PMT

Oxford Cambridge and RSA

Thursday 25 May 2023 – Afternoon

GCSE (9–1) Computer Science
J277/02 Computational thinking, algorithms and programming
Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes

Do not use:
* 9 9 3 2 5 3 3 4 3 8 *

• a calculator

* J 2 7 7 0 2 *

Please write clearly in black ink. Do not write in the barcodes.

Centre number Candidate number

First name(s)

Last name

INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink.
• Write your answer to each question in the space provided. If you need extra space use
the lined pages at the end of this booklet. The question numbers must be clearly shown.
• Answer all the questions.

INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 80.
• The marks for each question are shown in brackets [ ].
• This document has 20 pages.

ADVICE
• Read each question carefully before you start your answer.

© OCR 2023 [601/8355/X] OCR is an exempt Charity

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SECTION A

1 (a) The table contains four statements about programming languages.

Tick (3) one box in each row to identify whether each statement describes a low-level
programming language or a high-level programming language.

Statement Low-level High-level

The same language can be used on
computers that use different hardware
It allows the user to directly manipulate
memory
It allows the user to write English-like
words
It always needs to be translated into
object code or machine code
[4]

(b) The variables num1 and num2 store integers.

Write pseudocode to add the integers stored in num1 and num2. Store the result in a
variable with the identifier total

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(c) Three incomplete pseudocode algorithms are given with a description of the purpose of each
algorithm.

Write the missing arithmetic operator for each algorithm.

(i) Outputting 12 to the power of 2.

print(12 ……………… 2) [1]

(ii) Working out if a number is odd or even.

number = 53
if number ……………… 2 == 0 then
print("Even number")
else
print("Odd number")
endif [1]

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(iii) Finding the difference between two measurements.

measurement1 = 300

measurement2 = 100

difference = measurement1 ……………… measurement2 [1]

(d) Read the following pseudocode algorithm:

01 start = 3
02 do
03 print(start)
04 start = start - 1
05 until start == -1
06 print("Finished")

Complete the following trace table for the given algorithm.

Line number start Output

[3]
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2 This pseudocode algorithm totals all the numbers in the 0-indexed array scores

01 total = 0
02 for scoreCount = 1 to scores.length – 1
03 scores[scoreCount] = total + total
04 next scoreCount
05 print(total)

The function length returns the number of elements in the array.

The algorithm contains several errors.

Two types of errors in a program are syntax and logic errors.

(a) State what is meant by a syntax error and a logic error.

Syntax error ..............................................................................................................................

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Logic error ................................................................................................................................

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[2]

(b) Identify two logic errors in the pseudocode algorithm.

Write the refined line to correct each error.

Error 1 line number ...................................................................................................................

Corrected line ...........................................................................................................................

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Error 2 line number ...................................................................................................................

Corrected line ...........................................................................................................................

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[4]

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3 An insertion sort is one type of sorting algorithm.

A student has written a pseudocode algorithm to perform an insertion sort on a 1D array names.

names = ["Kareem", "Sarah", "Zac", "Sundip", "Anika"]

for count = 1 to names.length – 1
pos = count
while (pos > 0 and names[pos] < names[pos – 1])
temp = names[pos]
names[pos] = names[pos – 1]
names[pos – 1] = temp
pos = pos – 1
endwhile
next count

(a) Describe the purpose of the variable temp in the insertion sort pseudocode algorithm.

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(b) An insertion sort contains a nested loop; a loop within a loop. In this pseudocode algorithm
the outer loop is a count-controlled loop and the inner loop is a condition-controlled loop.

Explain why the inner loop needs to be a condition-controlled loop.

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(c) A bubble sort is another type of sorting algorithm.

(i) Describe one difference between an insertion sort and a bubble sort.

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(ii) Describe two similarities between an insertion sort and a bubble sort.

1 ........................................................................................................................................

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2 ........................................................................................................................................

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[2]

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4 A garden floodlight system uses inputs from sensors and switches to decide whether it should be
turned on.
The table shows the inputs into the system and the meaning of each input value:

Letter Input device Input of 1 Input of 0

A Motion sensor Motion is detected Motion is not detected
Light levels indicate it Light levels indicate it
B Light sensor
is daytime is nighttime
The switch is turned The switch is turned
C Light switch
on off

The floodlight (Q) is designed to be on (Q = 1) when the switch is turned on and the motion
sensor detects motion at nighttime.

(a) Draw a logic diagram for the floodlight.

B Q

[3]

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(b) Identify the logic gates for truth table 1 and truth table 2.

Truth table 1: A B Output

0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

Logic gate 1: ........................................................

Truth table 2: A B Output

0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

Logic gate 2: ........................................................

[2]

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5 Charlie is developing an adding game. The rules of the game are:

• the player is asked 3 addition questions

• each question asks the player to add together two random whole numbers between 1 and
10 inclusive
• if the player gets the correct answer, 1 is added to their score
• at the end of the game their score is displayed.

(a) Charlie has been told that the game will need to be tested before giving it to the players.

(i) Explain why programs should be tested before use.

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(ii) Complete the table by naming and describing one type of test that should be used on
Charlie's program before releasing it.

Test type Description

[2]

(iii) Complete the table by identifying and describing two features of an IDE that can be
used when testing a program.

Feature Description

[4]

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(b) Validating inputs can reduce errors when a program is being run.

Identify two methods of validation and explain how they can be used on this game.

Validation method 1 ..................................................................................................................

Use ...........................................................................................................................................

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Validation method 2 ..................................................................................................................

Use ...........................................................................................................................................

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[6]

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(c) Write an algorithm to play this game. The rules are repeated from the start of the question
here:
• the player is asked 3 addition questions
• each question asks the player to add together two random whole numbers between 1
and 10 inclusive
• if the player gets the correct answer, 1 is added to their score
• at the end of the game their score is displayed.

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SECTION B

We advise you to spend at least 40 minutes on this section.

Some questions require you to respond using either the OCR Exam Reference Language or a
high-level programming language you have studied. These are clearly shown.

6 OCR Security Services is a company that installs intruder alarm systems in commercial buildings.

The systems use a computer that is connected to the door sensors and window sensors.

The following data is stored in the system:

Data stored Variable identifier Example data

The user’s name UserName Admin123
A telephone number to call when
EmergencyPhoneNumber +449999999999
the alarm is activated
Whether a door sensor is
DoorSensorActive True
activated
Whether a window sensor is
WindowSensorActive True
activated
A timer that counts, to the nearest
second, how long a door sensor DoorActiveTime 100
has been activated
A timer that counts, to the nearest
second, how long a window WindowActiveTime 100
sensor has been activated
Whether the system is armed SystemArmed True
Whether the system is in test
TestModeActive True
mode

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(a) Below is a table showing some variables within the program.

Tick (3) one box in each row to identify the most appropriate data type for each variable.

Variable Boolean Char String Integer Real

UserName
EmergencyPhoneNumber
DoorSensorActive
DoorActiveTime
[4]

(b) The alarm has an algorithm that decides whether to sound the alarm by checking the data
that is stored in the following three variables.

• SystemArmed
• DoorSensorActive
• WindowSensorActive

The alarm will only sound when the alarm has been activated and one or both of the door
and window sensors are activated. When the system needs to sound the alarm it calls the
pre-written procedure SoundAlarm()

Write a program that checks the data in the variables and calls SoundAlarm() when
appropriate.

You must use either:

• OCR Exam Reference Language, or
• A high-level programming language that you have studied.

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(c) The alarm system can also have motion sensors. Each type of sensor has a code. The code
for each sensor is given in the table:

Code Sensor
MS Motion sensor
DS Door sensor
WS Window sensor

A program is written to reset the sensors. The program:

• asks the user to enter the code for the sensor they want to reset
• calls the prewritten function CheckSensorCode() to check whether the code entered
is a valid code
• the sensor number is read as input if the code is valid and the function
ResetSensor() is called for the sensor

01 sensorType = input("Enter code of the type of sensor to reset")

02 if(CheckSensorCode(sensorType)) then
03 sensorNumber = input("Please input the number of the sensor
to reset")
04 sensorID = sensorType + sensorNumber
05 ResetSensor(sensorID)
06 endif

(i) Give the line number where there is concatenation.

...................................................................................................................................... [1]

(ii) Give the identifier of a variable used in the program.

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(iii) Identify the data type of the data returned by the function CheckSensorCode()

...................................................................................................................................... [1]

(iv) Give the line number that contains a function call.

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(v) Identify two programming constructs that have been used in the program.

1 ........................................................................................................................................

2 ........................................................................................................................................
[2]

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(d) The alarm system has a log that stores a record each time a sensor is triggered. This is
called an event. The record format is given in the table:

Fieldname Description
Date The date the event happened
SensorID The sensor that was activated
SensorType The type of sensor that was activated – Door, Motion or Window
Length The number of seconds the sensor was triggered (to the nearest second)

The log is stored in a database table called events. The current contents of events is
shown:

Date SensorID SensorType Length

05/02/2023 WS2 Window 38
05/02/2023 MS1 Motion 2
06/02/2023 DS3 Door 1
06/02/2023 MS2 Motion 3
06/02/2023 MS1 Motion 2
07/02/2023 WS1 Window 24
07/02/2023 DS1 Door 1

Write an SQL statement to display the sensor IDs of the door sensors that have been
triggered for more than 20 seconds.

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(e) A program written in a high-level language is used to access the data from the database.
This program has a procedure, SaveLogs(), that stores the data to an external text file.

The procedure SaveLogs():

• takes the string of data to be stored to the text file as a parameter
• takes the filename of the text file as a parameter
• stores the string of data to the text file.

Write the procedure SaveLogs()

You must use either:

• OCR Exam Reference Language, or
• A high-level programming language that you have studied.

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(f) OCR Security Services need to identify the total number of seconds the sensors have been
activated on a specific date.

The data from the database table events is imported into the program written in a high-
level programming language.

The program stores the data in a two-dimensional (2D) string array with the identifier
arrayEvents

The data to be stored is shown in the table.

Date SensorID SensorType Length

05/02/2023 WS2 Window 38
05/02/2023 MS1 Motion 2
06/02/2023 DS3 Door 1
06/02/2023 MS2 Motion 3
06/02/2023 MS1 Motion 2
07/02/2023 WS1 Window 24
07/02/2023 DS1 Door 1

In this table, the value of events[1, 1] contains "MS1".

(i) An array can only store data of one data type. Any non-string data must be converted to
a string before storing in the array.

Identify the process that converts integer data to string data.

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(ii) Write a program that:

• asks the user to input a date

• totals the number of seconds sensors have been activated on the date input
• outputs the calculated total in an appropriate message including the date, for
example:
Sensors were activated for 40 seconds on 05/02/2023

You must use either:

• OCR Exam Reference Language, or
• A high-level programming language that you have studied.

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END OF QUESTION PAPER

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ADDITIONAL ANSWER SPACE

If additional space is required, you should use the following lined page(s). The question number(s)
must be clearly shown in the margin(s).

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Oxford Cambridge and RSA

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