Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) Exam Questions

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

• Creating/deleting user accounts (1)
• Storing usernames and passwords (1)
• Checking login details/authenticating a user at login (1)
• Setting access rights/permissions for each user, e.g. restricting which files/folders/programs/drives they can access (1)

Allow logging in as an example of checking login details.

Do not accept managing users on its own.

Do not accept provides a user interface, as this is not user management.

Do not accept managing files or managing processes, as these are other functions.

Do not accept stopping hackers/protecting from malware, as this is security, not user management.

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

• The start and end address/size of the block allocated to each program is recorded (1) so the operating system knows which areas of main memory are in use and which are free (1)
• The record is checked before memory is allocated (1) so memory already in use is not given to another program/is not overwritten (1)
• The record is searched for a free block that is large enough (1) so a newly loaded program is placed in a suitable area of main memory (1)
• The record is updated when a program ends/closes (1) so the memory it was using is marked as free for other programs (1)

Allow the record to be called a memory map/memory table/allocation table.

A response that only says the operating system keeps a record/list of the memory each program is using, without saying what the record contains, earns 0 marks.

A response that states what the record contains, e.g. the addresses/the start and end address of each block, earns 1 mark even if it does not say how the record is used.

Do not accept responses about saving programs/files to secondary storage or about moving programs to virtual memory, as these are not uses of this record.

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

• Parts of a file are moved so they are stored together/in consecutive locations (1) so the read/write head has less distance to travel to read the file (1)
• Files are rearranged so that each file is stored in one block (1) which reduces the time taken to open/load the file (1)
• Free space on the disk is collected into one area (1) so new files can be saved without becoming fragmented (1)
• The parts of each fragmented file are put in order (1) so fewer movements of the read/write head are needed to read it (1)

Do not accept responses about compressing files, deleting files or increasing the amount of storage, as these are not what defragmentation software does.

Do not accept 'it makes the disk faster' without saying how the files are changed.

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

• The operating system keeps a record of where each file is stored (1) so files can be found/retrieved later (1)
• The operating system keeps files in separate storage locations (1) so files are not overwritten/lost (1)
• The operating system allocates files to folders/directories (1) so it can keep track of the files stored on the disk (1)
• The operating system deletes/moves files (1) so storage space is freed/reused (1)

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

Do not accept 'it manages files'/'it organises files' without expansion as to what is managed or organised.

Do not accept 'so files are managed/organised' as the linked reason.

Do not accept 'so the computer works' as the linked reason.