Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science

Chapter 3 Student Book Answers

What you should already know
1 Memory – an immediate access store is RAM and ROM which are directly accessed by the CPU.
Storage – an external devices such as HDD, SSD which are not directly accessed by the CPU.
2
 Internal memory is RAM and ROM.
 RAM stores instructions, data and the part of the OS currently in use.
 Data in RAM is lost if the power is turned off.
 RAM is a very fast memory but relatively small and expensive per byte.
 ROM stores data which can’t be lost or deleted but cannot be changed.
 External storage is much larger than RAM/ROM but is not volatile and less expensive per
byte than RAM/ROM.
3 i) DVD/CD player
ii) RAM/ROM
iii) SSD
iv) HDD
4 Online – storage connected to and under the control of a computer.
Offline – storage not connected to and under the control of the computer.
5 Data access time – the time taken to locate and read data on a storage or memory device.
Data transfer rate – the time taken to transfer data from storage or memory to CPU or other
device.

Activity 3A
1 a) i) RAM
 temporary memory (contents can be changed)
 can be written to/read from
 used to store data, files, instructions, part of OS currently in use
 volatile memory (contents lost when power turned off).
ROM
 non-volatile memory (memory contents retained even when power is lost)
 permanent memory (contents cannot be changed)
 contents can only be read
 used to store start up data (e.g. BIOS).
(ii) DRAM
 needs to be constantly refreshed
 less expensive to manufacture than SRAM
 consumes less power than SRAM
 higher storage capacity than SRAM
 main memory is constructed from DRAM.

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SRAM
 no need to constantly refresh since it uses flip-flop circuits
 has a faster data access time than DRAM
 processor memory cache uses SRAM.
b) Magnetic
 uses magnetic properties to store data
 uses disk surfaces (coated in magnetic material)
 disks rotate and data is read/written using a read/write head which floats above the disk
surface.
Optical
 uses disks which are coated in light-sensitive material
 data is read/written by red or blue laser light as disk rotates
 no contact made with disk surface during read/write operation
 DVD uses dual layering to increase data storage capacity.
Solid state
 no moving parts
 uses NAND/NOR chips to store data
 relies on flow of electrons to control read/write operations
 can’t overwrite data; data needs to be deleted first and new data is written in the same
location
 uses a matrix with two transistors at each intersection
 one transistor is floating gate
 one transistor is control gate.
2 a) Inkjet printer
 uses ink droplets which are ejected onto paper by piezoelectric or heat
 paper advances line by line during printing as head moves across the page
 ink is in liquid form and contained in cartridges.
Laser printer
 uses static electricity to print characters/images
 ink is in the form of a dry powder (known as toner)
 uses an electrostatically charged drum where paper is charged and areas for printing have
opposite charge
 ink is charged and only sticks to areas of paper with opposite charge
 print is fixed to paper by passing paper over a heated drum.
b) i) Laser – colour leaflets which need to be produced quickly in their 100s.
Inkjet – one-off high-quality photographs.
ii) Laser – large capacity paper trays and high speed, high quality printing; ink cartridges
last much longer than inkjet before needing to be changed.
Inkjet – for one-off job, printing is just as quick as laser; better quality printing when
printing images.

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3
 preserves the valuable art works
 allows many people to see the paintings since 3D replica can be produced as required
 allows full investigation of a painting without any risk of damaging the original (e.g. close
view of brush strokes, amount of paint used on each part of canvass; allows the possibility of
authenticating a new painting).
4
 the light sensor sends data to the ADC interface
 this changes the data into digital and sends it to the microprocessor
 the microprocessor samples the data every minute (or at some other frequency rate)
 if the data from the sensor < value stored in memory …
 … a signal is sent from the microprocessor to the street lamp
 … and the lamp is switched on
 the lamp stays switched for 30 minutes before the sensor readings are sampled again (this
prevents the lamp flickering off and on during brief heavy cloud cover for example)
 if the data from the sensor >= value stored in memory …
 … a signal is sent from the microprocessor to the street lamp
 … and the lamp is switched off
 the lamp stays switched off for 30 minutes before sensor readings are sampled again (this
prevents the lamp flickering off and on during heavy cloud cover for example).

Activity 3B
1 a)
A B X
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1
b)
A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1
c)
A B X
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0

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d)
A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0

e)
A B C X
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1

Activity 3C
a)

A B X
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

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b)

A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0

c) (K = 1 OR L = 1) OR (K = 1 AND M = NOT 1) OR (M = 1)

K L M T
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1
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d) X = (A = 1 AND B = 1) OR (B = 1 AND C = 1)

A B C X
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1

e) (A = 1 AND B = 1) AND (B = 1 OR C = NOT 1)

A B C R
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1

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Activity 3D
a) X = 1 if (R = NOT 1) OR (C = 1 AND T = NOT 1) OR (R =1 AND T = NOT 1)

R T C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0

b) (G = 1 AND W = NOT 1) OR (G = NOT 1 AND R = 1) OR (W = 1 AND R = 1)

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G R W S
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1

Activity 3E
1
A B C A B C A B
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
2 a)

A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1

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b)

A B X
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

3
A B X
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0

Same as a NOR gate

Activity 3F
1 a)
b) the truth table will only generate a 0 when all inputs are 1

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2 a)

b)
A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0
c)
A B C D X
0 0 0 0 1
0 0 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0
0 0 1 1 0
0 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 0
0 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 1 0
1 0 1 0 0
1 0 1 1 0
1 1 0 0 0
1 1 0 1 0
1 1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1 0

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3
A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 1 1 1
0 0 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 1 1 1
1 0 0 1
1 1 1 0

Extension Activity 3A
a) RAM – store user settings, for example, time
ROM – store factory settings, for example, microwave frequencies
b) RAM – stores user settings, for example, temperature
ROM – store cooling logic, sensor readings, and so on
c) RAM – store directions sent from remote or programmed flight pattern
ROM – store factory setting such as radio frequencies

Extension Activity 3E
1 a) completes circuit between top and bottom conductive layer
b) use of keyboard buffers and interrupts
2 a) i) movement of wheels allows mouse to know its x-y position
ii) red light used to allow x-y direction/position to be monitored
b) USB is direct serial wired data connection with computer
wireless uses Bluetooth to communicate with computer

Extension Activity 3G
A B A.𝐁 𝐀.B A.𝐁 + 𝐀.B A+B 𝐀. 𝐁 (A + B).𝐀. 𝐁
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0

Extension Activity 3H
NOR gate

End of chapter questions

1 a) OLED technology
 OLED screens are thinner and lighter and therefore more flexible.
 They have a brighter output than equivalent LED/LCD screens.
 OLED requires no backlighting.
 They use less power than equivalent LED/LCD screens (very important on portable
devices).
 Screens can be moulded into any shape required.
 The colours are more vivid/better contrast.

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b)
 human eye has limited detection of different colour hues
 depends whether or not tv is set up properly
 over time screen output deteriorates
 unnecessary to have such a range of colours
questionable advantage
(many other reasons to consider)
2 a) i)
 can’t be changed by users
 software loaded up automatically on powering up
 always available
ii)
 because many changes are made during the development stage
 EPROM can be altered as required
 ROM chip can’t be changed once written to
 expensive to replace ROM chip each time a change/update is made
iii)
 fast access for working memory
 values can be written to RAM, for example, current score
iv)
 possibility of saving to a memory stick
 possibility of linking to larger screens
 possibility of connecting to devices such as printers
b)
 less expensive to build prototypes
 other methods require new mould to be made every time design is changed
3 a) Control
 Sensor data is used by the microprocessor or computer to decide if any action needs to be
taken to keep a process within correct parameters.
 The output from the system affects next set of inputs.
Monitoring
 Sensor data is used by the microprocessor or computer to check whether it is within
stored/set parameters.
 If data is outside set parameters, a warning is sent to the user (on screen warning or sound).
 The microprocessor/computer has no effect on what is being monitored/it simply ‘watches’
the process.

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b)

 Sensor 1 measures temperature and sensor 2 measures humidity level.

 Sensor 1 data is continuously sent to the microprocessor via the ADC (if analogue in
nature); this converts data to digital format.
 If temperature < temperature setting, then a signal is sent out from the microprocessor to
the air con unit to increase heat output.
 If temperature > temperature setting, then a signal is sent out from the microprocessor to
the air con unit to increase output of cooling air.
 If the two values are the same, no signals are sent by the microprocessor.
 Sensor 2 data is continuously sent to the microprocessor via ADC (if analogue in nature);
this converts data to digital format.
 If humidity > set level, a signal is sent out from the microprocessor to the air con unit to
activate the dehumidifier.
 If humidity < set level, a signal is sent out from the microprocessor to the air con unit to
increase moisture level in the air being output.
 If the two values are the same, no signals are sent by the microprocessor.
4 order: A – 4, B – 6, C – 1, D – 9, E – 2, F – 7, G – 3, H – 8, I – 5
5 a)

b) RAM
 loses contents when powered off/volatile
 temporary memory (contents can be erased or changed)
 stores files/part of OS/data/instructions currently in use
 data can be read from/written to
 often have larger capacity than ROM.

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ROM
 doesn’t lose contents on powering off/non-volatile
 contents cannot be altered/permanent memory
 read only memory
 can be used to store, for example, BIOS, bootstrap.
c DVD
 laser/optical media
 phase changing recording
 rotating disk and single spiral track (centre to outer rim)
 uses dual layering
 uses red laser (DVD) or blue laser (Blu-Ray DVD).
Flash memory
 NAND-based solid state memory
 no moving parts
 uses matrix with two transistors at each intersection
 one transistor is a floating gate
 second transistor is a control gate
 uses movement of electrons to control R/W operations
 can’t overwrite data with new data; need to erase existing data and then write new data in
the same location.
6 a)

b)
A B C X
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1
c) ((NOT A AND B) OR (NOT B OR C)) AND NOT C
(A . B + (B + C)) . C

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