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

• Interference from other electrical/electronic devices (1)
• Walls/obstacles block or weaken the signal (1)
• The signal gets weaker the further a device is from the access point (1)
• Other devices/networks use the same wireless channel/frequency (1)
• A wireless channel has less bandwidth than a wired connection (1)

Do not accept 'higher latency', because latency is a delay and does not reduce the speed at which data is transferred.

Do not accept 'wireless is slower' / 'wired is faster' without a reason.

Do not accept 'radio waves are slower than signals in a cable' as they travel at the same speed.

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 explanation such as:

• The router reads the destination IP address (1) so it knows which network/device the packet is for (1)
• The router looks up the destination IP address in its routing table (1) to find the next router/route for the packet (1)
• The router forwards the packet to the next router (1) that leads towards that IP address / is on the best route (1)

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

Do not accept MAC address - routers use the IP address to route packets between networks.

Do not accept 'it finds the exact device' without saying how the router uses the address, e.g. routing table/next router.