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Information Technology 9626/12 February/March 2019: question paper and mark scheme

Cambridge AS & A Level Information Technology (9626), Paper 1 Theory, February/March 2019. Read both free below, or download them. Done the paper? Get it marked by AI against this mark scheme.

9626_m19_qp_129626_m19_ms_129626/12/F/M/19

Paper
Paper 1 Theory
Total marks
90
Time
1 hour 45 minutes
Code on the paper
9626/12/F/M/19
9626_m19_ms_12.pdf

9626/12 mark scheme, question by question

Each question as it's printed, and the mark scheme's points for it, as text. Diagrams, tables and graphs are in the PDFs above.

Question 14 marks

Question

Tick the four statements, referring to different types of application software, which are true. ✓ You can use word processing software to create tables of data You can only use database software to create reports Spreadsheet software can be used to produce charts You must always use web authoring software when creating web pages Financial modelling can involve the use of spreadsheet software Video editing software cannot be used to edit a music soundtrack Word processing software can include multimedia features You can only create data forms using database software Photo editing software is only used to edit photos A management information system (MIS) is a form of database management system [4]

Mark scheme

1 4 You can use word processing software to create tables of data 3 You can only use database software to create reports Spreadsheet software is used to produce charts 3 You must always use web authoring software when creating web pages Financial modelling can involve the use of spreadsheet software 3 Video editing software cannot be used to edit a music soundtrack Word processing software can include multimedia features You can only create data forms using database software Photo editing software is only used to edit photos A management information system (MIS) is a form of database 3 management system

Question 24 marks

Question

Tick the four most accurate statements, referring to the digital divide. ✓ The digital divide can exist between the educated and uneducated The digital divide can exist between those living in rural areas and those living in urban areas The digital divide does not exist between people from different economic classes Everyone these days owns a smartphone so the divide is closing rapidly Minority groups have no difficulty performing transactions on smartphones thereby reducing the divide Disabilities of potential internet users constitute another type of digital divide Some less developed countries have limited access to digital services Most tribal communities have universal mobile phone coverage in their community The digital divide only refers to those who can and cannot access the internet The price of connection to the internet tends not to vary between countries [4]

Mark scheme

2 4 The digital divide can exist between the educated and uneducated 3 The digital divide can exist between those living in rural areas and 3 those living in urban areas The digital divide does not exist between people from different economic classes Everyone these days owns a smartphone so the divide is closing rapidly Minority groups have no difficulty performing transactions on smartphones thereby reducing the divide Disabilities of potential internet users constitute another type of 3 digital divide Some less developed countries have limited access to digital 3 services Most tribal communities have universal mobile phone coverage in their community The digital divide only refers to those who can and cannot access the internet The price of connection to the internet tends not to vary between countries

Question 36 marks

Question

A student is researching the topic of her new assignment. She has been provided with a series of hard copy magazine articles. She has been told by her tutor that these are probably more reliable than searching the World Wide Web for information. Compare and contrast the use of these two types of data sources for her research. …… [6]

Mark scheme

3 Six from: 6 Max five from: Static information sources/magazines are more carefully checked for accuracy Once the data are created they cannot be changed easily There is a limited amount of information in a static information source/magazine/greater amount of information on the World Wide Web As soon as static data source/magazine is created it is very difficult to have information added to it A dynamic data source/website can have information updated quite quickly The data in a dynamic data source/website is usually up to date/ static data tends to go out of date quickly There can be many contributors to a dynamic data source/website so the information can be inaccurate Must have at least one from: Both sources require the use of sophisticated analysis techniques Both sources will provide a mixture of relevant and irrelevant information.

Question 48 marks

Question

There are many types of systems software including interpreters and device drivers. (a) In order for a computer to output to a printer it uses a printer driver. This is just one of many device drivers a computer uses. Explain the purpose of device drivers. …… [4] (b) Describe the function of an interpreter. …… [4]

Mark scheme

4(a) Four from: 4 It operates/controls a device attached to the computer Without the required device driver, the corresponding hardware device fails to work It is an interface between operating systems/applications software and the device Tells the operating system how to communicate with the hardware device Upon installation it detects and identifies the peripheral device Wakes up the device when it is needed and puts it back to sleep when it is not Handles the translation of requests between a device and the computer Defines where outgoing data must be stored before it can be sent At least two examples of device drivers. 4(b) Four from: 4 Directly executes instructions of a high-level language program Translates a high-level language program into an intermediate stage Translates each line of source code and then executes that line/statement Reports on errors as lines of source code are entered An interpreter has to be resident in memory in order for the program to run.

Question 54 marks

Question

A teacher has reminded her students to proof read their assignments before they hand them in. Define the term ‘proof reading’. …… [4]

Mark scheme

5 Four from: 4 Proof reading is the careful reading and rereading of a yet to be finally- printed document To detect any errors and mark corrections It is a relatively slow and methodical search for errors Errors such as spelling mistakes, typographical mistakes and grammatical errors (must have at least two) Also checks for omitted words or word endings It may also involve checking of different elements of a layout Checking headings, illustrations and colours Good description of how proof reading is carried out.

Question 66 marks

Question

Many mobile phone companies, in the past, persuaded customers to move from 3G to 4G. Compare and contrast 3G and 4G technologies. …… [6]

Mark scheme

6 Six from: 6 Similarities: Both are types of mobile network Both allow smart phones to access the WWW Both allow video calling on phones Both allow emails to be sent by phone Both allow videos and music to be downloaded to a phone Both allow phones to be used as a SATNAV Differences: 4G has faster download speeds than 3G 4G enables smoother browsing with web pages failing to load, very rare unlike 3G 4G allows videos and music to be streamed without the buffering and freezing found on 3G networks Batteries last longer on 3G than on 4G 3G data allowance tends to be cheaper than 4G Must have at least one of each to gain full marks.

Question 713 marks

Question

Mumbai Stores is a company which has a chain of shops. The company stores the customers’ reference number, and the value of the goods they have purchased, in a transaction file. Any payments the customers have made on their account at the end of the month are also stored in the same file. Parts of the Transaction file and Master file are shown. The Goods_bought field contains only the value of goods bought using the account’s credit facilities. The Master file shows the customers reference number, the money they owe from the previous month (Old_balance) and the money they now owe (New_balance). The New_balance has to be calculated by using the Old_balance, Goods_bought and any Payment made. All these values are in rupees. Transaction file Master file Customer_ref_no Goods_bought Payment Customer_ref_no Old_balance New_balance 943201 5500 4000 256431 0 256431 3800 3800 319852 10000 319852 9200 10000 433303 5000 433303 3200 5200 590871 4500 590871 4300 6800 599812 0 612759 3700 3700 612759 0 650897 2300 2300 650897 0 698915 4000 6600 678945 6800 751654 4400 4400 698915 2600 804782 5200 8200 712356 5100 751654 0 804782 4200 943201 0 963584 2400 (a) Describe the processes that must happen to the Transaction file before the Master file can be updated. . …… . …… …… [2] (b) Using this data, explain how the Master file is updated using the Transaction file shown. You may assume that the only transaction being carried out is the calculation of the New_balance. …… [6] (c) Each customer has a credit limit of 20000₹. Customers must make a payment of at least 2000₹ each month. Using examples from the Transaction file, explain why it would be appropriate to use a range check on one field and a limit check on another field. Please note, the Customer_ref_no is stored as text. …… [5]

Mark scheme

7(a) Two from: 2 Transaction file is validated Transaction file must be sorted in same order as master file/sorted on Customer_ref_no 7(b) Six from: 6 First record in the transaction file read belonging to 256431 Reads first record in the old master file belonging to 256431 These two records are compared If records do not match computer writes master file record to new master file next record is read from master file and these two records are compared and process is repeated Records match so transaction is carried out Computer calculates the New_balance, Old_balance + Goods_bought – Payment 0 + 3800 – 3800 (0) Using Old_balance, 0 from master file Using Goods_bought 3800, Payment made, 3800 from transaction file Processed record is written to new master file Next record is read from transaction file belonging to 319852 then compared to next master file record ... belonging to 319852 This continues until the last record from the transaction file record is read belonging to 943201 After processing the last record of the transaction file belonging to 943201 all the remaining old master file records are written to the new master file in this case, one record 963584. 7(c) Five from e.g.: 5 Use a range check on the Payment field between 2000 and 20000 As customers must make a payment of at least 2000₹ and customers have a credit limit of 20000₹ Have a limit check on the Goods_bought field as they cannot be more than 20000₹ customers have a credit limit of 20000₹ It is impossible to spend less than 0₹ so a lower limit to the range is unnecessary A limit check has only one limit but a range check has two – an upper and lower limit There are alternative answers if fully reasoned.

Question 86 marks

Question

Rishu has been asked by the directors of the company she works for to set up a fully functioning video-conferencing room. It will be used by several workers at the same time to communicate with the directors who will be in a different building. Describe, including a use of each item, the hardware she will need to purchase. …… [6]

Mark scheme

8 Six from: 6 Server/computer to handle video-conferencing software Laptops/PCs/tablets for each participant to enter data Microphones to input participants’ voices/sound Large screen/monitor so that all the directors can be seen Speakers for participants to hear what the directors are saying Cameras to input pictures of participants Router to connect to internet/codec to connect to telephone network.

Question 96 marks

Question

Describe the differences between health issues and safety (apart from e-safety) issues experienced by employees in an IT-based work environment. …… [6]

Mark scheme

9 Six from: 6 Health issues arise from long term use of computers Safety issues can result in a sudden accident/can result in serious injury Health issues tend to be RSI/carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, eye strain, headaches, upper back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain (must have at least two) Health issues can be caused by: Max two from: Typing at a keyboard continuously Gripping a mouse and repetitive clicking Sitting in the same position/with wrong posture all day Staring at a computer screen continuously/all day Glare from screen Safety issues tend to be fire hazards, electrocution, personal injury (must have at least two) Safety issues can be caused by: Max two from: Overloading sockets causing overheating Overheating of computers Water spilt on to live wires Handling bare wires, Trailing cables can cause users to trip up Heavy objects falling off tables.

Question 108 marks

Question

Jasvir owns a gardening equipment hire shop. She has developed a simple database system which contains information about the equipment. Each record contains the following data: Equipment_name, Manufacturer, Equipment_code (a six character code), Hire_price, Number_ of_days_hired, Date_hired, Customer_number and Loyalty_customer (Y/N). Design an appropriate online data entry form for one item of equipment, clearly indicating the amount of space required for each field. Use the computer screen shown below for your design. Where appropriate allow the user to enter data by clicking the mouse rather than entering text. [8]

Mark scheme

10 Eight from: 8 Inclusion of all eight fields mentioned in question Must be text boxes or individual character boxes Equipment_name and Manufacturer space bigger than Equipment_code and Hire_price and generally sensible spacing Drop down dates for Date_hired or clear view of calendar Radio buttons for Loyalty_customer (Y/N) Navigation buttons (at least 2) Help button/information on how to complete the form Appropriate title Appropriate white space and information fills the page.

Question 11

Question

Juanita is the company secretary of a small business in the USA. She has created a spreadsheet to calculate the payroll. The spreadsheet is shown below. A B C D E F G H I J K L 1 Roles 2 L F OS M D Office Labourer Fitter Manager Director 3 secretary 4 $15 $25 $22 $40 $80 Hourly rate 5 Job codes Job title Hours worked Weekly pay 6 7 John Vercoe L Labourer 40 $600 8 Lauren Hall OS Office secretary 38 $836 9 Chloe Rhodes F Fitter 39 $975 10 Owen Williams OS Office secretary 42 $924 11 Lotte Charles L Labourer 35 $525

Mark scheme

11(a) Select G2:K4 1 Click the Name box at the left end of the formula bar 1 Type Roles and press enter 1 Or Select G2:K4 1 On the Formulas tab, in the Defined Names group, click Define Name 1 In the New Name dialog box type Roles and press enter 1 11(b) =D7*HLOOKUP(B7,Roles,3,FALSE) 6 D7* outside the brackets 1 mark HLOOKUP() 1 mark (B7 1 mark ,Roles 1 mark ,3 1 mark FALSE) 1 mark Items must be in correct position to gain a mark.

Question 12

Question

Jeannie Burke OS Office secretary 38 $836

Mark scheme

12 Eight from: 8 Evaluation based on: Advantages of HDDs/Disadvantages of SSDs: Hard disks tend to have higher storage capacities than SSDs Hard disk drives still cost less per gigabyte than SSDs HDDs last longer than SSDs The NAND flash used in SSDs can only be used for a finite number of writes The choice and availability of SSDs is still limited compared to HDDs Disadvantages of HDDs/Advantages of SSDs: Hard disk drives are more susceptible to shock and damage as there are moving parts SSDs have faster data transfer rate SSDs have quicker boot ups SSDs can have almost instantaneous data access HDDs data access speeds is dependent on how close the data is to the read/write heads All parts of the SSD can be accessed at once SSDs use significantly less power at peak load than hard drives SSD's energy efficiency can deliver longer battery life in laptops than HDDs With no moving parts SSDs run at near silent operation unlike whirring hard disk drives SSDs weigh considerably less than hard drives SSDs make laptops more portable Must have at least one from each to gain full marks.

Question 1325 marks

Question

Jimmy Lee F Fitter 40 $1,000 14 Dawid Jones F Fitter 32 $800 15 Li Sun Wu M Manager 45 $1,800 16 Charlotte Watson D Director 50 $4,000 17 Joe Norfolk M Manager 41 $1,640 18 Joanne Floyd F Fitter 38 $950 19 Anthony Campbell F Fitter 40 $1,000 20 Linda Stuart L Labourer 38 $570 21 Kate Smith L Labourer 37 $555 22 Sam Smith OS Office secretary 40 $880 23 Duncan Rydell L Labourer 36 $540 24 Tony Thomson L Labourer 37 $555 25 Dougie Ryder OS Office secretary 41 $902 26 (a) She has created a named range Roles Describe how she created this named range. …… [3] (b) She entered a formula in E7 using the named range and the information in column B to calculate the weekly pay for John Vercoe. Write down the formula she used. This formula should be easy to replicate. = …… …… [6] You can use the space below for any working you need. 12 A recent development in backing storage of laptop computers has been the increased use of solid state drives (SSDs). However hard disk drives (HDDs) are still used in many laptops. Evaluate the use of SSDs and HDDs for storing data in laptop computers. …… [8] 13 Encryption can be used to protect data on a hard disk and in emails. Evaluate the need for this encryption. …… [8]

Mark scheme

13 Level 3 (7–8 marks) 8 Candidates will describe the advantages and disadvantages of both uses of encryption. The issues raised will be justified. The information will be relevant, clear, organised and presented in a structured and coherent format. Specialist terms will be used accurately and appropriately. Level 2 (4–6 marks) Candidates will describe the advantages and disadvantages of both uses of encryption although development of some of the points will be limited. For the most part the information will be relevant and presented in a structured and coherent format. Specialist terms will be used appropriately and for the most part correctly. Level 1 (1–3 marks) Candidates may only address one use of encryption, and give basic advantages/disadvantages. Answers may be simplistic with little or no relevance. There will be little or no use of specialist terms. Level 0 (0 marks) Response with no valid content. Candidates may refer to, e.g. Disk encryption: Advantages Files encrypted by one user cannot be opened by another user if they do not possess appropriate permissions After encryption a file remains encrypted regardless of where it is moved Encryption can be used on any files including executable files Users with permission to decrypt a file are able to work with the file without experiencing any restrictions/difficulties Other users receive a restricted access notification when they attempt to access the encrypted file Disadvantages If the password is lost or reset it becomes impossible to gain access to files on the drive If the operating system fails it becomes impossible to gain access to files If the operating system has to be reinstalled it becomes impossible to gain access to files... ...data can be lost irreversibly 13 Email encryption: Advantages As modern technology becomes more sophisticated, so do hackers so sophisticated encryption is essential Passwords on email accounts are not enough Email providers tend not to automatically encrypt email messages nor attachments Without encryption a person/malware could potentially read someone's emails The recipient’s email provider server may not be secured Without encryption, messages can be stored as plain text, making it easy for anyone to read and understand When encrypting emails, the text stored in the message and files are scrambled up both in storage and transit... ...the only way to unscramble and read the content is to use a decryption key Disadvantages Hackers can still intercept and delete emails Encrypting emails to a new recipient using a private key requires the key to be sent which can be intercepted by a hacker Managing digital certificates can become complex and time consuming.

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Where can I find the 9626/12 February/March 2019 mark scheme?

On this page, free: the mark scheme for AS & A Level Information Technology 9626/12, February/March 2019 (9626_m19_ms_12), and the question paper (9626_m19_qp_12), to read or download, with each question's marking points written out underneath.

How many marks is 9626/12 out of?

Information Technology 9626/12 for February/March 2019 is out of 90 marks, with 1 hour 45 minutes to answer it.

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Yes. Upload your answers to 9626/12/F/M/19 as a PDF or photos, and CIE Buddy marks every question against this paper's official mark scheme, using Cambridge's marking rules. You get your score, each lost mark explained on your own script, and the topics to revise. It's a guide, not an official Cambridge grade.