Cambridge IGCSE™ (9–1)

COMPUTER SCIENCE 0984/12

Paper 1 Computer Systems May/June 2023
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 International will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2023 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International A and AS Level and Cambridge Pre-U components, and some
Cambridge O Level components.

This document consists of 10 printed pages.

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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.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 2:

Marks awarded are always whole marks (not half marks, or other fractions).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 3:

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.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 4:

Rules must be applied consistently, e.g. in situations where candidates have not followed instructions or in the application of generic level
descriptors.

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GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 5:

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).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 6:

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.

Mark scheme abbreviations

/ separates alternative words / phrases within a marking point

// separates alternative answers within a marking point
underline actual word given must be used by candidate (grammatical variants accepted)
max indicates the maximum number of marks that can be awarded
() the word / phrase in brackets is not required, but sets the context

Note: No marks are awarded for using brand names of software packages or hardware.

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Question Answer Marks

1 One mark for each correct device: 3

 Actuator
 Printer
 Speaker

Question Answer Marks

2(a) One mark per each correct character in the correct order: 4
 9
 3

 0
 D

2(b)(i)  00001111 1

2(b)(ii) Any one from: 1

 The value becomes incorrect/inaccurate as the right most bits are lost
 It is divided by 8

2(c) Any two from: 2

 Easier/quicker to understand/read/write
 Easier/quicker to debug
 Less likely to make a mistake
 Shorter representation // Takes up less screen space

2(d) One mark for two correct characters, two marks for three correct characters in the correct order: 2
 1
 2
 D

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Question Answer Marks

3(a) Any three from: 3

 A character set is used
 … such as Unicode/ASCII
 Each character has a unique binary value

3(b)(i)  It reduces the file size 1

3(b)(ii) Any four from: 4

 A compression algorithm is used
 … such as RLE/run length encoding
 Repeating words/characters/phrases are identified // Patterns are identified
 … and indexed
 … with number of occurrences
 … with their position

3(b)(iii) Any two from: 2

e.g.
 To save storage space
 To make it quicker to transmit
 To make it small enough to attach to an email
 To reduce the bandwidth needed to transmit

Question Answer Marks

4(a)(i) Two from: 2

 Data is sent one bit at a time
 A single wire is used

4(a)(ii) Any two from: 2

 Data won’t be skewed
 Less chance of interference/crosstalk/corruption/error
 Transmission speed is adequate

4(a)(iii)  The data may be transmitted quicker 1

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Question Answer Marks

4(b)(i)  Router 1

4(b)(ii) Any two from: 2

 A collection of servers
 … that store data in a remote location // that allows data to be accessed remotely
 … that are (normally) accessed using an internet connection

4(b)(iii) Any one from: 1

e.g.
 May be less secure // by example
 May lose access to them if internet connection lost/not available
 Reliant on a third party maintaining the hardware // by example
 Could incur an extra/ongoing fee/cost

Question Answer Marks

5(a)  C 1

5(b)(i) Any three from: 3

 It translates the (high-level language) to low-level language/object code/machine code
 It translates all the code before it is executed
 It creates an executable file

5(b)(ii) Any two from: 2

 It creates an error report after trying to compile
 … displaying all errors in the code
 … that require correction before execution can take place

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Question Answer Marks

5(c) Any three from: 3

e.g.
 Code editors
 Run-time environment
 Built-in interpreter
 Error diagnostics
 Auto-completion
 Auto-correction
 Prettyprint

Question Answer Marks

6(a) One mark for each correct term. 6

 Text
 Web browser // web server
 Web server // web browser
 Session
 Session
 Persistent

6(b) Any three from: 3

e.g.
 Saving personal details
 Storing login details
 Tracking user preferences
 Holding items in an online shopping cart

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Question Answer Marks

7(a) One mark for each part of the diagram (MAX six). 6
The diagram demonstrates:
 Malware downloaded to several computers
 … turning it into a bot/zombie
 … creating a network of bots/zombies
 Third party/hacker initiating the attack
 Bots send requests to a web server at the same time
 The web server fails due to the requests
 Legitimate requests cannot reach the web server

Initiates attack Third party

BOT

Botnet Web
Requests
server
BOT BOT

web server fails due

to too many requests
X
Malware downloaded
to computers turning Cannot connect
them into bots to web server

Computer

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Question Answer Marks

7(b) Any two from: 2

e.g.
 Revenge
 To affect a company’s reputation
 Entertainment value
 To demand a ransom to stop it
 To test a system’s resilience

7(c) Any two from: 2

 Proxy server
 Firewall
 Users scanning their computers with anti-malware

Question Answer Marks

8(a)  C 1

8(b) Four marks from: 4

Any FOUR from:

 It is denary based
 … with numbers between 0 and 255
 It is 32 bits
 4 sets/groups of numbers
 … separated by dots

Any TWO from:

 It is a unique address
 It can be static or dynamic
 It can be public or private
 It contains the network prefix
 … and the host number

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Question Answer Marks

9(a) Three from: 3

 Rule base
 Knowledge base
 Interface

9(b) Any two from: 2

 It makes decisions
 … by applying the rules/logic to the facts/knowledge …
 … to provide a result/diagnosis

Question Answer Marks

10(a) Two from: 4

 System software provides services that the computer requires
 … whereas application software provides services that the user requires

One from (system software):

 Utility software // by example e.g. defragmentation software, antivirus, firewall
 Operating system

One from (application software):

 Any suitable example of an application e.g. word processor, web browser, video-editing software

10(b)  Secondary storage // HDD // SSD 1

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