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Q&A-KCSE Computer Studies Paper 1

A workshop has a lot of heavy machinery operating throughout the day and requires a cable to connect a workstation to a switch. Which of the following, unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or shielded twisted pair (STP) cable, would be the more suitable? Justify your response.

Shielded twisted pair cable:
A twisted pair cable is made up of four pairs of twisted copper wires, a shielded twisted pair cable applies a shield to each one of the pairs on a cable or to all of the pairs together. This shield can reduce EMI (electromagnetic interference), which would be emitted from heavy machinery. This increased data transmission quality in the workshop. STP can also reduce crosstalk.

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Differentiate between logical and physical network topology

Physical topology - the physical arrangement of nodes of a computer network

Examples

  • bus topology
  • ring topology
  • mesh topology
  • star topology

Logical topology- the way data flows in a network

Examples

  • Ethernet
  • Ring
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What is a computer keyboard?

A computer keyboard is an input device used to enter text, characters, and various commands into a computer or other digital devices.

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 Lucy wrote: “I should validate the input into my database by typing in the same data twice”.Why was her statement incorrect?

  • she had actually described verification
  • data could be incorrect, therefore same incorrect data typed in twice
  • accept description of validation process e.g. range check
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State the contents of a feasibility study report

  • Recommendation on whether to continue or abandon the project
  • Methods used to collect data
  • benefits and limitations expected
  • the technology required to develop and maintain the project
  • Installation and running cost
  • Time limit
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A school has 3000 students sitting final examinations.

Each student sits eight examinations.

Write an algorithm, using pseudocode or a flowchart, which:

inputs the marks for all 8 examinations for each student

outputs for each student the average mark for their 8 examinations

outputs the highest mark overall

highest = -1
for student = 1 to 3000
total = 0
for exam = 1 to 8
input mark
total = total + mark
if mark > highest then highest = mark
next
average = total/8
output average
next
output highest

Python code:

highest = -1
for student in range(1, 3001):
    total = 0
    for exam in range(1, 9):
        mark = int(input("Enter mark: "))
        total += mark
        if mark > highest:
            highest = mark
    average = total / 8
    print("Average:", average)
print("Highest mark:", highest)

VBA Code

Option Explicit

Sub CalculateAverageAndHighest()
    Dim highest As Integer
    Dim total As Integer
    Dim mark As Integer
    Dim average As Double
    
    highest = -1
    
    For student = 1 To 3000
        total = 0
        For exam = 1 To 8
            mark = InputBox("Enter mark:")
            total = total + mark
            If mark > highest Then
                highest = mark
            End If
        Next exam
        average = total / 8
        MsgBox "Average: " & average
    Next student
    
    MsgBox "Highest mark: " & highest
End Sub

 

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State advantages and disadvantages of Solid State Drives and Hard Disk Drives

Advantages of  of Hard Disk Drive

  • Hard disk drives are cheaper per gigabyte than solid state drives.
  • Hard disks have a longer lifespan than solid state drives

Disadvantages of Hard Disk Drives

  • Consumes more power than SDD
  • They are noisy.
  • They are slower than solid state drives.
  • They are susceptible to wear and tear as they have movable parts.

Advantages of Solid State Drives

  • Are faster than HDDs
  • It is more durable as it does not have moving parts
  • Consumes less power
  • Are not noisy

Disadvantages of SDD

  • It costs more than a conventional hard disk
  • Have fewer write/erase cycles compared to a hard disk drive
  • Lost data cannot not be recovered
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Describe how a FRID works.

RFID stands for radio frequency identification. There is an RFID reader and tag.RFID is used in contactless credit and debit cards as well as in some hotel room cards. Inside an RFID tag is a chip that contains a small amount of memory. The chip is attached to a coil of wire which acts as an antenna. When an RFID tag is scanned, the reader emits radio waves which are picked up by the tag’s antenna. The power induced in the tag’s antenna from these waves is enough to power the chip which then uses its antenna to emit its own radio wave, which contains the information held on the chip. This wave is picked up by the reader which decodes the information and returns the information to a computer.

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What is an Operating System?

  • It refers to a system software that provides a platform for installation and execution of an application software and also manages the computer hardware
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Distinguish between real-time and distributed operating systems (KCSE 2018)

  • Real-time OS reads information from input devices and must respond within a short duration of time to ensure correct performance
  • Distributed OS distributes computation among several physical processors which do not share memory or clock
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Name three of the stages in the system life cycle

fact finding
feasibility study
analysis
design
testing
documentation
implementation/changeover/installation
evaluation
maintenance

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KCSE 2007, COMPUTER STUDIES PAPER 1

SECTION A (40 MKS)

Answer all the questions in this section in the spaces provided.

1.Describe the computer booting process.    (2 mks)

2. State the functions of the following keys on the computer keyboard   (2 mks)

  a) Backspace

  b)Insert (ins)

3. Jane has noticed the following problems with her computer keyboard    (2mks)

  • It is taking a longer time to start-up;
  • It is often hanging;
  • Applications are taking longer to load.

 State three possible causes of these problems and how they can be solved (3mks)

4 a)Define authenticity as used in software selection  (1mk)

  b) List four ways of acquiring software in an organization     (2mks)

5 some of the storage disk available are:  zip disks, 3 ½ inch floppy disks, DVDs and 5 ¼ inch floppy disks. Arrange these devices in ascending order of storage capacity.    (2mks)

6.You have been asked to change your computer password. State a precaution you need to take in order to avoid each of the following:           

a) Forgetting the password     (1mk)

b) Hacking       (1mk)              

7.State four benefits of using a computer in a school library   (2 mks)

8. Using six bits, find the two’s complement of -2310.     (4 mks)

9. Explain data series, axis and legends as used in spreadsheet charts.  (3mks)

  • Data
  • Axis
  • Legend                       

10. a) Describe the term data integrity.                                            (2 mks)

     b) State four situations in which data may lose integrity.           (2mks)

11.State the function of each of the following:

            a)Network interface card                                                           (1 mk)

            b)Network protocol                                                                    (1 mk)

           c)Hub                                                                                         (1mk)  

12. List four types of publications that can be designed by using desktop publishing software.   (2mks)

13. Differentiate between the following pair of terms as used in database design:

    a)  Input mask and design.                                                           (2 mks)

    b) Table and query                                                                      ( 2mks)

14. List four factors to be considered when purchasing an operating system.     (2mks)

15   Write an algorithm to compute the area of a triangle.   (2mks)

SECTION B (60 MARKS)

Answer question 16 and any other three questions from this section in the spaces provided

16. Study the flowchart below and answer the questions that follow

 

i) Name the control structures used in the flowchart                 (2mks)

ii) Determine the values of M, N, P and Q.                                ( 4 mks)

M………………………….. N………………………..

P ………………………….. Q ………………………

  iii) Write the pseudo code for the flowchart   (7mks)

 b)  List four functions of an assembler    (2 mks)

17. Define the following web related terms:       

 i)  Web browser   (1mk)

 ii)  Hyperlink      (1mk)

iii) Hypertext document                (1mk)

b)  List six activities performed on the web      (3mks)

c) An institution has ten stand alone computers

i)  Suggest with reasons the most appropriate topology required to inter-connect the computers.   (3mks)

ii) State the necessary steps required to connect the computers to the  internet.      (4mks)

d) Below is an email address:

                       

                     

                       

Name the parts labeled:

                        i)

                        ii)

                        iii)

18.A computer C directory has folders for form 1, form 2, Form 3 and form 4.  Each class has student’s folders labeled according to their number.  The students create their own folder for the subject the are studying based on the table shown below

 

Form 1

Form 2

Form 3

Form 4

OS

SP

Pr.

ADB

WP

DTP

DB

Internet

 

 

a)Assuming there is one student per class, draw the corresponding directory tree structure.  (6 mks)

b) i)  a form four student wants to create a folder to store her project. State the path for that project folder.(2 mks)

ii)Suggest how the student can ensure that:

                        1.         Work is not lost in case the hard disk fails.                (1mk)

                        2.         The project is not copied by other students.               (1mk)

c) i).  Other than I/O devices, list other three devices under the control of the operating system.                                                  (3mks)

 ii)Explain any one of the devices named in C (i) above            (1mk)

d)Define the term trouble shooting    (1mk)

19. A manager wishes to replace the current manual system with a computerized one

 a)Describe three main areas that must be evaluated to justify the  replacement   (6mks)

b) List the three areas that would be considered in the requirements specifications.      (3mks)

c)State and explain three ways that can be followed to replace the current system    (6mks)

20. a)  A head teacher keeps the following student details in a database:  Name, Address, Town, Date of Birth, Marks scored, Fees paid.

i)Name the most appropriate primary key. Give a reason      (2mks)

ii)For each item in the student’s details above, indicate its most appropriate data type as used in the database.           (3mks)

iii)Explain why input screens are better data entry designs than entering data directly to a table.        (2mks)

b)List two career opportunities associated with databases.       (2mks)

c)Distinguish between:

i) A table in a word-processing application and a table in a database application (2mks)

ii)Mouse pointer and insertion point.    (2mks)

d)Outline the steps to be followed in order to merge cells in a word processing table.    (2mks)

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State three features of the fifth generation computers (3mks)    [2017 paper 1]

  • Artificial intelligence
  • Parallel processing
  • Natural language processing
  • quantum computing
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A school intends to install a computer network. Explain three challenges that the school may experience after the installation (KCSE 2021 Computer Studies Q19(b))

Network Failure - when the network becomes faulty or the network is down, users may not access network resources hence operations of an organization may be brought to a standstill

Security Issues:  A computer network can be accessed thus there is an increased chance of hacking

The rapid spread of viruses: Viruses can easily spread to terminals of a computer network which may be very expensive to clear

Cultural and moral effects: adult content may be shared in a networked environment which may be of negative impact on teenagers

 

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List Three file organisation methods in a computer

  • Sequential
  • Random
  • Serial
  • Indexed-sequential
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Name three types of cables used in data communication

Twisted pair cables

Coaxial cables

Fibre optic cables

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Explain a reason necessitating  governments to enact data protection laws

  • To provide legal backing so that it is possible to seek redress if the rights are violated
  • To observe copyright for those who create original works
  • To protect the confidentiality of information kept  about an individual
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Describe the purpose of the
(i) control unit
(ii) memory unit
(iii) arithmetic logic unit

in a computer.

i) To manage the execution of instructions
By running a clock
To decode instructions
(ii) To store OS
To store those parts of applications programs currently running
To store data currently in use
(iii) Part of the processor where data is processed/manipulated
All I/O must pass through here

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Distinguish between Incremental and Full backup


Incremental:

  • Only the changes need to be backed up
  • The software/OS/settings are unlikely to have changed between backups
  • Small number of files likely to be used/edited between backups
  • Take less time to backup
  • Each backup will take less memory space to store

Full:

  • Backup all the data/files and software
  • It might not take a significant time to back up entire system
  • He might only have a small number of files to be backed up each time
  • Safer as have more past versions to revert to
  • User may have changed settings on computer
  • Faster to restore the backup
  • Needs to do a full before he can do an incremental
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Name four data management tools used in spreadsheets. (2 marks)
- Filtering - Sorting - Input validation - Subtotals - Data entry forms
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