St Helena’s College

Scheme of work 2019

Computer Science – Grade 10

Term 1 Paper Chapter Scheme Date Remarks

(Week)
3 1 DATA Binary systems
REPRESENTATION o recognize the
use of binary
numbers in
computer
systems
o convert
denary
numbers into
binary and
binary numbers
into denary

4 1 DATA Binary systems

REPRESENTATION o show
understanding of
the concept of a
byte and how
the byte is used
to measure
memory size
o use binary in
computer
registers for a
given application
(such as in
robotics, digital
instruments and
counting
systems)

5 1 DATA Hexadecimal
REPRESENTATION o represent
integers as
hexadecimal
numbers
o show
understanding of
the reasons for
choosing
hexadecimal to
represent

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 numbers
o convert
positive
hexadecimal
integers to and
from denary
o convert
positive
hexadecimal
integers to and
from binary
o represent
numbers stored
in registers and
main memory as
hexadecimal

6 1 DATA Hexadecimal
REPRESENTATION o identify
current uses of
hexadecimal
numbers in
computing, such
as defining
colours in
Hypertext
Markup
Language
(HTML), Media
Access Control
(MAC)
addresses,
assembly
languages and
machine code,
debugging

Data Storage
o show
understanding
that sound
(music),
pictures, video,
text and
numbers are
stored in
different formats

7 1 DATA Data Storage

REPRESENTATION o identify and
describe
methods of error
detection and
correction, such

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 as parity checks,
check digits,
checksums and
Automatic
Repeat
reQuests (ARQ)
o show
understanding of
the concept of
Musical
Instrument
Digital Interface
(MIDI) files, jpeg
files, MP3 and
MP4 files
o show
understanding of
the principles of
data
compression
(lossless and
lossy
compression
algorithms)
applied to
music/video,
photos and text
files

8 1 COMMUNICATION Serial and

AND INTERNET parallel data
TECHNOLOGIES transmission
o show
understanding of
what is meant by
transmission of
data
o distinguish
between serial
and parallel data
transmission
o show
understanding of
the reasons for
choosing serial
or parallel data
transmission

9 1 COMMUNICATION Serial and

AND INTERNET parallel data
TECHNOLOGIES transmission

understanding of
the need to
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 check for errors

parity bits are

used for error
detection

identify current
uses of serial
and parallel data
transmission,
such as
Integrated
Circuits (IC) and
Universal Serial
Bus (USB)
10 1 COMMUNICATION Security aspects
ANDINTERNET o show
TECHNOLOGIES understanding of
the security
aspects of using
the Internet and
understand what
methods are
available to help
minimise the risks
o show
understanding of
the Internet risks
associated with
malware, including
viruses spyware
and hacking
o explain how
anti-virus and other
protection software
helps to protect the
user from security
risks

11 1 COMMUNICATION Internet principles

AND INTERNET of operation
TECHNOLOGIES o show
understanding of
the role of the
browser and
Internet server
o show
understanding of
the concept of
MAC address,
Internet Protocol
(IP) address and
cookies

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12 1 COMMUNICATION Internet principles
ANDINTERNET of operation
TECHNOLOGIES o show
understanding of
what is meant by
hypertext transfer
protocol (http) and
HTML
o distinguish
between HTML
structure and
presentation

Term 2 Paper chapter Scheme Date Remarks

1 1 HARDWARE Computer
AND architecture and the
SOFTWARE fetch-execute cycle
o show
understanding of the
basic Von Neumann
model for a computer
system and the
stored program
concept (program
instructions and data
are stored in main
memory and
instructions are
fetched and
executed one after
another)
o describe the
stages of the fetch-
execute cycle

2 1 HARDWARE Input devices

AND o describe the
SOFTWARE principles of
operation (how each
device works) of a
range of input
devices including 2D
and 3D scanners,
barcode readers,
digital cameras,
keyboards, mice,
touch screens,
microphones

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 o describe how
these principles are
applied to real-life
scenarios, for
example: scanning of
passports at airports,
barcode readers at
supermarket
checkouts, and touch
screens on mobile
devices

3 1 HARDWARE Input devices

AND o describe how a
SOFTWARE range of sensors can
be used to input data
into a computer
system, including
light, temperature,
magnetic field, gas,
pressure, moisture,
humidity,
pH/acidity/alkalinity
and motion/infra-red
o describe how
these sensors are
used in real-life
scenarios, for
example: street
lights, security
devices, pollution
control, games, and
household and
industrial
applications

4 1 HARDWARE Output devices

AND o describe the
SOFTWARE principles of
operation of a range
of output devices,
including: inkjet,
laser and 3D
printers; 2D and 3D
cutters; speakers
and headphones;
actuators; flat-panel
display screens,
including Liquid
Crystal Display
(LCD) and Light-
Emitting Diodes
(LED); and LCD
projectors and Digital
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 Light Projectors
(DLP)
o describe how
these principles are
applied to real-life
scenarios for
example: printing
single items on
demand or in large
volumes; banks of
digital displays; use
of small screens on
mobile devices;
smart boards

5 1 HARDWARE Memory, storage

AND devices and media
SOFTWARE o show
understanding of the
difference between:
primary, secondary
and off-line storage
and provide
examples of each,
such as, primary:
Read Only Memory
(ROM), Random
Access Memory
(RAM) and DVD-
RAM; secondary:
hard disk drive
(HDD) and Solid
State Drives (SSDs);
off-line: Digital
Versatile Disks
(DVDs), Compact
Disks (CDs), Blu-ray,
USB flash memory
and removable disks
o describe the
principles of
operation of a range
of types of storage
devices and media
including magnetic,
optical and solid
state

6 1 HARDWARE Memory, storage

AND devices and media
SOFTWARE o describe how these
principles are applied
to currently available
storage solutions,
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 such as SSDs, hard
disk drives, USB
flash memory, DVDs,
CDs and Blu-ray
o calculate the
storage requirement
of a file

Operating systems
o describe the
purpose of an
operating system
o show
understanding of the
need for interrupts

7 1 HARDWARE High- and low-level

AND languages and their
SOFTWARE translators
o show
understanding of the
need for both high-
level and low-level
languages
o show
understanding of the
need for compilers
when translating
programs written in a
high-level language
o show
understanding of the
use of interpreters
with high-level
language programs
o show
understanding of the
need for assemblers
when translating
programs written in
assembly language

8 1 SECURITY show understanding

of the need to keep
data safe from
accidental damage,
including corruption
and human errors
o show
understanding of the
need to keep data
safe from malicious
actions, including
unauthorized
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 viewing, deleting,
copying and
corruption

9 1 SECURITY show understanding

of how data are kept
safe when stored
and transmitted,
including:
○ use of passwords,
both entered at a
keyboard and
biometric
○ use of firewalls,
both software and
hardware, including
proxy servers
○ use of Secure Socket
Layer (SSL)
10 1 SECURITY Use of symmetric
encryption (plain text,
cypher text and use
of a key) showing
understanding that
increasing the length
of a key increases
the strength of the
encryption
o show
understanding of the
need to keep online
systems safe from
attacks including
denial of service
attacks, phishing,
pharming

11 1 SECURITY describe how the

knowledge from
week 8, 9 and 10 can
be applied to real-life
scenarios including,
for example, online
banking, shopping

12 1 ETHICS show understanding

of computer ethics,
including copyright
issues and
plagiarism
o distinguish
between free
software, freeware

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 and shareware

13 1 ETHICS o show
understanding of the
ethical issues raised
by the spread of
electronic
communication and
computer systems,
including hacking,
cracking and
production of
malware

(Note: Section 1.3.1 Logic Gates postponed for term 3 to facilitate comprehension)

Term Pape Chapter Scheme

3(Week r
)
1 1 HARDWAR Logic gates
E AND o use logic gates to create electronic circuits
SOFTWAR
E

2 1 HARDWAR Logic gates

E AND o understand and define the functions of NOT, AND, OR,
SOFTWAR NAND, NOR and XOR (EOR) gates, including the binary output
E produced from all the possible binary inputs (all gates, except
the NOT gate, will have 2 inputs only)

3 1 HARDWAR Logic gates

E AND o draw truth tables and recognise a logic gate from its truth table
SOFTWAR o recognise and use the following standard symbols used to
E represent logic gates:

4 1 HARDWAR Logic gates

E AND o produce truth tables for given logic circuits
SOFTWAR o produce a logic circuit to solve a given problem or to
E implement a given written logic statement, such as IF (switch A
is NOT on) OR (switch B is on AND switch C is NOT on) then
alarm, X, sounds

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5 2 ALGORITH Problem-solving and design
M DESIGN o show understanding that every computer system is made up of
AND sub-systems, which in turn are made up of further sub-systems
PROBLEM
SOLVING

6 2 ALGORITH Problem-solving and design

M DESIGN o use top-down design, structure diagrams, flowcharts,
AND pseudocode, library routines and subroutines
PROBLEM
SOLVING

7 2 ALGORITH Problem-solving and design

M DESIGN o work out the purpose of a given algorithm
AND o explain standard methods of solution
PROBLEM o suggest and apply suitable test data
SOLVING

8 2 ALGORITH Problem-solving and design

M DESIGN o work out the purpose of a given algorithm
AND o explain standard methods of solution
PROBLEM o suggest and apply suitable test data
SOLVING

9 2 ALGORITH Problem-solving and design

M DESIGN o understand the need for validation and verification checks to
AND be made on input data (validation could include range checks,
PROBLEM length checks, type checks and check digits)
SOLVING

10 2 ALGORITH Problem-solving and design

M DESIGN o use trace tables to find the value of variables at each step in
AND an algorithm
PROBLEM
SOLVING

11 2 ALGORITH Problem-solving and design

M DESIGN o identify errors in given algorithms and suggest ways of
AND removing these errors
PROBLEM
SOLVING

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(Note: Last two sections from 2.1.1 Problem solving and design to be covered in Term 1 Form 5 due to
their relationship with 2.1.2)

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