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Computer science
Standard level
Paper 1

27 October 2023

Zone A afternoon Zone B afternoon Zone C afternoon

1 hour 30 minutes

Instructions to candidates
y Do not open this examination paper until instructed to do so.
y Section A: a
 nswer all questions.
y Section B: a
 nswer all questions.
y The maximum mark for this examination paper is [70 marks].

8823 – 7014
6 pages © International Baccalaureate Organization 2023
 –2– 8823 – 7014

Blank page
 –3– 8823 – 7014

Section A

Answer all questions.

1. State two compatibility issues that may occur when two information technology (IT)
systems are merged. [2]

2. Define the term constant.[1]

3. Identify two usability problems that can occur in a voice recognition system. [2]

4. State three pieces of information that a data packet must contain. [3]

5. Construct a truth table for the following expression: [3]

A or not B and C

6. Outline what is meant by a virtual machine. [2]

7. Identify three functions of the control unit (CU) in the central processing unit (CPU). [3]

8. (a) Outline what is meant by concurrent processing. [2]

(b) Identify one advantage of concurrent processing. [1]

9. (a) Construct a trace table for the following algorithm: [4]

N = 1216
X = 0
loop while N > 0
X = X + N mod 10
N = N div 10
end loop
output(X)

(b) Deduce the purpose of the algorithm. [2]

Turn over
 –4– 8823 – 7014

Section B

Answer all questions.

10. The staff at a doctor’s practice consist of a receptionist and a doctor.

The patients’ medical records and payments, the doctor’s appointment calendar, and other
important data are stored in a database on the central computer.

(a) Outline one security measure that can be taken to prevent unauthorized access to the
patients’ data stored on the central computer. [2]

(b) (i) Identify one cause of data loss. [1]

(ii) Describe one method that can be used to prevent data loss. [2]

A new vaccine has been distributed that would be of benefit to some of the doctor’s patients.
A large number of personalized letters need to be written to these patients, inviting them to
visit the doctor’s practice to be vaccinated.

(c) Describe how these letters could be automatically generated by a word

processing application. [3]

When the doctor visits a patient in their home, she needs to be able to access the patient’s
medical records stored on the central computer in the practice.

(d) Outline two reasons for the use of a virtual private network (VPN) in this situation. [4]

A mobile data connection enables the doctor to access internet resources while visiting
patients in their homes. Sometimes the data transfer speeds are slow.

(e) Explain why the speed of data transmission across a mobile network can vary. [3]
 –5– 8823 – 7014

11. A systems analyst has been employed to make proposals on how to improve the current
operation of a design company.

To achieve this, the analyst decided to carry out interviews.

(a) (i) Identify one other method of obtaining information from the end-users. [1]

(ii) Outline one advantage of using the method identified in part (a)(i) in preference
to interviews. [2]

(b) Outline the purpose of prototypes. [2]

A software company has been employed to program and implement a new system proposed
by the systems analyst.

(c) Explain why software testing is important at all stages of implementation. [3]

Using images in design may have ethical considerations.

(d) Explain one ethical problem associated with using images. [3]

Images are sometimes larger than the limit placed on email attachments. For example,
a 60 MB image file needs to be sent by email without losing quality, but a file larger than
10 MB cannot be uploaded as an attachment.

(e) (i) Describe how large image files can be sent by email. [3]

(ii) State one other hardware or software problem associated with the use of images. [1]

Turn over
 –6– 8823 – 7014

12. There were 10 gymnasts who took part in a gymnastics competition. The names and the
scores for all competitors were sorted in alphabetical order and stored in two arrays,
NAMES and SCORES (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Data held in the NAMES array and the SCORES array

NAMES SCORES

[0] Adams, Lana [0] 7.8

[1] Allen, Mary [1] 6.5

[2] Baker, Lilly [2] 5.4

[3] Brown, Lea [3] 9.2

[4] Fox, Tea [4] 6.2

[5] Labar, Tanya [5] 8.5

[6] Lee, Mae [6] 8.8

[7] Miller, Ann [7] 5.1

[8] Palmer, Ella [8] 6.4
[9] Wood, Sarah [9] 9.1

For example, the score awarded to Mary Allen was 6.5 .

(a) State the name of the gymnast whose score is stored in SCORES[5].[1]

(b) Construct an algorithm in pseudocode to determine the average score. [3]

To qualify for the next round of competition, a competitor must have a score above the
average score.

(c) Construct an algorithm in pseudocode that will determine and output the number
of gymnasts whose scores are above the average score.

You may assume that the average score is stored in the variable AVERAGE.[4]

An algorithm is needed that:

y allows input of a gymnast’s name
y searches for this name in the NAMES array using a binary search
y outputs the gymnast’s score. If the inputted name does not occur in the NAMES array,
it outputs an appropriate message.

For example, from the data given in Figure 1:

y if “Allen, Mary” is the input name, then 6.5 should be output
y if “Peterson, Tina” is the input name, then a message saying “this name is not found”
should be output.

(d) Construct an algorithm in pseudocode as described above. [7]