0478 Oct/Nov 2020 Past Papers — IGCSE Computer Science
IGCSE Computer Science — the Oct/Nov 2020 examination series: 6 question papers with their mark schemes, the examiner report and the grade thresholds. Under each paper is ZAK's question map: the topic, marks, command words and assessment objectives of every question, each one a click away from its mark scheme in the past-paper practice tool.
Papers
6
2 papers × 3 variants
Questions mapped
44
375 marks · 25 shared with 2210
Examiner report
Yes
per-question comments
Grade thresholds
Yes
marks needed for each grade
Paper 1 — Computer Systems
1h 45m · 75 marks · 50%
0478/11 Paper 1, variant 1
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 6 | Hardware | Tick | AO1 6 |
| Q2 | 13 | Data Representation+ Hardware (4) | Explain, Complete | AO1 7 · AO2 6 |
| Q3 | 8 | The Internet and Its Uses | Identify | AO1 8 |
| Q4 | 12 | Boolean Logic | Identify, Complete, Draw, Consider | AO1 4 · AO2 8 |
| Q5 | 6 | The Internet and Its Uses | State, Give | AO1 6 |
| Q6 | 9 | Hardware+ Data Transmission (3) | Describe, Identify, Give, Tick | AO1 6 · AO2 2 · AO3 1 |
| Q7 | 4 | Databases | Explain | AO1 4 |
| Q8 | 7 | Hardware | State, Explain, Identify | AO1 4 · AO3 3 |
| Q9 | 10 | Data Transmission | Describe, Identify | AO1 6 · AO2 4 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 9 questions · 75 marks mapped.
0478/12 Paper 1, variant 2
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 30 | Data Representation+ The Internet and Its Uses (21) | State, Describe, Explain, Identify, Give | AO1 22 · AO2 6 · AO3 2 |
| Q2 | 9 | Data Transmission | Describe, Tick | AO1 5 · AO2 4 |
| Q3 | 14 | Hardware | State, Describe, Identify, Tick | AO1 14 |
| Q4 | 8 | Boolean Logic | Complete, Draw, Consider | AO1 4 · AO2 4 |
| Q5 | 14 | Hardware+ The Internet and Its Uses (5) | Describe, Complete, Tick | AO1 14 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 5 questions · 75 marks mapped.
0478/13 Paper 1, variant 3
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1= 2210 | 5 | Hardware | Tick | AO1 5 |
| Q2= 2210 | 5 | Hardware | Identify | AO1 5 |
| Q3= 2210 | 7 | Data Representation | Convert, Tick | AO2 7 |
| Q4= 2210 | 7 | The Internet and Its Uses | State, Describe | AO1 7 |
| Q5= 2210 | 8 | Data Transmission+ The Internet and Its Uses (2) | Describe, Identify, Give, Tick | AO1 5 · AO3 3 |
| Q6= 2210 | 5 | Data Transmission | Complete | AO1 5 |
| Q7= 2210 | 6 | Data Transmission | State, Give, Tick | AO1 2 · AO2 4 |
| Q8= 2210 | 6 | Hardware | State, Explain | AO1 3 · AO3 3 |
| Q9= 2210 | 4 | Hardware | State, Give | AO1 4 |
| Q10= 2210 | 8 | Boolean Logic | Complete, Draw, Consider | AO1 4 · AO2 4 |
| Q11= 2210 | 6 | Automated and Emerging Technologies | Describe | AO1 6 |
| Q12= 2210 | 5 | The Internet and Its Uses | Tick | AO1 5 |
| Q13= 2210 | 3 | The Internet and Its Uses | State, Explain | AO1 3 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 13 questions · 75 marks mapped. Questions marked “= 2210” were set word for word under 2210 too; the bank keeps them under the 2210 reference.
Paper 2 — Algorithms, Programming and Logic
1h 45m · 75 marks · 50%
0478/21 Paper 2, variant 1
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 20 | Programming | Describe, Explain, Identify, Give, Write, Justify | AO1 10 · AO2 6 · AO3 4 |
| Q2 | 4 | Programming | Describe | AO1 4 |
| Q3 | 12 | Programming+ Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving (6) | Explain, Give, Suggest | AO2 12 |
| Q4 | 6 | Programming+ Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving (4) | Describe, Complete | AO2 6 |
| Q5 | 8 | Databases | State, Complete, Show | AO1 2 · AO2 6 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 5 questions · 50 marks mapped of 75 — questions that lean on pre-release material, or that the bank could not slice cleanly, are left out.
0478/22 Paper 2, variant 2
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1= 2210 | 20 | Programming | Describe, Explain, Identify, Write | AO1 10 · AO2 8 · AO3 2 |
| Q2= 2210 | 2 | Programming | Tick | AO1 2 |
| Q3= 2210 | 6 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | Identify | AO3 6 |
| Q4= 2210 | 6 | Programming | Answer | AO2 6 |
| Q5= 2210 | 7 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | Describe, Complete | AO2 7 |
| Q6= 2210 | 2 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | Draw | AO2 2 |
| Q7= 2210 | 7 | Databases | State, Identify, Complete, Show | AO1 1 · AO2 4 · AO3 2 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 7 questions · 50 marks mapped of 75 — questions that lean on pre-release material, or that the bank could not slice cleanly, are left out. Questions marked “= 2210” were set word for word under 2210 too; the bank keeps them under the 2210 reference.
0478/23 Paper 2, variant 3
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1= 2210 | 20 | Programming | State, Explain, Identify, Give, Write | AO1 13 · AO2 7 |
| Q2= 2210 | 12 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving+ Programming (8) | Explain, Give, Suggest | AO1 4 · AO2 8 |
| Q3= 2210 | 4 | Programming | Draw | AO1 4 |
| Q4= 2210 | 6 | Programming+ Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving (4) | Explain, Complete | AO2 6 |
| Q5= 2210 | 8 | Databases | State, Complete, Show | AO1 2 · AO2 6 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 5 questions · 50 marks mapped of 75 — questions that lean on pre-release material, or that the bank could not slice cleanly, are left out. Questions marked “= 2210” were set word for word under 2210 too; the bank keeps them under the 2210 reference.
Topics in this session
Marks per topic, added up over every variant of the paper (a question that spans topics shares its marks between them). See how each topic behaves across all sessions on the Statometer.
Paper 1 225 marks over 3 variants
- The Internet and Its Uses56 marks · 25% · trend
- Data Transmission39 marks · 17% · trend
- Boolean Logic28 marks · 12% · trend
- Data Representation26 marks · 12% · trend
- Automated and Emerging Technologies6 marks · 3% · trend
Paper 2 150 marks over 3 variants
- Programming94 marks · 63% · trend
- Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving33 marks · 22% · trend
Command words in this session
How many of the session's questions use each command word — each one tells you what the mark scheme wants.
Question papers, mark schemes, examiner reports and grade thresholds are © Cambridge Assessment International Education; the links open the PDFs on PapaCambridge (BestExamHelp or Cambridge's own site where PapaCambridge lacks a file). The question map shows references, marks and ZAK's topic and assessment-objective tagging only — topics and AOs are estimated from the question and mark-scheme wording.