MARCH 2010 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS Instructions to candidates: a) Time allowed: Three hours (plus an extra ten minutes reading

time at the start do not write anything during this time) b) Answer Question 1 (spend about one hour on this) and any THREE other questions c) Question 1 carries 40 marks and ALL other questions carry 20 marks each. Marks for sections of questions are shown in [ ] d) Mark allocation should determine the length of your answer and the time you spend on it. Generally, ONE valid point scores ONE mark e) Ensure that you pay particular attention to words underlined, in CAPITALS or in bold. FEW OR NO MARKS will be awarded to any question where these are ignored f) Where you are asked HOW to achieve a particular result using a named package, explain in general terms how it is achieved rather than listing particular keys to be pressed, i.e. "Mark the sentence from start to end" rather than Press F4" g) You are advised to read an entire question before answering any part of it h) No computer equipment, books or notes may be used in this examination 1. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) The secretary of a club with around 100 members asks your advice on whether or not to use a computer to control the administration of the club. State FOUR relevant points which you might put to him to help him make up his mind EITHER way. [4] List FOUR fields on a stock file which would be necessary to perform automatic reordering when stocks run low. For EACH, explain why it is necessary. [4] A customer using a bank ATM attempts to draw money from a bank account. Explain, with particular reference to files, how the computer checks the PIN to prevent fraud. [4] Explain what is meant by an INTEGRATED PACKAGE. Give an example and state ONE advantage of it being integrated. [4] Briefly discuss the problems of upgrading a software package to a later version. [4] Some libraries issue members with a bar-coded borrower's ticket. List FOUR advantages of recording book issues using this ticket. [4] Explain how a pie-chart can be produced from data in a spreadsheet model. [4] List FOUR different computer application packages that a bank might use and state the purpose for which EACH would be used. When referring to data, be precise. [4] Sensors are sometimes connected to computers. Explain what a sensor is. Give ONE example of a type of sensor and briefly explain how it might be used in a particular computing application. [4] Explain what is meant by MACRO and give an example of its use. [4]

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Name the word-processing program you will use to answer this question. a) i Explain what is meant by MAIL MERGE. Explain how it is achieved. ii Give a practical example of a BUSINESS use of mail merge. [6] b) A document has been fully keyed in. The user wishes to change a single paragraph in the middle of a document so that it displays with a different font and point size from the rest of the document. Explain how to achieve this. [4] c) Explain in detail how to instruct the word-processing program to set up your name PERMANENTLY on your computer so that it can be included in any of your future work by pressing only a few keys. Explain how the name can then be obtained in this way. [5] d) i Explain clearly what is meant by HEADERS and FOOTERS. ii Describe how one of these can be implemented. iii One of them may include a variable quantity explain. [5]

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a) b) c) d)

Define the term database and describe its main features. [5] Explain how a database structure is first defined BEFORE any data is entered into it. [5] Explain how to enter data records and how they can be corrected at a later date. [5] Explain how searches can be made of this database to find only those records which satisfy a given condition and the resulting list displayed in an alphabetical or numeric order. [5]

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Below is a spreadsheet worksheet showing the budget for stationery incurred over three 3-monthly periods of a year by different departments of a company. A B C D E F STATIONERY COSTS DEPT. JAN to MAR APR to JUN JUL to SEP OCT to DEC TOTALS North 1357.91 1752.4 1662 South 988.32 1045 763.1 East 268.1 322.96 276.45 West 600 700 800 TOTALS State the name of the spreadsheet program used for your answer. State WHERE the cursor is positioned at each stage. Your solutions should be achieved efficiently using the spreadsheet program to do the work for you where possible. In this question, explain HOW to achieve EACH of the following changes listed below. Give either a full explanation (not a list of keys pressed) or commands. a) Improve the layout: i Headings in B2, C2, D2 and E2 must to be moved to the right-hand end of each cell. [2] ii All the numbers shown should be right aligned and rounded to the nearest whole number. [3] b) Column and row totals are to be calculated. If any of the numbers change later, these totals must change automatically. [6] c) After this model was created, management wanted estimates for the expenses for the months OCT to DEC placed in column E. For each department, the average of the three previous periods should be taken and then increased by 10%. [5] d) A pie-chart is required to show how the total expenses for each department over the whole year were shared. [4] You work for a company that is planning a new aircraft and wants to make a big impact on the market. The aircraft is still in its design stage. BEFORE the aircraft or its details are actually seen by airlines, a presentation is to be given showing its features. In one room are gathered representatives from all interested parties. Explain how the computer could be used to provide a presentation. Your answer should describe the software needed, explain what it offers and show how the presentation can be put together. [20] Write notes about EACH of the following components of the WindowsTM operating system. Assume your answers will be part of a training manual and will be used by future employees. a) Cut and paste b) Copying and deleting files c) Clicking d) Folders/directories e) Pull-down menus [4 each]

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INSTITUTE OF COMMERCIAL MANAGEMENT