Fundamentals of Computer Systems | AQA A-Level Computer Science (7517)
Fundamentals of Computer Systems
- 114 questions
- 9 subtopics
- Paper 2: the written exam
- Paper 2
Hardware and software and how software is classified, programming languages and their translators, logic gates and Boolean algebra.
Examined on Paper 2.
Sample questions from Fundamentals of Computer Systems
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Hardware, Software and Its Classification
Is firmware hardware or software, and why is it easy to confuse the two?
Show the answer
Firmware is software: it is a program, held permanently in read-only or flash memory on a hardware component. It is confused with hardware because it is supplied inside the physical device and is not normally changed by the user, but it is still a set of instructions rather than a physical part. -
Hardware, Software and Its Classification
Classify each of these as system or application software: a spreadsheet, a disk defragmenter, a compiler, a web browser, an operating system, a graphics library.
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Application: the spreadsheet and the web browser. System: the disk defragmenter (a utility), the compiler (a translator), the operating system and the graphics library. -
System Software and the Operating System
Understand the need for utility programs: what are they for?
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Utility programs are needed to maintain, optimise, protect and repair the computer system: housekeeping jobs that the operating system does not do as part of ordinary running, but that keep the machine healthy and its data safe. -
System Software and the Operating System
What is a translator?
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A translator is a program that converts a program written in one language into an equivalent program in another language, normally converting source code written by a human into machine code the processor can execute. The three kinds are the assembler, the compiler and the interpreter. -
Translators and the Role of the Operating System
Give the function of a compiler in one sentence.
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A compiler translates a complete high-level language program into machine code (or an intermediate code) in one operation before it is run, producing a separate file that can then be executed on its own. -
Classification of programming languages
Which two languages are considered to be low level?
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Machine code and assembly language. -
Types of program translator
Define source code.
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Source code is the program as written by the programmer, in a high-level language or assembly language: human-readable text that can be edited, and that must be translated before a processor can execute it. -
Logic Gates and Their Truth Tables
Construct the truth table for an OR gate.
Show the answer
Two inputs A and B, output Q = 1 when at least one input is 1. A = 0, B = 0 gives Q = 0; A = 0, B = 1 gives Q = 1; A = 1, B = 0 gives Q = 1; A = 1, B = 1 gives Q = 1. It is written Q = A OR B, or A + B. Note that this is inclusive OR: it is 1 when both inputs are 1.
The 9 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware, Software and Its Classification | Recall questions on the definitions of hardware and software, the relationship between them and the classification of software. | 13 |
| System Software and the Operating System | Recall questions on the four types of system software, the need for an operating system, its main functions and the role of utility programs. | 11 |
| Translators and the Role of the Operating System | Recall questions on the functions of an assembler, a compiler and an interpreter, and on how an operating system shields users from the hardware. | 10 |
| Classification of programming languages | Recall questions on machine code and assembly language, what makes a language low level, and the advantages and drawbacks of low-level programming. | 14 |
| Types of program translator | Recall questions on assemblers, compilers and interpreters, when each is the right choice, and why some compilers emit bytecode for a virtual machine. | 16 |
| Logic Gates and Their Truth Tables | Recall questions on the truth tables of the NOT, AND, OR, XOR, NAND and NOR gates. | 10 |
| Logic Circuits and D-Type Flip-Flops | Recall questions on interpreting logic circuits, completing truth tables, drawing circuits for Boolean expressions, and what the edge-triggered D-type flip-flop is, how it is drawn and what it stores. | 12 |
| Half-Adders and Full Adders | Recall questions on the half-adder's circuit and truth table, its limitation, building a full adder from two half-adders, tracing both for given inputs, and chaining full adders to add eight-bit numbers. | 10 |
| Boolean algebra | Recall questions on the identities and the commutative, associative, distributive and absorption laws, De Morgan's laws, and simplifying an expression step by step. | 18 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Computer Science Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,516 questions with their answers.