Describe two differences between a switch and a repeater
Differentiate between modulation and demodulation as used in data communication
Modulation refers to the process of converting a digital signal to analog signal at the transmission end while demodulation is to converting analog signal to digital signal at the receiving end
Explain why solid state storage is the best choice for a fitness tracker.
OR
OR
State two functions of utility software
What is repetitive strain injury?
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
KCSE 2016 COMPUTER STUDIES PAPER 1
State the function of each of the following keys on the computer keyboard : (2mks)
Backspace;
Insert
An organization intends to replace an existing system by carrying out the process in stages .
Name the implementation strategy ; (1mk)
Give two reasons why the organization is opting to use the implementation strategy in (a) above (2mks)
Why is 2's complement preferred over 1's complement?
List two types of network software
State the factors that affect the performance of the CPU
Number of cores
The number of cores a processor has directly affects the performance of the processor. Each core can perform its own fetch-execute cycle independently of others, so different applications can be allocated to different cores. Quad-core (four-core) and even octa-core (eight-core) processors are becoming common
Cache memory
A processor’s cache is a small portion of incredibly fast memory. It has read and write speeds far higher than hard disk drives and even SSDs. The cache is used to store frequently used information and reduces time wasted in fetching the same information from main memory time and time again
Clock speed
A processor’s clock speed relates to the frequency of the pulses generated by the system clock. The higher the frequency, the more cycles of the fetch-execute cycle can be completed in the same period of time.
Word length
A word is a group of bits that is treated as a single unit by a processor. Words can be used for representing both instructions and data. The length of a word is the number of bits that are assigned to it, with higher word lengths allowing for more bits to be transferred and manipulated as a single unit.
Address bus width
The width of a bus relates to the number wires that make up the bus. Increasing the width of the address bus increases the range of addresses that it can specify, hence increasing the computer’s amount of addressable memory. Adding a single wire doubles the number of addressable memory locations
Data bus width
Increasing the width of the data bus increases the volume of data that can be transferred over the bus at any one time. A wider data bus allows the processor to fetch more data from the main memory in one cycle of the fetch-execute cycle, reducing the number of cycles required to fetch large volumes of data.
Describe two effects on society of an increase in the use of the Internet for e-commerce.
State the advantages and disadvantages of the command-line interface
Advantages
Disadvantages
Explain each of the following function of an operating system
Job scheduling/Process scheduling (2mks)
Memory management (2mks)
State the types of storage devices used in a computer
Primary Storage (Memory):
Secondary Storage (Mass Storage):
A company has decided to deliver its products online to international customers. It has employed you as a project manager to determine whether this is a viable business decision. You choose to conduct a feasibility study. Outline the purpose of a feasibility study using two components associated with this process.
Computer Studies KCSE 2006 Paper 1
SECTION A (40 MARKS)
1.What is meant by
a)Analogue data
b)Digital data (4 mks)
2. Distinguish between transcription and transposition types of errors and give an example of each (4mks)
3. a)What are peripheral devices? (1mk)
b)Give two examples of peripheral devices (1mk)
4a)What meant by the term user-friendly as used in software development? (1mk)
b)Distinguish between the terms single-tasking and multi-user as used in operating systems (2mks)
5.What actions should be taken in case of a fire outbreak in the computer laboratory? (4mks)
6a) What is an Internet Service Provider? (1mk)
b) An employee in a business company is charged with the responsibility of putting the company advertisements on the Internet.
i) State the professional title of the employee. (1mk)
ii) Give an example of software used by this employee to carry out the above task. (1mk)
7.Differentiate between COM ports and LPT ports (2mks)
8.Explain two ways in which ICT can enhance commerce. (2mks)
9. Explain the following software terms:
a) Portability (1 mk)
b) Modularity (1 mk)
10. a) State two application areas of desktop publishing software. (2mks)
b) Explain the following graphic terms:
i) Rotate (1 mk)
ii) Crop (1mk)
12. a)List two arithmetic operations that can be performed on a row of numeric data in a word processing table. (1 mk)
b) In each case of (a) above, write the expression used. (2mks)
13. List two methods of gathering information during the system development process (2mks)
14.Name three types of optical disks.(3mks)
15.The diagram below shows a formatted plate surface of a storage disk.
Shade and label:
a) one sector ( 1mk)
b) One block (1mk)
SECTION B (60 MKS)
Answer question 16 and any other three questions from this section in the space provided
16 a) List two examples of:
i) Third generation languages (2mks)
ii) Object oriented languages (2 mks)
b) Draw a flowchart to compare three non-equal numeric values A, B, C and prints the largest of the three. (11 mks)
17 a) One of the functions of an operating system is job scheduling. Explain what is meant by job scheduling. (1mk)
b)List and explain three types of user interfaces. (6 mks)
c)Describe the following categories of software:
i) Firmware (1mk)
ii) Proprietary software (1mk)
d) a new company XYZ intends to go into the business of desktop publishing. Advise the company on three computer hardware system specification features to consider as a measure of enhancing performance. (6 mks)
18. a) distinguish between the following sets of terms as used in spreadsheets. (2mks)
i)Worksheet and workbook
ii) Filtering and sorting
b) State one way in which a user may reverse the last action taken in a spreadsheet package. (1 mk)
c)The following is a sample of a payroll. The worksheet row and column headings are marked 1, 2, 3, . and A, B, C. respectively
The website has a uniform resource locator (URL).
An example of a URL is given.
https://www.google.co.ke/index.html
Complete the table to identify the name of each section of the URL.
https : protocol
google.co.ke: domain name
/index.html: webpage/file name
List two areas where infrared waves are used in data communication.
TV remote, wireless mouse , wireless keyboard, used by robots to gauge distance and avoid obstacles,