Assessment Task instructions

This is a closed-book examination.

No paper or electronic materials should be taken into the examination room.

Read all of the questions carefully.

You should attempt all of the questions in Section 1.

You should attempt the question in Section 2.

You should attempt three of the four questions in Section 3.

The examination question paper and your answer script must remain in the room at the
end of the examination.

Do not write on the question paper.

Section 1 — write your answers on the answer grid provided.

Sections 2 and 3 — write your answers in the answer book (provided by your centre)
starting a new page for each question.

Calculators are not allowed.

Questions contained in Section 1 may have more than one correct answer.
Section 1 (15 Marks)

1. Which of the following chips can be reprogrammed without removing them from the
motherboard of a PC?
a. EEPROM
b. EPROM
c. PROM
d. ROM

2. The lines which transfer information from memory to the CPU are called the
a. data bus
b. expansion bus
c. parallel interface
d. serial port

3. You only need to install one application from a suite of programs provided by the
software provider. Which type of installation would you choose?
a. Complete
b. Custom
c. Trial
d. Variable

4. Which of the following are layers of an operating system? (Select all that apply).
a. Computer Interface Layer
b. Kernel
c. Memory I/O Layer
d. User Interface Layer

5. Which of the following is a type of operating system?

a. Multi-functional
b. Multi-networked
c. Networked processing
d. Single-user, single task
Answer grid

Candidate’s name Candidate’s ID

Class Date

Question Answer(s)

Total marks attained Pass/Resit/Fail

Assessor Date
Section 2
Attempt this Question.

This Question is worth 7 marks.

A local employment skills training charity have received a donation to upgrade one
computer lab for their students. The charity caters for students of all ages and abilities.

You have been employed to plan and oversee the refurbishment. This will entail repairing
and replacing equipment and disposing of unneeded components responsibly.

Question

Using your knowledge of troubleshooting computer problems, outline the steps that you
would take to establish the condition of the computers in the lab and outline the
documentation that you would produce.

(7)
Section 3
Attempt any three of the questions in this section.
Each question is worth 10 marks.

1. (a) Complete the following truth table .

A B C A AND B A OR C NOT A (A AND B) OR (NOT A)

0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
(4)

(b) Provide an explanation of cached memory and where you would find it within a
computer system.

(3)

(c) Some types of memory as described as being “volatile”. Explain what this means
and give an example of where this type of volatile memory can be found in a
computer system.

(3)
2. (a) A computer system uses a series of system buses to control peripherals and data.
Explain the role and characteristics of each of the following buses ;

 address bus
 data bus
 control bus
(6)

(b) What advantages are there when using Direct Memory Access (DMA) to handle
Input / Output transfers?

(2)

(c) A processor is made up of several components that all have a specific function.
Explain the Function of the following;

 Arithmetic Logic Unit

 Program Counter
(2)

3. The support team in a college is spending a lot of time fixing problems with printers
in the computing labs.
a. This takes up a lot of time as each support member starts from the beginning
with each new case.

You decide to create a flow chart to help with this. The flow chart should
contain all the questions you might ask as you work through the problem and
it should display the solutions as processes.
Draw the flow chart in your book, labelling it clearly and using appropriate
symbols

(6)

b. Give one reason for documenting the solution to the problem.

(1)
c. As part of your evaluation, describe the approach that you took detailing two
techniques that you employed in your problem solving.
(1)
4. (a) When you investigate a computer related problem you may employ a specific
approach to solve the problem. Describe the following approaches.
 Linear
 Half Split
(4)

(b) Explain the difference between a “Test Plan” and “Test Logs”.
(2)

(c) There are a number of various problem solving tools and resources that can help
in developing a solution to a problem. These may differ depending on the type
of problem. Give two examples of such tools and explain how they can help
resolve problems.

(4)
Suggested solution and making an assessment decision

Section 1

Question Answer

1 A

2 A

3 B

4 BD

5 D
Section 2

Using your knowledge of troubleshooting computer problems, outline the steps that you
would take to establish the condition of the computers in the lab and outline the
documentation that you would produce.

(7)

Troubleshooting steps may include:

 identify the symptoms of the problem

 identify the area affected
 identify any recently-applied changes
 identify the most likely source of the problem
 implement the solution
 test the solution
 analyse the possible effects of the solution

Documentation may include:

 draw up requirements specification in co-operation with the internal client

 create an inventory of hardware and software
 create a fault report
 produce test plan and test log

1 mark for each appropriate step up to 5 marks

1 mark for each suitable item of documentation up to a maximum of 2 marks.

Section 3

1. (a)

A B C A AND B A OR C NOT A (A AND B) OR (NOT A)

0 0 0 0 0 1 1
0 0 1 0 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 0 1 1
0 1 1 0 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 1 0 0
1 0 1 0 1 0 0
1 1 0 1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 0 1

(b) Cache memory is random access memory (RAM) that a computer microprocessor
can access more quickly than it can access regular RAM. As the microprocessor
processes data, it looks first in the cache memory and if it finds the data there, it
does not have to do the more time-consuming reading of data from larger memory.

Cache memory is sometimes described in levels of closeness and accessibility to the

microprocessor. An L1cache is on the same chip as the microprocessor. L2 is usually
a separate static RAM (SRAM) chip. The main RAM is usually a dynamic RAM (DRAM)
chip.

(c)Volatile memory or volatile storage is computer memory that requires power to

maintain the stored information. It retains its contents while powered, but when
power is interrupted stored data is immediately lost. RAM is an example of this type
of volatile memory.

2. (a) Address Bus – A collection of wires connecting the CPU with main memory that is
used to identify particular locations (addresses) in main memory. The width of the
address bus (that is, the number of wires) determines how many unique memory
locations can be addressed.

Data Bus – A data bus is a computer subsystem that allows for the transferring of
data from one component to another on a motherboard or system board, or
between two computers. This can include transferring data to and from the memory,
or from the central processing unit (CPU) to other components. Each one is designed
to handle so many bits of data at a time. The amount of data a data bus can handle is
called bandwidth.

A typical data bus is 32-bits wide. This means that packets of data up to 32 bits long
can be handled by the data bus. Newer computers are making data buses that can
handle 64-bit and even 96-bit data paths.
 Control Bus – A control bus is (part of) a computer bus, used by CPUs for
communicating with other devices within the computer. While the address bus
carries the information on which device the CPU is communicating with and the data
bus carries the actual data being processed, the control bus carries commands from
the CPU and returns status signals from the devices. For example if the data is being
read or written to the device the appropriate line (read or write) will be active (logic
zero).

(b) Direct memory access (DMA) lets devices gain access to the main bus linking the
processor to the system memory and move data directly between the main memory
and another part of the system. The goal is an increase in data throughput and a
decrease in CPU load, which can reduce power requirements or enable more
application work to be done.

Advantages of using DMA include an increase in data throughput and a decrease in

CPU load, which can reduce the power requirements of a system or enable more
application work to be done.

(c) Arithmetic Logic Unit - the part of a computer that performs all arithmetic
computations, such as addition and multiplication, and all comparison operations.

Program Counter - A register in a computer processor that contains the address

(location) of the instruction being executed at the current time. As each instruction
gets fetched, the program counter increases its stored value by 1. After each
instruction is fetched, the program counter points to the next instruction in the
sequence. When the computer restarts or is reset, the program counter normally
reverts to 0.

3a Symbols used should include:

 terminator (oblong or oval)
 process (rectangle)
 decision (diamond)

Possible solutions might include:

 check power supply and/or Wi-Fi signal
 identify type of printer
 check ink/toner supply
 check print heads
 update printer driver
 any reasonable suggestion

1 mark for each reasonable decision and solution (process) up to 6 marks

3b
The solution should be documented to assist with future troubleshooting on this PC.
Accept any reasonable statement. For 1 mark
(d) As part of your self-evaluation, describe the approach that you took detailing
two techniques that you employed in your problem solving activity. 3

The student should describe their approach in terms of linear (top-down or bottom-up) or
half-split and then highlight two techniques.
1 mark for approach and 1 mark for each of two techniques.

6. (a) Linear methods of troubleshooting are often split into two main areas, bottom-up
and top-down approaches. Both have advantages and disadvantages and can be
used in differing situations. The bottom-up approach to troubleshooting a computer
problem would start with the physical components and works up to the the
applications layer. Bottom-up troubleshooting is an effective and efficient approach
for situations when the problem is suspected to be physical. For example, if the cable
is unplugged, it does not make sense to spend time trying to determine network
access by using traceroute or ping commands.

When you apply a top-down approach to troubleshooting a networking problem,

you start with the user application and work your way down the layers of the OSI
model. The top-down approach is usually the simple route and typically affects only
one or a few users. Lower layers, or network infrastructure, usually affect more than
a few users. For example, if a user cannot get to a website, the technician can start
at the top of the OSI model and try accessing a different website. If the other
website can be accessed, the problem is probably with the first website. If the
second site is also inaccessible, the technician can move down the OSI model and
check for a firewall blocking ports at the transport layer. The technician could then
check IP settings on the host and try pinging the default gateway or the DNS servers
to determine if the problem is at the network layer.

The Half-Split Method (also known as the Divide-and-Conquer Approach) is generally

used by more experienced technicians. The technician will use their experience to
make an educated guess as to where the fault may lie, and then progress forward or
backward in the particular circuit whether it be. This approach works for technical,
networking or software problems. The method is a logical way of applying the
system knowledge to isolate the fault. It’s essentially a binary progression.

(b) A Test Plan shows what tests are to be carried out and the purpose and expected
result of each test.
A Test Log records what actually happened when each test was carried out. If any
test does not produce the expected results you may have to amend to solution to
ensure that it does.

(c)