Answers

Section 5: Information Processing

Check your progress 1

1. In the examples given on page 227, which are automation systems and which
are process control systems?
A. Automation systems: manufacturing chemicals, packing goods, video
recorders, digital televisions, digital cameras, washing machines,
microwave ovens, cell phones.
Control systems: Robots for manufacturing, signalling systems, autopilots,
driverless trains, fuel injection systems.

End-of-topic questions 1

1. Explain the difference between data and information.

A. Data is input into an information system, which then processes it and
produces useful information.

2. List three ways in which data can be processed.

A. Any three from: calculating, printing, searching, updating, displaying,
sorting

3. What kind of proprietary software packages could be used for each of these
tasks:
a. Correspondence
b. Accounts
c. Budgeting
d. Marketing
A. a. word processing
b. accounting package, spreadsheet
c. spreadsheet
d. desktop publishing

1
4. Explain the differences between automation and process control systems.
A. Automation and process control systems both use computers to control
actions; automation systems are simpler and work automatically, whereas
process control systems respond to input from sensors.

5. What kind of software could be used by a scientist to analyse and present

their findings?
A. Spreadsheet

Check your progress 2

1. What are the advantages of using machine-readable documents for inputting

data in a computer system?
A. Machine-readable documents can be scanned by an input device without
any human intervention, which will make the input process both faster and
more accurate.

End-of-topic questions 2

1. What is a turnaround document?

A. A turnaround document is one that is printed by a computer system, but is
later used to input new data into the same system.

2. What are the advantages of using machine-readable documents?

A. Input will be faster and more accurate than a person reading and keying in
data.

3. Why do forms sometimes make you write each character in a separate box?
A. So that each character can be clearly read by the person who is keying in
the data.

2
Check your progress 3

1. An employee was keying in data written on an application form. Which of

these errors could be identified by data verification, which by data validation,
and which by neither?
a. Year of birth is given on the form as 2003 but entered as 2103.
b. Year of birth is given on the form as 1894.
c. Surname is very indistinct on the form; it could be Davis or Davies.
d. The Town of Birth is given on the form as 256.
e. The address given on the form does not exist.
A. a. Data verification
b. Data validation
c. Neither
d. Data validation
e. Neither (although data validation could identify this error if it the system
allowed it to check against a list of addresses)

End-of-topic questions 3

1. What is the main difference between data verification and data validation?
A. Data verification is carried out by a person; data validation is carried out by
software.

2. Why is it better to use double entry for data verification rather than simply
checking over what has been entered?
A. Because a second person is more likely to spot any errors.

3. Describe three methods of data validation.

A. A range check will check whether numerical data is within certain limits.
For example, if an age has been entered, then a range check will spot an
error if the age lies outside the range 0 to 100.
A data type check will check whether the data is of the correct type, such
as number, date or text. For example, an age should be entered as a
number not as text.
An inconsistency check will compare two or more data items. For example,
if someone has given their title as ‘Mr’ then they should have entered their
gender as ‘Male’.

3
End-of-topic questions 4

1. Explain the difference between sequential and direct file access.

A. Sequential access to data is used when the data has to be read from the
start, in sequence. It is the normal method of access for magnetic tape.
Direct access is used when it is possible to jump directly to a file or data
item without reading through all the items stored before it. This is the
normal method used for hard disks.

2. When considering files of records, what is a record?

A. A record is a set of all the data about a single item in a file.

3. What is a sort key?

A. A sort key is a field that is used to determine the sort order of a file of
records.

4. Give an example of a file that would be organised sequentially.

A. Examples could include: list of students in a class, club membership list.

End-of-topic questions 5

1. What is the role of an index file in index-sequential file organisation?

A. An index file is used with a sequential file that has been sorted using a sort
key. The index file gives the position of significant records in the sequential
file, such as the first record that begins with a specific letter in the sort
field.

2. Of the three methods of file organisation (sequential, index-sequential and

random) which, if any:
a. can only be used with direct access media?
b. can be used with both direct access and sequential media?
c. can only be used with sequential media?
A. a. Indexed-sequential and random
b. Sequential
c. None

4
End-of-section questions
Multiple-choice questions

1. The following are statements about data.

I. They are raw facts
II. They can be processed to form information
III. They are results of processing
IV. They can be numbers or characters
Which statements are true?
A I, II and III only
B I, III and IV only
C I, II and IV only
D I, II, III and IV
A. C

2. All of the following are examples of business information activities except:

A Payroll
B Accounts
C Archiving
D Budget
A. C

3. Which of the following devices would most likely be present in a process

control system?
A Robots
B Sensors
C Digital assistants
D Spreadsheets
A. B

4. Which of the following is a machine-readable document?

A A handwritten letter
B Output from a speaker
C A barcode
D All of the above
A. C

5
5. All of the following are validation checks except:
A Consistency check
B Range check
C Accuracy check
D Data type check
A. C

Structured questions

1. a. State the difference between data and information.

b. Define the term ‘information processing’.
c. List three forms of information processing.
A. a. Data is raw facts given to the computer for processing; information is
meaningful facts after processing.
b. Information (or data) processing refers to computer-based systems that
take in data and generate information.
c. Commercial data processing; industrial data processing; control
systems; scientific data processing

2. a. Briefly explain how a process control system works.

b. Give one example of a process control system.
A. a. In process control systems, data is captured automatically using
sensors. The software in the controller then processes the data from
the sensors and determines what action, if any, to take. It then sends
the instructions to other special devices such as motors and switches,
which are part of the device that is being controlled.
b. Robots, air conditioning control system for a large building

3. a. State the difference between a source document and a turn around

document.
b. Give one example of a machine-readable document.
c. Give one example of a human-readable document.
A. a. A source document is one that contains data that is going to be input
into a computer system. A turnaround document is one that is printed
by a computer system, but is later used to input new data into the same
system.
b. A multiple-choice answer sheet to be read by OMR; a bill to be read by
an OCR; a photograph to be read by a scanner.
c. A print-out on paper; a hand-written form.

6
4. a. Distinguish between data validation and data verification.
b. List three ways in which data can be validated.
c. Briefly describe any two of the types of data validation you identified in
your answer Q4b.
A. a. Data verification is the process of checking to ensure that data has
been correctly keyed into a computer system while data validation is
the process to identify data that cannot be correct, when data is
entered.
b. Range checks, data type checks, inconsistency checks
c. Range checks - these check whether numerical data is within expected
limits.
Data type checks - these check whether the data is of the correct type,
such as number, date, or text.
Inconsistency checks - these check one piece of data against another.

5. a. List three methods of file organisation.

b. For each of the methods of file organisation you identified in your answer
to Q5a, give one example of an application where it is used.
c. State the difference between sequential access and direct access.
A. a. Sequential; indexed-sequential; random
b. Sequential – in archiving using magnetic tapes, sorted transaction file
of a company
Indexed-sequential – employee records in database
Random – any information retrieval system e.g. flight information
system
c. Sequential access is retrieving information in the same order it is
physically stored, and the time taken to retrieve the information is
dependent on its physical location. Direct access is retrieving
information in any order and the time taken to retrieve the information is
not dependent on its physical location.