neco 2018 data_processing | Essay

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Question 1 View Details
A school conducted a survey of the number of books read by each of 15 students in the last month. The data collected are: 2, 5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 2, 7, 4, 5, 3, 4, 6, 5, 2.
Question Parts
(a)
Arrange the data in ascending order and state the median.
(b)
Determine the mode(s) of the data.
(c)
Calculate the mean number of books read.
(d)
Comment on the shape of the distribution (symmetrical, positively skewed, or negatively skewed) based on the values obtained.
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Question 2 View Details
The following are the ages (in years) of 20 employees in a company: 22, 27, 31, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 60, 62, 65.
Question Parts
(a)
Construct a grouped frequency distribution with class interval 10 years (20‑29, 30‑39, 40‑49, 50‑59, 60‑69) and give the frequency for each class.
(b)
Using the grouped data, calculate the estimated mean age using the assumed mean method, taking the assumed mean as the midpoint of the third class (45 years).
(c)
Determine the cumulative frequency for each class and hence find the median age (use linear interpolation within the median class).
(d)
Based on the mean (46.5) and median (≈46.4) obtained, discuss the skewness of the age distribution.
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Question 3 View Details
A small business uses a computer system to process its monthly sales data. The system receives raw sales entries, validates them, processes the data to generate a summary report, and finally stores the report for management review.
Question Parts
(a)
List the five stages of the Data Processing Cycle and give a brief description (one sentence) of each.
(b)
In the scenario above, the raw sales entry for a particular transaction shows a negative quantity sold due to a data‑entry mistake. Identify which stage of the cycle should detect and correct this error and explain how it would be done.
(c)
Suppose the business decides to skip the "storage" stage and only prints the report for immediate use. Discuss two possible negative consequences of omitting this stage.
(d)
Compare manual processing of the same data with the computer‑based processing described, focusing on speed, accuracy and flexibility. Conclude with a short paragraph (3–4 sentences) on why the computer approach is preferred.
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Question 4 View Details
A school maintains a digital file of its students' examination results. Each record contains the student's admission number (8 characters), name (up to 30 characters), and scores in three subjects (each an integer between 0 and 100). The file is to be stored on a computer for frequent retrieval of individual student results.
Question Parts
(a)
Distinguish between a text file and a binary file. State two advantages of using a binary file for the above application.
(b)
Explain the three common file organization methods (sequential, indexed, direct) and indicate which method would give the fastest access to a particular student's record. Justify your choice.
(c)
Assuming the file is stored as a binary file with fixed‑length records, calculate the minimum storage space required for 5,000 student records. (Assume 1 character = 1 byte, and each integer score occupies 2 bytes.)
(d)
The school decides to add a new field for the student's date of birth (format DD/MM/YYYY, 10 characters). Re‑calculate the storage requirement and state the percentage increase in file size compared with part (c).
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Question 5 View Details
A company maintains a relational database to store information about its employees and the projects they work on. The relevant schema is as follows: Employees(EmpID, Name, Dept, Salary) Projects(ProjID, ProjName, Budget) Assignments(EmpID, ProjID, Hours) where Budget is expressed in Nigerian Naira (₦) and each ₦1,000 of budget corresponds to one working hour for the project. Using this schema, answer the following:
Question Parts
(a)
Write a relational algebra expression that retrieves the names of all employees who are assigned to more than one distinct project.
(b)
Write an SQL query that lists each department together with the total salary expense for that department, but only for departments where the total salary exceeds ₦5,000,000.
(c)
The company wants to prevent an employee from being assigned to a project if the insertion would cause the total hours recorded for that project to exceed the project's budget (recall 1 hour = ₦1,000). Write a trigger (in pseudo‑SQL) that checks this condition before an INSERT into the Assignments table and aborts the operation with an appropriate error message if the condition would be violated. Briefly explain how the trigger works.
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Question 6 View Details
A traffic‑light controller for a four‑way intersection has three binary input sensors: A – vehicle detected on the north‑south road, B – vehicle detected on the east‑west road, C – emergency vehicle detected on any approach. The output Y controls the north‑south green light. Y should be 1 (green) only when: (i) there is a vehicle on the north‑south road and no vehicle on the east‑west road, or (ii) an emergency vehicle is present, irrespective of the other sensors. Using this description, answer the following:
Question Parts
(a)
Derive the minimal Boolean expression for Y. Show the Karnaugh map grouping that leads to the minimal form.
(b)
Implement the minimal expression using only NAND gates. List the required NAND gates and describe how their inputs are connected to obtain Y.
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Question 7 View Details
A medium‑sized retail company, ShopSmart Ltd., recently suffered a data breach where personal details of 2,500 customers were accessed without authorization. The breach occurred because an employee used a weak password and the company had no encryption on its customer database. The incident was reported to the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) authority.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify and briefly explain three ethical principles that were violated in this incident.
(b)
Recommend a comprehensive information‑security policy for ShopSmart Ltd. that addresses the breach. The policy should contain at least three specific controls and justify how each control prevents a similar breach.
(c)
Using a simple risk‑assessment matrix where Likelihood and Impact are rated on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), assess the risk rating for the following two threats identified after the breach: Threat 1: Unauthorized access due to weak passwords (Likelihood 4, Impact 3). Threat 2: Data loss from ransomware (Likelihood 2, Impact 5). Calculate the risk rating for each threat (Risk = Likelihood × Impact) and state which threat requires higher priority mitigation.
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Question 8 View Details
A small retail business, GreenMart, wants to adopt ICT to improve its operations. The owner plans to replace the existing manual inventory system with a cloud‑based inventory management solution. The on‑premise system currently involves a desktop computer costing ₦500,000, annual maintenance ₦50,000, and electricity consumption costing ₦30,000 per year. The cloud service charges a subscription fee of ₦120,000 per year and includes automatic backups and software updates.
Question Parts
(a)
Discuss three ways ICT has enhanced access to education in Nigeria, giving specific examples for each.
(b)
Calculate the total cost for the on‑premise system over a 3‑year period and compare it with the total cost of the cloud service over the same period. State the net saving (or extra cost) GreenMart would experience by adopting the cloud solution.
(c)
Outline the sequential steps that a user must follow to log into the cloud‑based inventory system, highlighting any security measures that should be observed.
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