O Level Computer Science 2210 · Topic 1

Data representation: past paper questions

194 real questionsasked in 10 of the last 10 exam series2019–2025usually: Give, State, Convert, Explain, Complete

Real questions on data representation

The newest 20 of 194 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.

2210/12 · October/November 2025 · Q1a[1]
Give the largest hexadecimal number that can be stored in a 12-bit register.
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2210/12 · October/November 2025 · Q1b[1]
Give the largest denary number that can be stored in a 12-bit register.
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2210/12 · October/November 2025 · Q1c[2]
Two toys have the hexadecimal codes 429 and 1A3. Convert the two hexadecimal codes to 12-bit binary numbers. 429 1A3
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2210/12 · October/November 2025 · Q1d[2]
Convert the two binary numbers to hexadecimal numbers. 100010100001 011100001011 Working space (d) Two binary numbers that are stored in the registers are 100010100001 and 011100001011.
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2210/12 · October/November 2025 · Q7e[2]
Give two advantages of storing the music and audio books in cloud storage. (e) The music and audio books that are played by the smart speaker are stored in cloud storage.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1a[1]
Tick (✓) one box to show whether a keypad is an example of an input, output, process or storage device. A input B output C process
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1b(i)[1]
Give the binary number that would be stored when the denary number 24 is entered.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1b(ii)[1]
Give the binary number that would be stored when the denary number 101 is entered.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1b(iii)[1]
The binary number 00010011 is stored in the register. Give the denary number that has been entered for this binary number to be stored.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1b(iv)[1]
The binary number 00100010 is stored in the register. Give the denary number that has been entered for this binary number to be stored.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1c(i)[1]
Give the binary number that is stored in the register to display the error code 51.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1c(ii)[1]
Give the binary number that is stored in the register to display the error code E3.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1c(iii)[1]
Give the hexadecimal number that is displayed when the binary number 10000010 is stored in the register.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q1d[2]
If the owner of the shop wants to make the room very cold, she may need to enter a negative denary number. The negative denary number could be represented using two’s complement. Give the two’s complement 8-bit binary integer that would be stored for the temperature –5. Show all your working.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q4c(i)[1]
State one similarity between session cookies and persistent cookies.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q4c(ii)[2]
Explain one difference between session cookies and persistent cookies.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q5a[5]
Complete the table by writing the missing terms and descriptions about representing text, images and sound as binary. Term Description character set This is the number of samples taken each second when recording sound. resolution This is the number of bits used to represent a colour in an image. pixel
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q5b[1]
The size of an image file is 1000 bytes. Give the size of the image file in bits.
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2210/13 · October/November 2025 · Q5c[1]
The size of a sound file is 4096 mebibytes (MiB). Give the size of the file in gibibytes (GiB).
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2210/22 · October/November 2025 · Q3[6]
A program is written that will only accept values between –99.99 and +99.99, inclusive. The program is to be tested. The table, when completed, shows appropriate test data that matches the type of test data and purpose of the test data. Complete the table by inserting the missing information. Type of test data Purpose...
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What examiners said

Most learners were able to give the correct hexadecimal number.
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2210/12 Q2(b) (Cambridge)

Many candidates were able to correctly complete the binary shift. The most common incorrect answer was from candidates who performed the binary shift to the right and not the left.
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2210/12 Q2(c) (Cambridge)

Some candidates were able to show suitable working and the correct answer. Some candidates only demonstrated partial working. Candidates are reminded to include all the working they do in their response.
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2210/12 Q2(d) (Cambridge)

Practise this topic

Answer these questions online and get each one marked against the official mark scheme, with what you missed and how to fix it.

Practise data representation

In the syllabus

1.0 Data representation

Understand how data is encrypted using • Asymmetric encryption includes the use of
public and private keys
Understand what is meant by, and the purpose • A network interface card is given a MAC
address at the point of manufacture
• MAC addresses are usually written as hexadecimal • MAC addresses are created using the manufacturer code and the serial code
(a) Understand what is meant by, and the • An IP address is allocated by the network and it
can be static or dynamic
Understand that there are different types of • Including the characteristics of, and differences
between, IPv4 and IPv6
Describe the role of a router in a network • A router sends data to a specific destination on a network • A router can assign IP addresses • A router can connect a local network to the internet
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of • Including scenarios from:
– industry – transport – agriculture – weather – gaming – lighting – science

1.1 Number systems

Understand how and why computers use • Any form of data needs to be converted to
binary to be processed by a computer • Data is processed using logic gates and stored in registers
(a) Understand the denary, binary and • Denary is a base 10 system
• Binary is a base 2 system • Hexadecimal is a base 16 system
• Values used will be integers only
positive denary and positive binary • Conversions in both directions, e.g. denary to
positive denary and positive binary or binary to denary
• Maximum binary number length of 16-bit
positive hexadecimal and positive
Understand how and why hexadecimal is used • Areas within computer science that
hexadecimal is used should be identified • Hexadecimal is easier for humans to understand than binary, as it is a shorter representation of binary
(a) Add two positive 8-bit binary integers

1.2 Text, sound and images

Understand how and why a computer • Text is converted to binary to be processed by
a computer
• Unicode allows for a greater range of
characters and symbols than ASCII, including different languages and emojis • Unicode requires more bits per character than ASCII
Understand how and why a computer • A sound wave is sampled for sound to be
converted to binary, which is processed by a
computer • The sample rate is the number of samples taken in a second • The sample resolution is the number of bits per sample • The accuracy of the recording and the file size increases as the sample rate and resolution increase
Understand how and why a computer • An image is a series of pixels that are converted
to binary, which is processed by a computer
• The resolution is the number of pixels in the image • The colour depth is the number of bits used to represent each colour • The file size and quality of the image increase as the resolution and colour depth increase

1.3 Data storage and compression

Understand how data storage is measured • Including: – bit – nibble – byte – kibibyte (KiB) – mebibyte (MiB) – gibibyte (GiB) – tebibyte (TiB) – pebibyte (PiB) – exbibyte (EiB) • The amount of the previous denomination present in the data storage size, e.g.: – 8 bits in a byte – 1024 mebibytes in a gibibyte
Calculate the file size of an image file and a • Answers must be given in the units specified
in the question
Calculations must use the measurement of 1024 and not 1000 • Information given may include: – image resolution and colour depth – sound sample rate, resolution and length of track
Understand the purpose of and need for data • Compression exists to reduce the size of the file
• What the impact of this is, e.g.: – less bandwidth required – less storage space required – shorter transmission time
Understand how files are compressed using • Lossy compression reduces the file size by
permanently removing data, e.g. reducing resolution or colour depth, reducing sample rate or resolution • Lossless compression reduces the file size without permanent loss of data, e.g. run length encoding (RLE)

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