CXC CSEC Information Technology — Paper 02 (Structured)

Total marks: 90 · Duration: 2 hours

Instructions to candidates

• This paper consists of FOUR questions. Answer ALL questions.
• Questions 1 and 2 are worth 20 marks each; Questions 3 and 4 are worth 25 marks each.
• The paper tests all three profiles: Theory (35 marks), Productivity Tools (30 marks) and Problem-Solving and Programming (25 marks).
• In the January 2027 sitting this paper is "hybrid": you read the questions on screen and write your answers in the answer booklet.
• Write spreadsheet formulas exactly as you would enter them, beginning with "=". Write algorithms in pseudocode; knowledge of a specific programming language is not required.
• You may NOT use a computer or calculator in this examination.

Paper

Question 1

Keisha runs Sweet Island Treats, a small bakery in Castries, Saint Lucia. She sells at a shop counter and takes orders online, and she keeps a database of regular customers who earn loyalty points.

(a) Distinguish between "data" and "information", using an example from Keisha's bakery. (2 marks)

(b) Name TWO input devices and ONE output device that Keisha could use at her shop counter, stating the purpose of EACH. (3 marks)

(c) Keisha's CUSTOMERS table has the fields CustID, FirstName, LastName, District, Phone and LoyaltyPoints.

(i) Suggest which field should be the primary key, and justify your choice. (2 marks)

(ii) State the most suitable data type for the Phone field and for the LoyaltyPoints field, giving a reason for EACH. (2 marks)

(d) Some records from the table are shown below.

(i) Write the criteria for a query that lists customers from Castries who have more than 200 loyalty points. (2 marks)

(ii) State how many records your query would return. (1 mark)

(iii) If the full table is sorted in descending order of LoyaltyPoints, which customer appears first? (1 mark)

(e) Explain TWO measures Keisha could take to protect her customers' data. (4 marks)

(f) Keisha is thinking of selling her customer list to a marketing company. Explain why this would be an ethical issue. (3 marks)

Total 20 marks

Question 2

St Augustine Secondary School in Georgetown, Guyana, is upgrading its computer laboratory and its website.

(a) Distinguish between RAM and ROM. (2 marks)

(b) Each new computer has a 256 GB storage drive. How many 4 MB photographs could be stored on one drive? (Take 1 GB = 1024 MB.) Show your working. (2 marks)

(c) (i) Distinguish between a LAN and a WAN. (2 marks)

(ii) Distinguish between an intranet and the Internet. (2 marks)

(iii) Name the device used to connect the school's network to the Internet, and state its purpose. (2 marks)

(d) The school is considering storing students' work in the cloud. State ONE advantage and ONE disadvantage of cloud storage for the school. (2 marks)

(e) The school produces a newsletter with a word processor.

(i) Name the word-processing feature that makes all headings in the newsletter look the same and can be updated in one step. (1 mark)

(ii) The principal wants to send a personalised letter to each of 200 parents. Name the feature she should use and state the TWO files it requires. (3 marks)

(f) (i) What is a hyperlink? (1 mark)

(ii) State TWO things the school should consider when designing its web page for parents. (2 marks)

(g) State ONE practice that reduces the risk of health problems for students who use computers for long periods. (1 mark)

Total 20 marks

Question 3

The tuck shop at a cricket club keeps its weekly sales in a spreadsheet. Cell H1 contains the VAT rate, 0.125. All money amounts are in dollars.

(a) Write the formula that was entered in D2 to calculate the revenue for patties. (1 mark)

(b) A formula entered in E2 calculates the VAT on the revenue in D2, using the rate in H1, and is then copied down to E7. Write the formula for E2 and explain why one cell reference in it must be absolute. (3 marks)

(c) Write the function that should be entered:

(i) in D8, to calculate the total revenue (1 mark)

(ii) in C8, to calculate the average quantity sold (1 mark)

(iii) in any cell, to find the highest revenue. (1 mark)

(d) Write a formula for F2 that displays "Reorder" if the stock left is below 20, and "OK" otherwise. (3 marks)

(e) Write a function that counts how many items earned more than $500 in revenue, and state the value it returns. (2 marks)

(f) State the most suitable type of chart to show each item's share of the total revenue, and give a reason. (2 marks)

(g) State ONE way the manager can stop other users changing the formulas in the worksheet. (1 mark)

(h) Write an algorithm in pseudocode that reads the unit price and the quantity sold for EACH of 10 items, calculates and prints the revenue for each item, and prints the total revenue for all 10 items at the end. (6 marks)

(i) Study the algorithm below.

total ← 0
count ← 0
FOR n ← 1 TO 5 DO
    READ x
    IF x > 5 THEN
        total ← total + x
        count ← count + 1
    ENDIF
ENDFOR
PRINT total, count

Complete a trace table with the headings n, x, total and count for the input values 7, 4, 10, 3, 6, and state what is printed. (4 marks)

Total 25 marks

Question 4

(a) (i) Explain TWO ways in which information technology has changed how people in the Caribbean carry out their banking. (4 marks)

(ii) What is phishing? State ONE way to avoid becoming a victim of it. (2 marks)

(iii) Explain why installing a copy of a purchased software package on several friends' computers is illegal. (2 marks)

(b) (i) Distinguish between a syntax error and a logic error, giving an example of EACH. (4 marks)

(ii) Distinguish between a compiler and an interpreter. (2 marks)

(c) A teacher wants an algorithm that accepts students' test scores one at a time until −1 is entered. It should then print the highest score and the number of scores entered. Write the algorithm in pseudocode. (7 marks)

(d) The algorithm below should print the average of three numbers.

sum ← 0
FOR i ← 1 TO 3 DO
    READ num
    sum ← sum + num
ENDFOR
average ← sum / 2
PRINT average

Identify the error, write the corrected line, state the type of error, and explain why the program would still run without an error message. (4 marks)

Total 25 marks