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Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) Exam Questions

Build a practice paper from 693 exam-style questions, each with its mark scheme and example answers. Print it, or answer it on paper and then open the mark schemes. Or browse the questions by topic.

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3 questions · 4 marks

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1Multiple choice1 markProtocols & Layers Swap Remove

A user reads email on a laptop. The emails are downloaded to the laptop and removed from the mail server.

Identify the email protocol being used.

[1 mark]
  • AFTP
  • BIMAP
  • CPOP3
  • DSMTP
Mark scheme
  • C POP3 (1)
  • The only correct answer is C. The correct answer is POP3.
  • A is not correct because FTP is used to transfer files.
  • B is not correct because IMAP keeps emails on the server.
  • D is not correct because SMTP is used to send outgoing email between mail servers.
Example answers and how they were marked
Full marks1/1

C POP3

Why: POP3 downloads emails and removes them from the server (1).

No marks0/1

B IMAP

Why: IMAP keeps emails on the server, so it does not match the scenario where emails are removed from the server (0).

No marks0/1

D SMTP

Why: SMTP is used to send outgoing email, not to retrieve email (0).

2Multiple choice1 markAddressing Swap Remove

A packet of data is sent across the internet to a web server. The packet has a header that stores information about the packet.

Identify the information in the packet header that a router uses to forward the packet towards its destination.

[1 mark]
  • AThe destination domain name
  • BThe destination IP address
  • CThe MAC address of the sender
  • DThe name of the file being sent
Mark scheme
  • B The destination IP address (1)
  • The only correct answer is B. The correct answer is the destination IP address.
  • A is not correct because a domain name is converted to an IP address by a DNS server before routing begins
  • C is not correct because the sender's MAC address is only used to deliver the packet on the local network
  • D is not correct because the file name is not used to route packets
Example answers and how they were marked
Full marks1/1

B The destination IP address

Why: Correct option (1): a router reads the destination IP address in the header to forward the packet towards its destination.

No marks0/1

A The destination domain name

Why: A domain name is converted to an IP address by a DNS server before routing begins, so it is not the routing information in the header (mark scheme line A); no mark.

No marks0/1

C The MAC address of the sender

Why: The sender's MAC address is only used to deliver the packet on the local network, so it is not used by the router to forward the packet (mark scheme line C); no mark.

3Explain2 marksPacket Switching Swap Remove

A file is sent across the internet in packets.

Explain why packets from the same file may take different routes.

[2 marks]
Mark scheme

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.

Example answers and how they were marked
Full marks2/2

Each router chooses the best route at the time, so if one route becomes busy or fails, later packets are sent a different way.

Why: Linked point (1) that each router chooses the best route at the time and reason (1) that a busy or failed route means later packets take a different path.

Some marks1/2

Routers send packets along the least congested route.

Why: States that a router chooses the least congested route (1) but gives no linked reason why this makes the packets from the file take different routes.

No marks0/2

Because each packet is given a different IP address so they go to different places.

Why: Misconception named in the mark scheme: all packets from the same file share the same destination IP address, even though their routes can differ.

Questions by topic

2.1 Binary

Build a paper on this topic 58
Adding Binary Numbers 6 questions Binary and Hexadecimal Basics 10 questions Binary Shifts 6 questions Binary to Denary Conversion 6 questions Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion 6 questions Denary to Binary Conversion 6 questions Denary to Hexadecimal Conversion 6 questions Denary to Negative Binary Conversion 6 questions Hexadecimal to Binary Conversion 6 questions

2.2 Data representation

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Character Sets 18 questions Images 19 questions Sound 19 questions

2.3 Data storage and compression

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Compression 18 questions Units & Conversion 6 questions

3.1 Hardware

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Embedded Systems 17 questions Fetch Decode Execute Cycle 15 questions Primary Memory 15 questions Secondary Memory 15 questions Stored Program Computers 15 questions

3.2 Software

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File Management 18 questions Memory Management 16 questions Peripheral Management 11 questions Process Management 12 questions Purpose & Function of Operating Systems 17 questions Software Basics 13 questions User Management 18 questions Utility Software 19 questions

3.3 Programming languages

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Low and High Level Languages 19 questions Translators 18 questions

4.1 Networks

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Addressing 16 questions LANs & WANs 16 questions Network Speed 5 questions Packet Switching 16 questions Protocols & Layers 17 questions The Internet 16 questions Topologies 17 questions Wired Connections 17 questions Wireless Connections 18 questions

4.2 Network security

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Network Security Risks 18 questions Preventing Network Security Risks 18 questions

5.1 Environmental

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E-waste 17 questions Manufacturing Technology 19 questions

5.2 Ethical and legal

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Data Protection Act 17 questions Impact of AI 18 questions Intellectual Property 18 questions Software Licences 18 questions

5.3 Cybersecurity

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Malware 18 questions Social Engineering 18 questions

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