Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) Exam Questions

• B Router (1)
• The only correct answer is B. The correct answer is Router.
• A is not correct because a hub sends the data it receives to every device on the network
• C is not correct because a server provides services, such as web pages, to client computers
• D is not correct because a switch forwards data between the devices on one network

• B Higher data transfer speed (1)
• The only correct answer is B. The correct answer is higher data transfer speed.
• A is not correct because the 2.4 GHz band has the greater range
• C is not correct because the 2.4 GHz band passes through walls more easily
• D is not correct because the 5 GHz band does not use less bandwidth

Award one mark for:

• The maximum distance data/a signal can be transmitted before it becomes too weak to be received (1)

Allow 'how far a signal can travel'.

Do not accept the number of devices that can be connected to the network.

Do not accept the speed at which data is transmitted.

Do not accept bandwidth/the maximum capacity of a channel.

Do not accept latency/the delay between a signal being sent and received.

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

• Faster transmission speed (1)
• Higher bandwidth (1)
• Lower latency (1)
• Not affected by interference (from other devices/walls) (1)
• No blind spots/not affected by distance from the wireless access point (1)

Do not accept benefits of wireless connections, e.g. users can move around the building with their devices

Do not accept 'easier to set up' or 'does not need a password' as these are not about network performance

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.

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

• Data/packets are delivered to the correct device (1) because the IP address identifies that device on the internet (1)
• A reply is sent back to the device that made a request (1) because the sender's IP address is used as the destination address for the reply (1)
• Routers can forward packets to the right device (1) because each packet's destination IP address matches only one device (1)
• A device can be contacted by other devices (1) because other devices use its IP address to send data to it (1)

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

Allow 'so the router knows where to send data' only when expanded to say the IP address identifies the destination device / is used by routers to forward the packet to that device.

Do not accept 'so it can connect to the internet' / 'so it can access the internet' without saying how the address is used to identify the device or deliver data to it.

Do not accept 'so the device can be identified' on its own without saying what the identification is used for, e.g. delivering data or returning a reply.

Do not award a mark for restating that an IP address is unique / every device has a different address.

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

• Devices near the edge/limit of the range receive a weaker signal/lower signal strength (1) so data is transferred more slowly/the connection speed/bandwidth is lower (1)
• Devices near the edge/limit of the range receive a weaker signal/lower signal strength (1) so latency increases (1)
• Devices outside the range cannot connect to the access point (1) so users in that area cannot use the network/access its resources (1)
• A device that moves out of range loses its connection (1) so the user's work is interrupted until it is back in range (1)

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

For the second mark, the reason must state the effect on the user/network (e.g. cannot use the network/access resources, slower speed, higher latency), not just repeat that the device is out of range.

Do not accept a definition of range on its own (e.g. 'range is how far the signal reaches') without an effect on performance.

Do not accept 'a larger range means more devices can connect' (range is not about the number of devices/capacity).

Do not accept range confused with bandwidth/speed, e.g. 'range is the maximum amount of data that can be transferred'.