neco 2017 computer_studies | Essay

Prepare for your exams with neco questions? Reviewing past/model questions is one of the most effective ways to guarantee a high score. This practice hub features authentic 2017 computer_studies (Essay) questions designed to simulate the real exam environment.

Practice these randomly selected questions to test your readiness.

Question 1 View Details
Discuss the development of computers from the early electronic era to the modern microprocessor era.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify three significant generations of computers. For each generation give an example of a representative machine and state the key technological advancement that characterised the generation.
(b)
Explain how the technological advancements identified in part (a) influenced the design, functionality and societal use of computers.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer
Question 2 View Details
A small office computer system has the following components: - CPU (Intel i5, 65 W) - Monitor (24‑inch LCD, 30 W) - Hard disk (500 GB HDD, 8 W) - SSD (256 GB, 3 W) - Printer (laser, 350 W when printing, 5 W idle) - UPS with 90 % efficiency. The office operates 8 hours per day. The printer is used for 2 hours per day at full load; otherwise it remains idle. All other components run continuously during office hours.
Question Parts
(a)
Calculate the total energy consumption of the computer system for one working day (in kilowatt‑hours).
(b)
Determine the minimum VA rating of a UPS that can supply the system for a 30‑minute backup, assuming the UPS operates at its rated 90 % efficiency and the load during backup is the same as the average load during office hours.
(c)
Explain why it is advisable to choose a UPS with a higher VA rating than the minimum calculated value.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer
Question 3 View Details
A secondary school is planning to introduce a new computer-based system to manage student records, attendance and examination results.
Question Parts
(a)
State and briefly describe the four main phases of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as applied to this project.
(b)
Differentiate between system software and application software, giving one example of each that could be relevant to the school.
(c)
Considering the school’s limited budget and the need for data security, recommend either an off‑the‑shelf package or a custom‑developed application. Justify your recommendation with at least three pertinent reasons.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer
Question 4 View Details
The school’s computer lab maintains a database that stores information about each computer: serial number, processor type, RAM size, hard‑disk capacity and date of last maintenance.
Question Parts
(a)
Explain the difference between data and information, and illustrate the difference using the computer‑lab database example.
(b)
A report shows that the lab has 25 computers. The average RAM size is 6 GB and the total hard‑disk capacity is 5 TB. Calculate the total RAM (in GB) and the average hard‑disk capacity per computer (in GB). Show all steps.
(c)
Discuss two data‑integrity measures that the lab administrator should implement to ensure the accuracy of the database.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer
Question 5 View Details
A small retail business records its sales transactions in a single table as shown below. Fields: TransactionID, Date, CustomerName, ProductCode, ProductDescription, Quantity, UnitPrice, TotalAmount. The table contains many rows where the same customer purchases several products on the same date. Answer the following questions:
Question Parts
(a)
Identify a suitable primary key for the table and justify your choice.
(b)
The table suffers from redundancy. Normalise the table to Third Normal Form (3NF). Show the resulting tables with their fields, and indicate the primary key(s) and any foreign key(s).
(c)
Using the normalized tables, write an SQL statement to list the total amount spent by each customer in the month of March 2022, ordered from highest to lowest total.
(d)
Explain two advantages of storing the data in the normalized form rather than the original single table.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer
Question 6 View Details
TechNova Ltd., a medium‑size software development firm, recently experienced a security incident. Several employees received a phishing email that appeared to be from the CEO. One employee clicked the link, resulting in the installation of ransomware on the corporate network. Answer the following questions:
Question Parts
(a)
Identify three security weaknesses that allowed the ransomware attack to succeed.
(b)
For each weakness identified in part (a), recommend a specific technical control and a related organisational policy that would mitigate it.
(c)
Discuss the ethical issues involved in monitoring employee email communications as a preventive measure, referencing at least two ethical principles.
(d)
The firm is considering implementing full‑disk encryption on all laptops. Evaluate two benefits and two possible drawbacks of this measure in the context of the firm’s operations.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer
Question 7 View Details
A secondary school is planning to set up a computer network to connect its computer laboratory, administrative office, and library. The school wants to use a topology that minimises cable length while allowing any single computer to communicate with any other without interruption if one link fails.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify the most suitable network topology for the school and give two reasons to support your choice.
(b)
The laboratory contains 20 computers, the office 5 computers and the library 8 computers. Assuming the Star topology is adopted and a single central switch is used, state the minimum number of cable segments required to interconnect all computers to the switch.
(c)
The school has been allocated the IPv4 block 192.168.10.0/24. Propose a subnetting scheme that gives a separate subnet for each department (lab, office, library) using the smallest possible subnets that can accommodate the required number of hosts. For each subnet, state the network address, broadcast address and the range of usable host addresses.
(d)
Explain how the chosen Star topology together with the above subnetting scheme helps to isolate broadcast traffic and improve overall network performance.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer
Question 8 View Details
A school wants to develop a simple Python program to manage student scores for a term. The program should read a text file named 'scores.txt' where each line contains a student's name followed by three integer scores separated by commas, for example: 'Ada,78,85,92'. The program must compute each student's average, assign a grade (A for average ≥85, B for 70‑84, C for 55‑69, D for 40‑54, F for <40) and write the results to a new file 'report.txt' in the format: 'Ada: 85.0 (A)'.
Question Parts
(a)
Write the complete Python program that performs the required task. Include file handling, reading, processing, grading and writing the output.
(b)
Identify two potential runtime errors that could arise when the program is executed and propose a code modification to handle each error gracefully.
Detailed Essay Solution & Marking Scheme Available

Get the step-by-step mathematical proofs, key points required by examiners, and a comprehensive breakdown from our AI Tutor.

Reveal Answer

Master the Exam!

You've seen a preview, but there are thousands more questions plus AI tutor to break down complex solutions.

Unlock Full Access Available for Android & Windows
Help others prepare! Share this practice hub:
Chat with Support