AHMED ABID X-A

QUESTION 1. 6

5 Parity checks are often used to check for errors that may occur during data transmission.

(a) A system uses even parity.

Tick (✓) to show whether the following three bytes have been transmitted correctly or
incorrectly.

Received byte Byte transmitted correctly Byte transmitted incorrectly

incorrectly
11001000

01111100 incorrectly

01101001 correctly

[3]

(b) A parity byte is used to identify which bit has been transmitted incorrectly in a block of data.

The word “F L O W C H A R T” was transmitted using nine bytes of data (one byte per
character). A tenth byte, the parity byte, was also transmitted.

The following block of data shows all ten bytes received after transmission. The system uses
even parity and column 1 is the parity bit.

letter column column column column column column column column

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
byte 1 F 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0
byte 2 L 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
byte 3 O 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
byte 4 W 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1
byte 5 C 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1
byte 6 H 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
byte 7 A 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
byte 8 R 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0
byte 9 T 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
parity
1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0
byte

(i) One of the bits has been transmitted incorrectly.

Write the byte number and column number of this bit:

7
Byte number ......................................................................................................................

7
Column number .................................................................................................................
[2]

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(ii) Explain how you arrived at your answer for part (b)(i).

I...........................................................................................................................................
checked for an odd parity in the byte row first, after evaluating each row, I saw

7th row had an odd parity. I checked for the same odd parity bit in the coloumns as
...........................................................................................................................................

I...........................................................................................................................................
did for the rows, then I evaluated that there was a odd parity in the 7th coloumn.

.......................................................................................................................................[2]

(c) Give the denary (base 10) value of the byte: 1 0111110
(1×128)+(0×64)+(1×32)+(1×16)+(1×8)+(1×4)+(1×2)+(0×1)= 128 + 32+16+8+4+2
...................................................................................................................................................
= 190
...............................................................................................................................................[1]

(d) A parity check may not identify that a bit has been transmitted incorrectly.

Describe one situation in which this could occur.

If 2 bits in a transmission may be corrupted, the data recieved may be shown as even or odd
...................................................................................................................................................
parity and match the expected parity that was to be received, the data may be corrupted and
...................................................................................................................................................
no error may be detected
...............................................................................................................................................[1]

© UCLES 2015 0478/12/M/J/15 [Turn over

QUESTION 2. 5

5 (a) Parity checks are often used to detect errors that may occur during data transmission.

The received bytes in the table below were transmitted using odd parity.

Tick (3) to show whether each byte has been corrupted during transmission or not
corrupted during transmission.

corrupted not corrupted

during during
Received byte
transmission transmission
(3) (3)

10110100 corrupted

01101101 not corrupted

10000001 corrupted

[3]

(b) Another method of error detection is Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ).

Explain how ARQ is used in error detection.

In ARQ method, it uses an error detection method known as Cyclic Redundacy Check to detect errors.
...................................................................................................................................................
If no error is received in the data, a positive acknowledgement is sent to the sender. If error is
...................................................................................................................................................
detected, a negative acknowledgement is sent to the sender to tell about the error. If the data
...................................................................................................................................................
is not received then a timeout is sent to the sender to tell that no data has been received. This
...................................................................................................................................................
is how the cycle works in an ARQ error detection method.
...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................. [4]

© UCLES 2017 0478/11/M/J/17 [Turn over

QUESTION 3. 7

7 Computer A is communicating with computer B.

(a) Draw an arrow or arrows to show simplex, duplex and half-duplex data transmission. The
direction of the data transmission must be fully labelled.

Simplex data transmission

Computer A Computer B

Duplex data transmission

Computer A Computer B

Half-duplex data transmission

Computer A Computer B
[6]

(b) State a use for the following data transmission methods. The use must be different for each
data transmission method.

Simplex .....................................................................................................................................
this is usually used for slow speed data tranmission, for example transmission of data

...................................................................................................................................................
between the keyboard and the CPU of a computer

It is usually used for fast speed data transmission, for example transmission of data
Duplex ......................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
between 2 computers in a network
[2]

© UCLES 2017 0478/12/M/J/17 [Turn over

QUESTION 4. 4

4 A company transmits data to external storage at the end of each day.

(a) Parity checks can be used to check for errors during data transmission.

The system uses odd parity.

(i) Tick (✓) to show for each of the received bytes whether they have been transmitted
correctly or transmitted incorrectly.

Received byte Transmitted Transmitted

correctly incorrectly
(✓) (✓)

10001011 incorrectly

10101110 correctly

01011101 correctly

00100101 correctly

[4]

(ii) State one other method that could be used to check for transmission errors.

......................................................................................................................................
Automated Repeat Request (ARQ) [1]

(b) Data can be transferred using parallel or serial data transmission.

(i) Describe what is meant by parallel data transmission.

...........................................................................................................................................
Parallel Data transmission involves of sending multiple bits of data simultaneouly across

multiple communication channels. It is faster than serial data transmission.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................... [2]

(ii) Give one application of parallel data transmission.

Used in printers, scanners and even external harddrives.
...........................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................... [1]

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(iii) Explain why serial data transmission is normally used for transferring data over a long
distance.

It...........................................................................................................................................
uses a single dedicated line for data transmission, it also send multiple bits simultaneously

over multiple channels at once. It is also faster than serial transmission so preferable for
...........................................................................................................................................
long distance data transmission
...........................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................... [2]

(c) Data transferred over a network is encrypted to improve data security.

The system uses 64-bit symmetric encryption.

(i) Explain how encryption improves data security.

...........................................................................................................................................
Encryption usually put some kind of firewall in front the data so it can not be accessed by any 3rd party

This helps keeping the data more secure and keeps the data private aswell. It may aswell change
...........................................................................................................................................
the data according to a algorithm that may be only known by the user and receiver so only can
...........................................................................................................................................
be accessed by them. There are many encryption methods.
...................................................................................................................................... [2]

(ii) Explain one method that could be used to increase the level of security provided by the
encryption.
Public key is an asymmetric encryption method that involves of sending a public and a
...........................................................................................................................................
private key during data transmission.Whenever data is transferred, one public key goes first
...........................................................................................................................................
because if any 3rd party accesses the public key, it will not reveal the encrypted data
...........................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................
and they will be baited, another private key is then sended which makes the data accessible
[2]

© UCLES 2018 0478/13/M/J/18 [Turn over

 QUESTION 5. 10

9 Four 7-bit binary values are being transmitted from one computer to another. An odd parity check
is being used to check for errors in the binary values.

Write the correct Parity bit for each 7-bit binary value to make sure it meets odd parity.

Parity bit 7-bit binary value

1
..................... 0000011
1
..................... 1000000
1
..................... 0111111
1
..................... 1010101
[4]

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QUESTION 6. 4

4 A file server is used as a central data store for a network of computers.

Rory sends data from his computer to a file server that is approximately 100 metres away.

It is important that the data is transmitted accurately. Rory needs to be able to read data from and
write data to the file server at the same time.

(a) (i) Use ticks (3) to identify the most suitable data transmission methods for this application.

Method 1 Tick Method 2 Tick

(3) (3)
Serial ✔
Simplex
Parallel Half-duplex
Duplex ✔
[2]

(ii) Explain why your answer to part (a)(i) is the most suitable data transmission.
Because rory needs to read and write data, serial will be a better option due to its speed and
...........................................................................................................................................
data transmission abilities, it will be a better option than serial also given the distance.
...........................................................................................................................................
Duplex will also be a better option as Rory will simultaneously read and write data on the
...........................................................................................................................................
file server therefore duplex being able to transmit data simultaneously would be a better option
...........................................................................................................................................
also that it transmits data in both directions aswell
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................[4]

Ahmed Abid X-A

© UCLES 2017 0478/12/O/N/17

 5

(b) Identify and describe two methods of error checking that can be used to make sure that the
data stored after transmission is accurate.

Method 1 ...................................................................................................................................
Checksum method.Checksums are values calculated from a block of data using a specific

algorithm. They are appended to the data before transmission. Upon reception, the recipient
...................................................................................................................................................
recalculates the checksum using the same algorithm and compares it with the received checksum.
...................................................................................................................................................
If they match, the data is assumed to be correct otherwise an error is detected
...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
.

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

Parity checking is a simple method that involves adding an additional bit to

Method 2 ...................................................................................................................................
each byte or group of bytes being transmitted. This additional bit is chosen such as the total
...................................................................................................................................................
number of bits in each byte is either even or odd, there are 2 types of parity check, Even and Odd.
...................................................................................................................................................
When the receiver receives the data, he checks if the bits are even or odd, then matches it with
...................................................................................................................................................
type of parity sent by sender, if they both matches that is considered accurate but lets say
...................................................................................................................................................
if an odd parity is received ad the user sent an even parity, an error is detected.
...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
[6]

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