Cambridge International AS & A Level

COMPUTER SCIENCE 9618/11

Paper 1 Theory Fundamentals October/November 2024
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75

Published

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the
examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the
details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have
considered the acceptability of alternative answers.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for
Teachers.

Cambridge International will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the October/November 2024 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International A and AS Level components, and some Cambridge O Level
components.

This document consists of 9 printed pages.

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Generic Marking Principles

These general marking principles must be applied by all examiners when marking candidate answers.
They should be applied alongside the specific content of the mark scheme or generic level
descriptions for a question. Each question paper and mark scheme will also comply with these
marking principles.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 1:

Marks must be awarded in line with:

• the specific content of the mark scheme or the generic level descriptors for the question
• the specific skills defined in the mark scheme or in the generic level descriptors for the question
• the standard of response required by a candidate as exemplified by the standardisation scripts.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 2:

Marks awarded are always whole marks (not half marks, or other fractions).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 3:

Marks must be awarded positively:

• marks are awarded for correct/valid answers, as defined in the mark scheme. However, credit
is given for valid answers which go beyond the scope of the syllabus and mark scheme,
referring to your Team Leader as appropriate
• marks are awarded when candidates clearly demonstrate what they know and can do
• marks are not deducted for errors
• marks are not deducted for omissions
• answers should only be judged on the quality of spelling, punctuation and grammar when these
features are specifically assessed by the question as indicated by the mark scheme. The
meaning, however, should be unambiguous.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 4:

Rules must be applied consistently, e.g. in situations where candidates have not followed
instructions or in the application of generic level descriptors.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 5:

Marks should be awarded using the full range of marks defined in the mark scheme for the question
(however; the use of the full mark range may be limited according to the quality of the candidate
responses seen).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 6:

Marks awarded are based solely on the requirements as defined in the mark scheme. Marks should
not be awarded with grade thresholds or grade descriptors in mind.

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Question Answer Marks

1(a) 1 mark for: 1

• A tebibyte = 1024 gibibytes / 1 048 576 kibibytes / 240 bytes whereas a

gigabyte = 1000 megabytes / 1 000 000 kilobytes / 109 bytes
• Tebi is binary prefix giga is denary prefix

1(b)(i) 1 mark for: 1

C67

1(b)(ii) 1 mark for: 1

−1641

1(b)(iii) 1 mark for: 1

573

1(c) 1 mark for working 1 mark for answer. 2

Working
Using the two’s complement and adding:

23 in binary = 00010111 so minus 23 is 11101001

0100 1010
+ 1110 1001
(1)0011 0011

Direct subtraction:

0100 1010
– 0001 0111
0011 0011

Answer: 0011 0011

1(d) 1 mark from: 1

• The answer cannot be represented in the number of bits available

• The answer is larger than the maximum positive number that can be
stored in the register
• The answer is smaller than the most negative number that can be stored
in the register

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Question Answer Marks

2(a) 1 mark for limitation and 2 marks for corresponding explanation 3

e.g.

Data redundancy // data duplication

• Separate linked tables are used
• Data items are stored once so reduces data duplication / data
redundancy

Data inconsistency / Poor data integrity

• Data changed once in one place will automatically update elsewhere
• Linked data cannot be entered differently in two tables
• Referential integrity can be enforced

The data structure used depends on the application

• Changes to the data structure are managed by the DBMS
• … and queries are not dependent on the structure of the data
• … and changes to the data do not require programs to be re-written

2(b)(i) 1 mark for each correct relation 3

2(b)(ii) 1 mark for each bullet point 5

• Create table REPAIR_PART with opening and closing brackets, all

statements inside the brackets
• PartID and RepairNumber as varchar (or equivalent)
• Quantity as integer
• At least 1 appropriate constraint
• Dual primary key

For example:
CREATE TABLE REPAIR_PART(
PartID VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
RepairNumber VARCHAR(4) NOT NULL,
Quantity INT NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (PartID, RepairNumber)
);

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Question Answer Marks

2(b)(iii) 1 mark for each bullet point 3

• Select SUM of AmountDue

• From the correct table and one correct condition
• Second correct condition

SELECT SUM(AmountDue)
FROM INVOICE
WHERE SupplierID = "JK675" AND Paid = FALSE;

2(c) 1 mark for each correct definition 3

Database Term Definition

All duplicate entries of data between tables are

Referential Integrity consistent // all foreign keys are matched to an
appropriate primary key

A field that could be a primary key but is not // an

Candidate Key attribute or smallest set of attributes in a table where
no tuple has the same value

A row / record in a table // one instance of an entity in

Tuple
a table

Question Answer Marks

3(a) 1 mark for system clock and 1 mark for Control Unit 2

System clock
• To synchronise operations
• ... by creating and transmitting timing signals on the control bus

Control Unit
• Sends/receives control signals along control bus
• Reads an instruction from the contents of the memory location whose
address is stored in PC
• Coordinates/synchronises the activity of other components in the CPU
• Manages the execution of instructions
• Controls communication between the components in the CPU

3(b)(i) 1 mark for the feature, 1 mark max for the matching reason 2

e.g.
Feature: clock speed
• Higher clock speed means that more F-E cycles are executed per second
// Higher clock speed results in more throughput

Feature: bus width

• Larger bus width means that more data transferred at the same time

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Question Answer Marks

3(b)(ii) 1 mark for correct port. 2 marks for explanation 3

Port: USB / Universal Serial Bus

Explanation:
• A voltage change occurs when the drive is plugged in
• The computer detects this voltage change
• The code of the device is transferred to computer
• … the OS finds the code of the device in the list of devices
• … and loads the appropriate device driver

3(c) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 2) 2

e.g.
• DRAM requires constant refresh cycles unlike SRAM
• DRAM has lower access speed than SRAM

3(d)(i) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 4) 4

• The disc is spun at high speed

• A laser is shone onto the disc to read / write
• … using optical head to move it into position
• … it follows the spiral track from the centre outwards
• When writing the laser burns pits to represent the data
• When reading the laser reflects from pits and lands
• The reflection from a pit and a land is different
• ... the differences are interpreted as 1 or 0

3(d)(ii) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 3) 3

• The computer and optical disc reader/writer send and receive at different
speeds
• A buffer allows temporary storage of the data
• … so that the computer can transfer data to the buffer at the higher speed
• ... and is not held up waiting for data to transfer // so the computer can
carry on with other tasks
• ... so the optical disc reader/writer is not overloaded
• … and so that data is transferred to optical disc reader/writer from the
buffer at the slower rate

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Question Answer Marks

4(a)(i) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 2) 2

e.g.
• Secondary storage space is divided into file allocation units
• Space on secondary storage is allocated to particular files
• Maintains/creates directory structures
• Specifies the logical method of file storage e.g. FAT or NTFS
• Provides file naming conventions
• Controls user access // implements access rights //implements password
protection // Makes file sharing possible
• Controls access to the file by other software
• Specifies tasks that can be performed on a file e.g. open, close, delete,
copy, create, move, etc
• Allows searching for a file

4(a)(ii) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 2) 2

• To allow data to be retrieved / restored when lost

• To automatically make a duplicate copy of data…
• …so the user does not have to remember to backup data
• To make regular duplicate copies of data

4(b)(i) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 3) 3

e.g.
• Less of the teacher’s storage space is used
• ... so more student work can be stored
• Transmission time is reduced
• … so the teacher does not have to wait as long for it to arrive
• Bandwidth usage is reduced
• … so other transmissions are not adversely affected
• Less data allowance is used on the teacher’s email system

4(b)(ii) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 3) 3

• Run-Length Encoding // RLE

• Repeated sequences of the same characters are replaced by
• ... a single copy of the character
• ... and a count of the number of characters

4(c) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 3) 3

e.g.
• It saves development time for the student
• … by using pre-written code
• There is less testing to do // the routines are more likely to work correctly
• … because they have already been tested and are error-free
• It results in a more robust program
• Subroutines can be used that they do not have the skill to write
• … which enables a more complex program to be written

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Question Answer Marks

4(d)(i) 1 mark for correct name, 1 mark for matching description 2

• Expand/collapse code blocks…

• … sections of source code that are part of the same block can be
expanded to see the content or collapsed so that the overall code is seen

• Auto-indentation // auto-formatting...
• ... automatically indents/formats code as the user types so that the
structure is clear // aids readability

4(d)(ii) 1 mark for correct name, 1 mark for matching description 2

• Breakpoints …
• … stops the code running on a set line to view the current status/variable
contents/program flow

• Report window // variable watch window …

• … shows the values in variables/data structures and how they change
when each line is run

Question Answer Marks

5(a) 1 mark for all 3 appropriate sensors 1

Scenario Type of sensor

A door is open. Pressure sensor // Infra-red

The external daylight-level is below a set

Light sensor
amount.

A person is detected within 2 metres. Infra-red

5(b) 1 mark for each correct expression 2

X = E AND A AND C
Y = E AND (B OR C OR D)

5(c) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 3) for a correct justification 3
No marks for the identification of the system

Monitoring system
• There is no use of feedback // The light and the alarm are just warnings
• The output of the floodlight or the audio alarm does not affect the input of
data from the sensors
• The system does not have any actuators

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Question Answer Marks

6 1 mark for each bullet point (max 4) 4

e.g.
• It uses image recognition
• The pixels of each image from the camera are stored
• … and matched to the expected shape/size/colour of registration number
• It uses optical character recognition
• The pixels within the registration number area identified are analysed
• … and compared to expected characters/letters/numbers

Question Answer Marks

7(a) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 2) 2

• The user can test/trial the program before purchasing to see whether it
meets needs
• There is no initial cost
• Users who try the software may spread the word so the developer gets
more custom
• The developer can get feedback to improve the program

7(b) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 2) 2

• The owner/developer can earn a fee

• Comprehensive support is usually offered so problems can be easily
solved
• The software is usually well tested so few bugs

Question Answer Marks

8(a) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 2) 2

• To store the value of flags/bits

• … that can be changed/set/cleared after arithmetic / logical operations
• To allow flags to be checked
• … to change instruction sequence

8(b) 1 mark for each bullet point (max 2) 2

• Special purpose registers have a specified role in the machine whereas

general purpose registers can be used for all purposes defined by the
programmer
• Special purpose registers hold the state of the program’s execution while
general purpose registers hold the program’s data during operations

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