Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

1 i Performs subtraction (1). 1 For 1 mark.

ii The accumulator (1). 1 For 1 mark.

Total 2

2 CPUs are general purpose processors 3 Up to 3 marks for a valid explanation.

(1) whereas GPUs are designed
specifically for graphics (1). And so
likely to have built in circuitry /
instructions for common graphics
operations (1). GPUs are able to
perform an instruction on multiple
pieces of data at one time (1) often we
want to do this when processing
graphics (e.g. transforming points in a
polygon or shading pixels) (1) which
means it can perform transformations
to onscreen graphics quicker than a
CPU (1).

Total 3

3 a – An instruction can be fetched as the 3

previous one is being decoded …
– … and the one before that is being
executed.
– E.g. can be fetched, while
is being decoded and
is being executed.
(1 per –)

b – Clock speed 1
– Cache Size
– Number of cores (1 per max 1)

Total 4

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

4 i CISC: 4 Max 3 marks for either CISC or RISC, total

Each instruction may take multiple cycles max 4
Single register set
Instructions have variable format Examiner's Comments
Many instructions are available
Many addressing modes are available There were a wide variety of answers to
Complicated processor design this question, ranging from the very
Integrated circuit is expensive accurate to the very vague. A significant
RISC: number of candidates said that RISC is
An instruction performs a simple task used in mobile phones, if the question had
Limited number of instructions available asked for an example this would probably
Complex tasks can only be performed by have been a good one. Those that missed
combining multiple instructions marks here generally talked about the
Simple processor design programming and its relative difficulty on
either type of processor rather than the
processor itself.

ii Programs run faster… 2

…due to simpler instructions Examiner's Comments

Most candidates got the first mark, the

more able candidates managed to get the
second, again, here the most common
erroneous answer was about the
merits/drawbacks of programming.

Total 6

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

5 i Input Green Light Red Light 2 (AO3.3) Accept T for a tick. Penalise if blank table
elements have content.
1 ✓
2 ✓ Examiner’s Comments
3 ✓
Most candidates achieved the first mark on
4 ✓
this question. The second mark was lost by
5 ✓ those who ticked ‘red light’ for an input of
6 ✓ 5.
7 ✓
8 ✓
9 ✓

Rows 1-4 correct 1 Mark

Rows 5-9 correct 1 Mark

ii - The value 11 is stored in the MAR. 6 (AO1.2)

- 11 is sent down the address bus.
- A read signal is sent down the control
bus.
- 0 is sent (back from memory) down
the data bus. Examiner’s Comments
- 0 is stored in the MDR…
- …and then copied to the ACC Many candidates gave a comprehensive
(1 Mark per -, max 6) description of the fetch execute cycle but
did not apply their response to the
assembly code instruction given in the
question therefore losing marks.

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

iii - Takes in a value from user. 3 (AO Do not credit structured English
- If value is 5 or less it shows green 3.2) Example
- Otherwise it shows Red
value = input("Enter a Value")
(1 Mark per -, max 3) if value <=5 then
print("GREEN")
else
print(“RED”)
endif

Accept equivalents to <=5 (e.g. < 6) For

Green/Red (or 1/0) accept any
pseudocode equivalent (GreenLightOn(),
Output 1, print(1) Output Green etc.) as
long as the logic is correct.

Examiner’s Comments

Most candidates gained credit for writing

code to read the value from the user with
some then losing marks for either
specifying the incorrect condition e.g. IF
value < 5 and/or not outputting the result.

iv Mark Band 3-High Level (7-9 marks)1 9 AO1.1 AO1

The candidate demonstrates a thorough (2) AO1.2 Assembly code uses mnemonics to
knowledge and understanding of assembly (2) AO2.1 represent machine code
code and high level languages. The (2) AO3.3 instructions/opcodes.
material is generally accurate and detailed. (3) High level languages use more
natural/mathematical notation.
The candidate is able to apply their Assembly code consists of simple
knowledge and understanding directly and instructions
consistently to the context provided. As such many more lines of assembly
Evidence/examples will be explicitly code are required to perform the same task
relevant to the explanation. as a few lines of a high level language.
Assembly code is specific to the instruction
The candidate provides a thorough set of a given processor. High Level
discussion which is well balanced. languages are not architecture specific.
Evaluative comments are consistently
relevant and well-considered. AO2
Assembly code allows the programmer to
There is a well-developed line of reasoning choose the exact instructions so they can
which is clear and logically structured. The write code that is highly efficient.
information presented is relevant and
substantiated. It also allows them to have direct control of
Mark Band 2-Mid Level (4-6 marks) how memory is used via addressing
The candidate demonstrates reasonable modes.
knowledge and understanding assembly Direct control of hardware.
code and high level languages; the High level language compilers have
material is generally accurate but at times optimisers that can also try and do this

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

underdeveloped. (and in some cases may outperform a

human writing in assembly code).
The candidate is able to apply their
knowledge and understanding directly to As high level code is more intuitive and
the context provided although one or two easier to read it is easier to follow, debug
opportunities are missed. and build as part of a team. It can also be
Evidence/examples are for the most part written in a much shorter time frame.
implicitly relevant to the explanation. The high level code can be recompiled for
different architectures.
The candidate provides a sound High level languages come in a variety of
discussion, the majority of which is paradigms so programmers can choose
focused. Evaluative comments are for the according to the problem/their preference.
most part appropriate, although one or two
opportunities for development are missed. AO3
Assembly language is best suited to
There is a line of reasoning presented with situations such as:
some structure. The information presented -compilers or interpreters don’t exist for the
is in the most part relevant and supported target CPU i.e. embedded systems
by some evidence. -highest possible performance is critical
-memory is very limited.
Mark Band 1-Low Level (1-3 marks) For larger projects which don’t fall under
The candidate demonstrates a basic the constraints above high level languages
knowledge assembly code and high level are likely to be preferable.
languages; the material is basic and
contains some inaccuracies. The candidate Examiner’s Comments
makes a limited attempt to apply acquired
knowledge and understanding to the Candidates were assessed on the quality
context provided. of their extended response in this question.
Most candidates could describe the basic
The candidate provides a limited differences between assembly code and
discussion which is narrow in focus. high level languages, with many giving
Judgments if made are weak and examples of where each would be best
unsubstantiated. The information is basic used. Some candidates gave clear and
and communicated in an appropriate justification for the coffee
unstructured way. The information is machine being programmed in assembly
supported by limited evidence and the code. In general, most candidates scored
relationship to the evidence may not be reasonably well on this question.
clear.

0 marks
No attempt to answer the question or
response is not worthy of credit.

Total 20

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

6 i Gives more cycles per second 2 Do not accept ‘…data is processed

More instructions can be executed per quickly…’ as BP3
second
So the program takes less time to run Examiner's Comments
(1 per -, Max 2)
Many candidates achieved some credit on
this question but candidates did not
achieve full marks due to lack of attention
to detail in their description. Many
candidates used phrases such as
‘processor will run quicker / faster’ without
describing how a fast clock speed would
enable this.

ii More space for data / instructions in 2

cache memory Examiner's Comments
RAM needs to be accessed less
frequently Similarly, the lack of detailed responses
Accessing cache is quicker than limited credit achieved on this question.
accessing the RAM (1 per -, Max 2) Many candidates used phrases such as
‘large cache means faster processing’
without describing how a large cache
would enable this.

Total 4

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

7 Mark Band 3 – High Level 9 AO1: Knowledge and Understanding

(7–9 marks)
The candidate demonstrates a thorough AO1.1 The following is indicative of possible
knowledge and understanding of a wide factors/evidence that candidates may refer
range of ways a computer’s performance to but is not prescriptive or exhaustive:
can be improved and justifies how these (2)
measures improve performance; the Methods of improving performance
material is generally accurate and detailed. AO1.2
The candidate is able to apply their - Replace CPU with faster CPU
knowledge and understanding directly and (2)
consistently to the context provided. - Add more/Faster RAM
Evidence / examples will be explicitly AO2.1
relevant to the explanation. The candidate - Add a graphics card
provides a thorough discussion which is (2)
well-balanced. Evaluative comments are - Upgrade to faster secondary storage
consistently relevant and well-considered. AO3.3
There is a well-developed line of reasoning - Update OS
which is clear and logically structured. (3)
The information presented is relevant and - Install a lighter weight OS
substantiated.
- Defragment the hard disk
Mark Band 2 – Mid Level
(4–6 marks) - Check for viruses and spyware.
The candidate demonstrates reasonable
knowledge and understanding of a range
of methods of improving a computer’s AO2.1: Application
performance and justifies how many of
these improve performance; the material is The selected knowledge/examples should
generally accurate but at times be directly related to the specific question.
underdeveloped. The candidate is able to The example below is not prescriptive or
apply their knowledge and understanding exhaustive:
directly to the context provided although
one or two opportunities are missed. - A newer CPU may have a faster clock
Evidence / examples are for the most part speed and so execute more
implicitly relevant to the explanation. instructions per second. It may have
The candidate provides a reasonable multiple cores and so be able to
discussion, the majority of which is execute several programs
focused. Evaluative comments are for the simultaneously (or one in parallel).
most part appropriate, although one or two It may have more cache meaning
opportunities for development are missed. comparatively slower RAM can be
There is a line of reasoning presented with accessed less frequently.
some structure. The information presented
is in the most part relevant and supported - More RAM means more programs can
by some evidence. be open simultaneously without the
need to use much slower virtual
memory.

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

- Adding a graphics card will speed up

Mark Band 1 – Low Level the rendering of 3D graphics as GPU
(1–3 marks) has specialist instructions and can
The candidate demonstrates a basic apply the same instruction to multiple
knowledge of how a computer’s pieces of data simultaneously.
performance can be improved. Limited
understanding is shown of how these - The slower the secondary storage the
measures improve performance; longer it takes to load
the material is basic and contains some files/program/data. A faster secondary
inaccuracies. The candidate makes storage device can improve this. May
a limited attempt to apply acquired choose to use flash memory (i.e. SSD)
knowledge and understanding to the
context provided. The candidate provides a - OS makers often release updates and
limited discussion which is narrow in focus. some of these will improve
Judgments if made are weak and performance.
unsubstantiated.
The information is basic and - Some lighter weight operating systems
communicated in an unstructured way. use fewer system resources allowing
The information is supported by limited the system to devote more to running
evidence and the relationship to the the user’s applications.
evidence may not be clear.
0 marks - A fragmented HDD runs slowly as time
No attempt to answer the question or is spent finding parts of the files. This is
response is not worthy of credit. reduced by defragmenting and storing
the parts of the file contiguously.

- Malware can slow down a computer.

Removing it will improve performance.

AO3.3: Evaluation

The following is indicative of possible

evaluation points that candidates may refer
to but is not prescriptive or exhaustive:

Hardware improvements (i.e. CPU, RAM,

secondary storage and GPU) have costs
attached but likely to have most impact.

The higher performance the hardware,

the more cost incurred.

(NB candidates aren't expected to know

relative costs of components.)

GPU unlikely to benefit student in this

scenario (unless their course requires
graphics processing).

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

Defragmenting HDD is free and so should

be performed.

Running anti-malware programs is free/low

cost and should be done as a precaution
against losing data anyway.

Moving to lighter weight software can

potentially be free if the user considers
open source software.

Examiner’s Comment
Candidates were assessed on the quality
of their extended response in this question.
Most candidates could cite some methods
for improving performance but not all
managed to then appropriately apply these
to the question. Many candidates did
recommend one or more measures
although some cases needed to include
justification. This resulted in some very
good responses and marks awarded
spanning the range of marks available.

Total 9

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

8 i -(Single) Control Unit 2 (AO1.1) Accept acronyms ALU,CU

-(Single) Arithmetic Logic Unit
-(Special) registers within CPU Examiner’s Comments
-Instructions and Data stored in same
area of memory The majority of candidates answered this
- Instructions and Data stored in same question well although some candidates
format stated that ‘instructions and data are
- A single set of buses / same bus for stored in the same memory location’ more
instructions & data (to connect CPU to attention to detail is required at this level of
Memory and I/O) study.
(1 Mark per -, Max 2)

ii Two separate areas of memory… 2 (AO1.2) Accept any reasonable description.

…one for instructions & one for
data./instructions and data can be Do not accept “64-bit”
accessed concurrently.
e.g.
Different (sets of) buses… Performance boosting mode…
… one for instructions & one for data./ …Clock speed can be temporarily
instructions and data can be accessed increased for performance boost.
concurrently.
Out of Order Execution…
Pipelining… …Instructions can be executed before
…whilst an instruction is being executed earlier ones if they are ready.
the next can be decoded and the
subsequent one fetched. Super Scalar…
…Multiple instructions can be executed
Use of Cache… simultaneously.
…A small amount of high performance
memory is (next to the CPU) / which stores Examiner’s Comments
frequently used data/instructions
A whole range of features were accepted
Virtual cores/Hyper-threadingTM … for this question. Most candidates stated
…Treating a physical core as two virtual an appropriate feature but some then did
cores. not go on to describe how the feature
improved performance.
Multiple Cores…
…Each core acts as a separate processing
unit.

Onboard Graphics…
…Built in circuitry for graphics processing.

(1 Mark for identifying feature, 1 mark for

description)

Total 4

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 Mark Scheme

Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

9 Takes in two numbers (1). 4 For 4 marks – 1 mark for each correct step
Compare the numbers (1). in process.
If first number is biggest outputs first
number (1). Example:
If second number is biggest outputs the
second number (1).

Total 4

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