COMPUTER SCIENCE 2210/01

Paper 1 – Computer Systems

1 hour 45 minutes

Instructions:

● Answer all questions.

● Use a black or dark blue pen. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams.
● Write your name, center number, and candidate number in the boxes provided.
● Write your answers in the spaces provided.
● Calculators are not allowed.

1. A school uses a network to store students' files.

Each computer in the network has an IP address and a MAC address.

(a) Explain the difference between an IP address and a MAC address.

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[4 marks]

(b) Part of a MAC address is given as 3F-2B-A9. Convert the hexadecimal digits to binary.

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[3 marks]

(c) Describe two other uses of hexadecimal in computer systems.

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[2 marks]
(d) A logical right shift of three places is performed on the binary number 11010100.
(i) Complete the binary register after the right shift.

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[1 mark]

(ii) State the effect of this logical shift on the value of the binary number.

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[1 mark]

(e) Convert the denary number -25 to its two's complement binary equivalent in an 8-bit register.

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[2 marks]

2. A company stores sensitive customer information on its website.

(a) Explain how data is transmitted securely using encryption.

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[4 marks]

(b) The website allows customers to upload images and videos, which are compressed to
reduce file size.
(i) Describe the difference between lossy and lossless compression.

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[3 marks]

(ii) Suggest one situation where lossless compression would be more appropriate than lossy
compression.
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[1 mark]

(c) The company is concerned about the possibility of a phishing attack. Explain what a
phishing attack is and how it could compromise the security of their system.

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[3 marks]

3. A computer uses the Von Neumann architecture.

(a) Identify and explain the purpose of the following components in the CPU:
(i) Program Counter (PC)
(ii) Memory Address Register (MAR)
(iii) Accumulator (ACC)

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[6 marks]

(b) The computer has been upgraded from a single-core to a quad-core CPU. Explain how this
upgrade affects the performance of the computer.

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[3 marks]
4. A company uses a mixture of system and application software.
(a) Explain the difference between system software and application software, giving one
example of each.

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[3 marks]

(b) Describe the role of the operating system in managing files and memory

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[4 marks]

5. A company transmits large amounts of data over the internet.

(a) Compare serial and parallel transmission, explaining when each would be appropriate.

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[3 marks]

(b) Data transmission errors can occur. Explain the use of a parity check to detect errors during
data transmission.

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[3 marks]
(c) The company is upgrading its network to improve security. Explain how a firewall can help
secure their system.

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[3 marks]

6. A robot is used to assemble parts in a car manufacturing plant.

(a) Identify two characteristics of a robot and describe how they are used in the factory setting.

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[4 marks]

(b) Explain two benefits of using robots in manufacturing compared to humans.

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[2 marks]

7. A computer system uses ASCII to represent characters.

(a) Explain what is meant by a character set.

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[2 marks]

(b) ASCII uses 7 bits to represent each character. If the computer switches to Unicode, explain
how this would affect the storage of text data.

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[2 marks]
8. A student is using virtual memory on their computer.
(a) Draw a diagram showing how virtual memory is created and used when the computer runs
out of physical memory (RAM).

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[4 marks]

(b) Explain why a computer might need to use virtual memory when running several large
applications.

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[3 marks]

9. Symmetric encryption is used to protect files.

Fill in the blanks using the terms provided:
cipher, key, private, public, plaintext, scrambled, understood.

Data before encryption is called _________. An encryption algorithm uses a _________ to

convert the data into _________ text, making it difficult to be _________ by unauthorized users.
[4 marks]

10. A company uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to protect data on its
website.
Explain how SSL works and describe how it provides a secure connection when customers
access the website.

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[6 marks]

End of Paper