year computing time: 1h 4 5min · below. analyse the specifications and state whether the following...

Computing – Year 11 - 2019 of 16

DEPARTMENT FOR CURRICULUM,

LIFELONG LEARNING AND EMPLOYABILITY

Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes

Educational Assessment Unit

Annual Examinations for Secondary Schools 2020

YEAR 11 Computing TIME: 1h 4 5min

Name: _____________________________________ Class: _______________

Directions to candidates:

Answer ALL questions in Section A and Section B on this paper;

The use of flow chart template is permitted

Calculators are NOT allows

Good English and orderly presentation are important

For office use only:

QUES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Paper

Total

Course

Work

Final

Mark

MAX 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 15 15 85% 15% 100%

MARK


Section A

1. Anne wants to buy a new Computer System and she was thinking of choosing between Computer System A and Computer System B as shown below. Analyse the specifications and state whether the following

statements are true or false.

• 23.8” HD

• Core i5-8400T (8th Gen) • 500GB SSD Hard Disk

• 8GB RAM

Computer System A

• 27” FHD

• Core i7-8700 (8th Gen) • 1TB SSD Hard Disk

• 16GB RAM

Computer System B

F/HD (Full/High Definition) refers to the resolution of the monitor: [1]

Computer System B performs better than Computer System A: [1]

The Hard Disk (SSD) serves as the main memory: [1]

The CPU is a type of secondary storage: [1]

1TB is equivalent to 1000MB: [1]

2. Input and output devices are used to enter data and produce useful information. Fill-in each statement below with the appropriate term from the list below:

Graphics Tablet

Scanner Vector Raster Mouse

The plotter produces this type of high resolution images, represented by lines, curves and polygons: [1]

Used instead of a touchpad: [1]

Used to draw images, animations and graphics: [1]

This type of graphic is best used for non-line art images, also known as a bitmap image and is made

of pixels: [1]

Used to digitise hardcopy images: [1]


3. The operating system (OS) is the most

important software in a computer system.

a. Besides the CPU and I/O management,

Name and describe two other

management features of an OS.

[2]

b. As a systems analyst, Tom was asked for his expertise in suggesting

the appropriate OS for a military computer system. Since the military

needs a system with great accuracy and speed, Tom suggested a real-time OS. Give three characteristics of a real-time OS which justifies

Tom’s preference.

[3]

4. A gaming company employs various

people with different job descriptions.

Name the person in charge of the

tasks listed in the statements below.

Builds and maintains the company’s website: [1]

Designs and maintains the company’s system: [1]

Identifies, troubleshoots and resolves computer

problems: [1]

Develops & maintains the company’s

apps/games: [1]

Develop work-related courses for the employees: [1]


5. The diagram below shows the layout of a chain of supermarkets called Easy Buy.

The owner of Easy Buy has three branches, one in Mellieħa, another in Żejtun and a third one in Gozo. Every branch consists of an independent network.

However, all branches are linked together.

a. What type of network is required to connect all three branches

together?

[1]

b. Name one data security measure that is needed for transferring of

data between branches. Justify your answer.

[2]

c. Bandwidth can impact the network performance. Why? [1]

d. Give an advantage for having the three supermarkets connected. [1]


6. A coffee shop offers a loyalty scheme for its clients. Every receipt issued includes

a barcode which the client can scan from a smartphone app, called ‘Coffee Plus’. It gives one point for every euro spent. When the client accumulates 25 points,

the app generates a digital coupon which can be redeemed at cash point. On redeeming the coupon, the points are updated.

Draw a flowchart that represents the algorithm for the app Coffee Plus.

[5]

7. A check digit is a validation check used to ensure that numbers entered in a

computer system are correct.

Barcode #1

Barcode #2

a. Name and justify by a suitable example another type of validation

check.

[2]

b. Barcode #1 and Barcode #2 above represent the barcodes of two different books. Barcode #1 is 7893232563, where the last digit 3 is the check digit and is calculated using the following algorithm:

- Add the digits at odd numbered positions: 7+9+2+2+6 = 26

- Multiply the result by 3: 26*3 = 78 - Add the digits at even numbered positions: 8+3+3+5 = 19

- Add the two results: 78+19 = 97 - Divide the value by ten (97/10) and subtract its remainder (7)

by 10: 10 – 7 = 3

Using this algorithm, calculate the check digit marked with an ‘x’ for barcode #2

[2]


Space for working:

Answer:

b. Apart from data validation, data verification is also a very important concept in data processing. Briefly explain the term data verification.

[1]

8. Cate downloaded the two jpeg images pic#1 and pic#2. Pic#1 has a 24-bit colour

depth with a resolution of 2460x1980, whilst pic#2 has an 8-bit colour depth

with a resolution of 1290x860.

a. How many bits are required to show pic#2 on the screen? [1]

b. Which of the images is the most suitable to be used for a website?

Explain your answer.

[2]

c. Are these images suitable for a billboard? Explain your answer. [2]

9. The CPU is said to be the brains of the computer where most calculations take place. It is made up of two units the ALU and

the CU.

a. Briefly describe the function of the ALU.

[1]


b. The CPU has a limited Word size. Distinguish between the terms

Byte and Word size?

[2]

c. What is the typical Word size of a modern gaming computer? [1]

d. The Address bus is one determining factor limiting the memory (RAM) size on motherboards. Why is this so?

[1]

10. The diagram below summarises the CPU’s Fetch & Execute cycle.

a. How is RAM involved in the ‘fetch’ part? [1]

b. How is the Control Unit (CU) involved in the ‘decode’ part? [1]


c. The Arduino micro controller is equipped with Atmega 328 CPU

which has a 5-bit instruction set. Define the term instruction set.

[1]

d. Which register holds the result of the processed instruction before

it is stored into RAM?

[1]

e. Briefly explain one factor that allows a CPU to execute more fetch-

execute cycles per second than another CPU.

[1]

11. A database is a collection of information that is organized so that it can be easily accessed, managed and updated.

a. Relationships play an important role in databases. Why are relationships important?

[1]

b. What type of relationships exist in the diagram? [1]

c. Briefly describe the relationship between the Customer table and

the Order table.

[1]


d. Transcription errors are common when entering data in a database.

Name one type of transcription error and give an example to justify your answer.

[1]

e. Using data is very crucial, and for this reason many countries adopted the Data Protection Act (DPA) which is now termed General

Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Briefly describe the purpose of the DPA.

[1]

Section B

12. The digital stopwatch on the right is showing the time taken for an airplane to arrive from

Malta to Rome.

1 : 23 : 38

hours minutes seconds

a. Every section of the time is held in an eight-bit register. Convert the time taken into binary

Hours: [1]

Minutes: [1]

Seconds: [1]

Working space:


b. The time taken for an airplane to travel from Malta to Moscow is

shown below:

Hours: 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Minutes: 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1

Seconds: 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1

What will be the reading on the stopwatch?

: :

hours minutes seconds

[3]

Working space:

c. Convert your answers in a part [b] to Hexadecimal.

Hours: [1]

Minutes: [1]

Seconds: [1]

Working space:


c. Flights can be delayed (D=1) by poor weather conditions (W=1) or

engine failure (E=1). However, even if both conditions are good, flights may also be delayed if a national security emergency (S=1)

occurs.

i. Develop a logic circuit according to these conditions. [5]

Space for logic Circuit

ii. Continue the truth table for the situation above.

W E S D

0 0 0

0 0 1

0 1 0

0 1 1

1 0 0

1 0 1

1 1 0

1 1 1

[1]

13. a. The assembly snippet program below makes use of twos complement binary numbers. Study the snippet and answer the questions below.

x: LDA #00010110 ;Load the accumulator with 00010110

NOT ;NOT the contents of the accumulator

ADD #00001001 ;ADD 00001001 to the accumulator

JNZ x ;Jump to x if accumulator is not 0

i. From the above snippet, give an example of each of:

Opcode: [1]

Operand: [1]

Label: [1]


ii. What will be the final answer after the first execution? Show

your answer in binary and decimal

Binary: [1]

Decimal: [1]

Working Space:

iii. When will the program stop? Why? [1]

b. The JAVA program below repeatedly checks whether a number is even or odd.

1:

2:

3:

4:

5:

6:

7:

8:

9:

10:

11:

12:

13:

14:

15:

class OddOrEven{

public static void main(String args[]){

double num;

for (int count=0; count>10; count++){

System.out.println("Enter number: ");

num = Keyboard.readDouble();

if (_______________)

System.out.println("The number is even.");

else

System.out.println("The number is odd.");

}

}

}

i. Enter the condition in Line 9 to check if a number is even.

if ( ){

[1]

ii. How many times is the user asked to enter a number? [1]


iii. There is an error in the program.

▪ Which line of code has the error?

▪ What is such an error called? ▪ Re-write the statement without error.

Line number: [1]

Error name: [1]

New statement: [1]

c. It was decided that the program should allow the user to decide whether to continue inputting numbers or not after every number

entered. The program should only accept ‘Y’ for Yes, or ‘N’ for No. Complete the source code below:

[4]

class OddOrEven{

public static void main(String args[]){


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END OF EXAM

year computing time: 1h 4 5min · below. analyse the specifications and state whether the following...

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