IBDP Computer Science A1.1 Computer hardware and operation HL Paper 1 - New Syllabus
▶️ Answer/Explanation
The memory data register (MDR) temporarily holds data being transferred between the CPU and primary memory.
This means that the MDR can hold data that has been fetched from primary memory before it is processed by the CPU, or data that is waiting to be stored into primary memory.
Answer: The MDR holds data that will be stored in or fetched from primary memory.
▶️ Answer/Explanation
Any $2$ valid causes of data loss other than human error may be identified.
For example:
• Hardware malfunction: A disk may develop physical faults, bad sectors, read/write failures or firmware problems, making stored data inaccessible or corrupt.
• Malware: Computer viruses, ransomware or other malicious software can corrupt, encrypt or delete stored data.
Other acceptable causes include:
• software corruption, malfunction or system crashes;
• theft of the storage device or digital theft through hacking;
• sudden power failure that damages hardware or the operating system;
• natural disasters such as floods, fires, earthquakes or lightning;
• errors during data migration or transmission;
• software or hardware incompatibility during system upgrades.
Answer: Any $2$, for example hardware malfunction and malware infection.
▶️ Answer/Explanation
(a)(i) CAD software is software used by designers to create 2D or 3D models of physical components or entities. It can be used to create, modify, analyse or enhance a design.
(a)(ii) Two benefits include:
• Increased productivity: CAD software automates many of the architect’s tasks, allowing projects to be completed more quickly.
• Flexibility to modify designs: Changes and revisions can easily be made to designs and visualized before approval.
Other accepted benefits include reduced effort, saving time, saving money, better-quality drawings, improved accuracy, fewer errors, easier sharing of work and integration with other tools.
(b) Data compression reduces the size of the large graphic files.
This means that less memory/storage space is required, allowing more CAD files to be stored.
It also reduces the amount of data that needs to be transferred, resulting in faster upload and download times and reduced bandwidth requirements.
Answer: Compression reduces file size, so less storage space is required and the files can be transferred more quickly.
(c)(i) The architect could make a regular backup of her data and store it on an external storage device. If the disk fails, the data can be recovered quickly from the backup, reducing downtime.
Alternatively, she could use a secondary/standby system with an appropriate backup system so that it can take over when the main system fails, with data restored to the latest backup point.
A failover system or RAID could also automatically take over after a hard-drive failure, reducing or preventing data loss and minimizing downtime.
Another solution is cloud storage, where files are backed up to the cloud and can be accessed from another device when the disk fails.
Answer: Regularly back up the architect’s files to external storage or cloud storage so that the data remains available and can be quickly restored if the disk fails.
(c)(ii) Two possible causes of data loss are:
• Human error: Data may be accidentally deleted, incorrectly entered, altered or replaced.
• Malware or hacking: Malicious software or attackers may steal, alter or destroy data.
Other accepted causes include transfer errors, software malfunction, natural disasters, power failures, a full disk and lossy compression.