Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) Exam Questions

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

• A network that covers a small geographical area / is on a single site / is within one building (1)
• (Two or more) computers/devices connected together (1)
• So that the connected devices can share data/files/resources such as printers or an internet connection (1)
• Uses cabling/infrastructure owned by the organisation (1)

Do not accept a network that covers a large geographical area / connects networks in different countries, as this describes a WAN.

Do not accept 'a network in a school' on its own, as this repeats the stem without a LAN feature such as a single site or connected devices.

Do not accept 'a network that connects to the internet' without a LAN feature such as a single site or connected devices.

Do not accept 'owned by one organisation' on its own, as a WAN can also be owned by one organisation.

Do not accept 'local' on its own without saying what it means.

The share mark needs the sharing to be linked to the connected devices/network, e.g. 'share files' or 'share printers'.

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

• (Ethernet) cables are not affected by interference from other devices (1) so data is transferred at a consistent/steady speed (1)
• Each device has its own cable to the switch (1) so the full bandwidth is available to that device and speeds do not drop as more users join (1)
• Fibre optic cable has a higher bandwidth than a wireless link (1) so more data can be sent along the cable each second (1)
• The cable gives a direct/physical path to the switch (1) so data is less likely to be lost and resent, which would slow the transfer (1)

Do not accept responses about security, reliability or users being unable to move around, as these are not about speed.

Do not accept answers that only say a wired/cable connection is faster, or that fibre is faster, without saying why.

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

• (Twisted pair/copper) cable only carries data over a limited distance (about 100 metres) (1) so sensors further away need another switch/device to pass the data on to the farmhouse (1)
• Fibre optic cable can carry data over much longer distances (1) so wired connections can reach sensors across the whole farm (1)
• Data sent further than the cable's range is not received (1) so the computer in the farmhouse does not get readings from those sensors (1)
• A wireless connection can reach sensors that are out of range of the cables (1) so a mix of the two can give readings across the whole site (1)

Allow responses about signal weakening/being lost over a long cable.

Do not accept responses about bandwidth or speed, as range is about distance, not the amount or rate of data.

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

• Each router chooses the best route at the time (1) so when a route becomes busy/congested or fails, later packets are forwarded along a different path (1)
• Routers forward each packet separately (1) so the path a packet takes depends on the traffic conditions when that packet arrives (1)
• A router may send a packet to a different next router (1) if its routing table shows a better/less congested route for that packet (1)
• Traffic on the internet changes (1) so no single path is kept for the file and each packet can use whichever route is best when it is sent (1)

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

Allow reference to a routing table, or to how a router decides the route, as part of the linked reason.

Do not accept 'the packets have different IP addresses' because all packets from the same file have the same destination IP address, even though their routes can differ.

Do not accept 'the internet is busy' or 'there is a lot of traffic' on its own without linking this to the router choosing a different route.

Do not accept 'different routers send the packets' on its own without a reason why a different router/route is chosen.

Do not accept an answer that only says the packets take different routes without explaining why.