Cambridge International Examinations

Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 9626/32

Paper 3 Advanced Theory March 2017
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 90

Published

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the
examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the
details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have
considered the acceptability of alternative answers.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for
Teachers.

Cambridge will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the March 2017 series for most Cambridge IGCSE®,
Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some Cambridge O Level components.

® IGCSE is a registered trademark.

This document consists of 9 printed pages.

© UCLES 2017 [Turn over

9626/32 Cambridge International AS/A Level – Mark Scheme March 2017
PUBLISHED

Question Answer Marks

1 Five from: 5

Because it is error-free, corrective maintenance is not needed

Because there are no new situations likely to arise, adaptive
maintenance is not needed
Perfective maintenance is needed to modify the code
...enhance/add to the software capabilities to increase its
usefulness
Delete unused/obsolete functions to reduce the complexity/code
size/resource requirements
Optimise the code to increase functional speed

Question Answer Marks

2 Eight from: 8

Benefits:
(Body worn) video cameras used to record incidents for later use
in court/enquiry
Optical (head-mounted) technology to display information is in a
similar format to a smartphone/act as a smartphone so is
familiar
Operated hands-free via voice activation
Wrist-worn computers/smartphones for access to
communications systems
Wi-Fi-enabled/wireless connected clothing to track movements
in real-time/connect peripherals
...monitor vital signs of officer
...maintaining constant communications with others

Drawbacks:
Reliance on computers can remove elements of human
judgment
Implementation can be expensive since this is an emerging
technology
Can lead to invasions of privacy for user and third parties...
...location and other details can be used to track the user
Possibility of wearable computers being ‘hacked’ and data
stolen/computers manipulated
Breakdown in communications systems can lead to system
failure

Max 6 for all benefits or all drawbacks

1 mark available for a reasoned conclusion/opinion

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Question Answer Marks

3(a) Six from: 6

1 mark for correct identification of critical path

2 marks for each correctly calculated path

Path 3 is the critical path

Path 1: start Task 1 Task 3 Task 4 finish = 3+7+2 = 12
Path 2: start Task 2 Task 5 finish = 5+4 =9
Path 3: start Task 2 Task 5 Task 3 Task 4 = 5+4+7+2 = 18

3(b) Four from: 4

Each task on critical path has float of 0...

..tasks 2, 3, 4, and 5
Next longest path is path 1 with tasks 1, 3 and 4....
..3 and 4 are on critical path so their float is still 0
..so task 1 has float of critical path duration (16) minus Duration
of path 1 (12) giving float of 4

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Question Answer Marks

4 Answers/Indicative Level of Response 8

content
This question to be Level 3 (7–8 marks)
marked as a Level of
Response. Candidates will evaluate in
detail the suitability of both
Answers may make bitmap and vector graphics
reference to e.g.: for use on the website.
The information will be
Photo-realism: bitmaps are relevant, clear, organised
comprised of small pixels so and presented in a
the bitmap is the most structured and coherent
suitable format for photo- format.
realistic images or images There will be a reasoned
with high amounts of fine conclusion/opinion.
detail. The vector image, on Subject specific terminology
the other hand, does not will be used accurately and
possess the same kinds of appropriately.
photo-realistic capabilities
because it is comprised of Level 2 (4–6 marks)
larger objects and cannot
achieve the kind of fine Candidates will explain the
detail that is necessary for suitability of both bitmap and
photo-realism. vector graphics for use on
the website.
Scalability: vector images For the most part, the
are made of mathematically information will be relevant
defined objects so sizes can and presented in a
be easily manipulated with structured and coherent
little to no loss in the quality format.
of the image. The objects There may be a reasoned
within a vector image are re- conclusion/opinion.
rendered at a greater or Subject specific terminology
smaller scale to provide will be used appropriately
consistently smooth edges. and for the most part
Bitmaps are more difficult to correctly.
scale because changing the
size of a bitmap requires a Level 1 (1–3 marks)
complete rearrangement of Candidates will describe the
the pixels. An enlarged suitability of bitmap and/or
bitmap is likely to appear vector graphics for use on
blurry, or “pixelated,” the website.
meaning that the different Answers may be in the form
pixels of the image have of a list.
become visible. There will be little or no use
of specialist terms.
Shape: a bitmap image
always has four straight Zero marks: Response with
edges while vector images no valid content
can be any shape.

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Question Answer Marks

Answers/Indicative Level of Response

content
File size: complex vector
images can have a very
large file size due to the
complex instructions needed
to create them; the size of
the file is not dependant on
the size of the image: small
complex images can have a
large file size; bitmap
images can be large but can
be compressed.

Conversion between file

types: the most common file
type for bitmap web images
are jpeg or gif, and
conversion to these is simple
without loss of quality;
conversion of vector images
often results in more loss of
quality.

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Question Answer Marks

5(a) Eight from: 8

(Civilian) signals from satellite travel by line of sight to navigation

device/ receiver
Use L1/1575.42 MHz in UHF band
Satellites are Low Earth Orbit/LEO
Signal contains ID code of the satellite
...and status/health information
...and current date and time from atomic clock in the satellite
...and almanac data about where each GPS satellite is at any
point in time
Navigation device/ receiver must lock to (at least) 2 satellites to
calculate 2D position (i.e. latitude and longitude)
To 4 or more (usually 4 to 7) satellites to calculate 3D position
(i.e. latitude, longitude and altitude/elevation)
Using trilateration techniques
Calculation by finding intersect point by timing the signals from
the satellites

5(b) Five from: 5

Atmospheric/ionosphere/ troposphere delays slowing the

satellite signal slows as it passes through the atmosphere
Signal multipath errors as the GPS signal is reflected off objects
before it reaches the receiver
...increases the travel time of the signal
Clock errors in the receiver because the built-in clock is not as
accurate as the atomic clocks on board the GPS satellites
Orbital errors ( ephemeris errors) of the satellite's reported
location
The number of satellites visible may be too few because
buildings/terrain/dense foliage may block the signal reception
electronic interference can block the signals
...causing position errors /no position reading
...GPS units usually will not work indoors, underwater or
underground
Satellite geometry/shading because the relative position of the
satellites at any given time is not ideal for signal reception by the
receiver
...the satellites should be located at wide angles relative to each
other
...poor geometry occurs when the satellites are located in a
line/tight grouping
Intentional degradation of the satellite signal by the
operator/owner of the satellites
...to prevent military adversaries from using the highly accurate
GPS signals

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Question Answer Marks

6 Eight from: 8

Reader communicates via secure wireless connection with

restaurant base-station
Base station communicates with bank computers
Mobile reader reads the data from the card
Requests input of PIN from customer
PIN checked/validated against stored PIN
Request sent to restaurant’s bank to determine the cardholder’s
bank/issuing bank
Request sent to card issuer/bank to authorise the transaction
...authorisation code sent to restaurant’s bank if credit is
available
Credit card is validated/credit available
...if valid/available then transaction can proceed
...if not valid/available then transaction is refused
If transaction can proceed the amount of the transaction is
deducted from the cardholder’s account
Receipt is printed from the mobile reader

Question Answer Marks

7(a) Three from: 3

The computer-to-computer
Exchange of business documents
Using a standard electronic format
Between business partners

7(b) Five from: 5

Prepare the documents to be sent

Collect/organise the data via human interface screens/typing
Extract from databases/spreadsheets/output from stock
control/purchasing systems into data files
Translate the documents into EDI format
Convert internal data into EDI standard format
Transmit the EDI documents to trading partner
Use VPN/secure private network
Via an EDI network provider that connects the trading partners
together

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Question Answer Marks

8 Eight from e.g.: 8

Benefits of Packet Switching include e.g.:

Makes very efficient use of the network as communication lines
are shared
Data packets can be routed around unusable nodes/parts of the
network so if part of network/node is faulty/not working packets
can still reach destination
The network only has to expand slowly with increase in users
compared to circuit switching

Drawbacks of Packet Switching:

The packaging of the data changes each time a packet is
switched so there is a time overhead/latency
Can cause a problem for time-critical information such as an
emergency signal/video streaming
Small data packages are inefficiently packaged (e.g. a data
package of 600 bytes uses two packets of 512 bytes plus the
address information)

Max 6 for all benefits and drawbacks

1 mark available for a reasoned conclusion/opinion

Question Answer Marks

9(a) Four from: 4

Method 2 uses an array...

....which stores multiple values in a single variable
More suitable for storing large numbers of items/data items as it
reduces the complexity of the code
Increases the code easier to understand
Increases the execution speed of the code
Method 2 can be looped through using an iterative function
...to find a specific data item

9(b) Two from: 2

Jonas wanted to explain/add comments to the code/what the

line of code means/is for
To make it clear that the code referred to a list of the cities
Ensures that the explanation/comment was ignored by the web
browser
To make the code more readable/understandable

9(c) A suitable line of code would be: var place = city(2) 3

Three from:

var =1 mark
plus suitable variable name to store city e.g. place =1 mark
= city(2) =1 mark

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Question Answer Marks

9(d) Suitable code would be: 4

for (b = 0; b <= 3; b++) {

document.write (city (b));
}

Marks, four from:

for () 1 mark
suitable var names 1 mark
count from to 0 to 2 (b from 0 to <=3) 1 mark
adding 1 inside loop (b++) 1 mark
displaying the result of loop 1 mark

Question Answer Marks

10(i) Three from: 3

Interview face-to-face with managers asking about their

views/opinions of the current system
Managers can be available for in depth discussion/additional
questions
Not many managers, so time is not a constraint/consideration

10(ii) Three from: 3

Observation of the assembly workers to avoid disturbing/

distracting them at/from their work
Observers can see the process first hand/for themselves
Observers do not need to understand the technical language of
the process

10(iii) Three from: 3

Using questionnaires so that clerical staff can take them away

and complete in own time
Questionnaires can be anonymously returned/completed
Cannot use observation as the clerical staff behaviour could
change
Too many clerical staff to interview
Clerical staff can remain anonymous

Total: 90

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