Chapter 2: Communication and

networking technologies: Answers to

coursebook questions and tasks and to
Worksheet questions
Syllabus section covered: 2.1

From the coursebook

Question 2.01
Individual pairs might be shielded with foil. A cable containing multiple twisted pairs might have an outer
shielding of foil or braid. Shielding is used to minimise interference. Interference between individual pairs in a
cable is called crosstalk.

Task 2.01
Distance to travel is 15 000 km
Speed of light is approximately 3 × 108 m s–1
Time taken = distance divided by speed:
15 000 km divided by 300 000 km s–1 = 0.05 s

Question 2.02
Answers will vary.

Task 2.02
The best approach is probably to work in KiB units. The number of bits leaving the buffer in two seconds at 300
Kbps is 300 × 1000 × 2. In KiB, this is (300 × 1000 × 2) ÷ (1024 × 8). A similar calculation using 1 000 000 instead of
300 gives the number of KiB entering the buffer in two seconds. The amounts for different times are just simple
multiples of these values. The difference between inflow and outflow gives net gain. This allows a rough estimate
of the time taken to fill. This in turn allows a rough estimate of the time to empty. Exact values need algebra, but
there is no need to insist on an exact answer.

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 Task 2.03
Type of answer should be: 11000011 01101001 00000110 00100101 / 00011000, where spaces are shown
between the bytes just for readability and where it has been assumed that the suffix is represented in a byte.
Corresponding dotted decimal form is 195.105.6.37/24.

Extension Question 2.01

Number of addresses possible is 2128 which is 3.4 × 1038.
Earth radius = 6371 km. (Students will need to research the data online. We have used a commonly accepted
value for Earth's radius here.) Formula for surface area is 4πr2.
r2 in m2 is 6371 × 1000 × 6371 × 1000 = 4.06 × 1013, so surface area = km2
Therefore, dividing the number of addresses by this area shows that there could be about 6.7 × 1923 addresses
per square metre.

Exam-style Questions
1 a i Twisted pair, coaxial or fibre optic NOT copper. (1 mark for up to 2 examples, 2 for all)
ii Bandwidth, which defines the rate of data transfer. Attenuation, which defines how much the signal
degrades over time. Interference, which is how much the signal might be affected by external factors.
Need for repeaters, which is determined by the extent of attenuation and interference. (1 per factor +
1 per explanation, max 4)
b i This might be answered by choosing from radio, microwave or infrared, for example: radio can
penetrate walls, infrared has the best bandwidth; alternatively, they might argue that within a room or
a building wireless is sensible. (1 + 1 for explanation)
ii No infrastructure needed, no drilling holes in walls or digging tunnels underground. Repeaters are
needed less often for wireless transmission. (1)
iii If wireless is used outside a building it can be affected by weather conditions. Not guided.
More interference likely. (1)
c i Public switched telephone network, POTS, or provides telephone connections. (1)
ii 1 mark each for any of the following. (max 3)
 Could provide dial-up connection through a modem to allow data transfer.
 Could provide a leased line dedicated data connection.
 These would allow connections between buildings on the site.
 Alternatively could provide access points for WiFi set up in individual rooms or buildings.
Note that the three marks for this question require some detail in the explanation. Should explain that
connections between buildings could involve PSTN support.
2 a i Database (1), server (1)
ii Any application that involves a website accessible via a URL that includes a domain name. Email using
an email address that includes a domain name. (1 for each type + 1 for each description, max 4)

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 b i Dotted decimal (1). Each byte in the 32-bit address is given its denary equivalent value (1).
ii Class C (1) because the top three bits are 110 when denary 205 is converted to binary (1).
iii Addressing is hierarchical (1). NetID is used for navigation through the Internet (1). Once the
communication reaches the network, the hostID is used to locate the exact destination (1).
c Because the netID is defined by the topmost 24 bits (the first three bytes), the hostID is defined by the
remaining byte (1). Denary 152 converts to binary 10011000 (1).
3 1 mark each for any of the following. (max 6)
 The website makes the video available on sufficient servers to match demand.
 A suitable level of compression is used before transmission.
 Bit rate for transmission is adequate.
 The receiver has adequate bandwidth available.
 The receiver has media player software installed.
 There is a buffer used to temporarily store incoming data.
 The media player controls the input to the buffer.
 The output from the buffer is at the rate required for viewing the video.
 The buffer has a high- and low-water mark.
4 a In an intranet/private network (1) that uses TCP/IP technology (1).
b 1 mark each for any of the following. (max 4)
 There is a defined set of IP addresses designated as only for private use.
 All other IP addresses are for public use.
 Only public IP addresses are recognised on the Internet.
 NAT used to translate a public IP address into one or more private IP addresses.
 Public IP addresses are not used in an intranet.
 One individual private IP addresses can be used in an unlimited number of different intranets.
5 This is Question 9 in 9608 Paper 12 November 2015. At the time of writing the published mark scheme is
available on the Cambridge International School Support Hub (requires registration). The Examiners Report
for the June 2015 series is also available there and this may contain comments specific to this question.
The following are what the author of this chapter in the Teacher Resource would suggest as reasonable
answers with alternatives suggested where appropriate. Where a suggested answer includes bullet points,
each bullet point would be worth one mark up to the maximum mark allocation for the question.
a i 0B.40.FF.5A
ii The expected answer is a description of an IPv4 address, as illustrated in part a i; the explanation could
include:
 The address is defined in 32 bits.
 The address is conceptually treated as consisting of four sections each occupying one byte.
 Each one byte section may be represented by two hexadecimal digits or by a denary number in the
range 0–255.
 The first part of the address defines a network ID and the second part a host ID.

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 b The explanation could begin with definitions of terms:
 URL is Uniform Resource Locator.
 DNS is Domain Name System or Domain Name Service depending on which source you choose (it also
is sometimes used for Domain Name Server but that usage is best disregarded here).
The most important aspects regarding the use of a URL are:
 it is a user-friendly version of an IP address
 the URL includes a domain name
 a browser uses a URL and in particular sends a URL to the DNS.
The most important aspects regarding the use of a DNS are:
 it uses a database that matches a URL to the corresponding IP address
 there is a hierarchical structure to the DNS and its database
 the database on an individual DNS server will only have data for a limited range of URLs.
The above facts can be included in an answer that provides a narrative which begins with the user
entering the URL into the browser and ends with the resource identified by the URL being located.
Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science 9608 paper 12 Q9 June 2015
6 This is Question 7 in 9608 Paper 11 June 2016. At the time of writing the published mark scheme is available
on the Cambridge International School Support Hub (requires registration). The Examiners Report for the June
2015 series is also available there and this may contain comments specific to this question.
The following are what the author of this chapter in the Teacher Resource would suggest as reasonable
answers with alternatives suggested where appropriate. Where a suggested answer includes bullet points,
each bullet point would be worth one mark up to the maximum mark allocation for the question.
a Internet protocol
b  Invalid (6AA and BBBB are too big)
 Valid
 Invalid (257 is too big)
 Invalid (J is not valid in a hexadecimal representation).
c The most important facts are:
 The Internet is a public internetwork that uses public IP addresses.
 Each public IP address is unique.
 An organisation can have a private network (an intranet) which uses the same IP protocols that are
used for the Internet.
 A private network uses private IP addresses.
 A private IP address is unique in a private network but the same address can be used in different
private networks.
 The connection of a private network to the Internet requires the use of Network Address Translation
(NAT).
 A private network is recognised in the Internet by its single unique public IP address.
Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science 9608 paper 11 Q7 June 2016

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 Worksheet 2.1: for testing basic understanding
1 a Twisted pair and coaxial.
b Twisted pair.
c The individual twisted pairs have different twisting rates.
d The tubular construction keeps the electromagnetic field confined within the cable.
2 a 3, 1, 2
b 2, 3, 1
3 a Bandwidth is a controlling factor for the rate of data transmission.
Attenuation is the loss of signal strength as it travels further and further. This is a factor affecting the
need for repeaters.
The capability for directional focusing and for penetration through a wall are two factors that are self-
explanatory.
b Bandwidth increases with increasing frequency, so is best for infrared.
Attenuation also increases with increasing frequency so it is worst for infrared.
Penetration through a wall increases with increasing wavelength and so is best with radio waves.
Directional focusing capability increases with increasing frequency so is best for infrared.
4 A True, B False, C False, D True
It can be helpful to remember that infrared is the nearest to visible light, which can be focussed but will not
penetrate a wall. The terminology associated with radio is misleading. For example, VHF (very high frequency)
has a high frequency compared to other types of radio wave but not compared to infrared.
5 The global positioning system (GPS) is provided by medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites and ten are needed
for global coverage. The cellular phone network is supplemented by low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and fifty
are needed for global coverage.
6 a When there is a shared transmission medium.
b Check the voltage on the transmission medium.
If this indicates activity, wait a random time before checking again.
If no activity is detected, start transmission.
Continuously check for a collision.
If no collision is detected, continue transmission.
If a collision is detected, stop transmission of the message and transmit a jamming signal to warn all end-
stations; after a random time, try again.
c No, Ethernet broadcasts a message. There is no acknowledgement mechanism. If there is evidence of a
collision, a message will be transmitted again. But if there is no such evidence, it is assumed that the
message will be received.

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 7 A True, B True, C False, D False, E False
PSTN stands for Public Switched Telephone Network. A telecom (telecommunications company) is often
called a PSTN. POTS (plain old telephone service) is an informal name for a PSTN. A PSTN often acts as an ISP
(Internet service provider). The Internet is an internetwork, not a WAN and the world-wide-web is a
distributed application running on the Internet. A leased line service is permanently connected, dial-up is
not required.
8 Each individual denary value corresponds to the binary code stored in one byte. One byte can store values
from 0 to 255. Only the first code has all four values in this range.
9 192.38.45.255 is class C, 128.38.45.255 is class B, and 64.38.45.255 is class A.
The first value is definitive; for class A, the most significant bit in the first byte is 0 so values from 128 upward
are excluded. For class B, the most significant bit is 1 but the next bit is 0, so values from 128 up to 191
are available.
10  http identifies the protocol being used.
 :// indicates the end of the protocol definition.
 www indicates that a web address is being defined.
 mirc.co.uk is the domain name (the user-friendly version of the IP address).
 The domain mirc is a subdomain of the domain co, which is a subdomain of the domain uk.
 help/jarkko2.txt is the pathname of a file located on the host identified by the domain name.

Worksheet 2.2: more challenging questions

1 a The values to be used for altitude are 1000 km (= 1000 000 m) for the LEO satellite (given in the question)
and 35 786 km (= 35 786 000 m) for the GEO satellite (constant).
Speed of light ≈ 3 × 108 m s–1.
1000000 35786000
Time to reach nearest point is ≈ 3.3 ms for LEO and ≈ 119 ms for GEO.
3  10 8
3  108
b

The above diagram could be used, where S is the satellite, N the nearest point on the surface of the Earth, F
is the furthest point accessible and C is the centre of the Earth. A scale drawing would allow the distance

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 from S to F to be measured. Alternatively, geometry, in particular Pythagoras’ theorem, could be used
because the line from S to F is a tangent and, therefore, at right angles to the radius from C to F.

 NC  NS 
2
So, SF   CF 2

Using the value 6375 km for the radius of the Earth, the calculations are:
For LEO the distance to the furthest point accessible ≈ 3708 km and the time taken is ≈ 12 ms.
For GEO the distance to the furthest point accessible ≈ 41 676 km and the time taken is ≈ 139 ms.
Considering that a typical processor speed is at least 1 GHz, giving a clock cycle of less than a billionth of a
second, the times for satellite communications in milliseconds are significant. The differences in these
times depending on the position on the Earth’s surface are also significant, but less so for GEO because
the extreme distance to the satellite dominates the time taken.
2 a Sub-netting uses a coding scheme for the hostID – which for a class C IP address uses eight bits.
To represent 30 workstations in a LAN, five bits will be needed because this allows 32 different codes.
There are three bits left to identify the LAN, so eight LANs can be created. If only 14 workstations are to
be connected in one LAN, only four bits are needed to represent them with individual codes.
This leaves four bits to identify LANs, so 16 can be created.
b

Note that only the byte representing the hostID part of the IP address is shown for each workstation. In
each byte, the two least significant bits are used to identify the workstation and the next two are used to
identify the LAN. The four most significant bits are unused so could be set to any value.

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