WESTBOURNE COLLEGE (SINGAPORE)

END SEMESTER EXAMINATION

COURSE – SUBJECT

Name: __________________________ Date: 3 June 2024

Level: IGCSE / DP Year 1 Marks: _____ / 50

Duration: 1h 15 min

INSTRUCTIONS

Answer all questions

Use a black or dark blue pen. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or graphs.

Write your answer to each question in the space provided.

Do not use an erasable pen or correction fluid.

You should use a calculator where appropriate.

You must show all necessary working clearly.

Give non-exact numerical answers correct to 3 significant figures, or 1 decimal place for angles in
degrees, unless a different level of accuracy is specified in the question.

For π , use either your calculator value of 3.142.

INFORMATION

The total of the marks for this paper is 50.

The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in the brackets [ ].

Page 1 of 4
1.
Identify two usability problems that can occur in a voice recognition system.

[2]

2.

State two compatibility issues that may occur when two information technology (IT) systems are
merged.

[2]

3.

A student posts images and videos on a public website of her friends at a party.

(a) Outline one ethical issue with the student posting these images and videos.

[2]

(b) Outline one technical issue that may prevent the images and videos from being viewed.

[2]

4.
An international company is in the process of moving its Head Office from Europe to Asia.

(a) Identify two possible compatibility issues as a part of data migration.

[2]

(b) Outline how a virtual private network (VPN) will allow employees who are in Europe to
communicate with the Head Office in Asia.

[2]

(c) Outline one social issue associated with this process.

[2]

5.

Construct a truth table for the following expression:

A OR NOT B AND C

[3]

6.

Page 2 of 4
Identify three functions of the control unit (CU) in the central processing unit (CPU).

[2]

7.

Identify three functions of the control unit (ALU) in the central processing unit (CPU).

[2]

8.

Outline one reason for using Unicode to represent data in a computer system.

[2]

9.

Website developers need to consider a range of usability factors when designing a website.

(a) Identify two usability factors that need to be considered in the design of a website.

[2]

(b) Outline one reason why visual displays on a computer screen can create difficulties for some
people.

[2]

A company promotes its products online. To make a purchase, customers are required to register
with the company and provide data like their name, date of birth, age, gender and email address.
Once registered, more than one customer is able to access the server to retrieve and modify their
data at the same time.

(c.i) State where the customer data is held during the process of modifying their data.

[1]

(c.ii) Explain how the operating system ensures that each customer’s data is secure when
multiple users are accessing the data at the same time.

[4]

(d) The company is considering sharing its customers’ data with marketing organizations.

Explain why there could be ethical issues for the company when sharing its customers’ data.

[6]

Page 3 of 4
10.

(a) Outline one advantage of using virtual memory.

[2]

(b) Outline one disadvantage of using virtual memory.

[2]

11.

Distinguish between the use of time slicing and priorities in the scheduling of processes by an
operating system.

[3]

12.

Sensors that take readings of the levels of different pollutants have been installed at a number of
sites along a river. Each reading is sent to a central computer, where it is processed and
analysed.

(a) Define the term interrupt.

[1]

(b) Describe how polling could be used in this situation.

[3]

13.

Identify one advantage of using a dedicated operating system on a mobile phone.

[1]

Page 4 of 4