Next Live Online Session:

I will be doing a series of posts like the last two that have one of course topics and a few questions from past papers about them. Please comment with the answers and I will add it on.

So the exam is tomorrow at 9am and I am a little disappointed that I haven’t heard from more of you.

If you need help or want questions answered then post a comment, if you don’t want people to know just put that in the comment and I will only post a reply.

If you need some last minute inspiration then try a previous post or check off these. If you need your inspiration more digital then get on Scholar or Pass Computing.

This was popular last year, so here it is again.

Right you have one week to go. I know a lot of you still have Maths and Physics to get through but you need to focus on Computing. Here is what I would do with a week to go.

1. I wouldn’t study outside – its hot and full of distractions
2. I would start at 9 and do the following
   1. Past Paper
   2. Break
   3. Marking Past Paper
   4. Break down wrong answers into core and non core (using the list below – core is likely to come up the exam)
   5. Revise core
   6. Lunch
   7. Revise core
   8. Break (its about 2pm if the above tasks took you 2hr for the paper and 30 mins a task)
   9. Revise non core answers
   10. Look over the topics from the units by picking a half dozen topics each day.
3. Download this document. and use this as the basis for some questions on the topics I found hard, as well as, using it to aid revision of the topics in the units (List of Topics at bottom)
4. Use the blog, Scholar and other school’s notes to learn the core information I am not sure about.
5. I would learn the two images below and be able to describe and compare each of the aditdem elements with each other – E.g. what is the difference between Procedural and Event Driven Languages?
6. I would look over and memorise the standard algorithms
7. I would buy a £1 calculator that does binary and learn how to use it.
8. If I was tired, I would take a break and I would cut down on caffeine.
9. I would give my mobile to my parents when I was studying and get it back at breaks (when I was your age this was not an option  )

The above is not a roadmap to success! However, it might help get you the marks you need to change a grade.

Good luck in the exam! Remember ask questions here or to my email account, I will be checking them over the coming week and will try and get a response out ASAP. If you are finding it too warm to study, the class room has air con and I’m sure I could squeeze you in at a desk.

Core – likely to come up in the exam

Computer Systems

Software Development

• by value and by reference
• local and global variables
• concatenation and substrings
• design notations
• Evaluation – robustness, reliability, portability, efficiency and maintainability
• iterative
• macros
• maintenance
• module library
• one-dimensional arrays
• personnel
• procedural, declarative and event-driven
• real, integer and boolean variables
• Scope
• scripting languages
• software specification
• stages
• standard algorithms

Multimedia

• Authoring software
• Bluetooth
• CLUT
• codec and container file
• dithering
• MIDI
• MPEG
• PCM, ADPCM
• RAW, RIFF
• RLE, LZW
• Sound file size
• vector graphics
• Video file size
• anti-aliasing
• re-sampling

Unit / Topic

I have been waiting for a barrage of questions… I guess that you have all been too busy with all your studying. Don’t be put off by the good weather it will still be there when your exams are done and dusted. Get your head down and get on with it.

Here is how to fill the next two weeks (except the days you have other exams).

• Get a marking scheme for a higher past paper, oh look here is one.
• Get an A4 piece of paper and draw a line bisecting it.
• Write the question on one side and the answer on the other.
• Every time you meet an answer you don’t understand go look it up and rewrite the answer in a fashion you do understand.

For example for the paper above and question 4

This gives a double benefit.

1. Familiarisation with past paper questions and the number of and distribution of marks.
2. Studying areas of the course you are weak in.

Remember there is no shame in not knowing something, as long as you then do something about it. That’s why I am here, leave a comment or send me an email if you need any help.

Now on the more techy side of the news NASA have bought a quantum computer. This is a truly amazing time to become a computer scientist a brand new field is just opening up.

Test your knowledge with some quiz questions you might to look over on pass computing. Flash cards are also useful for revising topics quickly.

I have added some new videos to the playlists

• Computer Systems
• Software Development
• Multimedia

I have also added more links to the unit posts.