neco 2024 computer_studies | Essay

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Question 1 View Details
Discuss the development of computers from the 1940s to the present, focusing on the following aspects:
Question Parts
(a)
Explain how the replacement of vacuum‑tube technology by transistors changed computer design and reliability.
(b)
Analyse the impact of the introduction of microprocessors on the emergence of personal computers.
(c)
Evaluate how these technological changes have influenced modern society in at least two domains (e.g., education, business, entertainment).
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Question 2 View Details
A small business intends to purchase a workstation for graphic‑design work. The required specifications are: - Minimum 16 GB RAM - A graphics card capable of rendering 3D models at 60 fps at 1080p resolution - Storage capacity of at least 2 TB with fast access speed - Total budget of ₦850,000 The market currently offers the following components (prices are in ₦): | Component | Specification | Price (₦) | Power (W) | |-------------------------|--------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------| | CPU – Intel i5‑12400 | 6‑core, supports up to 128 GB DDR4 RAM | 150,000 | 65 | | CPU – AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 6‑core, supports up to 128 GB DDR4 RAM | 140,000 | 65 | | Motherboard – B560 | DDR4, up to 128 GB RAM | 70,000 | 30 | | Motherboard – B550 | DDR4, up to 128 GB RAM | 75,000 | 30 | | RAM – 8 GB DDR4 stick | 8 GB per stick | 25,000 | 5 | | RAM – 16 GB DDR4 stick | 16 GB per stick | 45,000 | 5 | | GPU – GTX 1660 Super | Can render 1080p at 60 fps | 180,000 | 125 | | GPU – RTX 3060 | Can render 1080p at 60 fps, better quality | 300,000 | 170 | | SSD – 1 TB NVMe | High‑speed solid‑state drive | 80,000 | 5 | | SSD – 2 TB SATA | 2 TB storage, moderate speed | 120,000 | 6 | | HDD – 2 TB 7200 rpm | 2 TB mechanical drive | 70,000 | 8 | | PSU – 500 W | Standard power supply | 45,000 | – | | PSU – 650 W | Higher capacity power supply | 60,000 | – | | Case & fans | Standard tower case with fans | 30,000 | – | Using the information above, answer the following:
Question Parts
(a)
Select a combination of components that satisfies all the required specifications and does not exceed the budget. Justify each choice briefly.
(b)
Calculate the total power consumption of the selected components (use the power values given). Add a 20 % head‑room and recommend the minimum PSU rating that should be purchased.
(c)
If the business later upgrades the RAM to 32 GB by purchasing an additional 16 GB DDR4 stick costing ₦45,000, recalculate the total cost and discuss whether the original budget is still sufficient.
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Question 3 View Details
Answer the following questions about computer software.
Question Parts
(a)
Define system software and application software. Give two examples of each and explain one major function of each example.
(b)
A small business needs to manage its inventory, process sales, and generate reports. The owner is considering three software options: (i) a packaged off‑the‑shelf inventory package, (ii) a custom‑developed application, and (iii) a cloud‑based SaaS solution. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option and recommend the most suitable choice, providing justification based on cost, scalability and maintenance.
() Describe the packaged off‑the‑shelf inventory package (advantages and disadvantages).
() Describe the custom‑developed application (advantages and disadvantages).
() Describe the cloud‑based SaaS solution (advantages and disadvantages).
() Recommend the most suitable option and justify the choice.
(c)
Explain the software development life cycle (SDLC). For each of the five basic phases, give a brief description of the activities performed and the key deliverable produced.
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Question 4 View Details
Answer the following questions about data and information.
Question Parts
(a)
Define data, information and knowledge. Explain how raw data is transformed into useful information in a computer system, citing at least three processing steps.
(b)
The table below shows the number of units of a product sold by a shop over six months. Month: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Units: 120 150 130 170 160 180 (i) Calculate the mean, median and mode of the units sold. (ii) Comment on the sales trend and suggest one action the shop could take to improve sales in the next quarter.
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Question 5 View Details
A secondary school is planning to modernise its computer laboratory. The existing setup consists of desktop computers with 8‑bit processors, 512 KB RAM, and a basic operating system. The school intends to replace these with newer 16‑bit machines, upgrade the operating system to a graphical interface, and install a suite of educational software. Answer the following questions.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify three core hardware components of a computer system and briefly explain the function of each.
(b)
Discuss the implications of moving from an 8‑bit to a 16‑bit architecture for (i) software compatibility and (ii) data representation in the laboratory.
(c)
A user reports frequent system crashes after installing a new educational application. Outline a systematic troubleshooting procedure that the laboratory technician should follow, explaining the purpose of each step.
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Question 6 View Details
During the last term, a secondary school experienced a security incident where several staff members received a phishing email that appeared to be from the school principal, requesting login credentials for the school’s online portal. The incident raised concerns about both technical safeguards and ethical conduct of IT staff. Answer the following questions.
Question Parts
(a)
Define the three components of the CIA triad – confidentiality, integrity, and availability – and give one practical example of each in a school’s IT environment.
(b)
Explain how social engineering is used in phishing attacks and list three indicators that can help staff recognise a phishing email.
(c)
Propose a layered (defence‑in‑depth) security strategy for protecting the school’s network. Justify the purpose of each layer you suggest.
(d)
Discuss the ethical responsibilities of an IT professional who discovers a security vulnerability in the school’s system.
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Question 7 View Details
A secondary school is planning to set up a computer network for its computer laboratory which will house 20 computers. The school wants the network to be reliable, easy to manage and capable of connecting to the Internet. Answer the following questions:
Question Parts
(a)
Describe the main advantages and disadvantages of each of the following topologies when used in a LAN: (i) Star, (ii) Bus, (iii) Full‑mesh.
(b)
Based on the requirements given, recommend the most suitable topology for the laboratory and justify your choice with at least two reasons.
(c)
State the formula for the maximum number of direct point‑to‑point connections in a full‑mesh network of n nodes and calculate the number of connections required if the laboratory were to use a full‑mesh topology with all 20 computers.
(d)
Explain the role of routers and IP addressing in allowing the laboratory network to communicate with the Internet. Include in your answer the concepts of private IP addresses and NAT.
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Question 8 View Details
You are required to write a Python program that analyses a list of students' examination scores. Answer the following:
Question Parts
(a)
Write a Python function named **analyse_scores** that accepts a list of integer scores and returns a dictionary with the keys: • 'average' – the arithmetic mean of the scores, • 'max' – the highest score, • 'min' – the lowest score, • 'grade_counts' – a dictionary giving the number of scores in each grade category where: A : score ≥ 70 B : 60 ≤ score < 70 C : 50 ≤ score < 60 D : 40 ≤ score < 50 F : score < 40 The function should raise a **ValueError** if the input list is empty.
(b)
Using the function you wrote, show the output produced for the following data set: scores = [85, 72, 68, 55, 49, 38, 91, 64, 57, 43]
(c)
Explain the algorithmic steps employed in your function and state its time‑complexity using Big‑O notation.
(d)
Identify two possible runtime errors that could occur when the function is used and show how you would modify the function to handle them using **try‑except** blocks.
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