Practise 397 real questions on Programming and object-oriented programming from 2021 to 2026. See the answer and explanation as soon as you answer.
Programming and object-oriented programming is one of the 10 main topics in our A Level Computer Science (Cambridge (CAIE) 9618) question bank, and about 35% of its real questions come from it. Tayyari Karo has 397 real questions on this topic from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3, Paper 4. By difficulty: 170 easy, 135 medium, 92 hard.
Work through the questions below, then open the explanation for each one. Redo the ones you missed a few days later.
These are real past-paper questions. Think of your answer first, then open the explanation.
Study this pseudocode: FOR i <- 3 TO 12 STEP 3 / OUTPUT i, i * i / NEXT i. (a) Identify the type of construct used in this pseudocode. [1]
Count-controlled loop // count-controlled iteration
A FOR loop repeats a fixed number of times.
(e)(i) Write program code for the main program which calls ReadData() and then SplitData().
DataFromFile = ReadData();
SplitData(DataFromFile);
3 marks: 1 for calling ReadData, 1 for storing/using return value, 1 for calling SplitData with returned array.
(a) Explain what is meant by non-composite and composite data types.
Non-composite:
• Non-composite data types can be user-defined or primitive
• Do not refer to other data types in their definition / contain one data type
• Can be primitive/enumerated/pointer
Composite:
• Composite data types can be user-defined or primitive
• Refer to other data types in their definition / contain more than one data type
• Can be record/set/class
3 marks: up to 2 for non-composite, up to 2 for composite (max 3).
(d) The final CASE condition (> 200) in the pseudocode example could be replaced with a keyword. Give the keyword.
OTHERWISE
1 mark.
(a) Describe what is meant by recursion.
• A process using a function or procedure defined in terms of itself / calls itself
• A recursive process must have a base case (which is a way to return without making a recursive call) / terminating solution / concept of unwinding
• There must (also) be a general case where the recursive call takes place
2 marks: 1 each to max 2.
(c)(ii) Explain how the message format could be changed to allow a blank line to be sent.
• Append a (special) character to the start of the message text and interpret the new field data as a blank line
• Or: Change the message protocol and use an additional field to act as an indicator and interpret the new field data
2 marks: 1 for each point.
(d) Identify two types of errors that CheckLine() might detect in a student's program.
• Incorrect block structure. Missing keyword denoting part of block (for example ENDPROCEDURE, ENDFUNCTION, ENDTYPE)
• Data type errors, for example assigning an integer value to a string
• Identifier used before it is declared
• Incorrect parameter use
2 marks: 1 for each to max 2.
(b)(i) Define, using pseudocode, the enumerated data type SchoolDay to hold data about the days students are usually in school.
TYPE SchoolDay = (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
1 mark.
| Session | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | Paper 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May/June 2026 | – | 15 | 6 | 19 |
| May/June 2025 | – | 8 | 7 | 22 |
| October/November 2025 | – | 6 | 2 | 17 |
| May/June 2024 | – | 8 | 7 | 25 |
| October/November 2024 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 18 |
| May/June 2023 | – | 8 | 5 | 26 |
| October/November 2023 | – | 14 | 8 | 20 |
| May/June 2022 | – | 10 | 6 | 23 |
| October/November 2022 | – | 12 | 2 | 15 |
| May/June 2021 | – | 14 | 7 | 19 |
| October/November 2021 | – | 3 | 8 | 14 |
397 real A Level Computer Science (9618) questions on Programming and object-oriented programming from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3, Paper 4. Each one shows the year, session and paper it came from.
Yes. Every question shows the correct answer and a short explanation the moment you answer.
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