Mark Scheme

Specimen Set 2

Pearson Edexcel GCSE In Computer Science

(1CP2)
Paper 01: Principles of Computer Science
Edexcel and BTEC Qualifications

Edexcel and BTEC qualifications are awarded by Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body. We provide a
wide range of qualifications including academic, vocational, occupational and specific programmes for
employers. For further information visit our qualifications websites at www.edexcel.com or
www.btec.co.uk. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page at
www.edexcel.com/contactus.

Pearson: helping people progress, everywhere

Pearson aspires to be the world’s leading learning company. Our aim is to help everyone progress in
their lives through education. We believe in every kind of learning, for all kinds of people, wherever they
are in the world. We’ve been involved in education for over 150 years, and by working across 70
countries, in 100 languages, we have built an international reputation for our commitment to high
standards and raising achievement through innovation in education. Find out more about how we can
help you and your students at: www.pearson.com/uk

All the material in this publication is copyright

© Pearson Education Ltd 2020
Paper 1 Mark Scheme

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
1(a)
Layer Protocol

Application HTTP / HTTPS / SMTP / POP3 / IMAP / FTP

Transport TCP

Internet IP

Link / Data Link /

Ethernet
Network interface

3
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
1(b)i One mark for each to a maximum of 2: • Marks are independent
• Do not award bullet 2
• Named device is switch/hub (1) if there are extraneous
• Exactly three lines connecting devices to centre point/named lines
device (1) • ‘Router’ would not gain
a mark because it is a
term that is often used
to describe a hardware
Laptop device that may
contain a modem,
router, switch and
Switch wireless access point.
Smartphone

Printer

4
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
1(b)ii Any two from:
• A star is more scalable (1) than a bus because you can add
extra devices without disrupting the network.
• A star is more fault tolerant/reliable (1) because a damaged
cable/faulty device can be replaced/removed without disrupting
the rest of the network.
• It is easier to troubleshoot/isolate faults (1) because all cables
are attached to a central point.
• A star is capable of handling higher volumes of network traffic
(1) than a bus. 2

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
1(c) Any one from:
• Speeds up data transfer
• Reduces the reliability on a single pathway
• Reduces the impact of data corruption
1

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
1(d) D Packet number

A is not correct because the data being sent is in another part of the
packet
B is not correct because if the packet were encrypted the key would
not be sent in the header
C is not correct because packets are not restricted to the type of
media they can use 1

5
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
1(e) An explanation that includes the ideas:
Permission is given to a person (1) to carry out investigation of
security issues (1) in the network

White-box / white-hat (1) because system information is provided to

the tester (1)

The company should give a security expert an ID and password and

details of how the network is configured (1), and ask them to try to
find vulnerabilities that would enable an employee to access, delete
and/or leak sensitive data or install malicious software (1) 2

6
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
2(a) A definition to include:

• The process of removing or hiding unnecessary (1) details so

that only the important points remain (1)

• Programmers can focus only on the important details of a

problem (1) because abstraction allows them to ignore (1) any
detail that is not relevant. 2

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
2(b) One mark for each in the correct location: • Ignore spelling

• Relational (1)
• Arithmetic (1)
• Boolean/Logical (1)
3

7
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
2(c) One for each correct cell. • Ignore spelling

Input Output
200 Too high (1)

33 Good choice (1)

100 Nice round number (1)

0 Too low (1)

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
2(d)
A description to include:

• A syntax error is caused by using the grammar/form/words of the

programming language incorrectly (1), whereas a logic error is
caused by an error in the design of the algorithm (1)

• A syntax error causes the program not to

interpret/compile/translate, whereas a logic error produces an
incorrect/wrong result (1) 2

8
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
2(e)i Six/6
1

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
2(e)ii The list has already been split into 7 individual lists. The response
here should only show the missing merges.

One mark for each correct merge:

49 35 15 7 (1)
3459 157 (1)

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
2(e)iii An explanation to include:

• The merge sort will use more memory (1) because it makes
copies of the list (1).
• The bubble sort will use less memory (1) because it is an in-place
(1) sort.
• The merge sort will take more time to write and debug (1),
because it is a much more complex (1) algorithm.
• The bubble sort will probably take less time to write (1) because it
is a simple/well-known (1) algorithm.
2

9
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
3(a) One mark for each correct cell • Ignore spelling

Base Number of values per digit

Binary 2
Hexadecimal 16

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
3(b) B Gibibytes represent binary multiples

A is not correct because Gigabits are consistent with the units used
for data transmission
C is not correct because more data cannot be represented in
gibibytes
D is not correct because processors do not have to carry out fewer
operations when using gibibytes 1

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
3(c) 1 mark for each nibble
0101 0010 2

10
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
3(d)i

Correct X position (1)

Correct Y position (1) 2

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
3(d)ii There will be more samples in each second (1) 1

11
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
3(e) 1 mark for each digit in the correct location:
4A 2

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
3(f)i Award 1 mark for each number in the correct location for a
maximum of 3:

• 6 in numerator (1)
• 1024 in either box in denominator (1)
• 8 in either box in denominator (1)

Example of expression that gains full marks:

96 × 128 × 6
1024 × 8
3

12
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
3(f)ii 3 bits

Explanation: because you need to count up to 5. 3 bits counts up to

8, but 2 bits only counts to 3, which is not enough.
1

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
3(g) One mark for each nibble

1010 0111
2

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
3(h) An explanation to include:

ASCII only represents English characters / Kana/hiragana cannot be

represented in ASCII (1) because there are not enough bits (1)

With just 7 bits, only 128 unique codes (1) can be generated, which
is not enough (1) to represent all the characters used in the written
languages of the world

The text has foreign characters (1) and there are not enough bits (1)
in ASCII to represent them
2

13
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
4(a) D Virus
E Worm

A is not correct because keyloggers record keystrokes and send them

to a third party
B is not correct because Ransomware prevents access to a system,
or files
C is not correct because a Torjan is malware disguised as legitimate
software 2

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
4(b) An explanation to include two from:

It helps prevent unauthorised access to data (1)

• because security issues could be missed in development (1)
• because there could be interactions with other software (1)
• because a malicious user could have published a vulnerability
on the web (1)
• because sometimes vulnerabilities only become apparent after
code has been released to the public (1)
2

14
1CP2-01
Question Indicative content
Number
4(c) Discuss the legal and ethical issues associated with the company’s collection and use of data.

Legal responsibilities of the travel company

• Purpose of the data being collected must be revealed to the subject, e.g. personal/passport
data used to book international travel
• Data should only be used for the purpose specified and not be disclosed to third parties without
permission, e.g. use of data to pass to third-party marketing companies (car hire / hotels /
airlines)
• Data collected must not be excessive, e.g. data must have some relevant connection to
travelling
• Data held must be accurate and up to date, so the company must check customers’ personal
details regularly
• Ensure data must not be keep data longer than necessary e.g. past one year on from last
customer contact
• Because the company supports travellers from other countries, they cannot transfer data to
countries without adequate protection and should check that their own laws are comparable
with those countries from which travellers originate and to which they will travel/share data
• Data must be stored securely and prevent unauthorised access e.g. use of effective data
security measures including policies and network practices.

Legal rights of data subjects

• Right for data to be processed appropriately (as outlined above)
• Right to access data held about them to check and update it

Ethical responsibilities of the travel company

Where data subjects consent to wider uses, the company must
• Consider how the data will be used, e.g. automated decision making to find the
best/cheapest/environmentally friendly routes/destinations
• Ensure that individuals’ needs are considered, e.g. those with disabilities / different age groups
/ families
• Anonymise data used for statistical analysis so that individuals cannot be identified

15
1CP2-01
Level Mark Descriptor

0 No rewardable content.
Level 1 1–2 Basic, independent points are made, showing elements of understanding of key concepts/principles of computer
science. (AO1)

The discussion will contain basic information with little linkage between points made or application to the context.
(AO2)
Level 2 3–4 Demonstrates adequate understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science. (AO1)

The discussion shows some linkages and lines of reasoning with some structure and application to the context.
(AO2)
Level 3 5–6 Demonstrates comprehensive understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science to support the
discussion being presented. (AO1)

The discussion is well developed, with sustained lines of reasoning that are coherent and logically structured, and
which clearly apply to the context. (AO2)

16
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
5(a) A description to include (to a maximum of 3, with at least one in • Defragmentation does
each category): not ‘make’ more free
space on the disk. It
Fragmentation: only rearranges what
• Files are written to disk in blocks (1). is already there.
• Blocks can be dispersed (1) across the disk.

Defragmentation:
• Defragmentation is when file blocks are rearranged (1) on the
disk.
• All the blocks for one file are moved closer together (1).
• All the free space is moved to be together (1).
3

Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark

Number
5(b) One mark for each to a maximum of 2:

• There's a record of who changed what when (1)

• Identifies the point at which an error/security issue was
introduced (1)
• Enables the program to be rolled back to a previous state (1)
• Improve accountability/produces robust code (1) 2

17
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
5(c) A description to include:

• To provide access (1) to the device by controlling who can log

on (1) to the device
• To allow a user to log on (1) by checking the
username/password (1)
• By authenticating (1) the user before allowing them to log on
(1)
2

18
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
5(d)i One mark for each to a maximum of 4, with at least one in each
category

Connectivity:
• The mower could connect to a wireless/wired (1) network.
• The mower could have a GPS device (1).

Input:
• A phone/desktop/software application (1) could be used to
schedule when it will work.
• A map of the garden would be stored (1) on the mower.
• The mower would have sensors (1) to know if it ran into
things/if it was dark/if it were raining/if it ran outside the
garden.

Process:
• The microcontroller (1) in the mower would run a program (1).
• A map of the garden would be read (1) by the program so the
mower would know where to go.
• The program would monitor (1) the power status to know if it
needed recharging.

Output:
• The program on the mower could upload (1)
statistics/information back to the application.
• The mower could have a digital readout/flashing lights (1) to
indicate status.
4

19
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
5(d)ii An explanation to include:

The mower should use solid-state secondary storage (1) because it

has no moving parts/can use very little power from the battery/is
robust to bumps and knocks (1)
2

20
1CP2-01
Question Answer Additional Guidance Mark
Number
5(e)
2 marks for each
box between
START START and STOP.

Award 4 marks
max if the order
0100 added to is incorrect.
address bus

(Read) signal sent

down control bus

1111 placed on
data bus

STOP

21
1CP2-01