Briefing Session on

2018 HKDSE ICT Exam

1 Ｎov 2018

1
Rundown
Introduction
Paper 1A, Paper 1B
Q&A
Break (15 min)
Parallel sessions
Session 1: 45 min
Break: 5 min
Session 2: 45 min
2
Speakers
Paper Session 1 Session 2
1B Hall

2A W204 (1A)

2B W205 (1B)

2C Hall

2D W206 (1C)
3
Breakdown of Elective Part
Number Sat % %(2017)

All 5,793 +0.3 -5.9

2A 680 -14.9 +11.7

2B 128 -39.7 +12.8

2C 3,718 +4.5 -12.3

2D 1,238 +8.5 +0.9

4
SBA participating schools
No. of schools (subject to moderation) = 413
Max = 46 students
Median = 12 students
No. of options offered in the schools:
One = 377
Two = 37
Three = 3
Four = 0
(Note: A number of students were absent from SBA/exam and
excluded from the SBA moderation process)

5
Results of ICT (all candidates)
Level 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
5** 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8
5*+ 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.6 3.2
5+ 7.1 7.5 7.8 8.9 8.1
4+ 23.8 25.3 26.5 27.2 27.3
3+ 48.8 50.1 51.8 52.2 53.3
2+ 77.8 77.8 80.6 80.3 81.9
1+ 93.6 94.0 94.3 94.1 95.0
Note: L5** Around Top 10% of L5
L5*+ Around Top 40% of L5 (L5* = next 30%)
6
Grading Procedures 
Sample script selection
Standardisation
Post-marking exercise
Panel of judges grading meeting
Internal meeting
Public Exam Board meeting
Refer to Grading Procedures & standards-referenced
Reporting in the HKDSE Exam (HKEAA)

7
Marking (1)
Quality control: standardisation,
checkmarking, control scripts, etc.
Marking
accept common abbreviations (e.g. terms in
C&A Guide and the Glossary), e.g. Paper 2C,
Q2(b): 使用 reCAPTCHA 以確保客戶端的一邊
不是機器。

answers not written in the language medium
entered would not be marked
8
Marking (2)
Marking schemes
Marking guidelines agreed after standardisation
(after checking 100-200 scripts)
may not exhaust all possible answers
professional discretion and judgment in
accepting alternative answers
(correct and well-reasoned)

9
Marking (3)
Bad languages used in exam
Standing Committee to scrutinize exam
irregularities
Possible consequences: mark deduction

10
2018 ICT Samples of Candidates’ Performance

Paper 1B: 2 samples (1 with annotated

note) @ Level @ language version
Paper 2 –samples from different elective
papers available
Uploaded to www.hkeaa.edu.hk

11
Performance – Compulsory Part
Average no. of MC items correct = 26
High correlation with Paper 2s and SBA

12
Performance – Elective Part
Equating – performance of candidates
(Elective Part) can be reflected on the
same scale (Equipercentile method )
Performance of students (Paper 1):
2D >> 2A >> 2C > 2B
Refer to Grading Procedures & standards-referenced
Reporting in the HKDSE Exam (HKEAA)

13
Changes in 2019 Exam
Curriculum change and effective in
2019 Exam (Compulsory Part only)
Change in teaching hours
Topics 2018 2019
A(d) The Use of Office Automation Software 30 28
C(b) Internet Services and Applications 7 5
D(c) Algorithm Testing 3 7

14
Paper 1A

15
MC Statistics
The best: Q.6, 17, 25, 29, 37
The worst: Q.11, 12, 16, 22, 28
Discrimination power (highest):
Q. 2, 26, 31, 33, 37

16
 Q.4
Q.4 The file sizes of the following original files
are all l MB. Under normal circumstances,
after compressing them, which compressed
file has the largest file size?

Original files Compressed files

A. testA.html testA.zip (20%)
B. testB.doc testB.zip (16%)
C. testC.txt testC.zip (9%)
* D. testD.jpg testD.zip (55%)

17
 Q.4 (cont.)
Question 4 tests candidates’ ability to integrate different
concepts in Information Processing and Social Implications.
To get the correct answer, candidates had to understand the
basic concept of data representation, particular in digitisation
of multimedia elements, and apply the basic concept of data
encryption to verify that the file sizes of the compressed files.
Nearly half of the candidates did not realise that HTML and
TXT file formats are in fact the same in terms of the file
structure and were lack of experience in compressing DOC
and JPG files.

18
 Q.7
Q.7 A company designs a mobile application to
process staff records. In each record, 10 bits are used
to store staff numbers and 12 bytes are used to store
Chinese names. How many staff records can the
mobile application support?

* A. 210 (48%)
B. 212 (17%)
C. 222 (21%)
D. 296 (14%)

19
 Q.7 (Cont.)
Candidates demonstrated a basic
understanding of data representation in
computers. In Question 7, about half of them
were able to correctly apply the binary system
to calculate the number of records that can be
supported.

20
 Q.15
Q.15 Free online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia contain
a huge number of articles. Which of the following statements
about the online encyclopedias are correct?

(1) People can search the relevant articles for a topic

quickly.
(2) The articles have no copyright.
(3) These encyclopedias are updated frequently.

A. (1) and (2) only (11%)

* B. (1) and (3) only (64%)
C. (2) and (3) only (2%)
D. (1), (2) and (3) (23%)
21
Q.15 (Cont.)
In Question 15, the majority of the candidates
demonstrated sound knowledge of intellectual
property. About a third of the candidates did not
realise that the creator of an original article will be
automatically granted the copyright, a form of
intellectual property, and the copyright of articles
cannot be removed before incorporating in the
encyclopedias. In other words, the focus should be
the ownership of the copyright instead of its
existence.

22
 Q.16
Q.16 A router should be used to connect ______.

* A. two different networks (46%)

B. a printer and a local area network (20%)
C. two computers (6%)
D. a computer to a server (28%)

23
Q.16 (Cont.)
Question 16 focuses on the functions of a router.
Candidates should have experience in using
computer networks with common network
connecting devices such as router and switch, but
they were not able to identify the fundamental
functions of the devices. In the four options, all
connections are possible but only Option A is the
fundamental function of a router.

24
Q.28
Q.28 When watching videos from a web site using
streaming technology, which of the following will be
involved?

(1) DNS
(2) FTP
(3) IP

A. (1) and (2) only (13%)

* B. (1) and (3) only (32%)
C. (2) and (3) only (35%)
D. (1), (2) and (3) (20%)

25
Q.28 (Cont.)

In Question 28, only about one third of the

candidates demonstrated sound knowledge of
streaming technology and identified the use of
DNS and IP in the video application.

26
 Q.40
Q.40 What is/are the benefit(s) of using a fingerprint over a
password for authentication in computer systems?

(1) In general, the input time is shorter.

(2) The system development cost is cheaper.
(3) It results in fewer mistakes as long as the finger is
clean.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

27
 Q.40 (Cont.)
Question 40 was deleted as it did not effectively discriminate
between weak and able candidates. This question tests
candidates’ understanding of the benefits of using a fingerprint
over a password for authentication in computer systems, which
generally include a shorter input time, not easily lost, shared or
duplicated, and being unique. The majority of candidates knew
that Statement (2) is incorrect. Some candidates, however,
thought that Statement (3) is also a correct answer. They
might have overlooked the fact that although this statement is
correct in describing a particular situation when using a
fingerprint for authentication, it is not a comparative benefit of
using a fingerprint over using a password.

28
Paper 1B

29
Q&A

30
 Break
(15 min)

31
Parallel Sessions
Session 1 Break Session 2
Paper (45 min) (5 min) (45 min)

2A W204 (1A)

2B W205 (1B)

2C Hall

2D W206 (1C)

32
HKDSE ICT 2018

Exam paper marking review

(Paper 1B Q1 & Q3)
Marking guideline
 Fairness
 Marker not do GUESS of student answer
 Professional
 As students are studying ICT,
 Answer should be more technical /
professional
 Others
 Not accept too general answer
 Not accept answer seems direct copy from
qu
Function of marking review

Know the Know the

suggested marking
answer flexibility

Know Enhance
candidate teaching
performance strategies
Enhance teaching strategies
Paper 1B
Paper 1B

Q1
1B Qu 1 – Mix topics (IO, NW)

 A secondary school develops an

integrated online student system and
provides a number of workstations on
the campus for students to use to access
the system.
1B Qu 1a (i) – Input device

 (a) The student system was designed

mainly for learning English.
 (i) There are two options below for installing
the input devices of the workstations. Give
an advantage of each option.
 Touch screen
 Keyboard and mouse
 1B Qu 1a (i) – Input device
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
TS : Hand-eye coord / interactive, accurate
less space / easy
etc  Need more
operate
elaboration
KB&MS : diversified
input (MS over) / speed /
cost / ergon. /

Enhance teaching
Fair
Know candidate

not on individual
Qu seems easy, just
performance

devices based, but

strategies
a matter of on comparison
description
1B Qu 1a (i) – Input device
1B Qu 1a (ii) – Output device

 (ii) Other than display panels and

printers, suggest an additional output
device for the workstations and justify
its use..
 1B Qu 1a (ii) – Output device
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Speaker Also accept headphone,
 Pronounce English headset (common name
vocabularies. / Play of device)
videos (related to Eng)

But reason must correct

Good

Enhance teaching
Only 1 mark 
Know candidate

Know this type of

performance

need to have qu (ans + justif = 1)

strategies
correct justification
also
1B Qu 1a (ii) – Output device
1B Qu 1b – Network Hardware

 Network interface cards, network cables

and switches are needed to install the
workstations. Briefly explain the uses of
these hardware components.
 NIC
 Cable

 Switch
 1B Qu 1b – Network Hardware
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Clearly state the diff in Cable : NIC <-> router
connection
Switch : device ~ PC /
- NIC : PC <-> cable Server / other NCD /
- Cable : NIC <-> NCD other devices
- Switch : several devices

Poor

Enhance teaching
Most use too generic
Know candidate

Skills in answer this

answer for all 3 answer
performance

type of qu

strategies
(like ‘to build a network’
and ‘to transmit Need to know exactly
network signal’) the connection
1B Qu 1b – Network Hardware
1B Qu 1b – Network Hardware
1B Qu 1c – IPP

 (c) Give two benefits for learning of

using the student system over reading
English library books
 1B Qu 1c – IPP
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
- Multimedia Accept : Searching
- Tailor-made (interactive) / updating

- interactive Not accept : every.X /

weight / content
amount / be destroyed

Satisfactory

Enhance teaching
But most can only
Know candidate

Know to provide
got 1 mark as providing
performance

answer in different

strategies
answer of same type
categories
(e.g. video + audio +
graphics)
1B Qu 1c – IPP
1B Qu 1c – IPP
1B Qu 1c – IPP
1B Qu 1c – IPP
1B Qu 1d (i) – IPP

 The integrated online student system

also provides an email service.
 (d) (i) Students can forward all received
emails from this system to their personal
email accounts automatically. What is the
major benefit for the students of doing this?
 1B Qu 1d (i) – IPP
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
- Check email in one go Accept : Similar
- Can have a backup description
Not accept : No need
to go back to sch …/
too generic
description

Enhance teaching
Fair
More experience in
Know candidate

Seems most do not email setting are

performance

strategies
have email forward advised to learnt
experience
(auto reply, confirm
code …)
1B Qu 1d (i) – IPP
1B Qu 1d (ii) (iii) – IPP

 The email service allows students to

send files through email in the following
two ways:
 M1: Attach a file to an email.
 M2: Include a hyperlink to a file in an email.

 (ii) Give a benefit of using M2 over M1.

 (iii) Give a benefit of using M1 over M2.
 1B Qu 1d (ii) (iii) – IPP
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Hyperlink : smaller Accept : Attach 
EMAIL size offline view
Attach file : no worry of Not accept : smaller
link validity (change / size of file / save
remove) space of email box /
time for open or dl file

Enhance teaching
Good
Know candidate

More experience on
Just a matter of
different ways on
performance

strategies
description
doing same job
1B Qu 1d (ii) (iii) – IPP
1B Qu 1d (ii) (iii) – IPP
Paper 1B

Q3
1B Qu 3 – MM Element

 In a university, all lectures are recorded

on video. Mr Ng, the IT manager of the
university, plans to build an online
system for students to watch the videos.
1B Qu 3a – video format

 (a) Compare AVI and MP4. Give a

benefit of using each format to store the
videos
 1B Qu 3a – video format
answer
Know the suggested

AVI : Better quality
MP4 : smaller file size /
Support Streaming
flexibility
Know the marking
Accept reasonable
benefit (esp MP4) like
support more platform
/ device etc

Enhance teaching
Good
Know candidate

Using some other means

Straight forward
for teaching this type of
performance

strategies
question (no need to
knowledge
think about special
case)
1B Qu 3a – video format
1B Qu 3a – video format
1B Qu 3b - Calculation

 Mr Ng allocates 60 GB storage space for

each course. In the system, a 1-minute
video takes up approximately 11 MB.
Estimate the maximum number of hours
of video that can be stored for each
course. Show your calculation
 1B Qu 3b - Calculation
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
60 * 1024 Estimate vs Calculate
---------------
11 * 60
= 93 hour

Enhance teaching
Good
Know candidate

Calculation is a must
Only some wrote the
performance

strategies
unit incorrectly (unit is
optional)
1B Qu 3c (i) – file format

 (c) Mr Ng wants to increase the number

of hours of video stored
 (i) He finds that using a data compressor
cannot help much. Why not?
 1B Qu 3c (i) – file format
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Video already Similar description
compressed

Enhance teaching
Good
Know candidate

Live demo helps

Some students seems
performance

strategies
not know the principle
of compression
1B Qu 3c (i) – file format
1B Qu 3c (ii) – Utility Software

 (ii) He finds that using defragmentation

software cannot help much either. Why
not?
 1B Qu 3c (ii) – Utility Software
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Defragment only do
rearrangement of Not accept : faster RW
sectors containing the
file, but no change to
number of sectors used
 not releasing space

Enhance teaching
Fair
Know candidate

Video can help to

Not know the concept teach this abstract
performance

strategies
of defragmentation concept
1B Qu 3c (ii) – Utility Software
1B Qu 3c (ii) – Utility Software
1B Qu 3c (iii) – File attribute

 (iii) Suggest a solution for Mr Ng, without

changing the size of the allocated
storage space
 1B Qu 3c (iii) – File attribute
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Lower frame rate / Not accept : increase
resolution / color depth storage space

Or
Higher compression ratio

Enhance teaching
Good
Know candidate

Take care of some

Good understanding of terms : compression
performance

strategies
attribute of video file ratio (not rate)
1B Qu 3c (iii) – File attribute
1B Qu 3c (iii) – File attribute
1B Qu 3c (iii) – File attribute
1B Qu 3d - Streaming

 (d) Mr Ng considers using streaming

technology to broadcast lectures live.
Give a benefit of using streaming
technology and identify its limitation.
 1B Qu 3d - Streaming
answer
Know the suggested
Benefit : played without
complete download
Limit : bandwidth / traffic
/ cannot download for
playback later / file
format
Satisfactory
Know candidate
Good understanding of
performance
Streaming benefit and
limitation
flexibility
Know the marking
Accept : Stable
Internet connection
Not Accept : Good
Internet connection /
cannot work if no
Internet connection
Enhance teaching
Be careful of changes
in question statement
strategies
/ adding limitation in
Qu in the future
1B Qu 3d - Streaming
1B Qu 3d - Streaming
1B Qu 3d - Streaming
1B Qu 3e - PKI

 (e) Is Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

suitable for preventing eavesdropping
and interception? Explain briefly.
 1B Qu 3e - PKI
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Yes Correct
description
Describe how this
technology can make the
viewing of actual content
of message difficult

Enhance teaching
Poor Who (Sr/Rr)
Know candidate

+ action (En/De)
Weak concept on key
performance

+ whose (Sr/Rr)

strategies
usage, or not matching + which key (Pu/Pr)
cases
& need to match case
1B Qu 3e - PKI
1B Qu 3e - PKI
1B Qu 3e - PKI
Summary of teaching strategies

 Answer
 show to fit knowledge to question scenario
 should echoing the scenario of the qu

 Need to get more experience in

everyday practice
 Know answer priorities
 Grouping answers in categories and @
Cat. give 1 answer (for qu need >1 ans)
 HKDSE ICT 2018
Exam Paper Marking
Review

(Paper 1B Q2, Q4, Q5)

Key

Know the Know the

suggested marking
answer flexibility

Know Enhance
candidate teaching
performance strategy
 3

1B Q2
Topics / Marks distribution
• (a) Threats and Security on the Internet (4 marks)
• (b) Computer Systems + System Software (4 marks)
• (c) Equity of Access (4 marks)
Scenario
• Peter is an IT technician in a school.
 Peter installs anti-virus software in all computers.
The anti-virus software needs to be updated. Why?
1B Q2a(i) Give two reasons.

 Keeps the software in a

Suggested Answer

Virus definition will be updated

Additional features will be
provided
Program bugs will be fixed
Not compatible to the (updated)
OS
Candidate Performance
Marking Flexibility
good condition to protect the
computer.
 Protects the normal
operation of the computer from
computer virus.
 After the update, it can scan
computer virus in detail.

Teaching Strategy
Good.
Anti-virus software comprises
Candidates seldom gave
reasons other than updating
Engine + Virus Definition
virus definitions.
1B Q2a(i)






 Peter installs anti-virus software in all computers.
Other than anti-virus software, suggest another
1B Q2a(ii) security measure for the school network and give the
security threat that this measure can reduce.
Suggested Answer

prevent installing programs

install a firewall
+ prevent hacking
Candidate Performance
Marking Flexibility
+ prevent malware installation
encrypt data transmission
+ make eavesdropping difficult
fix security vulnerabilities
+ prevent hacking

A good reference of

Teaching Strategy
(categories of) security
measures:
Good
IT Security Guidelines, OGCIO
政府資訊科技總監辦公室
資訊科技保安指引
1B Q2a(ii)





 Teachers sometimes request Peter to install software on
their computers. Peter works on the installation every

1B Q2b(i) Saturday morning. Which mode of operation, batch

processing, parallel processing or real-time processing,
best describes Peter’s work? Explain your answer briefly.

 Peter will work at

Suggested Answer

Batch processing:
Peter collects and
accumulates tasks for a
period of time
and does all in one go.
Candidate Performance
Marking Flexibility
specific time and location
such as Saturday
morning.
 Peter can install
software at the fastest
speed.

Good

Teaching Strategy
Some thought that
software was installed on Clearly differentiate the
many computers at the three modes of operation
same time, and therefore
its operation should be
parallel processing.
1B Q2b(i)




 
 Peter browses a web site to download particular freeware, as
shown below:

1B Q2b(ii) [Choose the operating system for downloading the freeware:

Linux MacOS Windows]
Give two differences between these operating systems.
Linux fully supports a command-line  different types of
interface while the others do not
Suggested Answer

programming language

Marking Flexibility
(different user interface)
support/used,
MacOS usually only run on proprietary
hardware (hardware support)  ease of use,
Different types of software licence  types of application software
Different types of memory on the platform
management methods
Different types of file management  support from the OS
methods companies / communities
Candidate Performance

Fair

Teaching Strategy
Only a small number of Factors / categories to
the candidates correctly compare different
stated two differences. operating systems
Nearly 40% of candidates
got no marks.
1B Q2b(ii)






 The school investigates the digital divide among
students’ families.
1B Q2c(i) Other than household income, suggest two significant
factors that cause the digital divide.
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
Education
 Household size & type
Age
 Gender
Disability
 Racial
Geographical location
Candidate Performance

Good 1. Avoid reasons of same

Teaching Strategy
category
Candidates in general
were aware of the issues 2. Refer to OECD
related to digital divide, Glossary for more
though some only listed discussions and
one factor. examples
https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=4719
1B Q2c(i)




 (same category)
 The school investigates the digital divide among
students’ families.
1B Q2c(ii) Give two ways of narrowing the digital divide.

Improve the access to

Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
ICT equipment
(hardware)  Educate the public that
the benefit of technology
Improve the access to
and how technology can
the Internet
help improve human lives.
Improve the access to
ICT knowledge (learning)
Candidate Performance

1. Avoid reasons of same

Teaching Strategy
Good category
Most of the candidates 2. Introduce various
were able to give two initiatives from
ways. government / NGO to
students
 17

1B Q4
Topics / Marks distribution
• (a) Data Organisation and Data Control (1 mark)
• (b) The Use of Office Automation Software (2 marks)
• DBMS

• (c) Data Organisation and Data Control (4 marks)

Scenario
• Ms Wong uses a database table ACT to store information on extra-
curricular activities in her school. Suppose that ACT has the
following five records
CODE NAME TYPE QUOTA TEACHER
10207 English Club A 20 John Ho
10102 Chinese Club A 40 Mary Li
20215 Japanese Club B 10 Peter Wong
44002 Chess Club B 25 Greg Li
40105 Mathematics Club A 30 Greg Li
 Explain why TEACHER cannot be a primary key for
ACT. Use an example to illustrate your answer.
1B Q4a
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
Two identical teacher
names (Greg Li) in the ! Must have an example
last two records
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Very good.
Over 80% of candidates Read the question
correctly answered this (requirement) carefully
question.
1B Q4a


 What is the output after executing the following SQL
command?
1B Q4b SELECT TYPE, SUM(QUOTA) FROM ACT
GROUP BY TYPE
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
A 90 1 mark on GROUP
B 35 1 mark on SUM
(header not considered)
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Practice more on
Good GROUP BY
1B Q4b

 group
 sum

 group
 sum
 Ms Wong defines a rule in CODE for validation: the
sum of the five digits of a value in CODE is divisible
1B Q4c(i) by 10.
In the five records, which value in CODE is invalid?
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
10102 -
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Be mindful when
Good working on numbers
1B Q4c(i)


 QUOTA stores the quota for each activity.
Suggest two validation checks on QUOTA.
1B Q4c(ii)
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
Type check  Format check
Range check  Length check
Presence check  Check digit
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Characteristics of various
validation checks
Good
Practice validation
checks
1B Q4c(ii)




 
 Ms Wong finds that incorrect data can still be entered
into the database table even when validation checks
1B Q4c(iii) are applied. Suggest a way to improve the accuracy
of the input data.
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
Double entry
 Verification
Printout for checking
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Good
Validation:
Weaker candidates reasonableness
mixed up with
Verification:
validation check and
correctness
improving accuracy.
1B Q4c(iii)


 28

1B Q4 (cont’d)
Topics / Marks distribution
• (d) The Use of Office Automation Software (3 marks)
• Spreadsheet

Scenario
A B C D E
1 CODE NAME TYPE QUOTA TEACHER
2 10207 English Club A 20 John Ho
3 10102 Chinese Club A 40 Mary Li
4 20215 Japanese Club B 10 Peter Wong
5 44002 Chess Club B 25 Greg Li
6 40105 Mathematics Club A 30 Greg Li
7
8 Average 25
9
Number of
10 TYPE
activities
11 A 3
12 B 2
 Ms Wong enters a formula in D8 to store the average
quota of the activities. Write down the formula in D8.
1B Q4d(i)
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
! All correct
=AVERAGE(D2:D6)
! sum/count accepted
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Familarise spreadsheet
Good formulae:
About two thirds of the - function
candidates answered (see reserved word list)
correctly
- parameter(s)
1B Q4d(i)


 Ms Wong uses D11 and D12 to store the number of
activities of TYPE=‘A’ and TYPE=‘B’ respectively.
1B Q4d(ii) She enters a formula in D11 and then copies it to
D12. Write down the formula in D11.
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
=COUNTIF 1 mark on COUNTIF()
(C$2:C$6, C11) 1 mark on parameters
Candidate Performance

Fair

Teaching Strategy
Familarise spreadsheet
More than half of the formulae:
candidates did not use
'COUNTIF' in their answer. For - function
those who used 'COUNTIF', (see reserved word list)
only a few of them were able
to answer in correct syntax. - parameter(s)
1B Q4d(ii)

 

 
 33

1B Q4 (cont’d)
Topics / Marks distribution
• (e) Presentation of Information (3 marks)
Scenario
• There are three new extra-curricular activities, namely
Spanish Club, Robotics Club and Fencing Club. Ms
Wong needs to prepare a presentation with several
slides to introduce the activities to students in a morning
assembly. In the presentation, she will use some text
and a photo to describe each activity.
 … Draft the layout design of the presentation, with
annotations.
1B Q4e
At least one page for
Suggested Answer

! Fulfill the requirement as stated

Marking Flexibility
each activity in question:
“with several slides to introduce
A clear heading/topic on the activities to students in a
each slide morning assembly. In the
presentation, she will use some
Proper design for slides text and a photo to describe
with text & images each activity.”
Candidate Performance

Good

Teaching Strategy
About half of the candidates got full mark. Read question carefully
There was no specific format to present
the answer for this question. Candidates
on the requirement
freely expressed their designs in the
given box. Weaker candidates had Discuss with students
difficulty to present their answers clearly. with worked examples on
For example, some candidates did not
indicate whether their drawing was storyboard
included in one slide or a series of slides.
1B Q4e

 one page for each activity  one page for each activity
 heading/topic  heading/topic
 text & images  text & images
1B Q4e

 one page for each activity  one page for each activity
 heading/topic  heading/topic
 text & images  text & images
1B Q4e

 one page for each activity

 heading/topic
 text & images
 38

1B Q5a
Topics / Marks distribution
• (a) Algorithm Testing (3 marks)
Scenario
• Mary designs an algorithm of a number guessing game as follows:
N  100
ANSWER  a random integer between 1 and N inclusive
do
input an integer into GUESS
if (GUESS < 1) or (GUESS > N) then
output "Out of range!“
else if (GUESS <> ANSWER) then
output "Try again!“
until (GUESS = ANSWER)
output "You win!"
 Suppose the value of ANSWER is 19. Suggest an
input value to test the algorithm for each output.
1B Q5a Input Output
Out of range!
Try again!
You win!

Any integer small than 1 or

Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
greater than 100
! Reasonable answers
Any integer between 1 and
accepted
100 inclusive, except 19

19
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Keep it up!
Very good.
Candidates demonstrated their
competence in understanding (In view of the increase in
the algorithm. curriculum time for
algorithm testing)
1B Q5a

1
1
1

1
0
1
 41

1B Q5b
Topics / Marks distribution
• (b) Algorithm Design (4 marks)
Scenario
• Mary plans to make two modifications to the algorithm:
1. If GUESS is smaller than ANSWER,
display "Too small!" and
if GUESS is larger than ANSWER,
display "Too large!" ;
2. Allow users to guess at most 5 times.
1B Q5b(i)
1B Q5b(i)

GUESS < ANSWER

GUESS > ANSWER

K + 1
K = 5
K > 4
K >= 5
 Complete the algorithm below showing the
modifications.
1B Q5b(i)
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
GUESS < ANSWER
GUESS > ANSWER
-
K+1
K = 5 | K > 4 | K >= 5
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Satisfactory Practice more in
Just under half of the program writing and
candidates got a full mark. code tracing (conditions)
1B Q5b(i)
0

0
1

0
 If Line 14 ‘if (GUESS = ANSWER) then’ is
omitted, the output of the algorithm may be wrong.
1B Q5b(ii) Why?

As the loop may end due to

Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
K = 5, which does not mean
the user wins. Even if a
player cannot correctly -
guess the answer, the
message will be displayed
anyway.
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Fair
Though many candidates Practice more in program
noted that the loop would writing and code tracing
terminate incorrectly, they (iteration)
did not precisely describe
the cause of the problem.
1B Q5b(ii)

0
 48

1B Q5c
Topics / Marks distribution
• (c) Intellectual Property (2 marks)
• Work and Health Issues (2 marks)
Scenario
• Mary completes the number guessing game and uploads the
program to the Internet for the public to play.
 Mary licenses the program as open source software.
What can users do with the program?
1B Q5c(i) Give two examples.
Suggested Answer

Other people can

Marking Flexibility
- freely use the program
- change the program code to ! Two answers of different
improve the game categories
(change/read/modify)
- freely distribute the game
Candidate Performance

Teaching Strategy
Satisfactory
The need of categorizing
Nearly all candidates got at least answers
one mark. Some candidates
answered this question by giving
two examples of similar nature, Distinctive difference between
and therefore they were only difference licenses
awarded one mark.
1B Q5c(i)
0

1
 Some users install the program on their mobile devices and
play the game for a long time every day, leading to some

1B Q5c(ii) health problems. Suggest two ways to relieve these health

problems, other than taking breaks.
Suggested Answer

Marking Flexibility
Control the brightness of  Posture (RSI)
the screen (filter) ! Two ways of different
Enlarge the font size / Use categories
voice input/output ! Must not be related to
(accessibility function) “taking breaks” (rest)
Candidate Performance

Fair
Some candidates overlooked the
requirement set in the question
(‘other than taking breaks’).
Only less than 20% of the
candidates got a full mark.
Teaching Strategy
1. Common health problems
include RSI and CVS
2. Read the question carefully
for the requirement(s)
1B Q5c(ii)
0

0
Looking Forward
“Algorithm Testing” in HKDSE 2019 onwards
Briefing Session on
DSE ICT Paper 2A
2018
Fair. A high proportion of the candidates correctly gave the required field
names in the tables, but only a small number of them wrote the primary and
foreign keys precisely.
Satisfactory. Many candidates answered well but some provided answers that
were not related to the technical aspects.
Satisfactory. About half of the candidates omitted to input 2018 in the SELECT
clause to match the GRAD parameter.
Almost all candidates correctly answered the deletion of the records from
STUDENT which have just been added to ALUMNUS. However, a high
proportion of them did not delete the corresponding records from PARENT.
Poor. Candidates in general had difficulty in describing the considerations for
data integration.
Good. A high proportion of the candidates were able to give a good design of
the user interface. However, a small number of them used text boxes for data
input without taking the advantage of different input options, such as drop-
down list and check boxes.
Poor. Candidates demonstrated an insufficient knowledge of distributed
database. They did not understand the effects of SELECT and UPDATE
commands with different distribution approaches.
HKDSE ICT 2018

Exam paper marking review

(Paper 2B)
Marking guideline
 Fairness
 Marker not do GUESS of student answer
 Professional
 As students are studying ICT,
 Answer should be more technical /
professional
 Others
 Not accept too general answer
 Not accept answer seems direct copy from
qu
Function of marking review

Know the Know the

suggested marking
answer flexibility

Know Enhance
candidate teaching
performance strategies
Enhance teaching strategies
Paper 2B
Paper 2B

Q1
2B Qu 1

 An oil company has a communication

network connecting its offices in major
cities around the world with oil wells on
land and in the ocean
2B Qu 1a (i)

 (a) The network mainly uses fibre optics

as the transmission medium
 (i) Give two benefits of using fibre optics in
the network.
 2B Qu 1a (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Higher bandwidth Not accept : weight /
Longer trans dist thickness ..
Less interference
Less being intercept

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

Emphasize on
performance

priority of answer

strategies
2B Qu 1a (ii)

 (ii) Suggest another appropriate

transmission medium for establishing a
communication link between offices and
oil wells in the ocean. Give a reason for
your suggestion
 2B Qu 1a (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Microwave / satellite Reasonable
As oil wells are remotes description
with difficult laying of
cables

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 1b (i)

 (b) (i) The communication network

supports both simplex and duplex
communication modes. What are the
differences between these two modes?
 2B Qu 1b (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Simplex – unidirectional Should have both
at one time
direction and time
Duplex – bidirectional at
the same time

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

Care about asking

performance

for example for

strategies
asking for
difference
2B Qu 1b (ii)

 (ii) Give an application of each

communication mode used in the oil
company.
 Simplex communication mode:
 Duplex communication mode:
 2B Qu 1b (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Simplex – equipment Not accept : not oil
send out status to office
well related
Duplex - video
conference between
staff

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

Answer refer to
But need to use oil
performance

scenario provided

strategies
well as scenario
2B
2B Qu 1c (i)

 (c) Assume that the even parity check is

used for error detection.
 (i) Which data packet received, X, Y or Z,
has an error?
 Know the marking Enhance teaching
flexibility strategies
/

/
2B Qu 1c (i)

Satisfactory
Z
answer performance
Know the suggested Know candidate
2B Qu 1c (ii)

 (ii) Occasionally some errors cannot be

detected. Why not? Explain your answer
with an example
 2B Qu 1c (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
even numbers of /
error bits
+ example

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 1c (iii)

 (iii) Suggest an error detection method to

solve the problem in (c)(ii).
 Know the marking Enhance teaching
flexibility strategies
/

/
2B Qu 1c (iii)

Satisfactory
CRC
answer performance
Know the suggested Know candidate
2B Qu 1d

 (d) Assume that the CSMA/CA protocol

is used to coordinate wireless data
transmission in the network. Briefly
describe how collisions are avoided
during data transmission
 2B Qu 1d
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Check the channel to Reasonable
ensure clearness
description
Otherwise wait for
random period of time “random”

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

Care about
performance

CSMA/CA &

strategies
CSMA/CD
Paper 2B

Q2
2B Qu 2a

 2. Mr Li builds a smart home for a

customer, as shown below:
 (a) Use the following IP addresses to
complete the diagram above.
 210.0.205.213, 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.2,
192.168.1.3, 192.168.1.4, 192.168.1.5
 2B Qu 2a
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
External : 210.0.205.213 Only internal devices
Internal : 192.168.1.1~5 not fixed to any of the
internal IP

Enhance teaching
Very good
Know candidate

Care about
Students are of good
performance

changes in

strategies
knowledge of different
ports of router and its question detail
related IP
2B Qu 2b (i)

 (b) Mr Li considers using wireless

connections in the network.
 (i) Give an advantage of using Bluetooth
over Wi-Fi.
 2B Qu 2b (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Lower power Not accept : simply
consumption / not easy
not easy to be
to intercept or interfere
because of short intercept / interfere ;
transmission distance speed issue / cost
issue

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

State answer with

performance

supporting

strategies
information
2B Qu 2b (ii)

 (ii) Give an advantage of using Wi-Fi

over Bluetooth.
 2B Qu 2b (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Longer transmission Not accept : Speed
distance
issue / cost issue

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 2b (iii)

 (iii) Give two advantages of using

Bluetooth over infrared
 2B Qu 2b (iii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
No need to be direct line Accept : more
of sight / with
simultaneously
authentication
connection
Not accept : speed
issue / cost issue

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 2c (i)

 (c) Briefly explain how the following

network design can be applied to a smart
home.
 (i) Virtual Private Network (VPN)
 2B Qu 2c (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
users can remotely access
the devices at the smart
Reasonable
home description re
use of IPsec, the network
security threats can be
- Remote connect
minimised - Higher security

Enhance teaching
Poor
Know candidate

More effort on
performance

VPN T&L

strategies
2B Qu 2c (ii)

 (c) Briefly explain how the following

network design can be applied to a smart
home.
 (ii) Personal Area Network (PAN)
 2B Qu 2c (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Transmission of signal Correct description
without the use of switch
or router - Connection
Reading gather & - Application
analysis for improving

Enhance teaching
Poor
Know candidate

More description
performance

task

strategies
2B Qu 2d (i)

 The Internet of Things (IoT) is the

network of devices and items embedded
with network connectivity. Mr Li
estimates that there will be over 234 IoT
objects worldwide by 2020.
 (d) (i) Briefly explain why IPv6 instead of
IPv4 should be used for IoT by estimating
the numbers of network addresses
supported.
 2B Qu 2d (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
IPv4: 232 or 4.3 x 109 < 234
IPv6: 2128 or 3.4 x 1038 > 234
/

Enhance teaching
Good
Know candidate

More description
Some give vague
performance

task

strategies
answer (not enough
address)
2B Qu 2d (ii)

 (ii) Describe another advantage of using

IPv6 over IPv4, other than the numbers
of network addresses in (d)(i).
 2B Qu 2d (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
QoS / efficient routing / Reasonable
higher security / efficient
description
packet processing

Enhance teaching
Good
Know candidate

Seems students got to /

performance

strategies
know IPv6 over IPv4
not only on addressing
Paper 2B

Q3
2B Qu 3a
 Know the marking Enhance teaching
flexibility strategies
/

Using simulator to
do T&L
Satisfactory
2B Qu 3a
answer performance
Know the suggested Know candidate
2B Qu 3b (i)

 (b) Mr Chan hires a network engineer

and a network administrator for this
project.
 (i) Give a major duty for each post.
 Network engineer
 Network administrator
 2B Qu 3b (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Engineer : design, Reasonable
installation, troubleshoot
description
Admin : admin and
management

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 3b (ii)

 (ii) Suggest two kinds of network testing

that the network engineer should perform
before launching the system
 2B Qu 3b (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Functional test Category based
Loading test answer

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

Category based
Some students gave
performance

answer exercise

strategies
command but correct
test description for student
2B Qu 3b (iii)

 (iii) Mr Chan worries that the response of

the web server might be very slow. He
wants to install a proxy server. Do you
agree? Explain briefly.
 2B Qu 3b (iii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Function of proxy is Reasonable
caching content
description
But uploading photo is
not related

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

Function of Proxy
performance

vs different cases

strategies
2B Qu 3c (i)

 (c) Mr Chan estimates that there are

about 2.5 TB photo files in total in the
system.
 (i) Suggest a backup solution for Mr Chan
using Redundant Array of Independent
Disks (RAID). Write the suggested RAID
type and describe your answer briefly
 2B Qu 3c (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Two 3TB hard Reasonable
disks are used description
under RAID 1 for
mirroring functions

Enhance teaching
Fair
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 3c (ii)

 (ii) Explain why RAID is not sufficient for

disaster recovery and suggest an
additional measure for this
 2B Qu 3c (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Fire or other unexpected Correct description
event can cause both
backup and data being
destroyed at the same
time
Offsite backup

Enhance teaching
Fair
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 3d (i)

 (d) Ransomware is a kind of network

attack that encrypts users’ data files and
demands a ransom to decrypt and
restore the data files.
 (i) Do you think Ransomware applies a
public and private key encryption system
during an attack? Describe how the keys
are used in a public and private key
encryption system to support your answer.
 2B Qu 3d (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
No /
Ransomware only need
a key to encrypt &
decrypt
But PKI need 2

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 3d (ii)

 (ii) Mr Chan worries that the system

might be affected by ransomware.
Suggest two common security measures
which can be used to handle the threat,
other than anti-virus software.
 2B Qu 3d (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Create full backup Other reasonable
Check software before answer
install

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
Paper 2B

Q4
2B Qu 4a
2B Qu 4a (i)
 2B Qu 4a (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
a switch connecting simply a router
the two schools
connecting two
a router connecting the
schools is not
switch with the Internet
accepted

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 4a (ii)
 2B Qu 4a (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
a router connecting the
primary school with the
The existence of
Internet switch is not a must
a router connecting the
secondary school with the
Internet

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B
2B Qu 4b (i)

 (b) (i) Give two benefits of using subnets

in the LAN
 2B Qu 4b (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
increase security Category :
options
- Security
prevent unnecessary - Network traffic
broadcasts - Management

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 4b (ii)

 (ii) Suggest the IP ranges and subnet

masks for the server room and staff
room.
 Server room
 IP address range:
 Subnet mask:

 Staff room
 IP address range:
 Subnet mask:
 2B Qu 4b (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
172.16.1.1 – 172.16.1.254
 255.255.255.0
/
172.16.2.1 – 172.16.2.254
 255.255. 255.0

Enhance teaching
Satisfactory
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 4c

 (c) Give an advantage and a

disadvantage of using DHCP in the LAN.
 2B Qu 4c
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
Adv : reduce entry error Not Accept : describe
/ save time for entry
function of DHCP /
Disadv : Single point of cost issue
failure

Enhance teaching
Fair
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
2B Qu 4d (i)

 (d) Ms Ng finds that sometimes the

videos on the video server cannot be
viewed smoothly on the desktop
computers in the computer classroom
 (i) Why does this network issue happen?
 2B Qu 4d (i)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
- Bottleneck at router /
- Too many traffic

Enhance teaching
Poor
Know candidate

More troubleshoot
Seems students are
performance

cases for students

strategies
not good at
troubleshoot
2B Qu 4d (ii)

 (ii) Suggest a solution for the network

issue without replacing or adding
hardware. Explain your answer briefly
 2B Qu 4d (ii)
answer
Know the suggested

flexibility
Know the marking
- Relocate video server /
- Set max bandwidth

with reason

Enhance teaching
Poor
Know candidate

/
performance

strategies
Summary of teaching strategies

 Answer
 show to fit knowledge to question scenario
 should echoing the scenario of the qu

 Need to get more experience in

everyday practice
 Know answer priorities
 Grouping answers in categories and @
Cat. give 1 answer (for qu need >1 ans)
 2018 ICT
Paper 2C Q1
 Paper 2C Q1
家健建構下列網頁教授數學：
 Paper 2C Q1
a. 家健使用 GIF 格式而非 SWF 格式來製作此
網頁內的動畫橫幅。舉出兩個原因。
Many portable devices support GIF. / (1) x 2
No plugin is required for GIF. /
GIF is less likely to create security problems. /
GIF support transparent background but SWF do not /
Many major browsers will not support SWF by 2020
 smaller file size, more colours
 gif 圖片屬性 (如無損耗壓縮)
 gif 製作過程簡單 / Flash 要特別軟件製作
 










考生表現
尚可。
大多數考生都知道 GIF 格式和 SWF 格式之
間的區別。他們通常關注檔案大小、顏色
選項、交互性和音頻支援的差異。

然而，沒有太多考生能夠列出 GIF 格式比

SWF 格式更受歡迎的原因。
 Paper 2C Q1

(i) 估算此視像未被壓縮時的檔案大小，並以
GB 表示。展示你的計算。

(2)



 Paper 2C Q1
(ii) 家健壓縮這個視像並以 40 Mbps 位元率傳
送。估算此視像經壓縮後的檔案大小，並以
GB 表示。展示你的計算。

(2)
 


 Paper 2C Q1
家健使用五個按鈕來控制此視像，它們是播
放、暫停、停止、快速倒退及快速向前。
(iii) 為簡化設計，哪兩個按鈕可合併為一個新
按鈕？簡略描述新按鈕的功能。
Combine the first two buttons into a new
button that Play and pause functions can be
toggled. (1)
只有合併，而沒有描述



 Paper 2C Q1
(iv) 建議此視像的兩個額外控制鍵，並簡略描
述它們的功能。

Change the display size. / Display subtitle or

annotation of the video. /
Control the volume of the video. (1) x 2
 replay
 share video hyperlink
 download / record / screen capture
 






考生表現
令人滿意。
考生在b(ii) 中表現欠佳，當中大多數人不熟
悉單位之間的轉換（例如 Mbps 轉為 bps，
位元轉為 GB）。

考生表現出對視像控制有良好的理解，並能
夠提出額外的視像控制功能。一些考生在描
述他們提出的功能時相對較弱。
 Paper 2C Q1
(c) 家健考慮使用以下其中一個方法來展示此
網頁內的數學公式。

方法1：利用文本（樣式表）展示此數學公式
方法2：利用圖像（JPEG）展示此數學公式
 Paper 2C Q1
(c) (i) 舉出方法 1 勝於方法 2 的兩個優點。

The file size of the web page is smaller. (storage)

It is easy to edit the content of the formula.
(reusability)
It is easy to change the font style (e.g. font size)
of the text. (format) (1) x 2
 easy to copy
 no need to create graphic
 for screen reader
 







 Paper 2C Q1
(ii) 家健應怎樣做才可讓視障人士獲取此數學
公式？

Add alternative text to the formula. /

Embed audio in the formula. (description of
the formula)
 


考生表現
令人滿意。
考生展示對使用文本（樣式表）在網頁
上顯示數學公式的技巧的理解。

考生能夠從技術上比較使用文本（樣式
表）和圖像來顯示數學公式。
 Paper 2C Q1
(d) 家健在此網頁的元數據內包含兩個不同的
內容屬性，如下所示。就每個內容屬性，寫
出其目的，並建議一個會使用此內容屬性的
互聯網應用。
 Paper 2C Q1
(i) "數學,求和"
目的：
Define the keywords of the web pages to
facilitate web searching. (1)
互聯網應用：
Search engine (1)
 





 Paper 2C Q1
(ii) "UTF-8“
目的：
Define the character set for the content of the
web page. (1)
互聯網應用：
Browser (1)
 


考生表現
欠佳。
少數考生展示對在開發網站時使用元數
據有良好的理解。

特別是，只有極少數的考生能夠將內容
屬性與相關互聯網應用程式聯繫起來。
 2018 ICT
Paper 2C Q2
 Paper 2C Q2
李老師開發一個網上系統，讓學生登記參加
課外活動，其登入頁面是
 Paper 2C Q2
(a) 舉出在點擊登入頁面上的「提交」按鈕後，
於客戶端上進行有效性檢驗的兩個例子。
It can ensure that the text boxes are not empty. /
It can ensure that the username does not contain invalid
characters such as space characters. /
It can ensure that the password is long enough / includes
required types of characters.
presence check / format check / type check / length check
(1) X 2
X range check / limit check / check digit
 






考生表現
良好。
考生總體上對客戶端上作有效性檢驗有良
好的理解。

一些考生混淆了伺服器端上的有效性檢驗
和校驗的含義。
 Paper 2C Q2
(b) 有些黑客編寫程式，不停使用不同的密碼
嘗試登入此網上系統。
(i) 舉出可能會對此網上系統的兩個影響。
The online system might encounter a server
loading issue. /
Slower server performance (1)

Confidential information might be leaked. (1)

 



 Paper 2C Q2
(ii) 建議應對此問題的兩項措施。

Use Capcha / recaptcha /

Limit the number of failed login attempts. /

Use two-way authentication / security questions

/ one-time password

(1) X 2
 


 


考生表現

良好。
佔較大比例的考生能夠理解題目中所描述黑
客的多次攻擊，並指出其對數據私隱，網上
系統的負荷和安全性的影響。

然而，近一半考生未能解釋這些黑客攻擊最
終如何導致相關影響。
 Paper 2C Q2
(c) 學生利用以下登記頁面，從 100 項課外活
動中最多選擇 5 項，並排列其優次。
 Paper 2C Q2
(i) 舉出此登記頁面在設計上的三個潛在問題。

• There are too many activities to be chosen

and it is difficult to navigate. (1)
• It seems that there is no control on
identical priorities. (1)
• It seems that students can choose more
than 5 activities / difficult to view what has
chosen. (1)
 

difficult to navigate.
more than 5 activities.

identical priorities.

difficult to navigate.
 difficult to navigate.

more than 5 activities.

difficult to navigate.

identical priorities.

more than 5 activities.

 Paper 2C Q2
(ii) 草擬一個新登記頁面，以解決上述設計問
題，並描述學生怎樣使用這個新登記頁面。

Tackle each problem  3

Proper description 
 difficult to navigate.


identical priorities.

more than 5 activities.

description

 difficult to navigate.

identical priorities.

more than 5 activities.

description

 difficult to navigate.

identical priorities.

more than 5 activities.

description

 difficult to navigate.

identical priorities.

more than 5 activities.

description

 difficult to navigate.


identical priorities.

more than 5 activities.

description

考生表現
令人滿意。
考生能夠識別出登記頁面中在設計上的潛在
問題。

然而，考生在描述他們的新登記頁面如何減
輕設計問題方面，整體表現欠佳。
 Paper 2C Q2
(d) 李老師在網頁上製作了一個關於課外體育
活動的彩色直線圖。學生利用黑白打印機列
印此直線圖，如下之列印本展示：
 Paper 2C Q2
此列印本上的什麼資訊是含糊的？建議此直
線圖一個屬性的更改來解決此問題。
The lines for Volleyball and Handball cannot be
identified. (1)

Add small figures (data lables) such as squares,

triangles and circles on the lines to illustrate the
sports. /
use different type of lines such as dotted line (1)
 

 
考生表現

尚可。不少考生試圖重新著色圖表。

然而，這並沒有解決題目中所描述以黑白
打印機列印圖表的問題。
2018 DSE 2C Q3Q4
3.a.i
Case 1 (Bandwidth)
The layout is simplified with fewer text and images in the
mobile version as the download speed is slower.

✓ file sizes of multimedia files should be smaller

✓ There are fewer multi-media files. / The print button is
only shown in the desktop version
 ✓

✓
✗ 桌上版比較完整，流動版比較簡單
✗ less function, less information
✗ 未能支援，無法觀看
✗ 多媒體格式不同
✗

✗
3.a.i
Case 2 (Small screen size)
The attributes of the content such as font size is adjusted to
fit the small screen size of mobile devices.

✓ Font/ Image size becomes smaller

✗ The resolution of the mobile version is lower.

✓
3.a.i Case 3
(Screen layout)
The orientation / aspect ratio is different.

✓ Navigation (vertical vs horizontal)

✓ 窄身設計
✓ 流動版主要向上向下滑動瀏覽
✓ 顯示比例不同
✓ 佈局不一樣
 ✓

✓
3.a.i
Case 4 (The user interface, mouse vs touch)

Use more scrollbars and buttons instead of hypertext in the

mobile version.

✓ Button design
✓ Minimise the use of pull-down menu.
✓ The font size becomes larger.
✓ Mobile phone functions such as GPS are integrated.
 ✓

✓
✗ The navigation bar will state on top.
✗ The mobile version does not include plug-in.
✗ The web sites of hyperlinks will be different in the mobile
version.
✗ The compatibility / operating system is different.
✗

✗
3.a.ii
Case 1 (The printout is more viewable in terms
of layout.)
Adjust the margins for printing on paper.

✓ The content is adjusted to one page for printing.

✗ The aspect ratio is different.

 ✓

✗
3.a.ii
Case 2 (Only the necessary information is kept
for printing.)

Remove unnecessary images/ menu/ animation/ video.

✓ The navigation bars and advertisement banners are

Removed.

✗ No hyperlink in the print version

 ✓

✗
3.a.ii
Case 3 (related to the printout)
✓ Adjust the contrast.
✓ The background colour is not applied to the print version
for saving toner.
✓ Adjust the paging. / Page separation in print version

✗ The desktop version is more user-friendly.

✗ The information such as date and temperature cannot be
updated in the print version.
 ✓

✗
✓
✓
3.a.iii

Personalised information such as temperature at users’

location can be displayed.

✓ The temperature and humidity on the top left corner will

be shown according to the location.

✗ Provide real time information

✓
3.a. 尚可

能力較佳的考生能夠針對移動版，分析桌上版的不同設
計範疇。
他們的答案通常涵蓋了頻寬、屏幕尺寸、內容布局和用
戶界面各範疇。

能力較弱的考生提供了較為狹隘的答案，並僅在同一範
疇闡述了多個論點。
3.b.i
Setting 2 supports CD quality. (‘good audio quality’ +
one reason such as higher sampling rate, larger sample size
or more channels)

✓ As Setting 2 has one more channel than Setting 1,

it leads to a better audio quality.

✗ Peter should choose Setting 2 as it is good at

sampling rate, sample size and number of channels.
✗ The sampling rate is out of the limit of human hearing.
✓

✗
3.b.ii

Setting 2 supports a smaller file size.

✓ The downloading time is shorter under Setting 2.

✗ The sampling rate in Setting 3 is

out of the limit of human hearing / too high.
✗ The sampling rate in Setting 3 cannot be supported.
✗ It is not necessary to apply a high sampling rate to the
background music as it will affect the transmission of
weather reports.
✓

✗
3.b.iii

(20☓1024☓1024) ÷ (44.1☓1000) ÷ (16 ÷ 8) ÷ 2 ①

= 118 s
Alternative 1:
(20☓1024☓1024☓8) ÷ (44.1☓1000☓16☓2)
= 118 s or 1.98 min
Alternative 2:
Or (20☓1024☓8) ÷ (44.1☓16☓2)
= 116 s or 1.93 min
Alternative 3:
Or (20☓1000☓1000☓8) ÷ (44.1☓1000☓16☓2)
= 113 s or 1.88 min

(2 marks for correct answer)

✗ Use other setting
✗ round up figures
2

0
3.b 令人滿意

考生熟悉音效檔中取樣頻率、取樣大小和頻道的概念。
2 ①
3 ①
3 ①
4 ①
3.c 優良

考生對幀速率、幀大小和色深的概念有良好的理解，並
能夠針對不同情況選擇最合適的設定。
4.a.i

2563 / 224 / 166 / 16,777,216 ①

✗ 2553 / 16,777,215
 ✓

✗
4.a.ii

Scheme 2 should not be used

because the colours of the text and background are similar
and it is difficult to distinguish the text and background.

✗ The text and background are similar (without mentioning

the colours)
① ①

✗
4. a 良好

然而，能力較弱的考生在 (i) 中回答 2553 這個常見的錯

誤。
4.b

The file size is small for the images that mainly involves line
drawing.
The images can be scaled to any size without loss of quality.
✗ It is easier to create/edit vector graphics (irrelevant)
✗ The image can be enlarged
(without mentioning the quality)
✗ Vector graphics make jagged edges less noticeable
(without mentioning the scaling)
✗ Vector graphics are smaller
(without mentioning the file size)
✗ Vector graphics support interactive elements.
✗ Vector graphics do not affect the resolution
after enlargement.
✗ Vector graphics contain more colours.
✗ Vector graphics have a better image quality.
 ✗

①
①
4.b. 令人滿意

考生對向量圖形和點陣圖有良好的理解。

能力較弱的學生經常以較小的檔案大小為答案，而忽略
了向量圖形是可以縮放到任何大小而不會降低質量這要
點。
4.c

N ← 0
Repeat
B ← myrand / myrand() / (other random function, e.g. rnd)
C ← myrand / myrand() / (other random function, e.g. rnd)
display "___ + " B " = " C
input A
if A = C - B then
display "Correct!"
N ← N + 1
else
display "Incorrect!"
until N = 10
display "You have correctly answered 10 questions"
Generate multiple random questions
Assign random numbers to B and C ①
Try to repeatedly assign random numbers to B and C
①

Check the answers

Check A=C-B condition ①
Display either “Correct” or “Incorrect” messages ①
Store/count the number of correctly answer questions
①

Stop the loop after 10 questions have been answered correctly

Exit condition for the loop (e.g. while N<10)
①
 ①
①
① N cannot be updated
correctly
(N+1 is not assignment)
①

①
①

① ①

①
①

N cannot be updated correctly

 ①
①
①
4.c 尚可

大多數考生都未能為數學遊戲提供正確的手稿程式。
雖然考生一般能夠以獨立的方式包含了變量、子程式調
用、條件分支和循環，但是當上述組件一起使用時，許
多考生都無法表達正確的邏輯流程。

例如，許多考生編寫了一個簡單的循環，在10次迭代後
終止，而題目中是需要一個當10道題目被正確回答時才
終止的循環。

另一個例子是許多考生能夠調用子程式myrand來產生隨
機數，但他們未能將子程式調用置於循環內，以便循環
內每次迭代中產生不同的題目。
4.d

Cookie should be used. The preferences will be stored in

cookies on the client side every time players update their
preferences. Hence, when players visit the web page again,
their preferences will be retrieved from the cookies.

✗ Client-side script / JavaScript / Store in the

browser/account (too general)
✗ Auto-save function
✗ Use ‘remember me’ function
 ①

✗
4.d 令人滿意

大約一半考生能夠使用「小甜餅」(cookies) 來解決所描
述的問題。
4.e

Send the time needed to the server. Retrieve players’

information (rank list) from a database to sort the time. Send
the ranking order back to the client side and display the rank
list.

Server side / server / database

①
Upload data/time
①
Sort/compare/order/arrange in order / from small to large
(time) ①
 ①
① ①

①
①

①
✗ Server sends time of all players to clients. Browser uses
the client side to get the rank.
✗ Arrange the time (too general)
✗ Find the rank
✗ Sort the name
✗ Sort the ranking
✗
4.e 令人滿意

大多數考生對客戶機／伺服器模型有良好的理解，
並能夠識別客戶端數據（客戶端完成遊戲所需的時間）
和伺服器端數據（存儲於數據庫內的時間或當前的等級
列表）。

然而，只有少數能力較佳的考生能夠描述產生世界排名
列表的過程，
其中包括系統化數據流程和精確的算法。
 2018 HKDSE ICT-D
sharing workshop
(popularity of the Elective Part : 21%, 1238 candidates)

2018-11-01 (pm)

Candidates Range Star

Performance Poor *
Fair **
Satisfactory ***
Good ****
Excellent *****
Q1
Tom writes a subprogram F1 to process a global integer array, A, of size n. The pseudocode for F1 is:

Subprogram F1
isStop  FALSE
pos  n - 1
while isStop <> TRUE do
if A[pos] = 1 then
A[pos]  0
pos  pos – 1
else
A[pos]  1
isStop  TRUE

Suppose that n = 8.

(a) (i) Suppose that the initial content of A is the binary representation of the decimal value 1:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

What is the content of A after executing F1? *****

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Q1
(ii) Suppose that the initial content of A is the binary representation of the decimal value 7:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

What is the content of A after executing F1? *****

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

(1 mark)
(iii) What is the purpose of F1?
Add 1 to the number represented by A. ****
Q1 (b) Tom creates some test data to test boundary cases for F1.

(i) Why does Tom need to test the boundary cases?

Boundary cases testing test the extreme values of the input domain,
e.g. maximum, minimum, just inside/outside boundaries to ensure **
the program is correctly implemented as normal cases. (1 mark)

(ii) Which of the following cases is/are boundary case(s) for F1? Justify your answer.

Case 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Case 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0

Case 3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Case 3.

When add 1 to the maximum value (255), the final value (256) cannot be
represented by A. It confirms the largest value that can be represented is
255 and the program should be able to handle this special case.
**
Q1
(c) Tom plans to write a subprogram F2(m) where m is an integer input parameter. The pseudocode for
F2 is:

Subprogram F2(m)
for i from 1 to m
execute F1

(i) Assume that the initial content of A is:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

What is the content of A after executing F2(4)?

****
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A: 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
(1 mark)

(ii) What is the purpose of F2?

Add m to the value in A. ****
(2 marks)
Q1
(iii) After executing F2(1000), Tom finds that the result is not what he expected. Why not?
A with n = 8 cannot store a value as large as 1000. ***

(1 mark)

(iv) In order to generate the proper result for F2(1000), what change in A should be made? Explain
your answer briefly.

Since 1000 < 210 or 211,

enlarge the array size n from 8 to 10/11.
The minimum size of A should be 10/11. ***
Q2 Mary develops a voice messaging system. The soundtrack of a voice message is recorded by storing its reading at
each sampling time point. For example, a soundtrack with eight sampling time points is:

Sampling time point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Reading 392 392 330 330 330 294 294 294

Method A is used in the system to store soundtracks.

Method A: Store the average reading at every two sampling time points. For example, the soundtrack
above will be stored in the following table:

Sampling time point 1 – 2 3 – 4 5 - 6 7 - 8

Reading 392 330 312 294

(a) (i) Complete the table for the soundtrack above. *****
(1 mark)

(ii) Give one benefit and one drawback of using Method A to store soundtracks.

Benefit:
It occupies less storage space.

****
Drawback: When taking average values, the original data
cannot be reinstated.
Some original data will be missing.
(2 marks)
Q2
Mary considers upgrading the voice messaging system by using Method B to store soundtracks, as shown
below:

Method B: Use a structured data type to represent a pair of values <X,Y>, where

X = reading
Y = the number of sampling time points that X lasts for

In the soundtrack in the example above, as the readings 392, 330 and 294 last for 2, 3 and 3 sampling time
points respectively, <392,2>,<330,3>,<294,3> is used to represent the soundtrack.

(b) Suppose that <420,3>,<430,5> is used to represent a soundtrack using Method B. Use Method A
to represent this soundtrack.

Sampling time point 1 – 2 3 – 4 5 - 6 7 - 8

Reading 420 425 430 430

(2 marks)
*****
Q2 Mary plans to upgrade the voice messaging system.
(c) Suggest two ways to gather users’ requirements.
Interviews 面見, surveys 調查, questionnaires 問卷
X 2 ****
(d) She considers using parallel conversion or direct
cutover conversion for the upgrade. Describe the
conversions and give a benefit of each conversion.
(i) Parallel conversion
Both the original version and the upgrade version run simultaneously
for some period of time. After which, if the criteria for the upgrade
version are met, the original version is disabled.
The risk of the conversion is low. ***
(ii) Direct cutover conversion
The original version is instantly changed to the upgrade version on a
given date.
The cost of the conversion is low. / Parallel run is not feasible in
certain scenario.
***
Q2 (e) Mary uses the programming language Python to write the system.
She reads an extract from an article about Python below:
Python supports multiple programming paradigms including object-oriented and
procedural styles. It has large and comprehensive libraries, regarded as one of
Python’s greatest strengths. Python programs are usually executed by an interpreter.
(i) Describe the characteristics of the object-oriented and procedural
styles in a programming language.
The object-oriented style is that a program is presented by objects物件 / classes類別 /
methods方法 with the use of encapsulation封包, inheritance繼承性 and polymorphism多形性.
The procedural style is that a program consists of a main program/a sequence of instructions to
be executed in the order designed by the programmer. *
(ii) How do these large and comprehensive libraries help Mary and
other programmers? *
The library provides many suitable, ready-to-use subprograms for Mary
and other programmers to develop their own programs. It will
facilitate/shorten/speed up the application development time significantly.
(iii) Briefly describe how an interpreter operates.

It is not necessary to compile a source code in advance. An interpreter will

translate a source code into immediate instructions/efficient intermediate
representation and immediately execute it. *
Q3 Susan plans to write a password checking program to validate passwords. A password is valid only if it contains at
least one capital letter and no space characters. She designs subprograms using some variables, as shown
below:

Variable Description
P A global character array for storing an input password
N A global integer variable for storing the length of the input password

Subprogram Return value

hasCap A Boolean value to indicate whether P has at least one capital letter
noSpace A Boolean value to indicate whether P has no space characters

(a) Write the following subprograms. You may define other variables if necessary.

(i) hasCap function hasCap: boolean;

var i : integer;
temp : boolean;
begin
i := 1;
temp := false;
repeat
if (P[i] >= 'A') and (P[i] <= 'Z') then
temp := true;
i := i + 1; **
until temp or (i > N);
hasCap := temp;
end;
Q3 (a) (ii) noSpace
function noSpace : boolean;
var i : integer;
temp : boolean;
begin
temp := true;
for i := 1 to N do
if (P[i] = ' ') then
temp := false; **
noSpace := temp;
end; all correct

(b) Write a subprogram checkPassWd to return a Boolean value to

indicate whether the password stored in P is valid or not, with the use of
hasCap and noSpace.

function checkPassWd : boolean;

begin
checkPassWd := hasCap and noSpace; **
end;
Q3 C/JAVA Version
int hasCap() {
int i, temp;
i = 0;
temp = 0;
do {
temp = temp || (P[i] >= 'A' && P[i] <= 'Z'); **
i++;
} while (temp || i >= N);
Return temp;
}

int noSpace() {
int i, temp;
temp = 1; **
for (i=0, i < N; i++)
temp = temp && (P[i] <> ' ');
Return temp;
}

int checkPassWd() {
return (hasCap() && noSpace()); **
}
Q3 VB Version
function hasCap() as boolean
dim i as integer
dim temp as boolean
i = 1
temp = false
do
if P(i) >= 'A' and P(i) <= 'Z' then
temp = true
end if **
i = i + 1
loop until temp or i > N
hasCap = temp
end function

function noSpace() as boolean

dim i as integer
dim temp as boolean
temp = true
for i = 1 to N
if P(i) = ' ' then **
temp = false
end if
next i
noSpace = temp
end function

function checkPassWd() as Boolean

checkPassWd = hasCap() and noSpace()
end function
**
Q3
Q3
3
100 ****

The way to search for the password is not changed. On average

the number of passwords to be visited in the list is still 50 (n/2).

The subprogram can stop the loop when it is confirmed that the
password cannot be found in the remaining items in the list with
the use of a sorted list.
On line 6, (FP[i] <> PASSWORD) should be changed to
(FP[i] < PASSWORD). **
Q3

26 < 100 < 27, or log2 100 = 6.64

The maximum number of string comparison = 7. ****
Q4
Q4

10×10×1, 8×8×1, 4×4×1, 2×2×1 (any 2) ***

All Correct **
Q4

for Y from 1 to 10 do try to create outer loop 

for X from 1 to Y do
print a cube at the position (X, Y)
try to create inner loop 
print a cube 
Alternative:
for X from 1 to 10 do
for Y from X to 10 do
print a cube at the position (X, Y)
Q4

10-2 × k

K ***

10

k+n+1
Q4

2
Q4
for j from 1 to 10 do
HollowSQ(2)
***
MUP

for j from 0 to 4 do
SQ(j)
***
MUP