries out training on how to write

games software in his spare time.
[6]

Page 131 of 380
6
5 A computer system in a control room is used to monitor earthquake activity.
An earthquake zone has a number of sensors to detect seismic activity.
The system detects when seismic activity is greater than 3 on the Richter Scale. Whenever this
happens, a printer in the control room prints a report.
(i) Identify the steps that are required in this monitoring system.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
(ii) When the system detects high activity, operators may need to respond rapidly. A printer
is useful for hard copies, but may not be the best way to inform operators.
Give a reason why.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) Name an alternative output device for this monitoring system and give a reason for your
choice.
Output device ....................................................................................................................
Reason for choice .............................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
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7
6 A company operates a chemical plant, which has a number of processes. Local computers monitor
these processes and collect data.
The computers transfer these data to a central computer 50 km away. A telecommunications

company (telco) provides cables.
Engineers at the telco had to decide which type of cable to use. They considered the use of either
copper cable or fibre optic cable.
State two benefits of each type of cable. Each benefit must be clearly different.
Benefits of copper cable
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
2 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
Benefits of fibre optic cable
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
2 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
[4]

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8
7 (a) (i) Describe what is meant by a client-server model of networked computers.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Give two benefits of using the client-server model.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(b) The diagram shows a computer network with connection to the Internet.
client computer client computer

Internet
file server
mail server
Name the hardware device labelled X.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
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9
(c) A web page offers a link for users to request another web page. The requested web page
contains HTML code and JavaScript code.
Put each statement in the correct sequence by writing the numbers 1 to 5 in the right-hand
column.
Sequence
Statement
number
The requested web page is displayed on the client computer
The user clicks on the hyperlink and the web page is requested
from the web server
The requested web page content is transmitted to the client

computer
The client computer processes the JavaScript code using the

web browser software
The web server locates the requested web page
[5]

Page 135 of 380
10
8 (a) Six computer graphics terms and seven descriptions are shown below.
Draw a line to link each term to its correct description.
Term Description
Measured in dots per inch (dpi); this

value determines the amount of detail
an image has
Bitmap graphic
Picture element
Image file header
Image made up of rows and columns of

picture elements
Image resolution
Image made up of drawing objects. The

properties of each object determine its
shape and appearance.
Pixel
Specifies the image size, number of

colours, and other data needed to
display the image data
Screen resolution
Number of samples taken per second to

represent some event in a digital format
Vector graphic
Value quoted for a monitor specification,
such as 1024 × 768. The larger the
numbers, the more picture elements will
be displayed.
[6]
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11
(b) (i) A black and white image is 512 pixels by 256 pixels.
Calculate the file size of this image in kilobytes (KB) (1 KB = 1024 bytes).
Show your working.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Give a reason why it is important to estimate the file size of an image.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
9 (a) Give a brief description of each of the following terms:
Validation ..................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Verification ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) Data are to be transferred between two devices. Parity checks are carried out on the data.
Explain what is meant by a parity check. Give an example to illustrate your answer.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
Page 137 of 380
12
10 (a) Explain the term computer virus.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) A virus checker has been installed on a PC.
Give two examples of when a virus checker should perform a check.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[2]
11 A game program is written which can be either interpreted or compiled. The table below shows five
statements about the use of interpreters and compilers.
Tick (✓) to show whether the statement refers to an interpreter or to a compiler.
Statement Interpreter Compiler

This translator creates an executable file
When this translator encounters a syntax error, game
execution halts
The translator analyses and checks each line just before
executing it
This translator will produce faster execution of the game
program
Use of this translator makes it more difficult for the user to
modify the code of the game
[5]
© UCLES 2015 9608/13/O/N/15

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* 4 2 0 4 5 4 4 6 8 6 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (KN) 122134/3
Page 139 of 380

2
1 (a) A student writes the following logic expression:
X is 1 IF (B is NOT 1 AND S is NOT 1) OR (P is NOT 1 AND S is 1)
Draw a logic circuit to represent this logic expression.
Do not attempt to simplify the logic expression.
S X
[6]
(b) Complete the truth table for the logic expression given in part (a).
B S P Working space X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]
© UCLES 2016 9608/12/O/N/16

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3
2 (a) When recording a video, state what is meant by frame rate.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Video streaming can use either interlaced encoding or progressive encoding.
Describe what is meant by the following terms.
Interlaced encoding
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Progressive encoding
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
(c) (i) Name the video terms described below:
Description Term
Pixels in two video frames have the same value

in the same location. There is duplication of data
between frames. ................................................................
A sequence of pixels in a single video frame have

the same value.
................................................................
[2]
(ii) Give one file technique that could be applied when either of the two features, described
in part (c)(i), are present.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]

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4
3 When an application program requests a file stored on a hard disk, the computer system reads
the file. Use the statement labels A to H to complete the sequence of steps that describe how this
happens.
Label Statement
A When the hard disk drive has read the file, it generates an interrupt.
While the file continues, the head reads successive clusters of

B
sectors from the disk and writes data into the disk buffer.
The head reads the first cluster of sectors from disk and writes data
C
into the disk buffer.
D The head moves to the correct track.
The operating system transfers the contents of the disk buffer to the
E
application program’s data memory.
In the relevant directory file, the operating system looks up the track
F
and sector where the file begins.
Application program passes file read request to the operating
G
system.
The hard disk drive waits for the correct sector to arrive under the
H
head.
1. The application program executes a statement to read a file.
2. ............................
3. The operating system begins to spin the hard disk, if it is not currently spinning.
4. ............................
5. ............................
6. ............................
7. ............................
8. ............................
9. ............................
10. ............................
[8]
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5
4 Hexadecimal, Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) and binary values are shown below.
Draw a line to link each value to its correct denary value.
Hexadecimal, BCD, binary Denary
93
Hexadecimal:
3A
–65
BCD representation: 58
0100 1001
–63
Binary integer:
01011101
73
Two’s complement
binary integer: 49
11000001
–93
[4]

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6
5 The table shows assembly language instructions for a processor that has one general purpose
Instruction
Explanation
Op Code Operand
Direct addressing. Load the contents of the given address to
LDD <address>
ACC.
Index addressing. Form the address from <address> +
LDX <address> the contents of the index register. Copy the contents of this
calculated address to ACC.
LDI <address>
address. Load the contents of this second address to ACC.
STO <address> Store the contents of ACC at the given address.
INC <register> Add 1 to contents of the register (ACC or IX).
ADD <address> Add the contents of the given address to the ACC.
The diagram shows the contents of a section of main memory:
Main memory
100 0000 0010

101 1001 0011
102 0111 0011
103 0110 1011
104 0111 1110
105 1011 0001
106 0110 1000
107 0100 1011
200 1001 1110
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7
(a) (i) Show the contents of the Accumulator after the execution of the instruction:
LDD 102
ACC:
[1]
(ii) Show the contents of the Accumulator after the execution of the instruction:
LDX 101
IX: 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
ACC:
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(iii) Show the contents of the Accumulator after the execution of the instruction:
LDI 103
ACC:
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]

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8
(b) Complete the trace table below for the following assembly language program.
800 LDD 810
801 INC ACC
802 STO 812
803 LDD 811
804 ADD 812
805 STO 813
806 END
810 28
811 41
812 0
813 0
Trace table:
Memory address
ACC
810 811 812 813
28 41 0 0
[6]
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9
6 (a) Describe two differences between RAM and ROM.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) State three differences between Dynamic RAM (DRAM) and Static RAM (SRAM).
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
7 One management task carried out by an operating system is to provide a user interface.
Describe two more of these management tasks.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
2 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................[4]

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10
8 A programmer is writing a program that includes code from a program library.
(a) Describe two benefits to the programmer of using one or more library routines.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
(b) The programmer decides to use a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file.
(i) Describe two benefits of using DLL files.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
(ii) State one drawback of using DLL files.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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9 A health club offers classes to its members. A member needs to book into each class in advance.
(a) The health club employs a programmer to update the class booking system. The programmer
has to decide how to store the records. The choice is between using a relational database or
a file-based approach.
Give three reasons why the programmer should use a relational database.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[6]
(b) The programmer decides to use three tables: MEMBER, BOOKING and CLASS.
Complete the Entity-Relationship (E-R) diagram to show the relationships between these
tables.
MEMBER CLASS
BOOKING
[2]

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12
(c) The CLASS table has primary key ClassID and stores the following data:
ClassID Description StartDate ClassTime NoOfSessions AdultsOnly
DAY01 Yoga beginners 12/01/2016 11:00 5 TRUE
EVE02 Yoga beginners 12/01/2016 19:00 5 FALSE
DAY16 Circuits 30/06/2016 10:30 4 FALSE
Write an SQL script to create the CLASS table.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[6]
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1 hour 30 minutes

DC (KN/SG) 128900
Page 151 of 380

2
1 (a) Five descriptions and seven relational database terms are shown below.
Draw a line to link each description to its correct database term.
Description Database term
Any object, person or thing about which

it is possible to store data
Secondary key
Candidate key
Dataset organised in rows and columns;
the columns form the structure and the
rows form the content
Entity
Any attribute or combination of attributes Foreign key

that can act as a unique key
Primary key
Attribute(s) in a table that link to the
primary key in another table to form a
relationship Table
Tuple
Attribute or combination of attributes that
is used to uniquely identify a record
[5]
(b) Explain what is meant by referential integrity.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
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3
2 (a) State two differences between Static RAM (SRAM) and Dynamic RAM (DRAM).
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) (i) Explain why a computer needs an operating system.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Give two key management tasks carried out by an operating system.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) New program code is to be written in a high-level language. The use of Dynamic Link Library
(DLL) files is considered in the design.
Describe what is meant by a DLL file.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]

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4
3 (a) (i) Convert the denary number 46 to an 8-bit binary integer.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Convert the denary integer – 46 to an 8-bit two’s complement form.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) Convert the denary number 46 into hexadecimal.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) is another way of representing numbers.
(i) Describe how denary integers larger than 9 can be converted into BCD.
Give an example in your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Describe how an 8-bit BCD representation can be converted into a denary integer.
Give an example in your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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5
4 Describe the basic internal operation of the following devices:
(i) Keyboard
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Optical disc
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(iii) Optical mouse
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(iv) Scanner
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]

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6
5 A motor is controlled by a logic circuit. The circuit has inputs (0 or 1) from three sensors
R, T and W. The motor is switched off when the output from the logic circuit is 1.
The following table shows the three sensors and the conditions being monitored.
Sensor Description Binary value Condition
0 rotation < 4000 rpm

R rotation
1 rotation >= 4000 rpm
0 temperature >= 90 °C
T temperature
1 temperature < 90 °C
0 water flow rate >= 50 litre/min

W water flow rate
1 water flow rate < 50 litre/min
The output, X, is 1 if:
temperature >= 90 °C and rotation >= 4000 rpm
or
temperature < 90 °C and water flow rate >= 50 litre/min
(i) Draw a corresponding logic circuit.
T X
[5]
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7
(ii) Give a logic statement corresponding to the logic circuit in part (i).
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(iii) Complete the truth table for this system.
INPUT Workspace OUTPUT
R T W X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]
6 A user watches a video available on a website. The website uses on-demand bit streaming.
Describe how it is possible to watch the video without it continually pausing.
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................[4]

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8
7 A small company produces scientific magazines. The owner buys some new desktop computers.
The computers are used to store thousands of colour images (diagrams and photographs). All the
computers have Internet access.
(a) Name three utility programs the company would use on all their computers. Describe what
each program does.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
Description ................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[6]
(b) The images contained in the magazines are produced using either bitmap or vector graphics
software.
Give four differences between bitmap and vector graphics.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
4 ................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
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9
(c) Employees using the new computers receive training. At the end of the training, each
employee completes a series of questions.
Three answers given by an employee are shown below.
Explain why each answer is incorrect.
(i) “Encryption prevents hackers breaking into the company’s computers.”
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) “Data validation is used to make sure that data keyed in are the same as the original data
supplied.”
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(iii) “The use of passwords will always prevent unauthorised access to the data stored on the
computers.”
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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10
register, the Accumulator (ACC) and an Index Register (IX).
Instruction
Explanation
Op code Operand
Indexed addressing. Form the address from <address> + the
LDX <address> contents of the index register. Copy the contents of this calculated
address to ACC.
CMP <address> Compare contents of ACC with contents of <address>
Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare
JPE <address>
was True.
Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare
JPN <address>
was False.
Output to the screen the character whose ASCII value is stored in
OUT
ACC.
The diagram shows the contents of the main memory:
Main memory
800 0110 0100
801 0111 1100
802 1001 0111
803 0111 0011
804 1001 0000
805 0011 1111
806 0000 1110
807 1110 1000
808 1000 1110
809 1100 0010
:
:
2000 1011 0101
LDD 802
Accumulator:
[1]
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11
LDX 800
Index Register: 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Accumulator:
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]

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12
(b) (i) Complete the trace table below for the following assembly language program. This
program contains denary values.
100 LDD 800

101 ADD 801
102 STO 802
103 LDD 803
104 CMP 802
105 JPE 107
106 JPN 110
107 STO 802
108 OUT
109 JMP 112
110 LDD 801
111 OUT
112 END
:
:
800 40
801 50
802 0
803 90
ASCII code 40 50 80 90 100

Character ( 2 P Z d
Trace table:
Memory address
ACC OUTPUT
800 801 802 803
40 50 0 90
[4]
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13
(ii) There is a redundant instruction in the code in part (b)(i).
State the address of this instruction.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(c) The program used the ASCII coding system for character codes. An alternative coding system
is Unicode.
(i) Give two disadvantages of using ASCII code.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Describe how Unicode is designed to overcome the disadvantages of ASCII.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
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1 hour 30 minutes

DC (ST/SW) 129950/3
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2
1 One of the tasks of the operating system (OS) is the management of the main memory of the
computer system.
State and describe three other operating system management tasks.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
2 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
3 .......................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................................
[6]
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3
2 (a) The diagram shows three items of software that translate program code.
Draw one line from each context to the correct item of translation software.
Context Item of translation software
The source code is written in a high-level

language. An executable file is produced.
Assembler
The source code uses instructions from

the processor’s instruction set.
Interpreter
The source code and translation

software must both be in main memory at
execution time.
Compiler
A web page contains some JavaScript

code.
[4]
(b) A programmer is developing software and has both a compiler and interpreter for the
high-level language used.
Describe two benefits of using each form of translation software.
(i) Benefits of a compiler
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(ii) Benefits of an interpreter
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]

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4
3 A Local Area Network is used by school staff who access data stored in a Database Management
System (DBMS).
(a) (i) Explain the difference between security and privacy of data.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(ii) Give an example for this application where privacy of data is a key concern.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Name and describe two security measures the Network Manager has in place to protect the
security of the data held in the DBMS.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[4]
(c) A task for staff at the start of the school year is to key in new pupil data from a paper document.
The data is entered to a screen form and includes the data verification of some fields.
Describe what is meant by verification.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
© UCLES 2017 9608/12/O/N/17
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5
4 The following diagram shows the components and buses found inside a typical personal computer
(PC).
C D
E
Control unit
Main memory
(a) Some components and buses only have labels A to F to identify them.
For each label, choose the appropriate title from the following list. The title for label D is
already given.
• Control bus
• Address bus
• Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
• General purpose registers
• Secondary storage
• System clock
A ...........................................................................................................................................
B ...........................................................................................................................................
C ...........................................................................................................................................
D Data bus
E ...........................................................................................................................................
F ...........................................................................................................................................
[5]
(b) Clock speed is a factor that affects the performance of a PC. Explain this statement.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]

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6
(c) An assembly language program can contain both macros and directives.
(i) Explain what is meant by these terms.
Macro ................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Directive ............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[3]
(ii) Give an example of the use of a directive.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(d) The following table shows part of the instruction set for a processor. The processor has one
Instruction
Op code Explanation
Operand
(mnemonic)
Direct addressing. Load the contents of the given address
LDD <address>
to ACC.
Relative addressing. Move to the address n locations from
LDV #n the address of the current instruction. Load the contents of
this address to ACC.
STO <address> Store the contents of ACC at the given address.
INC Increment the contents of ACC.
Output the character corresponding to the ASCII character
OUTCH
code in ACC.
Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if the
JPE <address>
compare was True.
CMP #n Compare the contents of ACC with number n.
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7
Complete the trace table for the following assembly language program.
Label Instruction
StartProg: LDV #Offset
CMP Value
ASCII code table (selected codes only)
JPE EndProg
<Space> 2 A B Y
OUTCH
32 50 65 66 89
LDD Offset
INC
STO Offset
JMP StartProg
EndProg: END
Offset: 10
50
65
89
32
Value: 32
Trace table:
ACC Offset OUTPUT

10
50 2
10
[5]

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8
(e) The program given in part (d) is to be translated using a two-pass assembler. The program
has been copied here for you.
Label Instruction
StartProg: LDV #Offset
CMP Value
JPE EndProg
OUTCH
LDD Offset
INC
STO Offset
JMP StartProg
EndProg: END
Offset: 10
50
65
89
32
Value: 32
On the first pass, the assembly process adds entries to a symbol table.
The following symbol table shows the first five entries, part way through the first pass.
The circular labels show the order in which the assembler made the entries to the symbol
table.
Complete the symbol table. Use circular labels to show the order in which the assembler
makes the entries.
Symbol table
Symbolic address Relative address
StartProg 1 0 2
Offset 3 UNKNOWN 4
Value 5
[6]
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9
5 The IEEE Software Engineering Code of Ethics uses eight key principles shown in the right-hand
column of the following diagram.
Tom is employed as a tester with a software company. He is keen to become a trainee programmer.
The middle column in the diagram labels six incidents which have happened to Tom this week.
The table that follows the diagram describes each incident.
IEEE category
Public
Incident A Client and Employer

Ethical
Incident B Product
behaviour
Incident C Judgement
Incident D Management
Unethical Incident E Profession

behaviour
Incident F Colleagues
Self
Incident Description
Tom has received some phishing emails. He reported this to the bank they were
A
supposed to have come from.
B Tom has asked his manager if they will pay for him to attend a programming course.
Tom is testing beta versions of new games software at work. He copies the software on
C
to CD-Rs and sells them to his friends.
D Tom has completed the application forms to join the Chartered Institute for IT.
Tom finds it difficult to work with one of his colleagues. His way of dealing with this has
E
been to refuse to speak with the colleague.
Tom’s manager had considered the testing of a new game was completed. Tom reported
F
to his manager that he thought there were still bugs which needed to be rectified.
(a) Draw a line on the diagram to link each of the six incidents to either ethical behaviour or
unethical behaviour. [2]
(b) Consider each incident you have identified as ethical behaviour.
Draw a line from each incident to indicate the IEEE category it maps to. [4]
Page 172 of 380
10
6 (a) A personal computer (PC) is extensively used for a wide range of applications, including the
three shown in the following table.
Write in the table, a suitable input device, output device, or both needed for each application.
Do not give a monitor, keyboard or mouse in your answers.
Application Input device Output device

Capture the text from a paper document, in order
that the text can be word processed
Producing a replica of a small plastic component
from a washing machine
A museum has interactive information facilities
throughout the building
[3]
(b) Explain the basic internal operation of a hard disk drive.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[4]
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11
7 A company takes customer service for its clients very seriously.
The client
• The client names are unique.
A visit
• The company arranges a date for a visit to gather feedback from a client.
• A visit to a client never takes more than one day.
• Over time, the client receives many visits.
Staff (Interviewers)
• One or more staff attend the visit.
• If there is more than one staff member visiting, each performs a separate interview.
Interviews
• Each interview is classified as either ‘general’ or by some specialism, for example, marketing,
customer service or sales.
• A report is produced for each interview, InterviewText.
• Each interview is conducted by a single staff member.
The client, visit, staff and interview data will be stored in a relational database.
(a) (i) Underline the primary key for each table in the following suggested table designs.
STAFF(StaffID, StaffName, Department)
CLIENT(ClientName, Address, Town)
VISIT(ClientName, VisitDate)
INTERVIEW(ClientName, VisitDate, StaffID, SpecialistFocus, InterviewText)

[3]
(ii) For each of the pairs of entities, A, B and C, draw the relationship between the two
entities.
A CLIENT VISIT
B VISIT INTERVIEW
C INTERVIEW STAFF
[3]

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12
(b) The company decides to produce a visit report, VisitReportText, for each visit made.
This text will be produced from the one or more interview texts obtained at the visit.
State how one or more of the given table designs can be changed to add this attribute.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(c) Client ABC Holdings are now trading under the name of Albright Holdings.
(i) Write an SQL script to update this client’s record in the database.
UPDATE .............................................................................................................................
SET ....................................................................................................................................
WHERE ...............................................................................................................................
[3]
(ii) Describe why this update could cause problems with the existing data stored.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(d) Write an SQL script to display the Staff ID of each member of staff who performed an interview
when they visited New Age Toys on 13/10/2016.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(e) At present, all interviews are performed in the UK. Many clients now operate in other countries
in Europe. The company wants to perform interviews with the client’s staff in other countries.
Not all interview staff are willing to travel outside of the UK.
State how one or more of the table designs should be revised to store this information.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
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1 hour 30 minutes

DC (JP) 147948
Page 176 of 380

2
1 (a) Each of the following bytes represents an integer in two’s complement form.
State the denary value.
(i) 0111 0111 Denary .................................................. [1]
(ii) 1000 1000 Denary .................................................. [1]
(iii) Express the following integer in two’s complement form.
-17
[1]
(iv) State in denary, the range of integer values that it is possible to represent in two’s
complement integers using a single byte.
Lowest value ..................................................
Highest value .................................................. [1]
(b) (i) Convert the following denary integer into Binary Coded Decimal (BCD).
653
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) A 3-digit BCD representation has been incorrectly copied. It is shown as:
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
State how you can recognise that this is not a valid BCD representation.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) Describe a practical application where BCD is used.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
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2 (a) The diagram shows three items of software that translate program code.
Draw one line from each context to the correct item of translation software.
Context Item of translation software
A web page contains a client-side script.
Assembler
Each instruction in the source code

consists of an op code and an operand.
Interpreter
The source code is required at run-time.
Compiler
When the source code is translated,

copies of the executable program can be
distributed without the need for the source
code.
[4]
(b) The Java programming language is said to be machine or platform independent.
(i) Describe what is meant by machine independent.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Describe how a Java source code program is translated.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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3 A Local Area Network is used by staff in a hospital to access data stored in a Database Management
System (DBMS).
(a) Name two security measures to protect computer systems.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
[2]
(b) A frequent task for staff is to key in new patient data from a paper document. The document
includes the patient’s personal ID number.
(i) The Patient ID is a seven digit number. The database designer decides to use a check
digit to verify each foreign key value that a user keys in for a Patient ID.
When a user assigns a primary key value to a Patient ID, the DBMS adds a modulus-11
check digit as an eighth digit. The DBMS uses the weightings 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for
calculating the check digit. It uses 6 as the multiplier for the most significant (leftmost)
digit.
Show the calculation of the check digit for the Patient ID with the first six digits 786531.
Complete Patient ID ......................................................................................................[4]
(ii) Name and describe two validation checks that the DBMS could carry out on each
primary key value that a user keys in for a Patient ID.
1 Validation check .........................................................................................................
Description .................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
2 Validation check .........................................................................................................
Description .................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
[4]
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4 (a) The diagram shows the components and buses found inside a typical Personal Computer
(PC).
General purpose
registers
D
Arithmetic Logic
E F
Unit (ALU)
Some components and buses only have labels A to F to identify them.
For each label, choose the appropriate title from the following list. The title for label D is
already given.
• Control bus
• System clock
• Data bus
• Control unit
• Main memory
• Secondary storage
A ...........................................................................................................................................
B ...........................................................................................................................................
C ...........................................................................................................................................
D Address bus
E ...........................................................................................................................................
F ...........................................................................................................................................
[5]

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6
(b) The following table shows part of the instruction set for a processor. The processor has one
Instruction
Operand
(mnemonic) (binary)
LDM #n 1100 0001 Immediate addressing. Load number n to ACC.
Direct addressing. Load the contents of the given
address to ACC.
Relative addressing. Move to the address n locations
LDV #n 1100 0011 from the address of the current instruction. Load the
contents of this address to ACC.
DEC 1100 0101 Decrement the contents of ACC.
Output the character corresponding to the ASCII
OUTCH 1100 0111
character code in ACC.
Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if
JNE <address> 1110 0110
the compare was False.
JMP <address> 1110 0011 (Unconditionally) jump to the given address.
CMP #n 1110 0100 Compare the contents of ACC with number n.
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Complete the trace table for the following assembly language program.
Label Instruction
StartProg: LDV #CountDown
CMP Num1
ASCII code table (selected codes only)
JNE CarryOn
<Space> 3 B C X
JMP Finish
32 51 66 67 88
CarryOn: OUTCH
LDD CountDown
DEC
STO CountDown
JMP StartProg
Finish: LDM #88
OUTCH
END
CountDown: 15
32
51
67
Num1: 32
Trace table:
ACC CountDown OUTPUT

15
67 C
15
[5]

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8
(c) The program given in part (b) is to be translated using a two-pass assembler.
The program has been copied here for you. The program now starts with a directive which
tells the assembler to load the first instruction of the program to address 100.
Label
ORG #0100
StartProg: LDV #CountDown
CMP Num1
JNE CarryOn
JMP Finish
CarryOn: OUTCH
LDD CountDown
DEC
STO CountDown
JMP StartProg
Finish: LDM #88
OUTCH
END
CountDown: 15
32
51
67
Num1: 32
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On the first pass of the two-pass process, the assembler adds entries to a symbol table.
The following symbol table shows the first eleven entries, part way through the first pass.
The circular labels show the order in which the assembler made the entries to the symbol
table.
Symbol table
Symbolic address Absolute address
StartProg 1 100 2
CountDown 3 UNKNOWN 4
Num1 5 UNKNOWN 6
CarryOn 7 UNKNOWN 8 104 11
Finish 9 UNKNOWN 10
Explain how the assembler made these entries to the symbol table.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
(d) The assembler software must then complete the second pass building up the executable file.
(i) Name the second table needed when the assembler software carries out the second
pass.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]

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10
The following shows two of the program instructions in machine code.
Machine code
Instruction Binary Hexadecimal
OUTCH 1100 0111 C7
JNE CarryOn A B
Each of the numbers A and B represents the complete instruction in two bytes, one byte for
the op code and one byte for the operand.
(ii) Use the following instruction set to write the numbers for A and B.
A (binary) ........................................................................................................................
B (hexadecimal) .............................................................................................................
[3]
Instruction
Operand
(mnemonic) (binary)
LDM #n 1100 0001 Immediate addressing. Load number n to ACC.
Direct addressing. Load the contents of the given
address to ACC.
Relative addressing. Move to the address n locations
LDV #n 1100 0011 from the address of the current instruction. Load the
contents of this address to ACC.
DEC 1100 0101 Decrement the contents of ACC.
Output the character corresponding to the ASCII
OUTCH 1100 0111
character code in ACC.
Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if
JNE <address> 1110 0110
the compare was False.
JMP <address> 1110 0011 (Unconditionally) jump to the given address.
CMP #n 1110 0100 Compare the contents of ACC with number n.
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5 A Personal Computer (PC) has a number of input and output devices.
(a) (i) Name three components of a speaker.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
3 ........................................................................................................................................
[3]
(ii) Explain the basic internal operation of a speaker.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
(b) (i) The user is considering the purchase of a removable device for secondary storage.
Name one suitable device.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Describe two possible uses for this device on a home Personal Computer (PC).
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]

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12
6 Raj has joined a software company as a trainee programmer. He was given the company’s Code
of Conduct document during his induction training. The handbook has a section headed ‘Ethical
Behaviour’.
(a) Describe what is meant by ethics.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) Raj is assigned to work as a new member of a development team.
In his first week, Raj feels uncomfortable working with one of his colleagues. He is unfamiliar
with the programming language used by the team. Next week, he will be working on the site
of one of the company’s clients with a colleague. Raj is very nervous about working in an
unfamiliar workplace.
Raj has a review with his manager after his first three weeks.
The Code of Conduct document was produced by the Human Resources section. It closely
follows the ACM/IEEE Software Engineering Code of Ethics that uses these eight key
principles:
Public Client and Employer Product Judgement
Management Profession Colleagues Self
There are issues Raj will want to raise with his manager.
• Describe two of these issues.

• Circle the key ACM/IEEE principle this comes under.
• Suggest what action should be taken to demonstrate ethical behaviour.
Issue 1
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
ACM/IEEE principle (Circle one only)
Possible action .........................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
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Issue 2
Description ................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
ACM/IEEE principle (Circle one only)
Possible action .........................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[6]
Question 7 begins on the next page.

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14
7 A clinic is staffed by several doctors. The clinic serves thousands of patients. Each day and at any
one time, there is only one doctor in the clinic available for appointments.
The clinic stores patient, doctor and appointment data in a relational database.
(a) (i) Underline the primary key for each table in the following suggested table designs.
PATIENT(PatientID, PatientName, Address, Gender)
DOCTOR(DoctorID, Gender, Qualification)
APPOINTMENT(AppointmentDate, AppointmentTime, DoctorID, PatientID)

[2]
(ii) Complete the following entity-relationship (E-R) diagram for this design.
[2]
(b) The doctors are concerned that many patients make appointments but do not attend them.
Describe the changes to the table designs that could be made to store this information.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
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15
(c) The doctors are about to set up a new clinic in the neighbouring village, SITE-B.
The original location is identified as SITE-A.
A new table is designed to store the ID of the doctor who is able to work at each site.
DOCTOR-AVAILABILITY(DoctorID, Site)
Five entries stored in the table are:
DoctorID Site
098 SITE-A
074 SITE-A
117 SITE-B
098 SITE-B
033 SITE-B
(i) State what this data shows about the availability of the doctor with the ID of 098.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Opening a new clinic in the neighbouring village will not require any additional table for
storing appointments. It will need a change to the existing appointment table design.
Show the revised APPOINTMENT table.
APPOINTMENT( ................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................... ) [1]
(d) The doctor with the ID of 117 has recently been allocated a new DoctorID of 017.
(i) Write an SQL script to update this doctor’s record in the database.
UPDATE .............................................................................................................................
SET .....................................................................................................................................
WHERE ...............................................................................................................................
[3]
(ii) Describe why this update could cause problems with the existing data stored.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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16
(e) Write an SQL script to display the date and time of all appointments made by the patient with
the PatientID of 556.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]
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* 6 0 5 4 1 9 8 9 6 8 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (NF/CGW) 144492/3
Page 192 of 380

2
1 A company is designing a website.
(a) The company creates a 4-colour bitmap image for the website as shown.
Each colour is represented by a letter, for example, G = grey, K = black.
G R G K W R
G R G K W R
G R G K W R
G R G K W R
G G G K K R
W W W W K R
(i) State the minimum number of bits needed to represent each pixel in the image in part (a).
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) Calculate the minimum file size of the image shown in part (a). Show your working.
Working .............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
File size .............................................................................................................................

[3]
(b) The company takes a photograph of their office to put on the website. The photograph has
a resolution of 1000 pixels by 1000 pixels. Two bytes per pixel are used to represent the
colours.
(i) Estimate the file size of the photograph in megabytes. Show your working.
Working .............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Estimated file size .............................................................................................................

[4]
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3
(ii) The file size of the photograph needs to be reduced before it is placed on the website.
Draw lines to link each method of reducing the file size of the image to:
• its description and

• its compression type, where appropriate.
Description Method Compression type
Removes pixels
Crop the
photograph
Reduces number of
Lossy
pixels per inch
Use run-length
encoding
Uses fewer bits per
Lossless
pixel
Use fewer
colours
Stores colour code and
count of repetitions
[5]
(c) The company has created a logo for the website. The logo is a vector graphic.
Describe two reasons why a vector graphic is a sensible choice for the logo.
Reason 1 ..................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Reason 2 ..................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[4]

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4
2 Gopal types the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a website into a web browser.
(a) The following sequence (1 to 5) describes the steps that take place. There are three missing
statements.
1 Gopal types into the web browser.
2 ......................................
3 DNS looks up the URL in table
4 ......................................
5 ......................................
Three statements A, B and C are used to complete the sequence.
A DNS finds corresponding IP address

B Web browser sends URL to Domain Name Service (DNS)
C DNS returns IP address to web browser
Write one of the letters A to C in the appropriate rows (2, 4 and 5) to complete the sequence.
[2]
(b) Describe the purpose of an IP address.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]
(c) A telecommunications operator has installed fibre-optic cables in Gopal’s neighbourhood.
(i) Give three benefits of fibre-optic cable over copper cable.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
3 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[3]
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5
(ii) Give two drawbacks of fibre-optic cable over copper cable.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]

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6
3 The following table shows assembly language instructions for a processor which has one general
purpose register, the Accumulator (ACC) and an Index Register (IX).
Instruction
Explanation
Op code Operand
LDD <address> Direct addressing. Load the contents of the location at the given address to
ACC.
Index Register. Copy the contents of this calculated address to ACC.
LDR #n Immediate addressing. Load the number n to IX.
JPE <address> Following compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was True.
JPN <address> Following compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was False.
OUT Output to the screen the character whose ASCII value is stored in ACC.
(a) (i) State what is meant by absolute addressing and symbolic addressing.
Absolute addressing ..........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Symbolic addressing .........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(ii) Give an example of an ADD instruction using both absolute addressing and symbolic
addressing.
Absolute addressing ..........................................................................................................
Symbolic addressing .........................................................................................................

[2]
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(b) (i) State what is meant by indexed addressing and immediate addressing.
Indexed addressing ...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Immediate addressing .......................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(ii) Give an example of an instruction that uses:
Indexed addressing ...........................................................................................................
Immediate addressing .......................................................................................................

[2]
(c) The current contents of a general purpose register (X) are:
X 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
(i) The contents of X represent an unsigned binary integer.
Convert the value in X into denary.
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) The contents of X represent an unsigned binary integer.
Convert the value in X into hexadecimal.
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(iii) The contents of X represent a two’s complement binary integer.
...................................................................................................................................... [1]

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8
(d) The current contents of the main memory, Index Register (IX) and selected values from the
ASCII character set are:
Address Instruction ASCII code table (selected codes only)

40 LDD 100 ASCII code Character
41 CMP 104 300 /
42 JPE 54 301 *
43 LDX 100 302 -
44 CMP 105 303 +
45 JPN 47 304 ^
46 OUT 305 =
47 LDD 100
48 DEC ACC
49 STO 100
50 INC IX
51 JMP 41
52
53
54 END
100 2
101 302
102 303
103 303
104 0
105 303
IX 1
This is a copy of the instruction set.
Instruction
Explanation
Op code Operand
LDD <address> Direct addressing. Load the contents of the location at the given address to
ACC.
Index Register. Copy the contents of this calculated address to ACC.
JPN <address> Following a compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was False.
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Complete the trace table for the given assembly language program.
Instruction Memory address

address ACC IX OUTPUT
100 101 102 103 104 105
2 302 303 303 0 303 1
40
[7]

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10
4 A student has written the steps of the fetch stage of the fetch-execute (FE) cycle in register transfer
notation. The student has made some errors.
Line 1 MDR [PC]
Line 2 PC PC + 1
Line 3 MDR [MAR]
Line 4 CIR PC
(a) Identify the line numbers of three errors that the student has made. Write the correct notation
for each error.
Line number of error Correct notation
[3]
(b) One stage of the FE cycle includes checking for interrupts.
(i) Give three different events that can generate an interrupt.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
3 ........................................................................................................................................
[3]
(ii) Explain how interrupts are handled during the fetch-execute cycle.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [5]
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(c) The processor uses buses in the FE cycle.
The diagram shows three buses and two descriptions.
Draw one line from each bus to its appropriate description.
Bus Description
Control bus
Unidirectional
(one direction)
Address bus
Bidirectional
(two directions)
Data bus
[2]
5 This question presents three scenarios. For each scenario, tick (✓) one box to show whether you
think the person’s behaviour is ethical or unethical. Justify your choice.
(a) Wendy is a software engineer who is developing a program for her company. Her friend,
Noah, is developing a program for a different company. Wendy looks at the code that Noah is
writing to get ideas for her own program.
Ethical
Unethical
Justification ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]

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12
(b) Amit is fixing some bugs in the computer system of a large multinational company. He is
asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. He sees some confidential information which
contains the names of other multinational companies that have broken the law. He copies this
information and releases it on the Internet.
Ethical
Unethical
Justification ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]
(c) Farah is providing a company with an estimate for the cost of writing a program. The company
she works for is in financial difficulty so she increases the estimate by 10%.
Ethical
Unethical
Justification ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [2]
6 Kim is using her laptop computer to write a program in a high-level language.
(a) Kim needs to make sure the program is secure against unauthorised access. She has already
set up a username and password on her laptop.
Identify two additional electronic measures that Kim can use to keep the program secure.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
[2]
(b) Kim will use library routines in her program.
(i) Describe what is meant by a library routine.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [2]
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(ii) Describe one benefit and one drawback of using library routines.
Benefit ...............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Drawback ..........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[4]
(c) Kim develops her program and makes it ready for use. To do this, she uses first an interpreter
and then a compiler.
Explain why Kim needs to use both an interpreter and a compiler.
Interpreter .................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Compiler ...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[4]
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14
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15
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* 3 4 1 3 6 3 1 8 8 5 *

1 hour 30 minutes

DC (SC/SW) 144491/4
Page 208 of 380

2
1 A product designer is creating a poster.
(a) The designer creates a 6-colour bitmap image for the poster as shown.
Each colour is represented by a letter, for example, R = red, B = blue.
R R P P P G
B R R P G G
B W B B O O
B W W P P O
B B R P G O
B R R P G O
(i) State the minimum number of bits needed to represent each pixel in the image in part (a).
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) Calculate the minimum file size of the image shown in part (a). Show your working.
Working .............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
File size .............................................................................................................................

[3]
(b) (i) The designer takes a photograph to put on the poster. The photograph has a resolution of
50 000 pixels by 50 000 pixels. The colours are represented using 4 bytes per pixel.
Estimate the file size of the photograph in gigabytes. Show your working.
Working ..............................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
Estimated file size ..............................................................................................................

[4]
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3
(ii) The photograph needs to be sent by email but the file size is too big. It needs to be
compressed.
The table lists several methods of making an image file size smaller.
Tick (✓) one box on each row to indicate whether each method is lossy or lossless.
Compression method Lossy Lossless
Cropping the image
Reducing the resolution of the image
Using run-length encoding (RLE)
Reducing the colour depth of the image
[4]
(c) Explain how run-length encoding would compress the image in part (a).
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[3]

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4
2 The following table shows assembly language instructions for a processor which has one general
purpose register, the Accumulator (ACC) and an Index Register (IX).
Instruction
Explanation
Op code Operand
Direct addressing. Load the contents of the location at the given address
LDD <address>
to ACC.
Indexed addressing. Form the address from <address> + the contents of
LDX <address>
the Index Register. Copy the contents of this calculated address to ACC.
Following compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was
JPE <address>
True.
Following compare instruction, jump to <address> if the compare was
JPN <address>
False.
(a) State what is meant by relative addressing and indexed addressing.
Relative addressing ...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
Indexed addressing ...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[2]
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5
(b) The current contents of a general purpose register (X) are:
X 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
(i) The contents of X represent an unsigned binary integer.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) The contents of X represent an unsigned binary integer.
Convert the value in X into hexadecimal.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iii) The contents of X represent a two’s complement binary integer.
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(iv) Show the result on the general purpose register (X) after the following instruction is run.
INC X
[1]

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6
(c) The current contents of the main memory, Index Register (IX) and selected values from the
ASCII character set are provided with a copy of the instruction set.
Address Instruction ASCII code table (selected codes only)

20 LDD 96 ASCII code Character
21 CMP 97 450 <
22 JPE 32 451 >
23 LDX 86 452 =
24 CMP 98 453 &
25 JPN 27 454 (
26 OUT 455 )
27 LDD 96 Instruction set
28 INC ACC Instruction
29 STO 96 Op Explanation
Operand
30 INC IX code
31 JMP 21 Direct addressing. Load the contents of

LDD <address>
the location at the given address to ACC.
32 END
Indexed addressing. Form the address
… from <address> + the contents of the
LDX <address>
Index Register. Copy the contents of this
93 453 calculated address to ACC.
94 453 Immediate addressing. Load the number
LDR #n
n to IX.
95 452
96 8 Store contents of ACC at the given
STO <address>
address.
97 10
Add the contents of the given address to
98 453 ADD <address>
ACC.
Add 1 to the contents of the register (ACC
INC <register>
or IX).
IX 8
Subtract 1 from the contents of the
DEC <register>
register (ACC or IX).
Compare contents of ACC with contents of
CMP <address>
<address>.
Following a compare instruction, jump to
JPE <address>
<address> if the compare was True.
Following a compare instruction, jump to
JPN <address>
<address> if the compare was False.
Output to the screen the character whose
OUT
ASCII value is stored in ACC.
© UCLES 2018 9608/13/O/N/18

Page 213 of 380
7
Complete the trace table for the given assembly language program.

ACC IX OUTPUT
address 93 94 95 96 97 98
453 453 452 8 10 453 8
20
[7]

Page 214 of 380
8
3 This question presents three scenarios. Tick (✓) one box for each scenario to indicate whether
you think the person’s behaviour is ethical or unethical. Justify your choice.
(a) Mason is using his work computer to book a holiday whilst at work.
Ethical
Unethical
Justification ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) Ethan is supervising a trainee. The trainee asks Ethan for a reference for another job. Ethan
does not want to lose the trainee, so refuses to give him a reference.
Ethical
Unethical
Justification ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) Margarita finds that one of her team members has produced some inventive code. She
presents this to her manager, praising the individual by name.
Ethical
Unethical
Justification ...............................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
© UCLES 2018 9608/13/O/N/18

Page 215 of 380
9
4 Ava needs to view a website and she knows the Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
(a) Complete the series of steps that take place.
Write the letter of the appropriate statement in each space.
A DNS finds corresponding IP
B DNS looks up URL in table
C Ava types the URL into a web browser
1 ..................................................
2 Web browser sends URL to Domain Name Service (DNS)
3 ..................................................
4 ..................................................
5 DNS returns IP address to web browser

[2]
(b) (i) An IPv4 address has been entered as 12.258.3
Give two reasons why this IP address is invalid.
1 .........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 .........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]
(ii) An IPv6 address has been entered as 15EF:5L63::2014:BB::60AA
Give two reasons why this IP address is invalid.
1 .........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 .........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[2]

Page 216 of 380
10
(c) The table shows four descriptions of IP addresses.
Tick (✓) one box in each row to identify whether each description applies to a public or private
IP address.
Description Public Private

The address can be reached over the Internet.
The address is more secure.
The address can only be accessed through the same LAN.
The address can be duplicated in different networks.
[4]
© UCLES 2018 9608/13/O/N/18

Page 217 of 380
11
5 Arnold is a software developer. He has created a computer game for people to download over the
Internet. Arnold is considering releasing the game as a piece of commercial software.
(a) (i) Describe what is meant by a commercial licence.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Name and describe one other type of licence that Arnold can consider using.
Licence type .......................................................................................................................
Description .........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
[3]
(b) Users need to enter their name and email address to create an account. The information is
stored in a database on Arnold’s computer.
Give three ways that Arnold can ensure users’ details are kept secure.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
[3]

Page 218 of 380
12
6 The fetch-execute (FE) cycle uses special purpose registers.
(a) The stages in the FE cycle are shown in register transfer notation.
MAR [...............]
PC PC + 1
............... [ [MAR] ]
............... [MDR]
(i) The steps shown in part (a) are incomplete.
Write the missing register names in the spaces in part (a). [3]
(ii) The third instruction [ [MAR] ] has double brackets.
State the purpose of the double brackets.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) One stage of the FE cycle includes checking for interrupts.
State what is meant by an interrupt.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) There are two types of RAM: dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM).
The following table shows five statements about DRAM and SRAM.
Tick (✓) one box in each row to indicate whether the statement applies to DRAM or SRAM.
Statement DRAM SRAM
Does not need to be refreshed as the circuit holds the data while the power
supply is on
Mainly used in cache memory of processors where speed is important
Has less complex circuitry
Requires higher power consumption under low levels of access, which is

significant when used in battery-powered devices
Requires data to be refreshed occasionally so it retains the data

[5]
© UCLES 2018 9608/13/O/N/18
Page 219 of 380
13
7 The network manager of a Local Area Network (LAN) has replaced the Ethernet cables with a
wireless network.
(a) Give three benefits of a wireless network compared to a wired network.
1 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
2 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
3 ................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
[3]
(b) Give one drawback of a wireless network compared to a wired network.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]

Page 220 of 380
14
8 (a) Draw a logic circuit to represent the logic expression:
X = (A XOR B) OR (NOT(C AND A))
B X
[4]
(b) Complete the truth table for the logic expression in part (a).
Working space
A B C X
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
[4]
© UCLES 2018 9608/13/O/N/18

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15
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16
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Page 228 of 380

Page 229 of 380

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS

MARK SCHEME for the May/June 2015 series
9608 COMPUTER SCIENCE

9608/12 Paper 1 (Written Paper), maximum raw mark 75
This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of
the examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not
indicate the details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began,
which would have considered the acceptability of alternative answers.
Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner
Report for Teachers.
Cambridge will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.
Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2015 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE®, Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some
Cambridge O Level components.
® IGCSE is the registered trademark of Cambridge International Examinations.
Page 230 of 380

Page 2 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper
Cambridge International AS/A Level – May/June 2015 9608 12
1 (i) B 8 [1]
(ii) 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 [1]
(iii)
114 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
– 93 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1
[2]
2 (a) (i) Any one from:
• amplitude of sound wave taken at different points in time

• measurement of value of analogue signal at regular time intervals/a point in time [1]
(ii) Any one from:
• bit depth/sampling resolution sufficient for good quality sound

• higher bit depth/sampling resolution would mean bigger files
• ...hence less (music) content on each CD
• can represent dynamic range of about 90 dB
• 90 dB is basically the maximum dynamic range of human hearing
• compromise between quality and reasonable file size [1]
(iii) Any two from:
• resolution is the number of distinct values available to encode/represent each

sample
• specified by the number of bits used to store/record each sample
• sometimes referred to as bit depth
• the higher the sampling resolution, the smaller the quantization error
• a higher sampling resolution results in less distortion of the sound
• usually 8 bit, 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit [2]
(iv) 1 mark for benefit and 1 mark for drawback.
benefit
• allows for larger dynamic ranges

• ...as dynamic range is approximately six times the bit depth
• more accurate representation/crisper sound quality
drawback
• bigger files/occupies more memory/storage

• longer to transmit data/download music
• greater processing power needed [2]
© Cambridge International Examinations 2015

Page 231 of 380
(b) Any two from:
• edit start time, stop time and duration of any sound/timeline

• extract/delete/save part of a clip
• frequency, amplitude, pitch alteration
• fade in/out of a clip
• mix/merge multiple sound sources/tracks
• combine different sources at various volume levels
• pan between tracks/channels
• use of filters
• playback to speakers, processors or recording medium
• conversion between different audio file formats
• etc... [2]
(c) Any three from:

For full marks both techniques must be mentioned.
• lossless designed to lose none of the original detail/lossless allows original file to be
recreated exactly
• lossless technique based on some form of replacement
• mention of type of replacement, for example RLE, FLAC etc.
• by example: e.g. 000–1111–222222–333 = 3–0, 4–1, 6–2, 3–3 etc.
• maximum compression about 50%
• lossy may result in loss of detail compared to original file/lossy does not allow original file
to be re-created exactly
• lossy techniques make decision about what parts of sound/sound file are important and
discards other information
• only keeps sounds human ear can process/discards sounds most people cannot hear
• ... then applies lossless technique, for further reduction
• lossy compression can reduce to about 10%
• an example of jpeg, mp3 or other correct examples of compressed formats.
No double credit to opposite answers, e.g. lossless maintains detail, but lossy loses detail
just one mark.
[3]

Page 232 of 380
the operand is the address of the

direct
address of the value to be used
the operand is the address of the value

immediate
to be used
the operand is the offset from the

indexed
current address where the value to be
used is stored
indirect the operand plus contents of index

register is the address of the value to
be used
relative the operand is the value to be used
[4]

Page 233 of 380
4 (a) answer requires a different sensor for each part, 1 mark for each part
(i) temperature/thermistor [1]
(ii) moisture, humidity, light/photodiode, temperature, pH [1]
(iii) sound/acoustic, infrared, pressure, motion, microwave [1]
(b) 1 mark for name + 3 marks for description
parity check
• uses even or odd parity which is decided before data sent

• each byte has a parity bit
• parity bit is set to 0 or 1 to make parity for byte correct
• after transmission, parity of each byte re-checked
• if it is different, then an error is flagged
• any reference to use of parity blocks/parity byte to (identify position of incorrect bit)
checksum
• a calculation is carried out on the data to be sent (checksum)

• the result is sent, along with data to recipient
• checksum is re-calculated at receiving end
• if both sums are the same, no error has occurred
• if the sums are different, the data has been corrupted during transmission
• request is sent to re-send data
[4]

Page 234 of 380
5 (a)
Conventional telephone
Description Internet-based system
using PSTN
connection only in use

whilst sound is being
transmitted
dedicated channel used

between two points for the
duration of the call
connection maintained
throughout the telephone
call
encoding schemes and

compression technology
used
lines remain active even

during a power outage
[5]
(b) maximum of two marks for Internet references and maximum of two marks for world wide
web references
Internet
• massive network of networks/interconnected network of computer devices

• Internet stands for Interconnected Networks
• uses TCP/IP protocol
World Wide Web (www)
• is a collection of (multimedia) web pages/documents

• ...stored on websites
• http/protocols used to transmit data
• web pages are written in HTML
• URLs specify the location of the web pages
• web documents are accessed using browsers [3]
(c) (i) router [1]
(ii) gateway [1]
(iii) server [1]

Page 235 of 380
6 (a)
Description of use Input or output device
input of credit card number into an online form Keyboard/keypad/numberpad
selection of an option at an airport information

kiosk touch screen
output of a singe high quality photograph ink jet printer
output of several hundred high quality leaflets laser printer
input of a hard copy image into a computer scanner
[5]
(b) (i) Any two from:

• frequent (or equivalent) backup EITHER to secondary media/to 3rd party
server/cloud/removable devices/continuous backup OR stored remotely
• disk-mirroring strategy/RAID
• UPS (uninterruptable power supply)/backup generator [2]
(ii) Any one from:

• protection of data (or equivalent) with passwords/using password and username for
logging on include e.g. fingerprint scanning
• encryption
• installation and use of up to date anti-malware/anti-virus
• give different access rights to different users
• use a firewall,
• physical methods/lock doors and use secure entry devices/CCTV [1]

Page 236 of 380
7 (a) Since it is possible to simplify the original conditions, at least 3 possible answers exist for the
logic circuit.
1 mark
P
1 mark
1 mark
1 mark
1 mark
Note: input T has 2 cross overs that should not be connections
Note: it is possible to use a 3-input OR gate rather than the two 2-input OR gates on the top
right:
AND-gate 1
2 marks
AND-gate 2 X
AND-gate 3

Page 237 of 380
Alternative solution 1:
1 mark
P
1 mark
1 mark
1 mark
1 mark
Alternative solution 2:
1 mark
P
T
1 mark
X
3 marks
[5]
Note: other solutions may be possible depending on how simplification of the original statement is
done

Page 238 of 380
(b)
Workspace
P T R X
0 0 0 1
} 1 mark
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
} 1 mark
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0
} 1 mark
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
} 1 mark
1 1 1 1
[4]
8 (a) maximum of 2 marks for data bus width and maximum of 2 marks for clock speed
data bus width
• the width of the data bus determines the number of bits that can be simultaneously
transferred
• increasing the width of the data bus increases the number of bits/amount of data that
can be moved at one time (or equivalent)
• …hence improving processing speed as fewer transfers are needed
• By example: e.g. double the width of the data bus moves 2x data per clock pulse
clock speed
• determines the number of cycles the CPU can execute per second
• increasing clock speed increases the number of operations/number of fetch-execute
cycles that can be carried out per unit of time
• ...however, there is a limit on clock speed because the heat generated by higher clock
speeds cannot be removed fast enough [3]
(b) Any two from:
• devices automatically detected and configured when first attached/plug and play
• it is nearly impossible to wrongly connect a device
• USB has become an industrial standard
• supported by many operating systems
• USB 3.0 allows full duplex data transfer
• later versions are backwards compatible with earlier USB systems
• allows power to be drawn to charge portable devices [2]

Page 239 of 380
(c)
Sequence
Description of stage number
the instruction is copied from the Memory Data Register (MDR) and placed
in the Current Instruction Register (CIR) 3
the instruction is executed 6
the instruction is decoded 5
the address contained in the Program Counter (PC) is copied to the

Memory Address Register (MAR) 1
the value in the Program Counter (PC) is incremented so that it points to

the next instruction to be fetched 4
the instruction is copied from the memory location contained in the Memory
Address Register (MAR) and is placed in the Memory Data Register (MDR) 2
[6]

Page 240 of 380
9 (a) Any one from:
• (ShopSales) table has repeated group (of attributes)

• each sales person has a number of products
• FirstName, Shop would need to be repeated for each record [1]
(b) One mark for SalesPerson table
table: SalesPerson
FirstName Shop
Nick TX
Sean BH
John TX

Page 241 of 380
table: SalesProducts
FirstName ProductName NoOfProducts Manufacturer
Nick television set 3 SKC
Nick refrigerator 2 WP
Nick digital camera 6 HKC
Sean hair dryer 1 WG
Sean electric shaver 8 BG
John television set 2 SKC
John mobile phone 8 ARC
John digital camera 4 HKC
John toaster 3 GK
(1 mark for FirstName column + 1 mark for remainder of table)

[3]

Page 242 of 380
(c) (i) Any two from:
• primary key of SalesPerson table is FirstName

• links to FirstName in SalesProducts table
• FirstName in SalesProductsS table is foreign key [2]
(ii) • There is a non-key dependency

• Manufacturer is dependent on ProductName, (which is not the primary key of the
SalesProducts table) [2]
(iii) SalesPerson (FirstName, Shop)

–SalesProducts (FirstName, ProductName, NoOfProducts) OR
SalesProducts(SalesID, FirstName, ProductName, NoOfProducts)
-Product (ProductName, Manufacturer)
1 mark for correct attributes in SalesProducts and Product tables and 1 mark for
correct identification of both primary keys [2]

Page 243 of 380

MARK SCHEME for the May/June 2015 series

Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2015 series for most
Page 244 of 380

1 (a) (i)
124 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
–77 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1
[2]
(ii) 124: 7C
–77: B3 [2]
(b) (i) 0 0 1 1 0101 1001 [1]
(ii) • when denary numbers need to be electronically coded

• e.g. to operate displays on a calculator where each digit is represented
• decimal fractions can be accurately represented [2]
2
Activity First pass or
second pass
any symbolic address is replaced by an absolute address 2
any directives are acted upon 1
any symbolic address is added to the symbolic address table 1
data items are converted into their binary equivalent 1
forward references are resolved 2

[5]

Page 245 of 380
3 (a) maximum of two marks for firewall description + maximum of two marks for authentication
description
Firewall
• sits between the computer or LAN and the Internet/WAN and permits or blocks traffic
to/from the network
• can be software and/or hardware
• software firewall can make precise decisions about what to allow or block as it can detect
illegal attempts by specific software to connect to Internet
• can help to block hacking or viruses reaching a computer
Authentication
• process of determining whether somebody/something is who/what they claim to be

• frequently done through log on passwords/biometrics
• because passwords can be stolen/cracked, digital certification is used
• helps to prevent unauthorised access to data [3]
(b) one mark for security, one mark for integrity:
• integrity deals with validity of data/freedom from errors/data is reasonable

• security deals with protection of data
• security protects data from illegal access/loss
• integrity deals with making sure data is not corrupted after, for example, being
transmitted [2]
(c) (i) one mark for each way of maintaining data security + one mark for an example/
enhancement
• validation (to ensure data is reasonable)

• examples include range checks, type checks, length checks, …
• verification (checks if data input matches original/if transmitted data matches

original)
• can use double data entry or visual check/other methods such as parity checks
• doesn’t check whether or not data is reasonable [3]
(ii) one mark for each way of maintaining data integrity + one mark for an example/
enhancement
• parity checking
• one of the bits is reserved as parity bit
• e.g. 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 uses odd parity
• number of 1s must be odd
• parity is checked at receiver’s end
• a change in parity indicates data corruption
• check sum
• adds up bytes in data being sent and sends check sum with the data
• calculation is re-done at receiver’s end
• if not the same sum then the data has been corrupted during transmission [3]

Page 246 of 380
4 (a)
requires data to be refreshed

periodically in order to retain the data
has more complex circuitry
DRAM
does not need to be refreshed as the

transistors hold the data as long as
the power supply is on
SRAM
requires higher power consumption

which is significant when used in
battery-powered devices
used predominantly in cache

memory of processors where speed
is important
[5]

Page 247 of 380
(b) maximum of two marks for RAM and maximum of two marks for ROM
RAM
• loses contents when power turned off/volatile memory/temporary memory

• stores files/data/operating system currently in use
• data can be altered/deleted/read from and written to
• memory size is often larger than ROM
ROM
• doesn’t lose contents when power turned off/non-volatile memory/permanent memory

• cannot be changed/altered/deleted/read only
• can be used to store BIOS/bootstrap [3]
(c) one mark for DVD-RAM, one mark for flash memory.
DVD-RAM
• data is stored/written using lasers/optical media

• DVD-RAM uses phase changing recording, in which varying laser intensities cause
targeted areas in the phase change recording layer to alternate between an amorphous
and a crystalline state.
• uses a rotating disk with concentric tracks
• allows read and write operation to occur simultaneously
flash memory
• most are NAND-based flash memory

• there are no moving parts
• uses a grid of columns and rows that has two transistors at each intersection
• one transistor is called a floating gate
• the second transistor is called the control gate
• memory cells store voltages which can represent either a 0 or a 1
• essentially the movement of electrons is controlled to read/write
• not possible to over-write existing data; it is necessary to first erase the old data then
write the new data in the same location [2]

Page 248 of 380
5 (a) one mark for name of bus + one mark for description
address bus
• lines used to transfer address of memory or input/output location

• unidirectional bus
data bus
• used to transfer data between the processor and memory/input and output devices
• bidirectional bus
control bus
• used to transmit control signals

• e.g. read/write/fetch/ …
• dedicated bus since all timing signals are generated according to control signal [6]
(b) (i) the program counter is incremented [1]
(ii) the data stored at the address held in MAR is copied into the MDR [1]
(iii) the contents of the Memory Data Register is copied into the Current Instruction
Register [1]
(c) • the MAR is loaded with the operand of the instruction // loaded with 35
• the Accumulator is loaded with the contents of the address held in MAR
// the Accumulator is loaded with the contents of the address 35 [2]
(d) (i) • a signal

• from a device/program that it requires attention from the processor [2]
(ii) • at a point during the fetch-execute cycle …

• check for interrupt
• if an interrupt flag is set/ bit set in interrupt register
• all contents of registers are saved
• PC loaded with address of interrupt service routine [4]

Page 249 of 380
6 (a)
[5]
(b)
A B C working X
0 0 0 1
} 1 mark
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
} 1 mark
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1
} 1 mark
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
} 1 mark
1 1 1 1
[4]

Page 250 of 380
(c) ((A is NOT 1 AND B is 1) OR (B is NOT 1 OR C is 1)) AND C is NOT 1

< – – – – – 1 mark – – – – – > < – – – – – 1 mark – – – – – > < – – – – –1 mark – – – – – >
NOTE: all brackets may not be shown – but check answer still correct
Alternatives include:
((NOT A AND B) OR (NOT B OR C)) AND NOT C
(A . B + ( B + C)) . C
NOTE: expressions may be reversed but still OK
(e.g. NOT C AND ((NOT A AND B) OR (NOT B OR C))
NOT C AND ((NOT B OR C) OR (NOT A AND B)) and so on) [3]
7 (a) (i)
Accumulator: 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
[1]
(ii)
Accumulator: 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
[1]
explanation
• content of 124 is 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
• this is equivalent to 127
• contents of 127 are 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 [2]
(iii)
Accumulator: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
[1]
explanation
• index register value = 6

• 120 + 6 = 126
• contents of 126 placed in the accumulator [2]

Page 251 of 380
(b) 1 mark for each correct value in the table.
Accumulator Memory address
320 321 322 323
49 36 0 0
36
37
37
49
50
50
[6]

Page 252 of 380


Paper 1 Written Paper May/June 2016
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the
examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the
details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have
considered the acceptability of alternative answers.
Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for
Teachers.
Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2016 series for most Cambridge IGCSE®,
Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some Cambridge O Level components.
Page 253 of 380

1 One mark for each box on the left. [3]
Term Definition
The software reads the source

code and reports all errors. The
software produces an executable
Compiler file.
The software reads each statement

and checks it before running it. The
Assembler
software halts when it encounters a
syntax error.
Interpreter The software translates a high level

language program into machine
code for the processor to execute
The software translates low-level

statements into machine code for
the processor to execute.
Marks allocated as follows:
Compiler – 1 mark for two correct connecting lines

Assembler – 1 mark for one correct connecting line
Interpreter – 1 mark for two correct connecting lines
2 (a) 00110111 [1]
(b) 83 [1]
(c) 10011010 [2]
Marks allocated as follows:
1 mark for the most significant bit

1 mark for the remaining 7 bits
(d) 78 [1]

Page 254 of 380
3 (a) Four points from: [4]
• The Program Counter (PC) holds the address of the next instruction to be fetched
• The address in the Program Counter (PC) is copied to the Memory Address Register
(MAR)
• The Program Counter (PC) is incremented
• The instruction is copied to the Memory Data Register (MDR)
o …. from the address held in the Memory Address Register (MAR)
• The instruction from the Memory Data Register (MDR) is copied to the Current
Instruction Register (CIR)
(b) One mark for each statement or letter in the correct place. [4]
At the end of the cycle for the current instruction B

If the interrupt flag is set, D, A and C
The interrupted program continues its execution
At the end of the cycle for the current instruction the processor checks if there is an interrupt.
If the interrupt flag is set, the register contents are saved, the address of the Interrupt Service
Routine (ISR) is loaded to the Program Counter (PC) and when the ISR completes, the
processor restores the register contents.
The interrupted program continues its execution.
4 (a) Three from: [3]
• The height/amplitude of the (sound) wave is determined.

• At set (time) intervals // by example of sensible time period.
• To get an approximation of the sound wave
• And encoded as a sequence of binary numbers // and converted to a digital signal.
• Increasing the sampling rate will improve the accuracy of the recording.
(b) (i) No mark awarded for identifying method. Three marks for justification. [3]
Lossy – Three points from:

• The human ear will not notice that the decompressed stream will not be identical to
the original (file) / that parts of the original data have been discarded / removed /
deleted.
• File size reduction is greater than using lossless.
• Email has limits on file sizes (on attachments) / a smaller file will take less time to
transmit.
• The file may not need to be of high precision / accuracy.
• The producer has requested an mp3 file.
Lossless – Three points from:

• The file needs to be high precision / accuracy.
• None of the original data is lost / the decompressed file will be identical to the
original.
• The producer has requested a flac file.

Page 255 of 380
(ii) Three points from: [3]
• Lossless method of compression.

• Reduces (the physical size of) a string of adjacent, identical characters/pixels / bytes
etc..
• The repeating string (a run) is encoded into two values.
• One value represents the number of (identical) characters in the run (the run count).
• The other value is the code of the character / colour code of pixel etc. in the run (the
run value).
• The run value and run count combination may be preceded by a control character.
• Any valid example given.
(iii) Two marks for three correct rows, one mark for two correct rows. [2]
Row 1: 153 10 255 3 153 3

Row 2: 153 9 255 6 153 1
Row 3: 153 7 255 9
Alternative correct answer:
Row 1: 153 9 255 2 153 2

Row 2: 153 8 255 5 153 0
Row 3: 153 6 255 8
5 One mark per row. [4]
No mark if more than one tick in any row.
Description Open source Shareware Commercial

Software is purchased

before it can be used
Source code comes with

the software
Software is provided free

on a trial basis
The software can be

modified by the user

Page 256 of 380
6 One mark for identifying the principle, one mark for an example that is in the context of this
scenario.
Maximum of two marks per principle. Maximum of three principles. [6]
• PUBLIC / Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.
o Example in context
• CLIENT AND EMPLOYER / Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best
interests of their client and employer (consistent with the public interest.)
• PRODUCT / Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications
meet the highest professional standards possible.
• JUDGEMENT / Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their
professional judgment.
• MANAGEMENT / Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and
promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance.
• PROFESSION / Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the
profession (consistent with the public interest).
• COLLEAGUES / Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues.
• SELF / Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their
profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession.

Page 257 of 380
7 (a) Internet Protocol [1]
(b) [4]
Denary / Valid or
Address Reason
Hexadecimal Invalid
One point from:
• This is more than 32 bits

• 6AA /BBBB in Hex is bigger
than FF / 255 in denary
3.2A.6AA.BBBB Hexadecimal Invalid • 6AA / BBBB uses more than 8
bits / a byte
• The third / fourth group is bigger
than FF / 255 in denary
• The third / fourth group uses
more than 8 bits / a byte
There are 4 bytes, each 255 or

2.0.255.1 Denary Valid below // All the values are in the
range 0 - 255
6.0.257.6 257 is above 255 // The third group

Denary Invalid
is above 255
0A.78.F4.J8 J is not a valid hexadecimal digit //

Hexadecimal Invalid
J8 is not a valid Hex number
One mark for each combination of valid or invalid and the reason.
(c) Two points from: [2]
• Public address can be reached across the Internet.

• Private address can only be reached internally/through the LAN/Intranet // private
address cannot be reached across the Internet.
• NAT (Network Address Translation) is necessary for a private IP address to access the
Internet directly.
• A private address is more secure than a public address // A public address is less secure
than a private address.
• Public addresses are provided by ISP / assigned by InterNIC // Private addresses are
assigned by the router (of the network concerned).
• Public addresses are unique (to the Internet) // Private addresses (are unique within their
network, but) can be duplicated within other (discrete) networks.
• 10.0.0.1 to 10.255.255.254 and 172.16.0.1 to 172.31.255.254 and 192.168.0.1.to
192.168.255.254 form the private address space // IP addresses from the private
address space are never assigned as public.

Page 258 of 380
8 (a) (i) Database Management System [1]
(ii) One mark for identifying the way in which the data security is ensured, and one mark
for a further description.
Maximum of two marks per method. Maximum of two methods. [4]
• Issue usernames and passwords...

o stops unauthorised access to the data
o any further expansion e.g. strong passwords / passwords should be changed
regularly etc…
• Access rights / privileges...
o so that only relevant staff / certain usernames can read/edit certain parts of the
data
o can be read only, or full access / read, write and delete
o any relevant example e.g. only class tutors can edit details of pupils in their tutor
group
• Create (regular / scheduled) backups...
o in case of loss/damage to the live data a copy is available
o any relevant example e.g. backing up the attendance registers at the end of
each day and storing the data off-site/to a separate device
• Encryption of data...
o if there is unauthorised access to the data it cannot be understood // needs a
decryption key
o any relevant example e.g. personal details of pupils are encrypted before being
sent over the Internet to examination boards
• Definition of different views...
o composed of one or more tables
o controls the scope of the data accessible to authorised users
o any relevant example e.g. teachers can only see their classes
• Usage monitoring / logging of activity...
o creation of an audit /activity log
o records the use of the data in the database / records operations performed by
all users / all access to the data
o any relevant example, e.g. Track who changed a student’s grade
(iii) Two points from: [2]
• Set up search criteria

• To find / retrieve / return the data that matches the criteria
• Any relevant example e.g. find pupils who were absent on a particular day

Page 259 of 380
(iv) Three points from: [3]
• By storing data in (separate) linked tables data redundancy is reduced / data

duplication is controlled...
• Compatibility / data integrity issues are reduced as data only needs to be updated
once / is only stored once.
• Unwanted or accidental deletion of linked data is prevented as the DBMS will flag an
error.
• Program - data dependence is overcome.
• Changes made to the structure of the data have little effect on existing programs.
• Ad-hoc / complex queries can be more easily made as the DBMS will have a query
language/ QBE form.
• Unproductive maintenance is eliminated as changes only need to be made once
(rather than changing multiple programs).
• Fields can be added or removed without any effect on existing programs (that do not
use these fields).
• Security / privacy of the data is improved as each application only has access to the
fields it needs.
• There is better control of data integrity as the DBMS (uses its Data Dictionary) to
perform validation checks on data entered.
(b) (i) Two points from: [2]
• The Primary Key in CLASS is ClassID

• The Foreign Key of CLASS-GROUP is ClassID.
• The Primary Key of CLASS is also included in CLASS-GROUP as a Foreign Key,
(which links to CLASS table)
(ii) Many-to-one [1]
(iii) One mark per statement. Several statements may be on the same line. [4]
SELECT StudentID, FirstName

FROM STUDENT
WHERE TutorGroup = "10B" // WHERE (TutorGroup = "10B")
ORDER BY LastName ASC;

Page 260 of 380
(iv) One mark per statement. Several statements may be on the same line. [4]
SELECT STUDENT.LastName
FROM STUDENT, CLASS-GROUP
WHERE ClassID = "CS1" // WHERE (ClassID = "CS1")
AND CLASS-GROUP.StudentID = STUDENT.StudentID;
One mark per statement. Several statements may be on the same line.
SELECT STUDENT.LastName
FROM STUDENT INNER JOIN CLASS-GROUP
ON CLASS-GROUP.StudentID = STUDENT.StudentID
WHERE ClassID = "CS1" // WHERE (ClassID = "CS1");
9 (a) (i) One mark for the contents of the accumulator and one mark for the reason. [2]
Accumulator contents: 0100 0101
Reason:
Address is 60
Contents of the index register is 8
And 60 + 8 = 68 in denary gives the address
The contents of which is 0100 0101 in binary.
(ii) 0000 0111 [1]

Page 261 of 380
(b)
Memory address
Instruction Working OUTPUT
IX
address space ACC
100 101 102 103
20 100 1 0 1
50 20
51 21
52 21
53 100
54 120
55
56
57
59 2
60 20
61 120
62 'x'
63
One mark for each shaded block. [7]
• Contents of the Accumulator in first 2 lines (instruction addresses 50 and 51)

• Updating address 103 (instruction 52)
• Loading the Accumulator and addition (instructions 53 and 54)
• Not executing instruction 58
• Incrementing the index register (instruction 59)
• Loading the Accumulator and addition (instructions 60 and 61)
• Correct output of 'x' (instruction 62)

Page 262 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some Cambridge O Level components.
Page 263 of 380

1 Four from: [4]
• Compiler creates an executable//an interpreter does not create an executable.

• The compiled program can be independently distributed.
• Compiler reports all errors at the end of compilation//an interpreter stops when it reaches an
error.
• Interpreter executes each statement immediately after decoding/checking it//a compiler
checks the whole program for errors.
• The interpreter software/source code must be present in main memory every time the
program is executed//the compiled program does not require compiler/source code to be
present.
• Cross-compilation is possible/compile on one hardware platform to run on another.
2 (a) 77 [1]
(b) 1000 0010 [1]
(c) − 53 [2]
One mark for ‘53’ and one mark for ‘−‘
(d) C6 [2]
One mark for the answer, one mark for the method
• Working e.g. 198 / 16 = 12, 198 − (12*16) = 6
3 (a) Two from: [2]
• The source code comes with the software.

• The user can edit the source code.
• Once edited, the software is re-distributed with the changes.
(b) Two from: [2]
• The software is purchased.

• With a licence which restricts the number of users / possible time period for use.
• The program code for the software cannot be edited.
(c) Four from: [4]
• Support / training is readily available so help can be accessed if needed.

• More robust software / fewer bugs as it has been tested more thoroughly/by more users.
• Forums / user groups will exist for popular software.
• Software upgrade path likely to be available (at minimal cost).
• Manufacturer develops patches that can be automatically downloaded.
• Compatibility is inbuilt for other commercial software.

Page 264 of 380
4 (a) 11001110 [1]
(b) [7]
Working Memory address

Instruction ACC IX OUTPUT
space 90 91 92 93
2 90 55 34 2
20 55
21 54
22 54
23 3
24 34
25 33
26
27
28
31 67
32 67
33 'C'
34
One mark each for:
• Instruction 20
• Instructions 21 and 22
• Instruction 23
• Not executing instructions 29 and 30
• Correct output

Page 265 of 380
5 (a) One mark for each correct line. [3]
Data Dictionary
A file/table containing all the data about the
detail of the database design
Data Security Data design features to ensure the validity of

data in the database
Data Integrity A model of what the database will look like,

although it may not be stored in this way
Methods of protecting the data including the

uses of passwords and different access
rights for different users of the database
(b) One mark for procedure point, one mark for justification. [6]
Maximum three procedures.
• How often should the data be backed up? e.g. at the end of each day
• Justification e.g. student’s progress may be edited each day and should not be lost
• What medium should the data be backed up to? e.g. external hard disk drive
• Justification e.g. it has large enough capacity
• Where should the backups be stored? e.g. off-site

• Justification e.g. so if the building is damaged only the original data are lost
• What is backed up? e.g. only updated files ...

• Justification e.g. There are a large number of files and they are not all updated each day
• When should the backup take place? e.g. overnight

• Justification e.g. the system is not likely to be used then
• Who is responsible for performing the backup?

• Justification e.g. otherwise it may not be done
• Make sure the procedure is written down and understood by staff

• Justification e.g. otherwise some data may not be backed up

Page 266 of 380
(c) (i) One mark for each correct relationship. [2]
STUDENT STUDENT-
QUALIFICATION
QUALIFICATION
(ii) One-to-many [1]
(iii) Two points from: [2]
• The primary key in the QUALIFICATION table is QualCode.

• The foreign key in the STUDENT-QUALIFICATION table is QualCode.
• The primary key of QUALIFICATION is also included in QualCode.
(d) (i) One mark per statement. Several statements may be on one line. [2]
ALTER TABLE STUDENT

ADD DateOfBirth DATE;
(ii) One mark per statement. Several statements may be on one line. [3]
SELECT StudentID, Grade, DateOfAward

FROM STUDENT-QUALIFICATION
WHERE QualCode = 'SC12';
(iii) One mark per statement. Several statements may be on one line. [4]
SELECT STUDENT.FirstName, STUDENT.LastName, STUDENT-

QUALIFICATION.QualCode
FROM STUDENT, STUDENT-QUALIFICATION
WHERE STUDENT-QUALIFICATION.Grade = 'A'
AND STUDENT.StudentID = STUDENT-QUALIFICATION.StudentID;
Alternative answer:
SELECT FirstName, LastName, STUDENT-QUALIFICATION.QualCode

FROM STUDENT, INNER JOIN STUDENT-QUALIFICATION
ON STUDENT.StudentID = STUDENT-QUALIFICATION.StudentID
WHERE Grade = 'A';

Page 267 of 380
6 (a) Two from: [2]
• WWW is a collection of interlinked, hypertext documents/webpages/multimedia

resources (accessed via the Internet) //WWW is content from web servers organised as
web pages
• Internet is the global connection of interconnected computer networks
• The Internet uses TCP/IP protocol / WWW uses http protocols to transmit data
(b) [5]
Description Fibre-Optic cables Copper cables Radio waves

‘Wireless’ media
Twisted-pair is an
example
Uses light waves
WiFi
Fastest
transmission media
(c) One pair from: [2]
• Real-time - a live stream of an event that is currently taking place

• On-demand - streaming of an event/programme that has taken place in the past
• Real time – the event is captured live with a video camera connected to a computer
• On-demand – Existing media are encoded to bit streaming format and uploaded to a
server
• Real-time – cannot be paused / rewound etc

• On-demand – can be paused / re-wound / fast forwarded etc
(d) Two marks for description, one mark for correct example. [3]
• Four numbers separated with ‘.’

• Each number is between 0 and 255 / 00 and FF in Hex / stored in one byte.
• 32 bits long
• Correct example

Page 268 of 380
(e) Four from: [4]
• URL is a reference address to a resource on the Internet.

• The URL is passed to the nearest Domain Name Server (by browser software).
• DNS server stores a database / list of URLs and matching IP addresses.
• DNS (Name Resolver) looks for the URL in its database.
• Finds the matching IP address and returns it to the originator.
• Or if it cannot find it, it forwards to another Domain Name Server at a higher level.
• (Original) DNS server adds the returned IP address to its cache.
• (Original) DNS server returns the IP address to the browser.
7 (a) Four from: [4]
• Security is keeping the data safe.

• Integrity is making sure that the data is correct / valid.
• Security is the prevention of data loss.
• Integrity ensures that the data received is the same as the data sent / data copied is the
same as the original.
• Example of ensuring security, e.g. usernames and passwords, firewalls etc...
• Example of ensuring integrity, e.g. parity checks, double entry etc...
(b) Three pairs from: [6]
• Installing a firewall and ensuring it is switched on.

• To stop unauthorised access / hackers gaining access to the bank’s computer network.
• Use authentication methods such as passwords and usernames.

• Passwords should be strong / biometrics.
• Encrypt the data.

• So that if data is accessed it will be meaningless / only accessed by those with
decryption key.
• Set up access rights...

• To stop users reading/editing data they are not permitted to access.
• Installing and running an up to date anti-malware program (anti-virus/anti-spyware etc.).

• To detect / remove / quarantine viruses / key-loggers etc.
• Make regular backups of the data.

• To separate device or off site to enable recovery if necessary.
• Employ measures for physical security.

• Example of a measure for physical security.

Page 269 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge International A and AS Level and Cambridge Pre-U components, and some Cambridge O Level
components.
® IGCSE is a registered trademark.
Page 270 of 380

9608/12
A LEVELS 9608 Cambridge International AS/A Level – MarkTHEORY May/June 2017
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
Question Answer Marks
1(a) Many-to-many relationship 1
1(b)(i) 3
Both entities correctly labelled 1

Correct relationship between SHOP and SHOP-SUPPLIER 1
Correct relationship between SUPPLIER and SHOP-SUPPLIER 1
1(b)(ii) Table Primary key Foreign keys(s) Explanation 5

(if any)
SHOP ShopID None
SUPPLIER SupplierID None
SHOP-SUPPLIER ShopID AND ShopID OR To create a link

SupplierID SupplierID with the SHOP or
SUPPLIER
(or both) table.
• SHOP has primary key ShopID and SUPPLIER has primary key
SupplierID 1
• SHOP-SUPPLIER has primary key ShopID + SupplierID 1
• Both SHOP and SUPPLIER show foreign key as ‘None’ 1
• SHOP-SUPPLIER shows foreign key ShopID or SupplierID 1
• Explanation for SHOP-SUPPLIER foreign key describes ShopID or
SupplierID creating a link 1
1(b)(iii) Two from: Max 2

• The database user will frequently want to search on contact name 1
• The contact name attribute has been indexed 1
• It allows for a fast/faster search using contact name 1
1(c)(i) SELECT ShopID, Location 1 3

FROM SHOP 1
WHERE RetailSpecialism = 'GROCERY'; 1
1(c)(ii) INSERT INTO SHOP-SUPPLIER 1 3

(ShopID, SupplierID) 1
VALUES (8765, 'SUP89'); 1
© UCLES 2017 Page 2 of 7

Page 271 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
2(a) One mark for each pair of rows 2
Type of printer
Laser Inkjet
Impact printer
1
Non-impact printer 9 9
Line printer 9
1
Page printer 9
2(b)(i) Five from: Max 5

• The print head contains a large number of very small nozzles 1
• Ink is fed to each nozzle from a reservoir 1
• The print head fires droplets of ink onto the paper 1
• The print head moves horizontally across the paper 1
Either:
• Tiny resistors create heat inside each nozzle 1
• The heat vaporises ink to create a bubble 1
• When the bubble pops the ink is deposited on the page 1
• The collapsing bubble creates a partial vacuum in the nozzle 1
• And ink is drawn from the reservoir ready for printing the next dot 1
Or:
• There is a piezo crystal at the back of the ink reservoir of each nozzle 1
• The crystal vibrates when it receives a tiny electric charge 1
• Ink is forced out of the nozzle by the inward vibration 1
• The outward vibration creates a partial vacuum in the nozzle 1
• Replacement ink is pulled into the reservoir 1
2(b)(ii) Two from: Max 2

• The (print head) stepper motor is connected to the print head by a belt 1
• The (print head) stepper motor moves the print head across the paper 1
• The (parking) stepper motor parks the print head assembly when not
in use 1
• The (paper feed)stepper motor turns the rollers that provide the paper feed
// The (paper feed)stepper motor moves the paper in small increments 1
2(c)(i) Two from: Max 2

• External hard drive // External HDD 1
• External flash drive // External SSD 1
• Pen drive 1

Page 272 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
2(c)(ii) One from: Max 1

(External) Hard drive
Inexpensive per unit of storage 1
Larger storage capacity than flash drive 1
Or:
Pen drive // (External) flash drive
No moving parts / noise 1
Low latency // fast access times 1
Robust 1
3(a) Definition: Max two from: Max 3

• The number of distinct values available to encode/represent each
sample 1
• Specified by the number of bits used to encode the data for one
sample 1
• Sometimes referred to as bit depth 1
Explanation: Max two from:

• A larger sampling resolution will mean there are more values available to
store each sample 1
• A larger sampling resolution will improve the accuracy of the digitised sound
// A larger sampling resolution will decrease the distortion of the sound 1
• Increased sampling resolution means a smaller quantization error 1
3(b)(i) One from: 1

• The number of pixels per unit measurement 1
• The number of pixels in an image 1
• The number of pixels wide by the number of pixels high 1
• Number of pixels per row by the number of rows 1
3(b)(ii) 4 1
3(b)(iii) Working: Max two from: 3

• Number of pixels is 8192 × 256 1
• One pixel will be stored as one byte 1
• Number of kilobytes = (8192 × 256) / 1024 1
Answer: One mark:
Number of kilobytes = 2048 KB 1
3(b)(iv) Two from: Max 2

• Confirmation that the file is a BMP 1
• File size 1
• Location/offset of image data within the file 1
• Dimensions of the image (in pixels) // image resolution 1
• Colour depth (bits per pixel, 1, 4, 8, 16, 24 or 32) 1
• Type of compression used, if any 1

Page 273 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
4(a)(i) Two from: 2

• The hardware is unusable without an OS // hides complexity of hardware
from user 1
• Acts as an interface/ controls communications between user and hardware /
hardware and software // or by example 1
• Provides software platform / environment on which other programs can be
run 1
4(a)(ii) One mark for the name and one mark for description. Max 4
Max two management tasks.
• Provides the Human Computer Interface (HCI) 1

Controls communications between user and hardware// or by example 1
• Main memory management 1

Memory protection to ensure that two programs do not try to use the same
space // Use of virtual memory // Location of processes within the memory // By
example 1
• File / Secondary storage management 1

Maintains directory structures // Provides file naming conventions // Controls
access 1
• Peripheral / hardware / device / Input-Output management 1

Installation of appropriate driver software // Controls access to data being sent
to/from hardware/peripherals // Controls access to hardware/peripherals //
manages communication between devices. 1
• Interrupt handling 1
Identifies priorities of interrupts // Saves data on power outage // Loads
appropriate Interrupt Service Routine (ISR) // By example 1
• Security management 1
Makes provision for recovery when data is lost // Provides usernames and
passwords // Prevents unauthorised access // Ensures privacy of data 1
4(b)(i) File compression software 1
4(b)(ii) Backup software 1
4(b)(iii) Disk defragmenting software 1
4(b)(iv) Anti-virus software 1
5(a)(i) 351 1
5(a)(ii) 355 1
5(a)(iii) 22 1

Page 274 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
5(a)(iv) 86 1
5(b) Op code Operand 3
0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
Both correct op codes 1

Operand 0100 0011 1
Operand 0000 0111 1
5(c)(i) 14 5E 2
14 1
5E 1
5(c)(ii) LDR #77 2
LDR 1
#77 1

Page 275 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
6(a) Two from: Max 2

• The file is made available from a web/email/FTP server 1
• The user’s browser is the client software 1
• The client (software browser) requests the file from the server 1
• The desired file is returned to the client computer 1
6(b) 1. The user keys in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) into 4
the browser Software.
2. E // The Domain Name Service (DNS) uses the domain 1
name from the browser to look up the IP address of the web
server.
3. D // The web server retrieves the page 1
4. F // Sends the web page content to the browser 1
5. B // Browser software renders the page and displays 1
6(c)(i) Output1, Output2 1 2

RunnerID // Runner ID 1
6(c)(ii) 6 – 21 1
6(c)(iii) 13 1
6(c)(iv) Checks that the RunnerID entered starts with the characters CAM or VAR only 1
6(c)(v) Two checks from: Max 4

One mark for check and one mark for description
• Format check 1
RunnerID is three letter characters followed by two digit characters
//Position is digit characters only 1
• Length check 1
RunnerID has exactly five characters 1
• Range check 1
The value for Position is between1 and (say) 50 1
• Presence check 1
The text box for RunnerID or Position is not empty 1
• Existence check 1
To ensure that RunnerID has been registered 1
• Uniqueness check 1
To ensure no two runners have the same number 1

Page 276 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge International A and AS Level and Cambridge Pre-U components, and some Cambridge O Level
components.
Page 277 of 380

9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
1(a) Many-to-one 1
1(b)(i) A-NURSE(NurseID, FirstName, FamilyName, WardName) 1
1(b)(ii) • The primary key WardName in the A-WARD table 1 2

• links to the foreign key WardName in the A-NURSE table. 1
1(c)(i) Many-to-many relationship 1
1(c)(ii) B-WARD-NURSE(WardName, NurseID) 2
Both attributes (with no additions) 1

Joint primary key correctly underlined 1
1(c)(iii) 2
B-NURSE B-WARD
B-WARD-NURSE
Correct relationship between B-NURSE and B-WARD-NURSE 1

Correct relationship between B-WARD and B-WARD-NURSE 1
1(d)(i) SELECT NurseID, FamilyName 1 3

FROM B-NURSE 1
WHERE Specialism = 'THEATRE'; 1
1(d)(ii) UPDATE B-NURSE 1 3

SET FamilyName = 'Chi' 1
WHERE NurseID = '076'; 1

Page 278 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
2(a)(i) A laser beam and a rotating mirror are used to draw an 3

1
image of the page on the photosensitive drum.
C // The image is converted on the drum into an
2
electrostatic charge.
3 Electrostatic charge attracts toner.
4 The charged paper is rolled against the drum.
D // The oppositely-charged paper picks up the toner
5 particles from the drum. After picking up the toner, the
paper is discharged to stop it clinging to the drum.
A // The paper passes through a fuser, which heats up
6 the paper. The toner melts and forms a permanent
image on the paper.
B // The electrical charge is removed from the drum and
7
the excess toner is collected.
C in the correct place 1

DA, 1
AB 1
2(a)(ii) Inkjet printer 1
2(b) Hard disk drive // HDD 1 3

Solid state drive //SSD // flash memory 1
One from:
Hard disk
Inexpensive per unit of storage 1
Larger storage capacity than flash drive 1
Solid state storage

No moving parts / noise 1
Robust 1
Low latency // Fast read/write time 1

Page 279 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
3(a) Sampling rate 2

The number of samples taken per unit time // the number of times the amplitude is
measured per unit time 1
Increasing the sampling rate will increase the accuracy / precision of the digitised
sound // Increasing the sampling rate will result in smaller quantisation errors. 1
3(b)(i) Pixel 2
Smallest picture element which can be drawn 1
Screen resolution
The number of pixels which can be viewed horizontally and vertically on the screen //
or by example - A typical screen resolution is 1680 pixels × 1080 pixels. 1
3(b)(ii) 8 1
3(b)(iii) Working: Max two from: 3

• Number of pixels is 2048 × 512 1
• One pixel will be stored as one byte 1
• Number of kilobytes = (2048 × 512) / 1024 1
Answer: One mark:
Number of kilobytes = 1024 KB 1
3(b)(iv) One from: 1
• Confirmation that the file is a BMP 1

• File size 1
• Location/offset of image data within the file 1
• Dimensions of the image in pixels // image resolution 1
• Colour depth (bits per pixel) 1
• Type of compression used, if any 1

Page 280 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
4(a)(i) 500 1
4(a)(ii) 496 1
4(a)(iii) 502 1
4(a)(iv) 86 1
4(b) 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
Both correct op codes 1

Operand 0001 0001 1
Operand 0110 0001 1
4(c) 256 1
4(d)(i) 07 C2 2
07 1
C2 1
4(d)(ii) LDI 63 2
LDI 1
63 1

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9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
5(a)(i) • Count the number of one bits in the first seven bit positions 1 2
• Add a 0 or 1 to bit position 0, to make the count of one bits an odd number 1
5(a)(ii) A=1 1
B=1
5(a)(iii) Two from: 2
• A parity bit is worked out for each column 1

• The computer checks the parity of each bit position in parity byte // the computer
generates copy of the parity byte and compares 1
• If incorrect parity then there is an error in the data received // No parity error
means no error in the data received 1
• The position of the incorrect bit can be determined 1
5(b)(i) 2
5(b)(ii) Three from: 3
• Consider each row in sequence 1

• Identify any row with incorrect parity 1
• Repeat the process for each column in sequence 1
• Identify where a row and column with incorrect parity intersect 1

Page 282 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
6(a) 3
The user closes the Spreadsheet

program
The user selects the Save

command to save their
spreadsheet file
The user selects the Print

command to output their
spreadsheet file
One mark for each correct line from each left hand box to max three marks.
6(b)(i) File compression software 1
6(b)(ii) Backup software 1
6(b)(iii) Disk repair software 1
6(b)(iv) Anti-virus software 1

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9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
PUBLISHED
7(a) Two from: 2

• The user’s web browser is the client software 1
• The requested web page has program code / script embedded within it 1
• This code is interpreted by the web browser 1
7(b) Four from: Max 4

• The browser parses the URL to obtain the Domain Name 1
• The browser software passes the Domain Name to the nearest Domain Name
Server (DNS) 1
• The DNS stores a list of Domain Names and matching IP addresses 1
• The DNS Name Resolver looks for the Domain Name in its database 1
• If found the corresponding IP address is returned to the originator 1
• If not found the request is forwarded to another higher level DNS 1
• The original DNS adds the returned IP address to its cache 1
• The original DNS returns the IP address to the originator 1
• The browser uses the IP address to request the required web page from the web
server 1
• The web server retrieves the page and delivers it to the originator 1
• The browser software interprets the script and displays the web page 1
7(c)(i) Message1, Message2 1 2

x 1
7(c)(ii) 6 – 19 1
7(c)(iii) 11 1
7(c)(iv) Checks that the product code has not be left blank // presence check on product 1
code
7(c)(v) Two checks from: Max 4

One mark for check and one mark for description
• Range check 1
Check the number entered is (say) between 1 and 100 1
• Format check 1
Checks the product code is a particular format // Checks the number has digit
characters only // by example 1
• Length check 1
The number of items has exactly five characters 1
• Existence check 1
To ensure the product code has been assigned 1

Page 284 of 380
Cambridge Assessment International Education


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge International will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.
Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2018 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE™, Cambridge International A and AS Level and Cambridge Pre-U components, and
some Cambridge O Level components.
IGCSE™ is a registered trademark.
Page 285 of 380

9608/12
A LEVELS 9608 Cambridge International AS/A Level – MarkTHEORY
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
Generic Marking Principles
These general marking principles must be applied by all examiners when marking candidate answers.
They should be applied alongside the specific content of the mark scheme or generic level descriptors
for a question. Each question paper and mark scheme will also comply with these marking principles.
GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 1:
Marks must be awarded in line with:
• the specific content of the mark scheme or the generic level descriptors for the question
• the specific skills defined in the mark scheme or in the generic level descriptors for the question
• the standard of response required by a candidate as exemplified by the standardisation scripts.
Marks awarded are always whole marks (not half marks, or other fractions).
Marks must be awarded positively:
• marks are awarded for correct/valid answers, as defined in the mark scheme. However, credit
is given for valid answers which go beyond the scope of the syllabus and mark scheme,
referring to your Team Leader as appropriate
• marks are awarded when candidates clearly demonstrate what they know and can do
• marks are not deducted for errors
• marks are not deducted for omissions
• answers should only be judged on the quality of spelling, punctuation and grammar when these
features are specifically assessed by the question as indicated by the mark scheme. The
meaning, however, should be unambiguous.
Rules must be applied consistently e.g. in situations where candidates have not followed
instructions or in the application of generic level descriptors.
Marks should be awarded using the full range of marks defined in the mark scheme for the question
(however; the use of the full mark range may be limited according to the quality of the candidate
responses seen).
Marks awarded are based solely on the requirements as defined in the mark scheme. Marks should
not be awarded with grade thresholds or grade descriptors in mind.

Page 286 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
1(a)(i) 1 mark per bullet to max 3 3

• Storage space divided into file allocation units
• Space allocated to particular files
• Maintains/creates directory structures
• Specifies the logical method of file storage (e.g. FAT or NTFS)
• Provides file naming conventions
• Controls access // implements access rights // implements password
protection // Makes file sharing possible
• Specifies tasks that can be performed on a file (e.g. open, close,
delete, copy, create, move etc.)
1(a)(ii) 1 mark per bullet to max 3 3

• Installs printer driver
• Sends data to the printer / buffer to print // sends documents to the
print queue
• Sends commands to printer
• Receives and handles (error) messages/signals/interrupts from the
printer
1(b)(i) 1 mark for each correct box ticked. 4
Program True False

Database 9
Virus checker 9
Web browser 9
Backup software 9
1(b)(ii) 1 mark for each valid utility program to max 2 2

e.g.
• System clean up
• Automatic update
• Disk contents analysis / Disk checking / Disk repair
• File compression
• Disk formatter
• Firewall
• Disk Defragmenter

Page 287 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
2(a) 1 mark for each gate with the correct inputs. 6

Final two gates must also have the correct output.
2(b) One mark for each pair of rows. 4
Working space
A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0

Page 288 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
3(a) 1 mark for correct parity bit 1
Parity bit
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
3(b) 1 mark for the correct bit circled. 1
Parity
Data
bit
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Parity
byte 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
3(c) 1 mark per each correct row 5
Measure Validation Verification

Checksum 9
Format check 9
Range check 9
Double entry 9
Check digit 9
4(a)(i) 219 1
4(a)(ii) DB 1
4(a)(iii) −37 1
4(b)(i) 1 mark from: 1
• The symbols that the computer recognises/uses

• A list of characters recognised by the computer hardware and
software

Page 289 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
4(b)(ii) 1 mark per bullet to max 2 2
• UNICODE has greater range of characters than ASCII

• UNICODE represents most written languages in the world while ASCII
does not ASCII used for English only
• ASCII uses 7 or 8 bits or one byte whereas UNICODE uses up to 4
bytes per character
• UNICODE is standardised while ASCII is not
4(b)(iii) 1 mark for correct working, 1 mark for correct answer 2
Working:
Code for Z = Code for A + 2510

Code for Z = 4116 +2510
Code for Z = 4116 + 1916
Code for Z = 5A16
Answer: 5A16
5(a) 1 mark per bullet to max 3 3
• Amplitude (of the sound wave) measured

• At set / regular time intervals / per time unit / time period
• Value of the sample is recorded as a binary number
5(b) 1 mark per bullet to max 2 2
• (Increasing the sampling resolution means) more bits per sample //

larger range of values
• Larger file size
• More accurate representation of sound
5(c) 1 mark per bullet to max 3 3
• Fewer samples (per unit time)

• File size will decrease
• Larger gaps / spaces between samples // Greater quantization errors
• Sound accuracy will reduce // not as close to original sound

Page 290 of 380
9608/12
9 A LEVELS 9608 Cambridg
ge Internatio
onal AS/A Level
L – MarkTHEORY
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
Ma
ay/June 201
18
P
PUBLISHED D
Question
Q Answerr Mark
ks
5(d) 1 mark forr naming fea

ature/tool, 1 mark for description.
d Max 2 feattures 4
e.g.
• Fading
• Change
C the volume
v of a section of the sound for
f it get louuder/quieterr
• Removing so
R ound / elem
ments
• D
Delete sectio
ons of the so
ound wave, for example, backgroound noise
• Copy
C
• R
Repeat elem
ments of the sound wav
ve
Question
Q Answerr Mark
ks
6(a) 1 mark ea
ach 2
• mark
• grade
6(b) 25 1
6(c) 1 mark pe
er bullet 2
• Takes the va alue enteredd in the textt box / inputt field 'Mar k'
• Stores (it) in the variable
e mark // Assigns
A (it) to the variaable mark
6(d)(i) Client-side
e 1
6(d)(ii) 1 mark pe
er bullet to max
m 3 3
• Client-side
C (s
script) is run
n on the com
mputer mak king the reqquest
• when the (web
( page) data is receeived by the
e computerr
• Server-side (script)
( is ru
un on the we
eb server
• The results are a sent to tthe compute er that made the requeest
Question
Q Answerr Mark
ks
7(a)(i) 1 mark pe
er bullet 2
• UserName is s the primarry key in US
SER
• UserName is s (included as) a foreig
gn key in PH
HOTO
7(a)(ii) 1 mark forr each corre

ect relationsship 2

Page 291 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
7(b) 1 mark per bullet to max 2 for explanation 3

• Referential integrity is making sure tables do not try to reference data
which does not exist // A value of one attribute of a table exists as a
value of another attribute in a different table
• A primary key cannot be deleted unless all dependent records are
already deleted
• Cascading delete
• A primary key cannot be updated unless all dependent records are
already updated
• Cascading update / edit
• Every foreign key value has a matching value in the corresponding
primary key
• The foreign keys must be the same data type as the corresponding
primary key
1 mark for a suitable example

e.g.
• A UserName cannot be deleted from the USER table if they have a
related photo/textpost
• If UserName is updated in USER table, it must also be updated in
PHOTO and TEXTPOST tables
• Cannot create/edit a record in TEXTPOST / PHOTO without a matching
entry in USER table
7(c) Max 1 mark from each bulleted group 3
1NF
• No repeated groups of attributes
• All attributes should be atomic
• No duplicate rows
2NF (in 1NF and)

• No partial dependencies
3NF (in 2NF and)

• No non-key dependencies
• No transitive dependencies
7(d)(i) 1 mark per bullet 5

• CREATE TABLE USER and ();
• UserName, FirstName and SecondName as VARCHAR and commas
• DateOfBirth as DATE and comma
• PRIMARY KEY(UserName)
• An appropriate NOT NULL
CREATE TABLE USER(

UserName: varchar(15) NOT NULL,
FirstName: varchar(25),
SecondName: varchar(25),
DateOfBirth: Date,
PRIMARY KEY(UserName)
);

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9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
7(d)(ii) 1 mark per bullet 2

• ALTER TABLE USER
• ADD COUNTRY varchar;
ALTER TABLE USER

ADD Country varchar;

Page 293 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2018 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE™, Cambridge International A and AS Level and Cambridge Pre-U components, and
some Cambridge O Level components.
IGCSE™ is a registered trademark.
Page 294 of 380

9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
responses seen).

Page 295 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
1(a) 1 mark for each variable name 2
$gradeChar
$inputMark
1(b) 03 1
1(c) • Gets the value stored in the text box / input field “mark”... 2
• To be used as a parameter in calculateGrade
1(d) Server-side 1
2(a) 1 mark for each correct relationship 2
2(b) 1 mark for description 2

• Ensure data is consistent / accurate // keep data consistent / accurate
1 mark for example from:
e.g.
• Validation rules
• Referential integrity
• Verification
• Input masks
• Setting data types
• Removing redundant data
• Backup data
• Access controls
• Audit trail
2(c) 1 mark for the correct box ticked 3
True False
9
1 mark per bullet for justification, max 2
• No repeated attributes // data is atomic // No partial dependencies (no dual

keys)
• No non-key / transitive dependencies

Page 296 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
2(d)(i) 1 mark per bullet 5
• CREATE TABLE PLAYER and ();

• PlayerID and PlayerName as VARCHAR and commas
• SkillLevel as INT and comma
• PRIMARY KEY(PlayerID)
• An appropriate NOT NULL
CREATE TABLE PLAYER(

PlayerID: varchar NOT NULL,
PlayerName: varchar,
SkillLevel: int,
PRIMARY KEY(PlayerID),
);
2(d)(ii) 1 mark per bullet 2
• ALTER TABLE PLAYER

• ADD DateOfBirth Date;
3(a) 1 mark per bullet to max 2 for each group 4
• ALU performs arithmetic operations

• And logical operations / comparisons
• Control Unit sends / receives signals

• Synchronises operations
• to control operations // execution of instructions
• Accept by example e.g. Input output // flow of data
3(b) 1 mark per bullet to max 2 for each group 4
• Status Register is interpreted as independent bits / flags

• Each flag is set depending on an event
• An example: addition overflow / result of operation is zero etc.
• Program Counter stores the address

• of the next instruction to be fetched
3(c)(i) 193 1
3(c)(ii) C1 1
3(c)(iii) − 63 1
3(c)(iv) The first 4 bits / first nibble (would give 12 which) is > 9 / 2 digits (which is not valid 1
for BCD)

Page 297 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
4(a) Parity bit 1

1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
4(b) 1 mark for correctly circled bit 1
Parity
Data
bit
0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Parity
byte 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
4(c) 1 mark for each correct line 4
Error detection measure
Type check
Verification
Proof reading
Check digit Validation
Checksum

Page 298 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
5(a) 1 mark per correct gate with correct inputs 3
5(b) 1 mark for each correct pair of lines 4
A B C Working space X
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0
6(a) 1 1
6(b) 1 mark for correct method (colour code and number of pixels) 3
1 mark for first 7 groups correct
1 mark for remainder correct
• 3B9 1A3 3B3 1A2 3B1 1A2 3B2

• 1A1 3B3 1A1 3B2 1A2 3B1 1A2 3B3 1A3 3B9
6(c) 5 1

Page 299 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
6(d) 1 mark for purpose 3

• Stores data about the file contents/image/metadata
Max 2 marks for examples of contents
• Confirmation that the file is a BMP // confirmation of file type

• File size
• Location / offset of image data within the file
• Dimensions of the image (in pixels) // image resolution
• Colour depth (bits per pixel, 1, 4, 8, 16, 24 or 32)
• Type of compression used (if any)
6(e) 1 mark for naming tool, 1 mark for describing effect on the photograph 6
e.g.
• Resize
• Increase / decrease the size of the image
• Crop
• Remove part of the image
• Blur
• Reduce the focus
• Red eye reduction

• Reduces red (light reflected from human eyes)
7(a) 1 mark per bullet to max 4 4

• Resistive (screen) consists of two charged plates
• Pressure causes the plates to touch
• Completing the circuit
• Point of contact registered
• Coordinates used to calculate the position
• Capacitive (screen) made from materials that store electric charge
• When touched charge transferred to the finger
• Sensors at the (screen) corners detect the change
• Point of contact registered
• Coordinates used to calculate the position
7(b)(i) 1 mark for suitable device 1

e.g.
• Speaker
• Headphones

Page 300 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
7(b)(ii) 1 mark for naming input device 1 mark for use in this scenario, for max 2 devices 4
e.g.
• Microphone
• ...visitor says commands / search criteria for the computer to respond to
• Keyboard
• ...visitor types key words to look for
• Mouse
• ...visitor controls cursor to navigate / select
• Trackpad
• ...visitor uses finger to control cursor to navigate / select
7(c) 1 mark for device 5

(Internal) hard drive / solid state drive
1 mark per bullet. Max 2 marks for each reason, max two reasons
e.g.
Hard drive
• Large capacity...
• to store videos / images / sound files with large file sizes
• Reasonably fast access speed...

• Users will not have to wait for videos to load
• Inexpensive per unit storage...

• If a large number of needed for different exhibits, the cost can be kept low
• Does not need to be moved

• So moving parts unlikely to be damaged
• Slower degradation of data

• So will last longer / be more reliable under heavy use
Solid state
• Large capacity
• To store videos/images/sound files with large file sizes
• Fast access speed...

• Users will not have to wait for videos to load
• Reliable...
• Can be dropped/damaged and will likely still work / no moving parts
• Quiet...
• No moving parts

Page 301 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
May/June 2018
PUBLISHED
7(d) 1 mark for a correct reason for RAM, 1 mark for a correct reason for ROM 2
RAM
• Currently running data / video / music / images / software
ROM
• Boot up instructions / OS kernel

Page 302 of 380

MARK SCHEME for the October/November 2015 series

Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the October/November 2015 series for most

Page 303 of 380
Cambridge International AS/A Level – October/November 2015 9608 12
1 (a) Hard disk – magnetic (storage media)
DVD-RW – optical (storage media)
Flash memory – solid state (memory device) [3]
(b) DVD-RW
– uses a single spiral track

– only allows write OR read operation to occur as separate operations
– requires special packet reading/writing software
– in order to write new data to the disc the existing data must be completely erased
– performance degrades/becomes unreliable after 1000 record/erase cycles
– single sided, 4.7 Gb capacity
– disc rotates at different speeds/constant linear velocity
DVD-RAM
– uses several concentric tracks

– allows simultaneous read/write operations
– requires no special read/write software
– makes use of sectors to store data
– repeatedly read, write and erase/100 000 record/erase cycles possible
– single or double sided, 4.7 Gb capacity per side
– disc rotates at a constant speed/constant angular velocity [4]
2 (a) – laser/light shines onto a surface

– through a (polished) ring at the base
– the light is reflected from the surface through the ring
– sensor detects reflected light
– capturing details/photograph of surface (under the ring)
– at about 1500 times per second
– as the mouse moves the sensor detects changes in the surface detail/photograph
– which are translated into movement (change of x and y co-ordinates)
– the computer/software updates the position of the cursor on the screen [3]

Page 304 of 380
(b)
Statement Sequence
number
Paper feed stepper motor activated; sheet of paper fed from

3
paper tray
Printer driver translates data into a suitable format for the printer 1
The print head moves across page; ink is sprayed each time the
4
print head pauses for a fraction of a second
Paper feed stepper motor advances paper a fraction of a cm after

5
each complete head pass
Printer receives data from the computer and stores the data in
2
the printer's buffer
[5]
3 (a) (i) 4 6 C [1]
(ii) 1 0 1 0 0 0 [1]
(b) (i) 1 bit [1]
(ii) – 8 bits are needed

– Each colour is represented by one of 256 values
– values 0 to 255/0000 0000 to 1111 1111
– 256 = 28 [2]

Page 305 of 380
4 (a) Sampling resolution (two marks)
– representation used to write samples in digital sound recording

– resolution is the number of distinct values available to encode/represent each sample
– specified by the number of bits used to store/record each sample
– sometimes referred to as bit depth
– the higher the sampling resolution the smaller the quantization error
– a higher sampling resolution results in less distortion of the sound
– usually 8 bit, 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit
Sampling rate (two marks)
– number of times that the amplitude of (analogue) sound wave is taken/measured

– per unit time/per second
– higher sampling rate results in more accurate digital representation [4]
(b) (i) one mark for correct calculation, one mark for the answer
44100 × 16 × 2
(1 mark)
8
176 400 bytes (1 mark)

[2]
(ii) Allow follow through from part (i) on 176 400
4 × 60 × 176400
1024 × 1024 one mark for numerator [2]
one mark for denominator
(c) any three from:
– mp3 is a lossy compressed format

– uses psycho-acoustic modelling
– and perceptual music/noise shaping
– certain parts of the music can be eliminated without significantly degrading the listener’s
experience
– removes sound that the human ear can’t hear
– only keeps sounds human ear can hear better than others
– discards softer sound if two sounds played together [3]

Page 306 of 380
5 One mark for each correctly placed tick.
Activity Ethical Unethical
Gives away passwords used in the intruder detection

software
Uses source code developed at the software house

for the software he develops for his own company
Insists that staff work to deadlines
Turns down training opportunities offered by his

employer
Writes and sells software that reads confidential data

from client computers
Fakes test results of safety-critical software
Has the software applications developed overseas for

sale in his own country
[7]

Page 307 of 380
6 (a) Any three from:
– program must be resident in (main) memory to be executed

– program consists of a sequence of instructions
– which occupy a (contiguous) block of main memory
– instructions and data are indistinguishable
– each instruction is fetched, (decoded) and then executed
– instruction fetch and data operation cannot occur at the same time [3]
(b) (i) one mark each:
– control bus
– data bus
– address bus [3]
(ii) generates the timing signals/generates the signals to synchronise events in the
processor / fetch–(decode)–execute cycle [1]
7 (a) lines 8–15 [1]
(b) (i) one mark each:
– groupSize
– groupPrice [2]
(ii) lines 10–13 [1]
(c) (i) – outputs a prompt for user input/prompts the user for input
– returns an input value [2]
(ii) – declares
– a (local) variable [2]

Page 308 of 380
8 Verification (one mark for description, one mark for explanation of need)
– needed to ensure that the data entered exactly matches the original source/data is consistent
– comparison of two versions of the data
– examples include double entry, visual checking, proof reading etc...
– does not check data is sensible/acceptable
Validation (one mark for description, one mark for explanation of need)
– needed to check that the data entered is sensible/reasonable/acceptable/matches required

criteria
– automatic check by computer
– examples include range, type, length, etc.
– does not check data is correct [4]
9 (a) (i) 0B . 4 0 . F F . 5 A
1 mark per byte, deduct one mark if no dots or if alternative separator used [4]
(ii) Any two from:
– composed of four (denary or Hexadecimal) integers

– each in the range 0–255/00–FF
– each stored in 1 byte/8 bits/stored in 32 bits
– (in IPv4) separated into network ID and host ID [2]
(b) Maximum 3 marks for URL and maximum 3 marks for DNS
– URL = uniform resource locator

– reference address to a resource/website on the Internet
– includes protocol used /includes domain name
– browser software sends URL to DNS
– DNS = Domain name system // Domain name service // Domain name server
– the true domain name (e.g. cie_exams.co.uk) is resolved/turned into an IP address by
DNS
– DNS server stores a database/list of URLs with matching IP address
– a DNS server may need to pass a request onto another DNS server, (if URL not in its
database)
– DNS server adds returned IP address and URL to its cache/database
– DNS server may return an error message if requested domain name is invalid or does
not exist
– the DNS service has a hierarchy/or by example
– DNS server returns IP address to browser [4]

Page 309 of 380
10 (a) Any two from:
– To configure the disc for use / initialise tracks and sectors

– To initialise a file system (e.g. FAT, NTFS) / create a file directory
– To install a boot sector (if creating a bootable disk)
– To check all sectors and mark bad sectors [2]
(b) One mark each named program + one mark for need
Defragmenter
– To rearrange blocks that are used for each file to make blocks contiguous (so that file
reading is faster)
– To reduce head movements
(Disk) contents analysis/(disk) repair software/Disc checker
– To identify bad sectors so that they can be marked as unusable

– Verifies file system integrity and fixes logical file system errors
(Disc) compression/file compression
– To compress/decompress the contents of the disc, thus increasing capacity
Backup software
– To store disk contents (somewhere else) in case of disk failure
Anti-malware program
– To scan for/remove/quarantine viruses and/or other malware
(Disc) cleaner
– Finds redundant/unnecessary files, gives the user the option of deleting them if disc
getting full
Disc space analysis
– Visually demonstrates the disc usage by showing sizes of files/folders [6]

Page 310 of 380

MARK SCHEME for the October/November 2015 series

Page 311 of 380

1 (a) any two from:
– sequence of digital signals / bits

– over a communication path / Internet
– transfer of data at high speed
– requires fast broadband connection
– requires some form of buffering
– bits arrive in the same order as sent [2]
(b) (i) any two from:
– no need to wait for a whole file to be downloaded

– no need to store large files on user’s computer
– allows on demand playback
– no specialist software is required for playback in browser [2]
(ii) any two from:
– video stops / hangs if very slow Internet / broadband speed low

– video stops / hangs if inadequate buffering capacity
– loss of Internet means can’t access films / files
– may require specific software to run the files / films
– viruses can be downloaded from the websites [2]
(c) 2 marks for on-demand and 2 marks for real-time
on-demand
– digital video tape, analogue video tape, or digital files are converted to bit streaming –
format for broadcasting on the net; this is known as encoding these encoded streaming
video files are then uploaded to a dedicated server
– a link for the encoded video is placed on a web site
– a user clicks on the link to download the encoded streaming video; the streamed video is
– then broadcast to the user as and when they require it
– can be paused / can go back and re-watch / fast-forward, etc.
real-time
– an event is captured live with a video camera

– the video camera is connected to a computer
– the video signal is converted to streaming media files (encoded) on the computer
– the encoded feed is then uploaded from the computer to a dedicated streaming server
via cable, DSL, or a high-speed internet connection
– the server then sends the live images it to all users requesting it as real-time video
streaming
– cannot be paused etc. [4]

Page 312 of 380
2 (a) A = control bus
B = address bus
C = data bus [3]
(b) Program Counter – stores the address of next instruction to be executed
Memory Data Register – stores the data in transit between memory and other registers //
holds the instruction before it is passed to the CIR
Current Instruction Register – stores the current instruction being executed
Memory Address Register – stores the address of the memory location which is about to be
accessed [4]
3 (a)
Statement True ()
The IP address consists of any number of digits separated by

single dots (.)
Each number in an IP address can range from 0 to 255
IP addresses are used to ensure that messages and data reach

their correct destinations
Public IP addresses are considered to be more secure than

private IP addresses
accept words TRUE or FALSE in right hand column
1 mark per tick, –1 mark for each wrong tick if more than 2 [2]
(b) (i) http – enables browser to know what protocol is being used to access information in the
domain
cie.org.uk – cie.org.uk is the domain name
computerscience.html – actual web page / file being viewed [3]
(ii) %20 – because <space> not allowed in a URL, %20 is the coding for a space (32 in
denary)
? – separates the URL from all parameters or variables [2]

Page 313 of 380
To save time, Paul fakes the test results

when testing the bank security software.
Paul uses the software developed in his

day job to help write some of the games
software routines.
To allow him to concentrate on his

games software, Paul has frequently
turned down job opportunities in his day Ethical
job.
To make the games software more

realistic, Paul uses password protection
code used in the bank security software.
Because his work load is increasing,

Paul is now using overseas companies
to write some of the routines used in his
games software.
Unethical
Paul carries out training on how to write

games software in his spare time.
1 mark for each correct line, two lines from one box is incorrect [6]

Page 314 of 380
5 (i) any four from:
– sensors send signals / data to a computer

– data / signal converted to digital (using an ADC)
– computer calculates the activity value based on sensor signal strength / data
– if calculated value > 3,
– determine location of sensor
– build up a map of seismic activity
– location and magnitude sent to printer
– … via USB port / wireless link
– monitoring is continuous [4]
(ii) – output / hard copy not picked up in good time [1]
(iii) 1 mark for name + 1 mark for reason for choice
– speaker / buzzer / alarm bell

– gives control room operators an audible warning
– flashing lights
– gives control room operators an visual warning
– monitor
– use of red / flashing colours on monitor gets the attention of operators [2]
6 any four points from (maximum 3 marks per type of cable):
– fibre optic cables have greater bandwidth

– fibre optic cables need less signal boosting // can transmit over longer distances
– fibre optic cables have greater security (more difficult to “tap” into)
– fibre optic cables are immune to electromagnetic and other effects
– fibre optic cabling is lighter in weight (easier to install)
– fibre optic cables consume less power
– copper cabling is less expensive to install
– copper cable is easier to install because it is more flexible
– it is easier to make terminations using copper cabling
– the expertise in use of copper cabling is more extensive
– has been around for years … so very little is “unknown” about installations using this type
of cabling [4]

Page 315 of 380
7 (a) (i) – at least one computer used to “serve” …

– … other computers are referred to as “clients”
– server provides services / applications etc. …
– … which may be requested by clients [2]
(ii) any two from:
– files and resources are centralised

– creation of security / manage security
– user needs user name and password to access network
– centralised back-up
– intranet capability
– Internet monitoring
– Clients can be less powerful machines, therefore less expensive to buy
– Saving resources on server reduces the burden on the client [2]
(b) router [1]
(c)
Statement Sequence
number
The requested web page is displayed on the client computer 5
The user clicks on the hyperlink and the web page is requested
1
from the web server
The requested web page content is transmitted to the client

3
computer
The client computer processes the JavaScript code using the

4
web browser software
The web server locates the requested web page 2
[5]

Page 316 of 380
8 (a)
Measured in dots per inch (dpi); this

value determines the amount of detail
an image has
Bitmap graphic
Picture element
Image file header
Image made up of rows and columns

of picture elements
Image resolution
Image made up of drawing objects.

The properties of each object
determine its shape and appearance
Pixel
Specifies the image size, number of

colours, and other data needed to
display an image
Screen resolution
Number of samples taken per second

to represent some event in a digital
format
Vector graphic
Value quoted for a monitor

specification, such as 1024 x 768. The
larger the numbers, the more picture
elements will be displayed
1 mark for each correct line, two lines from one box is incorrect [6]

Page 317 of 380
512 × 256
(b) (i) = 16 KB
8 × 1024
1 mark for numerator + 1 mark for denominator [2]
(ii) so it is possible to estimate how many images can be stored / to decide if it can be sent
as an email attachment [1]
9 (a) One mark for validation, one mark for verification.
Validation
– check whether data is reasonable / meets given criteria
Verification
– method to ensure data which is copied / transferred is the same as the original
– entering data twice and computer checks both sets of data
– check entered data against original document / source [2]
(b) Any four from:
– parity can be even or odd

– parity check uses the number of 1s in a binary pattern
– if there is an even / odd number of 1s, then the parity is even / odd
– following transmission …
– parity of each byte checked
– a parity bit is used to make sure binary pattern has correct parity
– example: 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 has parity bit set to 1 in MSB since system uses odd parity
(original data: 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 which has four 1 bits) [4]
10 (a) any two from:
– malicious code / software / program

– that replicates / copies itself
– can cause loss of data / corruption of data on the computer
– can cause computer to “crash” / run slowly
– can fill up hard disk with data [2]
(b) any two from:
– checks for boot sector viruses when machine is first turned on

– when an external storage device is connected
– checks a file / web page when it is accessed / downloaded [2]

Page 318 of 380
11
Statement Interpreter Compiler
This translator creates an executable file
When this translator encounters a syntax error, game

execution will halt
The translator analyses and checks each line just before

executing it
This translator will produce faster execution of the game

program
Use of this translator makes it more difficult for the user to

modify the code of the game supplied to the user
1 mark for each correct row [5]

Page 319 of 380


Paper 1 Written Paper October/November 2016
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge IGCSE®, Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some Cambridge O Level
components.
Page 320 of 380

1 (a) ONE mark for each correct gate.
[6]
(b) ONE mark for each pair of rows.
Working space
B S P X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0
[4]
© UCLES 2016
Page 321 of 380
2 (a) The number of images / frames recorded per second / unit time.
// The frequency with which the images/frames are recorded.
[1]
(b) ONE mark per bullet point below. MAX THREE marks per type of encoding.
Interlaced encoding
• The data from a single frame are encoded as two separate fields.
• One containing the data for the even numbered rows / lines and the other has the data
for the odd numbered rows / lines.
• The image is rendered by alternating between the even field and the odd field (of each
successive frame).
• The viewer sees data from two frames simultaneously
• The rate of picture display (the field rate) is twice the rate of image frame display (the
frame rate).
• Originally used in television broadcasting and adapted for video recordings.
• Produces what appears to the eye to be a high refresh rate.
• Halves the transmission bandwidth requirements.
Progressive encoding
• Stores the data for an entire frame and displays all the frame data at the same time.
• The rate of picture display is the same as the frame rate.
• Used by traditional film / video digitised from a film camera / computer displays
progressive encoding.
• High bandwidth requirements.
[4]
(c) (i) ONE mark per term.
Description Term
Pixels in two video frames have the same value

in the same location. There is duplication of data Temporal redundancy
between frames.
A sequence of pixels in a single video frame have

Spatial redundancy
the same value.
[2]
(ii) (File) compression

[1]
© UCLES 2016
Page 322 of 380
3 ONE mark for each letter in the correct place.
Then ONE mark for any pair of letters in the correct order, but not in the correct place
1 The application program executes a statement to

read a file.
2 G
3 The operating system begins to spin the hard disk, if

it is not currently spinning.
4 F
5 D
6 H
7 C
8 B
9 A
10 E
[8]
© UCLES 2016
Page 323 of 380
4 ONE mark for each correct line.
Extra lines from left hand box, no mark for that box.
93
Hexadecimal:
3A
- 65
BCD representation:
58
0100 1001
- 63
Binary integer:
01011101
73
Two’s complement
binary integer: 49
11000001
- 93
[4]
© UCLES 2016
Page 324 of 380
5 (a) (i)
0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
[1]
(ii) ONE mark for Accumulator contents, ONE mark for the explanation.
1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
• Index Register holds the value 4; 101 + 4 = 105 so load data from address 105
[2]
(iii) ONE mark for Accumulator contents, TWO marks for the explanation.
0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1
• Memory address 103 contains the value 107

• So address 107 is the address from which to load the data [3]
(b) ONE mark for each correct row.
Memory address
ACC 810 811 812 813
28 41 0 0
28
29
29
41
70
70
[6]
© UCLES 2016
Page 325 of 380
6 (a) ONE mark for each difference from the bullet points below.
• RAM loses content when power turned off / volatile memory / temporary memory
ROM does not lose content when power turned off / non-volatile memory / permanent
memory
• Data in RAM can be altered / deleted / read from and written to

ROM is read only / cannot be changed / altered / deleted
• RAM stores files / data / operating system currently in use

ROM is used to store BIOS / bootstrap / pre-set instructions [2]
(b) THREE from:
• DRAM has to be refreshed / charged

// SRAM does not request a refresh
• DRAM uses a single transistor and capacitor

// SRAM uses more than one transistor to form a memory cell
// SRAM has more complex circuitry
• DRAM stores each bit as a charge

// SRAM each bit is stored using a flip-flop/latch
• DRAM uses higher power (because it requires more circuitry for refreshing)
//SRAM uses less power (no need to refresh)
• DRAM less expensive (to purchase / requires fewer transistors)

// SRAM is more expensive (to buy as it requires more transistors)
• DRAM has slower access time / speed (because it needs to be refreshed)

// SRAM has faster access times
• DRAM can have higher storage / bit / data density

// SRAM has lower storage / bit / data density
• DRAM used in main memory

// SRAM used in cache memory
[3]
© UCLES 2016
Page 326 of 380
7 ONE mark per bullet point, MAX TWO marks per task.
• Process / resource management

• Scheduling of processes / multi-tasking / multi-programming etc.
• Resolution of conflicts when two or more processes require the same resource
• Main memory management

• Memory protection to ensure that two programs do not try to use the same space
• Use of virtual memory
• Deciding which processes need to be in main memory at any one time
• Location of processes within the memory
• By example, e.g. when process terminates, memory is made available
• Peripheral / hardware / device management

• Installation of appropriate driver software
• Controls access to data being sent to / from hardware / peripherals
• Controls access to hardware / peripherals
• Manages communication between devices / hardware and software
• File / secondary storage management

• Maintains directory structures
• Controls access
• Security management
• Makes provision for recovery when data is lost
• Provides usernames and passwords / encryption / user accounts
• Prevents unauthorised access
• Ensures privacy of data
• Provision of a software platform / environment

• On which other programs can be run
• Interrupt handling
• Identifies priorities of interrupts
• Save current memory / process values / saves data on power outage
• Loads appropriate Interrupt Service Routine (ISR)
• Any relevant example
[4]
© UCLES 2016
Page 327 of 380
8 (a) ONE mark for each bullet point from MAX TWO groups.
• The code is already written

• (So the programmer is not starting over again) which saves time
• The code will have been used by many people

• So it should be already thoroughly tested // relatively error-free
• The programmer can use, e.g. mathematical / graphics functions, etc. (may not know
how to code)
• Can be sure that the function will perform as it should // simplifies the program.
• The code should conform to industry standards

• And therefore contribute towards a more robust program
[4]
(b) (i) ONE mark for each benefit, and ONE mark for a further expansion.
• The executable file is smaller / the executable does not contain all the library
routines …
• … DLL files are only loaded into memory when required.
• Changes / improvements / error correction to the DLL file code are done
independently of the main program...
• … So there is no need to recompile the main program
• … All programs using it will benefit
• A single DLL file can be made available to several application programs...

• … Saving space in memory / easing the pressure on memory
[4]
(ii) ONE mark for each bullet point from MAX ONE group.
• The executable code is not self-contained …

• … the DLL file(s) needed to be included at run time.
• Appropriate (linking) software must be available at run-time …

• … to link / include / import the DLL files.
• The DLL file must be present …

• … otherwise (unable to find X.dll) errors
• Unexpected changes to the DLL file / corrupted DLL file …

• … could mean the program stops working as expected
• Malicious changes to the DLL file …

• … could install a virus on the user’s computer / related files could be corrupted
[2]
© UCLES 2016
Page 328 of 380
9 (a) ONE mark for each reason and ONE mark for a further explanation. MAX THREE reasons.
• Reduced data redundancy / data duplication

• Data is stored in (separate) linked tables
• The database (generally) stores data only once / data need only be updated once
• Improved data consistency / integrity / associated data will be automatically
updated / easier to maintain the data / elimination of unproductive maintenance
• Complex queries can be more easily written

• To search / find specific data // specific example related to the Health Club
• Fields can be more easily added to or removed from tables

• Without affecting existing applications (that do not use these fields)
• Program-data dependence is overcome

• Changes to the data (design) do not require changes to programs // changes to programs
do not require changes to data // the data can be accessed by any appropriate program
• Security is improved
• Each application only has access to the fields it needs // different users can be given
different access rights
• Different users can be given different views of the data / data privacy is maintained
• So they do not see confidential information
• Allows concurrent access

• Record locking prevents two users updating the same record at the same time // record
locking assures data consistency
[6]
© UCLES 2016
Page 329 of 380
(b) ONE mark for each correct relationship as shown.
[2]
(c) An example of a script is shown, but different syntax may be used.
CREATE TABLE CLASS (

ClassID VARCHAR(5),
Description VARCHAR(30),
StartDate DATE,
ClassTime TIME,
NoOfSessions INT,
AdultsOnly BIT,
PRIMARY KEY(ClassID)
);
Mark as follows:
1 mark for CREATE TABLE CLASS and ();
1 mark for PRIMARY KEY(ClassID)
1 mark for both ClassID VARCHAR(5),and Description VARCHAR(30),
1 mark for both StartDate DATE, and ClassTime TIME,
1 mark for NoOfSessions INT,
1 mark for AdultsOnly BIT,
[6]
© UCLES 2016
Page 330 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
components.
Page 331 of 380

1 (a) One mark for each correct line.

Two lines from any box on left means no mark for that description.
Description Database term
Secondary key
Any object, person or thing about
which it is possible to store data
Candidate key
Dataset organised in rows and

columns; the columns form the
structure and the rows form the
content
Entity
Any attribute or combination of

attributes that can qualify as a unique Foreign key
key
Primary key
Attribute(s) in a table that link to a
primary key in another table to form a
relationship
Table
Attribute or combination of attributes

that is used to uniquely identify a
record Tuple
[5]
© UCLES 2016
Page 332 of 380
(b) Any three from:

• Ensures related data in tables are consistent
• If one table has a foreign key (the ‘foreign’ table)…

• … then it is not possible to add a record to that table / the ‘foreign’ table
• … unless there is a corresponding record in the linked table with a corresponding
primary key (the ‘primary’ table)
• Cascading delete
• If a record is deleted in the ‘primary’ table…
• all corresponding linked records in ‘foreign’ tables must also be deleted
• Cascading update
• If a record in the ‘primary’ table is modified…
• … all linked records in foreign tables will also be modified [3]
2 (a) Any two from:
• DRAM has to be refreshed / charged

// SRAM does not request a refresh
• DRAM uses a single transistor and capacitor

// SRAM uses more than one transistor to form a memory cell
// SRAM has more complex circuitry
• DRAM stores each bit as a charge

// SRAM each bit is stored using a flip-flop / latch
• DRAM uses higher power( because it requires more circuitry for refreshing)
// SRAM uses less power (no need to refresh)
• DRAM less expensive (to purchase / requires fewer transistors )

// SRAM is more expensive (to buy as it requires more transistors)
• DRAM has slower access time / speed (because it needs to be refreshed)

// SRAM has faster access times
• DRAM can have higher storage / bit / data density

// SRAM has lower storage / bit / data density
• DRAM used in main memory

// SRAM used in cache memory [2]
© UCLES 2016
Page 333 of 380
(b) (i) Any two from
• The hardware is unusable without an OS // hides complexity of hardware from user
• Acts as an interface / controls communications between user and hardware /

hardware and software
• Provides software platform / environment on which other programs can be run [2]
(ii) Any two from:
• Process / task / resource management
• Main memory management
• Peripheral / hardware / device management
• File / secondary storage management
• Security management
• Provision of a software platform / environment on which other programs can be run

– only if not given in part (b)(i)
• Interrupt handling
• Provision of a user interface run – only if not given in part (b)(i) [2]
(c) Any two from:
• A DLL file is a shared library file
• Code is saved separately from the main .EXE files
• Code is only loaded into main memory when required at run-time
• The DDL file can be made available to several applications (at the same time) [2]
© UCLES 2016
Page 334 of 380
3 (a) (i) 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 [1]
(ii) 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 [1]
(iii) 2 E [1]
(b) (i) One mark for the explanation and one mark for the example
• Each denary digit is written as a 4-bit binary number

• Example: 46 = 0100 0110 [2]
(ii) One mark for the explanation and one mark for the example
• Binary number is split up into groups of 4 bits (starting from the right)
// Each group of 4 bits is converted to a denary digit
• Example: 0011 0111 = 37
[2]
4 (i) Keyboard
Any two from:
• Uses switches and circuits to translate keystrokes into signals the computer can
understand
• The key matrix is a grid of circuits / three layers of plastic underneath the keys
• Each circuit is broken beneath the key / middle layer contains holes
• When key pressed, a circuit is made / completed and a signal is sent
• Processor compares location of signal from key matrix to a character map stored on
ROM
• A character code for each key press is saved in a keyboard buffer [2]
(ii) Optical Disc

Any two from:
• Drive motor is used to spin the disc

• Tracking mechanism moves the laser assembly
• A lens focuses the laser onto the disc
• Laser beam is shone onto disc to read / write
• Surface of disc has a reflective metal layer / phase change metal alloy
• Track(s) on the disc have sequence of pits and lands / amorphous and crystalline state
• Reflected light in then encoded as a bit pattern [2]
© UCLES 2016
Page 335 of 380
(iii) Optical mouse

Any two from:
• Laser / light shines onto a surface

• Through a (polished) ring at the base
• The light is reflected from the surface through the ring
• Sensor detects reflected light
• Capturing details / photograph of surface (under the ring)
• At about 1500 times per second
• As the mouse moves the sensor detects changes in the surface detail / photograph
• Which are translated into movement (change of x and y co-ordinates)
• The processor/software updates the position of the cursor on the screen [2]
(iv) Scanner
Any two from:
• Main component of a scanner is a CCD array

• CCD is a collection of light sensitive diodes
• Laser beam / light is shone onto the source document/barcode
• The scanned image reaches the CCD through mirrors and lenses
• Sensors detect levels of reflected light
• Brighter light results in greater electrical charge
• Light intensity is converted (by software) to a digital value [2]
© UCLES 2016
Page 336 of 380
5 (a) (i) One mark for each correct gate.
T X
[5]
(ii) ( R.T ) + (T .W ) // (R AND NOT T) OR (T AND NOT W) [2]
(iii) One mark for each pair of lines as shaded.
INPUT Working space

OUTPUT
X
R T W
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0
[4]
© UCLES 2016
Page 337 of 380
6 Any four from:
• User needs high-speed broadband (connection)

• Data is streamed to a buffer (in the computer)
• Buffering stops video pausing as bits streamed
• As buffer is emptied, it fills up again so that viewing is continuous
• Actual playback is (a few seconds) behind the time the data is received by computer [4]
7 (a) One mark for the name and one mark for the explanation for three utility programs
• Disk formatter
• Prepares a hard disk to allow data to be stored on it
• Virus checker
• Checks for viruses and then quarantines removes any virus found
• File compression
• Reduces file size by removing redundant details (lossy / lossless)
• Backup software
• Makes copy of files on another medium in case of corruption / loss of data
• Firewall
• Prevents unauthorised access to computer system from external sources [6]
(b) Four from:
• Bitmap is made up of pixels

// Vector graphic store a set of instructions about how to draw the shape
• Bitmap files are usually bigger than vector graphics files // Take up more memory space
• Enlarging a bitmap can mean the image is pixelated

// vector graphic can be enlarged without the image becoming pixelated
• Bitmap images can be compressed (with significant reduction in file size)

// Vector graphic images do not compress well
• Bitmaps are suitable for photographs / scanned images

// Vector graphics are suitable for more geometric shapes
• Bitmap graphics use less processing power than vector graphics
• Individual elements of a bitmap cannot be grouped

// Individual elements of a vector graphic can be grouped
• Vector graphics need to be ‘rasterised’ in order to display or print [4]
© UCLES 2016
Page 338 of 380
(c) (i) • Hackers can still access the data (and corrupt it, change it or delete it)
• Encryption simply makes data incomprehensible (without decryption key / algorithm)
[2]
(ii) Any two from:
• This is an explanation of data verification (not validation)

• Data validation ensures that data is reasonable / sensible / within a given criteria
• Original data may have been entered correctly but is not reasonable (e.g. age of
210) [2]
(iii) • A password does not prevent unauthorised access, it makes it more difficult
• Password can be guessed (if weak) // Password can be stolen // A relevant example
of misappropriation of password [2]
8 (a) (i)
Accumulator: 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
[1]
(ii) One mark for answer and two marks for explanation
Accumulator: 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
• Index Register contains 1001 = 9

• 800 + 9 = 809 [3]
(b) (i) ONE mark for each correct row.
Memory address
ACC OUTPUT
800 801 802 803
40 50 0 90
40
90 90
90 90
[4]
(ii) 107 [1]
© UCLES 2016
Page 339 of 380
(c) (i) Any two from:
• Only 128 / 256 characters can be represented

• Uses values 0 to 127 (or 255 if extended form) / one byte
• Many characters used in other languages cannot be represented
• In extended ASCII the characters from 128 to 255 may be coded differently in
different systems [2]
(ii) Any two from:
• Uses 16, 24 or 32 bits / two, three or four bytes

• Unicode is designed to be a superset of ASCII
• Designed so that most characters (in other languages) can be represented
[2]
© UCLES 2016
Page 340 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the October/November 2017 series for most
components.
Page 341 of 380

9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
1 1 Mark for stating the management task 6

1 Mark for a corresponding description
Maximum 2 marks for each task
Maximum 3 tasks
Process / Task Management

• Allocation of processor time
• Scheduling of processes or tasks / multi-tasking / multi-programming etc.
• By example – e.g. round-robin, shortest remaining time first etc.
• Resolution of conflict when two or more processes require the same resource
Secondary Storage management

• Storage space divided into file allocation units
• Space allocated to particular files
• OS maintains a file directory and FAT
• Controls access.
Peripheral / Hardware / Device / Input/output Management

• Installation of appropriate driver software
• Controls access to data being sent to/from hardware/peripherals
• Controls access to hardware/peripherals
• Manages communication between devices / hardware and software
Provision of a User interface

• Allows user interaction with the computer system// Facilitates human computer
communication
• Hides the complexity of the hardware from the user
• Or by example – e.g. GUI, command line etc.
Interrupt Handling
• Halts the execution of the current process
• Stores the values of the current process on the stack
• Loads and executes the appropriate ISR code
• Use of priorities for handling simultaneous interrupts
• Saves data on power outage
Security Management
• Makes provision for recovery when data is lost
• Provides usernames and passwords / encryption / user accounts
• Prevents unauthorised access
• Ensures privacy of data
Provision of a software platform / environment

• On which other programs / applications can be run

Page 342 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
2(a) 1 Mark for each correct connection 4
2(b)(i) 1 Mark per bullet, max 2 2
• Once translated the compiler software is not needed to run the program
• Compiled code should execute faster
• Compiler produces an executable file
• The executable file produced by a compiler can be distributed without users
having sight of the source code // source code is kept secure // users are unable
to make changes to the program
• Cross-compilation is possible
2(b)(ii) 1 Mark per bullet, max 2 2
• Easier de-bugging
• The interpreter stops when error encountered
• error can be corrected in real time
• The interpreter translates a statement then executes it immediately
• Parts of the program can be tested, without all the program code being available.

Page 343 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
3(a)(i) 1 Mark per bullet, max 3 3

• Security is keeping the data safe
• From accidental / malicious damage /loss
• By example of need for security
• Privacy is the need to restrict access to personal data

• To avoid it being seen by unauthorised people
• By example of need for privacy
3(a)(ii) 1 Mark for a suitable example 1

For example: Personal data of students / staff
3(b) 1 Mark for stating the security measure 4

1 Mark for a corresponding description
Maximum 2 marks for each measure
Maximum 2 measures
Physical measures
• Locked doors/keyboards etc.
• Secure methods of access, keypads/ biometric scans etc.
Backup of data
• Regular copies of the data are made
• If the data is corrupted it can be restored
Disk-mirroring
• All activity is duplicated to a second disk in real time so that if the first disk fails
there is a complete copy available
Access rights
• Different access rights for individuals/groups of users
• To stop users editing data they are not permitted to access
• By example
Encryption
• If accessed, data cannot be understood by unauthorised personnel
• Accessed only by those with the decryption key
Firewall
• To stop unauthorised access/hackers gaining access to the computer network
Use authentication methods such as passwords and usernames

• Passwords should be strong / biometrics
• To prevent unauthorised access to data
Anti-malware program
• To detect / remove / quarantine viruses / key-loggers etc.
• Carrying out regular scans
Concurrent Access Controls // Record locking

• Closes a record to second user until first update complete
• To prevent simultaneous updates being lost

Page 344 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
3(c) 1 Mark per bullet, max 2 2
• Checking that the data entered matches / is consistent with that of the source.
• Comparison of two versions of the data
• Examples include double entry, visual checking, proof reading etc...
• In the event of a mismatch – the user is forced to re-enter the data
• By example, e.g. creation of a password
• Does not check data is sensible/acceptable

Page 345 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
4(a) 1 Mark for each correct answer 5

A – General purpose registers
B – System clock
C – ALU
E – Control bus
F – Address bus
4(b) 1 Mark per bullet, max 2 2

• The clock sends out a number of pulses in a given time interval (clock speed)
• Each processor instruction takes a certain number of clock cycles to execute
• The higher the clock frequency, the shorter the execution time for the instruction
// Increasing the clock frequency improves performance
4(c)(i) 1 Mark per bullet 3

Maximum 2 for Macro
Maximum 2 for Directive
Maximum 3 in total
Macro
• A group of instructions given a name // subroutine
• A group of instructions that need to be executed several times within the same
program
• The statements are written once and called using the name whenever they need
to be executed
• Macro code is inserted into the source file at each place it is called
• By example
Directive
• An instruction that directs the assembler to do something
• A directive is not a program instruction
• It is information for the assembler
• By example
4(c)(ii) 1 Mark for a suitable example 1
For example: State the start address for the program //tell the assembler to set aside
space for variables // include an external file etc.

Page 346 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
4(d) Mark as shown 5
ACC Offset OUTPUT

10
50 2
10
11 11 1 Mark for these two values, as first instructions
65 1 Mark for this value, in any row
A 1 Mark for this value, in any row
11 1 Mark for this value, after 65, nothing in between
12 12 1 Mark for the rest
89 Y
12
13 13
32

Page 347 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
4(e) Mark as follows: 6
Table entries:
1 Mark per bullet, max 4
• EndProg
• 2 × Unknown
• 9
• 14
• 8
Numbering:
1 Mark per bullet, max 2
• Relative address of Value is numbered 6

• Number given for EndProg is next number in sequence to relative address of
Value
• All numbers correct – award 2 marks
7 9

Page 348 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
5
Public
Incident A Client & Employer
Incident B Product
Ethical
Incident C Judgement
Incident D Management
Unethical
Incident E Profession
Incident F Colleagues
Self
5(a) Mark as follows: 2

Unethical: C and E 1 Mark
Ethical: A,B, D and F 1 Mark
5(b) Mark as follows: 4

A – Public interest 1 Mark
B – Self 1 Mark
D – Profession 1 Mark
F – Product 1 Mark

Page 349 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
6(a) 1 mark for each correct row 3
Application Input device Output device

Capture the text from a paper
Flatbed scanner /
document, in order that the text
Digital camera
can be word-processed
Producing a replica of a small
plastic component from a washing 3D Printer
machine
A museum has interactive Touch screen /
Touch screen /
information facilities throughout touch pad /
speakers etc.
the building microphone etc.
6(b) 1 Mark per bullet to max 4 4
• The hard disk has one or more platters made of aluminium or glass
• Each surface of the platter/disk is ferrous-oxide which is capable of being
magnetised
• The platters/disks are mounted on a central spindle
• The disks are rotated at high-speed
• Each surface of the disk has a read/write head mounted on an arm positioned
just above the surface
• Electronic circuits control the movement of the arm and hence the heads
• The surface of the platter/disk is divided into concentric tracks and sectors
• One track in one sector is the basic unit of storage called a block
• The data is encoded as a magnetic pattern for each block
• When writing to disk, a variation in the current in the head produces a variation
in magnetic field on the disk
• When reading from disk, a variation in magnetic field produces a variation in
current through the head

Page 350 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
7(a)(i) 1 Mark for correct primary key identified in both STAFF and CLIENT 3
STAFF(StaffID, StaffName, Department)
CLIENT(ClientName, Address, Town)
1 Mark for correct primary key identified in VISIT

VISIT(ClientName, VisitDate)
1 Mark for correct primary key identified in INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW(ClientName, VisitDate, StaffID, SpecialistFocus,
InterviewText)
7(a)(ii) 1 Mark for each correct relationship 3
CLIENT VISIT
VISIT INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW STAFF
7(b) 1 Mark for correct answer 1
Add attribute VisitReportText to table VISIT
7(c)(i) 1 Mark for each correct line 3
UPDATE CLIENT
SET ClientName = 'Albright Holdings'
WHERE ClientName = 'ABC Holdings';
7(c)(ii) 1 Mark per bullet, max 2 2
• Referential integrity should be maintained // Referential integrity could be

violated
• Data becomes inconsistent
• There may be records in the VISIT and INTERVIEW tables / other tables with
client name ABC Holdings
• The ClientName in the VISIT and INTERVIEW tables / other tables might not
be automatically updated
• Records in the VISIT and INTERVIEW tables / other tables will become
orphaned

Page 351 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
7(d) 1 Mark for each correct line 3
SELECT StaffID FROM INTERVIEW

WHERE ClientName = 'New Age Toys'
AND VisitDate = '13/10/2016'; (Accept clauses other way round)
7(e) 1 Mark for a correct answer 1

Add a suitable attribute, for example, EuropeTraveller to the STAFF table // Add
a suitable attribute, for example, Country to the CLIENT table

Page 352 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
components.
Page 353 of 380

9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
1(a)(i) 119 1
1(a)(ii) –120 1
1(a)(iii) 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
1(a)(iv) Lowest value: −128 1

Highest value: +127
1(b)(i) 0110 0101 0011 1
1(b)(ii) The second block of four binary digits represents a digit larger than 9 // 14 1
1(b)(iii) A string of digits on any electronic device displaying numeric values 1
2(a) A web page contains a client-side 4

script
Each instrucon in the source code Assembler

consists of an op code and an
operand
Interpreter
The source code is required at run-

me
Compiler
When the source code is translated,

copies of the executable program can
be distributed without the need for
the source code
2(b)(i) One mark from: 1
• The program code can be translated to run on any processor / platform

• Source code is translated into machine independent intermediate code not
machine dependent code

Page 354 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
2(b)(ii) Two marks from: Max 2
• Java uses a two-step translation process

• Java code is partially interpreted – partially compiled
• Code is translated first into intermediate code / "bytecode"
• using the Java compiler
• The bytecode is finally interpreted by the Java Virtual Machine
3(a) Two marks from: Max 2
• Physical measures
• Access rights
• Encryption
• Firewall
• Use authentication methods such as usernames and passwords
• Anti-malware program
3(b)(i) 4
7 X 6 = 42
8 X 5 = 40
6 X 4 = 24 1 mark for 6 values
5 X 3 = 15
3 X 2 = 6
1 X 1 = 1
Total: 128 / 11
11 R 7 1 mark for 2 steps
Accept 128 MOD 11 = 7
Check digit: 11 – 7 = 4 1 mark for subtraction
Answer: 786531 4 (1 mark for answer)
3(b)(ii) One mark for name of check Max 4

One mark for description
Max two checks
Uniqueness check
Each PatientID must be unique
Length check
Each PatientID is exactly 7 characters
Format check / Type check

All 7 characters must be digits
Presence check
PatientID must be entered

Page 355 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
4(a) A – System clock 5

B – Control unit
C – Main memory
E – Control bus
F – Data bus
4(b) ACC CountDown OUTPUT 5

15
67 C
15
14 14 (1)
51 3 (1) + (1)
14 (1)
13 13
32 (1)
88 X
4(c) Three marks from: Max 3
• The assembler scans the assembly language instructions in sequence

• When it meets a symbolic address checks to see if already in symbol table
• If not, it adds it to the symbol table in the symbolic address column
• If it is already in symbol table check if absolute address known
• If the absolute address is known, it is entered in the appropriate cell
• If the absolute address is not known mark / leave as unknown
4(d)(i) The op code / mnemonic / instruction table 1
4(d)(ii) A – 1110 0110 0110 1000 3

(1) (1)
B – E6 68 (1)

Page 356 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
5(a)(i) Three marks from: 3
• Diaphragm / cone
• (Voice) coil of wire
• Spider / Suspension
• (Permanent) Magnet
• Basket
• Dust cap
• Outer frame
5(a)(ii) Four marks from: Max 4
• Takes an electrical signal and translates it into physical vibrations to create

sound waves
• An electric current in the coil creates an electro-magnetic field
• Changes in the audio signal causes the direction of the electric current to
change
• The direction of the current determines the polarity of the electro-magnet //
changing the direction of the current changes the direction of the polarity of the
electro-magnet
• The electro-magnet is repelled by or attracted to the permanent magnet
• Causing the coil to vibrate
• The movement of the coil causes the cone / diaphragm to vibrate
• That vibration is transmitted to the air in front of the cone / diaphragm as sound
waves
• The amount of movement will determine the frequency and amplitude of the
sound wave produced
5(b)(i) One mark from: 1
• External hard disk drive // SSD

• External CD / DVD drive
• Pen drive
• Blu-ray drive
5(b)(ii) Two marks from: Max 2
• Additional secondary file storage // storing files

• Backup of files
• Archiving of files
• Transfer files to second computer

Page 357 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
6(a) Two marks from: Max 2
• A system of moral principles

• That guide behaviour / decision making
• Based on philosophical / religious views
• By example, e.g. respectful and considerate behaviour
6(b) One mark for identifying the issue Max 6

One mark for correct principle
One mark for possible action
Max 2 issues (2 × 3 marks)
1 Uncomfortable with one of his colleagues

Client and Employer // Management / Colleagues // Judgement // Self
For example: Team building exercises // arranged meeting
2 Unfamiliar with programming language

Self // Client and Employer //Product // Profession // Colleagues
For example: Undergo training
3 Visit to unfamiliar workplace

Client and employer // Management // Judgement // Profession // Colleagues
For example: He should speak to his manager to discuss situation
7(a)(i) PatientID 2
(1)
DoctorID
AppointmentDate, AppointmentTime (1)
7(a)(ii) 2
One PATIENT attends many APPOINTMENTs

One DOCTOR takes many APPOINTMENTs
Special case for 1 mark only (only if no one to many relationships shown)
Many PATIENTs are seen by many DOCTORs

Page 358 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2017
7(b) Two marks from: 2

Either:
• Add an attribute (for example Attended )
• To the appointment table // APPOINTMENT
Or:
• Add an attribute (for example AppointmentsMissed )
• To the patient table // PATIENT
7(c)(i) Available to work at both SITE-A and SITE-B 1
7(c)(ii) APPOINTMENT(Site, AppointmentDate, AppointmentTime, 1

DoctorID, PatientID)
7(d)(i) One mark per line 3
UPDATE DOCTOR
SET DoctorID = '017'
WHERE DoctorID = '117';
7(d)(ii) 1 Mark per bullet, max 2 Max 2
• Referential integrity should be maintained // Referential integrity could be

violated.
• Data becomes inconsistent
• There may be records in the APPOINTMENT table showing doctor ID 117
• The APPOINTMENT table might not be automatically updated
• Records in the APPOINTMENT table will become orphaned
7(e) One mark per line 3
SELECT AppointmentDate, AppointmentTime

FROM APPOINTMENT
WHERE PatientID = '556';

Page 359 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge IGCSE™, Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some Cambridge O Level
components.
Page 360 of 380

9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
responses seen).

Page 361 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
1(a)(i) 2 1
1(a)(ii) 1 mark per bullet point 3
• Number of pixels: 6 × 6 // 36
• Number of bits: Number of pixels (36) × 2
• = 72 bits // 9 bytes
1(b)(i) 1 mark per bullet point 4
• Number of pixels: 1000 × 1000 // 1 000 000

• Number of bytes: Number of pixels (1 000 000) × 2 // 2 000 000 //
Number of bits: Number of pixels (1 000 000) × 16 // 16 000 000
• Conversion to megabytes
• 2 (MB) // 1.91 (MB)
1(b)(ii) 1 mark per method correctly linked to its description max 3 5

1 mark for each compression type correctly linked to its method(s). max 2
Description Method Compression type
1(c) 1 mark per bullet point. Max 2 marks for each reason. 4
• Smaller file size

• Can be transferred quicker/downloaded quicker
• Enlarges without pixilation

• Needs to be used on different screens / devices / resolutions
2(a) 1 mark for 1 correct answer, 2 marks for all 3 correct answers 2
1 Gopal types into the web browser

2 B (Web browser sends URL to Domain name Service (DNS))
3 DNS looks up URL in a table
4 A (DNS finds corresponding IP address)
5 C (DNS returns IP address to web browser)

Page 362 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
2(b) 1 mark per bullet point to max 2 2
• Gives each device on a network an identifier // IP address used to

locate a device on a network
• Each address is unique within the network
• Allows a device/gateway/node to send data to the correct destination / a
specific device/gateway/node
2(c)(i) 1 mark per bullet point to max 3 3
• Less interference in signal

• Signal does not degrade as fast // Needs less signal boosting
• More difficult to hack // more secure
• Greater bandwidth // Faster transmission speeds possible
2(c)(ii) 1 mark per bullet point to max 2 2
• (Initial) installation cost is higher // Cable / hardware is more expensive

to buy (per metre)
• Specialists / trained personnel needed to install / maintain
• Difficult to terminate // Electronics at both ends are more complex
• Fibre-optic cables can break when bent
• Only transmits data in one direction
• If a fibre-optic cable connection fails, many more services can be
affected
3(a)(i) 1 mark per bullet point 2

Absolute addressing:
• The operand is a numeric address // The numeric address is given //
referring directly to a memory location
Symbolic addressing:
• The operand is a word/symbol // A word/symbol represents the memory
location/address
3(a)(ii) 1 mark per example 2
Absolute addressing: For example, ADD 230
Symbolic addressing: For example, ADD num1
Indexed addressing:
• The address to be used is formed by:
operand + the contents of the Index Register (IX)
Immediate addressing:
• The operand is not an address // the operand is the actual value to be
loaded

Page 363 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
3(b)(ii) 1 mark per example 2
Indexed: For example, LDX 20
Immediate: For example, ADD #20
3(c)(i) 193 1
3(c)(ii) C1 1
3(c)(iii) –63 1
3(d) 1 mark per bullet point 7
• Loading 2, comparing with 104 (instructions 40 and 41)

• Loading 302 (instruction 43)
• Comparing, and branching to 47 (instructions 44, 45)
• Loading, decrementing accumulator and storing (instructions 47, 48 and
49)
• Incrementing Index Register (instruction 50)
• Loading 303, comparing and outputting + (instructions 43–46)
• Loading, decrementing accumulator and storing, incrementing Index
Register and end (instructions 47–51, 41, 42 and 54)

Page 364 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018

address IX OUTPUT
ACC
100 101 102 103 104 105
2 302 303 303 0 303 1
40 2
41
43 302
44
45
47 2
48 1
49 1
50 2
51
41
42
43 303
44
45
46 +
47 1
48 0
49 0
50 3
51
41
54

Page 365 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
4(a) 1 mark per correct line, max 3 3
Line number of error Correct notation
1 MAR ← [PC]
3 MDR ← [ [MAR] ]
4 CIR ← [MDR]
2 PC ← [PC] + 1
4(b)(i) 1 mark for each event to max 3 3
For example:
• Hardware fault // Example of hardware fault
• I/O request // Example of I/O request
• Program/software error // Example of software error
• End of a time-slice
4(b)(ii) 1 mark per bullet point to max 5 5
• At the end of each fetch–execute cycle the processor checks for

interrupt(s)
• Check if an interrupt flag is set // Check if bit set in interrupt register
• Processor identifies source of interrupt
• Processor checks priority of interrupt
• If interrupt priority is high enough // Lower priority interrupts are disabled
• Processor saves current contents of registers
• Processor calls interrupt handler / Interrupt Service Routine (ISR)
• Address of ISR is loaded into Program Counter (PC)
• When servicing of interrupt complete, processor restores registers
• Lower priority interrupts are re-enabled
• Processor continues with next F–E cycle

Page 366 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
4(c) 1 mark for 1 correct connection 2

2 marks for all 3 correct connections
5(a) 1 mark per bullet point for each justification, to max 2 2
Either Unethical
• Noah’s work may be confidential
• Wendy shouldn't claim someone else’s ideas / work as her own
• She is bringing the profession into disrepute
• Reference to IEEE standards in context
Or Ethical
• The code could be open source
• Wendy may have permission from Noah
• Wendy isn’t copying the code, just getting ideas

Page 367 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
5(b) 1 mark per bullet point for each justification, to max 2 2
Either Unethical
• Amit has a responsibility to his company
• He should have taken it to the police rather than putting it on the
Internet
• He has a signed agreement to say he will not give anything away
Or Ethical
• Amit is acting in the public interest
• Amit may not have actually signed the confidentiality agreement
• If acting illegally, the multinational company should be brought to justice
5(c) 1 mark per bullet point for each justification, to max 2 2
Either Ethical
• It might save people’s jobs
• Farah is acting in the best interest of her company
Or Unethical
• Farah has a responsibility to act in the best interest of her client
• It could give her company a bad reputation
6(a) 1 mark for each method to max 2 2
• Biometric authentication // by example

• Two-step authentication // by example
• Firewall / proxy
• Encryption
• Different access rights for different users
• Password protect file (using a different password)
• Anti-malware
6(b)(i) 1 mark per bullet to max 2 2
• Pre-existing / pre-compiled / pre-written modules / code

• can be linked into her program (without amendment)
• To perform common / complex tasks

Page 368 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
6(b)(ii) 1 mark per bullet point. Max 2 for one benefit, max 2 for one drawback 4
Benefit:
• Less code needs to be written
• saves time / saves re-inventing the wheel
• Pre-tested // Used by many people

• ... reduces time testing // can be fairly sure that the function will perform
as it should
• Can be written in a different programming language

• making use of special features of that language
• Can be complex algorithms (e.g. mathematical/graphics functions)

• ... she does not need to work out how to write it // that she may not
know how to code
• Simplifies the program

• since just the name of the function included in the source code
Drawback:
• Compatibility issues
• may not work with the other code/may require changing program for
it to work
• Not guaranteed thorough testing

• may be unknown or unexpected bugs / virus
• Library routine may not meet exact needs

• may give unexpected results // may need editing
• If library routine is changed

• there may be unexpected results / errors

Page 369 of 380
9608/12
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
6(c) 1 mark per bullet point. Max 3 marks for interpreter, max 3 marks for 4
compiler
Interpreter:
• Used during development
• Debugging is easier
• Because errors are reported as they are found // No need to wait
until the end of the process for the error report
• Because errors can be corrected as they are found
Compiler:
• Compiler used when development complete // compiler used when
program ready for distribution
• Produces an executable file (.exe)
• After compilation the compiler does not need to be present for the
program to run
• The program can be given to others without access to (source) code
• Final program does not need to be re-compiled each time it is run
• Cross-compilation, the program can be compiled to run on different
platforms

Page 370 of 380


MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75
Published
Teachers.
Cambridge IGCSE™, Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some Cambridge O Level
components.
Page 371 of 380

9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
responses seen).

Page 372 of 380
9608/13
Scheme FUNDAMENTALS
October/November
PUBLISHED 2018
1(a)(i) 3 1
1(a)(ii) 1 mark per bullet point 3
• Number of pixels: 6 × 6 = 36
• Number of bits: Number of pixels (36) × 3
• 108 bits / 13.5 bytes
• Number of pixels: 50 000 × 50 000 = 2 500 000 000

• Number of bytes: Number of pixels (2 500 000 000) × 4 //
10 000 000 000 //
Number of bits: Number of pixels (2 500 000 000) × 32 //
80 000 000 000
• Conversion to gigabytes
• 10 GB / 9.3 GB
1(b)(ii) 1 mark for correct tick in each row. 4
Compression method Lossy Lossless
Cropping the image 9
Reducing the resolution of the image 9
Using run-length encoding (RLE) 9
Reducing the colour depth of the image 9
1(c) 1 mark per bullet point to max 3 3
• Looks for runs of consecutive pixel of the same colour

• Stores the colour value once and the number of times it occurs
• Lossless method of compression
• Reference to the given image in context
2(a) 1 mark per bullet point 2
Relative addressing:
• A number (the offset) is added to the base address to give the actual
address
Indexed addressing:
• The contents of the index register are added to operand to give the actual
address
2(b)(i) 242 1

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2(b)(ii) F2 1
2(b)(iii) –14 1
2(b)(iv) 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
2(c) 1 mark per bullet point 7
• Loading 8 (instruction 20)

• Comparison and loading 453 (instructions 21–23)
• Outputting & (instruction 26)
• Loading, incrementing and storing in 96 (instructions 27–29)
• Incrementing Index Register (instruction 30)
• Jumping and loading 452 (instruction 23)
• Jumping, loading, incrementing, storing in 96, incrementing IX and end
(instructions 24–32)

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IX OUTPUT
address ACC
93 94 95 96 97 98
453 453 452 8 10 453 8
20 8
21
22
23 453
24
25
26 &
27 8
28 9
29 9
30 9
31
21
22
23 452
24
25
27 9
28 10
29 10
30 10
31
21
22
32

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3(a) Either Ethical 2
• He is booking the holiday in his own time / lunchtime // he is self-employed

• He has been given permission
• Reference to IEEE in context
Or Unethical
• Should not use company computer for personal use

• Should be working whilst at work
3(b) Unethical: Max 2 marks from 2
• Company will get a bad reputation

• Should be supporting his colleague
3(c) Either Ethical 2
• She is supporting her colleague

• Working in the best interests of the company
Or Unethical
• Praising one team member instead of the whole team

• Others in the team may also have contributed, so she is not being
supportive of the whole team
4(a) 1 mark for 1 letter in correct space 2

2 marks for all 3 letters in correct places
1 C
2 URL goes to Domain Name Service (DNS)
3 B
4 A
5 DNS returns IP address to client
• 258 is too large/largest individual numbers is 255

• 4 numbers needed/1 number missing/only 3 groups of numbers given

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4(b)(ii) 1 mark per bullet point 2
• L not a valid hexadecimal number

• Only one double colon is allowed
4(c) 1 mark per row 4
Description Public Private
The address can be reached over the Internet. 9
The address is more secure. 9
The address can only be accessed through the same 9

LAN.
The address can be duplicated in different networks. 9
5(a)(i) 1 mark per bullet point, max 2 2
• Restricted use
• Source code not provided // source code protected
• Anyone can purchase/download if agree to the terms
• Limited number of installations allowed // Software key needed to install
5(a)(ii) 1 mark for name and 2 marks for description 3
Either
Open Source
• The source code is released with the program
• Users can change / edit the source code to enhance the game
• Users can re-release the game under the same terms // the game might
spread more easily
Or
Shareware
• Users get free trial or limited access for set time
• Users do not have access to the source code // source code may not be
edited
• At end of trial period, users may have to pay or register to continue using
the game // Can get people ‘hooked’ and then charge a fee
Or
Freeware
• There is no fee for the game
• The game could be copyrighted
• Modification, re-distribution or reverse engineering of the game without
permission is prohibited

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5(b) 1 mark per bullet point, max 3 3
• Firewall / proxy
• Encryption
• Username and Password
• Physical security
• Biometric authentication // by example
• Two-step authentication // by example
• Anti-malware
6(a)(i) MAR ← [PC] 3

PC ← PC + 1
MDR ← [ [MAR] ]
CIR ← [MDR]
6(a)(ii) 1 mark from: 1

• The contents of the MAR is an address, it is the contents of that address
which is transferred to MDR
• The contents of the address pointed to by the MAR is transferred to the
MDR
6(b) 1 mark per bullet point to max 2 2
• A signal from a source / device

• Telling the processor its attention is needed
6(c) 1 mark per row 5
Statement DRAM SRAM
Does not need to be refreshed as the circuit holds the data 3

while the power supply is on
Mainly used in cache memory of processors where speed is 3

important
Has less complex circuitry 3
Requires higher power consumption under low levels of 3

access, which is significant when used in battery-powered
devices
Requires data to be refreshed occasionally so it retains the 3

data

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7(a) 1 mark per benefit to max 3 3
• Devices can be more mobile as they do not have to be connected to cable

• Easier to set up // no cables need to be installed
• Add additional devices is easier
• Many different types of device can be connected at the same time
7(b) 1 mark for a drawback from the following: 1
• Easier to hack
• Interference
• Signal degrades quickly
8(a) 1 mark for each logic gate with the correct inputs 4

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8(b) One mark for each correct pair of lines 4
Working Space
A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0

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A LEVELS 9608 THEORY FUNDAMENTALS

COMPUTER SCIENCE PAST PAPERS

shahzadah.ashraf 0333 2076121

CS WorkShop 2K18 With

AS Level Paper One:

MAY/JUNE 2015 ................................................................................................................................... 04-33

MAY/JUNE 2016 ................................................................................................................................... 34-59

MAY/JUNE 2017 ................................................................................................................................... 60-85

MAY/JUNE 2018 ................................................................................................................................ 86-112

OCT/NOV 2015 .................................................................................................................................113-138

OCT/NOV 2016 ................................................................................................................................. 139-163

OCT/NOV 2017 ................................................................................................................................. 164-191

FREE PAGES ................................................................................................................................... 192-141

Cambridge International Examinations

COMPUTER SCIENCE 9608/12

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Answer all questions.

The maximum number of marks is 75.

This document consists of 16 printed pages.

1 (i) Convert the following binary number into hexadecimal.

(ii) Convert the following denary number into BCD format.

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15

2 (a) Sound can be represented in a computer in a digital format.

(i) Give the definition of the term sampling.

(iii) Explain what is meant by the term sampling resolution.

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15 [Turn over

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15

3 Five modes of addressing and five descriptions are shown below.

Draw a line to connect each mode of addressing to its correct description.

Mode of addressing Description

the operand is the address of the

the operand is the address of the value

the operand is the offset from the

the operand plus the contents of the

relative the operand is the value to be used

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15 [Turn over

4 (a) Sensors are one type of input device.

(i) air conditioning in an office building

(ii) maintaining correct growing conditions in a greenhouse

(iii) detecting an intruder in a building

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15

5 (a) Telephone calls can be made by using:

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15 [Turn over

(c) Name the hardware device that is being described:

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15

Give a different device in each case.

Description of use Input or output device

input of credit card number into an online form

selection of an option at an airport information kiosk

output of a single high-quality photograph

output of several hundred high-quality leaflets

input of a hard copy image into a computer

(i) Describe two methods of preventing accidental loss of data.

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15 [Turn over

either oil pressure >= 3 bar and temperature >= 200°C

or oil pressure < 3 bar and rotation > 1000 rpm

or temperature >= 200°C and rotation > 1000 rpm

(a) Draw a logic circuit to represent the above system.

(b) Complete the truth table for this system.

© UCLES 2015 9608/12/M/J/15 [Turn over

Width of the data bus ................................................................................................................

Clock speed ..............................................................................................................................

Describe two benefits of using USB ports.

the instruction is executed