Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) Exam Questions

• C Tebibyte (1)
• The only correct answer is C. The correct answer is tebibyte.
• A is not correct because a gibibyte is 1024 mebibytes
• B is not correct because a mebibyte is 1024 kibibytes
• D is not correct because a terabyte is 1000 gigabytes

• C No data is lost and the original file can be recreated (1)
• The only correct answer is C. The correct answer is no data is lost and the original file can be recreated.
• A is not correct because encryption hides data and does not make the file smaller
• B is not correct because permanently removing data is lossy compression
• D is not correct because splitting a file into packets is part of transmission, not compression

Award one mark for any of the following up to a maximum of two marks:

• Reduces the size of a file (1)
• Permanently removes/loses some data (1)
• The original file cannot be recreated/restored exactly (1)

Allow 'some data is deleted/discarded and cannot be recovered' for the second mark.

Do not award the first mark where the response also states that no data is lost.

Do not accept 'removes repeated data' (this describes lossless compression).

Award up to two marks for a linked explanation such as:

• The repeated phrase is stored once (1) along with a count of the number of times it occurs (1)
• The repeated phrase is replaced by a shorter code/reference (1) and the original phrase is held in a dictionary/lookup table (1)
• A shorter code is used in place of each repeated phrase (1) so fewer characters/bits are needed to store the file (1)
• Groups of repeated characters are replaced by a count and a single value (1) so the file stores less data (1)

For both marks, the expansion must follow/associate with the statement.

Allow naming of a suitable method, e.g. run-length encoding or dictionary coding, in place of a description of that method.

Award the marks once only where the same method (run-length encoding) is described more than once.

Do not accept 'it makes the file smaller' on its own without a method of compression.

Do not accept answers that describe lossy compression, e.g. that data/detail is removed or lost permanently, because lossless compression keeps all of the original data.

Do not accept 'it removes the repeated words/duplicates' on its own, as this suggests data is lost; credit only where the answer says the phrase is stored once with a count or code.