SA2 Computer Science revision

1. Describe the characteristics of AI.

AI is just a collection of rules and data.
AI’s abilities:
● Reasoning - draw reasoned conclusions based on given data/situations.AI uses
deductive reasoning to create rules based on accurate facts, which can then be
applied to solve various problems.
● Learning - AI machines can learn and improve their performance through a series
of steps, even adapting to new situations.
● Adapt to external stimuli - the AI machine can quickly recognize patterns and then
make predictions by adapting to the new data.
AI can be split into 3 categories:
● Narrow AI - superior to humans in one task.
● General AI - a machine's performance is similar to a human’s performing a specific
task.
● Strong AI - excels in multiple tasks.

2. How do robotics use AI?

Robotics using AI uses machine learning to imitate human behavior, giving robots
computer vision to navigate, recognize, and respond to their surroundings.
3. What is meant by robotics?
The branch of (computer) science encompasses the design, construction, and operation
of robots.
4. Convert binary, denary, and hexadecimal values.
1. Binary to decimal/denary conversion:
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
Method: Using the table above, each number will be proportional to each column.
2. Denary/decimal to binary conversion:
Method: Subtraction of powers of 2 (128, 64, 32, 16, and so on)
3. Binary to hexadecimal conversion:
Method:
● Split the binary number into groups of 4 bits.
● Use the binary, hexadecimal, and denary value table to find the equivalent
hexadecimal digits.
4. Binary to hexadecimal conversion:
Method:
 ● Use the binary, hexadecimal, and denary value table to find the equivalent denary
digits.
● Put the groups together to form the binary number.
5. Hexadecimal to denary conversion:
The value headings of each hexadecimal digit: 4096, 256, 16, 1.
Method:
● Take each hexadecimal digit and multiply it by the heading values.
● Add all the resultant totals together to give the denary number.
*Remember: the hex digits A -> F need to be first converted to the values 10 -> 15 before
carrying out the multiplication.
6. Denary to hexadecimal conversion:
Method: Divide by 16 until reaches 0.

*Binary, hexadecimal, and denary value table:

Binary value Hexadecimal value Denary value

0000 0 0

0001 1 1

0010 2 2

0011 3 3

0100 4 4

0101 5 5

0110 6 6

0111 7 7

1000 8 8

1001 9 9

1010 A 10

1011 B 11

1100 C 12

1101 D 13
 1110 E 14

1111 F 15

5. How are cookies used to enhance a user’s experience of a website?

By storing information such as shopping cart contents, login credentials, and site
preferences, they improve efficiency and convenience by allowing websites to remember
user interactions and deliver personalized content.
6. Identify the bit number and the byte number of an incorrect bit.
Bit: the basic computing element that is either 0 or 1 and is formed from the words Binary
digit.

7. What are some basic functions of a web browser? (you all know this, but
you need to look at the textbook definitions).
● Web browser - software that connects to a domain name server (DNS) to locate IP
addresses.
● A browser interprets HTML web pages sent to a user’s computer so that the user
can read documents and watch multimedia.

8. How a parity block check might detect an error and how a parity byte
check works.
Parity block check: The data is stored in a virtual table with parity bits added to each row
and column, and a single corrupted bit can be detected at the intersection.

Parity byte check: The server can detect an error if it detects a byte with an odd number of
1s, contrary to its expectation of every byte to contain an even number of 1s.

9. What is full‑duplex data transmission?

Data can be sent in both directions simultaneously.
10. Compare serial data transmission and parallel data transmission.
Serial data transmission: sending date down one channel/wire one bit at a time.
Parallel data transmission - sending data down several channels/wires several bits at a
time (usually 1 byte).
11. In packet switching, what are the 3 elements of a data packet?
● Packet header
● Payload
● Trailer
12. Why are some files compressed?
Compressed files have 2 types:
 ● Lossless: MP3, MP4, JPEG
● Lossy: GIF, PNG, RLE, ZIP
13. Understand and be able to describe how SSDs work.
● SSD stands for solid-state drive, an internal secondary storage.
● SSDs use flash memory to store data permanently, utilizing floating gate
transistors to hold an electrical charge, allowing them to store data even without a
power source.
14. Be able to calculate file size, based on color depth and resolution.
Formula:
Image: image resolution (pixels) x colour depth (bits)
Mono sound file: sample rate (Hz) x sample resolution (bits) x length of sample (seconds)
Stereo sound file: mono sound file x 2

Example:
1. A photograph is 1024 x 1080 pixels and uses a colour depth of 32 bits. How many
photographs of this size would fit onto a memory stick of 64 GiB?
2. A camera detector has an array of 2048 by 2048 pixels and uses a colour depth of
16. Find the size of an image taken by this camera in MiB.
15. Be able to define pixel and resolution.
● Pixel: derived from the term ‘picture element’, this is the smallest element used to
make up an image on a display.
● Image resolution: the number of pixels in the X-Y direction of an image, for
example, 4096 x 3192 pixels.
16. RAM - what gets stored in it?
● Store data, files, and part of an application or part of the operating system
currently in use.
17. Binary denominations - nibbles, mebibytes, pebibytes...
● Nibble: 4 binary digits/half of an 8-bit byte

Memory size using denary values

Name of memory size Equivalent denary value Unit

1 kilobyte (1 KB) 1 000 bytes

1 megabyte (1 MB) 1 000 000 bytes

1 gigabyte (1 GB) 1 000 000 000 bytes

1 Terabyte (1 TB) 1 000 000 000 000 bytes

1 Petabyte (1 PB) 1 000 000 000 000 000 bytes

 1 Exabyte (1 EB) 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 bytes

IEC memory size system

Name of memory size Number of bytes

1 kibibyte (1 KiB) 2
10

1 mebibyte (1 MiB) 2
20

1 gibibyte (1 GiB) 2
30

1 tebibyte (1 TiB) 2
40

1 pebibyte ( 1 PiB) 2
50

1 exbibyte (1 EiB) 2
60

18. Compilers and interpreters

Compiler Interpreter

Translates a high-level language program into Executes a high-level language program one
machine code. statement at a time.

An executable file of machine code is No executable file of machine code is

produced. produced.

One high-level language statement can be One high-level language program statement
translated into several machine code may require several machine code instructions
instructions. to be executed.

Compiled programs are run without the Interpreted programs cannot be run without
compiler. the interpreter.

A compiled program is usually distributed for An interpreter is often used when a program is
general use. being developed.

19. High‑level language vs. low-level language.

● High-level language (HLL) - a programming language that is independent of
computer hardware, a program written in a HLL needs to be translated into
machine code before it is executed.
 ● Low-level language (LLL) - a programming language that is dependent on
computer hardware, both machine code and assembly language are LLLs.

Programs that are written in a HLL are easier to:

● Read and understand as the language used is closer to English.
● Write in a shorter time.
● Debug at the development stage.
● Maintain once in use.
20. What are proxy servers and firewalls?
● Proxy server - a server that acts as an intermediary server through which internet
requests are processed; it often makes use of cache memory to speed up web
page access.
● Firewall - software or hardware that sits between a computer and an external
network (for example, the internet); the firewall monitors and filters all incoming
and outgoing traffic.