COMPUTER SCIENCE ----OCR
.EXAM PREPARATION 2026
||STUDY GUIDE||ALREADY
PASSED A+||STUDY QUESTIONS
WITH THE CORRECT SOLUTIONS
!!
Give an example of assembly code - answers LMC
Give an example of a high-level language - answers C
Pseudocode - answers Pseudocode is not a programming language, it is a simple way
of describing a set of instructions that does not have to use specific syntax.
Dry running - answers A dry run is the process of a programmer manually working
through their code to trace the value of variables. There is no software involved in this
process.
Variables - answers Stores numbers, letter and special characters
Sequence - answers Is the execution of statements or functions one after another. (Do
this - then this - then this)
Selection - answers Is where the flow through a program is interrupted and control is
passed to another point in the program. The decision is based on a Boolean expression.
Iteration - answers In computer programming, this is a single pass through a set of
instructions.
HLT (LMC) - answers Stop (Little Man has a rest)
ADD (LMC) - answers Add the contents of the memory address from the accumulator
SUB - answers Subtract the contents of the memory address from the accumulator
STA or STO (LMC) - answers Store the value in the accumulator
,LDA (LMC) - answers Load the accumulator with the contents of the memory address
given
BRA (LMC) - answers Branch always - use the address given as the address of the next
instruction
BRZ (LMC) - answers Branch to the address given if the accumulator is 0
BRP (LMC) - answers Branch to the address given if the accumulator is 0 or positive
INP or OUT (LMC) - answers Input or output, Take from Input if address is 2, copy to
output if address is 2
OTC (LMC) - answers Output the accumulator as a character if address is 22. (Non-
standard instruction)
DAT (LMC) - answers Used to indicate a location that contains data
What does = mean in LMC - answers Assignment
What does == mean in LMC - answers Checking if equal to
Local variable - answers Variable declared is inside the function, only available to that
function. This type of variable can only be read or modified by the subroutine itself.
Global variable - answers Variable declared outside functions available to whole
functions. This type of variable is available for any part of the code to read and modify
What is the life time of the local variable - answers Function only
What is the life time of the global variable - answers Whole program
What are the two different types of functions - answers • Predefined standard library
functions
• User defined function
What is a predefined standard library function - answers Functions which already have
a definition in header files so we just call them whenever there is a need to use them
e.g. printf (), scanf ()
What is a user defined function - answers The function that the programmer create in a
program
Why use functions - answers Re-usable
, What is the difference between a function and procedure - answers Procedure has no
return value but function has a return value
What is an IDE - answers Integrated Development Environment. It helps programmers
to code by having many different features e.g. adding a closed bracket when you type in
an open bracket, colour co-ordinating and many more
What is a debugger - answers Fixes the bugs (mistakes)
Abstraction - answers A concept of reality e.g. clock.
What does abstraction commonly make use of - answers Symbols to represent the
components of a problem therefore the human mind and computing agent can process
the problems
What does abstraction also do - answers Abstraction is also about teasing out what
does and what does not matter in scenario
What are the different types of abstract - answers Digital and analogue
Modulisation - answers Breaking things down
Specialisation - answers Outsourcing things so people who are specialised in that
certain department can do that job
Why is planning important to do - answers Because then you can order things and know
what you want to do. You could also see which people can do which tasks. This would
make it more sufficient and easier to do the complete task.
Serial file - answers 1 record at a time that goes through every single record but if it
doesn't exist, it will just go to the end. It takes a long time. As it is in no order, the record
would not need to be in an exact place so it could just be added on.
Sequential file - answers 1 record at a time BUT in any chosen order e.g. alphabetical
order. Searches it in the order and as soon as it goes past the place it should be in the
order, it stops. It takes less time than serial so it is quicker. As it is in an order, the
record would need to be in an exact place so the whole file would need to be altered
and cannot just be added on.
Why is index used - answers Index is used to provide quicker searches. An example
could be searching for a topic in a book. This allows searching for a record at a given
starting point.
Is index a file type? - answers It is not a file type, it is a sequential file with indexing.
.EXAM PREPARATION 2026
||STUDY GUIDE||ALREADY
PASSED A+||STUDY QUESTIONS
WITH THE CORRECT SOLUTIONS
!!
Give an example of assembly code - answers LMC
Give an example of a high-level language - answers C
Pseudocode - answers Pseudocode is not a programming language, it is a simple way
of describing a set of instructions that does not have to use specific syntax.
Dry running - answers A dry run is the process of a programmer manually working
through their code to trace the value of variables. There is no software involved in this
process.
Variables - answers Stores numbers, letter and special characters
Sequence - answers Is the execution of statements or functions one after another. (Do
this - then this - then this)
Selection - answers Is where the flow through a program is interrupted and control is
passed to another point in the program. The decision is based on a Boolean expression.
Iteration - answers In computer programming, this is a single pass through a set of
instructions.
HLT (LMC) - answers Stop (Little Man has a rest)
ADD (LMC) - answers Add the contents of the memory address from the accumulator
SUB - answers Subtract the contents of the memory address from the accumulator
STA or STO (LMC) - answers Store the value in the accumulator
,LDA (LMC) - answers Load the accumulator with the contents of the memory address
given
BRA (LMC) - answers Branch always - use the address given as the address of the next
instruction
BRZ (LMC) - answers Branch to the address given if the accumulator is 0
BRP (LMC) - answers Branch to the address given if the accumulator is 0 or positive
INP or OUT (LMC) - answers Input or output, Take from Input if address is 2, copy to
output if address is 2
OTC (LMC) - answers Output the accumulator as a character if address is 22. (Non-
standard instruction)
DAT (LMC) - answers Used to indicate a location that contains data
What does = mean in LMC - answers Assignment
What does == mean in LMC - answers Checking if equal to
Local variable - answers Variable declared is inside the function, only available to that
function. This type of variable can only be read or modified by the subroutine itself.
Global variable - answers Variable declared outside functions available to whole
functions. This type of variable is available for any part of the code to read and modify
What is the life time of the local variable - answers Function only
What is the life time of the global variable - answers Whole program
What are the two different types of functions - answers • Predefined standard library
functions
• User defined function
What is a predefined standard library function - answers Functions which already have
a definition in header files so we just call them whenever there is a need to use them
e.g. printf (), scanf ()
What is a user defined function - answers The function that the programmer create in a
program
Why use functions - answers Re-usable
, What is the difference between a function and procedure - answers Procedure has no
return value but function has a return value
What is an IDE - answers Integrated Development Environment. It helps programmers
to code by having many different features e.g. adding a closed bracket when you type in
an open bracket, colour co-ordinating and many more
What is a debugger - answers Fixes the bugs (mistakes)
Abstraction - answers A concept of reality e.g. clock.
What does abstraction commonly make use of - answers Symbols to represent the
components of a problem therefore the human mind and computing agent can process
the problems
What does abstraction also do - answers Abstraction is also about teasing out what
does and what does not matter in scenario
What are the different types of abstract - answers Digital and analogue
Modulisation - answers Breaking things down
Specialisation - answers Outsourcing things so people who are specialised in that
certain department can do that job
Why is planning important to do - answers Because then you can order things and know
what you want to do. You could also see which people can do which tasks. This would
make it more sufficient and easier to do the complete task.
Serial file - answers 1 record at a time that goes through every single record but if it
doesn't exist, it will just go to the end. It takes a long time. As it is in no order, the record
would not need to be in an exact place so it could just be added on.
Sequential file - answers 1 record at a time BUT in any chosen order e.g. alphabetical
order. Searches it in the order and as soon as it goes past the place it should be in the
order, it stops. It takes less time than serial so it is quicker. As it is in an order, the
record would need to be in an exact place so the whole file would need to be altered
and cannot just be added on.
Why is index used - answers Index is used to provide quicker searches. An example
could be searching for a topic in a book. This allows searching for a record at a given
starting point.
Is index a file type? - answers It is not a file type, it is a sequential file with indexing.
