Cambridge A Level · 9608 · Paper 3 · Advanced theory

Computer Science 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019 past paper

Cambridge A Level Computer Science (9608) (previous syllabus, now 9618) Paper 3 (Advanced theory), variant 2, Oct/Nov 2019: the question paper and its official mark scheme, 8 questions worth 75 marks, with the grade thresholds. Free to open, no account needed.

Questions: 8
Marks: 75
Grade A from: 46

Open the question paper Mark scheme

File names: 9608_w19_qp_32 · 9608_w19_ms_32

Grade thresholds for 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019

The minimum raw marks Cambridge set for each grade on this component (out of 75). Thresholds change every session and variant, so always compare your score with the paper you actually sat.

A	B	C	D	E
46	37	33	28	23

Topics in this paper

Which syllabus chapters 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019 tested, by marks. Each chapter links to every past-paper question on it.

Chapter	Questions	Marks
System Software (A Level)	2	18
Data Representation	2	14
Communication	1	14
Hardware and Virtual Machines	1	11
Hardware	1	10
Security (A Level)	1	8

Questions in 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019

Question 1Security (A Level) · 8 marks
(a) The following incomplete table shows descriptions relating to the security of data transmission. Complete the table with the appropriate terms. Description Term A The original data to be transmitted as a message B An electronic document from a trusted …
Question 2Hardware and Virtual Machines · 11 marks
(a) A Boolean expression produces the following truth table. INPUT OUTPUT …
Question 3Communication · 14 marks
A computing department in a school has a Local Area Network (LAN) with a bus topology. (a) A description of sending a message on a bus network is given. Complete the following description by inserting an appropriate term in each …
Question 4System Software (A Level) · 9 marks
Physical memory is managed using virtual memory and paging. (a) Describe what is meant by virtual memory. (b) (i) Explain how paging is used to manage virtual memory. (ii) Give a suitable page replacement algorithm for this process. (iii) One …
Question 5Hardware · 10 marks
A weather station uses monitoring and control systems. (a) Describe the difference between a monitoring system and a control system. (b) (i) The weather station records how the outside temperature changes over a period of time. The system will read …
Question 6Data Representation · 5 marks
(a) State what is meant by a user-defined data type. (b) A pseudocode declaration for a user-defined data type for the months of the year is as follows: TYPE DECLARE Months: ( January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, …
Question 7System Software (A Level) · 9 marks
The following are the first few lines of a source code program written in a high-level language. The source code program is to be translated by the language compiler. // program written on 15 June 2019 DECLARE IsFound : Boolean; …
Question 8Data Representation · 9 marks
(a) The following 16-bit binary pattern represents a floating-point number stored in two’s complement form. The twelve most significant bits are used for the mantissa and the four least significant bits are used for the exponent. Most Least significant bit …

Other Computer Science papers from Oct/Nov 2019

Questions students ask

Where can I get the 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019 mark scheme?

Open the mark scheme above - it is the official Cambridge scheme for this exact paper (9608_w19_ms_32), and on a wide screen it sits beside the question you are reading.

What was the grade threshold for an A in 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019?

46 marks out of 75, a C needed 33.

Which topics came up in 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019?

Mostly System Software (A Level), Communication, Data Representation. The full list is in the table above.

Do I need an account to open 9608/32 Oct/Nov 2019?

No. Every paper opens for free without signing in. A free account also saves your pen marks and records your score against the grade thresholds.