neco 2023 computer_studies | Essay

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Question 1 View Details
Answer the following questions on the history of computers.
Question Parts
(a)
Define the first generation of computers and give two examples of machines belonging to this generation.
(b)
Describe the main technological advance that characterised the second generation and explain how it improved computer performance.
(c)
Compare the third and fourth generations of computers, focusing on the type of circuitry used and typical applications.
(d)
Evaluate the overall impact of the evolution from the first to the fourth generation on business operations in Nigeria.
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Question 2 View Details
A computer system has the following specifications: - CPU clock speed: 3.2 GHz - Cache hierarchy: L1 = 64 KB (access time 1 ns, hit rate 95 %), L2 = 256 KB (access time 4 ns, hit rate 85 %), L3 = 8 MB (access time 12 ns, hit rate 70 %) - Main memory: 16 GB (access time 120 ns) - The program to be executed consists of 2.5 million instructions. Each instruction, on average, requires one data reference. Assume the CPU can execute one instruction per clock cycle when the required data is found in L1; otherwise it must wait for the data to be fetched from the next level. Answer the following: (a) Calculate the average memory access time (AMAT) for a data reference. (b) Determine the total number of CPU cycles lost because of cache misses. (c) Compute the total execution time of the program in seconds. (d) If the L2 hit rate is improved to 90 % (all other parameters unchanged), recalculate the execution time and state the percentage reduction obtained.
Question Parts
(a)
Calculate the average memory access time (AMAT) for a data reference.
(b)
Determine the total number of CPU cycles lost because of cache misses.
(c)
Compute the total execution time of the program in seconds.
(d)
If the L2 hit rate is improved to 90 %, recalculate the execution time and state the percentage reduction obtained.
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Question 3 View Details
A secondary school is planning to introduce a new computer laboratory for teaching ICT. The school ICT coordinator is required to prepare a software plan.
Question Parts
(a)
Explain the difference between system software and application software, giving two examples of each that would be appropriate for the new lab.
(b)
The coordinator proposes to adopt a free and open‑source operating system (FOSS) instead of a commercial one. Discuss three advantages and two possible disadvantages of using FOSS in the school environment.
(c)
Outline the main stages of the software development life cycle (SDLC) for creating a simple student attendance tracking application, and indicate which stage would involve user testing.
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Question 4 View Details
A school maintains a database of its students' academic records. The following information is stored for each student: admission number (a 6‑digit numeric code), full name, date of birth, gender, and a binary file containing the student's photograph.
Question Parts
(a)
Convert the admission number 254839 into its equivalent binary representation and explain the steps involved.
(b)
The school wants to compress the photographs to reduce storage. Describe two lossless compression techniques that could be applied to the binary image files, and explain how each technique reduces file size.
(c)
The database is to be normalized to eliminate redundancy. Identify one functional dependency that violates the First Normal Form (1NF) in the current design and propose a modification to achieve 1NF.
(d)
The school plans to generate a report showing the number of male and female students in each grade. Suggest an appropriate data aggregation method and illustrate, using a simple example table, how the data would be grouped.
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Question 5 View Details
A secondary school intends to maintain an electronic student information system. Each student record will contain the following fields: - Admission Number (8 alphanumeric characters) - Full Name (maximum 30 characters) - Date of Birth (stored as DD/MM/YYYY) - Gender (M/F) - Scores in five subjects (each score stored as an integer from 0 to 100) The system will initially hold records for 1,200 students.
Question Parts
(a)
Determine the minimum number of bits required to store a single student record. Show your reasoning for each field.
(b)
Calculate the total storage (in kilobytes) required for all 1,200 records. Assume 1 byte = 8 bits and 1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes. Round up to the nearest whole kilobyte.
(c)
The school can purchase either a 1‑GB USB flash drive costing ₦4,500 or a 500‑MB external hard disk costing ₦3,200. Recommend the most suitable storage medium for the system, justifying your choice based on capacity, cost per megabyte, and future expansion (assume a 20 % increase in student numbers next year). State the recommended device and its cost.
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Question 6 View Details
A small business uses a local area network (LAN) of 10 computers. The network is connected to the internet through a single router. Employees access a shared folder on a server for storing client data. Recently, the business experienced a data breach where confidential client information was leaked. An investigation revealed the following facts: - The router uses the default admin password. - No firewall is configured on the server. - Employees use weak passwords (e.g., 'password123') for their accounts. - The shared folder permissions allow 'Read' access to all users. - The business monitors employee emails using a third‑party software without informing staff.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify and explain three technical vulnerabilities that contributed to the breach.
(b)
Discuss two ethical issues arising from the business’s practice of monitoring employee emails without consent. Include reference to relevant Nigerian privacy legislation (e.g., NDPR).
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Question 7 View Details
A small business wants to set up a Local Area Network (LAN) to connect its computers and printers to the Internet. The office has 12 workstations, 3 network printers and a central server. The manager requires a network that is reliable, can be expanded easily in the future and keeps cabling costs reasonable.
Question Parts
(a)
Recommend the most suitable physical network topology for this scenario. Justify your choice with at least three reasons that address reliability, scalability and cabling cost.
(b)
Describe a logical network diagram for the recommended topology. Indicate the type of networking device used, the type of cable between each device and the server, and how the Internet connection is obtained.
(c)
Calculate the minimum number of Ethernet cables required and the total length of cable needed if the average distance between each workstation/printer and the switch is 15 m and the server is centrally located. Show all steps of your calculation.
(d)
Propose an IPv4 addressing scheme for the LAN using a private address block. State the network address, the broadcast address, the range of usable host addresses and the subnet mask. Explain why the chosen subnet mask is appropriate for the number of devices.
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Question 8 View Details
A school needs a program to manage term scores for its students. The program must: 1. Prompt for the number of students (n). 2. For each student, read the student's name and three test scores (each out of 100). 3. Compute the total and average score for each student. 4. Assign a grade according to the average: A ≥ 70, B 60‑69, C 50‑59, D 45‑49, F < 45. 5. After all data are entered, display a summary table showing Name, Total, Average (to one decimal place) and Grade, sorted in descending order of average. Write the solution in Python and answer the questions that follow.
Question Parts
(a)
Write a complete Python program that fulfils the above requirements. Include comments that explain each major step of the algorithm.
(b)
Using the following sample input, show the exact output produced by your program (including headings and alignment).\n\nSample input:\n4\nAlice 78 85 92\nBola 64 58 71\nChinedu 45 50 48\nDora 88 90 84
(c)
Identify two logical errors that could arise if the programmer mistakenly uses integer division ("/" in Python 2) when calculating the average. Explain the effect of each error on the final grades.
(d)
Analyse the time complexity of the sorting step in terms of n. Suggest an alternative sorting method that could improve performance for very large n and justify why it would be better in this context.
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