neco 2019 computer_studies | Essay

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Question 1 View Details
Answer the following questions on the history of computers.
Question Parts
(a)
Outline the major characteristics of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth generations of computers, giving one important technological advance for each generation.
(b)
Define the stored‑program concept and explain why it was a turning point in computer development.
(c)
Compare vacuum tubes and transistors in terms of size, power consumption, reliability and impact on computer design.
(d)
Explain how the introduction of the microprocessor transformed personal computing.
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Question 2 View Details
A desktop computer system is being assembled with the following components: - CPU with a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 65 W. - Motherboard that consumes 30 W under typical load. - Four identical DDR4 RAM modules, each rated at 3 W. - One 1 TB Hard Disk Drive (HDD) that uses 5 W. - One 512 GB Solid‑State Drive (SSD) that uses 2 W. - A 120 mm case fan that draws 2 W. The computer will be used for graphic design work that requires a minimum of 8 GB RAM and fast storage for the operating system and applications, while large files will be stored on the HDD. Answer the following questions:
Question Parts
(a)
Calculate the total power consumption of the system when all the listed components are operating simultaneously.
(b)
A reliable power‑supply unit (PSU) should have a safety margin of at least 20 % above the calculated total power. Determine the minimum wattage rating that should be selected for the PSU.
(c)
The graphic‑design application recommends at least 8 GB of RAM for smooth operation. Evaluate whether the installed RAM meets this requirement and discuss the possibility of future expansion to 16 GB, assuming the motherboard supports a maximum of 32 GB.
(d)
Justify the choice of using both the SSD and the HDD in this system, referring to the performance needs of the operating system, applications, and large file storage.
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Question 3 View Details
A secondary school is planning to upgrade its computer facilities. The school currently uses a mix of operating systems and application programmes on its computers.
Question Parts
(a)
Define system software and application software. Give two examples of each that could be relevant in a school environment.
(b)
The school intends to adopt a new word‑processing programme. The options are: (i) a proprietary licence costing ₦25,000 per computer, and (ii) an open‑source licence that is free but requires the IT staff to provide technical support. Discuss the factors the school should consider in choosing between the two options and recommend the most suitable one.
(c)
Outline the essential steps the IT officer should follow to install the chosen word‑processing software on all school computers, ensuring that each installation is correctly configured for the school network.
(d)
Explain two advantages and two disadvantages of using open‑source software in the school’s computing environment.
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Question 4 View Details
The ICT teacher collected the scores of 30 students in the recent computer literacy test. The data are shown in the table below:
Question Parts
(a)
Construct a frequency distribution table for the scores, using class intervals of 10 marks (0–9, 10–19, …, 90–100).
(b)
Using the frequency distribution obtained in (a): (i) Calculate the mean score of the class. (ii) Determine the median score. (iii) Identify the mode(s) of the data set.
(c)
Discuss two possible sources of error that could affect the reliability of the test scores and suggest one way to minimise each error.
(d)
The teacher wishes to present the data visually. Recommend the most appropriate type of chart for this data and justify why it is suitable.
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Question 5 View Details
A secondary school plans to keep a permanent electronic file of its students' academic records. Each student record will contain the following fields: - Student ID: a numeric identifier that can range from 0 to 99,999. - Full name: up to 30 characters. - Date of birth: stored as year, month and day. - Three subject scores (Mathematics, English, Science), each an integer from 0 to 100. The school decides to store the records in a flat‑file using fixed‑length fields. Assume the following storage conventions: * 1 character = 1 byte. * A numeric integer (such as the scores) occupies 2 bytes. * The date of birth is stored using three separate 1‑byte fields (year, month, day). Answer the following: (a) Determine the minimum number of bytes required for a single student record. (b) If the school expects to have 2,000 students, calculate the total storage space required for the flat‑file (in megabytes, 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes). Show your working. (c) Briefly discuss two advantages of using a relational database management system (RDBMS) instead of the flat‑file method for storing these records.
Question Parts
(a)
Determine the minimum number of bytes required for a single student record.
(b)
If the school expects to have 2,000 students, calculate the total storage space required for the flat‑file (in megabytes, 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes). Show your working.
(c)
Briefly discuss two advantages of using a relational database management system (RDBMS) instead of the flat‑file method for storing these records.
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Question 6 View Details
A small enterprise maintains the following assets and their monetary values: - Customer database: ₦5,000,000 (impact factor High = 3) - Financial records: ₦2,000,000 (impact factor Medium = 2) - Server hardware: ₦1,500,000 (impact factor Low = 1) The company has identified three primary threats and their likelihood of occurrence in a year: - Malware infection (likelihood 0.3) - Insider data theft (likelihood 0.1) - Power outage (likelihood 0.2) Corresponding vulnerabilities are: - No anti‑virus software (relevant to malware) - Weak password policy (relevant to insider theft) - No UPS (relevant to power outage) Risk for a threat‑asset pair is calculated as: Risk = Likelihood × Impact factor × Asset value (in millions of naira). Answer the following: (a) Compute the risk score for each threat‑asset combination. Present the results in a table. (b) Identify the combination with the highest risk score and state its value. (c) Recommend two technical controls and one administrative control that would reduce the highest risk. (d) Discuss one ethical issue that arises when the organisation decides to monitor employee e‑mail traffic as part of its security strategy.
Question Parts
(a)
Compute the risk score for each threat‑asset combination. Present the results in a table.
(b)
Identify the combination with the highest risk score and state its value.
(c)
Recommend two technical controls and one administrative control that would reduce the highest risk.
(d)
Discuss one ethical issue that arises when the organisation decides to monitor employee e‑mail traffic as part of its security strategy.
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Question 7 View Details
A small company wants to set up a LAN to connect 12 computers, a printer and a server. The office layout is rectangular with workstations arranged in two rows of six. The manager requires high reliability and easy addition of future devices. The network will use IPv4 addressing and will be connected to the Internet via a router.
Question Parts
(a)
Recommend the most suitable network topology for this scenario. Justify with two advantages that relate to the given constraints.
(b)
Assuming the topology you recommended, calculate the minimum number of Ethernet cables required to interconnect all devices, including the connection to the router. Show the reasoning.
(c)
The company has been allocated the IPv4 block 192.168.10.0/24. Propose a subnetting scheme that creates separate subnets for (i) the workstations, (ii) the printer, and (iii) the server, ensuring each subnet can accommodate the existing devices and allow future expansion of up to 10 additional devices per subnet. For each subnet give: • Subnet address • Subnet mask • Range of usable host IP addresses
(d)
Briefly explain two security measures that should be implemented on the router to protect the LAN when it is connected to the Internet.
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Question 8 View Details
You are required to develop a Python program that processes a list of student scores and generates a grade report. The grading scale is: A: 70‑100, B: 60‑69, C: 50‑59, D: 45‑49, E: 40‑44, F: 0‑39. The scores are stored in a text file named "scores.txt" where each line contains a student's name and their score separated by a comma (e.g., "Ada,85").
Question Parts
(a)
Write a Python function called `grade_counts(scores)` that takes a list of integer scores (0‑100) and returns a dictionary whose keys are the grades ("A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F") and whose values are the number of occurrences of each grade.
(b)
Using the function from part (a), write a complete program that: i) Reads the file "scores.txt". ii) Extracts each student's name and score, ignoring any line that does not contain a valid name‑score pair. iii) Calls `grade_counts` to obtain the grade distribution. iv) Writes the distribution to a new file "grade_report.txt" in the format "A: 5" (one grade per line). v) Prints on the screen the total number of students whose records were processed. Include appropriate error handling for missing files and malformed lines.
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