MAY/JUNE 2000 CARIBBEAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Paper 01 - General and Technical

Proficiencies THEORY 1 hours 23 May 2000 (a.m.)

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES 1. 2. Attempt ALL questions. Number each answer correctly in the answer booklet.

3. You may write Basic or Pascal (or any other language) code in those questions requiring pseudocode/algorithm.DO

NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO Copyright 9 1999 Caribbean Examinations Council All rights reserved.

2 2. 1. (a) Give BRIEF explanations for EACH of the following terms: Give ONE similarity and ONE difference between EACH of the following pairs: (i) Word size (a) ROM and RAM (ii) Buffer (b) ROM and EPROM (iii) Microfilm (c) Hard disk and floppy disk (iv) Bandwidth (d) Primary storage and secondary storage (v) Wide area network (e) Systems software and applications software (b) (i) What is 'electronic eavesdropping'? (ii) (iii) What is 'software piracy'? State TWO ways in which software piracy may be controlled. Total 10 marks (1 mark) (2 marks) (1 mark) (2 marks) (1 mark) (2 marks) (1 mark) (2 marks) (1 mark) (2 marks) (1 mark) (1 mark) (2 marks) Total 9 marks 3. This question is based on the following extract: Writing a program to solve a problem

Before writing a program in a high level language (A), it is advisable to write an algorithm that solves the problem. This algorithm can be written in pseudo code (B) and tested thoroughly for logic errors. (C) First, you perform a dry-run (D) of the algorithm using a wide variety of test data to ensure that your algorithm works for all possible cases. Next, convert your algorithm to the high-level language. Compile (E) your program and correct any syntax errors (F) which you may have. Run your program and use the same set of test data you used for the dry-run. If you get the same results, your program is working correctly. Explain the meanings of EACH of the underlined phrases labeled A to F (6 marks) Total 6 marks GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE

3 4. The InsureNow Insurance Company has its head office in Bridgetown, Barbados. The company has one computer, on which it stores all company data. The company handles a lot of confidential client data. Each client is assigned to a particular agent. You do not want agents to see confidential information about other agents' clients. (a) (b) (c) (d) How can you prevent agents from viewing one another's confidential files? (1 mark) State TWO precautionary measures that can be taken to ensure that, in the case of a fire, all client data are preserved. (2 marks) What can be done to ensure that the client data files are protected in the event that the computer hard disk fails? (1 mark) It is sometimes necessary to send confidential data across the telephone line (using a modem) to another branch of the company 25 miles away. How can the company ensure that no one can eavesdrop on the data while it is being transmitted? (1 mark) Total 5 marks 5. (a) (b) (c) What is 'teleconferencing'? State TWO advantages of teleconferencing. State FOUR hardware requirements for teleconferencing. (1 mark) (2 marks) (2 marks) Total 5 marks 6. (a) (i) (ii) (b) State ONE advantage of a machine language over a high-level language. State TWO advantages of a high-level language over a machine language. (1 mark) (2 marks) (3 marks)

State THREE advantages of computer networks

Total 6 marks 7. (a) (b) Convert 9910, to its binary equivalent. (2 marks)

Add the two binary numbers 1101012 and 110112 giving your answer in decimal form. (3 marks)

(c) (d)

Explain how an integer can be represented using BCD. Give the BCD representation of -6510

(2 marks) (2 marks) Total 9 marks GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE

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8.

(a)

Write an algorithm which reads three values, a, b and c and prints the largest of the three.
(4 marks)

(b)

This part is based on the algorithm give below: set A to 3 set B to 5 set SUM to 1 while A <= 50 do A A+B B B+A SUM = SUM + B endwhile print SUM stop Using the algorithm above: (i) Copy and complete the trace table which follow. A 3 B 5 sum 1 (5 marks)

(ii) State what is printed by the algorithm.

(1 mark) Total 10 marks

9.

Write an algorithm to read a positive integer N and find the average of all even numbers between 1 and N inclusive. Perform any necessary validation. (8 marks) Total 8 marks

10.

Write an algorithm to read the names of 10 items and their prices, and print the name of the item with the highest price. Assume that no items have the same price. Data is supplied in the form: item1, price1, item2, price2, etc. (7 marks) Total 7 marks

END OF TEST