Computer Science 9618/33 May/June 2026 past paper

Topics in this paper

Which syllabus chapters 9618/33 May/June 2026 tested, by marks. Each chapter links to every past-paper question on it.

Questions in 9618/33 May/June 2026

1. Question 1Data Representation · 5 marks

   (a) User‑defined data types may be created by programmers when writing software. Explain the reasons why user‑defined data types are needed. (b) Write the pseudocode statement to declare a non‑composite data type, Fibonacci, that holds the following numbers: …

2. Question 2Communication and internet technologies · 4 marks

   Complete the following paragraph using the most appropriate words from the given list. Some words are not used. adjacent Application BitTorrent corresponding Internet layer Link lower protocol route Transport upper The implementation of a suite can be viewed as a …

3. Question 3Data Representation · 6 marks

   (a) State one example of where serial file organisation could be used. (b) Describe how records are organised in serial files. (c) Outline the process that is used to find a record in a serial file.

4. Question 4Hardware and Virtual Machines · 5 marks

   (a) Describe the characteristics of massively parallel computers. (b) State one difference and one similarity between the SIMD and MISD computer architectures. difference similarity

5. Question 5Data Representation · 7 marks

   Numbers are stored in a computer system using binary floating‑point representation with: • 12 bits for the mantissa • 4 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent. (a) Calculate the normalised binary …

6. Question 6Hardware and Virtual Machines · 8 marks

   (a) The Karnaugh map (K‑map) represents a logic circuit with four inputs. AB CD …

7. Question 7System Software (A Level) · 9 marks

   (a) Outline the process of using a stack to evaluate an expression written using Reverse Polish Notation (RPN). (b) Write the following infix expression in RPN. …

8. Question 8Security (A Level) · 6 marks

   (a) Describe the purpose of quantum cryptography. (b) Outline two benefits and two drawbacks of quantum cryptography. benefit 1 benefit 2 drawback 1 drawback 2

9. Question 9Artificial Intelligence (AI) · 8 marks

   (a) Explain what is meant by regression methods in relation to machine learning. (b) The A* algorithm is used to perform searches on a graph. Calculate the best path between the W and E nodes on the following diagram using …

10. Question 10Computational thinking and Problem-solving · 9 marks

    (a) A program declares a 1D array globally as PartName[1:1000000] OF STRING, and sorts its contents in ascending alphabetical order. The function PartSearch performs a binary search on the array. The item to be found is passed as a parameter. …

11. Question 11Processor Fundamentals · 8 marks

    The table shows assembly language instructions for a processor that has one register, the Accumulator (ACC). label instruction explanation opcode operand LDM #n Load the number n to ACC LDD <address> Load the contents of the location at the given …

Other Computer Science papers from May/June 2026

• 9618/11 Theory fundamentals
• 9618/12 Theory fundamentals
• 9618/13 Theory fundamentals
• 9618/21 Problem-solving & programming
• 9618/22 Problem-solving & programming
• 9618/23 Problem-solving & programming
• 9618/31 Advanced theory
• 9618/32 Advanced theory
• 9618/41 Practical programming
• 9618/42 Practical programming
• 9618/43 Practical programming