Cambridge IGCSE: Computer Science 0478/11
Cambridge IGCSE: Computer Science 0478/11
Cambridge IGCSE: Computer Science 0478/11
com
Cambridge IGCSE™
* 7 7 1 9 9 1 0 7 7 6 *
1 hour 45 minutes
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.
DC (LK) 314031/3
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1 A student uses a computer and several hardware devices to complete his schoolwork.
Tick (3) one box to show which type of device the keyboard is.
A input
B memory
C output
D storage
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Tick (3) one box to show which type of device the printer is.
A input
B memory
C output
D storage
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(c) A component in the CPU sends signals to manage the fetch-decode-execute cycle.
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(e) The CPU contains registers including the memory data register (MDR).
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2 A car park has a payment machine that allows a customer to pay for their parking.
The cost of parking is displayed as a denary number on a screen on the payment machine.
(a) Give the parking cost that would be displayed on the payment machine when the registers
store:
• register 1: 00010001
• register 2: 01000110
Working space
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Give the 8-bit binary numbers that are stored in the registers to display the parking cost.
Register 1 .................................................................................................................................
Register 2 .................................................................................................................................
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(c) The payment machine gives the customer a ticket when they have paid their parking cost.
Each ticket has a 4-digit hexadecimal ticket number that is stored as binary.
Give the hexadecimal ticket number that would be displayed on this customer’s ticket.
Working space
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(d) Explain why data input into the payment machine needs to be converted to binary.
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(e) When a customer is leaving the car park they arrive at a barrier. The customer needs to insert
their ticket into a system at the barrier. This system reads the ticket number then checks
whether the parking cost has been paid for the car. The barrier is raised if it has been paid.
Describe the role of the microprocessor in the system and how it checks whether the parking
cost has been paid.
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Complete the table by writing the correct term for each description.
Term Description
(a) The data is transmitted one bit at a time down a single wire. The computer can transmit data
to the printer and the printer can transmit data to the computer, using the same connection.
Circle the two data transmission methods that will transmit data in this way.
(b) An odd parity check is used to detect errors in the data transmission.
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(c) Another error detection method sends the data from the computer to the printer, then a copy
of the data received is sent back from the printer to the computer. The two sets of data are
compared to see if they match.
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5 A musician is recording herself playing the music for a song on the piano.
(a) Explain how the analogue sound is recorded and converted to digital.
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(b) State two ways that the accuracy of the recording could be increased.
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(c) The musician compresses the sound file using lossless compression instead of lossy
compression.
Explain why the musician would choose to use lossless compression instead of lossy
compression.
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(d) The musician types the words for the song into a document.
Two character sets that can be used when converting text to digital are the American standard
code for information interchange (ASCII) and Unicode.
Explain the differences between the ASCII character set and the Unicode character set.
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© UCLES 2023 0478/11/O/N/23
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Some of the terms in the list will not be used. You should only use a term once.
Data is broken down into packets. A data packet has a packet .......................................................
Each packet could take a different path from the sender to the receiver; this is controlled by
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Packets may arrive out of order. Once the ...................................................... packet has arrived,
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© UCLES 2023 0478/11/O/N/23 [Turn over
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Magnetic ...................................................................................................................................
Solid-state .................................................................................................................................
Optical ......................................................................................................................................
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(a) State the name of the type of software that manages interrupts.
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(b) Describe how interrupts are used when a key is pressed on a keyboard.
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