Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) Exam Questions

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

• Creating a file (1)
• Opening a file (1)
• Naming/renaming a file (1)
• Saving a file (1)
• Copying a file (1)
• Moving a file (1)
• Deleting a file (1)

Allow rename for renaming

Allow cut and paste for moving

Allow remove for deleting

Do not accept organising files or managing files on their own, without a named task

Do not accept file management, working with files, process management, user management

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

• It keeps a record of which memory addresses/areas belong to each program and to the operating system (1) so it knows which addresses a program is allowed to use (1)
• Each program is given its own area of main memory (1) so a program cannot write to the addresses used by another program or by the operating system (1)
• The memory used by the operating system is marked as protected/reserved (1) so a program that tries to write to it is blocked/causes an error (1)
• The address a program writes to is checked against the record of its allocated area (1) and the write is stopped if the address is outside that area (1)

Allow the memory being protected to be that of the operating system or of another program.

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

Do not award generic answers such as 'the operating system manages memory' or 'the operating system keeps track of memory'.

Do not award responses about stopping programs using too much memory or allocating memory, as these are not about protecting memory being overwritten.

Do not award responses about virtual memory, paging or moving processes to secondary storage.

Do not award responses about firewalls, antivirus software or passwords.

Indicative content

Allocating space

• The operating system checks that there is enough free space before a file is saved, so a large photograph does not make the save fail.
• The operating system finds free space on the disk and allocates it to the new file, so the file's data has somewhere to be written.
• Disk space is allocated so that a file is not written on top of data that already belongs to another file.
• When a file is deleted, the operating system marks its space as free so it can be used again by the next document that is saved.

Keeping track

• The operating system keeps a record of the name, size and location of every file, so it knows where each file is stored.
• The record is updated whenever a file is saved, renamed or deleted, so it still matches what is on the disk.
• The operating system uses this record to find a file again, so an employee can open a document or photograph that was saved earlier.
• The record lets the operating system tell the two employees' documents and photographs apart, even though they are all on the same disk.

Without this management

• Two files could be given the same space, so one document would overwrite another and the work would be lost.
• The operating system would not know where a file is stored, so a saved document could not be found and opened again.
• Space used by deleted files might never be freed, so the disk would fill up and new files could not be saved.

Levels

• Level 0 (0 marks): No rewardable content.
• Level 1 (1–2 marks): Basic, independent points are made, showing elements of understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science. (AO1) The discussion will contain basic information with little linkage between points made or application to the context. (AO2)
• Level 2 (3–4 marks): Demonstrates adequate understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science. (AO1) The discussion shows some linkages and lines of reasoning with some structure and application to the context. (AO2)
• Level 3 (5–6 marks): Demonstrates comprehensive understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science to support the discussion being presented. (AO1) The discussion is well developed, with sustained lines of reasoning that are coherent and logically structured, and which clearly apply to the context. (AO2)

Level 3 responses must cover both the allocation of space and the tracking of files, with at least one consequence of no management linked to its cause. Reference to a file being split across blocks that are not next to each other, or to the record holding the location of each block, is Level 3 detail and is not required.

Basic, unlinked points with no application to the business's documents or photographs, and a consequence such as 'files would be lost' with no cause given, are limited to Level 1; to reach Level 2 a point must be linked to a reason (for example, the record is kept so a document can be found again) and be applied to the context. Do not accept defragmentation, process scheduling, user management, peripheral management, or backup and antivirus scanning, as file management.