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Example Candidate Responses Paper 4

Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology 9626

For examination from 2017

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Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 4

Task 1 ................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Example Candidate Response – high ........................................................................................................... 6

Example Candidate Response – middle ....................................................................................................... 7

Example Candidate Response – low ............................................................................................................. 8

Task 2 ................................................................................................................................................................ 9

Example Candidate Response – high ........................................................................................................... 9

Example Candidate Response – middle ..................................................................................................... 10

Example Candidate Response – low ........................................................................................................... 11

Task 3 .............................................................................................................................................................. 13

Example Candidate Response – high ......................................................................................................... 13



Task 4 .............................................................................................................................................................. 16




Task 5 .............................................................................................................................................................. 23




Example Candidate Responses – Paper 4

4 Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology (9626)

Introduction The main aim of this booklet is to exemplify standards for those teaching Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology (9626), and to show how different levels of candidates’ performance relate to the subject’s curriculum and assessment objectives. In this booklet candidate responses are derived from scripts of candidates from November 2017 to exemplify a range of answers. For some questions, only a snapshot of the answer has been given to show the formula/formation/functions used by the candidate. In some cases, the formulas and links have been edited to remove candidate data. For each question, the response is annotated with clear explanation of where and why marks were awarded or omitted. This is followed by examiner comments on how the answer could have been improved. In this way, it is possible for you to understand what candidates have done to gain their marks and what they could do to improve their answers. At the end of the booklet, there is a list of common mistakes candidates made in their answers for each question. This document provides illustrative examples of candidate work with examiner commentary. These help teachers to assess the standard required to achieve marks beyond the guidance of the mark scheme. Therefore, in some circumstances, such as where exact answers are required, there will not be much comment. The questions, mark schemes and pre-release material used here are available to download from the School Support Hub. These files are:

November 2017 Question Paper 04

November 2017 Paper 04 Mark Scheme Past exam resources and other teacher support materials are available on the School Support Hub www.cambridgeinternational.org/support

http://www.cambridgeinternational.org/support


Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology (9626) 5

How to use this booklet This booklet goes through the paper one question at a time, showing you the high-, middle- and low-level response for each question. The candidate answers are set in a table. In the left-hand column are the candidate answers, and in the right-hand column are the examiner comments.

This section explains how the candidate could have improved each answer. This helps you to interpret the standard of Cambridge exams and helps your learners to refine their exam technique.

Answers are by real candidates in exam conditions. These show you the types of answer for each level.

Discuss and analyse the answers with your learners in the classroom to improve their skills.

Examiner comments are alongside the answers. These explain where and why marks were awarded. This helps you to interpret the standard of Cambridge exams so you can help your learners to refine their exam technique.

This section lists the common mistakes candidates made in answering each question. This will help your learners to avoid these mistakes and give them the best chance of achieving the available marks.

Often candidates are not awarded marks because they misread or misinterpreted the questions.



Task 1

Example Candidate Response – high Examiner comments

The candidate produced an almost perfect copy of the logo shown in the question paper. The logo satisfied all the criteria including the size as shown in the file information. It was saved as a ‘png’ file to create transparent image as shown. Total mark awarded = 12 out of 12

How the candidate could have improved the answer The candidate was awarded full marks.



Example Candidate Response – middle Examiner comments

The candidate produced a reasonable copy of the logo shown in the question paper. The logo satisfied most of the criteria and the size, as shown in the file information is deemed to be within tolerance which, in this case, was set to ±3 pixels. It was saved as a png file to create a transparent image as shown. Total mark awarded = 8 out of 12

How the candidate could have improved the answer • The logo should have been angled as shown in the question paper. • The strings should have been centred, evenly spaced and wholly within the shape. • The text should have been sufficiently curved and centred. • The size of second ellipse should have matched the size shown on the question paper.



Example Candidate Response – low Examiner comments

The candidate has produced a poor copy of the logo. Total mark awarded = 4 out of 12

How the candidate could have improved the answer • The second ellipse should have been properly combined with the first. • There should have been a single outline for the whole shape. • The strings should have been straight lines, centred and evenly spaced. • The red outline should have been complete. • The text should have been in the correct case, curved and centred. • The proportions of the rectangle should have matched the size shown in the question paper. • The logo should have been saved as png file and should have been transparent. Common mistakes candidates made in this task For this task, the issues were not so much about mistakes or omissions but about skill and experience. Centres would benefit from ensuring candidates have experience of: • Combining objects into a single shape, • Curving text accurately, • Developing precision with positioning and proportions.



Task 2

Example Candidate Response – high Examiner comments (a) Animation ‘Task2a_High’ has been uploaded as an accompanying file to this booklet.

(b) EPS (frame per second) is a term used to describe the number of frames

(still images) that each second of a video file consists of. If an animation

has a low EPS (e.g. 15) it will not look smooth but the file size will be

smaller. However, if an animation has a high FPS (e.g. 30 or 60) it will

look uninterrupted and smooth at the cost of a bigger file size.

The candidate produced an animation as described in the question paper. The animation satisfied all the criteria including the frame size as shown in the file information. Mark for task (a) = 20/20 This is a correct answer. Mark for task (b) = 4/4 Total mark awarded = 24 out of 24

How the candidate could have improved the answer The candidate was awarded full marks.



Example Candidate Response – middle Examiner comments (a) Animation ‘Task2a_Middle’ has been uploaded as an accompanying file to this booklet. (b) (b) FPS stands for frames per second which means the number of frames

created per 1 second as the FPS increases the smoother the animation

becomes.

The candidate has done a reasonable attempt at animation but there are several criteria that are not satisfied. Mark for task (a) = 12/20 This is a good answer and covers the statement and explanation of the term and the effect of one of the variations. Mark for task (b) = 3/4 Total mark awarded = 15 out of 24

How the candidate could have improved the answer (a) The animation does not match the following criteria on the mark scheme.

• The letter ‘R’ (only) in the text ‘Rock’ turns red for 2 seconds. • The text ‘Rock ICT’ then fades out in 5 seconds. • The fade out of the text animation is smooth. • All the timings for the ‘ROCK ICT’ text animation are correct. • The guitar logo then appears small at centre of screen. • The logo grows larger to fill centre of screen in 3 seconds. • The growth of the logo animation is smooth. • The whole animation is 20 seconds in length.

In addition, the file information showed that the duration of the animation was not 20 seconds.

(b) The candidate should also have given the description of the effects of decreasing the FPS.



Example Candidate Response – low Examiner comments (a) Animation ‘Task2a_Low’ has been uploaded as an accompanying file to this booklet.

(b) Frame per second is the feature in flash animation which tells the user

how many seconds each frame contains. It effect towards the animation

is that it can let the user time each frame according to what they want

and determines the entire length of the animation. It can also time the

effects in the animation and determines the effects according to which

comes first.

The candidate produced a poor attempt at the animation and there are many criteria that are not satisfied. Mark for task (a) = 8/20 The answer effectively only states that FPS means Frames per second. The rest of the explanation is too vague and does not cover the points posed in the question. Mark for task (b) = 1/4 Total mark awarded = 9 out of 24



How the candidate could have improved the answer (a) The animation did not match the following criteria on the mark scheme.

• The text ‘ICT’ appears at top right corner. • The animation of text is smooth and takes 3 seconds. • The text ‘Rock ICT’ then fades out in 5 seconds. • The fade out of the text animation is smooth. • All the timings for the ROCK ICT text animation are correct. • The text ‘The Best’ fades in and out in 5 seconds. • The text ‘The Best’ is red. • The fade in and fade out of the text ‘The Best’ is smooth. • The guitar logo then appears small at centre of screen. • The logo grows larger to fill centre of screen in 3 seconds. • The growth of the logo animation is smooth. • The whole animation is 20 seconds in length.

In addition, the file information shows that the duration of the animation was only 12 seconds.

(b) The candidate should also have explained FPS and given a description of the effects of increasing and decreasing FPS.

Common mistakes candidates made in this task (a) The most common problems for candidates with this task were the smoothness of the animation and the

change in size of the logo.

(b) Almost all candidates stated the FPS meant Frames Per Second, but few described the effect of reducing or increasing the frame rate. Some only stated that increasing the frame rate made the animation smoother but failed to state the effect of reducing the frame rate.



Task 3

Example Candidate Response – high Examiner comments (a)

Formula in B4 = VLOOKUP(B3,

‘\\\\[equipment_hire_costs.xlsx]equipment_hire_costs’!$A$3:$C$11,IF(B1<=

50,2,3),FALSE)

Formula in B7 = VLOOKUP(B6,

‘\\\\[equipment_hire_costs.xlsx]equipment_hire_costs’!$A$3:$C$11,IF(B1<=

50,2,3),FALSE)

Formula in B10

=IF(B9="plastic",IF(B1>75,75,IF(B1<50,35,50)),IF(B1>75,105,IF(B1<50,

55,85)))

Formula in B15 = B4+B7+B10+B12

(b) In my opinion the model created is effective enough for a small company.

Data can be entered easily and rapidly using the validated lists. The costs

are update automatically and the grand total is calculated which means

that no manual calculations need to be done. However, the number

attending is only limited to 100 which may lead to a situation where a

large venue will be held and thus the model will need to be updated.

There is also no easy way of changing the list values which means that

educated personal needs to be hired to maintain the model or company’s

employees need to be educated on how to update the model (which costs

time and money). “Security” value is fixed which means that if the

security cost changes it will need to be updated manually. There is also

no consideration for any additional costs.

The marks are awarded for calculated results only. This candidate produced a complete solution to the model as described in the question paper. Mark for task (a) = 24/24 The candidate gives both advantages and disadvantages of using this model. Mark for task (b) = 4/4 Total mark awarded = 30 out of 30

How the candidate could have improved the answer The candidate achieved full marks.



Example Candidate Response – middle Examiner comments (a)

Formula in B4 =

IF(B1<=50,VLOOKUP(B3,Sheet2!A3:C11,2,1),VLOOKUP(B3,Sheet2!A3:C

11,3,1))

Formula in B7 =

IF(B1<=50,VLOOKUP(B6,Sheet2!A3:C11,2,1),VLOOKUP(B6,Sheet2!A3:C

11,3,1))

Formula in B15 = SUM(B3:B12) (b) The financial model can aid in planning the capital for Jared. This allow

him to prepare the company capital for the payment that need to be

made in order for the event to be success. There also given validation

rules that only allow option given to be select, this prevent any error

data to be enter. And lastly there is formulae given to help in calculating

all the cost, Example the SUM function that calculate the Cost of event.

However, this financial model doesn’t include all the cost that might

affect this event. A really professional or expertise is needed to calculate

all the cost. So the information that Jared obtain form this model might

be inaccurate or lead to a mistake to him. This kind of model is

complicated to use, if the formulae is wrong then it can lead to the

wrong result.

The formula to display the number of speakers and the lighting cost are both flawed by the use of the ‘True’ option in the VLOOKUP, but the use of the formula for the number of speakers gives the correct results. Mark for task (a) = 15/24 The candidate gains a mark for mentioning the advantage of validation but although the candidate mentions the use of formulae, the issue of automatic calculations is not specifically addressed. The disadvantages are covered in more depth. Mark for task (b) = 4/4 Total mark awarded = 19 out of 30

How the candidate could have improved the answer (a) The candidate should have used the correct True option in the VLOOKUP to calculate the correct

answers.

(b) The candidate was awarded full marks.



Example Candidate Response – low Examiner comments (a)

(b) The calculations are automatic so we don’t have to manually calculate

the costs which could sometimes lead to a miscalculation.

The restriction of data could alert the user that a specific data could only

be entered in the cell

The candidate has produced a poor solution and satisfied few of the criteria. They managed to set a validation for the number of attending and set drop down lists. Mark for task (a) = 7/24 The candidate gains a mark for mentioning the issue of automatic calculations and whilst data validation is not listed it is a clear advantage and also worth a mark. Mark for task (b) = 2/4 Total mark awarded = 9 out of 30

How the candidate could have improved the answer (a) The formatting of the row labels in column A should have matched the question paper. The candidate

should have inserted the formulas to display the costs. Although the candidate set a validation for the number attending and set drop down lists, the drop down list for the number of speakers had incorrect options.

(b) The candidate should have given two disadvantages. Common mistakes candidates made in this task (a) In this task, it was clear that the issue was not the lack of skill with spreadsheets, but not paying attention

to the details of the task. In particular, few candidates managed to configure the options for the seating costs correctly.

(b) Many did not list any advantages of using a spreadsheet model or even enough of the way such a model could be used. The syllabus states that for ‘evaluate’ task candidates should ‘discuss the importance of, weigh up the advantages and disadvantages, judge the overall effectiveness and weigh up opinions’.



Task 4

Example Candidate Response – high Examiner comments (a)

The candidate produced a complete solution to the task as described in the question paper.



Example Candidate Response – high, continued Examiner comments

Mark for task (a) = 24/24



Example Candidate Response – high, continued Examiner comments (b) Mail merge is very convenient and efficient method to produce tickets. It

allows the use of already existing data (customer spreadsheet) which

reduces the risk of error as no data is entered manually. The existence of

a master document makes it easier to spell-check the tickets as only one

instance (instead of all the tickets in case of manual creation) should be

checked. The ability to use conditional statements (IF THEN ELSE) makes

it easy to enter special text (VIP/Standard ticket) and allows for

personalization of each ticket. If necessary, filters can be applied on the

data and thus tickets will be produced for only the selected range of

customers. Another benefit of mail merge is that the master document

can be reused in the further saving time and money.

The candidate described advantages clearly but did not address any disadvantages. Mark for task (b) = 3/6 Total mark awarded = 27 out of 30

How the candidate could have improved the answer (b) The candidate should have addressed disadvantages as well as advantages.



Example Candidate Response – middle Examiner comments (a)

The candidate has done a fair attempt at the task but seems to have misunderstood the instructions about creating a ticket number and added an extra character. The page is set to the dimensions given for the labels, but this indicated that the candidate does not know how to create multiple labels per page in a mail merge. Mark for task (a) = 12/24



Example Candidate Response – middle, continued Examiner comments (b) First and foremost when using mail merging a person only needs to write

one letter which is then edited and sent to anyone who is concerned.

Therefore it is not time consuming and it is easy compared to other

methods.

When a mistake is written, it is sent to everyone however when

comparing to other methods like typing a letter for everyone, it may

help in the reduction of errors because a person can easily read through

the whole letter before sending it.

Above all, mail merging may not be the best alternative but it will be

better to use especially to people who have a lot of work to do or have

many people to send the letter to.

The candidate covers the issue of using a template and proof reading and also partially addresses the issue of errors in the template. Mark for task (b) = 3/6 Total mark awarded = 15 out of 30

How the candidate could have improved the answer (a) The correct forename characters should have been chosen and the name on the ticket should have

been in serif font. The candidate should have set up multiple labels within a page and the cost merge field had not been inserted.

(b) The candidate should have given one more advantage and two more disadvantages of using mail merges.



Example Candidate Response – low Examiner comments (a)

The candidate probably carried out the first part of the task and correctly generated the ticket numbers, but the file was re-saved in csv format, so the evidence of formula was lost. Some tickets were produced but customer_ticket_merge was not included in the file in submission so marks were lost for this section. Although tickets were produced, there were only 10 out of 20 required and none of them included the VIP/standard ticket status. Mark for task (a) = 6/24



Example Candidate Response – low, continued Examiner comments (b) It is much better using mail merge than alternative methods to create

the tickets, as it helps reducing the time and not wasting it when doing

it individually. We can also easily validate any sorts of criteria that we

want for example, this letters must only be sent to boys, and we can use

the existing list of gender and make it equal to “boys”. This will

automatically directed only to the boys whereas the girls will be filtered

out instead of deleting the data.

The candidate only covers the issues of using criteria for selection of recipients. Mark for task (b) = 1/6 Total mark awarded = 7 out of 30

How the candidate could have improved the answer (a) The spreadsheet should have been saved as an excel worksheet format so the formulas would have

been saved. To be awarded more marks, the candidate should have submitted customer_ticket_merge document. The candidate should have produced all required 20 tickets and included VIP/Standard ticket status.

(b) The candidate should have given five more advantages and disadvantages. Common mistakes candidates made in this task (a) The first part of the task was carried out successfully by almost all candidates and indeed the vast

majority managed to configure the merge fields and the conditional text for the tickets. Very few however used a label facility to produce the tickets. Most candidates produced each ticket on a new page and many produced a page full of tickets for each recipient. The use of a label facility is an important aspect of mail merge and it seems that centres need to address the lack of experience of candidates in this area.

(b) The issues for this task were similar to those for Task 3(b). From the syllabus, the keyword "explain" requires candidates to "Set out purposes or reasons". With six marks available, candidates should have listed features of mail merges and detailed their purpose, advantages and drawbacks etc. Very few approached the task in this way.



Task 5

Example Candidate Response – high Examiner comments Database ‘Task5_high’ has been uploaded as an accompanying file to this booklet

The candidate produced a complete solution; however the title for the form did not match the criteria. Total mark awarded = 20 out of 21

How the candidate could have improved the answer Although the title of the form referred to bookings, the form was designed to display just the bookings for a single company. The candidate could have used a title such as ‘Company Bookings’.



Example Candidate Response – middle Examiner comments Database ‘Task5_Middle’ has been uploaded as an accompanying file to this booklet

The candidate produced a good solution but failed to satisfy a few criteria. Total mark awarded = 17 out of 21

How the candidate could have improved the answer The form title should have reflected the contents which were all the bookings for a single company. There were not sufficient navigation buttons on the form and the one that was included did not work. The buttons needed as a minimum were: ‘Next record’ and ‘Previous record’, but buttons for the ‘First record’ and the ‘Last record’ should have also been included. The candidate did not disable the default record selectors and scroll bars and it should not have been possible to edit data in the form.



Example Candidate Response – low Examiner comments Database ‘Task5_Low’ has been uploaded as an accompanying file to this booklet

The candidate produced a poor solution but only satisfied a few criteria. Total mark awarded = 9 out of 21

How the candidate could have improved the answer The data were not imported correctly and the ‘Bookings’ table had dates missing from some records. Although the primary keys were set, no relationships were established. The form had a number of errors or omissions: • The title did not reflect the contents which should have been all the bookings for single company. • A subform was created but it was not linked to the bookings for a single company. • The fields in the subform were not those required. Common mistakes candidates made in this task Almost all candidates completed the first part of this task well. All managed to create the relational database and most set the data types, the primary keys and the relationships correctly.

The creation of a form with a subform was not a problem for most candidates but once again satisfying all the requirements specified in the question was an issue. Many were not awarded marks for not formatting the main form as detailed in the bulleted lists and very few seemed familiar with the setting of properties to control the subform scroll bars and the default form navigation controls.

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