Computer science syllabus 2022-2024

1. Hardware
• Input and output devices 3.2.1-3.2.3
i. Understand what is meant by an input device and why it is required.
ii. Understand what is meant by an output device and why it is required
iii. Understand what is meant by a sensor and the purposes of sensors
iv. Identify the type of data captured by each sensor and understand when each sensor
would be used, including selecting the most suitable sensor for a given context
2. Data storage and compression
• Measurement 1.3.1-1.3.3
i. Understand how data storage is measured.
ii. Calculate the file size of an image file and a sound file, using information given.
iii. Understand the purpose of and need for data compression.
• Data storage devices 3.3.1-3.3.6
i. Understand what is meant by primary storage.
ii. Understand what is meant by secondary storage.
iii. Describe the operation of magnetic, optical and solid-state (flash memory) storage and
give examples of each
iv. Describe what is meant by virtual memory, how it is created and used and why it is
necessary
v. Understand what is meant by cloud storage.
vi. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of storing data on the cloud in comparison to
storing it locally
• Data compression 1.3.4
i. Understand how files are compressed using lossy and lossless compression methods
3. Computer architecture
• The CPU 3.1.1-3.1.5
i. Understand the role of the central processing unit (CPU) in a computer
ii. Understand what is meant by a microprocessor.
iii. Understand the purpose of the components in a CPU, in a computer that has a Von
Neumann architecture
iv. Describe the process of the fetch–decode–execute cycle including the role of each
component in the process.
v. Understand what is meant by a core, cache and clock in a CPU and explain how they can
affect the performance of a CPU
vi. Understand the purpose and use of an instruction set for a CPU
vii. Describe the purpose and characteristics of an embedded system and identify devices in
which they are commonly used
4. Data transmission
• Types and methods of data transmission 2.1.1-2.1.3
i. Understand that data is broken down into packets to be transmitted.
ii. Describe the structure of a packet.
iii. Describe the process of packet switching.
iv. Describe how data is transmitted from one device to another using different methods of
data transmission.
v. Explain the suitability of each method of data transmission, for a given scenario.
vi. Understand the universal serial bus (USB) interface and explain how it is used to transmit
data
• Methods of error detection 2.2.1-2.2.4
i. Understand the need to check for errors after data transmission and how these errors
can occur
ii. Describe the processes involved in each of the following error detection methods for
detecting errors in data after transmission: parity check (odd and even), checksum and
echo check
iii. Describe how a check digit is used to detect errors in data entry and identify examples of
when a check digit is used, including international standard book numbers (ISBN) and bar
codes.
iv. Describe how an automatic repeat query (ARQ) can be used to establish that data is
received without error.
• Encryption 2.3.1-2.3.2
i. Understand the need for and purpose of encryption when transmitting data
ii. Understand how data is encrypted using symmetric and asymmetric encryption
5. Software
• Types of software and interrupts 4.1.1-4.1.4
i. Describe the difference between system software and application software and provide
examples of each.
ii. Describe the role and basic functions of an operating system.
iii. Understand how hardware, firmware and an operating system are required to run
applications software
iv. Describe the role and operation of interrupts.
• Types of programming language, translators, and integrated development environments (IDEs)
4.2.1-4.2.5
i. Explain what is meant by a high-level language and a low-level language, including the
advantages and disadvantages of each
ii. Understand that assembly language is a form of low-level language that uses mnemonics,
and that an assembler is needed to translate an assembly language program into machine
code
iii. Describe the operation of a compiler and an interpreter, including how high-level
language is translated by each and how errors are reported
iv. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of a compiler and an interpreter
v. Explain the role of an IDE in writing program code and the common functions IDEs
provide.
6. The internet and its uses
• Network hardware 3.4.1-3.4.4
i. Understand that a computer needs a network interface card (NIC) to access a network
ii. Understand what is meant by and the purpose of a media access control (MAC) address,
including its structure
iii. Understand what is meant by and the purpose of an internet protocol (IP) address
iv. Understand that there are different types of IP address.
v. Describe the role of a router in a network.
• The internet and the world wide web 5.1.1-5.1.6
i. Understand the difference between the internet and the world wide web
ii. Understand what is meant by a uniform resource locator (URL)
iii. Describe the purpose and operation of hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and hypertext
transfer protocol secure (HTTPS)
iv. Explain the purpose and functions of a web browser.
v. Describe how web pages are located, retrieved and displayed on a device when a user
enters a URL.
vi. Explain what is meant by cookies and how they are used, including session cookies and
persistent cookies
• Digital currency 5.2.1-5.2.2
i. Understand the concept of a digital currency and how digital currencies are used
ii. Understand the process of blockchain and how it is used to track digital currency
transactions
• Cyber security 5.3.1-5.3.2
i. Describe the processes involved in, and the aim of carrying out, a range of cyber security
threats.
ii. Explain how a range of solutions are used to help keep data safe from security threats.
7. Data representation
• Number systems 1.1.1-1.1.4
i. Understand how and why computers use binary to represent all forms of data.
ii. Understand the denary, binary and hexadecimal number systems.
• Convert between
i. positive denary and positive binary
ii. positive denary and positive hexadecimal
iii. positive hexadecimal and positive binary
iv. addition of binary numbers
v. binary bit shifting
vi. negative binary numbers (2s compliment)
• Understand how and why hexadecimal is used as a beneficial method of data representation
• Text, sound and images 1.2.1-1.2.3
i. Understand how and why a computer represents text and the use of character sets,
including American standard code for information interchange (ASCII) and Unicode
ii. Understand how and why a computer represents sound, including the effects of the
sample rate and sample resolution
iii. Understand how and why a computer represents an image, including the effects of the
resolution and colour depth
8. Automated and emerging technologies 6.1.1-6.1.2
i. Describe how sensors, microprocessors and actuators can be used in collaboration to
create automated systems
ii. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of an automated system used for a given
scenario. Including scenarios from:
– industry
– transport
– agriculture
– weather
– gaming
 – lighting
– science
9. Robotics
• What is robotics? 6.2.1-6.2.3
i. Understand what is meant by robotics.
ii. Describe the characteristics of a robot.
iii. Understand the roles that robots can perform and describe the advantages and
disadvantages of their use
• Artificial intelligence (AI) 6.3.1-6.3.3
i. Understand what is meant by artificial intelligence (AI)
ii. Describe the main characteristics of AI as the collection of data and the rules for using
that data, the ability to reason, and can include the ability to learn and adapt
iii. Explain the basic operation and components of AI systems to simulate intelligent
behavior.
10.Boolean logic 10.1.1-10.1.3
• Logic gates
i. Identify and use the standard symbols for logic gates.
ii. Define and understand the functions of the logic gates.
• Use logic gates to create given logic circuits from a:
i. problem statement
ii. logic expression
iii. truth table
• Complete a truth table from a:
i. problem statement
ii. logic expression
iii. logic circuit
iv. Write a logic expression from a:
v. problem statement
vi. logic circuit
vii. truth table
11.Algorithm design and problem-solving 7.1.1-7.1.9
• Design
i. Understand the program development life cycle, limited to analysis, design, coding and
testing
ii. Understand that every computer system is made up of sub-systems, which are made up
of further sub-systems.
iii. Understand how a problem can be decomposed into its component parts.
iv. Use different methods to design and construct a solution to a problem.
v. Explain the purpose of a given algorithm.
vi. Understand standard methods of solution.
vii. Understand the need for validation checks to be made on input data and the different
types of validation check
viii. Understand the need for verification checks to be made on input data and the different
types of verification check
ix. Suggest and apply suitable test data.
x. Complete a trace table to document a dry run of an algorithm
xi. Identify errors in given algorithms and suggest ways of correcting these errors.
xii. Write and amend algorithms for given problems or scenarios, using: pseudocode,
program code and flowcharts.
12.Programming 8.1.1-8.1.8
• Programming concepts
i. Declare and use variables and constants.
ii. Understand and use the basic data types
iii. Understand and use input and output.
iv. Understand and use the concept of sequence.
v. Understand and use the concept of selection.
vi. Understand and use the concept of iteration.
vii. Understand and use the concepts of totaling and counting
viii. Understand and use the concept of string handling.
ix. Understand and use arithmetic, logical, and Boolean operators.
x. Understand and use nested statements.
xi. Understand what is meant by procedures, functions and parameters
xii. Define and use procedures and functions, with or without parameters
xiii. Understand and use local and global variables.
xiv. Understand and use library routines.
xv. Understand how to create a maintainable program.
• Arrays
i. Declare and use one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) arrays.
ii. Understand the use of arrays.
iii. Write values into and read values from an array using iteration.
• File handling
i. Understand the purpose of storing data in a file to be used by a program
ii. Open, close and use a file for reading and writing
13.Databases 9.1.1-9.1.4
• Concept of database
i. Define a single-table database from given data storage requirements.
ii. Suggest suitable basic data types.
iii. Understand the purpose of a primary key and identify a suitable primary key for a given
database table
iv. Read, understand and complete structured query language (SQL) scripts to query data
stored in a single database table