IGCSE Cambridge (CIE) Computer Science 26 questions

NUMBER SYSTEM

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1 (a) The website hosts videos that users can stream. The company uploads new videos to the
website.

The videos are compressed before they are uploaded to the website.

Tick (✓) one box to show which statement is a benefit of compressing the videos.

A. Data is encrypted.
B. Duration of each video will be reduced.
C. Less storage space on the web server is required.
D. More bandwidth is required when viewing the videos.

Answer

The correct answer is C

C is correct as less storage space is a benefit of compression [1 mark]

A, B and D are incorrect as they are not benefits of compression

(1 mark)

(b) Give two methods of compression that could be used to compress the videos.

Answer

Methods of compression that could be used are:

lossy [1 mark]
lossless [1 mark]

(2 marks)

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2 The Unicode character set is used to represent text that is typed into a computer.

One disadvantage of using the Unicode character set, instead of the ASCII character set,
is that the text stored takes up more storage space.

Give one reason why it takes up more storage space.

Answer

Unicode takes up more storage space as:

Each character is encoded/stored using more bits [1 mark]

(1 mark)

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3 (a) Binary is a number system used by computers.

Four 8-bit binary values are given.

Tick (✓) one box to show which 8-bit binary value is the correct conversion for the
denary value 50.

A. 00101010
B. 00110010
C. 01001100
D. 01010000

Answer

The correct answer is B

B is correct as 00110010 = 32+16+2 = 50 [1 mark]

A is incorrect as 00101010 = 32+8+2 = 42

C is incorrect as 01001100 = 64+8+4 = 76

D is incorrect as 01010000 = 64+16 = 80

(1 mark)

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(b) Four 8-bit binary values are given.

Tick (✓) one box to show which 8-bit binary value is the correct conversion for the
hexadecimal value 90.

A. 00001001
B. 01011010
C. 10010000
D. 01100100

Answer

The correct answer is C

C is correct as 1001 = 8+1 = 9 and 0000 = 0 (90) [1 mark]

A is incorrect as 0000 = 0 and 1001 = 8+1 = 9 (09)

B is incorrect as 0101 = 4+1 = 5 and 1010 = 8+2 = 10 (5A)

D is incorrect as 0110 = 4+2 = 6 and 0100 = 4 (64)

(1 mark)

(c) Explain why a computer system can only process data in binary form

Answer

A computer system can only process data in binary form as:

Data is processed in a computer by using logic gates [1 mark]

… that only have two states (0 or 1) [1 mark]

(2 marks)

(d) Two 8-bit binary values are given.

Add the two 8-bit binary values.

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 Give your answer in binary. Show all your working.

00111001
+ 01001010
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Answer

Adding the two 8-bit binary values gives an answer of:

10000011

1 mark per nibble (1000 [1 mark] & 0011 [1 mark])

1 mark for correct working in binary (showing carries) [1 mark]
Working

(3 marks)

4 Jack has an MP3 file stored on his computer.

Tick (✓) to show whether the MP3 file is a lossy compressed file or a lossless
compressed file or not a compressed file.

Tick (✓)

Lossy compressed file

Lossless compressed file

Not a compressed file

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 Answer

Tick (✓)

Lossy compressed file ✓

Lossless compressed file

Not a compressed file

(1 mark)

5 Jack has an MP3 file stored on his computer

Tick (✓) to show which type of data is stored in an MP3 file.

Tick(✓)

Video

Sound

Image

Answer

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 Tick(✓)

Video

Sound ✓

Image

(1 mark)

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6 (a) All data needs to be converted to binary data so that it can be processed by a computer.

Explain why a computer can only process binary data.

Answer

A computer can only process binary data as:

Computers consist of transistors / logic circuits/gates [1 mark]

… that can only store/process data in two states / high-low / on-off / 1 and 0 [1
mark]

(2 marks)

(b) The denary values 64, 101 and 242 are converted to 8‑bit binary values.

Give the 8‑bit binary value for each denary value.

64 ................................

101 ................................

242 ................................

Answer

The 8-bit binary value for each denary value is:

64 = 01000000 [1 mark]
101 = 01100101 [1 mark]
242 = 11110010 [1 mark]

(3 marks)

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(c) The hexadecimal values 42 and CE are converted to binary.

Give the binary value for each hexadecimal value.

42 .................

CE ..................

Answer

The binary value for each hexadecimal value is:

42

0100 [1 mark] 0010 [1 mark]

CE

1100 [1 mark] 1110 [1 mark]

(4 marks)

7 A student has a sound file that is too large to be stored on their external secondary
storage device. The student compresses the sound file to make the file size smaller.

The compression method used reduces the sample rate and the sample resolution of
the sound file.

Identify which type of compression has been used to compress the sound file.

Answer

The type of compression that has been used is:

Lossy compression [1 mark]

(1 mark)

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8 A student has a sound file that is too large to be stored on their external secondary
storage device. The student compresses the sound file to make the file size smaller.

The compression method used reduces the sample rate and the sample resolution of
the sound file.

State what is meant by the sample rate and sample resolution.

Answer

Sample rate and sample resolution are defined as:

The sample rate is the number of samples taken in a second/per time unit [1 mark]
The sample resolution is the number of bits per sample [1 mark]

(2 marks)

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9 (a) Denary values are converted to binary values to be processed by a computer.

Draw one line from each denary value to the correctly converted 8‑bit binary value.

Answer

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 Mark Scheme and Guidance
One mark for each correct line

(3 marks)

(b) Binary values can also be converted to denary values.

Give the correct denary value for the 12‑bit binary value 000101010111

Show all your working.

Answer

The 12-bit binary value converted to denary is:

343 [1 mark]

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 Any valid correct working [1 mark]

Mark Scheme and Guidance

Working e.g.

256 + 64 + 16 + 4 + 2 + 1
(2 marks)

10 Hexadecimal is used for Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) colour codes.

An HTML colour code is:

#2F15D6

HTML colour codes and Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are two examples of
where hexadecimal is used in Computer Science.

Give two other examples of where hexadecimal can be used in Computer Science.

Answer

Examples of where hexadecimal can be used in Computer Science include:

Any two of the following:

IP address [1 mark]

Error messages/codes [1 mark]

Assembly language OR low-level language [1 mark]
URL OR web address [1 mark]
Memory dumps [1 mark]
Locations in memory [1 mark]

(2 marks)

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11 A logo is stored as a bitmap image.

Each square in the image represents one pixel, with three different colours being used
in the image.

State what is meant by the term image resolution.

Answer

The term image resolution means:

Any one of the following:

Total number of pixels (in an image) [1 mark]

Height and width (of an image) [1 mark]

(1 mark)

12 Computer memories are measured in terms of the number of bytes.

State what is meant by the term byte

Answer

The term byte means:

Any one of the following:

Unit of data/memory [1 mark]

8 bits [1 mark]
Used to represent a character [1 mark]

(1 mark)

13 An image is stored on a computer. The image is 16‑bit colour and is 100 pixels high and
150 pixels wide.

Calculate the file size of the image in bytes.

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 Show all your working.

Answer

The size of the file is:

30 000 bytes [1 mark]

Working

Mark Scheme and Guidance

Two marks for two correct stages of working

(3 marks)

14 The Unicode character set is used to represent text that is typed into a computer.

Describe what is meant by a character set.

Answer

A character set is described as:

All the characters and symbols that can be represented by a computer system [1
mark]
Each character and symbol is assigned a unique value [1 mark]

(2 marks)

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15 (a) A school network has several computers.

Each computer in the network has a media access control (MAC) address.

Hexadecimal is used for MAC addresses.

Part of a MAC address is given.

97–5C–E1

Each pair of digits is stored as binary in an 8-bit register.

Complete the binary register for these two pairs of digits.

97

5C

Answer

The binary registers for the two pairs of digits are:

97 - 10010111

1001 [1 mark]
0111 [1 mark]
5C - 01011100

0101 [1 mark]
1100 [1 mark]

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 Mark Scheme and Guidance
One mark per each correct nibble (4-bits)

(4 marks)

(b) Give two other uses of hexadecimal in Computer Science.

Answer

Examples of the use of hexadecimal in Computer Science include:

Any two from the following:

colour codes OR colour in HTML/CSS [1 mark]

error messages [1 mark]
locations in memory [1 mark]
memory dump // debugging [1 mark]

IP(v6) address [1 mark]

ASCII OR Unicode [1 mark]
assembly language [1 mark]
URL [1 mark]

(2 marks)

(c) Another value is stored as binary in a register.

0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0

A logical left shift of two places is performed on the binary value.

Complete the binary register to show its contents after this logical left shift.

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 Answer

The binary register after performing a logical left shift of two places is:

01001000 [1 mark]
(1 mark)

(d) State one effect this logical shift has on the binary value.

Answer

The effect of this logical shift is:

The value becomes incorrect because the left most bits are lost [1 mark]

(1 mark)

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16 (a) Binary is a number system used by computers.

Tick (✓) one box to show which statement about the binary number system is correct.

A. It is a base 1 system
B. It is a base 2 system
C. It is a base 10 system
D. It is a base 16 system

Answer

The correct answer is B

B is correct as binary is a base 2 number system (1s/0s) [1 mark]

A, C & D are incorrect as they are examples of other number systems such as
denary (base 10) & hexadecimal (base 16)

(1 mark)

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(b) Denary numbers are converted to binary numbers to be processed by a computer.

Convert these three denary numbers to 8‑bit binary numbers.

50 ...............................

102 ..............................

221 ...............................

Answer

The denary numbers converted to 8-bit binary numbers are:

50

00110010 [1 mark]
102

01100110 [1 mark]
221

11011101 [1 mark]

(3 marks)

(c) Two 8‑bit binary numbers are given.

Add the two 8‑bit binary numbers using binary addition.

Give your answer in binary. Show all your working.

00110011
+0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1

Answer

Adding the two 8-bit binary numbers gives an answer of:

1001 [1 mark] 0100 [1 mark]

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Working [1 mark]

Mark Scheme and Guidance

One mark per each correct nibble
One mark for correct working in binary (showing 4 correct carries)

(3 marks)

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17 (a) A student is creating a range of documents for a school project.

The student records a podcast about computer science.

Describe how an analogue sound wave is converted into digital form.

Answer

An analogue sound wave is converted into digital form by:

Any three from the following:

(analogue) sound wave is sampled [1 mark]

…amplitude/height (of wave) is measured [1 mark]

…at set/regular time intervals (e.g. a number of times per second) [1 mark]

Each sample/measurement is stored as a binary number [1 mark]

The binary number for each sample is stored sequentially [1 mark]

Examiner Tips and Tricks

An example of a 3 mark response could be:

Analogue sound waves are sampled by measuring the amplitude of the wave at
regular time intervals.

(3 marks)

(b) Tick (✓) one or more boxes on each row to identify the effect(s) that each change will
have on the sound file.

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 Change File size File size Accuracy Accuracy
increases decreases increases decreases

Duration changes
from 10 minutes to 20
minutes

Sample rate changes

from 44 kilohertz to 8
kilohertz

Bit depth changes

from 8 bits to 16 bits

Answer

Change File size File size Accuracy Accuracy

increases decreases increases decreases

Duration changes ✓
from 10 minutes to 20
minutes

Sample rate changes ✓ ✓

from 44 kilohertz to 8
kilohertz

Bit depth changes ✓ ✓

from 8 bits to 16 bits

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 Mark Scheme and Guidance
Must have both ticks on row two and three for marks

(3 marks)

18 The following data is stored as a text file:

red, green, yellow, green, purple, blue, red, purple, blue, yellow, grey, black, pink, red,

Explain how lossless compression would compress this file.

Answer

Lossless compression would compress the file by:

Any five of the following:

A (compression) algorithm is used [1 mark]

No data is removed in the process OR original file can be restored [1 mark]
Repeated words/symbols (are identified) OR Patterns in the data (are identified) [1
mark]
… and are indexed/put into a table OR by example [1 mark]
… and are replaced with their index OR by example [1 mark]
… and their positions are stored (in the table) OR by example [1 mark]
… and the number of times the word/pattern appears is stored (in the table) OR by
example [1 mark]

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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An example of a five mark response could be:

Lossless compression works by using an algorithm that identifies repeated

patterns in the data, such as the repeated colours in the list. These patterns are
then indexed and stored in a table. For example, the word "red" might be
replaced with the number "1" in the file, "green" with "2", and so on. The original
positions and the number of times each colour appears are also stored in the
table. This way, the file is compressed without losing any data, and the original
file can be fully restored when needed.

(5 marks)

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19 Discuss the trade-offs between image quality and file size when choosing a bitmap
image's resolution and colour depth.

Provide examples to illustrate your answer.

Answer

When choosing a bitmap image's resolution and colour depth, there are important trade-
offs between image quality and file size.

Resolution
Higher-resolution images have more pixels, which means they contain more detail and
have higher quality. However, this also means they have larger file sizes, taking up more
storage space and possibly causing slower loading times on websites. On the other hand,
lower-resolution images have fewer pixels, which reduces the file size and makes them
load faster, but this comes at the cost of image quality, potentially making them look
blurry or pixelated when viewed up close or on larger screens.

Colour depth
Regarding colour depth, higher colour depth allows an image to display more colours,
leading to better image quality. However, this increases the file size because more bits
are needed for each pixel. Lower colour depth reduces the number of colours available,
which can make images appear less vibrant but helps in reducing the file size. This is
beneficial for faster loading times and less storage usage.

Examples
For example, a professional photograph used for printing requires high resolution and
high colour depth to ensure excellent quality, but it results in a large file size. In contrast,
a thumbnail image on a website typically has low resolution and low colour depth to
ensure faster loading times while sacrificing some quality.

Examiner Tips and Tricks

You must include the following in your answer to achieve full marks

1. You must consider each of the three properties from the question

Resolution
Colour depth
Examples

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 2. Write in paragraphs, using the three properties as subheadings to
structure your answer
3. Consider benefits and drawbacks for each of the properties listed

Mark Scheme and Guidance

Demonstrates thorough knowledge and understanding with accurate and
detailed material
Applies knowledge directly and consistently with explicit
evidence/examples
Weighs up both sides of the discussion with suitable examples

(8 marks)

20 Negative denary numbers can also be represented as binary using two’s complement.

Complete the binary register for the denary value −54.

You must show all your working.

Register:

Answer

The binary register for the denary value -54 is:

11001010 [1 mark]
Any valid working [1 mark]

Mark Scheme and Guidance

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Valid working could include conversion to binary then flipping and adding 1.

(2 marks)

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21 (a) Explain the difference between a megabyte (MB) and a mebibyte (MiB).

Answer

The differences between a MB and MIB include:

Any two of the following:

A megabyte (MB) is a decimal unit of data storage [1 mark]

… based on powers of 10 [1 mark]
… equivalent to 1,000,000 bytes [1 mark]

A mebibyte (MiB) is a binary unit of data storage [1 mark]

… based on powers of 2 [1 mark]
… equivalent to 1,048,576 bytes (2^20) [1 mark]

(2 marks)

(b) Calculate how many kibibytes (KiB) there are in 3 gibibytes (GiB)?

Show your working.

Answer

The number of kibibytes in 3 gibibytes is:

3,145,728 KiB [1 mark]

Correct working [1 mark]
3 GiB = 3×1024 MiB
= 3×1024 × 1024 KiB

= 3 × 1,048,576 KiB
OR

3 x 1024 x 1024

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 (2 marks)

22 Binary is a number system used by computers.

Two 8-bit binary values are added.

The result of this calculation needs to be stored in an 8-bit register.

The denary result of this calculation is 301.

This generates an error

State the name of this type of error and explain why this error occurs.

Answer

The name of the error generated is:

Overflow [1 mark]
It is caused due to:

The value is larger than 255 [1 mark]

So all the bits required to represent the value cannot fit in the 8-bit register [1
mark]

(3 marks)

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23 Two binary numbers are added by a computer and an overflow error occurs.

Explain why the overflow error occurred.

Answer

The overflow error occurred due to:

The result of the calculation is greater than 255 [1 mark] OR The value generated is
larger than can be stored in the register [1 mark]

The result of the calculation would require more than 8 bits to be represented [1
mark] OR A register has a predetermined number of bits and there are too many
bits for it [1 mark]

(2 marks)

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24 Hexadecimal is used for Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) colour codes.

An HTML colour code is:

#2F15D6

Each pair of digits is stored as binary in an 8‑bit register.

Give the 8‑bit binary value that would be stored for each pair of hexadecimal digits.

2F

15

D6

Answer

The 8-bit binary values for each pair of hexadecimal digits is:

2F

0010[1 mark] 1111 [1 mark]

15

0001 [1 mark] 0101 [1 mark]

D6

1101 [1 mark] 0110 [1 mark]

(6 marks)

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25 Binary numbers are stored in registers.

Negative denary numbers can be represented as binary using two’s complement.

Complete the binary register for the denary number –78

You must show all your working.

Answer

The 8-bit binary register for the denary number -78 is:

10110010 [1 mark]

Full method of working e.g. conversion to binary then flipping and adding 1 [1 mark]

(2 marks)

26 Ron is attending a music concert. He has bought three tickets.

Each ticket number is displayed as a hexadecimal number.

Complete the table to show the 12-bit binary values and the denary values for each
Hexadecimal ticket number

Hexadecimal 12-bit binary value Denary value

ticket number

028

1A9

20c

Answer

The completed table showing 12-bit binary and denary values is:

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Hexadecimal 12-bit binary value Denary value
ticket number

028 0000 0010 1000 [1 mark] 40 [1 mark]

1A9 0001 1010 1001 [1 mark] 425 [1 mark]

20c 0010 0000 1100 [1 mark] 524 [1 mark]

(6 marks)

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