Answers to revision test 5

Below each answer there is a page reference for the coursebook. This is there to help you focus
your revision. If you find that you get an answer wrong, you can use this guide to return to the
coursebook to revise the areas that need some extra attention. Please note these are example
answers only and do not represent the only possible answers.

1 a To access the Internet, a user needs a computer and some sort of modem linking the user
to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Usually it is a telephone landline modem, cable TV
modem or mobile broadband modem. The user may also have firewall hardware to block
unwanted network communication with their computer.
b To access the Internet, a user can use a web browser to access the Web. This can also give
access to web-based email, but many users access email through an email client program.
See Communication programs' on page 10 and 'Internet connections' on page 154 of Chapter 7.
c An employer can set up a three-user network by installing a router. The three users’ PCs
are connected (by cable or wirelessly) to the router, which switches local traffic to the
appropriate computer. Internet access can be provided if the router is connected to a suitable
modem connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP), when the router prevents local
traffic from being sent to the Internet.
See ‘Network systems’ in Chapter 5 on page 109.

2 A file is a named physical storage structure that contains a set of data records. A record is a
logical data structure that contains items of data about a thing in the real world. Each item of
data is known as a field.

fields
ProdlD Description Price Colour
A00345 widget, round 0.24 black
records
A00346 widget, round 0.22 metallic
A00348 widget, large hex 0.32 black

Products file

See ‘File organisation and manipulation’ in Chapter 2 on page 37.

3 a The output devices at a POS are a screen that shows each item as it passes through the
checkout and a printer for printing till receipts.
b The barcode scanner beeps when a barcode is scanned correctly. An operator is made aware
that the barcode has not been scanned correctly when it does not beep.

Cambridge IGCSE Computer Studies © Cambridge University Press 2011 Answers to revision test 5 1
 c If the barcode has been damaged, it can be input to the system by the operator using a
numeric keypad to enter the numbers printed near to the barcode or by the operator
selecting the product in a menu system.
See ‘Input devices and their uses’ in Chapter 3 on page 49.

4 A laser printer is suitable for high-quality, smudge-proof documents, such as reports. An inkjet
printer is suitable for high-quality, colour documents and photographs, for home use. A dot
matrix printer is low-quality but is suitable for printing onto pre-printed multi-part forms, such
as invoices. A plotter is suitable for drawing complex diagrams, such as blueprints.
See ‘Printers and plotters’ in Chapter 3 on page 72.

5 For patient records, a hard disk would be the most useful kind of backing storage. A DVD-RW
disk, external hard drive or magnetic tape would be used for backup.
See ‘Backing storage’ in Chapter 3 on page 81.

6 A small business has decided to change from a manual wages system to a computerised wages
system for producing the employees’ pay.
a Three stages in the analysis of the existing system are:
• fact finding – finding out about the existing system
• feasibility study – working out whether the proposed solution is possible
• analysis – defining the system requirements.
See Chapter 6 pages 117–125.
b Programs should be tested with normal, extreme and abnormal data.
See Chapter 6 on page 134.
c The program’s documentation should include file structures and a user guide.
See ‘Documentation’ in Chapter 6 on page 136.

7 a Phishing is a way of fooling someone into handing over the security details for their bank
account. The phisher sends an email that looks as if it comes from the recipient’s bank and
contains a link to a website controlled by the phisher. It can be prevented by not clicking on
the link and instead going to the bank’s website directly.
b Spam is unwanted email, often advertising pharmaceutical products. It can be prevented by
using an anti-spam filter, which is often provided automatically by an ISP.
c Pharming is an attack by hacking. It intercepts a browser request and redirects it to another
website on which the attacker attempts to steal authentication credentials or debit or credit
card details, as in a phishing attack. It can be discouraged by changing the password on a
router (especially a wireless router) so that the hacker cannot redirect the DNS information.
See ‘Internet security’ in Chapter 8 on page 230.

8 a The computerised weather station could use thermometer (measures temperature),

anemometer (measures wind speed) and humidity sensors.
b The weather data could be stored on a hard disk or a USB pen drive.
c The weather data could be presented in the form of a table of data or a graph.
d A computerised weather station is better than a manual method of collecting weather data
because the readings can be taken more accurately and at set time intervals. If different
people were to take the readings, there may be differences in the precision with which they
record the results and a person may be sick or forget to record the readings.
See 'Sensors' in Chapter 3 on page 66 and ‘Monitoring and
control systems’ in Chapter 7 on pages 179–189.

Cambridge IGCSE Computer Studies © Cambridge University Press 2011 Answers to revision test 5 2