AQA AS and A-level Computer Science . AS and A-level exams June 2016 onwards. Version 1.

5 21 January 2019

3 Subject content – AS
We will support the following programming languages:
• C#
• Java
• Pascal/Delphi
• Python
• VB.Net.
Schools and colleges will be asked to indicate their programming language preference at the start
of the study of the specification.

3.1 Fundamentals of programming

3.1.1 Programming
3.1.1.1 Data types
Content Additional information

Understand the concept of a data type.

Understand and use the following appropriately:

• integer
• real/float
• Boolean
• character
• string
• date/time
• records (or equivalent)
• arrays (or equivalent).

Define and use user-defined data types based

on language-defined (built-in) data types.

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3.1.1.2 Programming concepts
Content Additional information

Use, understand and know how the following The three combining principles (sequence,
statement types can be combined in programs: iteration/repetition and selection/choice) are
basic to all imperative programming languages.
• variable declaration
• constant declaration
• assignment
• iteration
• selection
• subroutine (procedure/function).

Use definite and indefinite iteration, including

indefinite iteration with the condition(s) at the
start or the end of the iterative structure. A
theoretical understanding of condition(s) at
either end of an iterative structure is required,
regardless of whether they are supported by the
language being used.

Use nested selection and nested iteration

structures.

Use meaningful identifier names and know why

it is important to use them.

3.1.1.3 Arithmetic operations in a programming language

Content Additional information

Be familiar with and be able to use:

• addition
• subtraction
• multiplication
• real/float division
• integer division, including remainders
• exponentiation
• rounding
• truncation.

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3.1.1.4 Relational operations in a programming language

Content Additional information

Be familiar with and be able to use:

• equal to
• not equal to
• less than
• greater than
• less than or equal to
• greater than or equal to.

3.1.1.5 Boolean operations in a programming language

Content Additional information

Be familiar with and be able to use:

• NOT
• AND
• OR
• XOR.

3.1.1.6 Constants and variables in a programming language

Content Additional information

Be able to explain the differences between a

variable and a constant.

Be able to explain the advantages of using

named constants.

3.1.1.7 String-handling operations in a programming language

Content Additional information

Be familiar with and be able to use: Expected string conversion operations:

• length • string to integer
• position • string to float
• substring • integer to string
• concatenation • float to string
• character → character code • date/time to string
• character code → character • string to date/time.
• string conversion operations.

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3.1.1.8 Random number generation in a programming language
Content Additional information

Be familiar with, and be able to use, random

number generation.

3.1.1.9 Exception handling

Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of exception

handling.

Know how to use exception handling in a

programming language with which students are
familiar.

3.1.1.10 Subroutines (procedures/functions)

Content Additional information

Be familiar with subroutines and their uses.

Know that a subroutine is a named ‘out of line’

block of code that may be executed (called) by
simply writing its name in a program statement.

Be able to explain the advantages of using

subroutines in programs.

3.1.1.11 Parameters of subroutines

Content Additional information

Be able to describe the use of parameters to

pass data within programs.

Be able to use subroutines with interfaces.

3.1.1.12 Returning a value/values from a subroutine

Content Additional information

Be able to use subroutines that return values to

the calling routine.

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3.1.1.13 Local variables in subroutines

Content Additional information

Know that subroutines may declare their own

variables, called local variables, and that local
variables:
• exist only while the subroutine is
executing
• are accessible only within the subroutine.

Be able to use local variables and explain why it

is good practice to do so.

3.1.1.14 Global variables in a programming language

Content Additional information

Be able to contrast local variables with global

variables.

3.1.2 Procedural-oriented programming

3.1.2.1 Structured programming
Content Additional information

Understand the structured approach to program

design and construction.

Be able to construct and use hierarchy charts

when designing programs.

Be able to explain the advantages of the

structured approach.

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3.2 Fundamentals of data structures
3.2.1 Data structures and abstract data types
3.2.1.1 Data structures
Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of data structures. It may be helpful to set the concept of a data
structure in various contexts that students may
already be familiar with. It may also be helpful
to suggest/demonstrate how data structures
could be used in a practical setting.

3.2.1.2 Single- and multi-dimensional arrays (or equivalent)

Content Additional information

Use arrays (or equivalent) in the design of A one-dimensional array is a useful way of
solutions to simple problems. representing a vector. A two-dimensional array
is a useful way of representing a matrix. More
generally, an n-dimensional array is a set of
elements with the same data type that are
indexed by a tuple of n integers, where a tuple
is an ordered list of elements.

3.2.1.3 Fields, records and files

Content Additional information

Be able to read/write from/to a text file.

Be able to read/write data from/to a binary (non-

text) file.

3.3 Systematic approach to problem solving

3.3.1 Aspects of software development
3.3.1.1 Analysis
Content Additional information

Be aware that before a problem can be solved, Students should have experience of using
it must be defined, the requirements of the abstraction to model aspects of the external
system that solves the problem must be world in a program.
established and a data model created.

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3.3.1.2 Design
Content Additional information

Be aware that before constructing a solution, Students should have sufficient experience of
the solution should be designed and specificed, successfully structuring programs into modular
for example planning data structures for the parts with clear documented interfaces to
data model, designing algorithms, designing an enable them to design appropriate modular
appropriate modular structure for the solution structures for solutions.
and designing the human user interface.

3.3.1.3 Implementation
Content Additional information

Be aware that the models and algorithms need Students should have sufficient practice of
to be implemented in the form of data structures writing, debugging and testing programs to
and code (instructions) that a computer can enable them to develop the skills to articulate
understand. how programs work, arguing for their
correctness and efficiency using logical
reasoning, test data and user feedback.

3.3.1.4 Testing
Content Additional information

Be aware that the implementation must be Students should have practical experience of
tested for the presence of errors, using selected designing and applying test data, normal,
test data covering normal (typical), boundary boundary and erroneous to the testing of
and erroneous data. programs so that they are familiar with these
test data types and the purpose of testing.

3.3.1.5 Evaluation
Content Additional information

Know the criteria for evaluating a computer

system.

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3.4 Theory of computation
3.4.1 Abstraction and automation
3.4.1.1 Problem-solving
Content Additional information

Be able to develop solutions to simple logic

problems.

Be able to check solutions to simple logic

problems.

3.4.1.2 Following and writing algorithms

Content Additional information

Understand the term algorithm. A sequence of steps that can be followed to

complete a task and that always terminates.

Be able to express the solution to a simple

problem as an algorithm using pseudo-code,
with the standard constructs:
• sequence
• assignment
• selection
• iteration.

Be able to hand-trace algorithms.

Be able to convert an algorithm from pseudo-

code into high level language program code.

Be able to articulate how a program works,

arguing for its correctness and its efficiency
using logical reasoning, test data and user
feedback.

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3.4.1.3 Abstraction
Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of abstraction as

used in computations and know that:
• representational abstraction is a
representation arrived at by removing
unnecessary details
• abstraction by generalisation or
categorisation is a grouping by common
characteristics to arrive at a hierarchical
relationship of the 'is a kind of' type.

3.4.1.4 Information hiding

Content Additional information

Be familiar with the process of hiding all details

of an object that do not contribute to its essential
characteristics.

3.4.1.5 Procedural abstraction

Content Additional information

Know that procedural abstraction represents a The result of abstracting away the actual values
computational method. used in any particular computation is a
computational pattern or computational method
- a procedure.

3.4.1.6 Functional abstraction

Content Additional information

Know that for functional abstraction the The result of a procedural abstraction is a
particular computation method is hidden. procedure, not a function. To get a function
requires yet another abstraction, which
disregards the particular computation method.
This is functional abstraction.

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3.4.1.7 Data abstraction
Content Additional information

Know that details of how data are actually Data abstraction is a methodology that enables
represented are hidden, allowing new kinds of us to isolate how a compound data object is
data objects to be constructed from previously used from the details of how it is constructed.
defined types of data objects.
For example, a stack could be implemented as
an array and a pointer for top of stack.

3.4.1.8 Problem abstraction/reduction

Content Additional information

Know that details are removed until the problem

is represented in a way that is possible to solve
because the problem reduces to one that has
already been solved.

3.4.1.9 Decomposition
Content Additional information

Know that procedural decomposition means

breaking a problem into a number of sub-
problems, so that each sub-problem
accomplishes an identifiable task, which might
itself be further subdivided.

3.4.1.10 Composition
Content Additional information

Know how to build a composition abstraction by

combining procedures to form compound
procedures.

Know how to build data abstractions by

combining data objects to form compound data,
for example tree data structure.

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3.4.1.11 Automation
Content Additional information

Understand that automation requires putting Computer science is about building clean
models (abstraction of real world objects/ abstract models (abstractions) of messy, noisy,
phenomena) into action to solve problems. This real world objects or phenomena. Computer
is achieved by: scientists have to choose what to include in
models and what to discard, to determine the
• creating algorithms
minimum amount of detail necessary to model
• implementing the algorithms in program in order to solve a given problem to the required
code (instructions) degree of accuracy.
• implementing the models in data
structures Computer science deals with putting the models
• executing the code. into action to solve problems. This involves
creating algorithms for performing actions on,
and with, the data that has been modelled.

3.4.2 Finite state machines (FSMs)

3.4.2.1 Finite state machines (FSMs) without output
Content Additional information

Be able to draw and interpret simple state

transition diagrams and state transition tables
for FSMs with no output.

3.5 Fundamentals of data representation

3.5.1 Number systems
3.5.1.1 Natural numbers
Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of a natural number ℕ = {0, 1, 2, 3, … }

and the set ℕ of natural numbers (including
zero).

3.5.1.2 Integer numbers

Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of an integer and ℤ = { …, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, … }

the set ℤ of integers.

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3.5.1.3 Rational numbers
Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of a rational ℚ is the set of numbers that can be written as
number and the set ℚ of rational numbers, and fractions (ratios of integers). Since a number
that this set includes the integers. such as 7 can be written as 7/1, all integers are
rational numbers.

3.5.1.4 Irrational numbers

Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of an irrational An irrational number is one that cannot be
number. written as a fraction, for example √2.

3.5.1.5 Real numbers

Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of a real number ℝ is the set of all 'possible real world quantities'.
and the set ℝ of real numbers, which includes
the natural numbers, the rational numbers, and
the irrational numbers.

3.5.1.6 Ordinal numbers

Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of ordinal numbers When objects are placed in order, ordinal
and their use to describe the numerical numbers are used to tell their position. For
positions of objects. example, if we have a well-ordered set S = {‘a’,
‘b’, ‘c’, ‘d’}, then ‘a’ is the 1st object, ‘b’ the 2nd,
and so on.

3.5.1.7 Counting and measurement

Content Additional information

Be familiar with the use of:

• natural numbers for counting
• real numbers for measurement.

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3.5.2 Number bases

3.5.2.1 Number base
Content Additional information

Be familiar with the concept of a number base, Students should be familiar with expressing a
in particular: number’s base using a subscript as follows:
• decimal (base 10) Base 10: Number10, eg 6710
• binary (base 2) Base 2: Number2, eg 100110112
• hexadecimal (base 16).
Base 16: Number16, eg AE16

Convert between decimal, binary and

hexadecimal number bases.

Be familiar with, and able to use, hexadecimal

as a shorthand for binary and to understand
why it is used in this way.

3.5.3 Units of information

3.5.3.1 Bits and bytes
Content Additional information

Know that: A bit is either 0 or 1.

• the bit is the fundamental unit of
information
• a byte is a group of 8 bits.

Know that the 2n different values can be For example, 3 bits can be configured in 23 = 8
represented with n bits. different ways.
000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, 111

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3.5.3.2 Units
Content Additional information

Know that quantities of bytes can be described Historically the terms kilobyte, megabyte, etc
using binary prefixes representing powers of 2 have often been used when kibibyte, mebibyte,
or using decimal prefixes representing powers etc are meant.
of 10, eg one kibibyte is written as 1KiB = 210 B
and one kilobyte is written as 1 kB = 103 B.
Know the names, symbols and corresponding
powers of 2 for the binary prefixes:
• kibi, Ki - 210
• mebi, Mi - 220
• gibi, Gi - 230
• tebi, Ti - 240
Know the names, symbols and corresponding
powers of 10 for the decimal prefixes:
• kilo, k - 103
• mega, M - 106
• giga, G - 109
• tera, T - 1012

3.5.4 Binary number system

3.5.4.1 Unsigned binary
Content Additional information

Know the difference between unsigned binary Students are expected to be able to convert
and signed binary. between unsigned binary and decimal and vice
versa.

Know that in unsigned binary the minimum and

maximum values for a given number of bits, n,
are 0 and 2n -1 respectively.

3.5.4.2 Unsigned binary arithmetic

Content Additional information

Be able to:
• add two unsigned binary integers
• multiply two unsigned binary integers.

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3.5.4.3 Signed binary using two’s complement

Content Additional information

Know that signed binary can be used to This is the only representation of negative
represent negative integers and that one integers that will be examined. Students are
possible coding scheme is two’s complement. expected to be able to convert between signed
binary and decimal and vice versa.

Know how to:

• represent negative and positive integers
in two’s complement
• perform subtraction using two’s
complement
• calculate the range of a given number of
bits, n.

3.5.4.4 Numbers with a fractional part

Content Additional information

Know how numbers with a fractional part can be

represented in:
• fixed point form in binary in a given
number of bits.

Be able to convert for each representation form:

• decimal to binary of a given number of
bits
• binary to decimal of a given number of
bits.

3.5.5 Information coding systems

3.5.5.1 Character form of a decimal digit
Content Additional information

Differentiate between the character code

representation of a decimal digit and its pure
binary representation.

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3.5.5.2 ASCII and Unicode
Content Additional information

Describe ASCII and Unicode coding systems

for coding character data and explain why
Unicode was introduced.

3.5.5.3 Error checking and correction

Content Additional information

Describe and explain the use of:

• parity bits
• majority voting
• check digits.

3.5.6 Representing images, sound and other data

3.5.6.1 Bit patterns, images, sound and other data
Content Additional information

Describe how bit patterns may represent other

forms of data, including graphics and sound.

3.5.6.2 Analogue and digital

Content Additional information

Understand the difference between analogue

and digital:
• data
• signals.

3.5.6.3 Analogue/digital conversion

Content Additional information

Describe the principles of operation of:

• an analogue to digital converter (ADC)
• a digital to analogue converter (DAC).

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3.5.6.4 Bitmapped graphics

Content Additional information

Explain how bitmaps are represented.

Explain the following for bitmaps: The size of an image is also alternatively
sometimes described as the resolution of an
• resolution
image.
• colour depth
• size in pixels. Size of an image in pixels is width of image in
pixels x height of image in pixels.
Resolution is expressed as number of dots per
inch where a dot is a pixel.
Colour depth = number of bits stored for each
pixel.

Calculate storage requirements for bitmapped Ignoring metadata,

images and be aware that bitmap image files
storage requirements = size in pixels x colour
may also contain metadata.
depth
where size in pixels is width in pixels x height in
pixels.

Be familiar with typical metadata. eg width, height, colour depth.

3.5.6.5 Digital representation of sound

Content Additional information

Describe the digital representation of sound in

terms of:
• sample resolution
• sampling rate and the Nyquist theorem.

Calculate sound sample sizes in bytes.

3.5.6.6 Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)

Content Additional information

Describe the purpose of MIDI and the use of

event messages in MIDI.

Describe the advantages of using MIDI files for

representing music.

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3.5.6.7 Data compression
Content Additional information

Know why images and sound files are often

compressed and that other files, such as text
files, can also be compressed.

Understand the difference between lossless

and lossy compression and explain the
advantages and disadvantages of each.

Explain the principles behind the following

techniques for lossless compression:
• run length encoding (RLE)
• dictionary-based methods.

3.5.6.8 Encryption
Content Additional information

Understand what is meant by encryption and be Students should be familiar with the terms
able to define it. cipher, plaintext and ciphertext.
Caesar and Vernam ciphers are at opposite
extremes. One offers perfect security, the other
doesn’t. Between these two types are ciphers
that are computationally secure – see below.
Students will be assessed on the two types.
Ciphers other than Caesar may be used to
assess students' understanding of the principles
involved. These will be explained and be similar
in terms of computational complexity.

Be familiar with Caesar cipher and be able to

apply it to encrypt a plaintext message and
decrypt a ciphertext.
Be able to explain why it is easily cracked.

Be familiar with Vernam cipher or one-time pad Since the key k is chosen uniformly at random,
and be able to apply it to encrypt a plaintext the ciphertext c is also distributed uniformly.
message and decrypt a ciphertext. The key k must be used once only. The key k is
known as a one-time pad.
Explain why Vernam cipher is considered as a
cypher with perfect security.

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Content Additional information

Compare Vernam cipher with ciphers that Vernam cipher is the only one to have been
depend on computational security. mathematically proved to be completely secure.
The worth of all other ciphers ever devised is
based on computational security. In theory,
every cryptographic algorithm except for
Vernam cipher can be broken, given enough
ciphertext and time.

3.6 Fundamentals of computer systems

3.6.1 Hardware and software
3.6.1.1 Relationship between hardware and software
Content Additional information

Understand the relationship between hardware

and software and be able to define the terms:
• hardware
• software.

3.6.1.2 Classification of software

Content Additional information

Explain what is meant by:

• system software
• application software.

Understand the need for, and attributes of,

different types of software.

3.6.1.3 System software

Content Additional information

Understand the need for, and functions of the

following system software:
• operating systems (OSs)
• utility programs
• libraries
• translators (compiler, assembler,
interpreter).

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3.6.1.4 Role of an operating system (OS)
Content Additional information

Understand that a role of the operating system

is to hide the complexities of the hardware.

Know that the OS handles resource

management, managing hardware to allocate
processors, memories and I/O devices among
competing processes.

3.6.2 Classification of programming languages

3.6.2.1 Classification of programming languages
Content Additional information

Show awareness of the development of types of

programming languages and their classification
into low-and high-level languages.

Know that low-level languages are considered

to be:
• machine-code
• assembly language.

Know that high-level languages include

imperative high level-language.

Describe machine-code language and

assembly language.

Understand the advantages and disadvantages

of machine-code and assembly language
programming compared with high-level
language programming.

Explain the term ‘imperative high-level

language’ and its relationship to low-level
languages.

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3.6.3 Types of program translator

3.6.3.1 Types of program translator
Content Additional information

Understand the role of each of the following:

• assembler
• compiler
• interpreter.
Explain the differences between compilation
and interpretation. Describe situations in which
each would be appropriate.

Explain why an intermediate language such as

bytecode is produced as the final output by
some compilers and how it is subsequently
used.

Understand the difference between source and

object (executable) code.

3.6.4 Logic gates

3.6.4.1 Logic gates
Content Additional information

Construct truth tables for the following logic Students should know and be able to use ANSI/
gates: IEEE standard 91-1984 Distinctive shape logic
gate symbols for these logic gates.
• NOT
• AND
• OR
• XOR
• NAND
• NOR.

Be familiar with drawing and interpreting logic

gate circuit diagrams involving one or more of
the above gates.

Complete a truth table for a given logic gate

circuit.

Write a Boolean expression for a given logic

gate circuit.

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Content Additional information

Draw an equivalent logic gate circuit for a given

Boolean expression.

3.6.5 Boolean algebra

3.6.5.1 Using Boolean algebra
Content Additional information

Be familiar with the use of Boolean identities

and De Morgan’s laws to manipulate and
simplify Boolean expressions.

3.7 Fundamentals of computer organisation and

architecture
3.7.1 Internal hardware components of a computer
3.7.1.1 Internal hardware components of a computer
Content Additional information

Have an understanding and knowledge of the Although exam questions about specific
basic internal components of a computer machines will not be asked, it might be useful to
system. base this section on the machines used at the
centre.

Understand the role of the following

components and how they relate to each other:
• processor
• main memory
• address bus
• data bus
• control bus
• I/O controllers.

Understand the need for, and means of,

communication between components. In
particular, understand the concept of a bus and
how address, data and control buses are used.

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Content Additional information

Be able to explain the difference between von Embedded systems such as digital signal
Neumann and Harvard architectures and processing (DSP) systems use Harvard
describe where each is typically used. architecture processors extensively.
Von Neumann architecture is used extensively
in general purpose computing systems.

Understand the concept of addressable

memory.

3.7.2 The stored program concept

3.7.2.1 The meaning of the stored program concept
Content Additional information

Be able to describe the stored program

concept: machine code instructions stored in
main memory are fetched and executed serially
by a processor that performs arithmetic and
logical operations.

3.7.3 Structure and role of the processor and its components

3.7.3.1 The processor and its components
Content Additional information

Explain the role and operation of a processor

and its major components:
• arithmetic logic unit
• control unit
• clock
• general-purpose registers
• dedicated registers, including:
• program counter
• current instruction register
• memory address register
• memory buffer register
• status register.

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3.7.3.2 The Fetch-Execute cycle and the role of registers within it
Content Additional information

Explain how the Fetch-Execute cycle is used to

execute machine code programs, including the
stages in the cycle (fetch, decode, execute) and
details of registers used.

3.7.3.3 The processor instruction set

Content Additional information

Understand the term ‘processor instruction set’

and know that an instruction set is processor
specific.

Know that instructions consist of an opcode and A simple model will be used in which the
one or more operands (value, memory address addressing mode will be incorporated into the
or register). bits allocated to the opcode so the latter defines
both the basic machine operation and the
addressing mode. Students will not be expected
to define opcode, only interpret opcodes in the
given context of a question.
For example, 4 bits have been allocated to the
opcode (3 bits for basic machine operation, eg
ADD, and 1 bit for the addressing mode). 4 bits
have been allocated to the operand, making the
instruction, opcode + operand, 8 bits in length.
In this example, 16 different opcodes are
possible (24 = 16).

3.7.3.4 Addressing modes

Content Additional information

Understand and apply immediate and direct Immediate addressing: the operand is the
addressing modes. datum.
Direct addressing: the operand is the address of
the datum. Address to be interpreted as
meaning either main memory or register.

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3.7.3.5 Machine-code/assembly language operations

Content Additional information

Understand and apply the basic machine-code

operations of:
• load
• add
• subtract
• store
• branching (conditional and unconditional)
• compare
• logical bitwise operators (AND, OR, NOT,
XOR)
• logical
• shift right
• shift left
• halt.
Use the basic machine-code operations above
when machine-code instructions are expressed
in mnemonic form- assembly language, using
immediate and direct addressing.

3.7.3.6 Factors affecting processor performance

Content Additional information

Explain the effect on processor performance of:

• multiple cores
• cache memory
• clock speed
• word length
• address bus width
• data bus width.

3.7.4 External hardware devices

3.7.4.1 Input and output devices
Content Additional information

Know the main characteristics, purposes and Devices that need to be considered are:
suitability of the devices and understand their
• barcode reader
principles of operation.
• digital camera
• laser printer
• RFID.

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3.7.4.2 Secondary storage devices
Content Additional information

Explain the need for secondary storage within a

computer system.

Know the main characteristics, purposes, SSD = NAND flash memory + a controller that
suitability and understand the principles of manages pages, and blocks and complexities of
operation of the following devices: writing. Based on floating gate transistors that
trap and store charge. A block, made up of
• hard disk
many pages, cannot overwrite pages, page has
• optical disk to be erased before it can be written to but
• solid-state disk (SSD). technology requires the whole block to be
erased. Lower latency and faster transfer
speeds than a magnetic disk drive.

Compare the capacity and speed of access of

various media and make a judgement about
their suitability for different applications.

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 AQA AS and A-level Computer Science . AS and A-level exams June 2016 onwards. Version 1.5 21 January 2019

3.8 Consequences of uses of computing

3.8.1 Individual (moral), social (ethical), legal and cultural issues and
opportunities
Content Additional information

Show awareness of current individual (moral), Teachers may wish to employ two very powerful
social (ethical), legal and cultural opportunities techniques, hypotheticals and case studies, to
and risks of computing. engage students in the issues.
Understand that: Hypotheticals allow students to isolate quickly
important ethical principles in an artificially
• developments in computer science and
simplified context. For example, a teacher might
the digital technologies have dramatically
ask students to explain and defend how, as a
altered the shape of communications and
Google project manager, they would evaluate a
information flows in societies, enabling
proposal to bring Google’s Street View
massive transformations in the capacity
technology to a remote African village. What
to:
questions should be asked? Who should be
• monitor behaviour consulted? What benefits, risks and safeguards
• amass and analyse personal considered? What are the trade-offs?
information
• distribute, publish, communicate and Case studies allow students to confront the
disseminate personal information. tricky interplay between the sometimes
competing ethical values and principles relevant
• computer scientists and software
in real world settings. For example, the Google
engineers therefore have power, as well
Street View case might be used to tease out the
as the responsibilities that go with it, in the
ethical conflicts between individual and cultural
algorithms that they devise and the code
expectations, the principle of informed consent,
that they deploy.
Street View’s value as a service, its potential
• software and their algorithms embed
impact on human perceptions and behaviours,
moral and cultural values.
and its commercial value to Google and its
• the issue of scale, for software the whole shareholders.
world over, creates potential for individual
computer scientists and software There are many resources available on the
engineers to produce great good, but with Internet to support teaching of this topic.
it comes the ability to cause great harm.
Be able to discuss the challenges facing
legislators in the digital age.

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3.9 Fundamentals of communication and networking
3.9.1 Communication
3.9.1.1 Communication methods
Content Additional information

Define serial and parallel transmission methods

and discuss the advantages of serial over
parallel transmission.

Define and compare synchronous and

asynchronous data transmission.

Describe the purpose of start and stop bits in

asynchronous data transmission.

3.9.1.2 Communication basics

Content Additional information

Define:
• baud rate
• bit rate
• bandwidth
• latency
• protocol.

Differentiate between baud rate and bit rate. Bit rate can be higher than baud rate if more
than one bit is encoded in each signal change.

Understand the relationship between bit rate Bit rate is directly proportionate to bandwidth.
and bandwidth.

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3.9.2 Networking
3.9.2.1 Network topology
Content Additional information

Understand: A network physically wired in star topology can

behave logically as a bus network by using a
• physical star topology
bus protocol and appropriate physical switching.
• logical bus network topology
and:
• differentiate between them
• explain their operation

3.9.2.2 Types of networking between hosts

Content Additional information

Explain the following and describe situations In a peer-to-peer network, each computer has
where they might be used: equal status. In a client-server network, most
computers are nominated as clients and one or
• peer-to-peer networking
more as servers. The clients request services
• client-server networking. from the servers, which provide these services,
for example file server, email server.

3.9.2.3 Wireless networking

Content Additional information

Explain the purpose of WiFi. A wireless local area network that is based on
international standards.
Used to enable devices to connect to a network
wirelessly.

Be familiar with the components required for Wireless network adapter.

wireless networking.
Wireless access point.

Be familiar with how wireless networks are Strong encryption of transmitted data using
secured. WPA (Wifi Protected Access)/WPA2, SSID
(Service Set Identifier) broadcast disabled,
MAC (Media Access Control) address white list.

Explain the wireless protocol Carrier Sense Knowledge of Carrier Sense Multiple Access/
Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance Collection Detection (CSMA/CD) as used in, for
(CSMA/CA) with and without Request to Send/ example, Ethernet, is not required.
Clear to Send (RTS/CTS).

Be familiar with the purpose of Service Set

Identifier (SSID).

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