GCSE Computing A451/01 - Computer Systems and Programming (June 2016)

Sep 5, 2026

GCSE Computing question paper A451/01 focusing on Computer Systems and Programming for the June 2016 examination. Covers fundamental data representation, including character sets and conversion from hexadecimal to binary, and explains why Unicode is needed beyond ASCII for emojis. Includes an ethics and legality discussion for an educational website with user accounts and program sharing. Also assesses database design and querying through a film rating scenario, including table relationships and example query criteria.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1 Character sets and Unicode

1(a) Character set definition

1(b) Hex to binary and Unicode vs ASCII

2 Ethical and legal issues for a class website

3 Database design and SQL-style querying

3(a) Why FilmID is in the RATING table

3(b) Separating data from applications

3(c) Example record in USER table

3(d) Query criteria and selecting ratings/films

*6356689265* | Oxford Cambridge and RSA
Wednesday 8 June 2016 – Morning
GCSE COMPUTING
A451/01 Computer Systems and Programming
| | | --- | --- | |
Candidates answer on the Question Paper.
OCR supplied materials:
None
Other materials required:
• Calculators are allowed in this exam | Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

* A 4 5 1 0 1 * | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES • Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the boxes above. Please write clearly and in capital letters. • Use black ink. HB pencil may be used for graphs and diagrams only. • Answer all the questions. • Read each question carefully. Make sure you know what you have to do before starting your answer. • Write your answer to each question in the space provided. Additional paper may be used if necessary but you must clearly show your candidate number, centre number and question number(s) . • Do not write in the bar codes. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES • The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. • The total number of marks for this paper is 80. • The Quality of Written Communication is assessed in questions marked with an asterisk (*) . • This document consists of 16 pages. Any blank pages are indicated. © OCR 2016 [F/600/2375] DC (NF) 125878/3 OCR is an exempt Charity Turn over 2 Answer all the questions. 1 The character é is part of a computer’s character set. (a) Describe what is meant by a character set. .............................................................................................................................. ............... [1] When sending text messages using a mobile phone, people can choose from hundreds of characters, called emoji, to insert in their message. An example of an emoji is . The Unicode character code for the emoji in hexadecimal is 1F64A. (b) (i) Convert the hexadecimal number 1F64A to binary. The first three hexadecimal digits have been done for you. | Hexadecimal: | 1 | F | 6 | 4 | A | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Binary: | 0001 | 1111 | 0110 | ....................... | ....................... | [2] (ii) Explain why mobile phones that can send emoji would use Unicode instead of ASCII as their character set. | | | --- | | | .............................................................................................................................. [2] 3 2* Lauren is a Computing teacher. She is building a website for her Computing class where they can share ideas, send each other programs and discuss computing concepts. The students will have individual accounts that they can log into. Discuss the ethical and legal issues Lauren will have to consider when setting up the website. The quality of your written communication will be assessed in your answer. | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | .............................................................................................................................. ...................... [6] © OCR 2016 Turn over 4 3 Charlotte runs a website which stores details about movies. The users can log onto the website and leave ratings for movies. The websites uses a database with three tables: • The table FILM contains the following fields; FilmID, Title, Year, Director, Category • The table USER contains the following fields; UserID, FirstName, Surname, DateOfBirth • The table RATING stores, amongst other fields, the rating a user has given a film (ascore out of 5) . An extract of the data in the table RATING is shown in Fig. 1: | RatingID | FilmID | UserID | Rating | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 00214 | 16CM12 | 20_Elliot | 4.5 | | 00215 | 55HR8 | Jade01 | 1 | | 00216 | 12HR15 | Sunil_99 | 1 | | 00217 | 16SF8

FAQs

What does the question require students to do for character sets and emoji codes?

Students must define what a character set means, convert a given hexadecimal Unicode code point to binary, and explain why emoji-capable phones use Unicode rather than ASCII.

Which issues are addressed when setting up Lauren’s class website?

Students must discuss ethical and legal issues involved in creating a website for students with individual accounts, where users share ideas, send programs, and discuss computing concepts.

How does the film ratings database question test database understanding?

The task explains why FilmID is stored in the RATING table, why separating data from applications is beneficial, and requires students to identify records and write query criteria to select specific films or ratings.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Alex Sinclair