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New Hall School

GCSE ICT Revision Guide







Revise Online:


www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/

www.school-resources.co.uk/GCSEITRevisionQuizzes.htm

www.continental.clara.net/revision/index.htm

www.psionica.co.uk/gcseict/

www.didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk/depts/it/gcse/notes/questions/question.htm

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Input, Output and Storage



1. What is the difference between hardware and software?

2. What are the following input devices used for:
Keyboard
Mouse
Touch Screen
Graphics Tablet
Barcode Reader
Magnetic Stripe Reader
Microphone
Scanner
OCR (Optical Character Reader)
OMR (Optical Mark Reader)

3. What are the following output devices used for:
Printer
Plotter
Speakers/headphones
VDU(Visual Display Unit)/Monitor

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of inkjet/laser/dot matrix printers?

Speed Print
Quality
Colour Cost to buy Cost to run Noise
Laser
Inkjet
Dot Matrix

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the following storage devices?

Speed Portability Reliability Storage
Capacity
Floppy Disk
Hard Disk
CD-R/CD-RW
USB Flash
Drive


6. What is the difference between RAM and ROM?
3
Databases



1. A school wants to create a database of students. Complete the following DATA
DICTIONARY for this database:

FIELD NAME TYPE SIZE TYPICAL DATA




2. Design a SCREENFORM for this database:



















3. What is the difference between VALIDATION and VERIFICATION?

4. Name and describe four VALIDATION CHECKS?

5. What is a KEYFIELD?

6. What are two advantages of ENCODING information?

7. Give three situations when this database would be updated.
4
Spreadsheets




Look at the following spreadsheet, showing the sales at a school tuckshop:

A B C D E F G
1
2 Buying
Price
Selling
Price
Number
Sold
Takings Profit
3 Mars Bars 20p ? 30 ? ?
4 Fizzy Drinks 25p ? 43 ? ?
5 Bounty 15p ? 27 ? ?
6
7 Overall
Profit:
?

1. What is the CELL REFERENCE of the figure that would show how many mars
bars were sold?

2. In Column C, the shop manager wants to calculate the selling price of each item.
The selling price should be 50% of the buying price. Explain what formula would be
entered in C3.

3. Explain how the formula in C3 could easily be copied into C4 and C5.

4. If the buying price of Mars Bars changes, the shop manager would have to alter the
figure in B3. What three cells would change as a result?

5. What formula would be entered into the following cells:
E3
F3
F7

5. What type of graph/chart could be created to help the tuckshop manager to monitor
the success of this business?

6. How would this graph/chart be created?

7. The manager of the tuckshop wants a profit warning to appear if the shop makes
less than 10 profit in a week. Explain how she could do this.

8. The manager of the tuckshop wants a button that will easily reset the spreadsheet
by clearing certain cells at the end of each week. Explain how she could do this.

9. Explain how the spreadsheet can be used as a MODEL:
5
Other Software

1. What are the features that you would normally expect to see in a GUI (Graphical
User Interface)?

2. Rizwana has a photograph that she would like to include in a leaflet that she is
making using DTP software. Explain how she can include this photograph.

3. It is January 5
th
and Philippa still has not written the Thank You letters to the
relatives who have sent her Christmas presents. Her father suggests that she uses the
MAIL MERGE feature on her computer to write these letters. Explain how Philippa
should do this. Specify the SOFTWARE, FILES and FIELDS that Philippa will use.




Internet and E-mail


1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the following methods of
communication?

Advantages Disadvantages
E-mail


Fax


Telephone


Snail Mail



2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce (shopping online) to
the customer?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce to the retailer?

4. What is an ISP (Internet Service Provider)?

5. What hardware and software are required to connect to the Internet?

6. A business decides to allow its employees to have unrestricted access to the
Internet during working hours. What problems could this business encounter?
6

Name of Software
(Brand Name)
What is it used
for?
Advantages
(compared to
manual method)
Features
Word Processor
(e.g. Word)
Writing letters,
essays, minutes of
meetings, etc.
1. Corrections can
be made easily.
2. You can change
the type and size of
the font and make
text bold, italic or
underlined.
3. You can save the
document and print
as many copies as
you like.
4. Spelling and
grammar can be
checked.
Tables
Spell checker
Clipart
Columns
Page numbering
Header and footer
Cut, Copy, Paste

Desktop Publisher
(e.g. Publisher)
Creating printed
publications like
leaflets, flyers,
posters, brochures
1. You can create
professional-looking
publications on your
desktop (i.e. without
having to use a
professional printing
firm.)
2. You can see the
whole page and you
can drag pictures
and text boxes
around the page.
Templates
Layering
Auto Flow
Borders and
Backgrounds
Spreadsheet
Software (e.g.
Excel)
Creating financial
models
(calculating using
numbers)
1. Sums can be
automatically re-
calculated when
numbers are
changed.
2. Spreadsheets can
answer what if . . .
questions.
Formulae
Graphs and charts
Macros
VLOOKUP
Logical IF
Database Software
(e.g. Access)
Databases (storing
and processing
data)
1. Can store a large
amount of data in a
small space.
2. Can search and
sort data very
quickly.
3. Databases can be
shared across
networks.
(compared to filing
cabinets)
Queries
Forms
Reports
Data Validation
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Name of Software What it is used
for
Advantages Features
Image Editing
Software (e.g.
Microsoft Image
Editor, Photoshop)
Altering
photographs and
other graphics
Can improve the
appearance of the
photographs once
they are taken and
inputted.
Rotate, Crop,
Resize, Sharpen
CAD (Computer
Aided Design)
e.g. AutoCAD
Designing things
like cars, bridges,
ships, etc.
1. Objects can be
rotated and viewed
from any angle.
2. Alterations can
be made easily
Rotate
Zoom
Edit
Simulation
Software (e.g.
Microsoft Flight
Simulator)
Simulating
(common
examples are flight
simulators and
driving simulators)
1. Can simulate a
variety of
conditions.
2. It is safer and
cheaper to teach
someone to fly using
a simulator
(compared to using
a real plane).
Different
conditions can be
simulated.
Presentation
Graphics (e.g.
PowerPoint)
Creating electronic
slideshow
presentations
Sound and
animation effects
(compared to OHP,
manual slide show
or a flipchart)
Slide Transitions
Animation Effects
Timings
Action Buttons
OCR (Optical
Character
Recognition) e.g.
OmniPage,
Textbridge
Once text has been
scanned, OCR
converts the
scanned image into
text that can be
edited.
OCR is quicker that
retyping a document
Text Recognition
Email Client (e.g.
Outlook)
Sending and
receiving e-mail
messages.
Faster than the post,
no need to buy a
stamp, can send to
multiple recipients.
Forward Message
Address Book
Attachments
Operating System
(e.g. Windows)
The operating
system allows
applications to run.
Most operating
systems provide a
GUI (graphical user
interface).
WIMP (Windows,
Icons, Menus and
Pointers).
Web Browser (e.g.
Internet Explorer)
Displays web
pages.
A web browser is
necessary to view
HTML pages in an
understandable
format.
Bookmark
favourite pages.
History
Save, Print,
Refresh


8
Networks


1. In an office, there are four stand-alone computers. What would be the advantages
and disadvantages of connecting these computers to form a network?

2. What is the difference between a WAN (Wide Area Network) and a LAN (Local
Area Network)?

3. What is the difference between RING, STAR and BUS networks?





Flowcharts

1. What is an algorithm?

2. In a flowchart, what is the meaning of the following shapes?














3. A house has a security light that is connected to a light sensor. The light sensor
measures the level of sunlight on a scale of 1 100 (1 is total darkness, 100 is broad
daylight). The security light should be switched on when the level of light falls below
10 and it should turn off when the light is above 10. Illustrate this algorithm in the
form of a flowchart.
9
Security and Legal Issues




1. Each student at a school has a password to gain access to the network. Here are
some of the passwords chosen by the students. Which is the best password and why?
alice
ARSENAL
rover
Su16gD43
01245674326

2. A business has a network of computers. They are very concerned about the
security of the financial and personal data held in their networked database because of
the following threats:
Risk of fire or flood
Risk of viruses
Risk of human error
Risk of hackers
Risk of theft
Risk of dishonest employees
For each of the above threats, suggest a sensible security procedure that the business
should follow.

3. What are the health and safety risks associated with employees who work with
computers? What measures can be taken to reduce these risks?

4. Apart from Health and Safety legislation, what three laws should computer users
be aware of?
10
Systems Analysis




1. For his GCSE coursework, Dean has created a database of motorbikes. His project
is divided into six sections. What is involved in the following stages of his systems
analysis cycle?
Investigation
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Evaluation

Dean designed a Test Plan. In his Test Plan, he specified TEST DATA to test each of
his fields. For each of the following cells, suggest TYPICAL, EXTREME and
INVALID data that could be used:

FIELD NAME TYPICAL TEST
DATA
EXTREME TEST
DATA
INVALID TEST
DATA
Price of the
Motorbike

Top speed of the
motorbike

Year of production




11
Data Logging




A school has a weather station. This weather station uses SENSORS to take various
readings (measurements). These readings are stored (logged) for later use.

1. What readings could be taken by the weather station?

2. How frequently should these readings be taken?

3. What are the advantages of using data logging equipment to take these
measurements (compared to a human being taking the measurements)?

4. The readings taken by the sensors are stored on a computer. In Geography lessons,
the data is imported into a spreadsheet application and then used by the students.
What features of the spreadsheet software could be used by the students in their
Geography lessons?




Control Technology


1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using robots in manufacturing
industry?

2. What INPUTS, OUTPUTS and PROCESSES are involved in the following control
systems?

INPUTS OUTPUTS PROCESSES
FRIDGE/FREEZER



MICROWAVE
OVEN




WASHING
MACHINE




GREENHOUSE