451/1 - COMPUTER STUDIES – Paper 1

JUNE 2022 – 2½hrs

Name……………………………………………………… .Class……………………….....

Instruction to candidates
a) This paper consists of two sections A and B.
b) Answer all the questions in section A.
c) Answer question 16 and any other three questions from section B.
d) All answers should be written in the space provided in the question paper.
e) This paper consists of 12 printed pages.
f) Do not remove and pages from this booklet.
g) Candidates should check the question paper to ascertain that all the pages are printed as
indicated and that no questions are missing.

For Examiner’s Use Only

Section Question Number Candidate’s Score

A 1-15
16
17
B
18
19
20

Total Score

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 SECTION A (40 MARKS)
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION
1. Name the two common types of system units and differentiate them. (2 marks)

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2. Define the following characteristics of a computer system. (2 marks)

(i) Versatile
(ii) Reliable

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3. State any three types of computer programme documentation (3marks)
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4. Name any three effects of ICT on health (3marks)

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5. List one function of a bridge in computer network (1 mark)
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6 (a)Mathare high school managed to construct a computer laboratory but did not have funds for
equipping it with computers. A British company offered to donate some computers to the school
a. After an assessment, it was identified that the supplied computers were the third generation of
computers, state any two characteristics of third-generation computers. (1 Mark)
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 (b)It was noted that after every lesson, the students complained of itchy eyes and mild headache.
State any two reasons for this problem. (2 Marks)
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7 With an aid of a diagram, differentiate between selection control structure and iteration control
structure. (4marks)

8 (a) Auki company is in the process of computerizing its services. List four measures that should be
put into consideration to protect the users in their computerized areas. (2marks)

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(b) Give two reasons why powder and liquid extinguishers are not recommended unlike gaseous
extinguishers. (2marks)
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9 Without proper marketing, a business cannot survive in a competitive environment hence computers
are being used in a number of ways to enhance marketing. List any three ways of ensuring this is
effected. (3marks)
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10 Describe the following terms as used in computers. (3marks)

(i) Tab Key
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Spacebar
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(ii) Clicking
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11 Control unit is an essential component of the CPU. Describe the functions of the control unit.
(2 marks)
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12 (a)Differentiate between buffers and Registers (2 marks)

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(b) Speech recognition devices are used to capture natural sound and convert the input into digital
form. State two problems related to speech recognition devices. (2marks)

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13 Define Solid-state storage and give two examples. (2 marks)

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14 (a) Explain how a pixel affects the resolution of a monitor. (1mark)

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(b) List two types of computer output on microform (COM). (2marks)

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15 Advantages of using ATM cards

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 SECTION B (60 MARKS)
ANSWER QUESTION 16 AND ANY OTHER THREE QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION
16 When writing a computer program using a high-level programming language, it needs to be translated
into object code for it to be understood and executed by the computer.
a. State any two advantages of an interpreter. (2 Marks)
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b. State any three characteristics of the third-generation programming languages. (3 Marks)
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The psedocode below was written by a learner. Use it to answer the questions that follows
Start
Sum=0
For count=0 - 4 do
Print “enter a number (N)”
Input N
If P>10 then
Number out of range
Else
Sum=sum + N
Print sum
End if
End for
Stop
c. Identify the errors in the above pseudocode and re-write it correctly. (3 Marks)
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d. State the function of the above pseudocode (1 Mark)
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e. Draw a flow chart for the corrected pseudocode (6 Marks)
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17 a) State one application of computing where real-time processing is more appropriate than batch
processing and give a reason why (2 Marks)
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(b) i) State three reasons why hospitals have changed from a manual system to a computer-based system
for storing patient records (3 Marks)
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ii) State any three data access methods that can be used to retrieve a patients record in a computerized
system. (3 Marks)
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iii) Other than storing patient records, state any other three ways the computers can be used in a hospital.
(3 Marks)
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c) Data protection rules give legal rights to individuals and state that personal data stored on computer
systems must be kept secure.
i) Give one legal right for personal data. (1 Mark)
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ii ) Give three software methods of protecting data. (3 Marks)
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18 (a) In order to generate information from data items, a set of processing activities have to be
performed on the data items in a specific sequence depending on the desired result. Draw a well
labeled diagram to illustrate data processing cycle.
(2marks)

(b) A data entry clerk experiences some common errors when typing. Most of the time, she finds that:
(i) After every calculation, the result is less than the expected number of digits required
e.g.345.7896543 the result is given as 345.789.
(ii) Different charactersare typed wrongly, for example instead of typing12873457 she types
128734S7.

Identify the two types of errors commonly experienced by the clerk during data processing in (i)
and (ii) above respectively. (2marks)

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(c) State two ways a user can ensure data accuracy is maintained during data processing. (2marks)

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(d)(i) State three advantages of a computerized filing system as used in data processing. (3marks)

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(ii) State two disadvantages of a serial file organization method in computing.

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(iii) Differentiate between distributed processing and interactive processing modes; stating one
application area of each. (4marks)

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19 Networking is said to be important in facilitation of data transfer.

(a) Dr.David, a networking expert trained his students on various data communication aspects. After a
lesson, he asked them to state and explain three modes of data transmission. As a student, what answers
would you provide? (3 Marks)
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(b) Differentiate between LAN and WAN as used in computer networks. (2 Marks)
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(c) State two advantages of fiber-optic transmission media. (2 Marks)
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(d) In a computer network, a server computer must be installed with a network operating system in
order to operationalize a number of network functions. State three functions performed by a network
operating system (NOS). (3 Marks)
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20 (a) Convert the 1010.0112 to decimal equivalent. ( 3marks)

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(b) Perform the following number system conversions. (3marks)

(i) 342.258to binary.

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(ii) 50310 to hexadecimal (3marks)

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(c) (i) Compute the binary arithmetic given below: (3marks)

10111 + 10001 + 101

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(ii) Using 8-bit notation, perform the twos complement of 2510 -1510, leaving your answer in
binary. (4marks)

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