ZIMBABWE SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL
General Certificate of Education Advanced Level
COMPUTER SCIENCE 6023/1
PAPER 1
NOVEMBER 2021 SESSION 3 hours
Additional materials:
Answer paper
TIME 3 hours
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the spaces provided on the answer
paper/answer booklet.
Answer all questions.
Write your answers on the separate answer paper provided.
If you use more than one sheet of paper, fasten the sheets together.
INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers.
This question paper consists of 5 printed pages and 3 blank pages.
Copyright: Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, N2021.
©ZIMSEC N2021 [Turn over]
2
1 (a) Illustrate using diagrams the difference between the Yon Neumann
Architecture and the Harvard Architecture. [6]
(b) Name any four components of the CPU. [4]
2 (a) Three descriptions and two types of processor are given below.
Link each description to the appropriate type of processor.
Description Types of Processor
Makes extensive use of RISe
general purpose registers
Many addressing
modes are available else
Has a simplified set
of instructions
[3]
(b) In a RISC processor three instructions (A followed by B, followed by C)
are processed using pipelining.
The following table shows the five stages that occur when instructions are
fetched and executed.
Time Interval
Stage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Fetch Instruction A
Decode Instruction
Execute Instruction
Access operand in Memory
Write result to register
(i) The 'A' in the table indicates that instruction A has been
fetched in time interval 1.
Copy and complete the table to show the interval in which each
stage of each instruction (A, B and C) is carried out. [4]
6023/1 N2021
3
(ii) The completed table shows how pipelining allows instructions to
be carried out more rapidly. Each time interval represents one clock
cycle.
Calculate the number of clock cycles saved by the use of
pipelining in the above example. Show your working. [3]
3 (a) Convert the following hexadecimal numbers to their decimal equivalent.
Show the calculations.
(i) 20B 3 [3]
(ii) 12AE5 [3]
(b) Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) is another way of representing numbers.
(i) Write the number 359 in BCD form. [2]
(ii) Describe the use of BCD number representation, with an example. [2]
4 In a particular Computer System, real numbers are stored using floating-point
representation with
8 bits for the mantissa, followed by 8 bits for the exponent
Two's complement form is used for both mantissa and exponent.
(a) A real number is stored as the following two bytes.
Mantissa Exponent
00101000 00000011
Calculate the denary value of this number. Show your working. [3]
(b) Explain why the floating-point number in part (a) is not normalised. [2]
5 Examine any five factors why e-business is needed. [10]
6 Cloud computing is now used mostly by individuals and organisations.
(a) Define cloud computing. [2]
(b) Give any two cloud services that are commonly used. [2]
(c) List any three cloud service models and their purposes. [6]
6023/1 N202~
[Turnover
4
7 The world over, devices access to the Word Wide Web (www) content using IP
addressing.
(a) Expand the acronym IP. [1]
(b) Copy and complete the table below, indicating for each IP address whether
it is valid or invalid and give a suitable reason.
address denary valid or reason
!hexadecimal invalid
3.2A.6AA.BBBB hexadecimal
2.0.255.1 denary
6.0.257.6 denary
A.78.F4.JB hexadecimal
[6]
(c) Distinguish between public and private IP addresses. [3]
8 (a) Define the following terms.
(i) Firewall [2]
(ii) Authentication [2]
(b) Distinguish between data integrity and data security. [2]
(c) Data integrity is required at the input stage and also during transfer of data.
(i) Suggest any two ways of maintaining data integrity at the input
stage. Use examples to help explain your answer. [2]
(ii) Show any two ways of maintaining data integrity during data
transmission. Use examples to explain your answer. [2]
9 (a) Define the terms sorting and searching. [2]
(b) Analyse the bubble sort method and the quick sort method. [6]
(c) Produce the binary search method showing the algorithm syntax. [7]
€O23/1 N2021
5
10 (a) A relational database management system (RDBMS) implements
features of the relational model.
Outline any three components of the (RDBMS) and explain each. [6]
(b) Outline four different data types available in SQL. [4]
6023/1 N2021
