Cambridge A Level · 9618 · Paper 3 · Advanced theory
Computer Science 9618/31 May/June 2021 past paper
Cambridge A Level Computer Science (9618) Paper 3 (Advanced theory), variant 1, May/June 2021: the question paper and its official mark scheme, 9 questions worth 75 marks, with the grade thresholds. Free to open, no account needed.
- Questions
- 9
- Marks
- 75
- Grade A from
- 47
File names: 9618_s21_qp_31 · 9618_s21_ms_31
Grade thresholds for 9618/31 May/June 2021
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 39 | 32 | 25 | 18 |
Topics in this paper
Which syllabus chapters 9618/31 May/June 2021 tested, by marks. Each chapter links to every past-paper question on it.
Questions in 9618/31 May/June 2021
- Question 1
Real numbers are stored in a computer system using floating-point representation with: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • Two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent. (a) Calculate the normalised floating-point …
- Question 2
(a) Describe the purpose of a user-defined data type. (b) Define, using pseudocode, the following enumerated data types: (i) SchoolDay to hold data about the days students are usually in school. (ii) WeekEnd to hold data about the days that …
- Question 3
(a) Draw one line to connect each Operating System (OS) term to the most appropriate description about it. OS term Description Using secondary storage to simulate additional main memory Managing the processes running on the CPU Managing the execution of …
- Question 4
(a) (i) Explain why Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) is used to carry out the evaluation of expressions. (ii) Identify, with reasons, a data structure that could be used to evaluate an expression in RPN. (b) Write the infix expression in …
- Question 5
(a) Calculate the shortest distance between the base and each of the other towns in the diagram using Dijkstra’s algorithm. Show your working and write your answers in the table provided. Base Town 1 Town …
- Question 6
Give two benefits and two drawbacks of packet switching. Benefit 1 Benefit 2 Drawback 1 Drawback 2
- Question 7
The diagram shows a logic circuit. …
- Question 8
(a) State two factors that may affect the performance of a sorting algorithm. (b) The given algorithm is a simple bubble sort that arranges a set of scores stored in a one- dimensional array into descending order, and orders the …
- Question 9
(a) Describe what is meant by an imperative (procedural) programming language. (b) Describe what is meant by a declarative programming language. (c) Identify the programming paradigm for each of these program code examples. Program code example Programming paradigm male(john). female(ethel). …
Other Computer Science papers from May/June 2021
- 9618/11 Theory fundamentals
- 9618/12 Theory fundamentals
- 9618/13 Theory fundamentals
- 9608/11 Theory fundamentals
- 9608/12 Theory fundamentals
- 9608/13 Theory fundamentals
- 9618/21 Problem-solving & programming
- 9618/22 Problem-solving & programming
- 9618/23 Problem-solving & programming
- 9608/21 Fundamental problem-solving & programming
- 9608/22 Fundamental problem-solving & programming
- 9608/23 Fundamental problem-solving & programming
- 9618/32 Advanced theory
- 9618/33 Advanced theory
- 9608/31 Advanced theory
- 9608/32 Advanced theory
- 9608/33 Advanced theory
- 9618/41 Practical programming
- 9618/42 Practical programming
- 9618/43 Practical programming
- 9608/41 Further problem-solving & programming
- 9608/42 Further problem-solving & programming
- 9608/43 Further problem-solving & programming