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Cambridge International AS & A Level: Computer Science 9618/23

This document is an examination paper for Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science, specifically Paper 2 on Fundamental Problem-solving and Programming Skills for May/June 2024. It contains instructions for candidates, information about the marking scheme, and various programming-related questions that require pseudocode and algorithm design. The paper is structured into sections that assess different programming constructs and problem-solving skills.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

100 views24 pages

Cambridge International AS & A Level: Computer Science 9618/23

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Cambridge International AS & A Level

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COMPUTER SCIENCE 9618/23

Paper 2 Fundamental Problem-solving and Programming Skills May/June 2024

2 hours

You must answer on the question paper.

You will need: Insert (enclosed)

INSTRUCTIONS
● Answer all questions.
● Use a black or dark blue pen.
● Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the boxes at the top of the page.
● Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
● Do not use an erasable pen or correction fluid.
● Do not write on any bar codes.
● You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working.
● Calculators must not be used in this paper.

INFORMATION
● The total mark for this paper is 75.
● The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
● No marks will be awarded for using brand names of software packages or hardware.
● The insert contains all the resources referred to in the questions.

This document has 24 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

DC (KS/CGW) 329352/4
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Refer to the insert for the list of pseudocode functions and operators.

1 A program uses many complex algorithms.

One algorithm is repeated in several places. The code for the algorithm is the same wherever it is
used, but the calculations within the algorithm may operate on different data.

The result of each calculation is used by the code that follows it.

It is decided to modify the program and implement the algorithm as a separate module.

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(a) (i) State two benefits of this modification to the existing program.

1 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

2 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
[2]

(ii) Describe how the modification would be implemented.

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...........................................................................................................................................

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...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]
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(b) Four of the expressions used in the program are represented by pseudocode in the table.

Complete each pseudocode expression with a function or operator so that it evaluates to the
value shown.

Any functions and operators used must be defined in the insert.

Pseudocode expression Evaluates to

"and"
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........................................ ("Random", 2, 3)

15
5 + ........................................ (10/11/2023)

TRUE
........................................ ("45000")

(20 ........................................ 3) + 1 3

[4]
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2 (a) A program uses a global 1D array of type string and a text file.

An algorithm that forms part of the program is expressed as follows:

• copy the first line from the file into the first element of the array
• copy the second line from the file into the second element of the array
• continue until all lines in the file have been copied into the array.

Stepwise refinement is applied to the algorithm.

Outline five steps for this algorithm that could be used to produce pseudocode.

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Assume there are more elements in the array than lines in the file.

Do not use pseudocode statements in your answer.

Step 1 .......................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

Step 2 .......................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

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Step 3 .......................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

Step 4 .......................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

Step 5 .......................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
[5]

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(b) Sequence is one programming construct.

Identify one other programming construct that will be required when the algorithm from
part (a) is converted into pseudocode and explain its use.

Construct ..................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

Use ...........................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
[2]
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3 A record structure is declared to hold data relating to components being produced in a factory:

TYPE Component
DECLARE Item_ID : STRING
DECLARE Reject : BOOLEAN
DECLARE Weight : REAL
ENDTYPE

The factory normally produces a batch (or set) of 1000 components at a time. A global array is
declared to store 1000 records for a batch:

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DECLARE Batch : ARRAY [1:1000] OF Component

Two global variables contain the minimum and maximum acceptable weight for each component.
The values represent an inclusive range and are declared as:

DECLARE Min, Max : REAL

(a) (i) A program uses a variable ThisIndex as the array index to access a record.

Write a pseudocode clause to check whether or not the weight of an individual component
is within the acceptable range.

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...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

(ii) When batches of less than 1000 components are processed, it is necessary to indicate
that certain elements in the array are unused.

Suggest how an unused array element could be indicated.

...........................................................................................................................................

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..................................................................................................................................... [1]

(b) A module InRange() will:

• be called with an integer parameter representing an index value of a record in the Batch
array
• check if the weight of the indexed component is within the acceptable range
• return TRUE if the weight is in the range and FALSE if it is not.

A module BatchCheck() will:

• iterate through a batch of 1000 component records
• call module InRange() to check each individual component record
• keep a count of the number of components that fail
• output a suitable warning message and immediately stop if the number of failed
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components exceeds 5.

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Complete the program flowchart to represent the algorithm for module BatchCheck().

START
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Is
Index = 1001 ?
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Yes

No
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END

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4 A procedure TwoParts() will input a sequence of real values, one at a time.

The procedure will:

• process the sequence in two parts
• form a first total by adding the values until the first zero
• form a second total by adding the values after the first zero until the second zero
• output the average of the two totals, together with a suitable message.

Values input in the first part are totalled using global variable TotalA and those input in the
second part are totalled using global variable TotalB.

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(a) Write pseudocode for the procedure TwoParts().

...................................................................................................................................................

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...................................................................................................................................................

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...................................................................................................................................................

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...................................................................................................................................................

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(b) The value zero denotes the split between the two parts of the sequence.

The requirement changes and now there may be up to 20 parts.

(i) Identify a suitable data structure that could be used to store the different total values.

..................................................................................................................................... [2]

(ii) Describe three benefits of using the data structure given in part (b)(i).

1 ........................................................................................................................................
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...........................................................................................................................................

2 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

3 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
[3]
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5 A program is being designed in pseudocode.

The program contains the following declaration:

DECLARE Data : ARRAY[1:1000] OF STRING

A procedure ArrayInitialise() is written to initialise the values in the array:

PROCEDURE ArrayInitialise(Label : STRING)

DECLARE Index : INTEGER
Index 1

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WHILE Index <= 1000
CASE OF (Index MOD 2)
0 : Data[Index] FormatA(Label)
Index Index + 1
1 : Data[Index] FormatB(Label)
Index Index + 1
ENDCASE
ENDWHILE
ENDPROCEDURE

Functions FormatA() and FormatB() apply fixed format case changes to the parameter string.

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(a) The design of the procedure does not use the most appropriate loop construct.

Suggest a more appropriate construct that could be used and explain your choice.

Construct ..................................................................................................................................

Explanation ...............................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
[2]

(b) The algorithm calls one of the functions FormatA() and FormatB() each time within the
loop.

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Explain why this is not efficient and suggest a more efficient solution.

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
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...................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................. [4]

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6 A program displays a progress bar to inform the user of the progress of tasks that take a significant
time to complete, such as those involving file transfer operations.

Task progress is divided into 11 steps. Each step represents the amount of progress as a
percentage. An image is associated with each step and each image is stored in a different file.

Different progress bar images may be selected. For a given image, files all have the same filename
root, with a different suffix.

The table illustrates the process for using the image with filename root BargraphA

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Percentage
Step Image filename Image
progress
1 < 10 BargraphA-1.bmp
2 >= 10 and < 20 BargraphA-2.bmp
3 >= 20 and < 30 BargraphA-3.bmp

9 >= 80 and < 90 BargraphA-9.bmp

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10 >= 90 and < 100 BargraphA-10.bmp
11 100 BargraphA-11.bmp

A procedure Progress() will:

• be called with two parameters:
○ an integer representing the percentage progress (0 to 100 inclusive)
○ a string representing the image filename root
• generate the full image filename
• call a procedure Display() using the full image filename as the parameter.

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(a) Write pseudocode for procedure Progress().