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Information Technology

General & Technical Proficiencies


CXC Past papers 1993 - 1996
Information Technology -Theory (1993)
1. (a)

2.

Using appropriate examples, explain the difference between discrete and


continuous data.

(b)

Define the terms 'hard copy' and 'soft copy'.

(a)

List FOUR functions of an operating system.

(b)

(i)

Give ONE benefit to the user of custom-written software.

(ii)

Give ONE benefit to the user of general-purpose software.

(c)

What do the abbreviation 'OMR' and 'MICR' stand for? Describe a situation in which
EACH is used.

3.

Describe, using an appropriately labeled diagram, how a computer can be used to maintain the
temperature of a liquid between 850 and 950 C.

4.

(a)

Identify any TWO industries and, for EACH, state how the use of the
computer has resulted in either a change of procedures for TWO jobs or have made the
jobs obsolete.

(b)

Name FOUR jobs which have been created by the computer industry.

(a)

Describe EACH of the following terms as it applies to data transmission:

5.

6.

7.

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Voice band
Simplex
Half-duplex

(b)

(I)
(ii)

What is meant by the 'data integrity'


State TWO examples where a lack of data integrity can cause loss, inconvenience
or embarrassment.

(a)

What is a 'videotext' system?

(b)

Describe TWO distinct uses of videotext systems.

(c)

Name TWO distinct effects that videotext systems can have on the traditional Post
Office.

(a)

In ASCII C= code, the letters of the alphabet are stored using consecutive
codes. If 'B' is represented by 1000010, what is the representation of 'G'?
Give the binary value of 2310 + 11012.

(b)
8.

Write a pseudocode algorithm to read a set of positive integers (terminated by o) and print their
average as well as the largest of the set.

9.

Write a pseudocode algorithm to print a conversion table from miles to kilometers. The table
ranges from 5 to 100 miles in steps of 5 (1 mile = 1.61 kilometers).

10.

Write pseudocode algorithm to read a positive integer N followed by N integers. For these N
integer, the algorithm must count and print the number of zeros in the set.

Information Technology - Theory (1994)


1.

Describe TWO functions of EACH of the following components of a computer:


(i)
(iii)

2.

d
3.

(ii)

Arithmetic/Logic unit

State ONE advantage and ONE disadvantage of the first item over the second
item in EACH of the following pairs:
(a)
(i) Character printer (ii)
Line printer
(b)
(i) Microfilm output
(ii)
Printed output
(c)
(i) Magnetic Tape
(ii)
Magnetic hard disk
(d)
(i) Optical disk
(ii)
Magnetic hard disk
(a)

(b)

4.

Control unit
Main memory

Explain briefly EACH of the following terms:


(i)
(iii)

Bistable device
Operating system

(ii)

Gigabyte
(iv)
Bar code

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

What is an 'expert system'


Name ONE area in which expert systems are used
Give ONE advantage and one disadvantage of using an expert system in the area
named at (ii) above.

Each regional office of the Jamaican Food Crop Marketing Agency uses system
of hardware, software and communication that connects hardware devices to

provide its

computing services. Information is collected at the regional offices and at the end of the day it is
transferred to a mainframe computer at the head office in Kingston. At nights, this mainframe at
the head office collates the information and transfers it to the regional offices. The
communication system is complex since each network at the regional offices uses different rules
established to govern the way data is transmitted in the particular network. Apart from providing
up-to-date information to users through its regional offices, the system allows users access to the
information at their own homes. However, to utilize this facility users must subscribe to its
special service which allows them to send and receive messages to/from other users. The cost of
this facility is affordable to the average home-user since the subscription fee is small and the only
other capital cost is the price of a device which converts digital signals into analogue signals and
vice versa.
State the proper technical terms for EACH of the FOUR underlined phrases in the above
passage.
5.

(a)

Describe TWO jobs of EACH of the following:


(i)
(ii)

System Analyst
Computer Operator
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(iii)

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Database Administrator

(b)

State TWO ways in which a computer can be used by a teacher in his/her job.

(c)

State TWO ways in which the computer is beneficial to the banking industry.

(a)

For EACH of OMR, OCR and MICR, give an application in which that
technology is frequently used.

(b)

'Data security' refers to the protection of data from destruction or corruption. State
THREE measures which can be employed to ensure data security.

(a)

In a certain character coding system, each character occupies 7 bits and


the letters of the alphabet are assigned consecutive codes. If 'M' is represented by
1010001, what is the representation of 'H'?

(b)

What is the value of X in the following equation?


5210 - X2= 111112

(a)

What is the purpose of formatting or initializing a diskette?

(b)

What is the major interfacing device for


(i)
a command language interface?
(ii)
a graphical user interface

(c)

Explain briefly ONE distinguishing feature of EACH interface mentioned in part ii

(a)

Write an algorithm to interchange the values in 2 variables A & B.

(b)

Write an algorithm to read the names and ages of 10 people and print the name of the
oldest person. Assume that there are no persons of the same age. Data is supplied in the
following form: name, age, age, name, age etc.

(a)

write an appropriate algorithm to read an integer value for SCORE and


print the appropriate grade based on the following:

(b)

SCORE

GRADE

80 or more

less than 80 but


65 or more

less than 65 but


50 or more

less than 50

What is printed by the following algorithm when n=5?


if (n=1) or (n=2) then
h=1
4

else
f =1
g=1
for j=1 to n-2 do
h= f + g
f= g
g= h
print h
end for
end if
print f, g
Stop

Information Technology - Theory (1995)


1.

(a)

List TWO benefits of a Computer Aided Design and Draughting.

(b)

Name THREE peripheral devices which are used in Computer Aided Manufacturing but
which are not commonly used in an office.

(c)

State a measure which can be adopted to minimize data and/or program corruption or loss
in the event of a hard disk failure.

(d)

What is software piracy?

2.

Draw a labeled diagram showing the main components of a computer system,


indicating clearly the direction in which data flows

3.

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

4.

When a program makes a read request to the hard disk, the device which reads
data from the disk is moved along a radius to the particular concentric circle on which the data is
stored. When the relevant part of the concentric circle of the disk arrives under the device which
reads the data, the data is read and stored in a special area of memory from which it could be
accessed.

Convert the decimal number 55 to its binary equivalent.


Convert the binary number 1011010 to its decimal equivalent.
Add the binary numbers 11010 and 10011
The ASCII code for the letter H has a decimal equivalent of 72. What is the ASCII code
for the letter P.

State the proper technical terms for EACH of the FOUR underlined phrase in
the passage above.
5.

6.

(a)

Identify FOUR measures to secure data.

(b)

State TWO advantages and TWO disadvantages of normal mail over electronic mail.

(a)

List FOUR ways in which medical personnel may use


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information technology in their jobs.


(b)

State TWO job functions of EACH of the following computer personnel


(i) Network manager

7.

(a)

(ii) Database administrator

John receives computer hardware from a friend who lives in the United of
America, but the software was missing. He, therefore, decided to purchase the necessary
software. In order for his system to run he realized that he would have to purchase
software to manage the resources of the computer as well as software which could
provide for his particular needs States. For both types of software he had a choice of two
styles of interface; one which was command driven or the other which provide screen
listing with options from which the user could select appropriate function . Some
software provides user interfaces which display small graphic images that can be selected
when the function they represented is required. Since John intended to use the computer
in his family business, he had a choice of acquiring software written especially for his
business, or general purpose software. He noted, however, that if he purchased general
purpose software, that he would have to do some modification to allow it to meet his
specific need.
State the proper technical terms for EACH of the SIX underlined passages.

(b)
8.

State TWO functions of an operating system.

What is printed by the following algorithm?


SUM = 0
N = 20
WHILE N < 30 DO
SUM = SUM + N
PRINT N, SUM
N=N+3
ENDWHILE

(a)

Define the following:


(i)
Source code
(ii)
Object code
(iii)
Compiler

(b)

Draw a labeled diagram to illustrate the relationship between source code, object code
and compiler.

(c)

Write a pseudocode algorithm to read in THREE numbers and print the highest and
lowest number.
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10.

The following data represents some sample score obtained by students in a test:
5,
4,
7,
10,
0,
6,
0,
1,
0,
9,
8,

999

999 is the dummy value which terminates the data. Write pseudocode to read any data in the
above format, and print the number of students scoring 0 and the number scoring 10.

Information Technology- Theory (1996)


1.

2.

3.

State ONE difference between EACH of the following:


(a)

Command-line interface and graphical user interface

(b)

Impact printers and non-impact printers

(c)

Character printers and line printers

(d)

General purpose software package and specialised software package

(e)

Simplex and duplex transmission

(a)

Convert the decimal number 5710 to a binary number.

(b)

Convert the binary number 110111012 to a decimal number.

(c)

Explain the term 'parity', as it relates to coding of characters.

(d)

Add the binary numbers 1101012 and 1011102 .

Name the hardware component that performs EACH of the following functions:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)

4.

Store programs and data that are currently being used by the CPU
Performs the logical operations within the CPU
Stores programs and data that are not currently being used by the CPU
Modulates and demodulates signals
Reads from disk
Directs internal operations within the CPU
Allows users to move the cursor

The Statistic Department holds confidential information on the citizen of a country. Since its
databases are online and are connected to the telephone company via a modem, any person within
a computer and a modem can potentially access from the databases. Outdated data are usually
stored at other locations.

5.

(a)

State ONE method which can be used to prevent unauthorized users from accessing data
stored in the databases.

(b)

State TWO methods which can be used to prevent users from accessing data from files to
which do not have access.

(c)

State ONE potential danger that may exist when legitimate users within the Statistic
Department import data into the department's computer.

(d)

State TWO strategies to protect the archived data from physical damage.

(a)

The increase in the level of computerization in offices, together with the


decrease in costs and the availability of data communication services have created new
ways of conducting business. Some employees now have an opportunity to perform their
work from home a process known as 'telecommuting'.

(b)

(i)

State TWO types of hardware that an employee must have if


he/she is telecommuting.

(ii)

State ONE advantage to the employee of telecommuting.

(iii)

State ONE disadvantage to the employee of telecommuting.

The owner of a large department store in the city center is planning to offer telemarketing
services to the general public. Currently, his retailing business customers are encouraged
to browse in the store. They are normally offered assistance by sales clerk. If a customer
is satisfied with a particular item, he/she takes the item to the cashier where the customer
must pay in cash. After the transaction is completed, the customer must take away the
item(s) purchased.
(i)

6.

State TWO additional services that the owner should offer so that he
could introduce telemarketing.

(ii)

State ONE change that the owner must make in the operation of his business so
that he could introduce telemarketing.

(iii)

State ONE reason why a customer might still choose to visit the store to make a
purchase even though the customer might have to travel a long distance to get to
the store.

(a)

State THREE functions that are likely to be computerized when the Board
of Directors of a private hospital installs computers at the hospital.

(b)

A local bank with several branches has decided to computerise its operations.
(i)
State TWO new job positions that would be created in the bank.
(ii)

State ONE additional services that a bank would be able to provide.


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7.

8.

a.

(a)

The computer Science teacher in a secondary school is attempting


to convince the Chemistry teacher to use the Computer Aided Learning(CAL) software in
the teaching of Chemistry.
(i)

State TWO benefits that the Computer Science teacher could cite to convince the
Chemistry teacher.

(ii)

State TWO obstacles that would prevent the Chemistry teacher from using the
computer in teaching.

Copy the following trace table in your answer booklet.


X

4
4
Complete the following trace table for the following algorithm, given that the number 4 is the
input value X.
READ X
FOR M = 1 to X do
Y=X-M
Z=5*Y-M
END
Print Z

9.

10.

(b)

What is printed by the algorithm?

(a)

Write an algorithm which prompts the user to enter the


price of an item and which calculates and prints the new price after a discount of 12%

(b)

Write an algorithm to read in TWO numbers into A and B. The algorithm should store
the smaller in A and larger in B, and then print A and B.

Write an algorithm to read ELEVEN numbers, find their average and print it. The algorithm
should also print the number of times the number 6 occurs in the data. For example, given the
input data:
8

10

16

The algorithm should print 7 as the average and 3 as the number of times 6 occurs.

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