Aqaspecifictaioncompsci
Aqaspecifictaioncompsci
1.1 4 things to protect against viruses other Firewall: Control network traffic 4
than educating workers and an antivirus Packet filtering: Manage access based on IP and port
Stateful inspection: Monitor connections, block suspicious
activity
Proxy server: Filter traffic, block malicious sites
Secure coding/ better quality: Minimise vulnerabilities
Regular updates: Patch software regularly
Encryption: Protect data from unauthorised access and
spyware
Backups: Counter ransomware effects
Access levels: Limit user permissions
Disable unnecessary I/O devices: Prevent virus
introduction
Virtual machines: Test files in isolation
Heuristic malware detection: Analyse files, detect
obfuscation and encryption
Physical security: Lock computers, restrict access
Limit RAM access: Prevent malicious activities
Executable control: Prevent launching from unknown
sources
Open-source software: More developers to spot and fix
vulnerabilities
Penetration testing and ethical hacking: Identify system
vulnerabilities
Logging: Keep records to investigate incidents and be
better prepared in the future
2.3 Size before and after RLE in memory 20 before and 26 after How do you work this out? I got the same 1
value before and after
It was 13x2 bc there were 13 blocks of
runs of pixels
U guys calculated this? I Literally wrote
out the rest of the RLE for that line and
counted every byte XD
Oh I see thanks, Im dumb
No idea on this one myself
isn’t it 2.5 and 3.2? the question asked for
it in bytes not bits.
Isn’t the exact wording asking about the
memory used? The values would be the
same as the RLE expands to the original
size in memory.
2.4 Comment on the effectiveness of RLE Not effective as not many consecutive runs of pixels. It uses a whole byte to store the length of 1
in this case? a run. 255 runs isn’t plausible (i think)
Will there be ECF?
2.5 What makes voltage analogue and why Voltage can vary continuously over a range of values, I said that there infinite numbers of 2
is pixel data digital? representing an infinite number of possible levels. measurements u can take of light i and
Pixel data represents image information using discrete that pixel data samples it and can only
values. take certain values depending on the
camera something like that
I put voltage is not in binary but can be
converted to binary.
3.1 Shade all lozenges for true statements First one, second last and last one Floating point can be greater range for 2
same no of bits
-Processors can most times work faster on fixed bit Fixed point can sometimes be more
numbers precise?
-Floating point can be greater range for same no of bits Processors can work faster on fixed bit
-Fixed point can sometimes be more precise numbers? Yes it was this one
There was a 3rd one too idk what it was
Answer is first one, second last and last
one.
Omg it was two marks so i only did two
lozenges
3.2 Convert floating point to decimal -9/512 I swr it wasnt twos complement 2944. 2
Pretty certain it was two’s compliment.
I'm pretty certain it wasn't after the first q
then at the top of the page it said now the
questions will be in twos complement and
it said two questions
3.3 Closest representation of 12 49/64 in 0.1100110 0100 Is it not two's complement for this Q? -yes 3
Floating point you needed to shift the location of point
12.75 as decimal on mantissa i think
3.4 How many extra bits minimum must be 3 (basically how to form 12 with least bits 1
added to mantissa to be accurate? there was 4 but one already there so 3)
3.5 Most negative number in 10 mantissa 6 -2^31 or -2147483648 note: question asked to put it in 2
exponent I think “decimal” refers to the number
base only
4.2 How many gibibytes of memory for 36 2^36*(16/8)/1024^3 = 128 gibibytes Oh yeah, wait did it ask for gibi? 2
bit address bus, 16 bits per memory You will have done 1000^3 for giga not
location (2^36*16)/(8*1024^3) gibi. Wrong ans - 137
Cheeky question, asking for gibi not giga
:p
4.3 Explain why USBs use serial and why USBs use serial: Overlapping is lots of skew 2
the components inside a computer uses -Cheaper
parallel was it not peripherals? -Doesn't suffer from skew or crosstalk
-The extra speed isn’t required
4.4 Purpose of I/O controller Manage communication between the CPU and peripheral Did anybody else mention the role of 2
devices. drivers allowing an application to interface
Handles data transfer, interprets commands from the with an IO device via the manager so to
CPU. speak?
Offloads the CPU from direct involvement in peripheral I said i/o controller uses device drivers to
management, improving overall system performance. translate signals from and to devices so
they operate as intended.
Same and I also talked about how
different platforms use different languages
so a translator (io Controller) is needed.
4.5 State an example of using the control The CPU sends a “write” signal to the memory controller. To check if the data bus is free? 1
bus when storing into main memory Use as clock for sync data transmission?
Bus grant signal Receive a status signal to know that data
has been stored?
Interrupts?
5.1 Explain how magnetic hard disks store Magnetic HDD: Think 4-5 marks for magnetic disk, and 12
data, how data is read from a magnetic -Magnetic platter stores polarity which represent 1s and rest for the TCP/IP
hdd and how the layers of tcp-ip stack 0s. Does the data from secondary storage get
are used in transmitting this data onto -the read head detects magnetic polarity paged into RAM to be fetched in FDE
the network. -The platter spins at high speeds cycle when instruction to pass data
‘No need to explain how it is transmitted -Stored in concentric tracks through TCP/IP stack is called? -yh
across the network or how TCP/IP stack mention RAM
reversed at receiving end.’ TCP/IP model:
Application - assigns port number (FTP)
Transport - establishes end to end connection, splits data
into packets giving sequence number, adds port to packet
header
Network - assigns source and destination IP addresses
Link - assigns source and destination mac addresses
which change at each hop
5.2 Advantages and disadvantages of using Advantages: Could you also put that over time SSDs 2
SSDs over HDDs in storage. Assuming -SSDs have lower latency will have sections that no longer work? I
they have the same amount of storage -Faster read/write speeds said that writing data requires you to clear
-Less likely to break as no moving parts an entire page? Can’t you say that SSD
has a limited number of read-write
Disadvantages: cycles?
-Greater cost Cannot store data anymore after some
^ Disputed whether or not it has to be per GB time because oxide layer get shirt and run
(we know the GB amount so you don't have to put it?) out eventually?
6.1 Draw the diagram for the boolean Could you use a NOR gate if you draw it 4
expression do not simplify correctly?
Definitely. Didn’t they say not to simplify it
!(!A.B+B+!(C.D))
6.2 What happens to Q at each clock signal Output becomes D when the clock pulse changes. 1
A XOR B
or
7.2 How are domains organised? Domains are organised hierarchically: I thought u were supposed to say they 2
● Top-Level Domain (TLD): .uk map to an IP address and are stored in a
● Country Code TLD (ccTLD): .org.uk table on DNS server - Same I did this
● Second-Level Domain (SLD): loveapug Same i wrote about how the browser
● Subdomain: www. (points to the web server) requests an ip address and stuff </3
● Domain: loveapug.org.uk (website name)
● Directory: /__
● File: /pugs
The DNS translates domain names into IP addresses.
Domains are registered through registrars and managed
for settings like nameservers and DNS records.
7.2 What service do internet registries IP Address Allocation: Distribute blocks of IP addresses Internet registries allocate IP addresses to 2
provide? to Internet Service Providers and organisations. ensure that each website is assigned a
globally unique IP address.
Protect the world’s depleting pool of unallocated IP
addresses. Looks for a previously allocated IP address
that has become unused rather than allocate a new IP
address.
7.3 How can a device outside of the LAN The client sends packets to the public IP address of the Did you guys include subnet masking in 3
access one of the web servers? (port router belonging to the server’s private network. the port forwarding question to check if
forwarding) they are under same subnet oof i didnt -
The packets sent by the client contain the port number of the question said they aren’t in the same
the application running on the server that the client network though
wishes to access. In this case port 80 for the web server. Me neither
I said subnets for dhcp not for port
forwarding
7.4 Why not use DHCP server to manage a DHCP servers assign IP addresses dynamically to DHCP dynamically assigns ip so ip of web 1
web server? devices on a network. server keeps changing? Means that
attempting to access webserver wont
What is a disadvantage of using DHCP This means the IP address assigned to the web server work bc ip different. Facts
to manage a web server? could change, making it difficult for clients to reliably Also hella inconvenient if you have to
access the web server. keep updating the damn port forwarding
rule; experienced this myself. DHCP
lease ends..
7.5 Explain how NAT is used when sending When a device on a private network needs to I put routing table 4
and receiving data from a non routable communicate with a web server on the Internet, it sends
ip address to file server on the internet packets through the router, which makes a record of the
packet before replacing the private IP address with its
own.
7.6 Why would NAT not be needed if ipv6 Because there would be enough IP addresses available When is ipv6 gonna happen everywhere 1
replaces ipv4? so each device can have a unique routable IP address. irl?
6th june 2035
8.2 Insert Sale 4072 into the Sale table INSERT INTO Sale (<fields> optional) “” were optional for the date? 2
VALUES (4072,1,”29/09/2024”)
8.4 2 issues that could arise in a Data Redundancy: Repeated data across multiple tables 2
non-normalised database? increases storage requirements.
Update Anomalies: Changes in one part of the database
may require multiple updates, leading to possible errors if
not all occurrences are updated.
Insert Anomalies: Adding new data can be problematic if
certain required fields are missing due to the database
structure.
Data Inconsistency: Redundant data can lead to
discrepancies if not consistently updated.
Complex Queries: Retrieving information can become
more complex and less efficient.
8.5 Explain how timestamp ordering helps Timestamp ordering concurrent access. They mark when 3
with concurrent access commands are initiated. The database records the
timestamp of the last read operation on a field and uses
predefined rules to determine if executing a new
command would cause data loss or inconsistency. These
rules enforce correct command execution order, maintain
data integrity by rejecting outdated commands, and may
use locking or versioning to manage concurrent access.
9.1 What are the moral legal and ethical Legal: FOR A.I to work, i believe you need to 6
concerns of using AI and algorithms in -Who is responsible for any complications? The train it. How is this data selected? Is there
hospitals programmer or the hospital? any bias in training this Artificial
Diagnose patients from X Rays -Are they following the Data Protection Act? intelligence? How effective is it!
Ethical:
-Taking jobs of healthcare professionals
-Any bias in the training of the AI
Moral:
-Do people consent to the use of AI and algorithms?
Some people might not trust them.
-In this case should a human be required to carry it out,
and should they have to wait longer?
-The data would have to be stored on the hospital
network is this stored securely?
10.1 Finish the trace table for the assembly The final value for R1 was 211 (83+128). The program halves 83 7 times and 6
language program given. counts the number of 1s in the binary as
each time it is shifted once to the right.
The input value is 83 in mem address There is 4 1s which is even (4 AND 1 = 0)
130 so it preforms ORR 128 to make the left
most bit 1.
10.2 What is the purpose of this? Add odd parity bit in the left most column. The output is the ASCII code with the 2
parity bit in
10.3 2 advantages of assembly over high Direct memory access and control, suitable for embedded 2
level code systems and chips without an OS.
10.4 Some high level languages are Imperative high-level languages are formed from I said executes line by line 1
imperative, what does that mean in this instructions that specify how the computer should I said write instructions
context? complete a task.
11.1 Describe the co domain The codomain is the set of real numbers 1
N to R
11.2 Why is functional programming good for Immutability: data does not change after it's created, no It said “describe” surely that means you 2
multiple servers need to worry about one server altering data that another need to actually say what stateless or
server is using. immutable means, otherwise it would just
say “state”.
Statelessness: Given the same input functions will always Map or fold??
give the same output
Grade Boundaries
Date
A* A B C D E F
296 237 191 146 101 56 0
2023
78.9% 63.2% 50.9% 38.9% 26.9% 14.9% 0.0%
278 223 179 136 93 50 0
2022
74.1% 59.5% 47.7% 36.3% 24.8% 13.3% 0.0%
220 177 144 112 80 48 0
2021
73.3% 59.0% 48.0% 37.3% 26.7% 16.0% 0.0%
224 183 149 115 81 47 0
2020
74.7% 61.0% 49.7% 38.3% 27.0% 15.7% 0.0%
309 261 214 167 120 74 0
2019
82.4% 69.6% 57.1% 44.5% 32.0% 19.7% 0.0%
314 260 215 170 125 80 0
2018
83.7% 69.3% 57.3% 45.3% 33.3% 21.3% 0.0%
316 264 219 174 129 84 0
2017
84.3% 70.4% 58.4% 46.4% 34.4% 22.4% 0.0%
295 242 198 154 110 66 0
Average
78.8% 64.6% 52.7% 41.0% 29.3% 17.6% 0.0%
NOTE: 2021 and 2020 don't include coursework so out of 300
Explanation: It is out of 375, paper 1 and paper 2 are out of 100 marks weighted 1.5x and
coursework is 75 marks.
100*1.5+100*1.5+75=375
If you want to know percentages without coursework do:
({grade boundary} - {coursework mark}) / 300
For Example (296-71)/300=75%
How did we find this paper? Use capital i’s not | or l
Excellent III
Good IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Okay IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Meh IIIIIIIIIIII
Bad IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlIlI
Discussion:
What score do u guys think u got?
Estimated 52% overall, am i cooked. Need a B, Am I Cooked?
ANYONE THINK THAT GRADE BOUNDARIES ARE GONNA BE 2019 LEVE AT 70%
SINCE THE SKELETON CODE WAS ACTUALY VERY SIMPLE COMPARED TO ALL
YEARS?
How are people comparing the skeleton code from previous years considering that most ppl
wouldn’t have gone through them to somewhat accurately assess the difficulty?]
^Just a calculated guess imo, the number of lines were much more, the gamee itself was
basically chess, there were like 4+ classes/objects, feel like ours was much more nice
Erm what the sgma no it was harder for most people so it should be around 2023 levels
^Hopefully but last year was an actuall chess game
Yeah but lowkey like you never know plus the coding tasks were a lil harder imo for most
people <3
^FAIR ^ i hope lol i need that A lol same a* would be nice but oh well yep
^ icl i gave up on an A* when i realised only like 3% of people get it WTF 3% YH damn…
https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-STATS-JUN-2023.PDF
^ ITS 5% BUT STIL VERY LOW from 2017 to 2019 only about 3.7% get an A*
thought the programming questions were pretty average compared to past paper questions
^they were nothing crazy imo but just a bit tedious, plus the amount of computers that died
during that paper for people was insane
^ do you remember what the perfect bouncy number is? Does it have to have the same
increase and same decrease?
^icl i dont remember
Oh ok ty anyway <3 <3
BLOBFISH?? WOULD BE FUNNY IF UR HERE AGAIN
How skibidi how to howwwwwwww
Bruh why does nobody give an ASS about paper 2 chz
Bye im not going to uni bruh I need A*AAA and I’m cooked in physics and CS (CS just
burnout lol)
Anonymous Wombat I’m cooked bruh how did you do, you know who you are, from
Anonymous Axolotl
At this point im not even getting into my insurance
Where rle question
Did u guys find this harder compared to previous papers? I haven’t gone through any of
them so i cant tell
^ this was the worst one out of all of them imo
^ fr
Honestly thank god people werre too confident about p1 i need the grade boundaries
lowered
I hate myself
Clearing 2024 whos joining me?? Only you ME OMG
NO GIRL I DONT THINK YOU UNDERSTAND HOW FUCKED I AM
I think im getting a D
Clearing it is…
This paper was so much yap esp that 12marker
Where the D type flip flop Q
THE PAPER HAD NO LONG ASS FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE QUESTION YIPEEEEE
HORAAAYY
^ bro i wish it did
thoughts on grade boundaries?
Higher than 2023 but not by much. Imma be real. Apparently last years paper 1 was a lot
harder than our years so i believe higher grade boundaries unfortunately. But in regards to
this paper specifically, i believe it would be the same if not SLIGHTLY lower. Take my words
with a pinch of salt as with everything on TSR
I disagree imo, i think they wouldn’t go up but jsut stay the same if anything
Between 310 and 315 for an A*?????
Seifphjwe4oi9[rtgjh3290-wtguj09w34hjg90w4jfg904wejwefg90j 90sskibidi im fucking
reateded hahadeuiohwaiodfhawiodhio
Im cooked probs like 40 on this paper and like 40 on the last papre. I need a B though :(
somehow got 0 for the tracing table it is so over for me…. Nah if u got 0 u were close, dont
lose hope i think u just went for the wrong condition in the IF ELSE condition
I got a negative number bro
I GOT 0 IN THE TRACE TABLE AS WELL
I got B for the boolean algebra and output = input for the assembly am i cooked
its joever
I got A in the boolean algebra skull skull
I somehow “simplified” the right answer to b ;/
It was A XOR B right?
Anyone off to nottingham trent??
Yall ily all
Thanks hamster
<3 <333333
where yall applying to? mcdonalds
sheffield, you? I applied sheffield asw
Yeah bro big up sheffield
ah thats good, im applying london unis but i neeed 3 A’s
oh damn i could not cope if that were me, good luck
thanks man, gl to u 2
shi bro its crazy how fast the exams went, like thats it , we are 18 now abt to be full on adults
and all, with our own lives and shi
thanks , yeah i know suddenly almost a month of stress has completely blown over
adulthood isnt fun to think about i’m gonna play minecraft in summer
mums bro
lmao same here bro, gonna hop on mc,csgo, fifa, the whole lot
that sounds like a fun mix, maybe some csgo for me too but im more into val
oh am i blobfish?
ah shi fs just lmk when ur online blobfish lmao
but yeah man gl to u with whatever u finna do in ur life, probably will never see u again but gl
man
yeah bro ur blobfish
oh man thanks i didnt know, proud to be a blobfish. i think we’ll lose contact after this ngl so
i’m not sure i can ever tell you when i’m online. Im praying for aces for you though, i believe.
good luck to you too, i hope london unis go well if u manage to get in which im sure u will
lmao bro hope u can pull off a global elite masterclass
thanks man.
im sure u will achieve all your lifegoals too man.
crazy how much we are glazing each other rn. need to calm th down xD
LMAO yeah oops its fine though
im just so gassed after this test that im feeling it today, like shi that was a good test yk
i’m half asleep rather than gassed, pmt carried me until 2am last night
pmt carried so hard, also the aqa textbook went crazy. i memorised the thing inside out fr.
Its time to learn chinese bro because you are all going to china
we r gettign deported into china
My fault bro
My nigerian brother
Whats good
nm much bro jus tired ash after that cs exam, shi i got mech and stats tommorow but thats
all for another
day
I still got p3 of maths left before chem, better not fumble either
. My firm is AA for both but i need an A star on both to be satisfied
same here, my firm is AAA for loughborough and then AAB for surrey but imma change to
exeter i think cuz it got industrial experience.
Exeter dont really have a big black community i heard, thats why i rejected their offer. Chose
birmingham instead
Damn i firmed Bath but there aren’t many black ppl so idk how it’ll be like
shi bro out here rejecting russel group unis, bro is jus that guy
I meant i picked other unis so automatically rejected them lol, i wanted to go lougsbrough but
i didnt take physics
birmingham is good too.
i took history, maths and comp sci along with epq but thats for a cs course in loughborough
and they said it was calm.
They gave me a very high entry boundary which is a pisstake but i think i can get in.
hope so anyway, if i fumble its gonna be long days in surrey
If i fumble birmingham then im going to china
shi bro china
fr?
why china
nah bruh i aint never heard that meme, my fyp is just brainrot -
You ever heard the meme “its time to learn chinese buddy” for sports twitter?
Brainrot edits kinda peak ngl
mums bro, but icl my attention span really got to me during revision, mf i would spend hours
scrolling through tiktok instead of revising, so i had to delete all socials for exam period.
Yh phone has been a big distractor tbf, i could have probably went cambridge if not for it fr fr
Fuck bald ass crofty brev
mums bro. Year 12 too, like i was out there not doing shi during my free periods. I was jus
living the sixth form experience.
I always think about the fact i might get better grades than people going cambridge this year
and i could have went if i just locked in sooner
well as oogway says, the past is forgotten, the future is uncertain, and the present is now,
which is why its the present
shi bro cs got me talking kung fu panda quotes,
It be like that sometimes man, after i fumbled maths paper 2 i was depressed for the whole
day lmao
no way u also fumbled maths paper 2 lmaoooo
i fumbled that shi too
long ass paper
I hate whites
You do aqa? I fumbleddd hardddddddddddddddddddd
nah i do edexcel. thats the thing, most ppl in my school found it easy, they were walking out
saying “ yeah i deffo got %100. like bruh who tf is u lying to, tf it wasnt easy
Ive learned that different people have different definitions to something being easy or hard,
when i say something is good i mean like A* good, but someone might mean a B good or C
good
I just realised im still the aqa chem markscheme lmao wtf
^^DFKM
Can’t wait to start my bricklaying apprenticeship this September!! <3
Cant wait to work in Roblox IKEA dream job
RIP DRAKE