Hardware

Worked examples (9)

• 1Pick the factors that actually count
• 2Turn gigahertz into something meaningful
• 3Order the storage levels and justify the order
• 4Build the three-link chain for cache size
• 5Explain why four cores are not four times as fast
• 6Same clock speed, different cache — which is faster?
• 7Recommend a processor for two very different users
• 8Show numerically why hit rate matters more than hit time
• 9Explain why manufacturers stopped raising the clock

Model answers (9)

• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — applied open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended response

Worked examples (9)

• 1State the function of each of the four types of memory
• 2Match each statement to the type of memory it describes
• 3Explain what volatile means and why it matters to a user
• 4Explain why the bootstrap program is held in ROM
• 5Explain how cache improves performance, and why it is so small
• 6Diagnose a laptop that slows to a crawl with many programs open
• 7Compare RAM and virtual memory
• 8Evaluate enlarging the page file as a cure for slowness
• 9Use the hierarchy to answer a design question and rank three upgrades

Model answers (9)

• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response

Worked examples (9)

• 1State the function of each of the five components
• 2Classify the devices in a self-service checkout
• 3Two differences between main memory and secondary storage
• 4Describe how the components work together to edit a photograph
• 5Explain why a program must be loaded into main memory
• 6Apply the five components to an automatic weather station
• 7Explain why the CPU never exchanges data directly with the disk
• 8Assess the claim that a faster CPU always makes a computer faster
• 9Trace a library loan and identify where removing a component breaks it

Model answers (9)

• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response

Worked examples (9)

• 1Build a two-mark definition of the stored program concept
• 2Match each register to what it holds
• 3Decide which bus carries what
• 4Describe the fetch stage, naming every component
• 5Explain the role of the clock without overstating it
• 6Complete a Von Neumann diagram with the correct directions
• 7Trace one instruction through the whole cycle
• 8Explain why the PC is incremented during fetch
• 9Work out what the bus widths of a machine allow

Model answers (9)

• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended response

Worked examples (9)

• 1Name the three technologies and a device for each
• 2Describe how a hard disk drive stores data
• 3Explain how a laser reads an optical disc
• 4Explain why a solid state drive survives being dropped
• 5Decide whether a file set fits on a given medium
• 6Choose different technologies for two stages of one job
• 7Analyse the write endurance limit of solid state storage
• 8Explain why magnetic tape is still used
• 9Evaluate the claim that optical storage is obsolete

Model answers (9)

• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response

Worked examples (9)

• 1Define cloud storage without using the word 'cloud'
• 2Give two genuinely different advantages
• 3Explain the disadvantage that decides most scenarios
• 4Calculate how long an upload will take
• 5Recognise when a NAS is the right answer
• 6Compare cloud storage with a local external drive
• 7Analyse the ongoing cost of renting storage
• 8Explain the risks of a third party holding your data
• 9Evaluate moving a school entirely to cloud storage

Model answers (9)

• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response

Worked examples (9)

• 1Define an embedded system and give examples
• 2Decide whether a device contains an embedded system
• 3Describe the function of one embedded system
• 4Explain why a general-purpose computer is not used
• 5Explain what real-time actually means
• 6Identify the sensors and actuators of a stated system
• 7Justify holding the program in ROM
• 8Design the sensors and logic of a traffic light controller
• 9Evaluate connecting embedded systems to the internet

Model answers (9)

• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — short open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — open-response
• ✓Model answer — Edexcel 4CP0 Paper 1 style — extended open-response