Cambridge Computer Science David Watson ( HODDERCambridge [Ces Computer Science STUDY AND REVISION GUIDE avid Watson Helen Williams ¢> HODDER ? EDUCATION AN HACHETTE UK COMPANY“Hacewe UK policy to use papers that are natural, renewable and reoysable products and made from ‘yood glown in susanable foreis, The logging and manufscturing processes are expected to conform to he ‘environmental regulations of the county of ong, ‘Orders: plese contac: Bookpoin Led, 130 Mikon Park, Abingdon, Oxon OXM4 458. Telephone: (44) 01335 827720. Fax: (48) 01235 400454. Email [email protected] Lines are open fom 9 a.m, 0 8 pam, Monday to Saturday, with «24-hour message answering service. You can also ovder through our ‘wee: wwwhoddereducation com, ISBN: 9781471868689 (© 1GCSE repr em of Cambie Ieraiona xaminaos, Thiet ham een fhough te endnemen proce 2 ‘The quesons eagle none ts aval anor commen sa appear in is book wer wie by {heaton nan eminaon, te way mane WOU’ e Svar eo neve Re dee maybe een € David Watson and Hen Wiliams 2016 i publed in 2016 by Hodder Edueaon, 2a Hachete UR Company armas Hose 50 Viera Embankment London BC#Y ObZ syshdderedcation som Inpresion number 10.98 7.654321 Year 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 Alig reserved. Apa from any we pesmi under UK soph aw, no pate ofthis pubic may be srptelocad er umvet and tray leaf by anyon caer eon nb pect al ‘toring or held within any ivrmatonstorge and reieval ye, withovepamisom weg om he Pullsher rude ence tom the Copyright Lens Agen Lined, Furie Geta of uh ences (fe Fejographi repent) ma) be bein rom the Copyrights Agency Limited, Soon Hous, GHOKiy Seeve, Lindon ECINSTS. Cover photo © Sear -Fotlla Llustrations by Aptara, Ic. ‘Typeset by Aprara, Ine Prined in Inia -A-caalogue record for this te is avalable fom the British Library.Contents Section 1 Section 2 Introduction Theory of computer science 1 Binary systems and hexadecimal Communication and internet technologies Logic gates and logie circuits Operating systems and computer architecture Input and output devices ‘Memory and data storage High- and low-level languages Security and ethics eVaeen Practical problem-solving and programming 9 Problem-solving and design 10 Pseudocode and flowcharts 11 Programming concepts 12 Data structures: arrays and using pre-release material 13 Databases Answers Index 12 21 31 39 49 56 60 69 7 82 87 90 94 105 REVISEDIntroduction ‘Welcome to the Cambridge IGCSE® Computer Science Study and Revision Guide. This book has been written to help you revise everything you need to know for your Computer Science examinations, alongside the Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science Student’s Book. Following the Computer Science syllabus, it covers all the key content along with sample questions and answers, key definitions, and practice exam questions. @ How to use this book © Common errors “Mistakes that students often make, and how to avoid them (2) gepmyniation and nero © Key definitions ———| Definitions of the key terms you need to know Examiner's tips Tips that give you advice to help you give the perfect answer See SSSeoss. @ Sample question Exam-style questions for you to think about ‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 Student's answer Model student answers to see how the question might be answered Examiner's comments Feedback froman examiner showing what wae good, and what could be Improved Exam-style questions Exam questions for you to try to see what you have learned 0 cc Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Exam tips @ Exam tips Know what the examiners can ask you questions about. Find a copy of the IGCSE Computer Science syllabus that you have been studying and are going to be taking the exam for and use your revision guide nd textbook. ‘The list of topics will make an excellent checklist for your revision. If you find something that you don’t understand or haven’t made any notes about, find out about it. Amyehing that is mentioned in the syllabus could be used in an examination question. Read and understand examination questions. ‘What are you being asked to do? 1 Read the question. 2 Understand the type of instruction you are being given: Complete, Describe, Draw, Explain, Give and State all require different actions. 3 If the question makes use ofa specific scenario then make sure that all your answers are relevant to that scenario. For example if the question is security measures for a bank’s website then suggesting taking it offline outside banking hours would not be appropriate! 4 Decide on the information required but remember that you are sitting an IGCSE examination and most answers will require more than just a single word. If you have finished your examination well before the time allorted, you may have fallen into this trap. 5 Always use correct technical terms and avoid the use of trade names. Write about using an operating system rather than using ‘Windows’. 6 Decide how much information is required. 7 Use the instructions e.g. Describe two benefits of using USB connections... 8 ...or look at the number of marks e.g. Write an algorithm to complete Task 2, [5 marks]: at least five statements needed here Know your subject. © Make sure that you understand computer science terms and that you can spell them correctly e.g, validation, phishing, pharming ctc. Learn the definitions and be able to provide examples to show your understanding. There are certain items which need learning so that you can apply them e.g. validation checks, types of translator. © Don’t ignore items in the syllabus that you don’t understand or haven’t got notes on. Do some research and ask. @ Beware of cramming facts into your brain without understanding them or being able to apply them. You need to revise but try and make it interesting rather than just reading and re-reading your notes. Practise examination questions, watch any relevant YouTube videos, use interactive revision programs etc. © Don’t try to learn too much at the last minute. Use the best revision techniques that suit you. If you understand something you can remember it far berter than if you don’t. Finally, complete the programming rasks for paper 2 and be able to explain what you have done and why you have done it. {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 © : z iINTRODUCTION Remember what an exam paper is for, ‘The examiners are trying to test your knowledge and understanding of the subject and your analytical skills. © Examiners rarely put unnecessary words in exam questions so make sure thar you read all of the question carefully. © Make sure that you understand the work that you have done; if you only try to remember it then you will not be able to apply it. ‘© Mark allocations are there to help you to decide on how to use your time sensibly so don’t spend half an hour on a two mark question. Help the examiner and yourself, © Get a good night's sleep or take a decent lunch break before the exam! ‘The most important thing that goes into the exam room is your brain and ie doesn’t function well if you haven't had enough rest. Think of exam preparation in the same way as preparation for taking part in a sporting event. © Stay calm! Everyone gets nervous in some way so work out how best to relax yourself before you start writing © Read the whole paper through first. This is not a waste of time. It helps you to collect your thoughts and to get an idea of how long you can spend on each question. It also helps you to sort out which questions are on which topics. © Read each question through completely before you start to answer it. This helps you to avoid problems like writing the answer needed for part b) in part a) of a question © Use clear English and good handwriting, If the examiner can’t read or understand your answer then no marks! © Don’t use correction fluid, cross out neatly any answers that you don’t want to include and show the examiner where your answer is e.g. answer on page 10. © Don’t cramp your answers ~ the berter ser out that they are the easier they are to mark. © Read through your answers if you have time when you have finished. You ht think of something else to add in that could make the difference ofa grade. © Answer all of the questions. There is no point in leaving blank spaces. You just might get something down that is correct! ‘Ado20}0414 0} | 26941! 131 © sccse camper since Stuty and Resin Gude © Dad Watson an Helen Willan 216Binary systems and hexadecimal Key objectives Objectives of this chapter are to revise: binary systems © use of binary regiters eee hexadecimal ystern ®@ Key definitions Term Definition Denary system Number system based on the number 10) Binary system Number system based on the number 2 Hexadecimal system — Number system based on the number 6. Used for memory dumps, HTML, MAC addresses, web addresses and assembly code/machine code ®@ Binary system Converting binary numbers to denary numbers Example Convert 0110110 1 to denary. Add up binary values where 1s appear: we @ 2 % 8 4 2 1 o}rfifolrfrjofa +2 +8 44 41109 Converting denary numbers to binary numbers Example Convert 1 4 7 to binary. Method 1 Place 1-values in the correct positions until it adds up to 147: 2 6 2 16 424 7 73__ remainder: 36 | remainder: 1 18 remainder: 0 9 | remainder: 0 remainder: 1 femainder: 0 read the remainder trom bottom to remainder: 0 top to get the binary number: remainder: 1 1oo1ro014d IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed sip Adosoroyd 03 1261 BINARY SYSTEMS AND HEXADECIMAL Measurement of memory size Name of memory size ‘Number of bits Equivalent denary value 1 klobyte (18) 28 2a bytes megabyte (114) 2 1008576 bytes 1 gigabyte (18) Be 1073747 82a bytes 1 terabyte (178) 2 109951162776 bytes petabyte (18) 7 11253499906842624 bytes NOTE: 1024 x 1024 = 1048576 and so on. Binary registers ‘A register is a group of bits. ‘A robot vacuum cleaner has three wheels, A, Band C. A can turn through 360°; B and C are fixed but have an electric motor attached: | wheel (rotates) + Wheels 8 and ¢ (xed) = (motor attached) An 8-bit register is used to control the movement of the robot vacuum cleaner: | | Motor & Motorc | Baiection | rection off off bacawaids backwards Motors Motoré direction C dlrecton on on forwards forwards If the register contains 1 0 1010.10 this means ‘moror Bis ON and motor C is ON and borh motors are turning to produce FORWARDS motion’. Effectively, the vacuum cleaner is moving forwards. @ Common error @ Incorrect position values used in the number base systems leading to errors during number conversion. _ @ Sample question F 1a Convert the following binary numbers into denary numbers: @ oo1101idy (i) 11100110 b Convert the following denary numbers into 8-bit binary numbers: @) 68 (i) 240 Student answer 68=01000100 i) 240=11110000 S2+1G+4+241=55 128 +04 +32+44+2=230 é ‘ ( ( © sccse compre sence Stuty and Resin Gude © Das Watson an Helen Willan 216Sample question Examiner's comments The above anewero are correct, but setting out the anoners ike thie could ead to errore sirce net allof the working ls how. would be Letter to set ttout ae follows showing all bt poattione: a@ me 2 16 8 4 2 1 ofolita}ofafafa R416 +4 42 41055 «i 1% 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 128 +64 +32 +4 420230 b es 1B 64 2 16 8 4 2 () 240 me 4 2 16 8 4 2 1 @ Sample question 2. (i) Convert 4096 kilobytes (KB) to megabytes (MB). (ii) Convert 0.2 terabytes (TB) to gigabytes (GB), b A chemical process is controlled by a microprocessor. The process utilises two valves, A and B, to control the chemical addition. There is also a mixer and a heater which can be turned on or off as required. An 8-bit register is used to show the condi of the two valves and heater and mixer. A 1-value means the condition is truc; a 0-value means the condition is false. ; iL] ais | ae | ate | ade med | eat | Agee | iy sn lee te abe nn (What is indicated by: 10100110? (ii) Give the register contents if valve A is open, valve B is closed, and the heater and mixer are both on. (ii) What would the following register contents indicate: 01010101? IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 je 691 BINARY SYSTEMS AND HEXADECIMAL Student answer 20 (i) #MB 204.8 GB valve A is open, valve B is open, the heateris off and the mixer is on 10011010 everyth Examiner's comments While both anewere are correct, it wouldbe better to show your working and eet your anewer out: ae followe: 4 ()) 4096/1024 = 4MB (eince 1024 KB = 1 MB) in the OFF mode (i) 0.2.x 1024 = 204.868 (eince 102466 = 176) » () Because there laa 1-bitin positions one and three, this indicates that these two conditions (BOTH valves open) are true. Positions eixard seven algo have 1-bibs, indicating that the heater ie off anv the mixer i on. Such detail e not necosesry, but It ie included here to explain to the reader how the anewer to the question wae arrived at. (W) Valve Ais open mean that bit position one ehould contain a 1-bit andvahe Bia cloved, which meane bit position four also containe.a 1-bit, The heater eon, which means bit position five containe a 1-bit-and the mixer ls onmeaning btt position seven mut contain a 1-bit. The other four bit positions will containa O-bit. Thi gives: 10011010. Again, thie level of detal io not- usually needed, but itexplaine tothe readerhow the B-bit register is made up. Examiner's tips Not writing out the position values above each digit can lead to errors in the calculation (see question 1). Itis always a good idea to show all your working in any question involving a calculation; if an error is made in the final calculation then all your marks will be lost; but if your working is shown, marks can often stil be awarded for sho: how you attempted to do the calculation, @ Hexadecimal system ‘This is based on a 16-digit number system that uses the digits 0 to 9 and the letters A to F to represent each hexadecimal digit (A= 10, B = 11, C= 12, D = 13, E = 14, and F = 15). Converting binary numbers to hexadecimal numbers Example 1 Convert 1100 0011 1010 — tohexadecimal. Convert each group of 4 binary digits to a hex value: co 3 3A Example 2 Convert 11 1111 1011 0000 _ tohexadecimal. This time we don’t have groups of four binary digits (14 bits in total). Split up into groups of four from the right going left and fill in with Os at the very end where necessary. This gives: 0011 1111 1011 0000 Now convert each group to its hex value: 3 F B O ‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 0 cx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Hexadecimal system Converting hexadecimal numbers to binary numbers Example Comet A 9 E — tobinary Convert each hex digit into a 4-bit binary group to give: 1010 1001 1110 Converting hexadecimal numbers to denary numbers Example Convert 2 A F 4 into denary. Remember the hex values of 4096, 256, 16 and 1 which gives: (2 x 4096) + (10 x 256) + (15 x 16) + (4x 1) i.e. 8192 + 2560 + 240+4=10996 Converting denary numbers into hexadecimal numbers Example Convert 7079 into hex. Method 1 Place hex values in the correct positions until it adds up to 7079: 4005 256 16 1}elal?7 Method 2 Successive division by 16: 16 [ora te [442 | remainder: 7 1 1S [27 temaindet 1010) | ane ralnder fom bottom t top 16 1_| remainder: 11 (8) Sigua honda naror | car batinten Uses of the hexadecimal system “The hexadecimal system is used for: ‘© Memory dumps - when developing new software, this allows the contents of the memory to be scen by the writer, thus enabling crrors to be detected; also used in diagnostics when a computer malfunctions; hex is used since it is easier to use than a long string of binary values. ¢ HTML ~ hypertext mark-up language which is used when writing and developing web pages; uses tags in the definitions, e.g.

© MAC address ~ a media access control address is used to uniquely identify a device on the internet (NIC card used to identify device); MAC addresses can be UAA or LAA. ‘© Web addresses ~ ASCII code (hex values) can be used to replace the URL, €.g. %77%77%7 7%2EW6SHOFKOANG5%72%2S%63%OFXIEX75%OB can be used to replace: www-hodder.co.uk. ‘© Assembly code /machine code ~ using hex makes it easier, faster to write and less error-prone than writing the code in binary. aBed sip Adosoroyd 03 126 {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 °‘Bed 5143 Ado>0y04d 0} e69Iq! $131 1 BINARY SYSTEMS AND HEXADECIMAL @ Common error @ Incorrect position values used in the number base systems can lead to errors during number conversion. @ Sample question +3 a Convert the following binary numbers into hexadecimal numbers: @ 111100101011 (i) 101011111101010 b Convert the following hexadecimal numbers into binary numbers: @) Al4SA Gi) FOAB Convert the following hexadecimal numbers into denary numbers: @) 4A2F i) 2DES d Convert the following denary numbers into hexadecimal numbers: () 6940 (i) 15120 Student answer Sa(i) F2B ¢(i) 18991 (i) STEA (i) 11765 1010 000101001010 d(i) 181¢ 111110011010 1000 Gi) 3810 Examiner's comments 4 While the two answers glvenare correct, youare otrongly advieed to ehow that the binary rurbers are fins: pit into groups of four bits ghing: 1111 0010 1011 (0101 0114-1110 1010 ‘Yu should aleo explain the naed to add the adeltionsl On the fret 4-lt patter, eince nl three bits were given intially By doing thie, you wil indicate you urderetand the process of conversion frombinary to hex. b Aein part ibiea good idea to mention that eachhexigito equivalent to four binary digit; 20 the four hex cigte in both parte will createa 16-bit bnary value giving the two anewere ehown above. © Ite worth showing the hex headings here and each of the steps in the conversion. By doing thio, an examiner vil be able to see your thought processes and award marks even f the final anewer ie incorrect: @ aus 256 16 1 4]a}]2]F givee (4 x 4096) + (10x 256) + (2x 16) +(15% 1) 16304+2560+32+15=18991 0 cx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Sample question w 409s 256 18 2|/o|/F]s5 givee (2 x 4096) + (13 x256) + (15 x 16) + (5x1) =8192 4832842404 =11765 4 Aewith partea toc ite advieable to chow your working, Ne use Methed 2 here: 0 1s [aw t6 [433°] reminder 12 tar | remaher:1 46 1 romana 1 fad he rind fom bottom to top mi cane to et he heradecnl er Tene w 1s sno 16945} remance: 0 16 (| remainder 1 _S_| romance ead he remainder from botom ofp to get tre header number | emance:3 tact he @ Sample question 4 Describe three applications of the hexadecimal system. Student answer 1 Memory dumps Since it is much easier to work with: BS AY1 AFC rather than: 10111001101001000001101011111100 hexadecimal is often used when developing new software or when trying to trace errors in programs. The contents of part of the computer memory can hold the key to help solve many problems. When the memory contents are ‘output to a printer or monitor, this is known asa memory dump. A program developer can look at each of the hexadecimal codes and determine where the error lies. The value on the far left shows the memory location s0 that itis possible to find out exactly where in memory the fault ‘occurs. This is clearly much more manageable using hexadecimal rather than using binary. It a very powerful fault tracing tool, but requires considerable knowledge of computer architecture to be able to interpret the results. 2 HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML) HTML is used when writing and developing web pages. HTML isn'ta programming language but is simply a mark-up language. A mark-up language is used in the processing, definition and presentation of ‘text (for example, to specify the colour of the text). HTML uses tags which are used to bracket a piece of code; for example, «tds starts a standard cellin an HTML fable, and ends it Whatever is between the two tags has been defined. IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed sip Adosoroyd 03 126‘Bed 5143 Ado20y0ud 0} |e69Iq! $131 1 BINARY SYSTEMS AND HEXADECIMAL 3 Media Access Control (MAC) address MAC address refers to a number which uniquely identifies a device on the internet. The MAC address refers to the network interface card (NIC) which is part of the device. The MAC address is rarely changed so that a particular device can always be identified no matter where it is. AMAC address is usvally made up of 48 bits which are shown as 6 groups of hexadecimal digits (although G#-bit addresses are also known): NN-NN-NN=DD-DD-DD or —— NA:NN:NN:DD:DD:DD where the first half (NN — NN — NN) is the identity number of the manufacturer of the device and the second half (DD - DD — DD) is the serial number of the device. 4 Web addresses Each character used on a keyboard has what is known as an ASCII code (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These codes can be represented using hexadecimal values or decimal values. A good example of the use of ASCII codes is the representation of a web address (or URL) such as: www.hodder.co.uk which becomes (using hexadecimal values): WTI YT GIT ALE YB WCF YEH WH EI %72 WLE WS WF ALE %IS WEB www. ho d de r . © ©. vw k 5 Assembly code and machine code “The computer memory can be referred to directly using machine code or assembly code. This can have many advantages to program developers or when carrying out troubleshooting. Using hexadecimal makes it much easier, faster and less error prone when writing code compared with binary. Using true machine code (which uses binary) is very cumbersome and it takes a long time to key in the values. Itis also very easy to mis-type the digits in a ‘sea of 1s and Os! Examiner's comments ‘The anowere given here are thove you might expect from a top grade A student. To obtaina grade A for thie queeticn, it would not realy be neceseary to go into thie amount of depth Only three usea need tobe described and between 6 and 9 marko would be allocated to the question the higher markindeating that: each use requires three diffrent pointe tobe made. G0 which three points in each use wouldgain the maximum marke? Memory dumps: ‘et mark point: gleashortexampleof binary and hexand indicate it is eaeler to work inex 2rd mark point: indicate that a memory dump ebows a partof the computers memory only Srdmark point: indicate that memory dumpe are uood by software developers te locate errors ory eoftiware engineer when the computer malfunctions orf the eyotem become corupted HIM ‘etimark point: used for wrting and developing web pages. 2rd mark point: nota programming language, buts markup language. Sremark point: give eome reference to the use of tage

or use in colour of fort, 6 #FFOOFF MAC addrese: “Tet markpotrt: uniquely identiieo a device on the networkinternet 2nd markpoint: the MAC addrevs refere to the interface card (NIC) in the device Srdmark point: ehowthe MAC addrese format: NN-NN-NN-DD-00-00 0 cx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Exam-style questions Web addresses: ‘Jet markpoint: web addressee ueuslly written ae wawhedderco uk 2ndmarkpolnt: ttle possible to replace each character in the URL. by hex tro Srd mark point: values used are taken from the ASCII code, ‘Assembly code/machine code: ‘et markpoint: machine code and aevembly code are weed by eoftware developers. 2ndmarkpoint: hexio wed to replace a otring of binary valuee/bite, Srd mark point: since hex e uch shorter than binary ible both quicker and leee error prone when entering cade, ‘The above anewers indicate how it le possible to gain maximum marke by eimply pointing out somwof the key features of each use, rather than the need to go into long descriptions Which won't gain additional marks, This le something to bear in mind when finalising your revieion notes. Examiner's tips When converting from binary to hexadecimal, spit the binary into groups of 4 starting from the right and working left fill in with Os if necessary in the last group. Conversely, use 4 binary bits to represent each hex digit when converting from hex to binary, Always use the hex position values (4096, 256, 16 and 1) to avoid errors in the calculation when doing number base conversions. When writing essay-type questions, remember to only pick out the key poir your answer; itis often a good idea to briefly write your main points in pencil in the ‘margin or on additional paper to ensure you miss nothing out. Exam-style questions 1a Convert the following binary number into a hexadecimal number: 110110001111110 (2 marks} b Convert the following hexadecimal number into a binary number: A4F [2 marks] ¢ Convert the following denary number into a hexadecimal number: 6000 [2 marks] 2. a A chemical process uses two pumps (A and B), a cooler and a heater to control the conditions for the chemical reactions. The pumps can be either on or off and the cooler or heater can also be on or off. An B-bit register is used to show the condition of all four components, A 1-value in the register indicates that the condition is true. Pump A Pump 8 Cooler Heater (i) What conditions do the following register contents indicate? 01100110 [2 marks} IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 e aBed siyp Adosoroyd 01 e6941 BINARY SYSTEMS AND HEXADECIMAL (ii) What would be the contents of the 8-bit register if the following conditions occurred? * pump Ais on * pump Bis on * cooler is on, and the heater is off [2 marks} What binary value could be shown in the 8-bit register to show an error condition? Explain your choice of value. [2 marks} b Accomputeris used to store photographs and videos. The average size of each photograph is 8MB and the average size of each video is 400MB, (i) How much memory is needed to store 800 photographs and 80 videos? Give the answer in MB. [2 marks} (il) What is the value fram part b()) in gigabytes (GE)? [1 mark] 3. a Which computer terms are being described here? (i) a number which uniquely identifies a device on the internet, (ii) when the memory contents of a computer are output to a printer or monitor 2 mark-up language used when writing and developing web pages items such as www. example.co.uk used to locate web pages [4 marks} b MAC addresses can be UAA or LAA. Explain the difference between the two terms. [4 marks) 4. a Asystem stores messages as 4-bit binary codes. Each of the 4 bits represents a hexadecimal digit. Convert each of the following codes and indicate which message was stored 1100 1010 ia 1110 1100 0001 1010 0000 [6 marks) b To increase the number of letters that can be used, a 12-bit register is to be used. In this new system A= 1,B=2,..., Y= 25 andZ=26. The five rightmost positions are used initially to represent the letter. The letter U (2 1st letter) would be stored as follows: o|o ofefofofofi ols fo]: ‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 © «sccse comprer sence Study and Resin Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willa 216Exam-style questions (i) Show how the letters L (12th letter) and W (23rd letter) would be stored in a 12-bit register: i: w: [2 marks} (ii) Which letter is represented here? [mark] o}o}olo}ojojof1j1jojojo ¢ Toimprove security, the 5 bits on the right are shifted 1, 2, 3 or 4 places to the left and can then occupy up to 9 bits in total: Possible expansion coniginal bts To indicate how many bits the letter was shifted, the leftmost three bits. can contain the value 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. Thus if the letter U had been shifted FOUR places to the left, the register would now contain the following: 1folofi}oj1lalijololojo possible expansion oral bits (i) Shift your contents for letter W in part b(i) THREE places LEFT. Show the contents of the register after this operation has been done: {2 marks] (ii) Which letters of the alphabet are represented in the following two 12-bit registers following shift operations to the left? [4 marks] o}rfifolofafafa}ajofofo d_ (i) Using the following 8-bit register, explain what happens to the stored value if the register contents are shifted THREE places to the LEFT: {2 marks] o}ofolo}afajafa (ii)Using the following 8-bit register, explain what happens to ‘the stored value if the register contents are shifted THREE places to the RIGHT: [2 marks] o}1}olr}1}ojojo 3 B : i z 3 IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 °‘Bed 5143 Ado>0y04d 0} |e69jq! $131 Communication and internet technologies Key objectives Objectives of this chapter are to revise: © parity check fe: sirpiec halt dupler snd fulecuplec automatic repeat request (ARQ) Ree ee Sam © asynchronous and synchronous data transmission iS Rien esos © universal serial bus (USB) connections a @ Key definitions Term Definition ‘Simplex Data transmission in one direction only Half-duplex. Data transmission in two directions but not at the sarne time Full-duplex Data transmission in two directions at the same time Serial transmission Data is sent one bit at a time over a single wire or channel Parallel transmission Several bits of data are sent down several wires or channels at the same time (e.g. 1 byte of data sent down 8 wires/channels) Asynchronous transmission Data being transmitted in an agreed bit pattern Synchronous transmission A continuous stream of data which is accompanied by timing signals generated by an internal clock @ Data transmission Simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex Simplex — data transmission in one direction only Half: duplex ~ data transmission in two directions but not at the same time. Full-duplex ~ data transmission in two directions at the same time. Serial and parallel data transmission Serial ~ data is sent one bit at a time over a single wire or channel. Parallel ~ several bits of data are sent down several wires or channels at the same time (c.g. 1 byte of data sent down 8 wires/channels). Asynchronous and synchronous data transmission Asynchronous ~ this refers to data being transmitted in an agreed bit pattern; data is grouped together and sent with control bits known as the stare biz and stop bit. Synchronous ~ this is a continuous stream of data which is accompanied by timing signals generated by an internal clock; the timing signals ensure the sender and receiver are synchronised with each other to ensure the bits are reassembled into the correct bit patterns at the receiving end Universal Serial Bus (USB) USB is an asynchronous serial data transmission method which has become an industry standard. When a device is plugged into a computer using one of the USB ports: © the device is automatically detected a known device is automatically recognised and a device driver is loaded @ ifa new device is plugged in, the computer looks for the correct device driver or the user will be prompted 10 download the driver: © sccse comer since Stuty and Resin Gude © Drs Watson and Helen Willan 216Sample question @ Common errors Students often confuse half-duplex and full-duplex data transmission, ‘ Reference to cables rather than wires or channels is a very common crror when referring to data transmission. @ Sample question 1 a@ Name the direction and method of data transmission being described below: (i) data sent in one direction only, one bit at a time, along, a single wire (ii) bytes of data being sent in two directions at the same time using eight channels. b Indicate which of the following are features of serial data transmission or parallel dara transmission (put a tick (1) in the appropriate column): = eae raaaior nia Student answer 1a (i) simplex, serial (ii) full-duplex, parallel b [Feature Serial Parallel ‘aster data vansmision of the two methods ie uses one wite or channel to transit data ¢ ‘works well ver long distances ie ‘overlong distances, bit pattem can be skewed z USB isan example of ts use ¢ ‘works best over short distances 7 Examiner's comments a Theabove anowere are comect but itis necessary to analyse the sentences carefully to pick out the two parts of the data tranemiesion: data sent in one direction only ~ this ls sintplex one bit-at a time along a single wire — this s serial data being sercin two directions at-the same ‘time — this Is full-duplex bytes of data ... using eight channels - thisis parallel b Questions where boxes need to be ticked should be treated with caution to avoid sily errors, Read each statement carefully and decide which category I falls ito ~ itis unlikely any pattem of comect answers will emerge. Always remember to place only one tick for each answer unless told to do otherwise If two ticks are given in any of the above rows, no marks would be awarded for that-row. IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 i B : j z i2 COMMUNICATION AND INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES @ Sample question 2 Describe the differences between asynchronous and synchronous data transmission. Student answer Asynchronous data transmission refers te data being transmitted in an agreed bit pattern. Data bits (1s and 0s) are grouped together and seat with control bits: start bit | oft |i |i lofi jo }s Jo | stop ok control bit contro bit ‘This means that the receiver of the data knows when the data starts and when itstops. This prevents data becoming mixed up; without these control bits, it would be impossible to separate groups of data as they arrived. Synchronous data transmission is a continuous stream of data (unlike asynchronous data which is sent in diserete groups). The data is accompanied by timing signals generated by an internal clock. This ensures that the sender and receiver are synchronised with each other. ‘The receiver counts how many bits (1s and Os) were sent and then reassembles them into bytes of data. The timing mustbe very accurate here since no control bits are sent in this type of data transmission. However, itis a faster data transfer methed than asynchronous and is therefore used where this is an importantissue (for example, in network communications). Examiner's comments ‘The anower given efor atop grade A student. To gain full marke dosent relly require this depth of answer Ifthe quostion carried 4 or 6 marks, then only 4 or 6 of the key pointe need to be mentioned ‘Asynchronous: ‘et: mention the use of control bite 2rd give poosible diagram (20 shown above) or indicate where a otart bit ard etop bit would be ettuated Bird —_glveseme description such as cortrel bits prevent data being mad up by “sandwiching” the required data’ ‘Synchronous: ‘et: thie lea continuous steam of data. 2rch use of tinting signal generated by an internal clock Bnd ensures sender and receiv are aynchronised. 4th: receiver counte number of bite and reapeemblee them into byte of data, ‘Your anewer should contain 4-or 5 of the above pointe Examiner's tips ‘Always remember to analyse statements carefully to make sure you understand which key points are being asked in the question. When writing essay-type questions, remember to pick out only the key points in your ansiver; it is often a good idea to briefly write your main poi ‘margin or on additional paper to ensure you miss nothing out. ‘Bed 5143 Ado20y04d 0} /e69Iq! $131 © cc Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Sample question @ Error checking of data following data transmission Parity checks ‘© Parity checks can be even (even number of I-bits) or add (odd number of 1-bits); one of the bits is known as the pariry bi. ‘© Parity blocks allow an erroneous bie (following data transmission) to be identified. © Ifthe parity ofa byte of data hasn’t changed (but there is still an error following, transmission), then it is impossible using this method to identify where the error has occurred. ‘ Alternative methods need to be employed. Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) © ARQ uses an acknowledgement to indicate data received correctly. © A timeout is used which is the time allowed to elapse before an acknowledgement is received. Checksum ‘© Data is sent in blocks. ‘© An additional value, called the checksum, is sent at the end of the block of data. ‘© The checksum is based on the number of bytes in the block. © Ifthe checksum at the receiver's end doesn’e match the checksum at the end of the data block, then an error in transmission has occurred. Echo check ‘@ Data is returned to the sender. ‘© The sender compares the data sent with the data received back, Ifdifferent, then an error has occurred somewhere in the process. ‘© The problem could be that the data was actually sent correctly, but it was during the process of sending the data back to the sender that the error occurred. @ Common errors ‘@ Students often confuse odd parity with odd numbers, e.g. 01100101 is an. ODD number but actually has even parity. ¢ Students often confuse ARQ and echo check ~ carefully check the key differences above. @ Sample question 3 a What type of parity have the following binary numbers? (@) 10001101 @11100011 b Explain why parity checking is done. IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed sip Adororoyd 03 1262 COMMUNICATION AND INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES Student answer 3a (i) even parity (i) odd parity b To detect errors following data transmission or the copying of data from one medium to another. Examiner's comments In part ib elmportantto indicate that ttle the numberof 1-bite that: determine the parity of the byte of data. In part b, the key partof the answerie that the check le done after the data tranamioelon or after the copying of data operation, @ Sample question 4 Apart from using parity checks, describe three other methods for checking, errors following data transmission. Student answer Avtomatic Repeat Request (ARQ) is another method used te check whether data has been correctly transmitted. Ttuses an acknowledgement (a message sent by the receiver indicating that data has been received correctly) and timeout (this is the time allowed to elapse before an acknowledgement is received). Tf an acknowledgement isn’t sent back to the sender before timeout occurs, then the message is automatically re-sent Checksum is another way to check if data has been changed or corrupted following data transmission. Data is sent-in blocks and an additional valve, the checksum, is also sent-at the end of the block of data. To explain how this works, itis assumed the checksum of a block of data is 1 byte in length. This gives a maximum value of 28 — 1 (i.e. 255). The value 0000 0000 is ignored in this calculation. When a block of data is about to be transmitted, the checksum for the bytes is first of all calculated. This valve is then transmitted With the block of data. At the receiving end, the checksum is re-caleulated from the block of data received. This calculated valve is then compared with the checksum transmitted. If they are the same value, then the data was transmitted without any errors; if the values are different; then a request is sent for the data to be re-transmitted. With echo check, when data is sent to another device, this data is sent back again to the sender. The sender compares the two sets of data te check if any errors occurred during the transmission process. This isn’t a very reliable method. If the two sets of data are different it isn't known whether the error occurred when sending the data in the first place, or if the error occurred when sending the data back for checking! However if no errors occurred then itis another way to check that the data was transmitted correctly. ‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 © sccse camper sence Study and Resin Gude © Drs Wason an Helen Willa 216Internet technologies Examiner's comments ‘The anewer given ie fora top grade A student. To gain full marke docen't relly require thio depth of answer: I che question carried 9 marks, thon only 9 key polnte need ta be mentienedt ARG: ‘Ietmark point: uses an acknowledgement when moseage received 2edmark point: use of the timeout function; the tine allowed to elapse before an acknowledgement io received Sra mark point: iFacknowledgementnot received inthe alowed time, meve.ge fo automatically re-vent, Checkoum: ‘let markpoint: data ie gent in biock. 2ndmarkpolnt: checkeum vent atend of data block Bre mark point: checksum re-calculated at receiving end and iFt:deeer't match checkeum sent,-then an error has occurred Echo check: ‘etmarkpoint: message/data sent-back to sender 2rvimarkpoint: vender comparee original msveage/data with that eent:to them from Srdmark point: if the twomeeeagoo/data not the ame, error message le generated and the meeeage/data iore-sent Examiner's tips Always remember to analyse statements carefully to make sure you understand which key points are being asked in the question When writing essay-type questions, remember to only pick out the key points in your answer; itis often a good idea to briefly write your main points in pencil in the ‘margin or on additional paper to ensure you miss nothing out. @ Internet technologies Internet Service Provider (ISP) An ISP is a company that provides the user with access to the internet; they usually charge a monthly fee. The ISP gives the user an account and email address, Internet Protocol (IP) address Each device is given an IP address as soon as it connects to the internet. The IP address will be different each time the device connects. Media Access Control (MAC) address A MAC address uniquely identifies a device connected to the internet. The MAC address doesn’t usually change (but refer to UAA and LAA) HTML structure and presentation ‘Structure: this is an essential part of HTML documents; it includes semantics and structural mark-up of the documents. Presentation: this is the style of the document — how the document will appear on a user’s computer screen. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http) A set of rules that must be obeyed when transferring files across the internet. aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 je 69 IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 °2 COMMUNICATION AND INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES Web browser Software which allows a user to display a web page on the computer screen; this software interprets/translates the HTML from the website and shows the result. @ Common errors © IP address and ISP are often confused by students ~ make sure you know the difference. @ Students often confuse MAC address with IP address. @ Sample question 5 a What is meant by a URL? b Consider: http:/ Avww.hachette.co.uk /igese_books (W) Which part of this address is the protocol? Which pare of this address is the web server name? (iii) Which pare of this address is the file name? Student answer 5 @ Uniform resource locator (i) bltpl/ (ii) wowhachette.couk (ii) igese_books Examiner's comments In parva, there leno need to give a deecription eince the meaning of the term URL ie all that ie required Part io fartyetraight forward but etuderrte need to be careful not to Include wrong parte.of ‘the addroosin each of the three answers, 2. n par (I) hitpd/mwwhackette co.uk wouldbe incorrect. @ Sample question 6 Expl the difference between an IP address and a MAC address. Student answer An IP address will change each time a device connects to the internet; the address is unique. AMAC address uniquely identifies a device connected to the internet. Examiner's comments Itie necoveary tobe really careful hereto dietinguish between theve wo internet terme. Ivioimportant-to otreee that the P adreve changes each time a device connects to the imtemet. It may be worth mentioning that Ite the NIC in the device that given the MAC addreve in the format: NN-NN-NN-DD-DD-DD. ‘Bed 514 Ado20y04d 0} |e69Iq! $131 © cx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Exam-style questions Examiner's tips It is important to learn these definitions and be aware of the fact that it is easy to confuse many of the terms since they either have a similar name or their functions appear to be very similar Exam-style questions 1. a Describe three things that will happen when a printer is plugged into a computer via one of the USB ports [3 marks} b What type of data transmission is used when connecting a device via a USB port? (2 marks} Explain the difference between asynchronous and synchronous data transmission [3 marks} 2 Eleven bytes of data are transmitted to another computer. Both sender and receiver use even parity checks, A twelfth byte, known as the parity byte, is also sent at the end of this string of data. The following table shows the received bytes: partybe [be2 [bra [bea [bes [owe [bu7 [bea byte 1 ni ° 1 7 7 i a byte 2 o 1 1 0 0 oO 0 0 bytes ° ° 1 ° o ° 1 0 byte ° + 1 ° ° 1 ° 1 bytes: i: 1 1 1 o Q o 0 byte 6 oi ° 1 1 1 ° 1 1 byte7 3 © ° ° 7 1 1 1 bytes ° ° ° ° 1 1 o a byte 1 ° ° 1 ° ° fi 1 bye 1 1 ° 1. ° ° 7 1 bye |o 1 1 ° ° ° 0 Q party byte | 1 oO o o oO o o 1 2 One of the bits has been incorrectly transmitted. Indicate using the bit number and byte number which bit has been incorrectly transmitted. [2 marks} b Explain how you located the incorrect bit value. [3 marks} © Write down the corrected byte value. [1 mark] d Describe two examples of errors, following data transmission, that parity checks would not correctly identify. [4 marks} Name three other methods that could he used to identify errors following data transmission. [3 marks} aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 je 69 IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 °2 COMMUNICATION AND INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES 3. Which four internet terms are being described here? [4 marks} Description Term set of rules that must be obeyed when transfering fas or data acoss the lternet Id gven toa device whan connacts tothe internet; the id changes each time the deve connects Company that provides the user with access tothe Internet fora monthly suscrstion id-which uniquely Gents a device connected tothe internet; this id rarely changes 4. A student made the following five statements. Explain why each is incorrect, ‘When data is transmitted in both directions but not at the same time, using one wire, it is known as parallel simplex data transmission.” b ‘Asynchronous data transmission is a continuous stream of data which Uses timing signals to ensure data is received correctly.’ ‘When a device is plugged into a computer's USB port, the user is always prompted to load the appropriate device driver.” d_ ‘ARQ returns data to the sender; the sender compares the sent data and the received data to see if they match.’ © ‘Abinary number that ends in a 1, e.g. 11001011, is always odd parity.” [10 marks} ‘Ado20}0414 0} | 26941! 131 © cx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Logic gates and logic circuits '@ truth tables ® Key definitions Key objectives Objectives of this chapter are to revise: @ logic circuits NOT, AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR logic gates © logic statements (Boolean algebra) © simplification of logic crcuits S Term Definition Logicgates Logic gates take in binary inputs and produce a binary output Logic circuits Logic circuits are made up of several logic gates and are designed to carry outa specific function Truth tables Truth tables check the output of a logic circuit ®@ Logic gates NOT gate A oa x Descriptio Truth table: How to write this: ‘The ourput, X, is 1 if: input [ Output X= NOTA (logic notation) the input, A, is 0 A x X=i (Boolean algebra) 0 1 1 © AND gate =_e x s— Descriptio Truth table: How to write this: ‘The output; X, is 1 if ir Output X=A AND B (logic notation) both jaca ‘A and B, are 1 aD = Xeab (Boolean algebra) o 0 a c 1 a 1 0 a 1 1 1 OR gate J x a Description: Truth table: How to write this: ‘The output, X, is 1 if: ‘Inputs Output X=A OR B (logic notation) cither input, A or B, is 1 A B x X= a+b (Boolean algebra) o 0 a ¢ 1 1 1 ° 1 1 1 fi IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed sip Adosoroyd 03 126‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0} e69I1! $131 3 LOGIC GATES AND LOGIC CIRCUITS NAND gate a 1 >- Descriptio: Truth table: How to write this: ‘The output, X, is 1 iff Inputs ‘Output ANAND B (logic notation) input A AND input B are a 8 x X=ad (Boolean algebra) NOT both 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 ° NOR gate a >> Description: Truth table: How to write this: ‘The output, X, is 1 if Inputs ‘Output X=A NOR B (logic notation) neither input A nor input A 8 x (Boolean algebra) Bis1 0 a 5 ° 1 o 1 ° ° fi 1 ° XOR gate a —j>- Descriptio Truth table: How to write this: ‘The output, X, is 1 ift Inputs output X=A XOR B (logic notation) (input A is 1 AND input fa x | X=(a.b)+(a.b) Goolean algebra) Bis0) OR 7 3 ‘NOTE: this is sometimes written as: (input A is 0 AND input ° 7 7 {a+b)[email protected]) Bis 1) 7 7 ; 7 7 o @ Common errors © Many marks are lost by nor being very clear with the symbol for each of the 6 logic gates; itis often worth writing the gate’s name inside the symbol if art is not one of your strong poi © Do not confuse the following: PP ww =D he Lo- ‘They do not produce the same result! 0 ocx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Sample question @ Sample question ‘1 Which logic gates are being described here: aat+b ba.b c (a.B)+(@.b) Student answer 1 a OR gate b NAND gate © XOR gate Examiner's comments ‘Youneed to remember that the" eymbcl reprsente AND, the’ eymbol represento OR and repreeente NOT. The only compounellegic gate otatement: te for-the XOR gate, which makeoit eany to epot, @ Sample question 2 Show why (ab) + (7. b) and (a +b) . (2b) both represent an KOR gate. Student answer Use of a truth table: Inputs a ib [Gb [eb +G.y [a+b (@B) [@+h)[email protected]) o 0 0 ° ° ° 1 ° o 1 jo 1 1 1 1 1 roe 4 ° 1 1 1 1 voi bo ° ° 1 ° ° Columns 5 and 8 are the same which proves that the two expressions are the same and the output values correspond with an XOR gate. Examiner's comments When trying to prove that two logic atatemente or logic circulbereprevent the 2ame eyotem iv alnaye beet to use a truth table and compare the bwo outputa. If they are the eam, then ‘thie proves both expreesions are the eame. Ilo adeable to oplit up the expreeeione into emailer parte (ae ehown above) to avoid errore = and make the taek considerably aacier. Examiner’s tips Using Boolean algebra is much easier than trying to write the logic statement in another format such as: (NOT A AND B) OR (B OR C). ‘When trying to prove two logic expressions or logic circuits carry out the same task, make use of truth tables to make the task much easier; the truth table can also help if you are asked to simplify an expression or circuit. aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 je 69 IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 6‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 3 LOGIC GATES AND LOGIC CIRCUITS @ Logic circuits Truth tables Producing the truth table for: ——_____j 5 q Inputs Working output a B c 4 e x 0 0 0 o ° 0 © o 1 0 1 1 ° 1 ° ° ° ° ° 1 1 o © ° 1 0 0 o © ° 1 0 1 o 1 1 1 1 0 7 ° 1 1 1 1 7 ° 1 (Values for d and ¢ are intermediate values to help simplify the solution.) Logic statements Producing the logic statement for: ———— {- a < > X = (AOR NOT B) OR (B AND NOT'C) or using Boolean algebra: (a+b) + (b.<) © cc Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Sample question Logic circuits Producing the logic circuit for: K = ((NOT P AND NOT Q) AND R) OR (NOT Q OR R) Boolean expression: ((P.@) -1) + G+ 8) > @ Common errors ‘© Many marks are lost by not being very clear with the symbol for each of the 6 logic gates; itis often worth writing the gate’s name inside the symbol if art is not one of your strong points. ‘¢ Rather than writing NOT A, students often lose marks by writing A = 0; logic expressions are based on the value 1 and NOT A must be used rather than A= 0. @ Sample question 3 a Draw the logic circuit for the following logic statement: (L.M+T).(M+N) b Complete the truth table for the above logic statement. Student answer 3a — feo IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed sip Adosoroyd 03 126‘Ado20}0414 0} | 26941! 131 3 LOGIC GATES AND LOGIC CIRCUITS b ae work ounput L w[N z b z x a a 0 a i 1 1 a 0 1 0 1 1 1 a 1 a 0 i A Q 0 1 1 0 i 1 1 1 0 a a a 1 0 1 1 0 fo 1 o| 1 1 a 1 1 0 0 1 i 1 1 i 1 1 Examiner's comments The etudenthae comecty labelled the intermediate otages a0 a,b and and theee values hhave been ehown inthe three ‘working columns Inthe truth table. When producing the logic circuit tle much easier to apitit:into four stages © LM (jin and Mwithan AND gate) «@ [then ins on tothe above using an OR gate M+ NM (pin Mare withan OR gate) © expressione 1 and 2 thank nto the third expression with an AND gate, @ Sample question 4.4 Complete the truth table for the following logic circuit. ——t_ >). {> oO D> DD" Inputs Working ‘output 2s errr b Redraw the above logic circuit using AND and OR gates only. 0 cx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Sample question Student answer a Inputs __ Working: Output a ° ° o 0 1 1 1 1 —— = D- 1 )>— Examiner's comments Inparta, the student hae comectly labelled the intermediate stages as 4 £ 4, hard ‘These values have bean shown in the six working colunrein the truth table Whilst this looks lke alot of extra work Ikdoes redhice the possiility of error, but tbaleo makes beac to backtrackin case of any miztakew made, In partb, the student’ has correctly recognised which aroup of NAND gates make up an AND gate and which group of NAND gates make up an OR gate: Repeating group 2 Repeating group 7 Jo— sare as.an rt OR gate + Same asan AND gate Examiner's tips above NAND ‘building blocks recognised, then applying a truth table I? the above NAND ‘building blocks'had not been recognised, then applying a truth table to een eee a each repeating group could be used to find the appropriate einglelogic gate: aula hon leak etcuie always break up the logic eae iGecinent Eeemcra roe dewimurani| A 8 ne “ mone A 2 F 2 = itis worth remembering = & 6 4 i o ‘the ‘building blocks’ used 3 7 2 1 2 bylogeeraitseigners 2 7 1 ; 5 Daur avec | detooeceeo Thine Rap SERENE eH AD Panera = which then alone you to redraw the logic circuit with AND and OR gatee only. shown in part b. = & IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 oe‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 3 LOGIC GATES AND LOGIC CIRCUITS Exam-style questions 1a Write the logic statement which represents the following logic circuit [3 marks} [ -« LP i> | b Complete the truth table for the above system. [4 marks} inputs working output a 8 c x ° ° ° ° ° 1 ° 1 ° ° 1 1 1 ° ° 1 ° 1 1 1 ° 1 1 1 ¢ By checking the truth table, or otherwise, show how the bottom half of the logic circuit in part @ could be reduced to two gates only. Explain all your reasoning. [3 marks} 0 cx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Exam-style questions 2 a Complete the truth table for the following logic circuit. [2 marks} ‘ Db ——__[ )- Inputs ‘Working Output =)-]ele b Which single logic gate can replace the entire logic circuit shown in part a? [mark] ¢ (i) Which logic gate is often used as the building block for more ‘complex logic circuits? [1 mark] (li) Why do companies use ‘off-the-shelf’ logic units to build more complex logic circuits? [2 marks} 3. a Draw the logic circuit which is represented by the following logic statement. (P.q).p+(q + 1) [6 marks] b (i) Draw the logic circuit for: X=(A AND B) OR ((B OR C) AND (B AND C)) [5 marks] (ii) Complete the truth table for this logic circuit [4 marks} Inputs Working Output a ® € x 0 ° ° ° ° 1 o 1 ° ° 1 1 1 ° ° 1 ° 1 7 1 ° 1 1 1 (ili) Look at the logic circuit you drew in part b() very carefully. Also look at the truth table you completed in part bi) Now produce a simplified logic circuit which does the same task as the one you drew in part b(). [3 marks] (iv) Prove that the logic circuits drawn in parts bii) and biii) are the same. [2 marks} 3 B : i z 3 IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 °‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 3 LOGIC GATES AND LOGIC CIRCUITS 4. A chemical process is monitored by a logic circult. There are three inputs to the logic circuit which represent key parameters in the chemical process. An alarm, X, will give a value of 1 depending on certain conditions ‘The following table summarises these conditions, Parameter description | Parameter | Binary value | Description of condition Temperature i 0 Temperature >= 1a05C 1 Temperature < 140°C rmacr speed Mw ° mixer speed >= 500rpm 1 ° 1 ‘minor speed < 5001pm acidity >= 6 moles acidity <6 moles aoaty a An alarm, X, will generate the value 1 if: either: temperature >= 140°C and mixer speed < 500rpm moles or: temperature < 140°C and acidity >= or: mixer speed >= 500rpm and acidity < 6 moles ‘a Write the logic statement to represent the alarm, X, above. [3 marks] b Draw the logic circuit to represent the above monitoring system. [7 marks] ¢ Complete the truth table for the above system. [4 marks} inputs ‘working ourput T ™ A x ° ° ° ° ° + ° 1 ° ° 1 1 1 ° ° 1 ° 1 7 1 ° 7 1 1 © ocx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Operating systems and computer architecture Key objectives Objectives of this chapter are to revise: . addressing Sacer she fe ira oe Fo cee gee © computer architecture (Von Neumann concept) Sa @ Key definitions Term Definition ‘Operating system The software running in the background of a computer system. It manages many of the basic functions Interrupt ‘An interrupt is a signal sent from a device (or from some software) to the processor resiesting is sete Buffer ‘A buffer is a temporary memory area in a device Computer architecture How a computer system is designed Buses Buses move data around the computer and also send out control signals to. synchronise the internal operations Register High-speed storage areas within the computer Memory unit Made up of addresses and contents Control unit Controls the operation of the memory, processor and input/output devices @ Operating systems, interrupts and buffers Operating systems ‘The basic operations /tasks carried out by an operating system include: ‘© human-computer interface (HCI) © multi-tasking ‘© multiprogramming © batch processing error handling/reporting load/run applications ‘© management of user accounts ‘ file utilities (such as save, copy, delete) ‘© processor management ‘© memory management «© real-time processing ¢ interrupt handling ° e sccutity (c.g. log on, passwords, username, etc.) input/output control. Some household devices, such as ovens or washing machines, do not require an operating, system. ‘This is because they carry out simple, unchanging tasks which are initiated by the user pressing, a button or selecting from a touch screen, a6ed sip Adosoroyd 03 e694 5131 {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 °4 OPERATING SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE Interrupts and buffers An interrupt is a signal sent from a device (or from some software) to the processor requesting its artention. The interrupt will cause the processor to temporarily stop what it is doing to service the interrupt. Examples include: paper jam in a printer, pressing keys on a keyboard or software trying to divide by zero. A builfr is a temporary memory area in a device. It is ofien used to compensate for the slower operating speed of peripherals when compared to a processor. Buffers allow a processor to carry on with other tasks whilst, for example, a print job is being carried out in the background. ‘They are also used when streaming music or videos from the internet to ensure that playback doesn’t keep pausing waiting for the data transfer download to take place @ Common errors © Students often claim that a message or data (rather than a signal) is sent to a processor as a definition of an interrupt; such answers always lose marks, © Many students think that it is only hardware that can send interrupts; in fact, software interrupts are far more common (these can either be faults in the software itself or errors found during running, e.g. a missing .exe file). @ Sample question 1a Name two devices that do not need an operating system b Explain why an operating system is not required. Student answer 1 @ Washing machine and a fridge/freezer b They carry out single tasks that do not vary. Input is a press of a button or an option from a touch screen. This activates a simple hardware function Which doesn't need an OS to control it: Examiner's comments In part, mary household devices with a microprocessor could be chosen, ouch ae microwave oven, dishwasher taster, and soon, In partb ce probably only necooasry to make two val pint to gain the fullmarke,Ié would be acceptable to expan why an operating sytem bused ae an attemative way of answering the queotion @ Sample question 2 Explain the role of buffers and interrupts when a document is sent to a printer to be printed out. ‘Bed 5143 Ado20y04d 0} |e69Iq! $131 © sccse comprer since Stuty nd Rein Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willan 216Computer architecture Student answer + An interrupt is a signal sent; in this case, from the printer to the processor. + The interrupt could be a request for more data or an error report (e.g. out of paper or out of ink). + Once serviced, the processor can carry on with other tasks that were temporarily suspended. “The (printer) buffer is a temporary memory area. + Data is sent to the (printer) buffer waiting to be printed / waiting to be sent tothe printer + Once the buffer is emptied of data, an interruptis sent requesting more data tobe sent: + Buffers allow the processor to carry on with other tasks whilst printing takes place in the background ‘this means the processor it not held up by the relatively slow printing process. Examiner’s comments Questione of thie type prebably carry a masmum of 8 or 4 marke, Thio meane youcnly need to cover the key marking pol @ roleofaninverrupt: used to requeetmore data or convey an error © role of a buffer: uved to temporary hold printing data ‘© how an interrupt io uvedkoignal gent to processor requesting attention @ how abufferioused: —_otorea data until needed: allows microprocessor to do other taake, etc. Examiner's tips When writing essay-type questions, remember to pick out the main points; it is often a good idea to note down key points (in the margin or on one of the blank sheets) to ensure you don't miss any of these points in your final ansiver. @ Computer architecture Von Neumann architecture ‘This concept holds programs and data in memory. Data moves between the memory unit and the processor. A number of different diagrams exist to show the links and flow of data between the processor (control unit), memory unit and input/output devices. Buses Buses move data around the computer and also send out control signals to synchronise the internal operations. There are three different buses used: ‘© Address bus: this cartics signals relating to addresses between the processor and memory; it is uni-directional. ‘© Data bus: this sends data between the processor, memory unit and the input /ourput devices; it is bi-directional. ‘© Control bus: this carries signals relating to control and coordination of all activities within the computer; it can be uni-directional or bi-directional due to internal connections. : z i {GCSE Compr son Sudan Revon Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 °4 OPERATING SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE Registers These are high-speed storage areas within the computer; all data must be represented in a register before it can be processed. There are five different registers in this type of architecture: © Memory Address Register (MAR) © Memory Data Register (MDR) © Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) © Program Counter (PC) © Current Instruction Register (CIR), Memory unit ‘This is made up of addresses and contents. Each address will uniquely identify every location within the memory map. Control unit ‘This controls the operation of the memory, processor and input/output devices; the control unit reads instructions, interprets them and sends our signals along the control bus to synchronise all computer components, @ Common errors Students often confuse the role of the MAR and MDR in, for example, the READ and WRITE operation from/to the memory unit. ‘© Many students suggest that the ALU can ‘make decisions’; this is not the case ~ the ALU allows arithmetic and logical operations to be carried out and makes no decisions on what happens following these operations. @ Sample question 3 a The location in a memory unit contains the address 1 1 0 1 1 0.0 0 and the contents 00011000. Describe a READ operation on location 1 1 0 1 1 0 00 indicating the role of the MAR, MDR and buses. b If the value 1 1 1 011 1 Ois to be stored in location 11110111, describe the WRITE operation indicating the role of the MAR, MDR and buses. Student answer 3a MARWwill contain11011000 MDRwill contain 00011000 A read signal is sent to the computer memory along the control bus. b MARwill contain21110221 MDA will contain21101110 A write signal is sent to the computer memory along the control bus. ‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0} |e69Iq! $131 © sccse comprer since Study and Resin Gude © David Watson an Helen Willa 216Fetch-execute cycle Examiner's comments Whilot the etudent hae anewered the question correctly in both parta, It ie often a good idea +o chow amemory map to ald in the description. ‘Rares Contents 707 1000) 001 1000 To Tone J Thie will help greatly in the description of the READ and WRITE operation. The location contain ‘the address and content; tc islportant:to distinguish between location and addrese. @ Sample question 4 Describe the role of buses and addresses in the von Neumann architecture. Student answer Buses move data (the data bus) around the computer and also send signals. (address bus and control bus) to synchronise all operations. Buses can be uni- directional or bi-directional. ‘An address is part of a memory location that uniquely describes where data can be found in the memory map. Examiner's comments Whilot the inclusion ofa diagram to help explain the role of buses would be useful it wouldn't really helpina question acking for a straightforward description of the two terme. tle very Importart not to confuse registere with addreseee, Examiner's tips ‘A basic understanding of how to draw a diagram linking together all the components in the von Neumann computer architecture is very useful in questions of this type. The two diagrams shown in the Student's Book are fairly simple to understand, but other diagrams exist which prove to be more useful to some students, @ Fetch-execute cycle Fetch: the next instruction is fetched from the memory address currently stored in the Program Counter (PC) and is then stored in the Current Instruction Register (CIR); the PC is then incremented so that the next instruction can be processed. Execute: the decoded instruction is then passed as a set of control signals to the appropriate components of the computer system, IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed siyp Adosoroyd 01 e694‘Bed 514 Ado>0y04d 0} /e69Iq! $131 4 OPERATING SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE In diagrammatic form 11 contains the address of the next instruction to be fetched instruction is decoded ‘and then executed by Sending out sionals to ‘computer components 2 The address copied from the PC to MAR via the address bus + ‘3 The instruction at the Imesnory adress in MAR Is copied into MOR 5 Value in PCs then incrervanted’by 150 thatit points to the next Instruction tobe fotched 4 The nstructon in nD Is copied into. CiR @ Sample question 5 Describe three of the registers used in the fetch-execute cyele including, their function, Student answer Program counter (PC) ~ thi instruction to be fetched. used to keep track of the address of the next Memory address register (MAR) — this stores the address of the instruction to be processed. Memory data register — this stores the instruction to be processed. Current instruction register — this temporarily stores the instruction currently being processed. Examiner's comments ‘All that io required i a brief description of the function of each register Juot naming the roglotere would not: be enough for more than half the marks in question of thie type. Only threeregietere were needed @ Sample question 6 Describe the function of: a the FETCH operation b the EXECUTE operation in the fetch-execute cycle 0 vce Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Exam-style questions Student answer G @ Next instruction fetched ... from memory address currently stored in PC then stored in the CIR PCis incremented so next instruction can be fetched. b Decoded instruction is passed on to appropriate components of the computer system in the form of control signals. Examiner's comments ‘hie type of question can be anewered In two wayerelther by ving a brief description (ae shown in the Student answer above), or by ving the G stages in the fetch-execute oye Whilst the second option s more comprehensive, tient really necessary when anewering queetione of thie type. Examiner's tips ttisa good idea to learn the rudimentary diagram showing the von Neumann computer and also to try to apply the fetch-execute cyde to your diagram; this will greatly help in uestions involving computer architecture and how instructions are processed, Exam-style questions 1 a What is meant by the two terms: (i) buffer i) interrupt? [4 marks] b Look at the flowchart which shows what happens when a document is sent to a printer and is printed out. No ves ___,__ This interrupt signal ‘sent to request more data tobe sent tothe printer t IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 oe aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 je 69‘Ado20}0414 0} | 26941! 131 4 OPERATING SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE Seven statements are missing from the flowchart. By writing the statement numbers ONLY, complete the flowchart, using the statements from the following list. (7 marks} Statement number | Statement contents ofthe buffer are emptied to the print ang data from the document printed current processor task is suspended whist the intemupt s being serviced data fom the document tobe printed is sent to the buffer from the computer memory has ll the data been sent to the printer? processor continues wath its tasks processor is able to cary out other tasks while the buffe is being emptied ‘when allthe data i printed, the buffer becomes empty; an interupt signal ls then sent tothe processor 2 a Astudent made the following statements. Explain the statements. (i) ‘Windows is an example of a single-user multi-tasking operating system. “Many operating systems support error handling.” [4 marks} b Name three other features of an operating system. [3 marks] 3. a Name and explain the function of the three main buses used in a typical computer system. {6 marks] b Look at this memory map. ‘Address Contents (i) The contents at address 10000011 |—Toopome | [000 000 are to be read, What values would be | —toooon10 | niga Tr stored in the MAR and MDR? fe Toooata— | rin 1119 be written at memory location 111111 10,whatvalues would be stored in the MAR and MDR? Titi 1100 (iii) Complete the memory map showing Tit 1101 ‘the value from part (ii) after the WRITE 11411110 function has been done. [5 marks] T1111 4 a (i) Describe the function of the ALU. (i b The following table shows the stages in the fetch-execute cycle. They are not written in the correct order Place the numbers 1 to 6 in the right-hand column to show each stage in its correct order. Ifthe value 1110011 1isto Describe the function of the Control Unit. [4 marks] The first one has been done for you. [5 marks} stage adress Is copied from PC to MA; this s done using the address bus Order contents at memory locaton contained in MAR are copied temporarily into MOR contents of MOR ate copied and placed in CIR Insieuction & fvally decoded and then executed by ending out dgnals lathe contol bud) to various comrconents of the computer ystam program counter (PC) contains address of memory location of next instruction tobe fetched value in PC & incremented by 1 so that It now points tothe next instruction to be fetched © ocx Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Input and output devices Key objectives ‘Objectives ofthis chapter are to revise: ete crete eter te lores et eee eer eee eerree eto, eee eee eee © QR code readers: © printers (inkjet, laser and dot matrix) jal cameras © 3D piers @ keyboardskeypads @ 20/30 cutters © pointing devices (e.g. mouse) @ actuators © microphones: © loud speakers @ touchscreens @ LCD/LED monitors sensors, © (multimedia) projectors Seen ) ®@ Key definitions Term Definition apa tara Any device that allows a Computer to receive data from the outside word Output device Ay piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the results of data processing carried out by a computer @ Input devices An input device is harcware that allows a computer to receive data from the outside world 2D scanners These convert hard-copy documents into an electronic form which can be stored in a computer memory. Scanners operate by using a scan head which moves across the document producing an image which is sent to a lens via a scries of mirrors, The focused image falls onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) which consists ofa number of integrated circuits (made up of thousands of light-sensitive elements that turn light into an electric charge). Consequently, the original document is turned into a format which can be stored in a computer's memory. One application of 2D scanners is at an airport where they can read passport pages and allow, for example, a photographic image of a person's face to be compared to an image just taken by a digital camera. This involves the use of face-recognition technology to identify passengers. 3D scanners 3D scanners scan solid objects and produce an electronic 3D image. They ike use of, for example, lasers, magnetic resonance, white light or X-rays. (computed tomography) scanners are used to produce a 3D image of a solid object. Tomography technology splits up the object into a number of very thin ‘slices’. They tend to use X-rays, radio waves or gamma imaging methods. The resultant image allows a solid object to be stored as a serics of digital values representing cach ‘slice’. ‘© X-rays: CT (computed tomography) scanners, ‘© Radio waves: MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners. ‘© Gamma rays: SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) scanners. {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 8 a6ed sip Adosoroyd 03 e694 5131‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 5 INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES Barcode readers Barcodes consist of a series of dark and light lines of varying thickness. Each digit or character is represented by a number of lines. Whilst barcodes which use digits only are the most common in supermarkets, many can also display other characters. Each dark and light line can be represented by the binary values of 1 (dark line) or 0 (light line); ¢.g. LD L D D D D, which represents the light and dark lines for the digit °6" in one system, can be represented as 010.1 1 1 1 in the computer. Barcodes are used in supermarkets to find prices of goods and to enable automatic stock control. They ate also used extensively in library systems to track the whereabouts of books. The advantages to managers include: easier and faster to alter prices @ give instantancous and comprehensive sales trends, © no need to price cach item (saves time and money) @ allows automatic stock control can check customer’s buying habits more easily. Advantages to customers include: @ faster checkouts « less chance of errors © get an iremised bill © cost savings can be passed on to customer «@ better tracking of ‘sell by dates’. QR (quick response) codes ‘QW eodes are a type of barcode. However, they can hold considerably more data. ‘QR codes are usually read by built-in cameras in smart phones or tablets using an installed app. Once the QR code has been scanned, it will send information back to the phone or tablet, e.g. a website link or general information (e.g. a phone number or ‘special offer’). Digital cameras Digital cameras contain a microprocessor which automatically: © adjusts shutter speed @ focuses © operates the flash @ adjusts the aperture @ removes ‘red eye” @ reduces hand shake, and so on. Images are captured when light passes through the lens onto a light-sensitive cell, which is made up of thousands of tiny elements called pixels. The number of pixels determines the size of the file needed to store the image. Keyboards/keypads Keyboards are the most common input device; keys are pressed by the operator to enter data directly into the computer. When a key is pressed, it completes a circuit and a signal is sent to the microprocessor which interprets which key has been pressed. Since entering data by keyboard is a relatively slow process, most computer systems use a keyboard bufiér which prevents the microprocessor waiting for keys to be pressed. Although little training is needed to use a keyboard, they do pose a health risk to operators who do a lot of continuous typing — the health risk is known as RSI (repetitive strain injury). 065809 ll 358! © sccse comprer sence Stuty and Rein Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willa 216 ulInput devices Pointing devices The most common pointing devices are the mouse and the trackerball. They are used to control a cursor on screen or to select options from menus. The ‘mouse usually has two buttons (used for selection and other functions) together with a scroll up/down wheel. Trackerballs use a ball on the top or side of the device which enables control of a cursor or sclecting options from a menu. They are often the preferred device in control rooms since they don’t require as much desk space asa mouse and are also less likely to cause such problems as RSI (caused by repeated clicking of a mouse button). Microphones Microphones are used to input sound into a computer. When the microphone picks up sound, a diaphragm vibrates producing an electric signal. A sound card in the computer converts the signal into digital values which can be stored in its memory. ‘Voice recognition uses microphones. It is used to identify ifa ‘known’ person is speaking in, for example, a security system. The software compares "wave pattems from the person’s voice with wave patterns stored in memory. If the wave patterns match, then the correct person is identified. Speech recognition also uses microphones but is very different to voice recognition, This works by first converting speech patterns into a digital form. ‘The digital image is broken up into phonemes which are then compared with words stored in the built-in dictionary. The spoken words can then be recognised. Touchscreens “Touchscreens allow selections to be made by simply touching an icon or menu option on a screen. They are also used in many devices to allow input via a ‘virtual keyboard’, Mobile phones and tablets are some of the biggest users of touchscreen technology. The most common systems are capacitive, infra-red or resistive, Capacitive Infrared Reattve Technology | + uses ayers of lass that acts a ‘+ Uses glass anc can either cetect haat | + uses upper layer of pohaster and capacitor ruses infeed sensors to detect” | bottom layer of gass + when the too layer is touched, the | touch + whan top layer touched, t completes, electic current changes + microprocessor wotks outwhere the | a cast + microprocessor works cut the Screenwas touched based on Sensov | » microprocessor works out coordinates coordinates of where the screen was | heat data cof were the screen was touched touches Benefits |» this mediums tednology | + alowsmuli-touth capably + relatively pensive technology + goodly in strong sunlight |» can use bare gers, loved hand or |» can se bare fingers, cloved Nand or # allows multitouch capability stylus sts + very curable + 300d eran durity Drawbacks | + can only use bare fingers ora + elativly expensive tedio|ogy + poor visbiliyn tong sunight conductive sus * heatsenstve systems only alow bare | + doesn't alow multhtouch capably Angers to be used + screen is wunerable to scratches Sensors Sensors send data from the real world to a computer. They often require an analogue to digital converter (ADC) to change the data into a format thar the computer (or microprocessor) can understand. Sensors form part of many monitoring or control systems. Monitoring, simply reports the status of a system via a computer/microprocessor. Control involves altering devices (e.g. open/close valve, switch on /offa heater or turn, j {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 ©‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 5 INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES a pump on/off) so that effectively the output affects the next input to the computer. Many sensors exist depending on the application being monitored or controlled, for example, temperature, moisture /humidity, light, infra-red/ motion, pressure, acoustic/sound, gas, pH or magnetic field. ‘Monitoring systems include: monitoring a patient’ vital signs in a hospital, burglar /intruder alarm systems, checking, key data in a car engine or monitoring pollution levels in a river or the air. ‘Control systems include: traffic light control, greenhouse environment, strect lighting, anti-lock braking system on a vehicle or control ofa chemical or nuclear process. Interactive whiteboards Interactive whiteboards allow computer images to be displayed using a digital projector. They allow users to write on the whiteboard and the text /images created can then be stored in a computer memory. Any image projected onto the screen can be annotated or even changed and the annotated version can then be saved for later use. @ Common errors @ Students often confuse voice recognition systems and speech recognition systems. © Many students are unable to distinguish berween monitoring and control; it is important to read and understand the key differences highlighted above. @ Students often claim that sensors control devices rather than just send data to a computer or microprocessor Students also often claim that sensors only send data once something, happens — sensors continuously send data to computers and microprocessors; these devices then determine if the received data has changed and some action is necessary. @ Sample question 1 a What is the binary value of the section of barcode shown below? b (i) What is a QR code? (ii) Describe evo applications that use QR codes. Student answer 1 a 0111101/0001101/0110001 b (i) Quick response code: — made up of a matrix of filled in dark squares on a light background — read bya camera ona smart phone or tablet and uses an app to interpret the dota. Two applications include: = a taxi company uses QR codes on business cards; when scanned the taxi company are automatically contacted and/or advertises their services = a restaurant uses QR codes on advertising hoardings and/or magazines or flyers; when scanned, the QR code gives sample menus, links to websites, functions, and so on. © sccse comprer sence Stuty nd Resin Gude © Drs Weson an Helen Willan 216Output devices Examiner's comments Inparta, the three anewere are correct. It may be neceseary to make these bit codee: in Which case, an additional zero neede tobe putin FRONT of each binary valve Inpartb(), the question asked ta litle vague; giving additonal information a shown in the Stent answer above ie good practice, eapectly if the question carries more than one mark Inpact (i) the two applications can have the same purpove (eg. link-to aweboite) but the actual applications themeelvee need to be clearly different (ae they arein the anewere give). @ Sample question 2 An airport perimeter is being monitored for pollution levels. NO, and COz sensors are being used and the collected data is sent to a computer. Describe how the sensors and computer are used to warn environmentalists of higher than acceptable pollution levels. Student answer + NO, and COz sensors continuously send data to the computer. + The data is first sent to. an ADC. + The computer has the maximum NO, and CO; levels pre-stored. + The computer has data from previous monitoring stored in memory. + The incoming sensor data is compared with the pre-stored valves. + If any of the stored levels are exceeded by sensor readings then the computer automatically prints out graphs and/or a report for the scientists. + Tflevels are dangerously exceeded, then the computer may also generate an audible warning. + The computer uses previous data to predict trends in pollution levels and can indicate which pollution levels (or where pollution levels) are predicted to rise and can suggest action. Examiner's comments These questions uouusly carry 4 marks or more and require the student to understand the roe ofthe sensors and the computer They algo require the student to show an Understanding of how incoming data le checked and what action (Fany) ie taken. Since every application ie cfferent, etudente need to beable to adapt their anewere toouit the question. Examiner's tips Most questions of this type have a generic format. If a control application is given, itis necessary to remember that the computer will send signals to actuators to operate valves (for example) and it may be necessary to use a DAC so that the devices can be controlled. @ Output devices An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to ‘communicate the results of data processing carried out by a computer; the device converts the computer’s digital information into a human-readable form. Printers The three most common types of printer are: laser, inkjet and dot matrix. The following table compares the features of all three printers. {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 ° aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 2695 INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES “Type of printer Advantages Disadvantages Laser printer * very high quality of printing *= can be expensive to maintain (@.g, fuser) + folatvaly inexpensive to buy printor * produce health hazards such as azone or toner « latge toner cartreiges and lage paper trays parties inthe air + very fast printing of multiple documents. Iniget printer * high qually of printing ink & expensive to buy and quickly runs out an a large * vory suitable for printing ahotos print run «Inexpensive to buy printer + usualy have small paper vays + can be noisy n operation compared to laser printer Dot matrix printer | » not adversely affected by damp or dtydusty * relatively expensive to buy printer atmospheres oor print quality + allows use of mult-part stationery (\e. carbon copies) | « very noisy and very sow at printing «allows use of continuousan-folded statonery ‘The full description of how these printers work can be found in the Student's Book. However, to summarise: ¢ Laser printers rely on positive and negative charges on the print drum and paper; (dry powder) toner sticks to the paper in only certain areas and is permanently fixed using a fuser. ¢ Inkjet printers rely on a liquid ink system which sprays ink onto the paper line by line as the paper advances; the ink system uses either thermal bubble or piezoelectric technologies. ¢ Dot matrix printers use a matrix of pins which strike an inked ribbon (either black or up t0 4 coloured) to produce characters in a matrix on the paper, €.g. THE QUICK BROWN FOR RAPED OVER THE LAZY [eng THE QUICK BROWN FOX 3D printers 3D printers produce actual solid objects which work; they are built up in the printer in a number of very thin layers of varying materials, such as: powdered resin, powdered metal, ceramic powder or even paper. Some 3D printers use binder technology which involves the use ofa binder (a type of *glue”) to form the solid layers. Since they build up objects layer by layer, they are often referred to as additive. Some of the present applications include: making prosthetic limbs, assisting precision reconstructive surgery, manufacture of aerospace parts, fashion and art, and making parts no longer in production by conventional manufacturing. § 2D/3D cutters BF These are used t0 cur into materials o form 3D objects and are controlled by % computers and software (such as CAD/CAM). Common materials include: & glass, crystal, metal, polymers and wood, % Actuators B See section on sensors on page 41. Loudspeakers Loudspeakers convert analogue voltages into sound. If the outputs fiom a computer, the digital signals are first converted into analogue voltages using, a DAC. abed © sccse comprer sence Stuty nd Resin Gide © Drs Watson an Helen Willa 216Sample question ‘The rate at which the DAC can translate digital output into analogue voltages is called the sampling rate ~ usually 44100 samples/second for a typical 16-bit system. LCD and LED monitors ‘Modern liquid crystal display /diode (LCD) monitors and televisions are back-lit using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) rather than cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCELs). LCD monitors and televisions need to be back- lit since LCD does nor produce its own light. The advantages of using LEDs (rather than CFLs) to back-light the display are: © they reach maximum brightness much faster © they give a whiter light making the image more vivid the brighter light improves colour definition the displays can be much thinner and lighter in weight ‘© LEDs last almost indefinitely ‘ they consume much less power and therefore also run much cooler. Newer monitors and televisions use organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). "These produce their own light and therefore don’t need any form of back- lighting. ‘The advantages of using OLED when compared to older LED technology include: © they allow for very thin and very flexible screens which are very light weight they produce a much brighter light than LEDs ‘© they don’t require any form of back-lighting they allow for a much larger field of view. Light projectors ‘There are two common types: digital light projectors (DLP) and LCD projectors. DLP relies on millions of micro mirrors which can switch on or off several thousand times a second creating various shades of grey. Colour filters allow the shades of grey to be converted into colours which are projected onto a large screen thus representing the ourput from the computer. LCD projectors use chromatic-coated mirrors which reflect light at different wavelengths. The light components pass through three LCD screens which are then recombined using a prism to produce the colour image which is projected onto a large screen. @ Common errors ‘© The statement: ‘laser printers do not use ink? is incorrect since they do use ink but itis in a dry powdered form unlike inkjet printers which use liquid ink. ‘© Statements such as “laser printers are faster’ or ‘dot matrix printers are a lower quality” are never worth any marks since they don’t say what they are faster at or what is a lower quality. I is necessary to be clear and state, for example: ‘laser printers print out pages faster than ...”, @ Sample question 3 a Give one advantage and one disadvantage of laser printers, inkjet printers and dot matrix printers when compared to each other. Different advantages and disadvantages are needed in each case bb Give one application of each of these three types of printer. Give a different application in each case. {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 ) : z i5 INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES Student answer 3 a Laser: + advantage — larger toner cartridges/paper trays + disadvantage — maintenance can be expensive Inkjet: + advantage — inexpensive to buy the printer + disadvantage — can quickly run out of ink or paper Dot matrix: + advantage — can workin damp or dirty/dusty atmospheres + disadvantage — very poor printing quality b Laser: printing out 1000s of leaflets or flyers in colour Inkjet: one-off high quality photographs on glossy paper Dot matrix: printing labels on the factory floor Examiner's comments In part.a,itioimportant:to realise that: three different-advantages and dicadvantiagos musts be ven mary marks ar lost for not: doing ths, the question|s quite specifi. The answers can be essentially gener; extra mark would not be gained by giving applications in parca since these marke have been allocated to part Inpart; although i doeont say 20 nthe quaotion look out for quoetione that require applicatione to match the advantages and dieadvarttagos gen in an earlier part of the question. @ Sample question 4 a Describe three differences between LCD monitors back-lit using LEDs or with CCFLs. b Describe two applications which make use of the unique features of OLED technology. Student answer 4 @ LEDs reach brightness faster. LEDs give off a whiter light LEDs last almost indefinitely. b Use of smart watches that can bend easily around the wrist Curved thin sheets used as advertising posters on curved surfaces such as underground stations Examiner's comments Inpart.ait ieneceseary to ghe a little more depth to the anewere since a description wae asked for For example, LEDe reach brightness faster €0 there ie no need for them to warm up firet before reaching fulleffectiveneee, LED gve a whiterlight which eharpene the image and J makes the coloure more vid. LEDe laet.indefnitely which makeo the technology more reliable and more consictantin operation In part bi ke important:to glve two afferent sppicatione. It would be wort adding the ‘olowing to the answers inboth applications... due to the flesble nature of OLEDS, Iie poooile to make emart watchee (curved ecreene) Examiner's tips ‘Always remember to give additional information to support your answer in ‘questions where a description is required. Look carefully at the number of marks allocated to determine how many ‘points! need to be made when giving descriptions or explaining a given topic. ‘Bed 514 Ado20304d 0} |26) @ cc Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Examstyle questions Exam-style questions 1. Which computer terms are being described here? o ‘splitting up of a solid object into a number of very thin slices’ o ‘machine readable code made up of an array of dark and light squares; often used to store URLs or other important advertising information’ ¢ ‘device which converts sound into electrical signals’ d_ ‘technology that is used to identify if a known person is speaking’ © ‘device that sends data from the real world to a computer; it often requires the use of an ADC for the computer to process this data’ [5 marks] 2 a Complete the following diagram to show the barcode for the three binary numbers: 0100011/0101111/0111011 [3 marks} 'b_ Name and describe one application that uses barcode technology. [3 marks] 3a Whatis meant by the term ‘sampling rate’ when referring to DACs? [2 marks} b A music CD is produced where each piece of music is sampled 44 100 times a second, Each sample is 32-bits and the music is stored in stereo (two separate tracks) format. Calculate: (i) how many bytes per second are sampled (ii)how many KB/second are sampled. [3 marks] ¢ (i) Calculate how much memory is needed to store a 4-minute music track using your answer to part biii) [2 marks] i)Calculate how many 4-minute music tracks could be stored on a CD with an 800MB storage capacity. [1 mark] 4 a Indicate with a tick () which of the following statements about OLEDs are correct. [5 marks] Statements 0 ‘Because of plastic organic ayes, OLEDS are much ticker and heavier than conventional LCDAED formats LEDs give a brighter ight than LEDs leading to more vid colouts LEDs produce a much larger field of vew than LCOMED formats LEDs require some form of back-lghting so that the screen can be it up LEDs consume mare power than LCO/LED formats and thus produce more heat b Describe how OLEDs generate the screen images on monitors and televisions. [3 marks] aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 je 69 IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 )5 INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES 5 a Acarengine management system uses temperature and carbon monoxide sensors which feed data to an on-board microprocessor. Water is used to cool the engine and valves can be opened or closed to control the flow of water in the engine, The amount of air entering the engine is used to control the levels of carbon monoxide — again valves can be opened or closed to control the air entering the engine Describe in detail how the sensors and microprocessor are used to control ‘the temperature and carbon monoxide levels in the engine. [5 marks] b Name a suitable sensor for each of the following applications A different sensor needs to be given for each application. (5 marks] ‘Application ‘Suitable sensor measurafeotrol the dampness of the air in a paint spray booth in a fraciory ‘automaticaly Sich on a cars headighté when Becomes dark cic ntudes entring a buidng ina burlavintuer alarm stem rmeasre the acd pollston levels na ver ata numberof pits measure the speed of rotation of wees on arin an anthock braking system 6 a A\laser printer is used to print out a document. The table shows all the stages in printing out the document. But they are not in the correct order. By writing the numbers 1 to 11 in the right-hand column, put each stage in the correct order. ‘The first one has been done for you. [10 marks] Stage Order ‘data fom the documents sent to a printer diver 1 data sent tothe printer is stored inthe printer buffer ‘scharge lar removes all electric charge from the printer drum atthe ‘end ofthe printing process negatively charged sheet of paper & rolled over printer drum ‘paper goes through a fuser which Tues nk permanently to the paper printer driver ersures data being sent to printer isin the corect format printor drum i coated in positively charged toner printer drum & gen a positive charge ‘toner on printer drum now stcks tothe paper to produce teat and images ‘to prevant paper sticking to the printer drum, the dlectic charge on the papers removed after one rotation of the drum ‘when printer drum rotates, laser beam scans across itremouing the Positive charge, leaving a negativeycharged prin area b Give one different application for: (i) laser printer (ii) inkjet printer (iii) dot matrix printer. [3 marks] = i 5 g © cc Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Memory and data storage Key objectives ‘Objectives of his chapter ae to revise: 1 ile formats uch as MDI, MP3/4 and JPEG) 1 ile compression methods ‘8 primary, secondary and offline storage ‘© magnetic, optical and solid-state media J ®@ Key definitions Term Definition Musical instrument This system is associated with the storage of music files. MIDI files consist of lists of digital interface (MIDI)__ commands which instruct a device how to produce a musical note/sound MPEG-3 (MP3) Uses audio compression to store music in an MP3 file format MPEG-4 (MP4) Can store multimedia rather than just music Joint Photographic JPEG files use a LOSSY format file compression method, JPEG is used to store Experts Group JPEG) _ photographs as a reduced file size Lossless All the data from the original files are reconstructed when the file is again uncompressed Lossy Unnecessary data is eliminated forming a file that can’t be reconstructed to get back to the original file Primary memory Includes RAM, DRAM, SRAM and ROM Secondary storage Includes hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and off-line storage (CDs, DVDs, DVD- RAM and blu-ray disks) @ File formats Musical instrument digital interface (MID!) ‘This system is associated with the storage of music files. No sounds are stored (as in the case of MP3 and MP4); it is a form of communications protocol allowing musical instruments to interact. MIDI files consist of lists of commands which instruct a device how to produce a musical note /sound; for example: NOTE on /off or KEY PRESSURE, and so on. Also included would be a pitch byte and a velocity byte. The electronic instruments and computer both need MIDI interfaces to allow them to communicate. Since MIDI files don’t contain actual audio tracks, their size is relatively small. This makes them very suitable for storing sounds/music on devices with limited memory; for example, storing ring tones on a mobile phone. MPEG-3 (MP3) and MPEG-4 (MP4) files “MP3 uses audio compression to store music in an MP3 file format. These can often be 90% smaller than comparable CD music files. They use a lossy format. The music quality is rerained by using perceprual music shaping (ie. removing sounds thar the human ear can’t clearly distinguish) MP4 files are slightly different to MP3 files since they can store multimedia rather than just music (i.e. music, video, photos and animation) a6ed sip Adosoroyd 03 e694 5131 {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 °6 MEMORY AND DATA STORAGE Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) files JPEG files use a lossy format file compression method. JPEG is used to store photographs as a reduced file size. They rely on certain properties of the human eye (€.g. its inability to detecr small brightness differences or colour hues). Text and number file formats ‘Text is stored in ASCII format and text files are usually stored in a lossless format. Numbers can be stored as real, integer, currency, and so on. Lossless format is used since accuracy of data is very important. Lossless and lossy file formats With lossless file compression, all the data from the original files is reconstructed when the file is again uncompressed. With lossy file compression, unnecessary data is eliminated forming a file that can’t be reconstructed to get back to the original file. @ Common errors « Students often believe that MIDI fies store actual music/sounds. Students often confuse lossy and lossless file compression formats. @ Sample question 1 a Give two differences between MIDI files and MP3 files. b An image is 1200 pixels by 1600 pixels. (i) Calculate the number of megabytes used to store this image. (ii) The file is to be stored in a jpeg formar; give one advantage and one disadvantage of doing this. Student answer 1a MIDI files: + don't store actual music or sounds + consist of lists of commands indicating how a particular note/sound can be produced. MP3 files: + use lossy file compression format + store music/sounds in an actual music format + use perceptual music shaping to retain music quali b (i) 1200 x 1600 = 1520 000 bytes 520 000/1048576MB 45MB Advantage: saves memory in the computer. Disadvantage: quality of the image is reduced. Examiner's comments in part a, it important when choosing two differences to make eure they are not just opposites of each other: For example, MIDI fle dont store actual music flee ‘Bed 5143 Ado>0y0ud 0} e69Iq! $131 MPS fle atore actual muolc files © sccse compre since Stuty and Resin Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willan 216Memory and storage Those two anovere woud be regard ae deecribing only one difference ence the eecond nener' ust the converse of the fret answer Impact, this important that ALL your worn ie chown a mistake is made somewhere inthe calculation cred wil etl be gen for ehoning the comect topain the calculation Ht ‘the methed is nat shown and an answer euch as 144 5MB is qven, then NO marks could be awarded since the arewer i clearly virong avano supporting evidence is cupid Inpart (I, the same commentsinade npart:a apy @ Sample question 2 Explain how the sentence below would be stored with a reduction of about 40% (ignoring spaces): ‘COMPARE TEXT FILES IN A COMPUTER AFTER FILE COMPRESSION’ Student answer Using a word dictionary of 1 = COMP 2 = FILE would give: "DARE TEXT 25 IN A 1UTER AFTER2 1RESSION’ This gives @ reduction from 46 characters to 32 characters which is about 31%. Examiner's comments Whilst thie lea good attemps, the sentence could be further comproseed by adding B=TER to the dictionary giving “ARETEXT 26 INA 13 AFS 2 1RESSION Thie would give a filereduction of about 40% ae required in the question. Credit: would be given fora good attempt, but at least 1 mark would be lost for not achieving the AO%L fle reduction. Examiner's tips Always show all your working when carrying out some form of calculation; the number of marks allocated to a question give a strong clue as to the amount of information you need to give. When making comparisons, make sure you don't just give the converse of your earlier responce @ Memory and storage Primary memory Primary memory refers to Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM). ‘¢ RAM - this memory is volatile temporary in nature, It's used to store data, programs or parts of the operating system currently in use. ‘The memory can be written to or read from. RAM ean be dynamic (DRAM) or static (SRAM). DRAM needs to be constantly refreshed to retain the data; it uses millions of transistors and capacitors. SRAM doesn’t need to be constantly refreshed to retain its data; ic uses flip flops, ‘¢ ROM - this memory is non-volatile /permanent in nature. Teis used to store the start-up procedures or BIOS (basic input /output system). ‘The memory can only be read and not written to. aBed sup Adosoroyd 01 je 69 IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 °6 MEMORY AND DATA STORAGE Hard disk drive (HDD) Hard disk drives use circular platters coated in magnetic material. Several read-write heads are used so that all the surfaces can be accessed; data is stored in sectors and tracks in blocks. ‘Access to data is slower than with RAM. Many applications require the read-write heads to move in and out several times to seck the appropriate data blocks. This is referred to as latency ~ the time taken for a specific block of dara on a track to rotate around to the read-write head. Solid-state drives (SSD) Solid-state drives have no moving parts; therefore all data is retrieved at the same rate and larency is not an issue, Most common types of SSD use NAND chips t0 control the movement of electrons (and therefore data). Some solid- state systems use EPROM (electronically erasable programmable read only memory) which utilise NOR chips, There are a number of advantages in using SSDs when compared to HDDS: they are more reliable and robust (no moving parts) they are much lighter in weight and also much thinner @ they consume less power and also run much cooler @ no need to wait for SSD to “get up to speed’ and also have a faster data access rate, Off-line storage Offline storage devices include: CD/DVD/DVD-RAM (all optical), blu-ray disks (optical media), flash memory/memory stick/SD-XD cards (solid-state devices) and removable hard disk drives (magnetic media) CD/DVD CDs and DVDs use a red laser light to write and read the data. Each disk has a single spiral track that runs from the centre to the outer edge. ‘They can be *-R’ (write once and can then only be read) or RW? (can be written to and read from several times). DVDs can hold more data than CDs due to dual layering technology (ic. the disks have «wo individual recording layers). DVD-RAM ‘This technology is nearly obsolescent. Ir uses a number of concentric tracks (unlike CDs and DVDs) enabling simultancous read—write operations to take place. They have great longevity which makes them ideal for archiving of data. Blu-ray disks Blu-ray disks use blue laser light to read and write the data. Since the wavelength of blue light is 4051nm (compared to red light wavelength of 650nm), they can store considerably more data. They use a single polycarbonate disk (unlike DVDs which use a sandwich of evo polycarbonate disks): because of this, blu-ray disks don’t suffer from birefringence (i.c. light refraction into two separate beams which can cause reading errors). ‘Bed 5143 Ado20}04d 0/6941! $131 © sccse comprer since Stuty and Resin Gude © Dad Watson an Helen Willan 2016Sample question Flash memory/memory sticks These use solid-state technology and usually connect to the computer through the USB port. They are very small and lightweight which makes them ideal for transferring files and photos between different computers. Aswith SSD, they use NAND chips and have no physical moving, parts. They need to be read every now and then to retain their data integrity and it is important to follow the correct removal procedure to avoid corrupting the storage device. @ Common errors ‘© Students often confiise RAM and ROM (particularly with reference to volatile and non-volatile). ‘© Students often believe that solid-state memories are examples of magnetic media. @ Sample question 3 A remote-controlled model acroplane uses RAM and ROM. The remote control frequency is set at the manufacturing stage and shouldn’t be altered The operator can change flight manoeuvres, for example, by entering new instructions from a touch screen interface. Explain the use of RAM and ROM in this model aeroplane. Describe, with reasons, a suitable storage device to store the operator's instructions for later use. Student answer RAM is used to hold the flight path/ manoeuvres/instructions and data to control the aeroplane which are currently in use. ROM will hold the data notte be changed (e.g. remote control frequency), start-up routines and the set routines (e.g. the function of the buttons on the remote control). A solid-state memory device would be most suitable for storing user's instructions; the device is lightweight and has 9 moving parts (and is therefore more robust) in case the aeroplane crashes. Examiner's comments The deecription of RAMand ROMin the Student anawer io very relevant. Iola tempting to give a general deecription of RAM (ite volatile and can be written to/read from and ROM (non ‘olatile and can only be read from), However ouch gereralanewere would be unlikely to gain any marke, When a question refere to avery epecifc application, tte eseertal that: the Student newer refere to thie application, ae much ae possible, to gain the marke. The anewere giver refer to‘the modal aeroplane which means they wil gain fullcredkt @ Sample question 4 a Describe four advantages of SSDs compared to HDDs which makes them more suitable for use in a laptop computer. b Describe three differences between DVDs and blu-ray disks. {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 ) : z i6 MEMORY AND DATA STORAGE Student answer 4 a+ No moving parts so more robustin a portable device. + Lightweight which is a big advantage in a portable device. * Very thin which helps in the construction of a laptop computer. + Low power consumption which means laptap battery lasts longer and alo runs cooler. b DVDs use red laser light, use a sandwich of two polycarbonate disks and have a track pitch which is larger than blu-ray disks. Blu-ray disks use blue laser light; use a single polycarbonate disk and have built-in encryption routines. Examiner’s comments In part ait telmportant to refer to the application gen (\e. alaptop computer). General anowere would love many mark 20 would anowere with no relevance to the portability of lsptope (eg faeter data acceva). In pars Ib ksleportant to glve three dlstinct:afferences and not simply give the convenes of eather anewers. Examiner's tips In question 3 itis dear that answers MUST refer to the application described ‘otherwise many marks could be lost. When giving answers requiring comparisons, it is important that the differences given are distinctly different. Exam-style questions 1. a Explain the difference between lossless file compression and lossy file compression. [2 marks} b ACD contains 12 music tracks which are the following lengths (in minutes): 3, 7, 4, 3,5, 6, 4,5, 4, 7, 8,8 (i) Calculate how much memory is used for the 12 tracks if each minute of music requires 12 MB of storage. (li) Ifthe tracks are to be stored in MP3 format, each music track will be reduced in size by 90%. Calculate how much storage the 12 tracks would now require. (iil) Explain how MP3 retains the quality of the original music tracks. {5 marks] 2 Complete the following diagram by writing the appropriate memory/ storage device(s) from the following list. a. blu-ray disk b DVD/CD hard disk drive (HDD) random access memory (RAM) e f 9 h removable hard disk drive read only memory (ROM) solid-state drive (SSD) USB memory stick [8 marks} ‘Bed 5143 Ado20y0ud 09/6941! $131 © sccse compre since Study and Resin Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willan 216Exam-style questions Primary memory Secondary storage Offline storage 3. In the diagram below, seven descriptions are shown on the left and six devices are shown on the right. By drawing arrows, connect each description to the correct device ~ each device may be used once, more than once or not at all (7 marks] ‘uses fp logs to hod each bit sso ‘of memory, doesn't need to be tefresnec to retain data thas ne moving parts ands alusay therefore avery robust and tellable technology makes use of blu laser ight DvD-RAM tosave and write data on the storage mecia ‘optical mati that uses ORAM concent tracks to allow simultaneous read-wrte ‘operations storage deuce where data sRaM is stored by controling the movement of electrons vathin a NAN chip media that uses only one ROM polycarbonate disk to remove the etfects of bietingance ‘memory that contains ‘capacitors and transistors anc ‘needs to be constant rtreshed tovtain data g B 5 3 abed IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 °‘Bed 5143 Ado20y04d 0} 26941! $131 High- and low-level languages Key objectives Objectives of this chapter are to revise: @ translators: ramming languages: ree e eee © interpreters ‘© low-level languages. aed = azzembly language — machine code @ Key definitions Term Definition Computer program Allis of instructions that enable a computer to perform a specific task Translator ‘Translators convert a program into binary instructions that computers can understand @ Computer programs A computer program is a list of instructions that enable a computer to perform a specific task. Computer programs can be written in high-level languages and low-level languages depending on the task to be performed and the computer to be used. Most programmers write programs in high-level, languages. High-level languages High-level languages enable a programmer to focus on the problem to be solved and require no knowledge of the hardware and instruction set of the computer that will use the program. High-level programming languages are portable and can be used on different types of computer. Low-level languages Low-level languages relate to the specific architecture and hardware of a particular type of computer. Low-level languages can refer to machine code, the binary instructions that a computer understands, or assembly language that needs to be translated into machine code. Assembly languages Assembly language is a low-level programming language that needs to be ranslared into machine code by an assembler. Machine code Machine code is the binary instructions that a computer understands. No translation is required See the Student's Book for examples of each type of programming language. @ Common errors © Students often say that machine code needs translation. @ Students often reverse the definitions of high- and low-level languages. © sccse comprer since Stuty and Resin Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willa 216Translators @ Sample question 1 a Give one advantage of waiting program ina Singer's tip high-level language. Read the question carefully; does it ask for advantages b Give one advantage of writing a program in _or benefits or disadvantages or limi assembly language question as et; both advartages and d Fequire a comparison, No comparison is required for € Give one advantage of writing a program in benefits and limitations. machine code. Student answer 1. Programs are easy to understand. b To make use of hardware. ¢ Programs do not need to be translated. Examiner's comments Inpart a, the anewerio true but doesn't quite anewer the queation, which asked for advantages not benefite se a comparigon required. better anewer wouldbe Pregrame written na high-levellanguage are eaeier to understand by programmere that those written in low-level language: Inpart the aneweriea ile vague. A better anewer would qualify the hardware, for example pecaliet hardware. Inpact 6, the anewer given corrects the only anower that dees not have to be qualified bya comparison eine itis an advantage over both high-level and aesembly languages Examiner's tip Take care with advantages and disadvantages, students sometimes read disadvantage as advantage and give the wrong answer. @ Translators In order to be used by a computer, programs need to be translated into the binary instructions, machine code, that the computer understands. Compilers A compiler is a computer program that translates a program written in a high- level language (HLL) into machine code so that it can be directly used by a computer to perform a required task. Interpreters An interpreter is a computer program that reads a statement from program = written in a high-level language performs the action specified and then does the same with the next starement and so on. Assemblers An assembler is a computer program that translates a program written in an assembly language into machine code so that it can be directly used by a computer to perform a required task. : z i {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 ©7 HIGH- AND LOW-LEVEL LANGUAGES Summary Compiler Interpreter ‘Assembler “Translates a high-level language program into machine code Executes @ high evel language program one statement ata tme. Translates a lowleve language prograrn into machine code ‘An executable file of machine code is produced, No erecutable fle of machine code & produced, ‘An executable file of machine code is produced, (One high-level language statement can be transiated into several machine code instructions ‘One highdevelIanguage program statement may require several machine code insttuctons to be executed (One lou-level language statement is usually translated into one machine code instruction. Compiled programs are used without the comet interpreted programs cannot be used without the interpreter “Assembled programs can be used without the assembler ‘A compiled program is usualy dstibuted for general use ‘An interpreter soften used when a prograrn is being developed, ‘n assembled program Is usually dstsouted for genera use See the Seudent’s Book for examples of program code before and after translation. @ Common errors ¢ The statement: ‘interpreters translate high-level program statements into a machine code program’ is incorrect since the machine code statements are just executed and not stored. # Statements such as ‘low-level programs are faster” or high-level programs are slower’ are never worth any marks since they don’t say faster or slower at what; it is necessary to be clear and state, for example: ‘low-level programs complete the same task faster than @ Sample question 2 a Describe two differences between a compiler and an interpreter. b State, with a reason, a situation where you would use each one. Each situation must be different. Student answer 2a A compiler translates a whole program at one go, an interpreter translates aline ata time. A compiler produces a translated program, aninterpreter does not. b Compiler: for distributing @ program for general use, because the program will not require the compiler to run. Interpreter: for developing a program as errors are shown ona line by line basis. Examiner's comments Inpart a, the etudent hae gen two differences by explaining what happene inthe eame situation in each case. For the frst difference, it would havelbee more accurate to state ‘that the Interproter executes the program ane ata tlm. In parts b, the student: hse Wentifed tne different situations correct. Both reasons given dentify what is happening but not why tt i useful For the compile: the users do not have ‘to download or purchaee the compiler For theinterpreter, the developer can resume the development of the program immediately one error hae been corrected withoutthaving to correct every eror in the program. ‘Ado20y0u14 0} | 26941) 131 © cc Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016Exam-style questions Examiner's tip Always remember to explain why as well as identifying what to support your answer in questions where a reason is required. .ch part of your answer adds value rather than repeating a point Exam-style questions 1. Which translators are being described here? a. ‘translates a high-level language into machine code’ bb ‘translates a low-level language into machine code’ © ‘executes a high-level language program line by line’ [3 marks} 2 Identity the type of language that the following programs have been written in a LDA Noone ADD NoTwo STO Answer b answer := Noone + NoTwo e1 12 4 a ° azn d 0001 00010010 0100 00010021 000 00011020 [4 marks} 3. Name three different types of language translator and explain what each one is used for. [6 marks} 4 a Give two disadvantages of writing a program in a high-level language. [2 marks} b Give two cisadvantages of writing a program in a low-level language. [2 marks} {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 6 aBed siyp Adosoroyd 01 e694‘Ado20}0414 0} | 26341) 131 (8) Security and ethics Key objectives Objectives of this chapter are to revise: @ security and data integrity oa © ess of data and data corruption © firewalls ‘© security protocols enayption techniques (© denial of service attacks ‘© computer ethics ‘8 free software, freeware and shareware @ Key definitions Term Definition Hacking ‘Away of gaining illegal access to a computer system Cracking The editing of program source code so that it can be exploited or changed for a specific purpose Viruses Program code that can replicate/copy itself with the intention of deleting/corrupting data/files or causing the computer to matfunction Phishing ‘Sending legitimate-looking emails to encourage users to give out personal data Pharming Malicious code installed to redirect users to a fake website ‘Spyware/key logging software Cookies ‘Accidental or m: Gathers data by monitoring key presses on user's keyboards, Pieces of data which allow detection of web pages viewed by a user and store their preferences This could be due to accidentally deleting a file or to malicious attack from viruses or hacking Firewalls ‘Security Sockets Layer (SSL) Transport Layer Security (TLS) Symmetric encryption ‘Asymmetric encryption ‘Authentication Examines traffic between user's computer and a public network. They can help to prevent viruses or hackers entering a user's computer ‘Allows data to be sent and recelved securely across a network ‘A protocol that is designed to ensure that no third party may eavesdrop or tamper with any message ‘Assectet key which makes a message unreadable unless the recipient also has the decryption key ‘A form of encryption requiring both a public and a private key Used to verify that data comes from a trusted source Denial of Service attacks Ethics: Free software Freeware ‘an attempt at preventing users from accessing part of a network, notably internet servers ‘Asset of principles set out to regulate use of computers Users have the freedom to run, copy, change or adopt free software Software that a user can download free of charge Shareware Users are allowed to try out shareware free for a trial period @ Security and data integrity Hacking © Hacking is a way of gaining illegal access to a computer system. © This can lead to identity theft and loss or corruption of dara, © The risk of hacking can be minimised by using strong passwords and firewalls © sccse comprer since Stuty and Resin Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willan 216Security and data integrity Cracking ‘© Cracking is the editing of program source code so that it can be exploited or changed for a specific purpose (mostly an illegal act). « Iris often done for malicious purposes, ¢.g. modifying legitimate software to do something like redirect a user to a fake website. It is difficult to guard against; software engineers need to make the act of breaking into the software nearly impossible (i.e. make it difficult to identify back doors’). Viruses ‘© A virus is program code that can replicate /copy itself with the intention of deleting/corrupting data/files or causing the computer to malfunction. ‘© They can cause the computer to run slow (due to the hard disk filling up wich dara, for example) or crash (e.g. due to deletion of some key .exe files); they can also cause some software to run abnormally (due t0 loss or corruption of files/dara). (© The risk of viruses can be minimised by running anti-virus software or not opening emails or software from unknown sources. Phishing ‘© Legitimate-looking emails are sent to users; on opening the email, the user could be asked to supply personal or financial details or they may be asked to click on a link which sends them to a fake /bogus website where the user could be asked to supply personal data ‘© Once the user is sent to the fake /bogus website, they may be asked to give our personal or financial dara ‘© Many ISPs filter out phishing emails; the user should also be very cautious about opening emails from unknown sources. There are a number of signs to look out for in phishing emails: ‘© messages containing poor spelling and grammar ‘© a message that asks for personal information or where you didn’t initiate the action ‘© a message that makes unrealistic threats or promises, or financial rewards, for example, cash prizes, lorcery winnings, investment or pensions advice. Pharming ‘© Malicious code is installed on a user’s computer or web server; the code redirects the user to a fake or bogus website without their knowledge. ‘© Once the user is sent to the fake /bogus website, they may be asked to give out personal or financial data ‘© Some anti-spyware software can identify and remove pharming code on the hard drive; the user should also look out for clues that they are being redirected (websites which are safe can usually be identified by https or by the green padlock 8 sign in the status bar). Wardriving ‘© This is the act of locating and using wireless internet connections illegally ‘© Could lead to stealing of incernet time and bandwidth; also user’s passwords and other data may be intercepted © Prevented by use of WEP (wired equivalent privacy) encryption; use of complex passwords before accessing the internet and use of firewalls to prevent outsiders gaining access. {GCSE Compr son Sutyand evn Gide © Di son and Helen Willams 2016 °e : z i8 SECURITY AND ETHICS Spyware/key logging software © Gathers data by monitoring key presses on user’s keyboards and sending the data back to the person who sent the spyware. Sends important data, such as passwords, back to the originator of the spyware; it can also allow the originator to change settings on the user's computer. Prevented by use of anti-spyware; use of mouse to sclect characters from a drop down box to enter passwords rather than using a keyboard. Cookies © Pieces of data which allow detection of web pages viewed by a user and store their preferences. Create an anonymous user profile (e.g. user's preferences) © Cookies can be deleted from the uscr’s desktop, although this can remove some of the atures of certain websites. @ Data integrity Data can be lost on a computer due to: accidental or malicious mal-operation hardware malfunction software malfunction, Accidental or malicious loss of data © This could be due to accidentally deleting a file or to malicious attack from viruses or hacking. @ This can be guarded against by doing regular back-ups of data (although this wor’t allow recovery following virus attack); also use of passwords and user ids to protect the dara (sce above for virus and hacking safeguards). Hardware faults (e.g. head crash) These can be guarded against by regular back-ups of data, use of UPS to prevent ‘power glitches /loss’ and use of parallel hardware. Software faults (e.g. two pieces of incompatible software) ‘These can be guarded against by regular back-ups of data and the saving of data every 30 mins, for example, in case the computer becomes unresponsive. Firewalls ‘© Examines traffic between user's computer and a public network. © Checks whether incoming/outgoing data meets certain criteria. ; @ If data fails criteria, the firewall blocks the traffic and issues a warning © Logs all incoming/outgoing traffic. © Criteria can be set to prevent access to certain websites; this can be done by the firewall keeping a list of all undesirable IP addresses. Firewalls CAN help to prevent viruses or hackers entering a user"s computer. © Warns the user if some software on their system tries to access an external data source (¢.g. automatic software upgrade). Firewalls cannot prevent certain harmful traffic if an individual by-passes the firewall or if employees are careless and divulge passwords ete Bed 5143 Ado20y0ud 0} |e69I1! $131 © sccse comprer since Stuty and Revition Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willa 216Sample question @ Common errors ‘© Many students confuse phishing and pharming and assume phishing scams automatically link a user to a fake /bogus website. ‘© Many students believe backing up data guards against viruses; this is not the case, since the backed-up data may also be infected. ‘© Students often say ‘viruses damage the computer’ with no mention of the nature of the damage or how it can be caused @ Sample question 1 Explain why the following four statements about security are incorrect. a ‘by backing up data, a user can guard against the effects of a virus? b ‘phishing automatically redirects a user to a fake /bogus website” ‘cookies contain key data such as passwords to log onto a website” d ‘encryption of data is a powerful way to prevent hacking of dara during ‘transmission’ Student answer 1 a The backed-up files may also be infected; therefore when using the backed-up files to restore an infected computer, the virus could simply be reintroduced. b Phishing requires the user to first open the email and then click on a link in the email or attachment. ¢ Cookies are anonymous user profiles — they don't contain personal data. 4 Encryption doesn’t prevent hacking; it simply makes the ‘hacked’ files impossible to read/understand. Examiner's comments ‘The anewere given addreos the queation very wel. These types cf question canbe anewered altematively by addressing tho issue, for example, to quard against-a virus, the arly cortain ways areto runart-virus oftware or'écan dati coming from unknown sources. These.are regarded ae valid ways of anewering the question, provided the resporae are stl va. @ Sample question 2 Describe three of the fiunctions of a firewall and, in each case, describe an example of what the function is designed to do. Student answer + Examines incoming and outgoing data/traffic; this is done to check if the data meets certain criteria, e.g. undesirable websites. + Logs all incoming and outgoing data/traffic; this is dene to allow the user or network manager to interrogate the log at a later date. + Gives warnings if software is trying to access an external link; this could happen during automatic software updates and the user/ manager has the option of allowing access or not: aBed sip Adosoroyd 03 126 {GCSE Compr sons Sutyand evn Gide © Di avon ad Helen Willams 2016 ©8 SECURITY AND ETHICS Examiner's comments ‘Thi fea dificult question to anower properly eince many of the examples are stated ae Functions ef frowalla in many textbooks, Iie important to come up with three different examples to gain fullmarke. Examiner's tips Be careful with questions which ask you to explain why something is incorrect. Read statements very carefully and pick out which part (or parts) of the statement is! @ Security protocols Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) © Type of protocol (set of rules) used by computers to communicate with each other across a network. @ Allows data to be sent and received securely across a network. © When a user logs on, SSL encrypts the data. © User knows if SSL is being applied when they see hetps o the green padlock 6 sign in the status bar. When a user wants to access a website, the web browser asks the web server to identify itself, the web server sends a copy of the SSL certificate which the web browser authenticates; if this is OK then SSL-enerypted two-way data transfer begins between user’s computer and web server, Transport Layer Security (TLS) © TIS is similar to SSL but is more recent and a more effective system. © TIS is formed of a record protocol (contains data being transferred over the internet) and a handshake pro:ocol (which permits website and client to authenticate each other and make use of encryption algorithms) © Only recent web browsers support TLS. © Makes use of session caching which improves the overall performance (here TLS can either start a new session each time a user accesses a website, or it can attempt to resume an earlier /existing session which improves system performance). @ Encryption Symmetric encryption © Utiises a secret key; when the key is applied, the plain rexe (original text) goes through an encryption algorithm, to produce cypher text (encrypted message). The recipient needs a key to then decrypt the message back into plain text. The main risk is that both sender and recipient need the same key which could be hacked or intercepted allowing a third party to decrypt the sent encrypted message. Asymmetric encryption @ Asymmetric encryption uses public keys and private keys. © Public key is available to everybody; private key is known only to computer user; both are needed to encrypt and decrypt messages. ‘Bed 514 Ado20y0ud 0} |e69jq! $131 © sccse camper since Stuty nd Rein Gude © Drs Watson an Helen Willan 216Ethics ‘ Encryption keys are generated by a hashing algorithm — this translates the message or key into a string of characters often shown in hex notation; an example is MD4 which generates a 128-bit string (the greater the number of bits, the harder it is to ‘crack’ the encryption). ®@ Authentication ‘© Used to verify that data comes from a trusted source, ‘© Makes usc of passwords, digital signatures and/or biometrics. @ Denial of service attacks ‘© Denial of service is an attempt at preventing users from accessing part of a network, notably internet servers. © Can prevent users from. accessing their emails, accessing certain websites or accessing online services. © This is achieved by the attacker flooding the network with uscless traffic; for example, sending out thousands of requests to a website or sending out thousands of spam emails to users, ‘clogging it up’. ‘© Can be mitigated against by: + using, an up-to-date virus checker + using a firewall to restrict traffic © using email filters * looking out for signs (e.g. slow network performance, increase in spam or factors are considered: * intellectual property rights (c.g. copying software without permission) * privacy issues (e.g. hacking or any illegal access to a computer) * effect of computers on society (e.g, job losses, social impacts, and so on). ‘¢ A code of ethics is published by the ACM and TEEEG (sec the Student’s Book for a list of the ten codes). Free software Users have the freedom ro run, copy, change or adopr free software. There are rules, however, that need to be obeyed: ‘© Cannot add source code except fiom software which is also free software ‘© Cannot produce any software which copies existing software that is subject to copyright laws. © Cannot alter the source code so that it inffinges any copyright that protects other software ‘© May not produce software that is possibly offensive. Freeware Software that a user can download free of charge. There are no fees associated with the software (c.g. Adobe or Skype) bur they are subject to copyright laws and the user is ofien asked to tick a box to say they understand and agree to the terms and conditions governing the software. IGCSE Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016 aBed siyp Adosoroyd 01 e6948 SECURITY AND ETHICS Shareware Users are allowed to try out shareware free for a trial period. At the end of this period, the user will be requested to pay a fee. Very often, the trial version doesn’t have all the features of the full version ~ all the features become available once the fee is paid. @ Common errors © Many students don’t realise loss of data doesn’t have to be a malicious act, ie can be due to an error or nor following correct procedure. © Students often claim that firewalls ALWAYS protect against viruses and hackers - this is not the case. « Students often confuse free software, freeware and shareware. @ Sample question 3 Put the following statements into the correct order which describe what happens when a user wants to access a secure website and receive or send data. order Statements ‘wa server responds by sending a copy of the SSL certificate to the users web | browser ‘a browser requests thatthe web senar identifies isl ‘once message reelved, the web server acknowledges the web browser, and the SSL encrypted 2-way data transfer bagns "ser web browser sends a message so that tcan connect with the required ‘website which is secured by SSL Ifthe web browser can authenticate this cetficat, It sends a message back tothe ‘web server to allow communiation to begin Student answer i 2 5 HI 4 Examiner's comments The etudent-hae correctly idetiNed the fve steps in the proceee. Examiner’s tips In questions like this, itis usually a good idea to: First ofall decide the first and last stage (sometimes this is given to you) ++ then using rough paper, set out each of the steps in the correct order +» then check whether your steps are logical (e.g. if you put a step like fill up the printer paper tray’ before the step ‘printer sends an error message that it is out of ‘paper’ then this is clearly logically incorrect itis usually common sense). i : g 0 cc Computer Science Study and Revision Guide © David Watson and Helen Williams 2016