C206/SQP257

Computing NATIONAL
Advanced Higher QUALIFICATIONS

Contents Page

Course Assessment Specification 2

Specimen Question Paper 7

Specimen Marking Instructions 25

[C206/SQP257] 1
Course Assessment Specification

Computing Advanced Higher

The purpose of this document is to provide:

♦ Details of the structure of the Question Paper for this Course

♦ Details of the structure of the Practical Coursework task that contributes to this
Course
♦ Guidance to centres on how to use information gathered from the Question Paper
and the Practical Coursework Task in this Course to estimate candidate
performance.

Part 1

This part of the Course Assessment Specification details the structure of the
Question Paper for this Course

The Question Paper

♦ consists of 2 sections
♦ has a mark allocation of 120 marks
♦ has a time allocation of 2 hours 30 minutes.

Section I - 60 marks
♦ consists of questions requiring extended responses demonstrating structuring
and reasoning
♦ questions have varying mark allocation and therefore do not have to be of the
same length. Most questions will subdivided into a number of connected parts
with the marks for each part clearly indicated.
♦ questions will involve both knowledge and understanding and problem
solving, and will be set in a range of contexts
♦ approximately 20 marks will be for knowledge and understanding
♦ approximately 40 marks will be for problem solving
♦ questions will sample across the content statements associated with the
mandatory units (Software Development and Developing a Software Solution)
♦ some questions, or parts of questions, will require integration of knowledge
from the two mandatory units
♦ candidates will be expected to tackle all questions in the section.

Section II - 60 marks
♦ this section has three sub-sections, one for each of the optional units (Artificial
Intelligence, Computer Networking and Computer Architecture)
♦ candidates will be expected to tackle all the questions within one sub-section
♦ each sub-section consists of questions requiring extended responses
demonstrating structuring and reasoning

[C206/SQP257] 2 Page 2
 ♦ questions have varying mark allocation and therefore do not have to be of the
same length. Most questions will subdivided into a number of connected parts
with the marks for each part clearly indicated.
♦ questions will involve both knowledge and understanding and problem
solving, and will be set in a range of contexts
♦ approximately 20 marks will be for knowledge and understanding
♦ approximately 40 of the marks will be for problem solving
♦ questions in each sub-section will sample across the content statements
associated with the appropriate optional unit
♦ some questions, or parts of questions, will require integration of knowledge
from the mandatory units.

[C206/SQP257] 3 Page 3
Part 2

This part of the Course Assessment Specification details the structure of the
Practical Coursework Task in this Course.

♦ The Practical Coursework Task has a mark allocation of 80 marks

♦ There is no set time allocation, but an appropriate project should be achievable
by a typical candidate during the 40 hours of the Developing a Software
Solution unit, with approximately 10 additional hours to produce the
documentation and report

♦ The task provides the candidate with the opportunity to demonstrate and
integrate practical skills and knowledge they have developed within the
mandatory units (Software Development and Developing a Software Solution)
in a more complex and less familiar context than is possible within the units

♦ A practical project will be chosen by the candidate in discussion with the

teacher/ lecturer
♦ The project should be at an appropriate level for the course (see guidance in
the support notes for the unit Developing a Software Solution)

♦ The task may be undertaken in “open book” conditions, but under supervision
of the teacher/lecturer, to ensure that the work presented is the candidate’s
own work
♦ Where a number of candidates undertake a collaborative project, the teacher/
lecturer must ensure that each candidate’s individual contribution can be
clearly identified and assessed
♦ The task will be marked by the teacher/lecturer, using a marking scheme
provided by SQA, but be subject to moderation
♦ The candidate is required to submit
- the problem specification
- evidence of project planning
- evidence of a completed solution (preferably files on a CD plus hard
copy of coding/data files, screen shots)
- user documentation and technical documentation
- an evaluation report
♦ The marking scheme will provide a mark out of 80, which will be submitted
directly to SQA without scaling
♦ The teacher or lecturer may give the candidate guidance and/or help if
requested. Any significant help should be reflected in the marks awarded
♦ Once the task has been completed and marked, it should not be returned to the
candidate for further work.

[C206/SQP257] 4 Page 4
Part 3

This part of the Course Assessment Specification provides guidance on how to

use assessment information gathered from the Question Paper and the Practical
Coursework task to estimate candidate performance

Component Mark Range

Question Paper 0-120
Practical Coursework 0-80
Total Marks 0-200

The mark range for each component takes account of the weighting of each
component.

In National Qualifications cut-off scores should be set at approximately 70% for grade
A and 50% for grade C with grade B falling midway.

For a total mark range of 0-200, the following gives an indication of the cut-off scores
based on the candidate’s total score.

Grade Band Mark Range

A 1 170-200
A 2 140-169
B 3 130-139
B 4 120-129
C 5 110-119
C 6 100-109
D 7 90-99
NA 8 80-89
NA 9 0-79

These cut-off scores may be lowered if question paper component turns out to be
more demanding or raised if less demanding.

Worked example

♦ In a centre’s own prelim, a candidate scores 88/120, and the candidate scores
37/80 in the practical coursework
♦ The two marks are added together, giving a total of 125/200
♦ The centre’s view is that their own prelim is slightly less demanding than SQA
examination.
♦ Using the mark range, a realistic estimate may be band 5 rather than band 4.

[C206/SQP257] 5 Page 5
[C206/SQP257] 6 Page 6
C206/SQP257

Advanced Higher Time: 2 hours 30 minutes NATIONAL

Computing QUALIFICATIONS
Specimen Question Paper
for use in and after 2006

Answer questions from both sections: Section I and Section II.

Section I: attempt all questions in this section.

Section II has three parts: answer questions from any one of the parts A, B, or C.

Read the instructions at the beginning of each section.

[C206/SQP257] 7 ©
 SECTION I — Software Development & Developing a Software Solution
Answer ALL questions in this part
Marks
1. The Principal of Clydeside College would like to introduce a computerised system to
replace the current manual system that is used to process student enrolments at the
start of each new academic session.
The Principal has discussed the possible benefits of a computerised system with the
College Administration Department and with each Head of Faculty. Together, they
have produced a project proposal which outlines their plans for the new computerised
system.

(a) The Principal decides to employ a team of systems analysts to study the project
proposal and develop a computerised enrolment system that meets the College
requirements.
The team of systems analysts will be involved in a number of activities
including:
• carrying out a feasibility study
• producing an operational requirements document.
For each of the activities listed above, describe in detail what is meant by the
term shown in italics and what would be involved at this stage of the analysis in
relation to the college enrolment system. 6

(b) The result of the analysis stage of the software development process will be an
operational requirements document. State one difference between an
operational requirements document and a system specification. 2

(c) Once the system specification has been produced, the design team begin to work
on the design of the new computerised system. An important part of the
designers’ work is to consider a suitable interface for the new enrolment system.
Look carefully at the interfaces shown below.

Interface A Interface B

Comment on each of these interfaces in terms of:

(i) ease of use; 2
(ii) scope for error. 2

[C206/SQP257] 8 Page two

 Marks
(d) An important part of the design process is planning the detailed logic for the
solution.
(i) It may be necessary to delete a student’s details from the college
enrolment system. Describe, using an appropriate design methodology,
how student details could be removed from the enrolment file so that the
file contains no blank spaces. 3
(ii) Explain how a dry run could be used to validate the design produced in
part (i) above. 2

(e) During the implementation stage of development, the programming team

produce code that matches the detailed design produced by the designers. The
solution could be coded using an object-oriented programming language.
What features of an object-oriented programming language
(i) assist the programmer in developing the solution and 2
(ii) aid the maintainability of the solution? 2

(f) Once the system has been implemented, testing is carried out.
(i) Explain the need for both component and module testing. 2
(ii) Explain how trace tables and breakpoints are used in the testing process. 2

(g) On completion of the project, the solution is evaluated. In the evaluation, there
are comments about the use made by the development team of user-defined
modules and CASE tools.
(i) Explain why the use of user-defined module libraries can lead to a
reduction in development time. 2
(ii) Identify two benefits to the development team of using CASE tools. 2

[C206/SQP257] 9 Page three

 Marks
2. Compilers must to be able to deal with arithmetic expressions such as
(9 - 2) * (3 + 4)
One way of dealing with expressions of this type is to:
• transform the expression into a sequence of symbols.
• process the sequence of symbols using a stack data structure.
(a) Explain what is meant by a stack data structure. 2

(b) The above expression is transformed into the following sequence of symbols:
9 2 - 3 4 + *
This sequence of symbols is then processed using a stack by applying the
following algorithm:

start loop
get next symbol
if symbol is a number then
add symbol to top of stack
end if
if symbol is an operator then
remove the top two items from the stack and carry out
the operation on these values
add the result to the top of the stack
end if
end loop

Using a diagram, show the state of the stack after the “3” has been added to it. 2

(c) Give the upper limit of the size of the stack needed in this case. 1

3. A printer buffer uses a queue data structure to hold items of data that are to be printed.
Explain how a queue data structure can be used to hold and process items in the
printer buffer queue. Draw a labelled diagram to illustrate your answer. 4

[C206/SQP257] 10 Page four

 Marks
4. At a canoe slalom event, twenty competitors are timed on a section of river. At the
finishing line, a judge writes down each competitor’s name, bib number, time and
penalty points. After three competitors have completed the course, the judge’s notes
look like this:

Name Bib number Time (seconds) Penalty points

J Ashcroft 273 127.4 15
N Khan 185 153.2 10
S Buchanan 99 187.4 45

The judge is to be provided with a laptop computer running a specially designed

program. This will allow each competitor’s name, bib number, time and penalties to
be entered as they finish.

(a) Describe how you would store the competitors’ details using a record data type
(you should assume that a record data type exists in the language selected for
implementation of the program). You may illustrate your answer in a
programming language of your choice. 3

(b) Describe how you would store the competitors’ details without using a record
data type (you should assume that the language selected for implementation of
the program does not support a record data type). You may illustrate your
answer in a programming language of your choice. 4

[C206/SQP257] 11 Page five

 Marks
5. A list of names has been stored in an array as part of a personal organiser program
which is being developed by a team of programmers.
The programmers want to add a search feature to the program so that a person’s name
can be found quickly. It has been decided that a binary search will be used.
(a) What would need to be done to the list of names before a binary search can be
used? 1

(b) State three data items, other than the list of names and the name being searched
for, that would be required to implement the binary search algorithm and explain
how these data items are used in the algorithm. 4

(c) Using the list of names below

Ann, David, Hardeep, Mhairi, Sean

show that the binary search algorithm uses fewer comparisons than the linear
search algorithm to find the name Mhairi. 3

(d) In what circumstances would the linear search algorithm use fewer comparisons
than the binary search algorithm? Explain your answer. 2

(e) The programmers would like to add a sort feature to the program so that when a
new name is added, the list of names is automatically sorted into alphabetical
order. The possible algorithms are selection sort, simple sort and bubble sort.
(i) Describe how a simple sort works. 2
(ii) Most sort algorithms work in place, ie by rearranging the given array
without using additional temporary memory. Which algorithm does need
additional temporary memory? Explain your answer. 2
(iii) Explain why the bubble sort algorithm is best when the list is already
partially sorted. 1
(60)

[END OF SECTION I]

[C206/SQP257] 12 Page six

 SECTION II

Part A — Artificial Intelligence

Part B — Computer Networking
Part C — Computer Architecture

Choose one of the parts A, B or C.

Answer all questions from that part.

[C206/SQP257] 13 Page seven

 Marks
SECTION II — Part A — Artificial Intelligence
Answer ALL questions in this part.

6. Following a consultation with a user, an expert system is normally expected to offer

some advice. Many expert systems offer the advice accompanied by a certainty factor.

(a) Describe two benefits that can be claimed for the provision of certainty factors. 4

(b) Why might some expert systems not provide certainty factors? 2

(c) The following rules are created to give a certainty factor (CF) between 0 and 1 to
the chances of someone being able to play basketball:

IF is-tall(X)
AND has-good-coordination (X)
THEN could-play-basketball(X) CF 0.5

If the expert system has already concluded that is-tall(fred) with CF 0.3 and
has-good-coordination(fred) with CF 0.8 then what would be the certainty
factor of could-play-basketball(fred)? 3

7. An early AI program uses forward chaining and works by matching its rules against
the user’s last sentence. The selection of a rule to fire is based on fixed strategies,
known as conflict resolution strategies. Describe two strategies that can be used to
decide which rule to fire. 4

8. An automated warehouse contains numbered boxes which are to be stacked on three

pallets. The boxes are manipulated by a robot that travels on an overhead rail. The
robot is fitted with an extendable gripper and can perform two types of operation as
follows:

• If the robot’s location is above a non-empty pallet, it may transfer the top box
from this pallet onto another pallet. Thus, the robot can transform the scene
shown in scene S1 into the one shown in scene S2.

• The robot can move from one location to another directly above a pallet without
transferring any box. Thus, scene S2 can be transformed into scene S3 by this
operation.

rail

robot
Numbered
boxes
1

2 3

pallet
S1
Question 8 is continued on the next page
[C206/SQP257] 14 Page eight
 Marks

2 33 1
S2

2 3 1
S3

The scene S1 can be represented by

<L, [1,2],[3],[ ]>
(a) Using the same symbolic notation, write down the representations of:
(i) the three other transformations which could be applied to the boxes in
scene S1; 3
(ii) the three other transformations which could be applied to the boxes in
scene S2. 3

(b) In a typical problem, the robot’s task is to transform scene Sl into the scene
shown below by a suitable sequence of operations.

(i) Write down the symbolic representation of this problem’s goal state. 1

(ii) Draw part of a search tree for the problem, labeling each node with the
appropriate symbolic state representation. Your tree should show all
states reachable from scene Sl within two operations. One branch, which
you should identify clearly, should be extended further to reveal a solution
to the problem. 6

(iii) Ideally, the robot’s control software should find very quickly a solution
which requires the fewest operations. Explain why depth-first and
breadth-first search methods may not give rise to ideal performance. 4

[C206/SQP257] 15 Page nine [Turn over

 Marks
9. Describe the minimax procedure and give an example of when it may be used. 3

10. Represent the following knowledge using an AND/OR graph.

Jane decides she wants a different outfit to wear to a school dance. She can either
borrow a friend’s dress and shoes or she can earn enough money, to buy a new dress
and shoes. To earn the money Jane could get a job at the local supermarket or do
some gardening and window washing. Once she has enough money, Jane has to
decide whether to buy everything from a catalogue or go to a shoe shop and a dress
shop. 6

11. Consider the blocks world problem below:

Initial Intermediate Goal

State State State
A H
H G
G G F
F F E
E E D
D D C
C C B
B H A B A

Two operators can be used namely:

• Pick up one block and put it on another and
• Pick up one block and put it on the table

Assume that the following state evaluation function is used:

Add one point for every block that is resting on the block that it is supposed to be resting on
or is in the correct position resting on the table. Subtract one point for every block that is
NOT resting on the block that it is supposed to be resting on.

(a) Using this function what is the score of the goal state? 1

(b) Using this function what is the score of the initial state? 1

(c) Describe the only possible first move and evaluate the resulting state. 2

(d) There are then three possible second moves. Write down these three moves
using block notation and evaluate each of the states. 3

(e) Explain what would happen next if the hill-climbing heuristic is used. 1

[C206/SQP257] 16 Page ten

 Marks
12. Apply the Waltz algorithm to label the lines of the cuboid.

13. Parse the following sentence:

The young cat sat on the red mat. 3

14. An example of a member rule in Prolog is as follows:

member(X,[X|_]).

(a) Use this rule to explain list processing. 3

(b) What would be the answer to the following Prolog query?

?-member(david,[john,mary,david,tom,ann])

Explain your answer. 3

(60)

[END OF SECTION II — Part A]

[C206/SQP257] 17 Page eleven

 Marks
SECTION II — Part B — Computer Architecture
Answer ALL questions in this part.

15. (a) Name and describe the purpose of two processor registers. 4

(b) Explain what is meant by the term instruction set for a processor. 2

16. RISC and CISC are two different processor architectures.

Explain how RISC processors aim to achieve performance gains over CISC
processors. 4

17. A processor has a 32 bit data bus and a 32 bit address bus. The operation code of a
machine instruction occupies 1 byte. Two machine instructions available to the
processor are described below.

Load the accumulator - direct addressing mode, eg LODA 1EF0

Load the accumulator - immediate addressing mode, eg LODA #0F

(a) (i) What is meant by addressing mode with respect to a machine instruction? 1

(ii) How much memory, in gigabytes, can be addressed by this processor? 2

(b) The processor must undergo various tests. One section of a test program has an
instruction LODA #N, which must be fetched and executed.

If the program counter is currently set at location 1000hex, what will it be set at
after the instruction LODA #N has been fetched from memory and executed?
Explain how you obtained your answer. 2

(c) The fetch part of the instruction requires reading the contents of the appropriate
memory location.
Describe in detail the operating steps, with reference to the buses and registers
involved, that take place to enable the instruction to be read from memory. 4

18. (a) Explain the advantages of using Direct Memory Access (DMA) over other
techniques, for example software-serviced interrupts, when transferring data
from a disk to main memory. 3

(b) Explain, with the aid of a diagram, one method of implementing DMA. Your
diagram should indicate how DMA techniques make use of the address and data
buses. 3

(c) A certain processor takes 30 nanoseconds to complete one clock cycle. The speed
of memory to carry out a read or write request is 70 nanoseconds.
Name and describe one memory technique which can be used to enable multiple
accesses simultaneously in this situation. 5

[C206/SQP257] 18 Page twelve

 Marks
19. Consider the following storage media:
hard disk
magnetic tape;
CD-RW;
rewriteable DVD.
Evaluate the suitability of each of the above storage media for the backup of one
gigabyte of data. 4

20. Describe the benefits and limitations of parallel processing. 4

21. Operating systems must provide functions such as scheduling programs, managing
data transfers and managing files. Recent operating system designs also aim to adhere
to the “convenience of the user” principle. This allows the user to place more
demands on system resources.
(a) Recent trends have led to operating systems including services and providing
capabilities that were formerly within applications.
(i) Give details of the operating system’s services in terms of:
• providing a standard look and feel for applications
• improving the capability of programs to communicate and pass
data. 4
(ii) Explain why the trend to expand the role of the operating system to
include these services has taken place. 2

[C206/SQP257] 19 Page thirteen

 Marks
(b) In a disk filing system which uses contiguous allocation of files, two popular
algorithms for allocating files to unused disk space are first fit and best fit.
Below is a list of files to be stored on disk and a list of unused disk blocks and
their sizes. The list of unused disk blocks is sorted by address.

Files to be Unused disk

Written to disk blocks and sizes
File 1: 45 Kb Block A: 75 Kb
File 2: 74 Kb Block B: 40 Kb
File 3: 35 Kb Block C: 50 Kb
File 4: 38 Kb Block D: 35 Kb

Describe what happens when an attempt is made to write the above files using:

(i) first fit; 2

(ii) best fit. 2

(c) Operating systems need to schedule programs in a multitasking system. Two

types of pre-emptive scheduling are round robin scheduling and multi-level
feedback queue.

(i) Why does the operating system need to schedule programs in a

multitasking system? 2

(ii) Compare round robin scheduling and multi level feedback queue. Your
explanation should include the effect each type has on system
performance. 4

(d) Name two operating systems and compare how the following tasks could be
accomplished:

(i) organising and viewing directories; 2

(ii) installing and uninstalling programs; 2

(iii) resource sharing. 2

(60)

[END OF SECTION II — Part B]

[C206/SQP257] 20 Page fourteen

 Marks
SECTION II — Part C — Computer Networking
Answer ALL questions in this part.
22. (a) Explain the need for organisations that define standards such as the ISO and
IEEE. 2

(b) (i) A school network system uses TCP/IP. Describe how this protocol can
be mapped onto the OSI model layers. 1

(ii) Explain why the school would benefit from using TCP/IP for its internal
network. 2

23. A school network system has a fibre connection to the local authority intranet. The
local authority acts as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for the school. For example,
all requests for pages on the World Wide Web from the school go first to the local
authority system and the results of these requests are passed back through the fibre
link to the school.
Internally, the school network uses unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling. The school
network consists of approximately 200 personal computers as well as a smaller
number of networked resources such as printers.

(a) Compare the bandwidth of these two transmission media:

• fibre;
• UTP. 2

(b) Explain why fibre is appropriate for the local authority whilst UTP is more
appropriate for the school. 2

(c) A new science block is built for the school on the other side of a road from the
existing school building.
Explain the advantages and disadvantages to the school of using a wireless
communication method to network the computers in the new science block.
Your answer should refer to
• modern data standards (eg 802.11g)
• security
• performance issues. 6

24. A network uses a Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) IP addressing scheme. A

CIDR address is written as:

206.13.01.48/16

(a) Describe CIDR. You may find it helpful to refer to the above example. 5

(b) Show how the CIDR address 206.13.01.48/16 can be considered equivalent to
one Class B IP address. 2

[C206/SQP257] 21 Page fifteen

 Marks
25. A school allows all pupils, staff and parents to vote in an election to choose the school
captain and vice-captain. Votes will be cast on-line either in the school on its intranet
or from home through the Internet.

(a) One proposal is to simply allow voters to send their vote by e-mail. Describe
how the following protocols are involved in the sending and receiving votes by
e-mail:
(i) SMTP 3
(ii) POP. 3

(b) The voting e-mail could be a simple text message such as:

Vote Captain Jan Grey

Vote Vice-Captain Olivia Munroe

Explain why the MIME protocol would not be required to send votes in this
format. 2

(c) One problem with using e-mail to send votes would be ensuring that each
person was only allowed one vote. Part of the solution to this problem could be
to use public-key encryption and digital signatures.

(i) Give a detailed description of public-key encryption and digital signatures. 4

(ii) Explain how these network security methods could be used to help ensure
each person could cast only one vote. 4

(d) An alternative voting method is also being considered which will allow parent
voters to connect to a secure server in the school from their home computers
using a virtual private network.
Explain why a virtual private network protocol (for example PPTP or L2TP)
would make the casting of parents’ votes more secure. 2

[C206/SQP257] 22 Page sixteen

 Marks
26. A computer on a school network system cannot create an end-to-end TCP connection
when transferring data using HTTP from a remote server. Instead, the computer has
to use an intermediate system as a relay.

(a) Describe how the process of requesting a Web page is handled using each of
these intermediate connections:
• proxy
• gateway
• tunnel. 6
(b) A pupil in the school wishes to access a simulation of a science experiment on a
Web page but discovers that the simulation cannot be used with the basic
installation of the browser software on the school computer.

(i) Describe how the browser functionality can be enhanced using plug-ins
and Java applets. 4

(ii) How might these be used in the science experiment simulation? 2

(c) The provider of the on-line web-based science experiment simulation offers a
video telephone helpline.

Describe the technical implications of accessing this helpline.

Your answer should refer to:

• hardware;
• software;
• data transmission;
• data compression. 8
(60)

[END OF SECTION II — PART C]

[END OF SPECIMEN QUESTION PAPER]

[C206/SQP257] 23 Page seventeen

 [BLANK PAGE]

[C206/SQP257] 24 Page eighteen

C206/SQP257

Advanced Higher Time: 2 hours 30 minutes NATIONAL

Computing QUALIFICATIONS
Specimen Marking Instructions
for use in and after 2006

[C206/SQP257] 25 ©
 SECTION I — Software Development & Developing a Software Solution

1. (a) Stage Meaning What is Involved

Feasibility Study An investigation of the Assessing the technical,
problem to see whether the economic, legal and time
problem is worth solving. feasibility to see if a solution
is worth doing.
Consider alternative
approaches to proceeding
with the task.
Operational requirements This describes the proposed The ORD will form a
document system clearly in a form that legally binding contract.
will be understood by It will be the basis of what
designers and client. goes next so must be stated
clearly.

Award 1 mark for correct meaning of each stage; award 2 marks for a full description of
what is involved at each stage. Maximum of 6 marks.

(b) A system specification is a document that states the way that the problem must be
solved whereas a requirements specification states what is required by the solution.
Award 1 mark for clear description of purpose of each. Maximum of 2 marks.

(c) (i) Interface A makes use of drop down lists and radio buttons which means it is
user-friendly and users are more inclined to explore the facilities of the software.
Interface B is a text interface and therefore may be more threatening to less
experienced users.
Award 1 mark for each relevant comment up to a maximum of 2 marks.

(ii) Since Interface A demands less keyboard input than Interface B, there is less
scope for keyboarding errors. It isn’t possible for an invalid course or faculty to
be entered in Interface A whereas it is possible with Interface B.
Award 1 mark for each relevant comment up to a maximum of 2 marks.

(d) (i) 1. if item is at start or middle of file then

2. move successive items up one position in file
3. end if
4. reduce file length by 1
Award 3 marks for correct algorithm. Deduct 1 mark for each omission.

(ii) Dry run involves walking-through each step of the algorithm using test data and
updating the value of any variables manually as the processor would. This will
highlight any errors in the logic of the design work.
Award 2 marks for clear description of use made of dry run. Reduce marks for lack of
clarity or detail.

[C206/SQP257] 26 Page two

 (e) Development time
Inheritance, defining subclasses of data objects that share some or all of the main class
characteristics, forces a more thorough data analysis, reduces development time, and
ensures more accurate coding.
OOPL produces software modules that can be plugged into one another, which aids
creation of new programs.
Maintainability
Using OOPL, programmers can create modules that do not need to be changed when
a new type of object is added. A programmer can simply create a new object that
inherits many of its features from existing objects. This makes object-oriented
programs easier to modify.
An object-oriented system programmed with an OOPL results in less complexity in
the system design and implementation, which can lead to an increase in
maintainability.
Award 2 marks for each correct comparison. Deduct marks for lack of clarity or detail.
Maximum 4 marks.

(f) (i) Module testing involves integrating groups of procedures which co-operate with
each other to make sure that there is effective data flow between the procedures.
Component testing involves testing individual procedures or functions to make
sure that they work on their own.
Award 1 mark for correct description of purpose of each. Maximum of 2 marks.
(ii) Trace tables allow the programmer to inspect the value of all variables and
follow the logical execution of the program.
A breakpoint is a flag set in source code that is used in debugging. When code
that is executing reaches a breakpoint, execution is suspended. Breakpoints
allow you to inspect the values of selected variables and trace the code
statements that have already executed.
Award 1 mark for correct description of purpose of each. Maximum of 2 marks.

(g) (i) User-defined modules can be re-used. This reduces development time since
they have already been designed, coded and tested and there is therefore no
need to carry out any further component testing.
Award 2 marks for correct explanation.
(ii) For example:
Specs are kept up-to-date since all members of the development team access
them through the CASE tools.
Encourages and facilitates communication between development team since
most CASE tools have an e-mail facility.
Less effort spent on document administration, such as redrafting diagrams
automated generation of system documentation reducing development time.
Award 1 mark each for any 2 correct benefits. Maximum 2 marks.

[C206/SQP257] 27 Page three

2. (a) A stack is a Last In First Out (LIFO) list structure. Items are removed from the top
of the stack and new items are added to the top of the stack.
Award 2 marks for clear description. Reduce marks if description lacks clarity or
detail.
(b)
3
7
Award 1 mark for correct values in stack; award 1 mark for correct order of values in
stack. Maximum of 2 marks.
(c) Upper limit is 3
Award 1 mark for correct answer.

3. Print items are added to the tail of the printer queue. When the printer is ready to print,
the item at the head of the print queue is removed and sent to the printer.
added removed
New print Print item Print item 2 Print item 1

Head
Tail

added

Award 2 marks for appropriate diagram. Award 2 marks for clear description of how
queue would be used in this instance. Deduct marks for lack of clarity or detail.
Maximum of 4 marks.

4. (a) For example:

[Record
name as string
bib_number as integer
time as real
penalty_points as integer]
Award 3 marks for correct use of record structure. Deduct marks for incomplete
definition of competitor or for omission of individual data types of each component
(max 3 deductions). Maximum of 3 marks.
(b) Use of 4 one-dimensional arrays. For example:
name(20) as string
bib_number(20) as integer
time_seconds(20) as time
penalty_points(20) as integer
Award 4 marks for correct use of one-dimensional arrays. Deduct marks for any
omission of individual details of competitor or incorrect definitions of components
(max 4 deductions). Maximum of 4 marks.

[C206/SQP257] 28 Page four

5. (a) The list must be sorted
Award 1 mark.

(b) Bottom - needed to store position of start of section being searched

top - needed to store position of end of section being searched
middle - needed to store position of middle of section being searched
Award 1 mark for each correct data item together with suitable explanation of its
purpose.
Item being searched for is compared with item at middle of list. If search item is
greater then bottom is set equal to middle. If item is less then top is set equal to
middle.
Award 1 mark for description of how data items are used in the algorithm. Maximum
of 4 marks.

(c) Binary search would require 2/3 comparisons whereas linear search would require 4
comparisons
Award 3 marks, 2 marks for binary search and 1 for linear.

(d) When search item is first item in list – because binary search will start search in the
middle of the list and then focus on the middle of either the top half or the bottom half
of the list.
Award 1 mark for correct situation; award 1 mark for correct explanation. Maximum of
2 marks.

(e) (i) The basic idea in a simple sort is this: The smallest (or largest) element in the
list is identified and put it in its proper place (the first element). Next, the
smallest (or largest) of the remaining N-1 elements is identified, and it is put in
its proper place (the second element). This process is continued until there is
only one element remaining, at which point the list is in sorted order.
Award 2 marks for clear description. Deduct marks for lack of clarity or detail.
(ii) Selection sort algorithm
This is because this algorithm must store the original unsorted list as well as the
sorted list.
Award 1 mark for correct algorithm; award 1 mark for reason. Maximum of 2 marks.
(iii) Bubble sort algorithm
This is because this algorithm takes account of a partially sorted list and
terminates as soon as it realises that no swaps have taken place.
Award 1 mark for explanation.

[C206/SQP257] 29 Page five

 Section II— Part A—Artificial Intelligence

6. (a) Two of the following benefits:

• uncertainty is often present in the domain expertise, and the provision of certainty
factors enables this to be directly represented
• uncertainty is often present in data that is supplied at run time, and the provision of
certainty factors enables this to be directly represented
• the provision of certainty factors enables users to be given an indication of how
strongly supported is the conclusion that is reached by the expert system, which
should increase their confidence in the system’s validity.
2 marks for each benefit up to a maximum of 4 marks.

(b) Some expert systems do not provide certainty factors because:

• the domain and runtime information may be completely known
• certainty factors may be considered to be unhelpful to users
• not all KBS development environments support certainty factors
• some developers believe that certainty factor methods are wrong
• certainty factor values may be difficult to obtain.
1 mark for each reason up to a maximum of 2 marks.

(c) The certainty attached to the joined premise of is-tall(fred) AND has-good-
coordination(fred) is the minimum of the certainties attached to each, ie min(0.3,0.8)
which is 0.3 (1 mark). The certainty of the conclusions is the total certainty of the
premises multiplied by the certainty factor of the rule (1 mark) ie 0.3*0.5 = 0.15
(1 mark)
Maximum of 3 marks.

7. A number of conflict resolution strategies are typically used to decide which rule to fire.
These include:
• Don’t fire a rule twice on the same data.
• Fire rules on more recent working memory elements before older ones. This allows the
system to follow through a single chain of reasoning, rather than keeping on drawing new
conclusions from old data.
• Fire rules with more specific preconditions before ones with more general preconditions.
This allows us to deal with non-standard cases. If, for example, we have a rule “IF (bird
X) THEN ADD (flies X)’’ and another rule “IF (bird X) AND (penguin X) THEN
ADD (swims X)’’ and a penguin called Tweety, then we would fire the second rule first
and start to draw conclusions from the fact that Tweety swims.
2 marks for each max 4 marks.

8. (a) Three other transformations from scene S 1:

<L, [1,2], [3], [ ]> → <M, [2], [1,3], [ ]>
<L, [1,2], [3], [ ]> → <M, [1,2], [3], [ ]>
<L, [1,2], [3], [ ]> → <R, [1,2], [3], []>
1 mark for each transformation, up to 3 marks.
Three other transformations from S2:
<R, [2], [3], [1]> → <M, [2], [1,3], [ ]>
<:R, [2], [3], [1]> → <L, [1,2], [3], [ ]>
<:R, [2], [3], [1]> → <L, [2], [3], [1]>
1 mark for each transformation, up to 3 marks
[C206/SQP257]30 Page six
 (b) (i) <R, [], [], [1,2,3]>
1 mark.
(ii) <L,[1,2],[3],[]>

<M,[2],[1,3],[] <R,[2],[3],[1]> <M,[1,2],[3],[] <R,[1,2],[3],[]>

<R,[2],[3],[1]>

<L,[2],[1,3],[]>

<R,[2],[1,3],[]>

<M,[2],[1,3],[]

<L,[2],[3],[1]>

<M,[2],[3],[1]>

<L,[3,1,2],[],[]

<R,[1,2],[3],[]>

<M,[1,2],[3],[]
<R,[1,2],[],[3]>

<L,[1,2],[],[3]>

<M,[2],[1],[3]>

<L,[2],[1],[3]>

<R,[],[1],[2,3]>

<M,[],[1],[2,3]

<R,[],[],[1,2,3]

4 marks for the tree annotated correctly to level 2. All branches should be present but
any left-right sequence is acceptable. 2 marks for the extended (solution) branch.
(iii) • Depth-first and breadth-first methods are generally impractical with large
trees.
1 mark.
3 marks for clear reasoning as follows:
• If breadth-first search does find a solution then it will be an optimal (fewest
operations) solution BUT reaching it is likely to take unreasonable time and
memory since every node to the goal node’s level must be generated and
judged
• Depth-first search may find a solution in reasonable time and memory but
this will be the nearest solution to the left hand side of the tree and it could
be a highly non-optimal solution that requires the robot to perform an
unnecessarily large number of operations.

9. This is a depth first, depth limited search procedure. It is used mainly in game playing
when you are trying to maximise the value of the state evaluation function and the
opponent’s goal is to minimise the value of the evaluation function.
1 mark for description and 2 marks for example.

[C206/SQP257] 31 Page seven

10.
Wear new outfit

Borrow friends Earn money Buy new outfit

Supermarket Wash windows Gardening Catalogue Shoe shop Dress shop

3 marks for ANDs, 3 marks for ORs.

11. (a) Score of 8 - each block is resting on right one

no explanation needed 1 mark for correct value.
(b) Score of 4 - 6 points for C,D,E,F,G,H and -2 for A and B
no explanation needed 1 mark for correct value.
(c) The only first move is to move block A on the table.
1 mark.
Score of 6 - 7 points for A,C,D,E,F,G,H and -1 for B
no explanation needed 1 mark for correct value.
(d) The three states are:
A
H
G G G
F F F
E E E
D D D
C H C C
B A B A H B

Each of these states will evaluate to 4

1 mark for each state and value, maximum of 3 marks.

(e) Hill climbing would cause the process to stop because all of these states have a lower
score than the current state.
1 mark.

12.

2 marks for 6 arrows.

2 marks for indicating pluses to represent convex.
[C206/SQP257] 32 Page eight
13.
sentence

noun phrase verb phrase

article adjective noun verb phrase noun phrase

verb preposition article adjective noun

The young cat sat on the red mat

1 mark for each of the three sections max 3 marks.

14. (a) The anonymous variable _ is used to represent the tail. If the person is the same as the
head of the list then succeed. (1 mark) If not check to see if the person is in the tail of
the list. (1 mark) To do this check the head of the tail and repeat again and again
until we come to the end of the list or succeed (1 mark)
3 marks allocated as indicated.

(b) Yes.
john becomes head of list and david is checked against john - fail
mary becomes head of list and david is checked against mary - fail
david becomes head of list and david is checked against david - succeeds
1 mark for each line of explanation max 3 marks.

[C206/SQP257] 33 Page nine

 Section II — Part B — Computer Architecture
15. (a) Any processor could be specified.
For example the Intel Itanium (IA-64).
128 65 bit general registers — extra bit holds deferred exception token “NaT”.
128 floating point registers. Each register is 82 bits and used for floating point
calculations.
Application registers for register stack and SW pipelining.
8 branch registers to specify branch target addresses.
64 x 1 bit predicate registers.
2 x 2 marks for description of register and purpose.
(b) The instruction set is the set of legitimate instructions for a particular microprocessor.
Each instruction usually consists of an op-code and an operand. Different modes of
addressing are usually available.
2 marks for full description.

16. CISC uses complex instruction sets and addressing modes. RISC processors uses a
minimal instruction set, emphasising the instructions used most often and optimising them
for the fastest possible execution. In RISC, most instructions execute in a single clock
cycle. Software for RISC processors must handle more operations than traditional CISC
processors, but RISC processors have advantages in applications that benefit from faster
instruction execution, such as engineering and graphics workstations and parallel-
processing systems. They are also less costly to design, test, and manufacture. In the mid-
1990s RISC processors began to be used in personal computers instead of the CISC
processors that had been used since the introduction of the microprocessor.
Summary of features:
CISC - complex design, expensive to produce. RISC - simple design, cheap to produce;
micro programmed, hardwired; few instructions,
some instructions need many cycles, instructions execute in a single cycle,
instructions vary in size & format. instructions- same size & fixed format.
2 marks for design differences, 2 marks for performance gains.

17. (a) (i) Addressing mode - enables the operand to be specified in different ways.
1 mark for correct description.
(ii) 232 bytes = 4 Gigabytes (230 = 1 Gbyte, 231 = 2 Gbytes, 232 = 4 Gbytes)
2 marks for correct answer, 1 mark if arithmetic incorrect.

(b) Start address = 1000hex, instruction = 2 bytes (1 for opcode, 1 for operand) so next
located instruction = 1002hex
1 mark for correct answer, 1 mark for explanation

[C206/SQP257] 34 Page ten

 (c) Fetch from memory —
Step 1 PC (IR) contents transferred to MAR (set up address bus) 1 mark
Step 2 activate a READ operation on control line
OR address decoder accesses the store location addressed 1 mark
Step 3 data transferred to Instruction Register (via MDR) 1 mark
Step 4 PC incremented (and the instruction decoded (and executed)) 1 mark
4 marks as indicated.

18. (a) DMA hardware controlled by DMAC chip, no need to involve CPU or registers.
Running program not noticeably affected by transfers. Transfer of data faster than
using peripheral interrupts.

1 mark for dedicated hardware, 1 mark for block transfer / CPU bypassed, 1 mark for
explanation of improved performance.

(b) Diagram showing :– DMAC; re-routing of buses; interrupt request from Peripheral to
DMAC & hold request from DMAC to CPU.
1 mark for re-routing, 1 mark for request protocol, 1 mark for details of transfer.
(maximum of 2 marks without a diagram)

(c) Memory interleaving uses multiple banks of memory, which results in increased speed
as the processor is able to access data much faster than possible with a single bank of
memory—
Interleaving means that the processor staggers memory read / writes between two or
more banks of RAM, effectively multiplying the bandwidth of memory. If a processor
requests a read / write at a given memory location, the amount of time required to
complete the operation is limited by the memory’s speed, ie 70 ns RAM will complete
a read /write request in no less than 70 ns. This means that if the processor can handle
data at 30 ns, then it is working at less than half speed for memory transfers.
In the example, the processor takes 30 ns per clock cycle and has to access 70 ns RAM.
Each clock cycle takes about 30 ns. If the processor wants to write to a block of RAM,
it will have to insert 2 wait states between consecutive writes, meaning that for
example it will take 90 ns for each write. However, if each of 2 banks of RAM can be
accessed separately, then instead of inserting 2 wait states and leaving the processor
idle, it will instead access the second bank of memory during the next clock cycle and
insert only one wait state. This has effectively doubled memory throughput.
1 mark for memory interleaving & memory banks, 1 mark for speed incompatibility, 2
marks for explanation of solution, 1 mark for throughput increase. (5 marks)

19. Hard disk – suitable if capacity is greater than 1Gigabyte; possibly not most cost effective
solution; removable units required.
Magnetic tape – very suitable; backup and restoration is sequential.
CD-RW – could be used but more than one disk needed. (1 disk = 650 Megabytes).
Rewritable DVD – suitable if only used with this system; rather expensive.
4 x 1 mark for evaluation of each device.

[C206/SQP257] 35 Page eleven

20. Parallel processing means the processing of different instructions of a computer program
sharing one or more processors at the same time with the objective of running this
program faster. A basic economic principle is the commandment of thrift in the meaning
of a rational use of existing resources. Typical resources are computer equipment, time,
energy and so on.
However, others argue that the kinds of applications, eg data mining, for which parallel
processing is best suited tend to be larger problems in which scaling up the number of
processors does indeed bring a corresponding improvement in throughput and
performance.
While a system of n parallel processors is not more efficient than one processor of n times
the speed, the parallel system is often cheaper to build. Therefore, for tasks which require
very large amounts of computation and/or have time constraints on completion, parallel
computation is an excellent solution. In fact, in recent years, most high performance
computing systems, also known as supercomputers, have a parallel architecture.
2 marks for full description of advantages, 2 marks for full description of
disadvantages.

21. (a) (i) Providing a standard look and feel for applications – can be attributed to the
requirement by users to expect (demand) the same ease-of-use features with
operating environments. In other words, any new version will provide a
familiar environment and increase the ability to secure the system. Adaptive
visualization for GUI, data and computational entities is one of the operating
system’s high level services that enable the users’ interface requirements. The
idea of adaptive visualization is to adapt the level of details in visualization to
the level of user knowledge about these constructs (ideas and structures).
Improving the capability of programs to communicate and pass data – eg
Windows XP changes these problems by turning your computer into an
integrated communications centre. Windows XP includes improved support for
real-time voice and video communications, instant messaging, and even on-line
assistance. All of these tools are integrated into one place on your computer:
Windows Messenger. This tool let’s you talk to, work with, and view your
friends and family, even when you are far apart.
2 x 2 marks for full description of each service.
(ii) The trend stems from large enterprises relying on middleware (software that
“glues together” two existing programs, eg Application and OS) to provide
approximated interoperability. This is the ability of two or more systems
(parts) to exchange information and use the information that has been
exchanged. Development teams often spend too much time coping with
middleware complexity and diversity and as a result of this many middleware
services will migrate into OS layers.
2 marks for full description of trends.

(b) (i) First fit File 1 written to A

File 2 can’t be written to B, C or D (no room in any block)
File 3 written to B
File 4 written to C
2 marks for correct list, 1 mark for any 2 or 3 correct statements.

[C206/SQP257] 36 Page twelve

 (ii) Best fit File 1 written to C
File 2 written to A
File 3 written to D
File 4 written to B
2 marks for correct list, 1 mark for any 2 or 3 correct statements.

(c) (i) The processor can only fetch and execute instructions from one program/process
at any one time. The scheduler decides which program/process is allocated the
processor
2 marks for explanation.
(ii) Round robin – a scheduling algorithm in which processes are activated in a
fixed cyclic order. Each process is assigned a processor time-slice. Those which
cannot proceed because they are waiting for some event, eg. an I/O operation,
simply return control to the scheduler. If the process is still running at the end
of the time-slice, it is pre-empted and has to wait its turn again. It is a fair
method, suitable to interactive systems. Time-slice about 1/10th of a second.
Multi-level feedback queue – in multi-level queue scheduling, a process is
assigned to a queue and it remains in that queue until access is allowed to the
CPU. However, in multilevel feedback queue scheduling processes are allowed
to move between queues. Usually processes that execute in a short period of
time, eg less than 8 ms, are in the high priority queue and slower processes are
in a lower priority queue.
If a process in a high priority queue does not finish in the allocated time, it is
pre-empted and placed at the end of a lower priority queue.
This system favours short jobs and provides a pre-emptive strategy with many
ready queues at different priority levels.
2 marks for description of each method, 2 marks for comparison.

[C206/SQP257] 37 Page thirteen

 (d) (i) Organising and viewing directories
Windows – Directories and sub-directories (folders) can be created both
outwith and within applications. In the OS you can either click in the active
window on ‘File”, then “New”, then “Folder” and enter the name for the folder
or right click and click on “New”, then “Folder” and enter the name for the
folder.
In an application there is usually an icon available in the “Save As” window
which will allow you, by clicking on it, to create and name a new folder (in
current drive or folder).
The contents of any folder can be viewed by double clicking on the folder icon.
To move a folder - click on folder and drag to new location.
Unix – Files are stored in directories, which are arranged in a tree and the top
directory is denoted by “/”. To change directory use the command “cd”, eg “cd
directory”.
To create a new directory use the command “mkdir”, eg “mkdir wpfiles”.
To list files in the current working directory use the command “ls”, eg “ls
wpfiles”
Mac – The OS takes advantage of the human spatial memory - icons and
windows always stay where you left them. The metaphor of the finder desktop
is a direct reflection of the filesystem — files on the desktop are actually in a
directory called desktop. The Mac OS actually gets you closer to the filesystem
(than Windows) so that it doesn’t need “wizards” to simplify it for you, because
the filestructure is logical and clear down to the system level.
1 mark for each for each operating system. Maximum of 2 marks.

(ii) Installing and uninstalling programs

MSDOS – Boot the system with the install disk in the A: drive and run
“Setup”. The setup screen will display hardware and software components,
DOS type, DOS path, MSDOS shell and Display type - select/change as
needed by highlighting and pressing “enter”. Setup will then install the OS and
when it is complete press “enter” to run MSDOS. You may have to set up
“Autoexec” and “Config” files to suit your environment.
Windows – Insert the CD and wait for installation to start automatically
(autorun). If not then use the “Control panel” (via “settings” on the “Start
menu”) and double click the “add/remove programs” icon. This will give you
the option to install or uninstall any selected program. Find the program in the
listing and click on it. It will install/uninstall all the files associated with that
program.
Follow the prompts which in most cases involve clicking the Yes option.
Unix – Most applications for Unix will come with a script that can be used to
install the program and related files. The script routine can usually be activated
by typing, “/install”
You will have to provide details of the directory where you will place the files
and subdirectories. There is usually a similar uninstall command, “ /uninstall”.

[C206/SQP257] 38 Page fourteen

 Mac – Double click the “Installer” and choose the drive for installation and
click the appropriate options. To uninstall, drag the program to the “trash can”.
You may have to do the same to extensions and preferences in the “Systems
folder”.
1 mark for each for each operating system. Maximum of 2 marks.

(iii) Resource sharing

Windows (2000) – Right click on the object that you want to share, eg file,
folder, printer, etc. Choose the sharing option and select to share this object.
Assuming a network connection or physical link, the object can be used or
accessed by logging on to the host computer. One method is to click “Start”,
click “Run” and type “\\sn987001” – where sn987001 is the identity of the host
computer. You will now be able to access the shared items.
Unix – Designed as a multi-user system – built to run networks and allow
sharing of resources (plus supervision). Users can be allocated to groups which
have access to various resources, eg allow designated files to be shared.
Mac – File sharing has been possible with peer to peer networks on Apple
systems since the earliest versions of the operating system. This allows folders
to be shared requiring a log in before access to particular resources is possible.
1 mark for each for each operating system. Maximum of 2 marks.

[C206/SQP257] 39 Page fifteen

 Section II — Part C — Computer Networking
22. (a) Without internationally agreed standards, each equipment manufacturer and network
provider would have to devise their own standards. This would make it very difficult
to share information and resources between different makes of equipment and
different organisations. It would also be expensive to set up and maintain network
systems built on such non-standard schemes.
Having the standard defined by an international body means “…developers can base
the development of their products and services on specifications that have wide
acceptance in their sectors.” An alternative to international standards is to allow
proprietary standards to become de-facto standards through market dominance. The
disadvantage of this approach is that the developer of the standard may use their
dominance unfairly to create a monopoly which keeps costs up and innovation down.
1 mark for each, up to 2 marks.

(b) (i) TCP maps onto the transport layer of the OSI model and ensures that data is
delivered and that packets are delivered in the correct order. IP maps onto the
network layer and is related to the addressing of packets.
1 mark.
(ii) The benefit would come from the low cost and ease of set up that comes from
using a standard protocol. Using TCP/IP also makes it more likely that the
range of equipment in use in schools (ages and operating systems) will be able to
connect to the network and communicate with other networks through the
Internet.
2 marks awarded.

23. (a) Fibre: Bandwidths start at 100Mbits/s but go up to many Gbits/s

UTP: Bandwidths depend on various categories of cables
1 mark for each, up to 2 marks.

(b) The long distances that can be covered by fibre make it appropriate for the connection
to the local authority as the authorities schools are likely to be spread over a wide
geographical area. The high bandwidth offered is also appropriate given the amount
of traffic likely to be generated by a school.
The UTP cabling is more appropriate in school due to the lower cost (relative to fibre)
and ease of installation. The smaller area to be covered and the possibility of splitting
the school network into smaller units to reduce bandwidth demands within each
section also make UTP a good choice.
1 mark for each, up to 2 marks.

[C206/SQP257] 40 Page sixteen

 (c) Advantages: No cable! Wireless networking can be effective in closed areas over a
range of around 60 metres however could be up to 150 metres though range will drop
if you use maximum bandwidth (802.11b max bandwidth 11Mbits/s, 802.11a and
802.11g max bandwidth 54Mbits/s but with reduced range of approximately 20
metres). Signals can (to a certain extent) penetrate walls and floors so a reasonable
sized building could be covered a few wireless access points.
Disadvantages: Based on radio waves which can be picked up by any compatible
device and therefore poses a major security risk. The obvious solution is to encrypt
transmissions using one of the available “standards” (eg WEP, 803.11i and WPA) but
using these methods will reduce overall speed. Compatibility problems arise because
the standards are still emerging and some manufacturers are producing products that
conform to draft specifications of new standards and although all based on the 803.11
standard, they might not be mutually compatible. Congestion problems can arise from
overlapping radio networks or other devices that share the same radio frequency.
3 marks for each, up to 6 marks.

24. (a) CIDR allows a more efficient allocation of IP addresses than Class A, B and C. The
Class system of allocating addresses used a fixed number of bits to identify the
network and the host machine which leads to many unused addresses. CIDR uses a
variable number of bits to identify the network (the prefix). Currently CIDR uses
prefixes of between 13 and 27 bits. (2 marks)
CIDR uses a standard 32 bit address but adds further information to specify how
many bits are used to identify the network. In the above example the addition of “/16”
at the end of the address indicates that 16 bits are used to identify the network – so in
this case 206.13 identifies the network and 01.48 the host. (2 marks)
CIDR also supports hierarchical routing tables so that the number of routing table
entries at each level in the hierarchy can be reduced. (1 mark)
Up to 5 marks as above.

(b) A Class B address uses the first two bytes to identify the host, ie the first 16 bits, so a
CIDR address with a prefix identified as /16 can be considered equivalent to one Class
B address.
2 marks awarded.

25. (a) (i) SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is designed to transfer mail between
mail servers or from mail client to mail server. When a voter mails their vote, it
will be sent to a mail server as follows. First of all a connection is opened and
the sender and receiver identify themselves (HELO). Sending then commences
with the sender (MAIL) and recipient (RCPT) being identified. The DATA
command is used to transfer message and the end is indicated with a single
period on a line by itself. Connection is terminated with the QUIT command.
(3 marks)

[C206/SQP257] 41 Page seventeen

 (ii) POP: Post Office Protocol is used by a mail client to retrieve mail from a POP
mail server. The school’s e-mail client would use POP to retrieve the votes from
the mail server. Whereas SMTP assumes there is a permanent connection to
the Internet, POP can be used where there may only be occasional connection
(eg if connecting to the network by modem). (3 marks)
Note the 6 marks can be distributed between the two descriptions as appropriate, but no
more than 4 marks can be given to one of the descriptions.}
(b) Vote Captain Jan Grey
Vote Vice-Captain Olivia Munroe
Explain why the MIME protocol would not be required to send votes in this format.
The MIME protocol is a standard that allows non-ASCII messages (eg messages
including sound clips) to be sent by e-mail. The sample messages are clearly just basic
text and so there is no need for MIME as the e-mail system will be able to send the
message as plain, 7-bit ASCII.
2 marks.

(c) (i) A public-key encryption scheme, such as that provided by Pretty Good Privacy
(PGP), allows a sender to encrypt a message using a public key published by the
recipient of the message. The recipient can then decrypt this message using his
or her private key.
2 marks.
A digital signature can be attached to a message and used to uniquely identify
the sender (in the same way that a written signature is supposed to authenticate
the identity of the person signing the document). The signature has to be
encrypted to ensure it cannot be forged.
2 marks.
(ii) The voter uses an algorithm to create a large number called a hash code. This
hash code is uniquely tied to the message being sent, if the message changes, the
hash code will no longer match the message. The voter then encrypts the hash
code (and possibly the message) using their private key. The encrypted hash
code is attached to the message and sent to the school. The school then uses the
voter’s public key to decrypt the hash code. The school then uses the same
algorithm to calculate a hash code for the message it received. If the two hash
codes match then the school can be confident that the signed message is from
the voter and has not been tampered with.
4 marks.
There may be some overlap between pupils’ answers to (i) and (ii). The 8 marks can be
distributed across both answers as appropriate, however you should ensure you do not
give marks twice for the same answer.

(d) A virtual private network uses a protocol such as Point to Point Tunnelling Protocol or
Layer 2 Tunnelling Protocol to create a secure link to a private network over a public
(or otherwise insecure) network connection. So a voter could establish a secure,
encrypted, connection with the school intranet by connecting from home over the
Internet. The voter would be authenticated by the school intranet so the school could
be confident that votes cast were from a legitimate voter and could check that each
person only casts one vote.
2 marks for clear explanation.

[C206/SQP257] 42 Page eighteen

26. (a) Proxy: A proxy sits between the web browser and the server from which the browser
has requested information. The proxy acts as a trusted source to the client and will
often run on a firewall machine hiding the client machine’s IP address.
2 marks.
Gateway: A gateway is a server that appears to the client as if it were an origin server.
It acts on behalf of other servers that may not be able to communicate directly with a
client. There are several scenarios in which servers can be used. As with the proxy, a
gateway manages transfers through a firewall.
2 marks.
Tunnel: Tunnelling carries the HTTP messages as if there were a single connection
between client and server, but the messages are actually carried over an intermediate
system between client and server. The messages are encapsulated within packets
carried by the intermediate system. The intermediate system does not need to
understand the contents of the packets it is carrying.
2 marks.

(b) (i)A plug-in enhances browsers by allowing them to display a greater range of
objects. For example, a multimedia plug-in such as QuickTime allows browsers
to display time based objects such as movies and sound files. They can also be
used to display portable document formats such as Adobe’s portable document
format files. This allows documents to be displayed on screen as they will be
printed, even if the user does not have all the required fonts etc. Java applets
extend the browser even further by enabling platform independent programs to
run on the client machine. The full power of a high level programming
language can therefore be used to provide extremely complex interaction with
the user.
4 marks for clear description.
(ii) The simulated experiment could require the learner to interact with the
experiment, perhaps changing variables and investigating the results of these
changes. The experiment itself could be animated complete with sound to show
the results. This type of complex interaction and animated display could be
provided either by a Java applet or through a plug-in for a Shockwave/Flash
animation
2 marks.

(c) Video telephony can use high end, expensive, dedicated equipment and dedicated lines
for a high quality connection, but this is more likely in the corporate business world.
For the use described it is more likely that the user will require a web cam – a cheap,
Charge Coupled Device (CCD) connected to a video capture card on the computer.
The video and sound data can be transmitted over the Internet. An example of the
software required for this is CUseeMe. Broadband connections allow reasonable
quality and a reasonable price. A standard videoconferencing protocol is H.320 which
deals with compression as well as transmission issues. Another possibility would be
the use of a 3G mobile phone with Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS).
Compression screens generally work by only sending information on the sections of
the video display that have changed.
Up to 8 marks awarded for appropriate description, up to 2 marks for reference to each.

[END OF SPECIMEN MARKING INSTRUCTIONS]

[C206/SQP257] 43 Page nineteen