Communication and networks

1. What does the acronym ISP stand for?

Ans: Internet service provider

2. What does the acronym PAN stand for?

Ans: Personal area network

3. Which one of these does WAN stand for?

Ans: Wide area network

4. Which one of these is the maximum range of devices connected using a personal area
network?
Ans: 10 metres

5. Which one of these is the type of network formed when a Bluetooth mouse is connected
to a laptop?
Ans: PAN

6. A local area network (LAN) is one type of network.

State two other types of network.
Ans: PAN, WAN

7. Computer networks can be connected using wired and wireless connectivity.

a) Explain one advantage of using a wired computer network.
Ans: faster connection/ reliability/ increased security/ lower cost because
- Less signal loss due to external wireless interference.
- Difficult to hack without a physical connection
- No need to buy wireless equipment

b) Users may experience when using a wireless network and potential solutions to
prevent them happening.
Potential issue  Hackers trying to gain access
Potential solution  Regularly change wireless password
Potential issue  Lack of signal
Potential solution  Move closer to router, remove interference sources

8. Which one of these is an advantage of using a wired rather than a wireless network?
Ans: Lower lantency

9. Give two drawbacks of using WiFi to connect computers in a network.

Ans: Lower bandwidth, slower (data transfer)
Increased latency
Affected more by interference e.g., electrical appliances
Limited range
Less secure
Negatively affected by rain/ humidity

10. Complete the sentence.

The term uniform resource locator describes the system on the Internet that allows
users to move between documents using hypertext links.
11. Which one of these is a uniform resource locator (URL)?
Ans: https://www.pearson.com

12. Complete the sentence.

The Internet is a network of connected computers.

13. The internet is used to transfer data.

a) State what is meant by the term ‘Internet’.
Ans: Inter-connected networks
A network of networks
A system of computers around the world
A wide area network (WAN)

b) Which of these processes prepares data for transmission across the Internet?
Ans: Data is split into packets

c) Which one of these is a description of a URL?

Ans: a web server address

d) Give two reasons why some people do not have access to the Internet.
Ans: Cost
Remoteness
Rural location
Lack of infrastructure
Politics
Culture/ Religion

14. Data is split into packets for transfer across a network.

a) State what is meant by the term network.
Ans: A system of connected/ linked computers/ devices. A collection of servers.

b) Which of these is included in a packet header?

Ans: Sequence number

15. Data can be transmitted in packets.

Give two pieces of control information provided in a packet header.
Ans: Sender’s/ source address
Receiver’s destination address
Sequence/ packet number
Checksum
Version of IP
Number of packets
Packet length
Protocol
Expiry time (time to live)

16. State one reason why a data packet contains the sender’s IP address.
Ans: So the receiver knows where to return the data
So firewalls can protect systems/ check for blocked addresses.
 Requesting dropped packets (so that a request can be sent to the sender for the packet
to be resent if it gets lost/ corrupted).

17. Data is split into packets for transmission across a network.

Which one of these is included in a packet header?
Ans: Sequence number

18. State one reason for using filter software in a network.

Ans: Protect systems/ networks/ data
Prevent users seeing inappropriate content.

19. State the role of network filter software.

Ans: To allow, block URLs, websites
To protect a network
To prevent/ block malware

20. The World Wide Web is stored on computers that are connected to the Internet.
State what is meant by the term ‘World Wide Web’.
Ans: Hyper-linked content
A collection of web pages (accessed via a browser)
A collection of documents formatted in HTML and accessed via HTTP

21. Which one of these is a description of the World Wide Web?

Ans: A collection of linked pages

22. State one reason for connecting classroom computers in a network.

Ans: Communication
Collaboration
Sharing devices, software, resources
File sharing
Remote access
Roaming profiles
Centralized storage
Access to the internet

23. Some televisions receive transmissions using broadcast technology.

Give one other way that a television can receive transmissions.
Ans: Satellite, Cable

24. Which one of these is measured in bits per second?

Ans: Network data speeds

25. Data is sent between computers.

a) Which one of these can be used to intercept data?
Ans: Eavesdropping

b) Which one of these is increased by using wired rather than wireless connectivity?
Ans: Bandwidth
 c) Explain why Near-field Communication (NFC) is a better choice than Bluetooth for
making payments in a shop.
Ans: More secure because there is less chance of interception.
Or because it has shorter range.

26. Which of the following communication method is used in contactless payment?

Ans: Near-field communication (NFC)

27. Which of these should be used to pair a smartphone with a wireless speaker?
Ans: Bluetooth

28. Complete the sentence using the correct word from this list.
Global television stations broadcast using satellite technology.

29. Mobile phones can transmit data using Bluetooth.

a) State the type of device used to forward data packets on a WAN.
Ans: Router

30. Describe the role of a network switch.

Ans: To direct/ send/ packets/ data to connected devices.

31. Give one reason why a switch is used on a network.

Ans: To connect computers together.
To direct traffic between computers.
To provide extra socket.

32. A tablet computer needs to connect to the internet.

Tablet  Wireless access point  Switch  Router  Modem  Internet

33. Networks devices have specialist roles.

Draw one straight line from each role to the correct device.
Connects two networks (role)  Desktop, modem, router, switch, wireless access point
Changes a signal so it can be used by different technology (role) 
Directs signals to the correct receiving device within a network (role) 

34. State the type of anti-malware that prevents software from recording what a user types
on a keyboard.
Ans: Anti-spyware (anti-keylogger)

35. Complete the sentence using the correct words from this list.
Malicious USB devices can contain a virus, which is a type of malware that can intercept
data.

36. Computers use communication technology.

a) Give two ways that technology enables the communications of individuals to be
monitored.
Ans: Key logging
Spyware
 Hacking
Social media posts/ eavesdropping

b) Give two ways to protect your online identity.

Ans: Do not post personal information online
Disable GPS tracking
Report suspicious behaviors
Be alert for phishing email

37. Which one of these enables the communications of an individual to be monitored?

Ans: GPS tracking

38. Which of the following is classifies as an input device?

Ans: Games console controller
Webcam

39. It shows a smart system that responds to voice commands.

a) Give two input devices that are built into the system.
Ans:

b) Give one output device that is built into system.

Ans:

40. CCTV can be used to monitor people’s movements.

State one other way of monitoring people’s movements.
Ans: Credit card transactions.
ID cards
Social media posts
GPS (location data)

41. Give one benefit of using a network data speed of 1Gbps than 1 Mbps.
Ans: Data can be transferred/ sent/ received more quickly, it is faster.

Data Representation
Understand the difference between bitmap and vector

42. How many kibibytes make up one mebibyte?

Ans: 1024

43. Computers use binary to represent information.

a) Which one of these is the number of bytes in one kibibyte?
Ans: 1024

44. Computers use binary to represent information.

a) Which one of these is the number of bytes in one mebibyte?
Ans: 1024 x 1024
45. How many characters can be represented in an 8-bit binary sequence?
Ans: 256

46. Binary can be used to represent images.

a) Complete the missing two lines of binary digits.
b) A more complex 24 bit images of the graphic can be created with 800 x 600 pixels.
Calculate the size of the image file in mebibytes.
Ans: 1.4 mebibytes

47. Computers use binary to represent data nad program instructions.

State the number of values that can be represented by one binary digit (bit).
Ans: 0 or 1

48. Binary data is used to represent information in a computer.

a) Which one of these is a binary digit?
Ans: 1

49. Computers use binary to represent information.

a) Which one of these is the number of bits in one byte?
Ans: 8

b) An image is represented by this binary pattern. Complete the grid.

50. The image uses 16 picture elements.

a) State the term used for a picture element.
Ans: pixel

b) Which one of the these is a definition of colour depth?

Ans: The number of bits used to represent each picture element.
Ans: The number of colours represented by each picture element.

51. The image is represent by this binary pattern: 0100 1011 0100 0100
a) State the number of pixels in the image.
Ans: 16

b) Complete this sentence.

The resolution of the image is 4 x 4 and the colour depth is 1 bit.

52. Vector graphics are often used for logos.

State what type of graphic a photograph is.
Ans: Bitmap

53. Complete the sentence.

Bitmaps assign a colour to each pixel in the image.

54. State one advantage of using vector graphics rather than bitmap graphics.
Ans: Resolution quality is not reduced when enlarged, resized
Smaller file sizes
 Transfer more quickly
Uses less bandwidth

55. Explain why a logo should be stored as a vector graphic.

Ans: Vectors are drawn from mathematical coordinates.
Because coordinates can be recalculated.
To allows images to be resized.
And be used on different products/ applications.
So that clarity can be retained/ doesn’t pixelate.

56. An image is 200pixels x 200 pixels.

It is resized to 400pixels x 300 pixels.
Explain why it would have been better to resize it to 400pixels x 400 pixels.
Ans: Resizing to 400 x 400 would maintain the proportions so the image is not disorted.
It looks more like the original.

57. An image has a width of 1064 pixels and a height of 1600 pixels.
It is resized to a width of 1000 pixels and a height of 1600 pixels.
Explain the effect of resizing the image using these settings.
Ans: The image will appear skewed because it is not in proportion.
The image will be distorted because only the width has been width.

58. Explain one benefit of increasing the number of bits used to represent each pixel in an
image.
Ans: You can create more colorful images because using more bits increase the number
of values/ representations.

59. Graphics can be bitmap or vector.

Complete the sentence.
If a bitmap image enlarge, it may become pixelated, meaning it is less sharp.

Vector graphic use coordinates that can be recalculated when an image is resized.

60. A graphic designer is creating a logo.

a) Complete the sentence.
The designer should create the logo as a vector graphic so it can be resized without
becoming pixelated.

61. Complete the sentence using the correct phrase from this list.
The colour depth of the image is 1-bit.

62. Explain why more storage is required when the sample rate for a sound is increased.
Ans: More bits are used because ore representations of the amplitude. OR
Increasing the same rate means that more samples will be taken and more data will be
generated because the amplitude of the sound at each sampling point is represented by
a fixed number of bits.

63. Explain the benefit of increasing the sample rate when recording the sound.
Ans:
64. Complete the sentence by using words from the list.
a) A sample of the amplitude of a sound is measured thousands of times every second.

b) Explain why increasing the bit-depth-affects the representation of sound.

Ans: More accurate representation (of the amplitude) because more values can be
used to represent the amplitude.

More data available to represent each sample so better recreating of the original
sound

65. Computers use binary patterns to represent text, images and sound.
Draw one straight line from each type of data to what the binary pattern represents for
that type of data.
Text (Type of data)  Characters (represent)
Images (Type of data)  Pixels
Sound (Type of data)  Amplitude

66. Which of the following is a common industry standard for encoding character data?
Ans: Unicode

67. State one benefit of using Unicode to encode characters.

Ans: Can encode more characters.

68. Complete this sentence.

A standard that uses seven bits to encode characters is ASCII.

69. State one reason why Unicode rather than ASCII is used to encode the text.
Ans: Unicode can represent more characters.
Russian/ cycillic characters not represented by ASCII

70. Which one of these is encoded using ASCII?

Ans: (Graphic, Sound, Text, Video)

71. State the number of different characters that can be represented using 7-bit ASCII.
Ans: 128, 2 power 7.
 Understand the use of appropriate file type and compression
Using file compression tools
Understand data/information are collected and used

72. State one effect of compressing an image.

Ans: The quality, resolution of the image may be degraded.
Increases file transmission speed.

73. Explain one reason why it is important to consider the intended purpose of an image
when selecting a file type.
Ans: It may not be possible for others you share the file with to open/ edit the file
because they might not have the same application software/ same applications software
are only able to open certain file types.
The file size of the image may need to be as small as possible because it’s going to be
used on a website.

74. Sapna uses a compression tool on a file before attaching it to an email.

State one benefit to Sapna of compressing the file.
Ans: Sending takes less time
Costs less
Uses less of her data allowance
Uses less bandwidth
Stays under attachment size limt

75. An image will be used in a web page accessed by users with slow connections.
Which one of these would make the image fit for purpose?
Ans: Compressing

76. Which one of these is a reason for compressing files before uploading them?
Ans: Speeds up file transfer

77. A photographer uses a web page to sell his finished images.

State one reason why compression is used on the photos.
Ans: So the file is reduced/ takes up less (storage) space
So they download/ upload more quickly
So less bandwidth is used when uploading them.

78. Files can be stored online.

a) Which one of these gives a user the greatest permissions on a file?
Ans: Edit

b) Which one of these is a reason for using hosted storage?

Ans: Files can be uploaded from multiple devices

79. Emily wants to let other access her file, but not edit the content.
State the type of file permission that Emily should set.
Ans: Read only/ view/ comment
80. State one file permission that prevents others from editing a file.
Ans: Read only / view

Safe and responsible practice

81. What is meant by the term plagiarism?

Ans: Copying the work of others and claiming ownership

82. Complete the sentence.

Digital piracy is the process of downloading and distributing copyrighted material without
permission.

83. How we behave and stay safe online is taught in schools across the world.
Protecting location (Online concern)  Disabling GPS tagging (Suggested method)
Protecting identity (Online concern)  Using a pseudonym (Suggested method)
Avoiding copyright issues (Online concern)  Taking original photos (Suggested
method)

84. a) Identify the most secure setting.

Ans: Private

b)Give one reason for your choice.

Ans: It is because the user can control who has access to their information/ profile and
posts.

85. A social media account setting is changed to friends only.

Which one of these does this improve?
Ans: Privacy of data

86. State one reason for reducing the digital divide.

Ans: To make society fairer
Reduces inequality
Provides access to a wider range of people
Example of what people can do (e.g, find bargains when shopping online, improve
education)

87. Explain one impact of the digital divide.

Ans: It creates/ prolongs inequality because some people cannot access/ afford (etc)
Some people may be unable to find employment because they don’t have the
technology/ infrastructure to work remotely
Some people may be economically disadvantage because they are unable to shop
around for the best prices online.
Some people will have less social interaction/ feel lonely because they can’t socialize
with others online.

88. Give two ways to reduce the environmental impact of the disposal of smartphones.
Ans:
 1. Reduce use of toxic materials/ use eco-friendly materials.
2. Reuse (e.g. give to a friend/ school etc) / Sell
3. Repair rather than replace
4. Reduce carbon footprint (by not shipping waste to other countries)
5. Depose at specialist, e-waste sites/ Extract precious and non-renewable materials
6. Encourage manufacturers to support older models for longer
7. Encourage owners to not to upgrade all the time.

89. The environment can be harmed by the use and disposal of digital technologies.
Give two ways that the manufacture of digital technologies can harm the environment.
Ans: Removal of habitats/ damage caused by mining for components.
Removal of water sources used to cool factories.
Pollution generated by factories.
Pollution from shipping of components.
Power usage in production using non-renewable energy.

90. Explain one way in which the manufacture of digital devices damages the environment.
Ans:

91. Users of digital technology should act responsibly.

a) State one way the use of batteries can damage the environment.
Ans: Leaking chemicals when disposed
Mining for chemicals (e.g. Lithium)
Use of non-renewable energy to manufacture/ recharge

Know the software licensing types

92. A school wants to keep software costs as low as possible.

a) State the type of software licence that would be most suitable.
Ans: open source
Open source software
Free to share or edit it

b) Give one advantage of this licence model.

Ans: Software has no cost
Online communication provides free support
Software can be edited/ re-purposed without permission
Can share with others

c) Give one disadvantages of this licence model.

-lack of dedicated expert support
-lack of (or limited) updates
-may not support all computers/ devices
-graphic or interface may not be as user friendly
-security risks

93. Complete the type of software license.

Open source

94. Computer systems use software and hardware.

 a) Which one of these is a software licensing type?
Ans: Compresses, Copyright, Plagiarised, Proprietary

Understand why different data / information are collected and used

95. Which of the following is a primary source of data research?

Ans: Conducting a survey

96. Kate can use data from primary or secondary sources.

a) Which one of these is a secondary source that Kate could use?
Ans: A newspaper article Kate reads

b) Explain why it is important to use data from secondary sources in addition to primary
sources.
Ans: This avoids (personal) bias/ provides more opinions and ideas because
secondary sources are created by others.
Comparison can be made (against primary data) so it increases reliability to improve
validity.

97. Rowan needs content for a web page.

Which one of these is a primary source?
Ans: An image from a video Rowan creates

98. Complete the sentence using the correct word from the list.
Analysis is used to find patterns in data.

Computers: hardware, processing and software

99. Complete the sentence.
Presentation software is a type of application software and backup software is a type of
utility software.

100. Give two types of storage device.

Ans: Hard (disk) drive
Solid state drive
Optical (disk) drive
Pen drive

101. Which of the following is a piece of utility software?

Ans: Anti-malware
Compression software
Backup
Defragmentation
Disk repair
To prevent malware and anti-malware
File management

102. Which one of these provides an interface between the computer and the user?
 Ans: Operating system

103. Which one of these makes it possible for a user to enter data using a mouse?
Ans: Operating system

104. Which one of these does the operating system provide to the user?
Ans: Interface

105. Complete the sentence.

The operating system provides an interface between the computer and the user/
peripherals/ application software/ hardware.

106. Complete this sentence.

The software that provides an interface between the computer and the user is the
operating system, OS Systems software

107. Joanna is a sports coach. She shares a training video with an athlete online.
Give the type of untility software she should use before she uploads the file and the
reason why.
Type of utility software: Compression
Reason: Transfer to the server takes less time/ each file has its size reduced.

108. Draw one straight line from each example of ultility software to the correct purpose.
Compression software  Reduce file sizes
Back-up software  Create copies of files
Anti-malware  Protect from viruses

109. Draw one straight line from each hardware component to its correct purpose.
Central processing unit (hardware component)  Executes instructions (purpose)
Main memory (hardware component)  Stores executing programs
Secondary storage  Keeps programs and data indefinitely

110. Draw one straight line from each storage device to the correct reason for use.
Hard-disk drive  Most cost efficient for large storage
Optical disc drive  Not affected by power surges
Solid state drive  Not affected by vibrations

111. Complete the sentences.

Data and Instructions, programs, code are stored in main memory.

112. Which one of these is the reason why ROM rather than RAM is used to store startup
instructions in a computer?
Ans: The instructions must not be lost when the power is turned off

113. Logic gates can be used to display the flow of information and decisions made by a
central processing unit (CPU).
a) Identify the logic gates.
Ans: Not gate/ AND gate
 b) State the term used when referring to a CPU having more than one processing unit.
Ans: Multi/ Multiple – Cores

114. Computers contain hardware components.

a) Complete this sentence.
Instructions are executed int the CPU, Processor, Central Processing Unit)

b) Which of these stores data permanently?

Ans: Secondary storage

c) State the type of memory that stores the program needed to load the operating
system.
Ans: ROM/ Non-volatile/ Primary

115. Which one these executes instructions?

Ans: CPU

116. Computers use hardware.

a) State one device used to enter a value into a computer.
Ans: Input device (keyboard)

b) State the component that executed instructions.

Ans: CPU

117. State two reasons why read only memory (RAM) is used to store a computer’s start-
up instructions.
Ans:

118. A user wants to enter secure information.

Give one reason why the user should check for unknown USB devices connected to the
computer.
Ans: USB sticks can be used to steal data/ record keystrokes
USB sticks can contain spyware, keylogger software

119. Which one of these is a benefit of open source software?

Ans: The code can be modified

120. Main memory is used in a computer system.

Explain one reason why secondary storage is also required.
Ans: To store data permantely because main memory loses data when the power is
turned off/ main memory is volatile. OR
So the data is not lost from main memory when the power is turned off. OR
To act as virtual memory if main memory is full.

121. Random-Access Memory (RAM) can retain data only while a power supply is
connected. State the term for this type of memory.
Ans: Volatile

122. Portable music players use solid-state storage.

a) State two other types of storage media.
 Ans: Magnetic, Optical/ DNA

b) Give two reasons why solid-state is the best choice of storage for portable music
players.
Ans: They have no moving parts
They use less energy/ power
They are not affected by movement
They are smaller (in size)
They are lighter

123. Which of these is a benefit of the type of media used by solid-state drives?
Ans: Energy efficient

124. Complete the sentence.

Solid state storage is the best choice for wearable devices because vibrations will not
affect their ability to read and write data.

125. Many modern desktop computers still use magnetic storage-based hard drives to
store the operating system and main programs.
a) Give one advantage of this type of storage.
Ans: cheaper than solid state
Low cost per byte
Reliable
Ease of availability
Wide range of capacities

b) Give one disadvantage of this type of storage.

Ans: physical damage can occur
Difficult to repair
Limited life span
Large physical size
Slower data access than solid state or flash

126. Computers store data.

a) Complete the sentences.
A magnetic medium is used in hard disk drives.
An optical disc (drive) is used to play a DVD.

127. A recoding uses hard-disk drives to store recordings of musicians.

a) State one advantage of using hard-disk drives rather than solid-state drives to store
data.
Ans: Store longer recordings
Cheap
Greater storage capacity

b) State the type of media used in a hard-disk drive.

Ans: Magnetic
128. Give two advantages of using hard-disk storage rather than optical disc storage for
backing data.
Ans:

129. State one reason for using cloud-based storage.

Ans: Access from anywhere/ any device.
Collaboration
Sharing files
Data is backed up
Not lost if device damaged/ lost and stolen
Less use of local storage.

130. State one benefit of using cloud-based storage.

Ans:

131. A company uses cloud-based presentation software.

a) Which one of these describe all cloud-based software?
Ans: Hosted

132. A group of student is researching white rhinos for a presentation.

Give two types of cloud-based service that allow the students to work together.
Ans: Hosted application
Hosted storage