2210 · 0478Paper 1 · Computer Systems§5.1, §5.2, §5.3

5. The Internet and Its Uses

Internet vs World Wide Web, URLs, HTTP/HTTPS, browsers, cookies, blockchain, cyber security threats and how to stop them.

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Statometer72CoreNext Paper 187%

Marks a paper12 · 16%Rank#6 of 10 · #4 on P1Trend · last 12↘Full stats

Everything for this topic — study hub

O Level / IGCSE · 2210 · 0478 · Paper 1

Statometer — what 25 real papers say about this topic and each of its 3 syllabus bullets

Core · #6 of 10 in O Level / IGCSE · recomputed with every new session

Core#6 of 10 in O Level / IGCSE#4 on Paper 1↘ Easing

A regular, well-paid topic — you cannot afford a gap here.

Next Paper 1: 87%; 9 in 10 chance it is set
Marks a paper: 12 / 75; 16% of Paper 1 · fair share 17%
Appeared in: 23 / 25; Paper 1 sittings 2023–2026
Last set: May/Jun 2026; 0478/13 · Q7 · 5 marks · 11-series streak

Marks in each of the last 12 Paper 1 sittingsOct/Nov 24 → May/Jun 26

What the papers say

Set in 23 of 25 Paper 1 sittings on the current syllabus — treat it as certain.
Worth about 12 marks a paper (16% of Paper 1).
Last set May/Jun 2026 · 0478/13 · Q7 for 5 marks — in the most recent series.
Set in each of the last 11 series without a miss.
Easing off: about 12.7 marks a paper earlier, 11.8 in the latest years — still examined, just smaller.
Lives on “Describe” and “Explain” — 62% of its questions: full sentences with a reason, not one-word answers.
Most of its marks (85%) come in extended questions of 6+ marks — plan the answer before writing.
Its biggest question so far: 18 marks (May/Jun 2024 · 0478/13 · Q7).
Inside the topic, §5.1 The internet and the world wide web carries the most marks (53%) and §5.2 Digital currency the least (1%).
It is examined mostly as AO1 (Knowledge & understanding, 71%), the rest AO2 (24%) — definitions and descriptions in syllabus words score.
The examiner has commented on 108 of its questions — read “What the examiner said” before you practise.

Command words

Share of questions using the word (a question can use several). What each wants →

Question shapes

1–2 mk0
3–4 mk14
5–6 mk46
7–9 mk20
10+ mk50

Average 8.7 marks a question · 23% with a figure or table · 21% with code · biggest 18 marks

Assessment objectives — how it is examined

Every part of every current-syllabus question filed under Cambridge's AO1 / AO2 / AO3 (from its command word and what it asks you to do), so you know whether this topic pays for definitions, for applying, or for judging and building.

AO1 71%

AO2 24%

AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge

Paper 1 as a whole

Paper 1	Syllabus	Measured
AO1 Knowledge & understanding	60%	64%
AO2 Apply to a context	20%	24%
AO3 Evaluate & judge	20%	12%

Syllabus = Cambridge's grid; measured = the bank's current-syllabus papers.

Inside the topic — every syllabus bullet, measured

Each part of each question is filed under the bullet it examines; the numbers are per Paper 1 sitting, exactly like the topic's. Open a bullet for its own Statometer.

5.1The internet and the world wide web#5 of 20 on Paper 1Core · 7360% next paper5.4 marks16/25 sittings→ May/Jun 2026Core · 7360%
5.4 · 53% of topic16/25May/Jun 2026latest series · →
A regular earner inside the topic — most papers touch it.Syllabus: internet vs WWW; URLs; HTTP/HTTPS; web browser functions; locating and displaying a web page (DNS, IP, web server, HTML); session and persistent cookies
Next Paper 1
60%
6 in 10
Marks a paper
5.4
7% of the paper · 53% of the topic
Asked in
16 / 25
Paper 1 sittings · 80 questions
Last asked
May/Jun 2026
2210/11 · Q6 · 10 marks · 10-series streak
Asked in 16 of 25 Paper 1 sittings — about 6 papers in 10.
About 5.4 marks a paper (7% of Paper 1; 53% of the topic's marks across its 3 bullets).
Last asked May/Jun 2026 · 2210/11 · Q6 (10 marks) — in the most recent series.
Asked in each of the last 10 series.
Usually “Describe” or “Explain”: full sentences with a reason, not one-word answers.
Biggest chunk of marks so far: 14 in Oct/Nov 2024 · 2210/12 · Q7.
It is examined mostly as AO1 (Knowledge & understanding, 68%), the rest AO2 (27%) — definitions and descriptions in syllabus words score.
Last 12 sittings→ Steady
Assessment objectives
AO1 68%
AO2 27%
AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge
Describe48%
Explain38%
Give38%
State34%
Practise its 80 questions Biggest: 14 marks · Oct/Nov 2024
5.2Digital currency#20 of 20 on Paper 1Occasional · 1118% next paper0.4 marks4/25 sittings→ May/Jun 2025Occasional · 1118%
0.4 · 1% of topic4/25May/Jun 20253 series ago · →
Rotated in occasionally — the bullet students skip and then meet.Syllabus: what a digital currency is and how blockchain tracks its transactions
Next Paper 1
18%
1 in 5 or less
Marks a paper
0.4
1% of the paper · 1% of the topic
Asked in
4 / 25
Paper 1 sittings · 4 questions
Last asked
May/Jun 2025
2210/11 · Q9 · 2 marks · 3 series ago
Asked in only 4 of 25 Paper 1 sittings — rare, which is exactly why it catches candidates out.
About 0.4 marks a paper (1% of Paper 1; 1% of the topic's marks across its 3 bullets).
Last asked May/Jun 2025 · 2210/11 · Q9 (2 marks), 3 seriess ago.
Usually “Give”: short, precise answers in syllabus words.
Biggest chunk of marks so far: 4 in Oct/Nov 2024 · 0478/11 · Q8.
It is examined mostly as AO2 (Apply to a context, 62%), the rest AO1 (39%) — you must apply it to the scenario or the given data — a definition alone will not score.
Last 12 sittings→ Steady
Assessment objectives
AO1 39%
AO2 62%
AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge
Give50%
Complete25%
Draw25%
Identify25%
Practise its 4 questions Biggest: 4 marks · Oct/Nov 2024
5.3Cyber security#6 of 20 on Paper 1Core · 7070% next paper4.8 marks18/25 sittings↘ May/Jun 2026Core · 7070%
4.8 · 46% of topic18/25May/Jun 2026latest series · ↘
A regular earner inside the topic — most papers touch it.Syllabus: threats (brute-force, data interception, DDoS, hacking, malware, pharming, phishing, social engineering) and the solutions that keep data safe
Next Paper 1
70%
7 in 10
Marks a paper
4.8
6% of the paper · 46% of the topic
Asked in
18 / 25
Paper 1 sittings · 84 questions
Last asked
May/Jun 2026
0478/13 · Q7 · 5 marks · 4-series streak
Asked in 18 of 25 Paper 1 sittings — about 7 papers in 10.
About 4.8 marks a paper (6% of Paper 1; 46% of the topic's marks across its 3 bullets).
Last asked May/Jun 2026 · 0478/13 · Q7 (5 marks) — in the most recent series.
Asked in each of the last 4 series.
Easing: 5.1 → 4.9 marks a paper.
Usually “Describe” or “Explain”: full sentences with a reason, not one-word answers.
Biggest chunk of marks so far: 10 in May/Jun 2026 · 2210/12 · Q5.
It is examined almost entirely as AO1 (Knowledge & understanding, 77%) — definitions and descriptions in syllabus words score.
Last 12 sittings↘ Easing
Assessment objectives
AO1 77%
AO2 23%
AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge
Describe45%
Explain45%
Identify39%
Give38%
Practise its 84 questions Biggest: 10 marks · May/Jun 2026

11% of the topic's marks sit in question parts that belong to another topic (scenario questions cross sections) or that no bullet claims; they count for the topic, not for a bullet.

Marks a paper, year by year

151617181920212223242526

Grey years are the previous syllabus (2015–2022, 95 questions) — history, not counted in the rates.

By exam series

Feb/Mar4/4 · 13.8 mk
May/Jun10/12 · 12.7 mk
Oct/Nov9/9 · 11.1 mk

Practise 130 real questions Smart Notes Quiz Flashcards Every topic on the Statometer

What you need to know3syllabus §5.1, §5.2, §5.3

5.1The internet and the world wide web — internet vs WWW; URLs; HTTP/HTTPS; web browser functions; locating and displaying a web page (DNS, IP, web server, HTML); session and persistent cookies
5.2Digital currency — what a digital currency is and how blockchain tracks its transactions
5.3Cyber security — threats (brute-force, data interception, DDoS, hacking, malware, pharming, phishing, social engineering) and the solutions that keep data safe

Video lectures7ZAK's YouTube channel · play here

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Open in the video library ZAK's channel

Infographics2draw these the way the examiner expects · download as PNG

URL anatomy & fetching a web page

O Level

Cyber threats vs defences

O LevelAS

Browse all infographics →

Key terms14use these exact words in the exam

URLDNSHTTPScookieblockchainDDoSmalwarephishingpharmingfirewallproxy serverSSLbiometricstwo-factor authentication

Dotted terms are defined in the glossary.

Code help2referenced to the Cambridge pseudocode guide

Password strength check (validation + security)

pseudocode Run in Playground

DECLARE P : STRING
DECLARE i, Digits : INTEGER
DECLARE Ch : CHAR
P ← "Zak2026!"
Digits ← 0
FOR i ← 1 TO LENGTH(P)
   Ch ← SUBSTRING(P, i, 1)
   IF Ch >= '0' AND Ch <= '9' THEN
      Digits ← Digits + 1
   ENDIF
NEXT i
IF LENGTH(P) >= 8 AND Digits >= 1 THEN
   OUTPUT "Strong enough"
ELSE
   OUTPUT "Too weak"
ENDIF

Caesar-shift encryption (symmetric key idea)

pseudocode Run in Playground

DECLARE Msg, Out : STRING
DECLARE i, Key, Code : INTEGER
Msg ← "HELLO"
Key ← 3
Out ← ""
FOR i ← 1 TO LENGTH(Msg)
   Code ← ASC(SUBSTRING(Msg, i, 1)) - 65
   Out ← Out & CHR((Code + Key) MOD 26 + 65)
NEXT i
OUTPUT Out

💡 Same key decrypts by shifting back — that is what 'symmetric' means.

Playground examples1runnable program for this topic

Caesar cipher — encrypt & decrypt
Shift letters with ASC and CHR, wrapping with MOD 26. Same key both ways = symmetric encryption.
O LevelASA2PseudocodeString handling §5.5 · 2210 §5 / 9618 §6.2 security
Run

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Every round is a fresh random draw, weak cards come back until you get them right, and past-paper questions come with their mark schemes. Marks earn XP on your dashboard.

Quiz: The Internet and Its Uses (50)🃏 Flashcards: mix this topic (71)🌐 Internet, WWW, URLs & browsers (19)🪙 Digital currency & blockchain (11)🛡️ Cyber security threats (21)🔒 Cyber security solutions (20)Past-paper questions (130)🌐 URL → web page walkthrough ⛓️ Blockchain demo 🔐 Encryption & HTTPS

Everything for this topic — study hub

Statometer — what 25 real papers say about this topic and each of its 3 syllabus bullets

What you need to know3syllabus §5.1, §5.2, §5.3

Video lectures7ZAK's YouTube channel · play here

Chapter 5 · The internet and its uses · O Level · IGCSE

1.2.3 Internet Principles of Operations · URDU · OL

Security Aspects · O Level

1.4 Security Part 1/2 · O Level

Internet Principles of Operation · O Level

1.4 Security Part 2/2 · O Level

Infographics2draw these the way the examiner expects · download as PNG

Key terms14use these exact words in the exam

Code help2referenced to the Cambridge pseudocode guide

Playground examples1runnable program for this topic

Ready to check you know it?