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

Award one mark for each of:

• 5 × 1024^3 / 5 × 1024 × 1024 × 1024 / 5 × 2^30, for the number of bytes (1)
• A fully correct expression with × 8 to convert bytes to bits, in any order, e.g. 5 × 1024^3 × 8, 8 × 5 × 2^30 (1)

Accept 5 × 1 073 741 824 × 8.

Accept 5 × 2^33 or 42 949 672 960 as a fully correct expression (2 marks).

Do not accept 5 × 1000^3 × 8, which uses decimal multiples.

Do not accept ÷ 8, which converts bits to bytes.

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

• No data/instructions are removed (1) so the program still works/runs correctly after decompression (1)
• The original file can be recreated exactly (1) so all the code/instructions are present when the program is run (1)
• Lossy compression would permanently remove some data (1) so the program would not execute correctly/could crash (1)
• Every instruction is needed for the program to run (1) so the code must not be changed/lost (1)

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

Allow 'no data/instructions are removed/lost' on its own as the point mark (1); the second mark needs the consequence for the program, e.g. it still works/runs correctly, or all the instructions are present.

Award credit for a contrast with lossy compression only when the loss of data is linked to the program failing/not running correctly.

Do not accept 'lossless is better quality'/keeps the quality without saying that data/instructions are not lost.

Do not accept 'it makes the file smaller'/'downloads faster'/'transmits faster' as a reason for using lossless, as both types of compression reduce file size.

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

• The capacity is easier to read/write (1) because a tebibyte is 1024^4 bytes so the same capacity in bytes would have many more digits (1)
• The number is shorter (1) because writing 16 TiB instead of 17 592 186 044 416 bytes uses far fewer digits (1)
• There is less chance of making a mistake when copying the value (1) because a long byte count of many digits is easy to mistype (1)

For both marks, the expansion must follow/associate with the statement and must refer to the number of digits/length of the value.

Allow 'fewer digits'/'shorter number'/'less chance of error' on its own for the first mark; the second mark needs the linked reason that a tebibyte is 1024^4 bytes, so the value in bytes would be very long/have many more digits.

Do not accept 'it is bigger'/'tebibytes are larger' on its own, as this does not give a benefit of using them.

Do not accept 'easier' on its own without saying what is easier, e.g. fewer digits/shorter number.

Do not accept 'because tebibytes are used for large storage' without a reason about the number of digits/readability.