Kramizo
Log inSign up free
Home › CIE IGCSE Computer Science › Practice Paper
CIE · IGCSE · Computer Science

Free CIE IGCSE Computer Science
Practice Paper

8 mixed-difficulty practice questions in the style of real CIE IGCSE papers — answers, mark-scheme-style explanations, and the official exam structure all on one page.

Take a Mini Mock →

What the real CIE IGCSE Computer Science paper looks like

Paper 1 (Multiple Choice)
40 multiple-choice questions, 1 mark each. 45 minutes. Tests breadth of knowledge.
Paper 2 (Core) / Paper 4 (Extended)
Structured written paper. 1 hour 30 minutes (Core) or 1 hour 45 minutes (Extended). Tests depth of understanding and application.
Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical)
Written paper assessing practical skills for candidates without lab access. 1 hour. Worth ~20% of the total.
Total exam time: ~3 hours, depending on tier (Core vs Extended).
Grading: Grades: A* (highest) to G (lowest), with U (ungraded). Most universities require C or above.

Mini practice paper: 8 questions

Mixed-difficulty questions from across the Computer Science syllabus. Tap "Show answer" after each to check yourself.

Q1 · Difficulty 1/3

Which pseudocode construct is used to repeat a block of statements a fixed, known number of times?

  1. IF ... THEN ... ENDIF
  2. REPEAT ... UNTIL
  3. FOR ... TO ... NEXT
  4. WHILE ... DO ... ENDWHILE
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — FOR ... TO ... NEXT
A FOR...TO...NEXT loop is a count-controlled iteration used when the number of repetitions is known in advance. WHILE and REPEAT...UNTIL are condition-controlled loops used when the number of repetitions is not known. IF...THEN...ENDIF is a selection construct, not iteration.
Q2 · Difficulty 1/3

What normally happens when a runtime error occurs and no exception handling is present?

  1. The statement is skipped and the program continues
  2. The program restarts automatically
  3. The value 0 is used instead
  4. The program stops running and reports the error
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — The program stops running and reports the error
Award 1 mark. Any work not yet saved at that point is lost.
Q3 · Difficulty 1/3

Which search is faster on a large sorted list?

  1. Linear search
  2. Both take the same number of comparisons
  3. Binary search
  4. Neither can be used on a sorted list
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — Binary search
Award 1 mark. Discarding half the remaining items at every step makes the advantage grow as the list gets longer.
Q4 · Difficulty 1/3

What does a binary search do at each step?

  1. It moves one position further along the list
  2. It sorts the remaining items into order
  3. It compares the target with every remaining item
  4. It compares the target with the middle item and discards the half that cannot contain it
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — It compares the target with the middle item and discards the half that cannot contain it
Award 1 mark. Each comparison therefore removes roughly half of the items still under consideration.
Q5 · Difficulty 1/3

What is a runtime error?

  1. An error the translator reports before the program runs
  2. An error that occurs while the program is executing, such as dividing by zero
  3. An error caused by writing a keyword incorrectly
  4. An error in the program's overall logic that produces the wrong answer
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: B — An error that occurs while the program is executing, such as dividing by zero
Award 1 mark. The program may be perfectly valid yet still fail on particular input.
Q6 · Difficulty 1/3

A touchscreen on a smartphone registers a touch by detecting a change in electrical charge at the point of contact. Which type of touchscreen technology does this describe?

  1. Acoustic wave touchscreen
  2. Capacitive touchscreen
  3. Resistive touchscreen
  4. Infrared touchscreen
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: B — Capacitive touchscreen
A capacitive touchscreen is coated with a material that stores electrical charge; when a finger touches the screen, it disturbs the electrostatic field and the position of the disruption is calculated, making C correct. A resistive touchscreen works by physical pressure causing two conductive layers to make contact. An infrared touchscreen uses a grid of IR beams whose interruption detects touch. An acoustic wave touchscreen uses ultrasonic waves that are disturbed by a touch.
Q7 · Difficulty 1/3

Which stage of the program development life cycle involves checking that the program meets the original user requirements?

  1. Analysis — identifying and clarifying the problem
  2. Design — planning the structure of the solution
  3. Evaluation — assessing whether the solution meets requirements
  4. Testing — running the program with sample data
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — Evaluation — assessing whether the solution meets requirements
Evaluation is the stage where the completed solution is assessed against the original requirements to determine whether it solves the problem correctly and efficiently. Testing (D) checks for errors using sample data but does not judge fitness for purpose against requirements. Analysis (C) happens at the start to understand the problem. Design (B) plans the solution structure before coding.
Q8 · Difficulty 1/3

A string variable word is assigned the value "Cambridge". Which of the following correctly returns the length of this string?

  1. LENGTH(word) returns 8
  2. LENGTH(word) returns 10
  3. LENGTH(word) returns 9
  4. LENGTH(word) returns 7
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — LENGTH(word) returns 9
The string "Cambridge" contains exactly 9 characters (C-a-m-b-r-i-d-g-e), so LENGTH(word) returns 9. Option A (8) is a common off-by-one error where students miscount. Option B (10) incorrectly adds an extra character, perhaps imagining a null terminator. Option D (7) results from miscounting and skipping multiple characters.
Build a 30-question timed mock →
Free account · Instant marking

CIE IGCSE Computer Science FAQ

What does the CIE IGCSE Computer Science exam look like?
The CIE IGCSE Computer Science exam is structured across 3 components. Paper 1 (Multiple Choice): 40 multiple-choice questions, 1 mark each. 45 minutes. Tests breadth of knowledge. Paper 2 (Core) / Paper 4 (Extended): Structured written paper. 1 hour 30 minutes (Core) or 1 hour 45 minutes (Extended). Tests depth of understanding and application. Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical): Written paper assessing practical skills for candidates without lab access. 1 hour. Worth ~20% of the total. Total exam time: ~3 hours, depending on tier (Core vs Extended).
Can I download a free CIE IGCSE Computer Science past paper?
Real CIE past papers are published directly by CIE on their official website. Kramizo doesn't redistribute copyrighted past papers, but we do generate free AI-written practice papers in the exact same style — same command words, same difficulty tier, same mark conventions. Use this practice paper as warm-up, then time yourself on official past papers before exam day.
How is CIE IGCSE Computer Science graded?
Grades: A* (highest) to G (lowest), with U (ungraded). Most universities require C or above. Kramizo's practice questions are tagged with difficulty 1-3 mapping roughly to the lower, middle, and top grade boundaries you'll encounter in the real exam.