First Term-2023

Subject- IT chapter 1 worksheet-4

Name: ____________________ Year 12, A/G – Grade 11, A/G

1. A collection of data could be the following:

1989, Paolo, √, ₹, ≠, OR
(a) Explain, by defining the term ‘data’, why this is just a collection of data and is not
information.
Data on its own has no meaning and there is no meaning to this data
This data is just raw facts and figures
Data has to be processed to become information and there is little evidence that any of this
data has been processed as it has no meaning
Data needs to have a context in order to become information/we don’t know the context
for this data…
description using an example of why there is no meaning giving two alternative contexts
Data can be in the form of numbers, characters, symbols as shown in the example
(b) Select three of these items of data.
Explain what information each item might represent and how it could be used.

1989 could be a year, such as the year somebody joined a company

Paolo could represent somebody’s first name
√ could be the square root symbol used in Maths
₹ could represent a currency symbol such as is used in India
≠ could be the not equal to sign used in Maths
OR could be a Boolean operator used in IT/Computer Studies
2. Explain what is meant by an indirect data source. In your explanation include
descriptions of two different indirect data sources.
e.g.
• Data has been collected for a particular/different purpose
... but then that data is used for something else
Max TWO from:
e.g.
• The Electoral Register is a list of adults who are entitled to vote in a local or national
election
• Customers in stores often provide personal information when they buy products

3. Before companies make planning decisions, they need to collect a lot of data. The
decisions they make will depend on the quality of the resulting information.

Apart from its age and its level of detail, describe the other factors which affect the
quality of information.


• Identifies Accuracy as a factor (MUST be more than just the word ‘accuracy’)
• Identifies Relevance as a factor (MUST be more than just the word ‘relevance’)
Accuracy
• Information must be accurate to be considered of good quality
• If the collected data is inaccurate then the information produced will also be inaccurate
• The method of collection can affect the accuracy of the collected data and thence
information
• If questions in an interview/on a questionnaire are not phrased correctly this leads to
inaccurate data being collected (then the information produced will also be inaccurate)
• If data is then entered incorrectly it will lead to inaccurate information being produced
• Example of inaccurate information/data

Relevance
• The relevance of the data relates to the situation or problem being studied
• Relevant information is information which meets the needs of the user/relevant to its
purpose
• It should not concentrate on one aspect of the problem
• It should not relate to a different area to the one being studied
• Should not have too much information user will spend a lot of time searching to find
relevant information
• In order for information to be useful it needs to be complete if only some of the information
required is present then it is very difficult to solve a problem/complete a task
4. Many companies store the personal data of their workers electronically.
(a) Describe what is meant by the term ‘personal data’.
Information that relates to an identified//identifiable living individual
• Data that can identify a particular person
• Any data that can be reconstituted so that it identifies an individual
 (b) Describe the methods that could be used to attempt to prevent unauthorised access
to this personal data.
Physical protection – identify and describe the protection
e.g.
• Security Guard to prevent access to unauthorised people (1)
• Swipe cards (1)
Electronic protection – identify and describe the protection
e.g.

• Biometric data – unique features of an individual need to be presented to the system

which a hacker would not have
• Passwords using passwords which are difficult for hacker to guess and so gain access
• Firewall/whitelisting – network has a list of allowed IP addresses/computers any
computer/device not on the list will be denied access
• Access levels – different groups of users of networks have access to different data so even
if hackers gain access to network wouldn't necessarily have access to personal data
• Software updates – remove vulnerabilities in the system so hackers cannot exploit any
weaknesses
• Use a VPN – as its more secure that transferring data over a public network
5. Encryption can be used to protect data.
(a) Define encryption.
Data is scrambled/jumbled up
Converting information so that it is impossible to interpret/understand

(b) Explain how intercepted data could be misused if it was not encrypted.
eg.
Can be used for identity theft plus one example
Can be used for identity fraud plus one example
Company secrets could be sold by hackers to rival companies
National secrets could be used by rival powers
Secrets/personal data could be used for blackmail purposes
Private details could be used to pass (bank) security tests
– Accept any suitable extension for passing security tests
e.g.
– And so access (e.g.) bank accounts
6. A computer system is used to monitor the level of pollution in the air.
Describe how the system would collect, process and display the data.
Collection
Sensor(s) are used to gather data (DO NOT ACCEPT ‘COLLECT’) (1)
Naming of TWO physical values that would be gathered:
– temperature
– pH
– CO2
– O2
– Gas (BOD)
– UV light
Infrared
Processing
(Collected) data is sent to ADC
Analogue data is converted into digital (data)
Digital(ised) data is sent to microprocessor/computer/CPU
Computer stores readings in a table/database/file/spreadsheet
Naming of TWO results being calculated.
E.g.
– Max temperature
– Min temperature
– Average temperature
ONE mark for any description of how one result has been calculated.

Display
Computer plots graphs showing trend of pollution variables
– …over a period of time
 Computer plots graphs automatically
Computer outputs the results/graphs on screen/printer
Results may (also) be shown on a website
7. There are different types of processing including batch processing and real-time
processing.
(a) Without referring to master files and transaction files, describe what is meant by batch
processing.
Data is grouped
A group of data is processed all at once//in one go
Jobs/batches are set up so they can be run to completion without
human interaction
Data is processed at a set time .
Takes place when the computing resources are less busy
With batch processing there
(b) Rocket guidance systems are used in space exploration.
Explain why a rocket guidance system is an example of the use of real-time processing.

The response time of the computer must be immediate

Real-time responses are in the order of milliseconds, and sometimes

microseconds (must be more than ‘is fast’, but this can be expanded

upon)//real time processing is immediate.

Real time means that the inputs are processed and produce an output

which in turn affects the input

The processing involved in a rocket guidance system has to be

continuous, so the process is never ending

An example of consequences

An example of benefit