Cambridge IGCSE™

* 3 0 5 1 9 9 1 3 9 5 *

COMPUTER SCIENCE 0478/11

Paper 1 Theory May/June 2021

1 hour 45 minutes

You must answer on the question paper.

No additional materials are needed.

INSTRUCTIONS
● Answer all questions.
● Use a black or dark blue pen. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or graphs.
● Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the boxes at the top of the page.
● Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
● Do not use an erasable pen or correction fluid.
● Do not write on any bar codes.
● Calculators must not be used in this paper.

INFORMATION
● The total mark for this paper is 75.
● The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
● No marks will be awarded for using brand names of software packages or hardware.

This document has 16 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

DC (LK/SG) 202678/4
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1 Benedict has a computer that is assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address. The IP address is:

198.167.214.0

The IP address is represented as denary values.

(a) Convert the denary values 167 and 214 from the IP address to 8-bit binary.

167

214

Working space

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[2]

(b) Benedict’s computer is also assigned a Media Access Control (MAC) address.

(i) Identify one similarity between an IP address and a MAC address.

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(ii) Identify two differences between an IP address and a MAC address.

Difference 1 .......................................................................................................................

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Difference 2 .......................................................................................................................

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2 Julia inputs personal data into her computer.

(a) Six statements are shown about HDDs, SSDs and USB flash memory drives.

Tick (✓) to show which statements apply to each type of storage. Some statements can apply
to more than one type of storage.

USB flash
memory
Statement HDD SSD drive
(✓) (✓) (✓)

it has no moving parts

it is non-volatile

it can use NAND gates to store data

it uses magnetic properties to store data

it has the smallest physical size

it has the slowest read/write speeds

[6]

(b) Julia uses a USB connection to transfer data onto her USB flash memory drive.

(i) One benefit of using a USB connection is that it is a universal connection.

State two other benefits of using a USB connection.

Benefit 1 ............................................................................................................................

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Benefit 2 ............................................................................................................................

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[2]

(ii) Identify the method of data transmission used in a USB connection.

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3 A firewall can be used to help keep the data secure that is stored on a computer.

(a) The given paragraph describes how the firewall operates to help keep the data secure.

Complete the paragraph using the most appropriate terms from the given list. Not all of the
terms on the list need to be used.

• Accept
• Criteria
• Hacking
• Input
• Network
• Outgoing
• Output
• Processor
• Reject
• Software
• Store
• Storage

A firewall can be ............................................. or hardware based. It monitors traffic between

the computer and the ............................................ The user sets ............................................

for the traffic. The firewall will .............................................. or ............................................

the traffic based on this. It can help prevent ............................................ and malicious

software that could be a threat to the security of the data.

[6]

(b) Identify three other methods that could be used to keep the data secure.

Method 1 ...................................................................................................................................

Method 2 ...................................................................................................................................

Method 3 ...................................................................................................................................
[3]

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4 Two internet risks are phishing and pharming.

Describe what is meant by phishing and pharming.

Phishing ...........................................................................................................................................

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Pharming ..........................................................................................................................................

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[6]

5 Digital currency can be used to buy products from the world wide web.

(a) State what is meant by a digital currency.

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(b) Describe the process of blockchain in digital currency.

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6 Jamelia has a greenhouse that she uses to grow fruit and vegetables. She needs to make sure
the temperature in the greenhouse stays between 25 °C and 30 °C (inclusive).

A system that has a temperature sensor and a microprocessor is used to maintain the temperature
in the greenhouse. The system will:

• open a window and turn a heater off if it gets too hot

• close a window and turn a heater on if it gets too cold.

Describe how the system uses the temperature sensor and the microprocessor to maintain the
temperature in the greenhouse.

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7 An expert system is an example of artificial intelligence. One component of an expert system is a

knowledge base.

(a) Explain why an expert system needs a knowledge base.

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(b) Identify three other components that are present in an expert system.

Component 1 ............................................................................................................................

Component 2 ............................................................................................................................

Component 3 ............................................................................................................................ [3]

(c) Another example of artificial intelligence is machine learning.

Explain what is meant by machine learning.

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8 A music company has a website that allows users to stream music. The music is stored in sound
files.

(a) The sound files are compressed using lossless compression.

(i) Describe how the sound files are compressed using lossless compression.

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(ii) State one reason why the music company would compress the sound files using
lossless, rather than lossy, compression.

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(iii) Give one benefit, to the user, of the music company compressing the sound files.

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(iv) Give one drawback of the music company using lossless, rather than lossy, compression
for the sound files.

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(b) Describe how the web pages for the website are requested and displayed on a user’s
computer.

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(c) The web server that hosts the website suffers a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

Explain why this will prevent users from accessing the website.

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9 Four 7-bit binary values are transmitted from one computer to another. A parity bit is added to
each binary value creating 8-bit binary values. All the binary values are transmitted and received
correctly.

(a) Identify whether each 8-bit binary value has been sent using odd or even parity by writing odd
or even in the type of parity column.

8-bit binary value Type of parity

01100100

10010001

00000011

10110010
[4]

(b) An error may not be detected when using a parity check.

Identify why an error may not be detected.

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(c) The data is sent using parallel half-duplex data transmission.

(i) Describe how data is sent using parallel half-duplex data transmission.

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(ii) State two drawbacks of using parallel data transmission.

Drawback 1 .......................................................................................................................

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Drawback 2 .......................................................................................................................

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[2]

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10 Explain how echo checks are used to check data following data transmission.

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