Daily Practice · GCSE Computer Science
March 2003 - GCSE Computer Science 5-a-day
Every GCSE Computer Science sheet published in March 2003, with answers. Systems, data representation, networks, algorithms and programming.
Every sheet in March 2003
The same date always regenerates the same five questions, so a sheet you print today is the sheet a classmate prints tomorrow.
- 1st March 2003Define the term protocol.
- 2nd March 2003State what is meant by a syntax error.
- 3rd March 2003Give one advantage of a relational database over a flat-file database.
- 4th March 2003What type of utility software reorganises files on a hard disk so fragmented parts are stored closer together?
- 5th March 2003Calculate the maximum number of comparisons required by a binary search on a sorted list of 512 items.
- 6th March 2003Given P = 0 and Q = 1, state the value of P OR Q.
- 7th March 2003Convert the hexadecimal number 3F to denary.
- 8th March 2003A network administrator is connecting 10 computers in a server room. Calculate the number of cables needed for a full mesh topology, and state the number needed for a star topology with one central switch.
- 9th March 2003Explain the purpose of a breakpoint.
- 10th March 2003Convert the 4-bit binary number 1101 to denary.
- 11th March 2003Two CPUs are compared for a task optimised for multiple cores: CPU A has 2 cores at 4.2 GHz; CPU B has 6 cores at 3.0 GHz. Explain which CPU is likely to perform better for this task.
- 12th March 2003State why an organisation might employ penetration testers to test its network.
- 13th March 2003Explain why a running maximum should be initialised to the first element of the array rather than to 0.
- 14th March 2003State one example of a file format that commonly uses lossy compression.
- 15th March 2003State how many bits are in one byte, and how many bytes are in one kibibyte (KiB).
- 16th March 2003State whether the source code of proprietary (closed source) software is normally available for the public to view.
- 17th March 2003Write one line of pseudocode that converts the string stored in heightInput into a real number and stores it in a variable called height.
- 18th March 2003A programmer wants any syntax error in their program to be reported before the program starts running at all. State whether a compiler or an interpreter behaves this way, and explain why.
- 19th March 2003Order these units of data from smallest to largest: megabyte, byte, gigabyte, kilobyte.
- 20th March 2003Name the four layers of the TCP/IP model in order from the one closest to the user.
- 21st March 2003Give one example of erroneous test data for a field that only accepts whole numbers from 1 to 10.
- 22nd March 2003A table called bookings has fields bookingId, customerName and eventDate. Write an SQL statement that deletes the booking with bookingId 45.
- 23rd March 2003Each pair from the previous question is stored using 2 bytes. Calculate the compression ratio achieved, given the uncompressed row (1 byte per pixel) uses 8 bytes.
- 24th March 2003Which flowchart symbol shape is used to represent a decision point (e.g. a yes/no branch)?
- 25th March 2003State the two values a Boolean data type can hold.
- 26th March 2003Convert the denary number 39 to an 8-bit binary number, showing your working.
- 27th March 2003Calculate the number of cables needed to connect 8 computers in a full mesh topology, where every computer connects directly to every other computer.
- 28th March 2003A program compiles and runs but always outputs an average that is too small. State the type of error and explain why the translator did not report it.
- 29th March 2003Convert the hexadecimal number 1A to denary.
- 30th March 2003Convert the denary number 156 to an 8 bit binary number.
- 31st March 2003Which type of malware can replicate itself and spread across a network without attaching to another program or needing a user to run it?