MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

FIJI SEVENTH FORM EXAMINATION 2008

COMPUTER STUDIES

Time Allowed : Three Hours

(An extra ten minutes is allowed for reading this paper.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Write all answers in the appropriate places in the Answer Book.

2. Write your Index Number on the front page of your Answer Book and on the flap at the
back of the Answer Book.

3. If you use extra sheets of paper, be sure to write clearly the number of the questions being
answered and to tie each sheet securely in the Answer Book in the appropriate place.

4. There are three sections in this paper. All sections are compulsory.

SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS

Total Suggested
Section Guidelines
Marks Time

There are thirty multiple-choice questions. 30 54 minutes

A
All are compulsory.

There are four short-answer questions. 40 72 minutes

B
All are compulsory.

There are three essay questions.

C 30 54 minutes
All are compulsory.

COPYRIGHT : MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, REPUBLIC OF THE FIJI ISLANDS, 2008.

 2.

SECTION A [30 marks]

There are thirty multiple-choice questions in this section and all are compulsory.
Each question is worth 1 mark.

INSTRUCTIONS :

In your Answer Book, circle the letter which represents the most appropriate answer.
If you change your mind, put a line through your first choice and circle the letter of
your next choice.

For Example: 8 A B C D

If you change your mind again and like your first answer better,
put a line through your second circle and tick () your first answer.

For Example: 8 A B C D


No mark will be given if you circle more than one letter for a question.

1. The function of the Transaction Processing System (TPS) is to

A. prepare unstructured reports.

B. analyse unanticipated situations.
C. keep track of routine operations.
D. provide a flexible tool for analysis.

2. The role of the research department in an organisation is to

A. design and develop new products.

B. keep track of all financial activities.
C. turn out finished goods and services.
D. handle planning and pricing of goods.

3. Which of the following conversion approaches is considered the least risky ?

A. pilot
B. direct
C. phased
D. parallel

© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.

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4. Which of the following phases in the systems life cycle focuses on evaluating and
determining the need for a new information system ?

A. design
B. analysis
C. development
D. preliminary investigation

5. Which of the following symbols is used to represent a file in a data flow diagram ?

A. B.

C. D.

6. In the analysis phase, a grid chart is used to

A. show the relationship between input and output documents.

B. identify the different components of complex systems.
C. show the data flow within information systems.
D. evaluate hardware and software requirements.

7. Which of the following Pascal statements would increment the variable sum by 10 and
assign it to the variable total ?

A. 10:=total - sum;
B. total + 10:=sum;
C. sum + 10:= total;
D. total:= sum + 10;

8. A collection of related characters in data organisation is known as a

A. file.
B. field.
C. record.
D. database.

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© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.
 4.

9. Which of the following activities best describes real-time processing of data ?

A. cash withdrawal from an ATM
B. issuing of monthly telephone bills
C. preparation of yearly financial reports
D. weekly processing of employee’s wages

10. The function of the tactical model in a computerised information system is to

A. assist supervisors analyse data.
B. support chief executive officers in future planning.
C. help middle-level managers control the work of the organisation.
D. draw data from an organisation’s databases in meaningful patterns.

11. Which of the following factors is an advantage of direct file organization ?

A. cost of equipment
B. storage space on disk
C. fast access to specific records
D. efficient access to a large portion of records

12. Which of the following relationships best describes a network database ?

A. many-to-many
B. one-to-many
C. many-to-one
D. one-to-one

13. Which of following steps in phase 4 of the systems life cycle is carried out last ?
A. acquiring necessary hardware
B. testing the new system
C. developing software
D. systems audit

14. Which of the following databases would be most appropriate for data stored at several
locations ?
A. shared
B. individual
C. proprietary
D. distributed

© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.

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Study the Pascal program segment given below and answer Questions 15 and 16.

begin
x:=2;
for y:=1 to 10 do

x:=x+y;

writeln(x);
end.

15. What would be the value of x after the program is run ?

A. 57
B. 47
C. 38
D. 2

16. How many times will the loop execute before it terminates ?

A. 11
B. 10
C. 8
D. 1

17. Which of the following logic structures is also known as the IF-THEN-ELSE structure ?

A. case
B. loop
C. sequence
D. selection

18. Which of the following data transmission channels is also known as a twisted pair ?

A. fibre-optic cable
B. telephone line
C. coaxial cable
D. microwave

19. Perception robotic systems are designed to

A. carry out complex medical procedures.

B. perform industrial assembly-line tasks.
C. act as transporters through offices.
D. imitate human senses.

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© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.
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20. The process of converting digital signals to analog signals is known as

A. modulation.
B. digitization.
C. compression.
D. demodulation.

21. Which of the following levels of managements is primarily concerned with strategic
planning ?

A. top level
B. low level
C. middle level
D. supervisory level

22. Network with computers and peripheral devices in close physical proximity is called

A. metropolitan area network.

B. local area network.
C. wide area network.
D. world wide web.

23. In case of a power failure, which of the following hardware would allow the user to save
work before safely shutting down the computer system ?

A. ROM
B. ALU
C. UPS
D. USB

24. Which of the following tasks is not carried out in the design phase of the systems life
cycle ?

A. report writing
B. developing software
C. selecting the best system
D. designing alternative systems

25. Which of the following is considered an optical storage device ?

A. hard disk
B. floppy disk
C. memory stick
D. compact disk

© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.

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26. Which of the following software cannot be considered a graphics program ?

A. MS Publisher
B. Image editor
C. MS Excel
D. Paint

27. The transmission capacity measurement of a communication channel is known as

A. baud rate.
B. bandwidth.
C. broadband.
D. bit capacity.

28. The printed output generated from a database is called a

A. table.
B. form.
C. query.
D. report.

29. A set of rules for the exchange of data between computers on a network is known as

A. protocol.
B. transmission.
C. communication software.
D. network operating system.

30. Which of the following is a valid variable declaration in Pascal programming ?

A. var
B. cost
C. begin
D. program

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© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.
 8.

SECTION B [40 marks]

All four questions in this section are compulsory. Each question is worth 10 marks.

QUESTION 1

(a) The Decision Support System (DSS) has four parts. Two of them are decision
models and the user. Describe the other two parts of the DSS. (2 marks)

(b) State two roles of middle level managers in an organisation. (1 mark)

(c) Discuss the usage of top-down analysis methodology in phase 2 of the systems
life cycle. (1 mark)

(d) Explain a major difference between the systems flowchart and the data flow
diagram. (1 mark)

(e) Discuss the three feasibility studies carried out in the design phase of the systems
life cycle. (3 marks)

(f) State two differences between a master file and a transaction file. (2 marks)

QUESTION 2

(a) Define the following DBMS terms :

(i) Data dictionary.

(ii) Query language. (2 marks)

(b) State one advantage of object-oriented database over a network database. (1 mark)

(c) Describe the role of a database administrator in a large organisation. (1 mark)

© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.

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Study the Pascal program given below and answer questions (d) to (h).

program Interest;
var
amount,interest:real;

begin
writeln('Enter deposit amount');
readln(amount);
if amount <= 500 then
interest:= amount * 0.02
else if amount <=1000 then
interest:=amount* 0.05
else if amount <=5000 then
interest:=amount*0.07
else if amount <=10000 then
interest:=amount *0.10 ;

writeln('The interest earned is $ ',interest:3:2);

end.

(d) What does the above program calculate ? (½ mark)

(e) On which variable is the if-then-else structure dependent on ? (½ mark)

(f) Calculate the output if the deposit amount is $2 552. (1 mark)

(g) What is the purpose of the figure :3:2 in the second last line of the program ? (1 mark)

(h) State the maximum amount of deposit that the above program can calculate. (1 mark)

(i) Differentiate between a syntax error and a logical error. (1 mark)

(j) Define the following program testing methods :

(i) Desk checking.
(ii) Beta testing. (1 mark)

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© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.
 10.

SECTION B (continued)

QUESTION 3

Study the following advertisement and answer questions (a) to (c).

PACKAGE SALE PRICE: $1 299

Intel Pentium IV 3.2 GHz

80 GB Hard drive 7200 rpm
256 MB RAM
52x CD-ROM
1.44 MB Floppy drive
17” LCD Monitor
Windows XP
Laser printer 14 ppm

(a) What is the processor speed of the above computer system ? (1 mark)

(b) State the size of the primary memory. (½ mark)

(c) State the operating system for the above package. (½ mark)

(d) What does the acronym CMOS stand for ? (1 mark)

(e) Explain the function of the following :

(i) Autoexes.bat file (1 mark)

(ii) Device drivers (1 mark)

(f) List three preventative maintenance measures carried out on a floppy disk. (1½ marks)

(g) State three things a computer user could do to avoid eyestrain and headache. (1½ marks)

(h) Define the phrase “Repetitive strain injury”. (1 mark)

(i) Describe the function of Hypermedia. (1 mark)

© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.

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QUESTION 4

(a) Define the following data transmission terms :

(i) asynchronous.

(ii) synchronous. (2 marks)

(b) Differentiate between half-duplex communication and full-duplex

communication. (1 mark)

(c) Describe the following network strategies :

(i) terminal network system.

(ii) peer-to-peer network system.

(iii) client/server network system. (3 marks)

(d) Name three peripheral devices which support graphics programs. (1½ marks)

(e) What are knowledge-based systems ? (1 mark)

(f) Most banks nowadays provide Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) services to
their customers.
List two advantages of using an ATM. (1 mark)

(g) State one advantage of using fibre-optic cable compared to coaxial cable. (½ mark)

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© MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, FSFE 2008 : COMPUTER STUDIES.
 12.

SECTION C [30 marks]

The three questions in this section are compulsory. Each question is worth 10 marks.
Write an essay of about 200 words to answer Questions 1 and 2. Write a Pascal program to
answer Question 3.

QUESTION 1 SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN (10 marks)

Pacific High School is using a manual filing system to keep record of students who borrow text
books from the school under the book hire scheme. You have been hired as a system analyst to
develop a computerised database system to replace the current manual system.

Use the first three phases of the Systems Life Cycle to design a computerised database for the
school. Use diagrams where applicable.

QUESTION 2 DATA COMMUNICATION (10 marks)

Dayal’s InfoTeck Company wants to set up a computer network in its office. The network will have
25 computers and 2 shared laser printers.

Discuss the four network structures that could be implemented. Clearly state one advantage and
one disadvantage for each structure. Recommend which network structure is most appropriate for
the company based on your reasoning and analysis.

QUESTION 3 PROGRAMMING (10 marks)

Manasa’s Supermarket is running a promotion for a six-month period. Customers are asked to
collect their sales dockets for purchases made during that period. At the end of the promotion the
customers have to present any 5 sales dockets to the supermarket to claim their prizes as follows:

Total of 5 sales dockets Prizes

$100 to less than $500 1 Pocket calculator
$500 to less than $1 000 1 Electric jug
$1 000 to less than $5 000 1 Dinner set
$5 000 and more 1 HP Computer set

Write a Pascal program that would assist Manasa to determine the prizes due to the customers.

Your program should be well-structured and well-documented.

THE END

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COPYRIGHT : MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, REPUBLIC OF THE FIJI ISLANDS, 2008.