Unit 1 Fundamental principles of computing

A Surname Other Names Centre Number Candidate Number Candidate Signature Level 3 Technical Level IT: CYBER SECURITY IT: NETWORKING IT: PROGRAMMING IT: USER SUPPORT Unit 1 Fundamental principles of computing Y/507/6424 Thursday 16 May 2019 Morning Time allowed: 2 hours At the top of the page, write your surname and other names, your centre number, your candidate number and add your signature. [Turn over] INSTRUCTIONS • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Answer ALL questions. • You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write on blank pages. • Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. • If you need more space use the additional pages at the back of this booklet. INFORMATION • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 80. There are 50 marks in SECTION A and 30 marks in SECTION B. • Both sections should be attempted. ADVICE • In all calculations, show clearly how you work out your answer. • Use diagrams, where appropriate, to clarify your answers. • You are expected to use a calculator where appropriate. • You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers. DO NOT TURN OVER UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO SECTION A Answer ALL questions in this section. Which logic gate reverses the input? Tick () ONE box. [1 mark] AND NOT OR XOR Which value is exactly 1 gibibyte? Tick () ONE box. [1 mark] 1000 megabytes 1000 gigabytes 220 bytes 230 bytes [Turn over] mnemonics. structured English. symbols. Examines all packets of data coming into the network. Prevents users clicking on suspicious email attachments. Stops spam from clogging up the network. Warns the network administrator about Botnet attacks. [Turn over] programming language? Tick () ONE box. [1 mark] Assembled Fourth generation (4GL) High-level Low-level *0* In the data processing cycle raw data is transformed into useful information. . Add the missing word to complete FIGURE 1. [1 mark] FIGURE 1 . Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems input an image of a number plate to the data processing cycle. This image is then processed using Optical Character Recognition software. State what useable information the processing produces. [1 mark] [Turn over] *09* A disk defragmenter is an example of a utility program. . Give TWO other examples of utility programs. [2 marks] Example 1 Example 2 . Explain how a disk defragmenter works and why a disk defragmenter is useful. [4 marks] [Turn over] Systems management software can provide notification of impending failure. Explain why notification of impending failure can be useful. Use an example in your answer. [3 marks] *12* BLANK PAGE [Turn over] Python is an example of a programming language. Python often uses libraries of software code. . What is a code library? [1 mark] . Explain why a code library is useful. [3 marks] . Python uses code libraries. Name another programming language that uses code libraries. [1 mark] [Turn over] The way a mathematical expression is written can change the result when it is evaluated. TABLE 1 gives two expressions. TABLE 1 Expression 1 (7 * 3) + (9 / 2) Expression 2 7 * (3 + 9) / 2 . Evaluate the two expressions given in TABLE 1. [2 marks] Result of expression 1: Result of expression 2: . Calculate the difference between the two results from Question 10.1. [1 mark] Difference: [Turn over] 1 1 FIGURE 2 shows two Cray CX40 supercomputers used by the Meteorological Office for weather forecasting. The two computers run in parallel. FIGURE 2 *1* . Give ONE benefit of having the two computers running in parallel. [1 mark] . The two Cray CX40 computers have a combined total of 460 000 cores. State what a core is. [1 mark] [Turn over] . Describe why so many cores are needed in these weather forecasting computers. [2 marks] BLANK PAGE [Turn over] Linux and Unix are two well-known operating systems. . Describe THREE functions of an operating system. [9 marks] [Turn over] BLANK PAGE . State ONE difference between the Linux and Unix operating systems. [1 mark] [Turn over] . There are many ‘flavours’ or distributions of Linux. Give ONE reason why many distributions occur. [1 mark] . Describe how you would change settings to allow a computer to boot from an external device. Your description should apply to ONE of the following: • Basic Input Output System (BIOS) • Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) • Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). [2 marks] [Turn over] . Intel has said that BIOS will be completely replaced by UEFI on all new hardware by 2020. Describe what UEFI does that BIOS does not. [4 marks] *2* [Turn over] Pipelining can keep all of the cores within the CPU occupied by breaking instructions up into steps. Give ONE advantage and ONE disadvantage of pipelining. [2 marks] Advantage: Disadvantage: Explain the difference between a maskable interrupt (IRQ) and a non-maskable interrupt (NMI). [3 marks] [Turn over] SECTION B Answer ALL questions in this section. Ransomware is a type of malware. In 2017, an attack from WannaCry ransomware had a very bad effect on the National Health Service (NHS). The attack caused the cancellation of 19 000 appointments. . Describe what is meant by malware. [2 marks] . Name ONE other type of malware. [1 mark] [Turn over] . Explain why outdated software might allow a malware attack to happen and explain how a malware attack could be prevented. [3 marks] BLANK PAGE [Turn over] . Discuss how different types of security software might be used to prevent or minimise the effects of malware attacks. [9 marks] [Turn over] BLANK PAGE *3* [Turn over] Discuss what is important when deciding which computer to buy. Your answer should include: • the points you need to consider • the decisions you would need to make • the factors you need to think about. [15 marks] [Turn over] [Turn over] END OF QUESTIONS *44* BLANK PAGE If needed, use the following pages to continue your answers. Write the question number beside your answer. If needed, use the following page to continue your answers. Write the question number beside your answer. BLANK PAGE For Examiner’s Use Question Mark 1−5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 TOTAL Copyright information For confidentiality purposes, from the November 2015 examination series, acknowledgements of third-party copyright material are published in a separate booklet rather than including them on the examination paper or support materials. This booklet is published after each examination series and is available for free download from after the live examination series. Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders may have been unsuccessful and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team, AQA, Stag Hill House, Guildford, GU2 7XJ Copyright © 2019 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. IB/M/AMAS/Jun19/ Y/507/6424/E1 *4* *196AY/507/6424*