GCE

Computer Science

Unit H046/01: Computing principles

Advanced Subsidiary GCE

Mark Scheme for June 2018

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations

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This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and students, to indicate the requirements
of the examination. It shows the basis on which marks were awarded by examiners. It does not
indicate the details of the discussions which took place at an examiners’ meeting before marking
commenced.

All examiners are instructed that alternative correct answers and unexpected approaches in
candidates’ scripts must be given marks that fairly reflect the relevant knowledge and skills
demonstrated.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the published question papers and the report
on the examination.

© OCR 2018
H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Annotations

Annotation Meaning
Omission mark

Benefit of the doubt

Subordinate clause / consequential error

Incorrect point

Expansion of a point

Follow through

Not answered question

No benefit of doubt given

Point being made

Repeat

Slash / half-mark

Correct point

Too vague

Zero (big)

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Annotation Meaning
Blank Page – this annotation must be used on all blank pages within an answer booklet (structured or
unstructured) and on each page of an additional object where there is no candidate response.
Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

LEVELS OF RESPONSE QUESTIONS:

The indicative content indicates the expected parameters for candidates’ answers, but be prepared to recognise and credit unexpected
approaches where they show relevance.
Using ‘best-fit’, decide first which set of BAND DESCRIPTORS best describes the overall quality of the answer. Once the band is located, adjust
the mark concentrating on features of the answer which make it stronger or weaker following the guidelines for refinement.

 Highest mark: If clear evidence of all the qualities in the band descriptors is shown, the HIGHEST Mark should be awarded.
 Lowest mark: If the answer shows the candidate to be borderline (i.e. they have achieved all the qualities of the bands below and show
limited evidence of meeting the criteria of the band in question) the LOWEST mark should be awarded.
 Middle mark: This mark should be used for candidates who are secure in the band. They are not ‘borderline’ but they have only achieved
some of the qualities in the band descriptors.
Be prepared to use the full range of marks. Do not reserve (e.g.) high Band 3 marks ‘in case’ something turns up of a quality you have not yet
seen. If an answer gives clear evidence of the qualities described in the band descriptors, reward appropriately.

AO1 AO2 AO3

High (thorough) Precision in the use of question Knowledge and understanding shown Concerted effort is made to consider
terminology. Knowledge shown is is consistently applied to context all aspects of a system/problem or
consistent and well-developed. Clear enabling a logical and sustained weigh up both sides to an argument
appreciation of the question from a argument to develop. before forming an overall conclusion.
range of different perspectives Examples used enhance rather than Judgements made are based on
making extensive use of acquired detract from response. appropriate and concise arguments
knowledge and understanding. that have been developed in response
resulting in them being both supported
and realistic.
Middle (reasonable) Awareness of the meaning of the Knowledge and understanding applied There is a reasonable attempt to reach
terms in the question. Knowledge is to context. Whilst clear evidence that a conclusion considering aspects of a
sound and effectively demonstrated. an argument builds and develops system/problem or weighing up both
Demands of question understood through response there are times sides of an argument. However the
although at times opportunities to when opportunities are missed to use impact of the conclusion is often
make use of acquired knowledge an example or relate an aspect of lessened by a lack of supported
and understanding not always taken. knowledge or understanding to the judgements which accompany it.
context provided. This inability to build on and develop
lines of argument as developed in the
response can detract from the overall
quality of the response.
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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Low (basic) Confusion and inability to Inability to apply knowledge and Little or no attempt to prioritise or
deconstruct terminology as used in understanding in any sustained way to weigh up factors during course of
the question. Knowledge partial and context resulting in tenuous and answer.
superficial. Focus on question unsupported statements being made. Conclusion is often dislocated from
narrow and often one-dimensional. Examples if used are for the most part response and any judgements lack
irrelevant and unsubstantiated. substance due in part to the basic
level of argument that has been
demonstrated throughout response.

Assessment Objective
AO1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms
and data representation.
AO1.1 Demonstrate knowledge of the principles and concepts of abstraction, logic, algorithms, data representation or other as appropriate.
AO1.2 Demonstrate understanding of the principles and concepts of abstraction, logic, algorithms, data representation or other as
appropriate.
AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science including to analyse problems in
computational terms.
AO2.1 Apply knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science.
AO2.2 Analyse problems in computational terms.
AO3 Design, program and evaluate computer systems that solve problems, making reasoned judgements about these and presenting
conclusions.
AO3.1 Design computer systems that solve problems.
AO3.2 Program computer systems that solve problems.
AO3.3 Evaluate computer systems that solve problems, making reasoned judgements about these and presenting conclusions.

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

1 a Operating system Tick One 1

Distributed AO2.1
Embedded  (1)
Multi-user

b - The software will not need updating 2

- Can be loaded quickly when the frame is switched AO1.2
on/will not be lost when the frame is switched off. (2)
- Cannot be (accidentally) overwritten/deleted
(1 per -, max 2)

c advantage 2
- Costs less to design/produce.
because AO2.1
- Requires less cooling to be built in. (2)
- (If battery powered) can run off smaller battery.
- Has fewer instructions than other (CISC) processors.
- Simpler (circuit/hardware) design/manufacture.
- Fewer transistors.
(1 per -, max 2, 1 max from ‘because’ group)

d - Devices on the network have equal status/no (central) 2

server. AO1.1
- Devices on the network share data (2)
(1 per -, max 2)

e - Potentially vulnerable to hacking. 1

- Reliant on an internet connection/requires a fast enough AO2.1
internet connection. (1)
- Reliant on company servers.
(1 per -, max 1)

f - (External) hard (disk) drive/ solid state drive 1 Accept SD Card/Micro SD Card
- Flash memory card/stick/drive AO1.2 Do not accept just ‘USB’,
(1 per -, max 1) (1) must be USB stick/device//pen/drive

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Question Answer Marks Guidance

2 a (Onscreen) keyboard/touchscreen 2 Accept keypad

Allowing the user to type in/select reading/numbers on the AO2.1
screen. (2)
Camera
Takes a photo of the meter/reading and the
smartphone/application recognises the numbers.

Microphone
The user speaks the reading/numbers and the
smartphone/application (using speech recognition
software) interprets them.
(1 mark per input device, 1 mark per corresponding
description of method)

b 4 Example solution:
- Returns false if reading is not a number. if(!isNaN(reading) && reading>=1 &&
- Returns true if reading is >=1 AO3.2 reading<=999999)
- and <=999999 (but no other values) (4) {
- Returns false for a number not between these values. return true;
}
(1 per -, max 4) else
{
return false;
}
Do not penalise for lack of ;
{ } are not needed in this case.

NB: credit should be given for validating length

c i - A program/software 2
- That controls a piece of hardware AO1.1
- Providing an interface/bridge between the device and (2)
(operating) system
(1 per -, max 2)

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

c ii Protocol(s) 1 cao
AO1.1
(1)
c iii - Spreadsheet package 1 Accept any suitable application.
- DBMS/database AO1.2 No proprietary names
(1 per -, max 1) (1)
3 a - The CPUs can work in parallel 2
- … on the same problem AO3.3
- try multiple keys simultaneously… (2)
- …to break the code
(1 per -, max 2)

b - The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Accept 2

RIPA) AO2.1
- Legislates as to how organisations can monitor (2)
electronic communications
- Allows interception of communications
- Allows them to get communications information from
ISP
- Allows them to perform surveillance (e.g. key logging)
- Certain actions require government approval
- Different organisations have different limits on what
they can do (GCHQ is amongst those that have most
freedom).
(1 per -, max 2)

4 a - The BIOS is loaded/ carries out its checks 2

- the BIOS/bootstrap loads up the OS. AO2.1
(1 per -, max 2) (2)
b - Disk Defragmenter 1 Accept any sensible utility.
- Compression Utility AO1.2 No proprietary names
- Disk Checker (1)
- Virus checker
- File manager
(1 per -, max 1)

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

c Mark Band 3–High Level (7-9 marks) 9 AO1

The candidate demonstrates a thorough knowledge and Memory management divides memory either by paging or
understanding of how OSs manage resources (for this AO1.1 segmentation.
band these should be reference to CPU time and memory); (2) Virtual memory is where part of secondary storage is treated
Strong evaluation of different approaches. The candidate AO1.2 as extra memory space. It is used when physical memory
provides a thorough discussion which is well-balanced. (2) space is limited.
Evaluative comments are consistently relevant and well- AO2.1 CPU time is allocated to processing using scheduling.
considered. (2) Schedulers use different algorithms.
There is a well-developed line of reasoning which is clear AO3.3 When CPU attention is needed interrupts are generated.
and logically structured. The information presented is (3)
relevant and substantiated. AO2
Candidate has used appropriate technical terminology Paging divides memory by fixed size physical divisions.
throughout. There are few if any spelling errors or errors of Whilst all pages are the same size, what that size is can
grammar. vary.
Segmentation is dividing memory according to variable size
Mark Band 2 –Mid Level (4-6 marks) logical divisions.
The candidate demonstrates reasonable knowledge and Scheduling algorithms include Round Robin (Each job gets a
understanding of how OSs manage system resources (for fixed time slice), First Come First Served (The first job to
5+ Marks there should be reference to both CPU time and arrive is processed until completion, then the next…),
memory). The candidate provides a reasonable discussion, Shortest Job First (The quickest to complete job is finished
the majority of which is focused. Evaluative comments are first), Shortest Remaining Time (quickest job is completed
for the most part appropriate, although one or two first but stops and re-evaluates when a new job arrives),
opportunities for development are missed. Multi-Level Feedback Queue (Jobs are put in different
There is a line of reasoning presented with some queues depending on their importance).
structure. The information presented is in the most part Interrupts are signals sent to the processor asking for
relevant and supported by some evidence. attention.
There may be spelling errors or errors of grammar in the
response but they are not obtrusive. AO3
With segmentation only the exact space needed is used per
program, however as programs are loaded and removed
from memory there may be wasted space between
programs. Programmers often need to specify segments.

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

Mark Band 1-Low Level (1-3 marks) The fixed size of pages make it easier to allocate pages and
The candidate demonstrates a basic knowledge of how work out their position. Space inside a page may be ‘wasted’
OSs manage system resources The candidate makes a as program is unlikely to take up exact number of pages,
limited attempt to apply acquired knowledge and however all pages can be used with no wasted space
understanding to the context provided between them. Programmer need not worry about the pages.
The candidate provides a limited discussion which is
narrow in focus. Judgments if made are weak and In practice both are used in conjunction (e.g. segmentation
unsubstantiated. The information is basic and on top of paging).
communicated in an unstructured way. The information is
supported by limited evidence and the relationship to the
evidence may not be clear. Some scheduling algorithms (e.g. SJF, STR) can cause
There are likely to be spelling errors and/or errors of starvation (i.e. certain jobs never get processed).
grammar, which will disrupt the flow of the response More complicated scheduling algorithms take up lots of
processor time for the scheduling itself, taking away
0 marks processing time from the actual jobs that need processing.
No attempt to answer the question or response is not Interrupts mean that the processor only has to worry about
worthy of credit. being needed when told (as opposed to having to constantly
check i.e. polling).

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

5 a 01001000 1

AO1.2
(1)
b 133 1

AO1.2
(1)
c 68 1
AO1.2
(1)
d - Exponent is 4 3 Accept any other method if working is shown
- Move binary point 4 places to the right
- Answer is: 9.25 AO1.2
(1 per -, max 3) (3)

e - Computers use a character set/ASCII/ UNICODE 2

- To map binary values to characters
- Each character is represented by a unique value AO1.1
(1 per -, max 2) (2)

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

6 a 3 Also accept: C  B
Accept alternative symbols.

AO2.1
(1, 1st
Mark)

AO2.2
(2, Last 2
Marks)

Gives: BC

- Correct two groups identified.

- B
- C
(1 per -, max 3)

b - NOT gates after A and C 4

- AND gates: one taking (NOT) A, B as inputs the other
taking (NOT) C, D as inputs. AO2.2
- An OR gate taking in the outputs of both AND gates. (4)
- …No further gates or connections
(1 per -, max 4)

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

7 - Initialise all 4 totals variables 6 Example:

- Checks through all items in the array via suitable loop. bandA = 0
- Add temperatures <=10 to Band A bandB = 0
AO3.2 bandC = 0
- Adds temperatures >=31 to Band D (6) bandD = 0
- Correctly assigns temperatures between 11 and 20 for i=0 to temperatures[].length - 1
inclusive to Band B and those between 21-30 inclusive if temperatures[i]<=10 then
to Band C bandA = bandA + 1
- Uses else if (or equivalent) for efficiency rather than elseif temperatures[i]<=20 then
multiple ifs OR uses select/case OR any other solution bandB = bandB + 1
that stops trying to categorise a temperature once its elseif temperatures[i]<=30 then
band is found. bandC = bandC + 1
- Displays results in similar format to shown in question. else
bandD = bandD + 1
(1 per -, max 6) endif
next i
print(“Band A: ” + bandA)
print(“Band B: ” + bandB)
print(“Band C: ” + bandC)
print(“Band D: ” + bandD)

Some solutions may use Select/Case.

E.g.

Select Case temperatures[i]

Case Is<=10
bandA=bandA+1

Look out for alternative methods of iteration such as using

iterators

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

8 Mark Band 3–High Level (7-9 marks) 9 Points May Include:

The candidate demonstrates a thorough knowledge and AO1
understanding of how VMs can be used (for full marks they - A virtual machine is a piece of software that behaves in
have identified 2 realistic uses of VMs); Thorough AO1.1 the same way as an actual computer.
discussion of pros and cons of VMs. The candidate is able - In this case the VM on the computer would behave as
(2)
to apply their knowledge and understanding directly and though it were a games console.
consistently to the context provided. Evidence/examples AO1.2 - Some VMs are used to interpret intermediate code.
will be explicitly relevant to the explanation. The candidate (2)
provides a thorough discussion which is well-balanced. AO2.1 AO2
Evaluative comments are consistently relevant and well- (2) - VMs of different consoles allow the program to be tested
considered. AO3.3 for different machines from the programmer’s computer.
There is a well-developed line of reasoning which is clear (3) - Saves space and the time and cost of setting up multiple
and logically structured. The information presented is systems.
relevant and substantiated. - Requires a powerful computer (as must run its own OS
Candidate has used appropriate technical terminology and the VM).
throughout. There are few if any spelling errors or errors of - The VMs need to be accurate representations of the
grammar. physical machine or the final code will not work on them.
- Game could be written in a language that is interpreted
Mark Band 2 –Mid Level (4-6 marks) to intermediate code and is run off a VM.
The candidate demonstrates reasonable knowledge and - This means only one version of the code needs be
understanding of how a VM could be used and their pros written and it will run on all systems.
and cons. Evidence/examples are for the most part - This saves time and maximizes profits.
implicitly relevant to the explanation The candidate - However the game will run more slowly than if it had
provides a reasonable discussion, the majority of which is been compiled to native code.
focused. Evaluative comments are for the most part
appropriate, although one or two opportunities for
development are missed. AO3
There is a line of reasoning presented with some structure. - Using Virtual Machines may be a useful tool during
The information presented is in the most part relevant and testing, saving time.
supported by some evidence. - Realistically physical machines will have to be used at
There may be spelling errors or errors of grammar in the some point to be 100% sure everything works as it
response but they are not obtrusive. should.
- Using a VM to run intermediate code makes it easy to
release for a variety of platforms.
- But will be at the expense of game performance.

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

Mark Band 1-Low Level (1-3 marks)

The candidate demonstrates a basic knowledge of how
VMs could be used and an understanding of pros or cons
of their use. The candidate makes a limited attempt to
apply acquired knowledge and understanding to the
context provided
The candidate provides a limited discussion which is
narrow in focus. Judgments if made are weak and
unsubstantiated. The information is basic and
communicated in an unstructured way. The information is
supported by limited evidence and the relationship to the
evidence may not be clear.
There are likely to be spelling errors and/or errors of
grammar, which will disrupt the flow of the response

0 marks
No attempt to answer the question or response is not
worthy of credit.

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H046/01 Mark Scheme June 2018

Question Answer Marks Guidance

9 a Accumulator 1 Accept ACC

AO1.2
(1)
b 1
Stage Tick (  ) AO2.1
(1)
Fetch
Decode
Execute 
c - Asks for a number. 3 loop INP
- repeatedly… AO3.2 SUB num
- until 3 is entered. (3) BRZ end
(1 per -, max 3) BRA loop
end HLT
num DAT 3

Accept answers that use immediate addressing

ie., SUB #3

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