2024

PREPARATORY EXAMINATION

GRADE 12

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGY P1

MARKING GUIDELINES
SEPTEMBER 2024

MARKS: 150
TIME: 3 hours

QUESTION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TOTAL

POSSIBLE MARK 28 17 17 23 35 15 15 150

MARKER

MODERATOR

This marking guidelines consists of 22 pages.

Copyright reserved Please turn over

Question 1: Word processing – Total: 28

General guidelines:
• For all questions involving fields, press Alt+F9 to view the field codes. (Press Alt+F9
again to turn the field codes off.)
• To reveal formatting codes press Shift+F1.
• Show/Hide can be toggled on/off with the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+8.
Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Heading ‘Drone Technologies and Applications:
1.1 pg. 1 1
Center-aligned 
Table of Contents: pg. 1
Table of Contents inserted 
1 level 
Title style added to TOC levels (as Level 1) 
[ How to: Table of Contents  Options... TOC
level  insert ‘1’ next to Title ]
[ Marking: Rest mouse over entry ‘Drone
Technologies and applications ... screen tip must
appear – ]
1.2 3

Paragraph under ‘Introduction’

Text wraps only to left side of picture 
[ Picture remains 11 cm from left margin, and not
resized (4 cm x 6 cm). Check in Layout dialog (Text
Wrapping) ]
1.3 3

Object anchor in left margin moved to any

adjacent paragraph (above or below) 
Underlining removed from all text in red (text
remains red) 

Page 2 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Comment on text ‘VTOL’ in heading ‘Fixed-wing
hybrid VTOL drone’
1.4 Footnote inserted (on text)  3
Footnote text = ‘Vertical Take-Off and Landing’ 
Comment deleted 
Highlighted text at the end of the paragraph
‘Fixed-wing hybrid VTOL drone’.
Text highlighted in pink replaced with cross-
reference to heading ‘Gyro stabilisation’ 
1.5 [ Highlighted text must read ‘See more on this 2
below.’ Do not penalise if no full stop. ]
Reference inserted to ‘Above/below’ 
[ Marking: Rest mouse over ‘below’ to confirm
field (screentip) ]
Second Picture on Page 4
Automatic caption inserted below picture 
[ Alt+F9 to confirm that number is a field
Figure {SEQ Figure \* ARABIC}: Quadcopter]
1.6 3
Caption text Quadcopter 
[ Do not penalise if colon omitted ]
Label (‘Figure’) included in caption 
[ Entire caption should read: Figure 2: Quadcopter ]
Styles
Heading 2 style’s paragraph ‘after’ spacing = 2 pt 
[ Rest mouse over Heading 2 style in Styles box to
confirm that style was modified (i.e. no direct
formatting) ]

1.7 1

Page 3 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Underlined text and highlighted citation under
heading ‘Drone engine orientation and propeller
design’
1.8 2
Edited source: Author =
Barreiro 
Edited citation: Page = 15 
Index under heading ‘Index’
Word ‘battery’ marked as index entry on all pages on
which it occurs (pages 2,3) 
[ Note to marker: Show/Hide: { XE "battery" } ]
Index updated  [ this mark can be rewarded
without ‘battery’ being indexed ]
1.9 2
[ Note to marker: Award this mark only if entry
‘Queen Bee (pg 1) is in italics ]
ALT+F9: { INDEX \e " " \c "2" \z"7177" }

Picture and Arrow shape on last page

Arrow shape rotated as shown (approx.) 
Arrow shape moved ‘inside’ picture as shown
(approx.) 
Arrow shape in front of picture 
[ Mark can be awarded independently of previous
mark – if necessary, check by moving the arrow
‘into’ picture ]
Picture linked to ‘Top of the Document’ (predefined
location in Insert Hyperlink dialog) 
1.10 4

Page 4 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Page numbering
Checked ‘Different Odd & Even Pages’ and only
the even pages left-aligned (odd pages already
right-aligned) 

1.11 4

No page number on last page:

[ Note to marker: Section break inserted on second
last page ]
‘Link to Previous’ deactivated in footer of last page 
Page number removed from last page only 

TOTAL 28

Page 5 of 22
Question 2: Word processing – Total: 17
Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
2DroneCourse
Track change
Rejected track change on pg. 1 
2.1 1
[ First sentence under ‘Welcome should read
‘Welcome to the exciting world of drones!’ ]

WordArt and picture: pg.1

Transform effect removed from WordArt 
2.2 Picture cropped 3
as shown 
WordArt and
picture grouped 

Dropcap under heading ‘Welcome’: pg.1

Drop Cap inserted (on correct letter) 
2.3 Dropped: 2 lines  4
Distance from text: 0.3 cm 
Font: Berlin Sans FB 
Table: pg. 1
Table autofitted to Windows 
[ Marking: Autofit to Window; NO mark if table
‘jumps’ slightly ]
2.4 2
Alt Text = ‘Basic Program’ 
[ How to: Select table  Table Properties...  Alt
Text
(Accept Alt Text either as Title or as Description) ]

Page 6 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Table under ‘Alumni’
Content of top row of existing table as shown (4
cells) 
[ Note to Marker: Easiest to split leftmost cell into
2 columns, but can also add column and edit
appropriately. No mark if existing table not used.
How to check: ‘Repeat as header row ..’ must be
checked in Table Properties ]

]
2.5 4 x 9 table  4

Data from rows 1–8 of 2Alumni spreadsheet added

to table in Word 
Only top row
shaded 
[ Do not award
last mark if table
consists only of
one (top) row. Do
not penalise if text
alignment differs from the example. ]

Field in footer
File path inserted as a field 
2.6 in footer  2
[ Alt+F9 to check field ]

File property (Metadata)

Text of Title property = ‘DRONE COURSE’ 
2.7 1
[ To check: File  Info  Properties
Accept also Document Title control (field)
inserted in header or footer, with text as shown ]
TOTAL 17

Page 7 of 22
Question 3: Spreadsheet – Total: 17

General guidelines (apply to Question 3 and Question 4):

• Do not award or deduct marks for the presence or absence of absolute cell
referencing ($), except where specifically required (e.g. questions 3.4 and 4.5).
Note: A Cell Name or Range Name can always be used in place of absolute cell
referencing.
• Accept the method of ‘building blocks’, whereby an easier-to-work-with intermediate
result is obtained, or a (complicated) formula/function is simplified, through the use of
nearby open cells (e.g. questions 4.2, 4.5, 4.6).
• Where a formula/function is partially given, and learners need to correct/complete it,
only award marks for the part/s that had to corrected/completed, NOT for the part/s
that were already given (e.g. questions 3.4, 4.3, 4.5).
Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
3Ticketsales

Learners worksheet
Column B
3.1 1
Width = 19 
Cell J7
=MODE(D4:D43)
3.2 2
Function: =MODE 
Range: (D4:D43)  Ans = 7
Cell J10
=COUNTIFS($C$4:$C$43,I10,$D$4:$D$43,">=15")
Criteria range1: =COUNTIFS C$4:C$43 
[ Accept also: $C$4:$C$43 ]
Criteria1: I10  [do not accept any cell references
from column C ]
Criteria range2: D$4:D$43 
[ Accept also: $D$4:$D$43 ]
3.3 6
Criteria2: ">=15" 
[ Accept also: >14 ]
Correct use of absolute referencing (or range
name(s)) 
Function copied down 
[ Note to marker: allocate mark for copy down even
if function is not totally correct ]
Ans = 3

Page 8 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Cell E15
Given: =XXXXX(D15,TicketRange,TRUE)

=HLOOKUP(D15,TicketRange,2,TRUE)
3.4 Function: =HLOOKUP  2
Relative row number (3rd argument): 2 
[ Accept G$4:K$5 or $G$4:$K$5 in place of range
name.
TRUE can also be omitted. ] Ans = 5 stars ( ***** )

Field in header
Worksheet name inserted as a field in header:
3.5 1
&[Tab] 
[ No mark if inserted in footer or typed in ]

Page 9 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Chart worksheet

Chart
Primary horizontal axis title = ‘Grade' 
Gap width for series = 180% 
[ How to: Format Data Series  Series Options ]
Transparency of picture in plot area = 50% 
[ How to: Format Plot Area...  Fill 
Transparency ]
Data labels in centre of columns 
Horizontal axis labels = 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 
[ Axis label range: =Chart!$A$2:$A$6 ]

3.6 5

[ IMPORTANT: Click on learner’s chart: NO MARKS

if this is simply a copy of the picture in the
worksheet ]
TOTAL 17

Page 10 of 22
Question 4: Spreadsheet (2) – Total: 23
Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
4DroneTeams

Sheet1 worksheet

Conditional formatting range G5:G46

Cell value “>=5” 
4.1 ‘Format: Fill 3
• Pattern colour: = Green 
• Pattern style 25% Gray 

Cell B1
=SUMIF(E5:E46,"Delair",G5:G46)
Function: =SUMIF 
Range: E5:E46 
Criteria: "Delair" 
Sum_range: G5:G46 
4.2 4
ACCEPT ALSO:
=SUMIFS  (G5:G46,  E5:E46,  "Delair"  )
ACCEPT BUILDING BLOCKS (also other variations
possible):
Column L: =IF  (E5="Delair",  G5,""  )
Cell B1: =SUM(L5:L46)  Ans = 55

Cell B2
Given: =COUNTA(A5:A46)

4.3 =ROUNDUP(COUNTA(A5:A46)/4,0) 3
Nested function: COUNTA(A5:A46)/4 
Function: =ROUNDUP( ... , ... ) 
Num_digits: =ROUNDUP( ... , 0)  Ans = 11

Page 11 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Cells J5:J46
=OR(H5="Science",H5="Robotics",
H5="Mathematics")
Function: =OR
4.4 4
Logical1: H5="Science" 
Logical2: H5="Robotics" 
Logical3: H5="Mathematics" 
Function copied to cells J6:J46  Ans = 19
Cell F9
Given: =IF(,"S","J")

=IF((CourseDate-B9)/365>=16,"S","J")
Logical test: (CourseDate  – B9  ) / 365  >=16
Correct use of brackets 
[ Do not award first mark if cell reference used
instead of cell name ]
ACCEPT ALSO THE VARIATIONS BELOW:
Relational operator and outcomes swopped
365.25 instead of 365
Accept also:
=IF((CourseDate-B9)>=16*365,"S","J")
Logical_test: (CourseDate  – B9  ) >=16  *365
Correct use of brackets 
4.5 5
Accept also:
=IF(DAYS(CourseDate,B8)>=16*365,"S","J")
Nested function: DAYS 
End_date: CourseDate, 
Start_date: B8 
>=16 
*365 
Accept also building blocks, e.g.:
Cell M9: =CourseDate  –16  *365 
Cell F9: =IF(B9  <M9,  "S","J")
[ Note: It would be incorrect to use just the YEAR
function to calculate the age on the day of the event,
since this does not take into account the birth month
and the birth day ]
Ans = S (Senior)

Page 12 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Cell D12
=LEFT(C12,LEN(C12)-1)
Function: =LEFT 
Text: C12 
Num_chars: LEN(C12)  –1 

ACCEPT ALSO:
=MID(C12,1,LEN(C12)–1)
Function: =MID 
Text: C12 
Start_num: 1 
4.6 4
Num_chars: LEN(C12) – 1 
ACCEPT ALSO:
=IF(LEN(C12) = 3,LEFT(C12,2),LEFT(C12,1))
Function: =IF 
Logical_test: LEN(C12) – 3 
Value_if_true: LEFT(C12,2) 
Value_if_false: LEFT(C12,1) 
ACCEPT ALSO:
Use of building blocks, e.g. to first determine the
value of LEN(C12)
Ans = 11
TOTAL 23

Page 13 of 22
Question 5 (Database) – Total: 35

General guidelines:
• F4 is a handy shortcut to open the Property Sheet for any object.
• Press Shift+F2 to open the Zoom box (useful for marking e.g. calculated
fields – Q 5.4)

Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
5DroneInfo

Table: Dronespecs
DESIGN VIEW – field properties, etc

Field: Company
5.1.1 1
Field size 35 

Field: Code
5.1.2 Input mask: >LLLA0C (Given: LLLC) 3
>  LLLA  0  C

Field: Type:
Row source = Quadcopter;Hexacopter;Fixed-Wing;
Octocopter;VTOL;Tricopter 
[ Also accept if double quotes: " Quadcopter";"
Hexacopter "; " Fixed-Wing", etc. ]
5.1.3 1
Do not penalise on spelling, or adding a full stop ‘.’, or
if changed to list box, or if items in different order

Field: MaxFlightTime
5.1.4 Validation rule: >0  And  <=2000  3
Between 1  and  2000 

Field: MaxSpeed
5.1.5 Format property = &" km/h"  1
[ Do not penalise if space not present ]

Calculated field:
New field added with this name: Weight_Kg 
5.1.6 4
Data type: Calculated 
Expression: [TakeOffWeight_gm] / 1000 

Page 14 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
DATASHEET VIEW
Field: Company: hidden 
5.1.7 [ Check that field was hidden (not deleted): 1
right-click on any field name  Unhide Fields ] or
Check in Design view that field is still present.
Form: frm5_2

DESIGN VIEW – field properties, etc.

Field: Manufacturer
Limit to List (data property) = Yes 

Type: Control changed to Combo Box 

5.2 5
Row Source (data property) = Values_Type
table 

Weight: Format – Fixed, Decimal Places = 0 

FORM VIEW
Image 5Evolite added to Photo field 

Query: qry5_3
Total row (displayed in Design View) 
Type field: Criteria = Hexacopter 
Length field: Function in Total row = Max 
5.3 3

Page 15 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Query: qry5_4
Type criteria: "VTOL" Or  "Octocopter" 
[ Also accept: "Octocopter" in the
‘or’ row ]

Price criteria: >0 

or: Is Not Null
or: Like"*"
or: “Yes”
[ Criteria must be repeated in ‘or’ row, if ‘or’ row was
5.4 used for Category criteria – do not award mark if 6
learner failed to do this ]
Calculated field: HalfPrice:  0.5  * [Price] 
or: HalfPrice:  50 / 100  * [Price] 
or: HalfPrice:  [Price]  / 2 
[ 78 records expected ]

Page 16 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Report: rpt5_5
• Report rpt5_5 created, based on the
qryManufactured query 
• Grouped by Manufacture_date field 
• Grouping interval set to Year 
[ Can mark visually. Note that contents of Text Box
in Manufacture Header (in Design View) should be
as follows:
=Format$([Manufacture_date],"yyyy",0,0) ]

Manufacture_date footer
• Group footer enabled 
• Function in Group footer:

=COUNT(*) 
or: =COUNT ( [ any field ] )
5.5 [If no grouping was done, award above mark if 7
added in report footer/header]
• Label: ‘Drones Manufactured 
[ Do not penalise for minor differences ]
• Data in ALL the fields are visible 

TOTAL 35

Page 17 of 22
Question 6: HTML – Total: 15

General guidelines:
• In marking this question, it is best to use the same browser as the one the learners
used.
• Spelling errors may generally be ignored, where learners were required to enter
text (not HTML code).
• The closing slash ( / ) and the double quotation marks enclosing attribute values may
be omitted in certain cases, but only where the answer is NOT affected, i.e. the display
of the page in a browser must be as if these were present. Specifically, numerical
attribute values do not need to be enclosed in double quotation marks (e.g. questions
6.3 and 6.4).

Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
6DroneWebPage

Title in tab of browser

6.1 <title>Drones</title> 1
Added <title>...</title> tags around text ‘Drones’ 

Heading ‘DRONE TECHNOLOGY BASICS’

<h1><font color = "cadetblue"> DRONE
TECHNOLOGY BASICS </font></h1>
6.2 3
<h1> ... <h1> 
<font ... > ... </font> 
color = "cadetblue"  (Spelling important)

Horizontal line
<hr width = "500"/>
<hr ... /> 
6.3 2
width="500" 
[ Accept without the closing slash (/), and without
quotation marks ]

Page 18 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
Table
First row
<tr>
<th colspan = "3"> Main
Structural. </th>
</tr>
colspan = "3" 

Second row
<tr>
<td><img src = "6Frame.png"... </td>
</tr>
File extension = .png 

Third row
<tr>
<td>Propellers</td>
6.4 <td>Propellers are attached… </td>
<td><center><img src =
"6Propeller.jpg"> </center></td>
</tr>
Added table data tags </td>...<td> to create a new
cell 
Added center tags <center>…</center> 

Fourth row
<tr>
<td> ... </td>
<td> ... </td> 8
<td><a href = "6DroneCamera.jpg">
<img src = "6Camera.jpg"/>
</a></td>
<tr>
Added anchor tags <a ... > ... </a> 
href = "6DroneCamera.jpg" 
Anchor tags enclose image tag <img ... /> 

Correct nesting/closing tags/triangular brackets  1

TOTAL 15

Page 19 of 22
Question 7: General – Total: 15

Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark

7General.accdb, 7Participants.txt

Import 7Participants.txt into a new table in

7General.accdb
7Participants.txt used as data source 
First row of 7Participants used for field names 
All data except Gender field imported 
[ Can be done using Wizard or in source data ]
7.1 [ Access added primary key. Do not penalise if name 3
of table is NOT 7Participants). Imported table should
appear as below in Datasheet View (only first few
records shown).

7Dietary.docx

Form fields [ Double-click on form field to check ]

Surname:
Text format = Uppercase 

Contact Nr: Maximum Length - 10 

7.2.1 [ No marks if Type 3

property changed to
Number ]

Dietary needs: order of items in drop-down list as

shown below 
Gluten Free
Halal
Pescatarian
Vegan
Vegetarian

Page 20 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark
7Responses.dox, 7Source.accdb, 7Merge.docx

Mail Merge
Source file: 7Source.accdb 
[ Check source (‘tblparticipants’) when opening
document – screenshot below ]

7.3.2 3

Replaced text ‘Participant’ with merge field ‘Name and

Surname’ 
[ Alt+F9 to confirm field ] «Name» «Surname»
Merge completed – merged document saved in exam
folder 
[ Do not penalise if name of merged document is
NOT 7Merge. 40 Pages (40 records) expected. ]

7Types.xlsx

Subtotal worksheet

Subtotal: Number of drones in each type

Subtotal applied to rows 1–87 
Change in Type...  function Count ... 
[ All defaults – if only column C selected for
subtotal. Accept if subtotal added to Price column
(or to both Type column and Price column ]
7.3.1 3

Page 21 of 22
 Maximum Candidate
Item / Criteria
Mark Mark

Types worksheet

Filter
Filter cleared from column A (Manufacturing) 
[ No mark if filtering ‘switched off’ ]
7.3.2 1

Cell C2: Data validation

List source: =Sheet1!$A$1:$A$6 
[ Item ‘Tricopter’ added to list; can mark visually ...
look for Tricopter at bottom of drop-down list ]
[ How to: Data  Data Tools  Data Validation 
Settings ]

7.3.3 2

Unchecked ‘Show input message when cell is

selected’ 
[ Accept: deletion of input message ‘Choose one’ ]

TOTAL 15

Page 22 of 22