Practice A.1 Basic concepts with authentic IB Computer Science (CS) exam questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 structure, covering key topics like programming concepts, algorithms, and data structures. Get instant solutions, detailed explanations, and build exam confidence with questions in the style of IB examiners.
A school maintains a database of students' details and teaching resources on a central server. This data can be accessed by all teachers in the school.
Teachers may need to edit resources when preparing their lessons.
When storing student details, data security is an important consideration.
The school has appointed a database administrator (DBA).
A DBA is required to carry out tasks such as ensuring there is a strategy to recover the database if it becomes corrupted and that the data is shared ethically.
Suggest how the privacy of student data can be ensured.
Explain how concurrent use of the school database is possible in this situation.
Describe two ways that data security in the school's database can be maintained.
Describe one strategy that could be used to ensure the data can be recovered if the database becomes corrupted.
A university wants to ensure that its student database remains secure and accurate.
Define the term data integrity.
Describe one advantage of maintaining data integrity in the university’s student records.
Explain two measures that the university could implement to maintain data integrity.
Identify two different types of relationships within databases.
Define the term database transaction.
Explain the importance of durability in a database transaction.
Describe the nature of the data dictionary.
Identify four responsibilities of a database administrator.
Outline the difference between an information system and a database.
A bank maintains a database that stores details of clients and their accounts.
A client wants to transfer money between two accounts held at the same bank.
Explain how the ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties would apply in the context of this database transaction.
A bank holds large volumes of financial and personal information about its clients in its database.
Discuss whether this database should be open to interrogation by the police or the Government.
A retail store uses a database to manage its inventory and customer transactions.
Define the term database transaction.
Describe two key characteristics of a database transaction.
Explain the importance of transactions in maintaining database consistency when processing customer purchases.
A bank’s database holds customer account information and transaction histories.
Define concurrency in database systems.
Describe one issue that may arise from concurrent access to the bank’s database.
Explain two methods for managing concurrent access in the bank’s database system.
Outline what is meant by a database management system.
Outline one advantage of using beta testing prior to the release of a new product.
A university wants to track student enrollment and course information through a database system.
Define data validation.
Outline two types of validation checks that could be used in the university’s database.
Explain why validation is essential for maintaining accurate records.
Here's the formatted version in markdown:
Taxonomy is the part of science that focuses on naming and classifying or grouping organisms. Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus, developed the current hierarchical classification system of taxonomic classification in the 1700s. This classification is hierarchical so one class has many orders, and one order has many families.
Birds can be classified under the Linnaean hierarchical taxonomy as "Aves". In one system of classification, Aves has 23 orders, one of which is the order Ciconiiformes, which holds six families within it.
Spoonbills constitute one of the families within the order Ciconiiformes. Data can be collected about spoonbills, such as length of the bill or beak, and is included in the database.
Outline, using an example, how data verification can ensure that data is entered into the birds database correctly.
Identify two characteristics of a conceptual schema.
Distinguish between data and information when entering the length of a spoonbill’s beak in the database.
Explain, using the example described in the scenario, why referential integrity is important in databases.
Explain why the use of data modelling is critical to the success of a database, such as the one used in this scenario.
Outline, using an example, how data validation can ensure that data is entered into the birds database correctly.
Construct an entity-relationship-diagram that shows the relationships between the class, order and family.
The following code implements the Parcel class used in the delivery company's program.
public class Parcel
{
private int trackingID;
private double weight;
public String destinationAddress;
public String originAddress;
public Parcel(int ID) {
trackingID = ID; weight = 0;
}
public void setWeight(double newWeight) {
weight = newWeight;
}
public double getWeight() {
return weight;
}
}
The origin and destination addresses are stored in a Parcel object as simple strings. However, addresses are complex and there are a lot of different pieces of information that may or may not be present such as a first name or a business name, in addition to house number, street name, city and country. It has been decided to create a new Address class to handle this information.
Outline one advantage of using standard library collections.
Describe two ways in which programming by a team differs from programming by an individual working alone.
State the appropriate data type to be used in the Address class to store the street name.
State the appropriate data type to be used in the Address class to store the building number.
State the appropriate data type to be used in the Address class to store an indication of whether or not this is a business address.
Identify the changes to the Parcel class that will be needed to make use of the new Address class.
Outline how these two new classes can be created with minimal duplication of code.