2025

Cambridge O Level ยท 2210 ยท Paper 1 ยท Computer systems

Computer Science 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025 past paper

Cambridge O Level Computer Science (2210) Paper 1 (Computer systems), variant 2, Oct/Nov 2025: the question paper and its official mark scheme, 7 questions worth 75 marks, with the grade thresholds. Free to open, no account needed.

Questions
7
Marks
75
Grade A from
41

File names: 2210_w25_qp_12 ยท 2210_w25_ms_12

Grade thresholds for 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025

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.

ABCDE
4131221814

Topics in this paper

Which syllabus chapters 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025 tested, by marks. Each chapter links to every past-paper question on it.

ChapterQuestionsMarks
Data Transmission229
Software328
Hardware111
Data Representation17

Questions in 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025

  1. Question 1Data Transmission ยท 13 marks

    A toy store gives each of the toys it sells a unique code. The codes are 3-digit hexadecimal codes, for example A4B. A computer is used to store a database of the codes. The computer has 12-bit registers. (a) Give โ€ฆ

  2. Question 2Data Representation ยท 7 marks

    Two binary numbers are stored in a computer. (a) Add the two binary numbers using binary addition. Give your answer in binary. Show all of your working. โ€ฆ

  3. Question 3Software ยท 4 marks

    A programmer uses assembly language to create a program for a coffee machine. (a) Describe what is meant by assembly language. (b) Identify the translator needed for assembly language. (c) Tick (โœ“) one box to show which statement is an โ€ฆ

  4. Question 4Hardware ยท 11 marks

    A computer with a Von Neumann architecture has a central processing unit (CPU) that performs the fetchโ€“decodeโ€“execute (FDE) cycle. (a) Complete and annotate the diagram to show how instructions are decoded and executed. control unit (CU) arithmetic logic unit (ALU) โ€ฆ

  5. Question 5Software ยท 10 marks

    A computer system has a mouse. An interrupt is sent to the CPU every time a button on the mouse is clicked. (a) Identify the name of this type of interrupt. (b) The interrupt is placed in a queue. Explain โ€ฆ

  6. Question 6Software ยท 14 marks

    An online clothing company has a homepage at the uniform resource locator (URL) https://www.cieclothes.com/index.html (a) Write down the three different parts of the URL shown by the labels a, b and c. https://www.cieclothes.com/index.html โ€ฆ

  7. Question 7Data Transmission ยท 16 marks

    A house has a smart speaker that can take voice commands as input. A person in the house can tell the smart speaker to play music or audio books. (a) The smart speaker cannot be described as a robot. Explain โ€ฆ

Other Computer Science papers from Oct/Nov 2025

Questions students ask

Where can I get the 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025 mark scheme?
Open the mark scheme above - it is the official Cambridge scheme for this exact paper (2210_w25_ms_12), and on a wide screen it sits beside the question you are reading.
What was the grade threshold for an A in 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025?
41 marks out of 75, a C needed 22.
Which topics came up in 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025?
Mostly Data Transmission, Software, Hardware. The full list is in the table above.
Do I need an account to open 2210/12 Oct/Nov 2025?
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.