Information Technology 9626/13 October/November 2019: question paper and mark scheme
Cambridge AS & A Level Information Technology (9626), Paper 1 Theory, October/November 2019. Read both free below, or download them. Done the paper? Get it marked by AI against this mark scheme.
Tick the four most accurate statements regarding the benefits of gathering data from direct data sources.
You only have to gather as much or as little data as you need
It allows data to be gathered from subjects to which the data gatherer does not have physical access
You can obtain the data faster than using an indirect data source
You have full control over the method used to collect the data
A much larger sample size can be used than is possible with indirect data sources
A direct data source is quicker to search
There may be an opportunity to sell the data to other people for them to use
You do not have to spend time interviewing people or giving out questionnaires
A CD ROM of historical data is a direct data source
The source of the data is known exactly, making it easier to judge its reliability
[4]
Mark scheme
1 4
You only have to gather as much or as little data as you need. 3
It allows data to be gathered from subjects to which the data gatherer
does not have physical access.
You can obtain the data faster than using an indirect data source.
You have full control over the method used to collect the data. 3
A much larger sample size can be used than is possible with indirect
data sources.
A direct data source is quicker to search.
There may be an opportunity to sell the data to other people for them
3
to use.
You do not have to spend time interviewing people or giving out
questionnaires.
A CD ROM of historical data is a direct data source.
The source of the data is known exactly, making it easier to judge its
3
reliability.
Tick the four most accurate statements regarding the gathering of personal data by unauthorised persons.
Pharming involves sending a website URL, inviting the receiver to go to the website
Smishing involves using text messages to persuade people to give out personal information
Phishing involves installing malicious software on the victim’s computer
Pharming involves creating a fake website that looks like an actual bank’s website
Phishing involves the sending of fake emails in order to advertise the bank
Vishing involves the fraudster’s computer redirecting a customer’s phone call to his own phone
Banks can ask you from time to time to send them your full password to check you are authorised to use that account
Vishing involves receiving a phone call from a fraudster
Vishing never involves getting the customer to phone the bank
Smishing is the same as vishing but never involves the use of a phone
[4]
Mark scheme
2 4
Pharming involves sending a website URL, inviting the receiver to go
to the site.
Smishing involves using text messages to persuade people to give 3
out personal information.
Phishing involves installing malicious software on the victim's
computer.
Pharming involves creating a fake website that looks like an actual 3
bank’s website.
Phishing involves the sending of fake emails in order to advertise the
bank.
Vishing involves the fraudster’s computer redirecting a customer’s 3
phone call to his own phone.
Banks can ask you from time to time to send them your full password
to check you are authorised to use that account.
Vishing involves receiving a phone call from a fraudster. 3
Vishing never involves getting the customer to phone the bank.
Smishing is the same as vishing but never involves the use of a
phone.
Most computer systems consist of hardware and software.
(a) Define the term ‘hardware’ in an IT context.
…… [1]
(b) Giving brief descriptions of two examples, define the term utility software.
…… [4]
Mark scheme
3(a) The collection of physical components/devices that constitute/are used in a 1
computer system
3(b) Two from: 4
A program that helps perform maintenance in a computer system
A program that performs a very specific task usually related to managing
system resources
Operating systems can contain a number of utilities for managing files and
storage devices
Two from:
Examples are:
anti-virus software to remove viruses
back-up software to make copies for future use
data compression utilities to reduce the storage size of a file
disk defragmentation utilities to remove non-contiguous spaces on a disk
disk formatting is preparing a data storage device for initial use
file-copying utilities for the creation of a new file which has the same content
as an existing file
deleting files, which is removing a file from a computer's file system
Using a news website as an example, describe what is meant by dynamic data.
…… [4]
Mark scheme
4 Four from: 4
Dynamic data refers to data that is changed «
The data's state is never expected to be the same when re-input
Data on a news website is updated regularly/ as and when necessary/
automatically/often up to date
There is an unlimited amount of information in a news website ...
... it can have information added to it when new facts come to light
May be considered by some to be unreliable as data may be not
authentic/rumour/may not have been verified/there can be many contributors
to a dynamic data source/website so the information can be inaccurate
When creating queries, a function IIf() is often used. A table containing a list of where people live and their status could exist so that a query could be constructed:
IIf([Living_in]=“own home”,“own”,“other”)
This would look in a list of where people lived for the words ‘own home’ and would output the word
‘own’ if a match were found. If it was not ‘own home’ then the word ‘other’ is output.
(a) Complete the nested query that would be used to output ‘rented’ for anyone living in accommodation owned by a landlord. This is indicated by the word ‘landlord’ in the Living_in field (see table on page 5).
IIf([Living_in]=“own home”,“own” ……
…… [6]
You can use the space below for any working you need.
(b) Below is shown the output created from a larger database.
Describe the steps required to produce this output (from the query in part (a)), without using a wizard.
Second_Name Name1 Living_in Status
Burke Dougie own home own
Charles David with parents other
Hoy Tony landlord rented
Lee Duncan own home own
Macdonald Lotte with friends other
Norfolk Jeannie landlord rented
Reid Laura own home own
Rydell Jenna own home own
Ryder Joe with parents other
Thomson Jimmy landlord rented
…… [5]
Mark scheme
5(a) IIf([Living_in]=“own home”,“own”,IIf([Living_in]=“landlord”,“rented”,“other”)) 6
,IIf( after “own” – 1 mark
[Living_in]= – 1 mark
“landlord” – 1 mark
,“rented” – 1 mark
,“other”) comes immediately after “rented” – 1 mark
Second closed bracket added at end of statement – 1 mark
5(b) Five from: 5
Go to query design
Load/Select the table
Select the fields, Second_name, Name1, Living_in
In fourth column, in field row/ type the query expression
Replace Expr1 with Status
Make sure all fields have the Show option ticked
Save the query
Run the query
John, a user interface designer, has been asked by a systems analyst to design an interface for a proposed information system. He will need to consider a mental model of the potential users of the system.
(a) Describe what is meant by a mental model in this context.
…… [4]
(b) Describe the features of a user interface which need to be considered when planning its design. Where appropriate, give examples of each feature.
…… [5]
Mark scheme
6(a) Four from: 4
A mental model is based on belief not facts
It is a form of internal symbol or representation of external reality
It is a model of what users know/think they know about a system
It is a representation of what the user would want/expect in an interface
Users create mental models very quickly, often before they even use the
software or device
Users’ mental models come from their prior experience with similar software
or devices/user interfaces
A conceptual model is the actual model that is given to the user through the
interface of the product
A description of why a mental model is important
6(b) Five from: 5
How colour is to be used, which colour combination is most suitable/which
colours would make it easier to read
The layout of the screen, such as positioning of elements to emphasise
importance/positioning of elements to ensure readability/layout needs to look
organised/grouping of similar items
Increase of font size to emphasise the importance of certain elements/to
ensure readability of information/reduction in font size to conserve space/ to
suit the age of the audience
Only display information the user needs to perform the current
operation/limiting the information to that necessary for the user
Which controls will be required/ buttons, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdown
lists, list boxes, toggles, date field (at least two)
Which navigational aids will be required such as breadcrumb,
forward/backward buttons, end of file button (at least two)
A hospital has installed video-conferencing equipment so that senior doctors in the hospital can stay in touch with other doctors who work in areas away from the hospital.
Evaluate the impact of video-conferencing on both groups of doctors.
…… [8]
Mark scheme
7 Eight from: 8
Benefits
Both groups of doctors will not waste time travelling to a conference/meeting
with each other
Both groups of doctors will save expense of travelling to a conference/meeting
with each other
All doctors will save time by not staying overnight
Doctors less likely to be fatigued if they have not had to travel long distances
so able to perform better at the meeting
Saves doctors time printing out large amounts of documents
Doctors are less likely to misplace documents «
« as electronic documents can be viewed online
It is safer as accidents can happen on the roads
Meetings can be called at short notice saving doctors time in preparation for a
meeting
It is more environmentally friendly as less car movement is needed
It makes it easier for the doctors who do not work in the hospital to liaise
when necessary/allows hospital doctors to share new treatments with other
doctors
Hospital doctors can demonstrate procedures/treatments to other doctors
Drawbacks
Confidential documents may need to be seen in their original form by both
sets of doctors
There can be poor quality of the video because of bandwidth problems
Lack of bandwidth can lead to problems with time lag
Not all countries have sufficient bandwidth to support video conferencing
Interruption to, or breakdowns of, the transmission can occur
Power cuts/outages are common in some countries, leading to breakdown of
transmission
Both sets of doctors may be concerned that hackers may attempt to hack into
the video conference
Hackers could gain access to patient details
Some video conferences do not have a password/you can just dial into a
video conference so hackers could gain access easily
Difficult to allow doctors to answer in turn
Might be difficult to see all doctors to see who is contributing
Doctors may be put off by the camera, as many people are self-conscious
when being videoed
Doctors away from the hospital may incur costs due to obtaining video
conferencing equipment
At least two of each are required to obtain full marks
There must be a proper evaluation to obtain full marks
Roger has decided to set up a mail order company. He needs to create a database of customer records and orders. He is not sure whether to create a flat file database or a relational database.
Explain the differences between a flat file database and a relational database.
…… [8]
Mark scheme
8 Eight from: 8
A flat file database consists of a single table
A flat file database can contain many fields, often with duplicate data
When data is merged between two flat files relevant data needs to be copied
and pasted from one file to the other
If there are two or more flat files containing the same fields, if data in one is
changed the other has to be manually modified
Designing flat file databases is simple and requires little design knowledge
Designing a relational database takes more planning than flat file databases
With flat files information can be added as necessary
A relational database incorporates a number of tables with methods for the
tables to work together
Building a relational database is dependent upon the ability to establish a
relational model ...
... which must fully describe how the data is organised, in terms of data
structure, integrity, querying, manipulation and storage
Relational databases allow defining of certain record fields as keys to perform
search queries, join table records and establish integrity constraints
Table records can be easily joined by the indexed values
Integrity constraints can be established to ensure that table relationships are
valid.
Computer networks can often be classified as consisting of two types, peer-to-peer and client- server networks.
Describe a peer-to-peer network.
…… [5]
Mark scheme
9 Five from: 5
A peer-to-peer network can consist of two or more PCs connected and
sharing resources ...
... without going through a separate server computer
It can also be a permanent infrastructure that links a half-dozen computers in
a small office over copper wires
It can be a network on a much larger scale in which special protocols and
applications set up direct relationships among users over the Internet
Each peer computer has equal privileges with each other
Peer computers allow a portion of their resources to be directly available to
other peer computers «
« such as processing power, disk storage or network bandwidth.
Expert systems often use a mixture of forward chaining and backward chaining to determine the probable solution to a problem.
Describe the terms:
(a) Forward chaining.
…… [3]
(b) Backward chaining.
…… [3]
Mark scheme
10(a) Three from: 3
Forward chaining starts with the available data and uses inference rules to
extract more data ...
... until a goal is reached
An inference engine using forward chaining searches the inference rules until
it finds one where the IF statement is known to be true
When such a rule is found, the inference engine uses the ‘Then’ part to cause
the addition of new information
Inference engines will iterate through this process until a goal is reached
Because the data entered determines which rules are selected and used, this
method is called data-driven
10(b) Three from: 3
Backward chaining starts with a list of goals/hypotheses and works backwards
An inference engine using backward chaining would search the inference
rules until it finds one which has a THEN part that matches a desired goal
If the IF part of that rule is known to be true, then it is added to the list of goals
Because the list of goals determines which rules are selected and used, this
method is called goal-driven
Here is a spreadsheet showing the medal winners at some of the 2016 Olympics swimming events.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q
Average
Code of speed
1 Country code Country name Gold Silver Bronze Swimmer Distance Stroke Gender Position country Time (secs) (m/s) Name of country
2
3 AUS Australia 1 0 1 Kyle Chalmers 100m Freestyle M 1 AUS 47.58 2.10 Australia
4 BEL Belgium 0 1 0 Pieter Timmers 100m Freestyle M 2 BEL 47.80 2.09 Belgium
5 CAN Canada 1 1 0 Nathan Adrian 100m Freestyle M 3 USA 47.85 2.09 United States
6 CHN China 1 0 0 Penny Oleksiak 100m Freestyle F 1 CAN 52.70 1.90 Canada
7 GBR Great Britain 1 0 0 Simone Manuel 100m Freestyle F 2 USA 52.71 1.90 United States
8 RSA South Africa 0 2 0 Sarah Sjostrom 100m Freestyle F 3 SWE 52.99 1.89 Sweden
9 SWE Sweden 1 1 1 Adam Peaty 100m Breaststroke M 1 GBR 57.13 1.75 Great Britain
10 USA United States 1 1 4 Cameron Van der Burgh 100m Breaststroke M 2 RSA 58.69 1.70 South Africa
11 Codey Miller 100m Breaststroke M 3 USA 58.87 1.70 United States
Mark scheme
11(a) =COUNTIFS($M$3:$M$20,$A3,$L$3:$L$20,1) 6
=COUNTIFS() – 2 marks (COUNTIF – 1 mark)
($M$3:$M$20 – 1 mark
,$A3 – 1 mark
,$L$3:$L$20 – 1 mark
,1) – 1 mark
or
=COUNTIFS($L$3:$L$20,1,$M$3:$M$20,$A3)
=COUNTIFS() – 2 marks (COUNTIF – 1 mark)
($L$3:$L$20 – 1 mark
,1 – 1 mark
,$M$3:$M$20 – 1 mark
,$A3) – 1 mark
$ signs before letters are optional
11(b) =VALUE(LEFT(I3,3))/O3 5
=VALUE() – 1 mark
(LEFT() – 1 mark
I3, – 1 mark
3) – 1 mark
/O3 – 1 mark
All cell references must be relative but can have $ in front of letters
11(c) Four from: 4
Highlight M3:M20
Click on data then on data validation
Ensure Settings is highlighted and click on drop down menu under Allow
Click on list then go to Source window
Type in =$A$3:$A$10 / individual codes for countries separated by commas
and click OK
11(d) 3
Highlight cells H3:Q20 «
« Sort on column K ascending «
« add a level and sort on Column I descending
Sarah Sjostrom 100m Butterfly F 1 SWE 55.48 1.80 Sweden
13 Penny Oleksiak 100m Butterfly F 2 CAN 56.46 1.77 Canada
14 Dana Vollmer 100m Butterfly F 3 USA 56.63 1.77 United States
15 Yang Sun 200m Freestyle M 1 CHN 104.65 1.91 China
16 Chad Le Clos 200m Freestyle M 2 RSA 105.20 1.90 South Africa
17 Conor Dwyer 200m Freestyle M 3 USA 105.23 1.90 United States
18 Katie Ledecky 200m Freestyle F 1 USA 113.73 1.76 United States
19 Sarah Sjostrom 200m Freestyle F 2 SWE 114.08 1.75 Sweden
20 Emma McKeon 200m Freestyle F 3 AUS 114.92 1.74 Australia
(a) Write down the formula which should go in cell D3 to calculate the number of gold medals that Australia won in the events. The formula should be easily replicable to show the number of gold medals won by the other countries.
The formula should work even if the swimmer details are changed.
= …… [6]
You can use the space below for any working you need.
(b) The average speed of each swimmer is calculated by dividing the distance swum by the time taken in seconds.
Write down the formula which should go in cell P3 to calculate Kyle Chalmers’ speed. The formula should be easily replicable to show the speeds of the other swimmers.
= …… [5]
You can use the space below for any working you need.
(c) Explain how you would amend the spreadsheet so that the cells between M3 to M20 could only accept the country codes listed. If any other code was input an error message informing the user an error had occurred would be output.
…… [4]
(d) Explain how you would sort the data so that all the female swimmers were grouped together before the male swimmers and with the furthest distance at the top.
…… [3]
12 The principal of a college wishes to keep records of all his students’ details including exam scores.
He is not sure whether he should use a spreadsheet or a database to do this.
Evaluate the use of databases and spreadsheets for such a task.
…… [8]
Mark scheme
12 To be marked as a level of response: 8
Level 3 (7–8 marks)
Candidates will describe the advantages and disadvantages of both types of
software
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 at least one
type of software 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 side of the argument, 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.
Benefits of spreadsheets
The amount of learning required by the principal to use spreadsheets is not as
much as that for databases ...
... it’s easier to use spreadsheets and get solutions straight away
Spreadsheets are easier to use to store student data/perform numerical
calculations on exam scores/format cells/adjust layouts to generate output
and reports
Easier to create complex formulae such as exam scores per teaching group in
spreadsheets
Easier to use functions to calculate average exam scores in spreadsheets
Repeated data such as names or classes can be easier to enter using
spreadsheet software
Charts to show student progress are easier to produce using spreadsheets
Drawbacks of spreadsheets
As work gets more complex, such as an increase in the number of students,
spreadsheets become more difficult to change and manage
Spreadsheets are good for creating one-time analysis such as exam scores
for one year, but become problematic as the data grows and evolves over
time
As new rows and columns are added for extra scores and students, ranges
and formulas may need to be modified or new ones created
12 Benefits of databases
Data structure and normalisation are available through multiple tables
Data and referential integrity is inbuilt
Queries and reports on student progress/exam score trends are easier to
create with databases
Drawbacks of databases
They take more skill and training for the principal to use well
Structuring the information so it's easy to edit, query, view, and report can be
difficult for the principal (if normalisation is employed)
Creating a database is more complicated for the principal than just entering
data in the cells of a spreadsheet
It is not as easy to copy and paste blocks of data
A hybrid solution where data from a database is exported or copied to a
spreadsheet is often the best solution
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Where can I find the 9626/13 October/November 2019 mark scheme?+
On this page, free: the mark scheme for AS & A Level Information Technology 9626/13, October/November 2019 (9626_w19_ms_13), and the question paper (9626_w19_qp_13), to read or download, with each question's marking points written out underneath.
How many marks is 9626/13 out of?+
Information Technology 9626/13 for October/November 2019 is out of 90 marks, with 1 hour 45 minutes to answer it.
Can I get my 9626/13 answers marked?+
Yes. Upload your answers to 9626/13/O/N/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.