COMPUTER SCIENCE 2210 O’ LEVELS

Chapter 3: Hardware
ANSWERS TO ACTIVITIES 2.1 1
Parts i and ii • picture and sound out of synchronization
• packets arriving at different times
• pauses in the video
• time delay in assembling packets
• degraded video and sound
• caused by competing traffic on the communications link
• possible 'drop out'
• packets take different routes, so some may get lost
2
• web page divided into data packets
• each packet has an IP address of the destination
• routers check header against IP address values to determine next router to send data
packet
• hop value checked to see if it is zero
• destination computer reassembles data packets to build up the web page
3 a This takes all the 1-values in the payload and adds them together to generate a
hex number.
• this hex value is stored in the trailer • receiving computer carries out the same
calculation on received payload
• if values match, data packets has been received error-free
• if values do not match, data packet needs to be re-sent b 29 1-bits  1D in hex. If
recalculated value doesn’t equal 1Dhex then it needs to be re-sent.
4 a • packets keep 'bouncing around' from router to router and never reach the
destination
• use hop numbers; if hop number = 0 then the packet is deleted and is therefore lost
b • apply a hop number …
• … each time a data packet reaches a router, the hop number is decreased by 1.
 • … once the hop number = 0, and the destination hasn’t been reached, then the data
packet is deleted
c • each packet takes a different route …
• … therefore if a packet is intercepted, hacker still won’t have the whole message.
ACTVIITY 2.2 1 i data sent one bit at a time over a single channel in both directions,
but not at the same time
ii) several bits of data sent down multiple channels in both directions, at the same time
iii) data sent one bit at a time over a single channel in one direction only
2 i serial, simplex data transmission ii parallel, simplex data transmission iii parallel, full-
duplex data transmission iv serial, full-duplex data transmission v parallel, simplex data
transmission.

ACTVIITY 2.3

ACTIVITY 2.4
Parity bits: 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0
ACTIVITY 2.5
1 no error, error, error, no error, error, error, no error, no error, no error, no error
2 It isn’t possible to determine where the error occurred.
ACTIVITY 2.6
1 error occurred in: byte 4 (four 1-bits)
and in: bit 6 (four 1-bits)
byte 4 should be: 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
2 error occurred in: byte 8 (three 1-bits)
and in: bit 7 (three 1-bits)
byte 8 should be: 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1
ACTIVITY 2.7
1 9 + 8 + 5 + 0 + 5 + 5 = 32
3 × (7 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 7 + 9) = 3 × 29 = 87
(32 + 87)/10 = 119/10 = 11 remainder 9
10 – 9 = 1, the check digit
2 i ISBN 13: 2 + 3 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 2 = 8
3 × (1 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 4 + 8) = 3 × 15 = 45
(8 + 45)/10 = 53/10 = 5 remainder 3
10 – 3 = 7, the check digit
Modulo-11: sum = (13 × 2) + (12 × 1) + (11 × 3) + (10 × 1) + (9 × 1) +
(8 × 1) + (7 × 0)
+ (6 × 0) + (5 × 0) + (4 × 4) + (3 × 2) + (2 × 8)
 26 + 12 + 33 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 16 + 6 + 16 = 136
136/11 = 12 remainder 4
11 – 4 = 7, the check digit
ii ISBN 13: 9 + 9 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 4 = 27
3 × (0 + 8 + 2 + 2 + 5 + 4) = 3 × 21 = 63
(27 + 63)/10 = 90/10 = 9 remainder 0
check digit = 0
Modulo-11: sum = (13 × 9) + (12 × 0) + (11 × 9) + (10 × 8) + (9 × 1) +
(8 × 2) + (7 × 1)
+ (6 × 2) + (5 × 3) + (4 × 5) + (3 × 4) + (2 × 4)
 117 + 0 + 99 + 80 + 9 + 16 + 7 + 12 + 15 + 20 + 12 + 8 = 395
395/11 = 35 remainder 10
11 – 10 = 1, the check digit
ACTIVITY 2.8
1 Tom would need to send Jane his public key.
2 Two keys are required; one of the keys is only known to the recipient of the
document (i.e. the private key).

ACTIVITY 2.9
a E – text following an encryption algorithm
b B – the receiver
c B – plaintext
d E – there is a security problem when transmitting the encryption key
e A – symmetric key encryption
f E – check digit
g A – automatic repeat request
h B – parity check
i D – checksum
j A – echo check

ANSWERS TO EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS

1 a i Data is returned to sender. Sender’s computer compares the two
sets of data. If any
errors found, then the data is re-sent.
This doesn’t make it a very suitable method for this application.
ii ARQ uses acknowledgement and timeout. When a receiving device
detects an error
following data transmission, it asks for the data to be re-sent. If there are
no errors, a
positive acknowledgement is sent to the sender.
The sending device will re-send data if:
 • it receives a request to re-send data
• a timeout has occurred.
The whole process is continuous until all data packets received are error-
free or until
the timeout is reached.
b Three differences from:

Checksum Check digit

 calculated from the block of data  final digit included in the code
 sent with block of data  calculated from the other
 re-calculated at the receiving digits in the code
station  used to check for errors
 if different, an error has occurred during data entry
 used to check errors following  detects errors such as
data transposition, missing/extra
digits, and so on
transmission

3
4 a Sequence: iii, i, ii, iv
b Sequence: v, ii, iii, iv, i
c Sequence: ii, iii, i, iv, v
d Sequence: vi, v, ii, iv, iii, i
5 a Symmetric encryption occurs when the same encryption key is
used to encrypt and decrypt a message.
b Asymmetric encryption uses public keys (known to everyone)
and private keys (known to a single user only); the recipient
sends a public key to each sender who uses it to encrypt the
message. The encrypted message is then decrypted using a
matching private key at the recipient’s computer.
c If data is intercepted it cannot be understood by a
hacker/eavesdropper without the correct decryption key.
 7 a i Method 1 Tick Method 2 Tick
 
Serial  Simplex

Parallel Half-duplex

Full-duplex 

ii Serial has lower/less interference.

Serial is more reliable over long distances.
In serial, bits won’t be skewed/out of synchronisation.
In serial, it is easier to collate bits together again
after transmission. Full-duplex transmits data in
both directions at the same time.
Simplex and half-duplex won’t allow read and write operations at the same time.

Checksum:
 value calculated from the data block
 this value is transmitted along with the data
 checksum recalculated after transmission
 if the values match, data has been
transmitted error-free

Parity check:
 parity bit is transmitted with each byte of data
 odd or even parity protocol is being used
 number of 1-bits are added together to determine if parity bit is 0 or 1
 byte checked at destination to see if it has the correct parity protocol (odd or
even)
 if the parity has changed, an
error has occurred

ARQ:
 uses acknowledgement and timeout
 when device detects an error in the data transmission, it
requests the packet to be re-sent; if no error, a positive
acknowledgement is sent
 sending device re-sends packet after request to re-send is made/timeout
reached
 process is continuous until the data packet received is
correct/until ARQ time limit is reached

Echo check:
  copy of data sent back to sender
 data is compared to see if they match
 if it does not match, error has been detected
8 a True False
Statement
 
Full-duplex data transmission can be either serial or parallel 
Full-duplex data transmission is when data is transmitted both ways,

but only one way at a time
Full-duplex transmission is always used to connect a device to

a computer
Full-duplex data transmission is when data is transmitted both ways

at the same time

Full-duplex data transmission automatically detects any errors in data 

b parallel data transmission

c Two from:
 universal standard, so it is likely to be compatible with the computer
 can only be inserted one way, so there is less chance of connecting a device
incorrectly
 high-speed data connection, so data transmission is fast
 uses serial transmission, so less chance of skewing errors
 does not require (wireless) network, therefore can be used even if network is
down
 backwards compatible, so no additional technology required
 no need for a separate power source, because USB supplies (5V) power
 drivers are automatically identified/loaded, so no need to find
them online/installs drivers automatically