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Q&A-KCSE Computer Studies Paper 1

State any four applications of electronic spreadsheets

  • Financial accounting
  • Prediction and forecasting
  • Inventory keeping
  • Budgeting
  • Keeping records
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List four ways of acquiring software in an organization

  1. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software: Organizations can purchase pre-developed software solutions from commercial vendors. These software products are typically ready-made and designed to fulfill common business needs. Examples include productivity software, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and accounting software. COTS software can be licensed based on a one-time purchase or a subscription model.

  2. Custom software development: Organizations may choose to develop custom software tailored to their specific requirements. This involves hiring software developers or outsourcing the development work to a third-party vendor. Custom software offers flexibility and can be designed to align with unique business processes and workflows. It allows organizations to have full control over the software's features and functionality.

  3. Open-source software: Open-source software is developed collaboratively and made freely available to the public. Organizations can acquire open-source software without incurring licensing costs. They have the right to use, modify, and distribute the software as per the terms of the open-source license. Open-source software can be an economical option, and it allows organizations to benefit from community-driven development and ongoing improvements.

  4. Software as a Service (SaaS): SaaS refers to software applications that are accessed and used over the internet. Organizations can acquire software on a subscription basis, where the software is hosted and maintained by the vendor. Users access the software through web browsers or dedicated client applications. SaaS eliminates the need for local software installation and offers scalability and accessibility from any location with an internet connection.

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Differentiate between active matrix and passive matrix LCDs

 

  • Passive matrix create images by scanning the entire screen whereas active matrix displays are made using thin-film transistors technology(TFT)
  • active matrix  display has a higher resolution compared to passive matrix
  • Active matrix consume more energy than passive matrix
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Explain the Fetch – Execute cycle and provide an example of a Central Processing Unit (CPU) component for each stage of the cycle

The Fetch – Execute cycle is a sequence of actions, performed by the processor as it fetches
a program instruction from its memory, determines what the instruction wants to do and
carries out those actions. The stages of the cycle are provided below.

  • Fetch the instruction – the processor fetches the instruction from a memory address stored in a program counter and transfers the instruction, via a data bus, to an instruction register. At the end of the fetch operation, the counter points to the next instruction that will be read in the next cycle.
  • Decode the instruction – the processor decodes the instruction stored in the instruction register, including getting any operands required to complete the instruction.
  • Execute the instruction – the decoded instruction is executed.
  • Store the result – the result generated by the execute phase is stored in the main memory, and/or sent to an output device. The program counter is updated with feedback from the arithmetic logic unit (ALU), to a different address from which the next instruction will be fetched.
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What are computer networks?
A set of connected computers and other devices which share resources such as software, internet connection,printers etc
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What is online streaming?

  • Refers to the delivery of multimedia content, such video or audio over the internet in real-time. It allows users to access and consume content without downloading it to their device beforehand.
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State one advantage and one disadvantage for customers of using the Internet for shopping.
 

Advantages

  • on-line catalogues can be viewed
  • much larger choice of products
  • product reviews obtainable before purchase
  • orders placed over internet any time day or night
  • download software purchased straight away
  • good and services usually cheaper on the internet
  • programs that can search for best price/cheapest
  • very fast placing an order has been placed as customer name, address
  • and credit card details are stored so no need to re enter
  • buy goods from anywhere in the world
  • no need to go to shop/save travelling time

Disadvantages

  • spam
  • need a credit card to shop on-line/not everyone has a credit card
  • hackers could retrieve credit card numbers and use them to buy goods
  • security fears - of giving credit card number over the internet/fraud
  • goods must be delivered/can not have the goods immediately
  • can not touch/handle/see the goods
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In reference to word processing, define the following terms

Word wrap

Justification

Drop cap

Word wrap - Is a word processing feature in which a word that does not fit in the current line is automatically moved at the start of the next line

Justification - refers to aligning text on both left and right margins

Drop cap - Make the first character of a paragraph occupy more than one line below it

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Describe four features of the operating system when providing a graphical user interface on a personal computer. Give a suitable example of each feature.

  • Windows for example a word processing application and a spreadsheet
  • Menus, for example, allow the user to perform operations or run applications such as right-click to create a new folder  
  • Icons for example a picture of linked computers for networking
  • Pointers(mouse or touchscreen)  for example to select items/trigger events  
  • Shortcuts for example to frequently used applications for example having a shortcut to your mail client on your desktop
  • File navigation for example when searching the hard disc for a file/folder using a browser
  • copying / deleting / moving/sorting/naming/searching of files or folders for example copying of a file from the hard drive to a USB pen drive (File handling)
  • Desktop customisation for example changing the colours and background image
  • Copy and paste for example between applications e.g. copying a graph from a spreadsheet to a word processor
  • Error messages for example provide users with error/warning/help messages for example ‘printer out of paper’ 
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State two places where robots are used.

  • car factories/factories
  • chemical/nuclear factories
  • production lines
  • warehouses
  • deep in the ocean/down mines
  • on other planets/in space
  • road junctions

Explain how virtual memory can compensate for the limited  RAM capacity in a computer.

  • VM is used when RAM is full  i.e part of the secondary storage used as (temporary) RAM/VM
  • Data from RAM is moved to the secondary storage/VM (to make space in RAM)
  • RAM can then be filled with new data
  • When data in VM is needed it is moved back to RAM
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Explain why it is not always true that a computer which has  a quad-core processor runs twice as fast as a computer with a dual-core processor

 

  • Software may be designed to run on 1 core and not multiple cores
  • depends on the task(s)  i.e some tasks cannot be split across cores
  • Clock speed also affects speed i.e dual core may have a faster clock speed and quad-core may have slower clock speed so one task may be run faster/slower
  • RAM size also affects speed i.e Quad-core may have less RAM  amount of VM being used
  • Cache size also affects speed i.e Quad-core may have less cache
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Distinguish between a PAN and a LAN

A PAN exist around a single person whereas a LAN covers a larger area

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State a circumstance under which dry-run testing is performed when developing a program (2mks)

  • To detect and remove errors
  • To confirm if the program produces the expected output
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Describe two differences between a switch and a repeater

  • a repeater is a two-port device that amplifies a signal from one port to another
  • a switch is a multiport device that uses a table of addresses to send a signal through the correct port
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Describe what is meant by ‘RAID 10’.

  • RAID 10 is a combination of RAID 0 (zero) and RAID 1 (one)
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Differentiate between action query and select query

An action query is used to modify, add, or delete data in a database whereas a select query is used to retrieve data from a database based on specified criteria but does not make any changes to the data.

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Identify four events that take place during the fetch-execute cycle

  • An instruction is retrieved from the memory
  • The instruction is decoded
  • The instruction is executed
  • the program counter is incremented
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State Examples of utility programs

 

Encryption software

  • Scramble/encode/mix up data so it cannot be read/understood if intercepted/stolen

Defragmentation s/w

  • Move free space together and Move files together hence enabling Faster access to files

(Data) compression s/w

  • Reduce the file size of files or makes files smaller inorder  To use less storage space
  • enables Faster transmission
  • enables storage of more files

Anti-virus / anti-malware s/w

  • To help protect computer/data against viruses/malware
  • To scan the computer to look for/quarantine/remove viruses/malware

Disk analysis and repair s/w

  • Scan disk and look for faults
  • Prevent the loss of data due to faulty disk

Auto-update

  •  Checks Internet for new versions of software/OS
  • Downloads and installs without user interaction

Firewall

  • Examine incoming and outgoing traffic
  • To help restrict/prevent unauthorised access over a network

...over a network/external source

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One characteristic of a robot is its mechanical structure.
State two other characteristics of a robot

  • It has electrical components.
  • It is programmable.

 

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