Paper 13 2022 May/June

1. Anya scans an image into her computer for a school project

(a) The scanned image is a bitmapped image. (i) Complete the table to describe the terms about
graphics.

Term Description

Pixel The smallest unit of a digital image or graphic that can be displayed and represented on
- a digital display device. Each pixel is a tiny square of color, and together they form a
- complete image.

File header A section of data at the beginning of a file that contains information about the file such
- as its format, size, resolution, and color depth. The file header helps the computer
- understand how to read and display the file's contents.

(ii) Calculate an estimate for the file size:

Resolution:

1024×512 pixels

Color depth: 8 bits per pixel

Total number of pixels: 1024×512=524,288 pixels

Total bits required: 524,288×8=4,194,304 bits

Converting bits to bytes: 4,194,304÷8=524,288 bytes

Converting bytes to kibibytes: 524,288÷1024=512KiB

Converting kibibytes to mebibytes: 512÷1024=0.5 MiB

Answer: 0.5 mebibytes

(b) The image is compressed using lossless compression.

Lossless compression method: Run-Length Encoding (RLE)

Description: Run-Length Encoding compresses data by reducing the physical size of repeating characters
or bytes. For example, a string of 10 'A' characters (AAAAAAAAAA) could be encoded as 10A. This
method is effective for images with large areas of uniform color, as it reduces the file size without losing
any information.

2. Bingwen’s computer comes with an Operating System and utility software.

(a) Draw one line from each utility software to its correct description.

Utility software Description

Disk formatter Scans software for errors and repairs the problems

Defragmentation Moves parts of files so that each file is contiguous in memory

Back-up Creates a copy of data in case the original is lost

Disk repair Scans for errors in a disk and corrects them

(b) Identify four key management tasks that the Operating System will perform.

Memory management

Process management

File system management

Device management

3. Processor with one general purpose register, the Accumulator (ACC), and several special purpose
registers.

(a) Role of the registers in the fetch-execute cycle:

The Program Counter (PC) holds the address of the next instruction to be loaded.

This address is sent to the Memory Address Register (MAR).

The Memory Data Register (MDR) holds the data fetched from this address.

This data is sent to the Instruction Register (IR) and the Control Unit decodes the instruction’s opcode.

The Program Counter (PC) is incremented.

4. Melinda and her friends set up a peer-to-peer network between their computers to share data.

(a) Describe the key features of a peer-to-peer network.

Decentralized Network: Each computer (peer) in the network can act as both a client and a server,
sharing resources directly with other peers without the need for a central server.

Direct Sharing: Peers can directly share files, applications, and other data, facilitating easy and efficient
sharing of resources.
(b) Describe two drawbacks to Melinda and her friends of using a peer-to-peer network.

Security Risks: Since each peer has access to the shared resources and there is no central authority to
manage security, the network can be more vulnerable to malicious activities such as data breaches and
unauthorized access.

Limited Scalability: Peer-to-peer networks can become less efficient as the number of peers increases, as
each peer might have limited resources to handle the increased traffic and data sharing demands.

(c) Melinda connects her laptop to the internet through her router. (i) Identify whether the task is
performed by the router.

Task Performed by router Not performed by router

Receives packets from devices ✔

Finds the IP address of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) ✔

Directs each packet to all devices attached to it ✔

Stores the IP and/or MAC address of all devices attached to it ✔

(ii) Should Melinda connect to the router using a wired or wireless network and justify your choice.

Option

Wired ✔

Wireless

Justification: Using a wired connection is generally more reliable and faster compared to a wireless
connection, which is beneficial for activities that require high bandwidth and low latency, such as
watching films and playing computer games. A wired connection also tends to be more secure.
(d) Melinda sends emails from her webmail account (email account accessed through a website). Explain
whether Melinda is using the internet, or the World Wide Web (WWW), or both.

Melinda is using both the Internet and the World Wide Web. The Internet is the global network of
interconnected computers that allows data transfer, while the World Wide Web is a service that
operates over the Internet, enabling access to websites and webmail. Sending emails from a webmail
account involves accessing the webmail service through a web browser, which uses the World Wide
Web, and the actual sending of emails relies on the underlying infrastructure of the Internet.

5. Kiara has a washing machine and a refrigerator.

(a) Describe what is meant by an embedded system, using the washing machine as an example.

An embedded system is a dedicated computer system designed to perform specific tasks within a larger
device. In the case of a washing machine, the embedded system controls the machine's operations, such
as water level, temperature, washing cycles, and spin speed, ensuring efficient and effective functioning.

(b) State the purpose of RAM and ROM within the washing machine’s embedded system.

RAM (Random Access Memory): Used for temporary storage of data and instructions that the washing
machine's embedded system needs to execute current operations. It allows the system to quickly read
and write data during the washing process.

ROM (Read Only Memory): Used to store the firmware or software that controls the washing machine's
functions. This software is permanently written into the memory and includes the predefined programs
for different washing cycles and settings.

(c) Explain why the system in the refrigerator is a control and not a monitoring system.

The system in the refrigerator is a control system because it actively manages the refrigerator's
temperature by turning the cooling mechanism on or off based on the temperature readings. A
monitoring system would only observe and report the temperature without making any adjustments,
whereas a control system takes action to maintain the desired temperature range.

1 1 0 97 Load value from memory address 100 (1) into ACC

77 CMP #2 77 1 1 0 97 Compare ACC (1) with 2

78 JPE 91 78 1 1 0 97 Jump if equal (not taken)

79 LDX 110 79 1 97 1 0 97 Load IX with value from address 110

(97)

80 SUB #32 80 65 97 1 0 97 Subtract 32 from ACC (97 - 32 = 65)

81 CMP #65 81 65 97 1 0 97 Compare ACC (65) with 65

82 JPN 86 82 65 97 1 0 97 Jump if negative (not taken)

83 LDM #1 83 1 97 1 0 97 Load 1 into ACC

84 ADD 101 84 1 97 1 0 97 Add value from address 101 (0) to ACC

(1)

85 STO 101 85 1 97 1 1 97 Store ACC value (1) to address 101

86 LDM #1 86 1 97 1 1 97 Load 1 into ACC

87 ADD 100 87 2 97 1 1 97 Add value from address 100 (1) to ACC

(2)

88 STO 100 88 2 97 2 1 97 Store ACC value (2) to address 100

89 INC IX 89 2 98 2 1 97 Increment IX by 1 (97 + 1 = 98)

90 JMP 76 90 2 98 2 1 97 Jump to address 76

76 LDD 100 76 2 98 2 1 97 Load value from memory address 100

(2) into ACC

77 CMP #2 77 2 98 2 1 97 Compare ACC (2) with 2

78 JPE 91 78 2 98 2 1 97 Jump if equal (taken)

91 LDD 101 91 1 98 2 1 97 Load value from memory address 101

(1) into ACC

92 ADD #48 92 49 98 2 1 97 Add 48 to ACC (1 + 48 = 49)

93 OUT 93 49 98 2 1 97 Output ACC value (49)

94 END 94 49 98 2 1 97 End of program