GCE

Computer Science

H046/02: Algorithms and problem solving

AS Level

Mark Scheme for June 2023

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations

OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA) is a leading UK awarding body, providing a wide range of
qualifications to meet the needs of candidates of all ages and abilities. OCR qualifications
include AS/A Levels, Diplomas, GCSEs, Cambridge Nationals, Cambridge Technicals,
Functional Skills, Key Skills, Entry Level qualifications, NVQs and vocational qualifications in
areas such as IT, business, languages, teaching/training, administration and secretarial skills.

It is also responsible for developing new specifications to meet national requirements and the
needs of students and teachers. OCR is a not-for-profit organisation; any surplus made is
invested back into the establishment to help towards the development of qualifications and
support, which keep pace with the changing needs of today’s society.

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and students, to indicate the requirements
of the examination. It shows the basis on which marks were awarded by examiners. It does not
indicate the details of the discussions which took place at an examiners’ meeting before marking
commenced.

All examiners are instructed that alternative correct answers and unexpected approaches in
candidates’ scripts must be given marks that fairly reflect the relevant knowledge and skills
demonstrated.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the published question papers and the report
on the examination.

© OCR 2023

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations

 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

MARKING INSTRUCTIONS
PREPARATION FOR MARKING
RM ASSESSOR
1. Make sure that you have accessed and completed the relevant training packages for on-screen marking: RM Assessor
Assessor Online Training; OCR Essential Guide to Marking.

2. Make sure that you have read and understood the mark scheme and the question paper for this unit. These are posted on the
RM Cambridge Assessment Support Portal http://www.rm.com/support/ca

3. Log-in to RM Assessor and mark the required number of practice responses (“scripts”) and the number of required
standardisation responses.

YOU MUST MARK 10 PRACTICE AND 10 STANDARDISATION RESPONSES BEFORE YOU CAN BE APPROVED TO
MARK LIVE SCRIPTS.

MARKING
1. Mark strictly to the mark scheme.

2. Marks awarded must relate directly to the marking criteria.

3. The schedule of dates is very important. It is essential that you meet the RM Assessor 50% and 100% (traditional 40% Batch
1 and 100% Batch 2) deadlines. If you experience problems, you must contact your Team Leader (Supervisor) without delay.

4. If you are in any doubt about applying the mark scheme, consult your Team Leader by telephone or the RM Assessor
messaging system, or by email.

2
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

5. Crossed Out Responses

Where a candidate has crossed out a response and provided a clear alternative then the crossed out response is not marked.
Where no alternative response has been provided, examiners may give candidates the benefit of the doubt and mark the crossed
out response where legible.

Rubric Error Responses – Optional Questions

Where candidates have a choice of question across a whole paper or a whole section and have provided more answers than
required, then all responses are marked and the highest mark allowable within the rubric is given. Enter a mark for each question
answered into RM assessor, which will select the highest mark from those awarded. (The underlying assumption is that the
candidate has penalised themselves by attempting more questions than necessary in the time allowed.)

Multiple Choice Question Responses

When a multiple choice question has only a single, correct response and a candidate provides two responses (even if one of
these responses is correct), then no mark should be awarded (as it is not possible to determine which was the first response
selected by the candidate).
When a question requires candidates to select more than one option/multiple options, then local marking arrangements need
to ensure consistency of approach.

Contradictory Responses
When a candidate provides contradictory responses, then no mark should be awarded, even if one of the answers is correct.

Short Answer Questions (requiring only a list by way of a response, usually worth only one mark per response)
Where candidates are required to provide a set number of short answer responses then only the set number of responses
should be marked. The response space should be marked from left to right on each line and then line by line until the required
number of responses have been considered. The remaining responses should not then be marked. Examiners will have to
apply judgement as to whether a ‘second response’ on a line is a development of the ‘first response’, rather than a separate,
discrete response. (The underlying assumption is that the candidate is attempting to hedge their bets and therefore getting
undue benefit rather than engaging with the question and giving the most relevant/correct responses.)

3
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

Short Answer Questions (requiring a more developed response, worth two or more marks)
If the candidates are required to provide a description of, say, three items or factors and four items or factors are provided, then
mark on a similar basis – that is downwards (as it is unlikely in this situation that a candidate will provide more than one response
in each section of the response space.)

Longer Answer Questions (requiring a developed response)

Where candidates have provided two (or more) responses to a medium or high tariff question which only required a single
(developed) response and not crossed out the first response, then only the first response should be marked. Examiners will
need to apply professional judgement as to whether the second (or a subsequent) response is a ‘new start’ or simply a poorly
expressed continuation of the first response.

6. Always check the pages (and additional objects if present) at the end of the response in case any answers have been continued
there. If the candidate has continued an answer there, then add a tick to confirm that the work has been seen.

7. Award No Response (NR) if:

• there is nothing written in the answer space

Award Zero ‘0’ if:

• anything is written in the answer space and is not worthy of credit (this includes text and symbols).

Team Leaders must confirm the correct use of the NR button with their markers before live marking commences and should
check this when reviewing scripts.

8. The RM Assessor comments box is used by your team leader to explain the marking of the practice responses. Please refer
to these comments when checking your practice responses. Do not use the comments box for any other reason.
If you have any questions or comments for your team leader, use the phone, the RM Assessor messaging system, or e-mail.

4
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

9. Assistant Examiners will send a brief report on the performance of candidates to their Team Leader (Supervisor) via email by
the end of the marking period. The report should contain notes on particular strengths displayed as well as common errors or
weaknesses. Constructive criticism of the question paper/mark scheme is also appreciated.

10. For answers marked by levels of response: Not applicable in F501

a. To determine the level – start at the highest level and work down until you reach the level that matches the answer
b. To determine the mark within the level, consider the following

Descriptor Award mark

On the borderline of this level and the one
At bottom of level
below
Just enough achievement on balance for Above bottom and either below middle or at middle of level (depending on number
this level of marks available)
Meets the criteria but with some slight Above middle and either below top of level or at middle of level (depending on
inconsistency number of marks available)
Consistently meets the criteria for this level At top of level

5
H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

1. Annotations
Annotation Meaning
Omission mark

Benefit of the doubt

Incorrect point

Expansion of a point

Follow through

Not answered question

No benefit of doubt given

Point being made

Repeat

Correct point

Too vague

Zero (big)
Blank Page – this annotation must be used on all blank pages within an answer booklet (structured or
unstructured) and on each page of an additional object where there is no candidate response.
Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

6
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

2. Subject - specific Marking Instructions

INTRODUCTION

Your first task as an Examiner is to become thoroughly familiar with the material on which the examination depends. This material includes:
• the specification, especially the assessment objectives
• the question paper and its rubrics
• the mark scheme.

You should ensure that you have copies of these materials.

You should ensure also that you are familiar with the administrative procedures related to the marking process. These are set out in the OCR
booklet Instructions for Examiners. If you are examining for the first time, please read carefully Appendix 5 Introduction to Script Marking:
Notes for New Examiners.

Please ask for help or guidance whenever you need it. Your first point of contact is your Team Leader.

7
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

USING THE MARK SCHEME

Please study this Mark Scheme carefully. The Mark Scheme is an integral part of the process that begins with the setting of the question paper
and ends with the awarding of grades. Question papers and Mark Schemes are developed in association with each other so that issues of
differentiation and positive achievement can be addressed from the very start.

This Mark Scheme is a working document; it is not exhaustive; it does not provide ‘correct’ answers. The Mark Scheme can only provide ‘best
guesses’ about how the question will work out, and it is subject to revision after we have looked at a wide range of scripts.

The Examiners’ Standardisation Meeting will ensure that the Mark Scheme covers the range of candidates’ responses to the questions, and
that all Examiners understand and apply the Mark Scheme in the same way. The Mark Scheme will be discussed and amended at the meeting,
and administrative procedures will be confirmed. Co-ordination scripts will be issued at the meeting to exemplify aspects of candidates’
responses and achievements; the co-ordination scripts then become part of this Mark Scheme.

Before the Standardisation Meeting, you should read and mark in pencil a number of scripts, in order to gain an impression of the range of
responses and achievement that may be expected.

In your marking, you will encounter valid responses which are not covered by the Mark Scheme: these responses must be credited. You will
encounter answers which fall outside the ‘target range’ of Bands for the paper which you are marking. Please mark these answers according to
the marking criteria.

Please read carefully all the scripts in your allocation and make every effort to look positively for achievement throughout the ability range.
Always be prepared to use the full range of marks.

8
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

LEVELS OF RESPONSE QUESTIONS:

The indicative content indicates the expected parameters for candidates’ answers, but be prepared to recognise and credit unexpected
approaches where they show relevance.

Using ‘best-fit’, decide first which set of BAND DESCRIPTORS best describes the overall quality of the answer. Once the band is located,
adjust the mark concentrating on features of the answer which make it stronger or weaker following the guidelines for refinement.

• Highest mark: If clear evidence of all the qualities in the band descriptors is shown, the HIGHEST Mark should be awarded.
• Lowest mark: If the answer shows the candidate to be borderline (i.e. they have achieved all the qualities of the bands below and show
limited evidence of meeting the criteria of the band in question) the LOWEST mark should be awarded.
• Middle mark: This mark should be used for candidates who are secure in the band. They are not ‘borderline’ but they have only
achieved some of the qualities in the band descriptors.

Be prepared to use the full range of marks. Do not reserve (e.g.) high Band 3 marks ‘in case’ something turns up of a quality you have not yet
seen. If an answer gives clear evidence of the qualities described in the band descriptors, reward appropriately.

AO1 AO2 AO3

High (thorough) Precision in the use of question Knowledge and understanding shown Concerted effort is made to consider
terminology. Knowledge shown is is consistently applied to context all aspects of a system/problem or
consistent and well-developed. enabling a logical and sustained weigh up both sides to an argument
Clear appreciation of the question argument to develop. before forming an overall conclusion.
from a range of different Examples used enhance rather than Judgements made are based on
perspectives making extensive use detract from response. appropriate and concise arguments
of acquired knowledge and that have been developed in
understanding. response resulting in them being both
supported and realistic.

Middle (reasonable) Awareness of the meaning of the Knowledge and understanding There is a reasonable attempt to
terms in the question. Knowledge is applied to context. Whilst clear reach
sound and effectively demonstrated. evidence that an argument builds and a conclusion considering aspects of a
Demands of question understood develops through response there are system/problem or weighing up both
although at times opportunities to times when opportunities are missed sides of an argument. However the
make use of acquired knowledge to use an example or relate an aspect impact of the conclusion is often
lessened by a lack of supported

9
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

and understanding not always of knowledge or understanding to the judgements which accompany it.
taken. context provided. This inability to build on and develop
lines of argument as developed in the
response can detract from the overall
quality of the response.
Low (basic) Confusion and inability to Inability to apply knowledge and Little or no attempt to prioritise or
deconstruct terminology as used in understanding in any sustained way weigh up factors during course of
the question. Knowledge partial and to context resulting in tenuous and answer.
superficial. Focus on question unsupported statements being made. Conclusion is often dislocated from
narrow and often one-dimensional. Examples if used are for the most response and any judgements lack
part irrelevant and unsubstantiated. substance due in part to the basic
level of argument that has been
demonstrated throughout response.

Assessment Objective
AO1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic,
algorithms and data representation.
AO1.1 Demonstrate knowledge of the principles and concepts of abstraction, logic, algorithms, data representation or other as appropriate.
AO1.2 Demonstrate understanding of the principles and concepts of abstraction, logic, algorithms, data representation or other as
appropriate.
AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science including to analyse problems in
computational terms.
AO2.1 Apply knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science.
AO2.2 Analyse problems in computational terms.
AO3 Design, program and evaluate computer systems that solve problems, making reasoned judgements about these and presenting
conclusions.
AO3.1 Design computer systems that solve problems.
AO3.2 Program computer systems that solve problems.
AO3.3 Evaluate computer systems that solve problems, making reasoned judgements about these and presenting conclusions.

10
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

Question Answer/Indicative content Mark Guidance

1 a 1 mark per bullet 4 Candidates do not need to show each
• 1st swap of 5 and 3 swap, so if the candidate has clearly shown
• Remainder of first pass the end of pass 1, they have met the first
• Pass 2 two marking points.
• Pass 3
Marks can be awarded for correctly
showing the results of each pass.
1 5 3 9 2 7
1 3 5 9 2 7
1 3 5 2 9 7
1 3 5 2 7 9 End of pass 1
1 3 2 5 7 9 End of pass 2
1 2 3 5 7 9 End of pass 3

1 b i 1 mark per bullet 3

• by reference will reorder the contents of the array
• …so the new order can be accessed by the main
program // so will be saved when the procedure ends
• by value will change the array only in this procedure
• … and so would need to return the array.

1 b ii • A loop that repeats a fixed / set number of times 1

1 b iii • To temporarily hold a value (for numbers[x])… 3

• …while it is being transferred from one position to
another…
• ….in the array numbers
• To stop values over writing each other

11
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

1 b iv • Add a (second outer) loop 2

• That will repeat for each pass // repeat until the flag is
set to true at the end of a pass

1 c i • 355 1

1 c ii • Insertion sort 1 Accept any valid sorting algorithm

e.g. Merge sort, Quick sort

12
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

2 a 1 mark per bullet to max 3 3

Any reasonable abstraction
e.g.
• will not be to scale not life size
• will exclude features e.g. people, road markings etc
• will only show what is relevant e.g. buildings

2 b i 1 mark per bullet e.g. 2

• stage (e.g. stage 1, stage 2, stage 3)
• city name (e.g. London)
• speed (e.g. slow, normal, fast)

2 b ii 1 mark per bullet to max 2, e.g. 2 Allow other suitable examples

• Does the build-up stage need to be shown?
• Does the earthquake taking place needs to be shown?
• Does the aftershock stage needs to be shown?

2 c i 1 mark per bullet to max 4, e.g. 4 Max 2 marks if no explicit differences

• spiral works on a small set of requirements… identified between the models.
• …waterfall starts with all requirements
• spiral repeats from the start of the cycle each time…
• …waterfall to repeat needs to reverse through previous
stages first
• Spiral focuses on risk mitigation…
• … Waterfall focuses on the delivery of the project as a
whole.

13
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

2 c ii 1 mark e.g. 2
• The client needs the program quickly
• The client wants to be heavily involved
• The project is only small
• The project is low risk

2 c iii 1 mark for name 1 mark for description 2 Accept any sensible methodology and
e.g. description,
• agile/rapid application development
• building/use of prototypes

• extreme programming
• type of agile // has subsequent releases of new features

14
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

3 Mark Band 3–High Level 9 AO1: Knowledge and Understanding

(7-9 marks) e.g.
IDE:
The candidate demonstrates thorough knowledge and • pretty print / syntax highlighting
understanding of IDEs; the material is generally accurate and • auto-complete
detailed. • auto-correction
The candidate is able to apply their knowledge and • breakpoints
understanding directly and consistently to the context provided. • stepping
Evidence/examples will be explicitly relevant to the explanation. Editor:
The candidate provides a thorough discussion which is well- • no helpful writing/debugging features
• no excess features/interface
balanced. Evaluative comments are consistently relevant and
well-considered. AO2.1: Application
There is a well-developed line of reasoning which is clear and e.g.
logically structured. The information presented is relevant and IDE
substantiated. • identify syntax errors as writing
• …saves trying to find them
• easier debugging as can step through a program
Mark Band 2-Mid Level • auto-indenting avoids errors from incorrect
(4-6 marks) indentation
The candidate demonstrates reasonable knowledge and • May have built in unit testing to automate testing
understanding of IDEs; the material is generally accurate but at and avoid new errors being introduced.
times underdeveloped. Editor
The candidate is able to apply their knowledge and • does not offer suggestions on code corrections
• Has a lower footprint on memory/CPU which
understanding directly to the context provided although one or may be suited to quick alterations or working on
two opportunities are missed. Evidence/examples are for the lowed spec’d systems.
most part implicitly relevant to the explanation. • May be better when learning to program as it
The candidate provides a reasonable discussion, the majority forces the user to type everything in full / doesn’t
of which is focused. Evaluative comments are for the most part give suggestions, helping things stick in
memory.
appropriate, although one or two opportunities for development
are missed.
There is a line of reasoning presented with some structure. The AO3.3: Evaluation
information presented is in the most part relevant and e.g.
supported by some evidence. • IDE is helpful in reducing original errors
• IDE is helpful in finding and correcting errors

15
H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

Mark Band 1-Low Level • Editor is a simpler system to use e.g. less
(1-3 marks) memory needed to run it, does not try and auto-
correct incorrectly or introduce errors that the
The candidate demonstrates a basic knowledge of IDEs, with programmer has not made.
limited understanding shown; the material is basic and contains
some inaccuracies. The candidate makes a limited attempt to
apply acquired knowledge and understanding to the context
provided.
The candidate provides a limited discussion which is narrow in
focus. Judgments if made are weak and unsubstantiated.
The information is basic and communicated in an unstructured
way. The information is supported by limited evidence and the
relationship to the evidence may not be clear.

0 marks
No attempt to answer the question or response is not worthy of
credit.

16
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

4 a 1 mark per bullet to max 6 6 Award a recursive algorithm as equivalent

• function header taking parameter
• looping appropriately e.g. until value is 0
• dividing by 2 and finding remainder e.g. MOD
• adding 1 or 0 correctly
• …appending to a value to be returned // final string
reversed
• reducing value to use within loop
• returning calculated value

e.g.
function toBinary(denary)
binaryValue=""
while denary > 0
temp = denary MOD 2
if temp == 1 then
binaryValue = "1" + binaryValue
else
binaryValue = "0" + binaryValue
endif
denary = denary DIV 2
endwhile
return binaryValue
endfunction

17
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

4 b 1 mark per bullet to max 4 4 Allow other checks for a valid number. For
• taking value as input example
• looping until valid between 1 and 255
• calling function with correct parameter denary.isInteger == False
• outputting return value

denary = -1
while denary < 1 or denary > 255
denary = input("Enter denary value between 1
and 255")
endwhile
print(toBinary(denary))

18
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

5 a i • sequence 1
5 a ii • selection // branching 1
5 b 1 mark each to max 2 2
• total
• smallest
• largest
• x
• dataArray
5 c 1 mark for each line and correction 4 Do not award a mark for the line number
• Line 01 alone without correction.
total = 0
• Line 02
• smallest = dataArray[0]
• Line 04
for x = 0 to 19 (accept 20)
• Line 07
if dataArray[x] > largest then
• Line 14
print("Average = " + total / 20)
5 d i it can only be accessed within the subroutine//block in which it is 1
declared
5 d ii 1 mark for benefit 2
e.g.
• Increases data integrity
• More efficient memory usage
• Stops other subroutines accidently altering variable

1 mark for drawback

e.g.
• Cannot be accessed directly by other subroutines
• It has to be passed into a subroutine as a parameter

19
 H046/02 Mark Scheme June 2023

6 a i 1 mark per bullet 5

• Start with the first element
• Compare it to the number input
• If it is equal, return the index // True
• If not equal, move to the next element and repeat
• Repeat until it is found, or the end of the array is reached
• If found, return the index where the data was found
• If the end of the list was reached, return -1 // False // “not
found” message

6 a ii 1 mark per bullet 1

• If the data is not in any order // binary search requires the
data to be in order
• When the number of items to search is small

6 b 1 mark per bullet to max 4 4 Note: Answers must relate to an array

• (Stack) Pointer points to the last element added to the stack implementation which means that a stack
/ top of the stack pointer must be implemented.
• New data is added to the pointer position // pointer+1…
• …check for overflow condition
• …pointer is then incremented
• Data is removed from pointer/pointer-1 position…
• …check for underflow condition
• …pointer is then decremented
• Elements can be accessed through Push() and Pop()
methods that are implemented

20
Need to get in touch?

If you ever have any questions about OCR qualifications or services (including administration, logistics and teaching) please feel free to get in
touch with our customer support centre.

Call us on

01223 553998

Alternatively, you can email us on

support@ocr.org.uk

For more information visit

ocr.org.uk/qualifications/resource-finder

ocr.org.uk

Twitter/ocrexams

/ocrexams

/company/ocr

/ocrexams

OCR is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a department of the University of Cambridge.

For staff training purposes and as part of our quality assurance programme your call may be recorded or monitored. © OCR
2023 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations is a Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England. Registered office
The Triangle Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8EA.

Registered company number 3484466. OCR is an exempt charity.

OCR operates academic and vocational qualifications regulated by Ofqual, Qualifications Wales and CCEA as listed in their
qualifications registers including A Levels, GCSEs, Cambridge Technicals and Cambridge Nationals.

OCR provides resources to help you deliver our qualifications. These resources do not represent any particular teaching method
we expect you to use. We update our resources regularly and aim to make sure content is accurate but please check the OCR
website so that you have the most up-to-date version. OCR cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions in these
resources.

Though we make every effort to check our resources, there may be contradictions between published support and the
specification, so it is important that you always use information in the latest specification. We indicate any specification changes
within the document itself, change the version number and provide a summary of the changes. If you do notice a discrepancy
between the specification and a resource, please contact us.

Whether you already offer OCR qualifications, are new to OCR or are thinking about switching, you can request more
information using our Expression of Interest form.

Please get in touch if you want to discuss the accessibility of resources we offer to support you in delivering our qualifications.