0478 May/June 2021 Past Papers — IGCSE Computer Science
IGCSE Computer Science — the May/June 2021 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 · 28 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= 2210 | 5 | Data Representation+ Hardware (3) | Identify, Convert | AO1 3 · AO2 2 |
| Q2= 2210 | 12 | Hardware+ Data Transmission (5) | State, Identify, Tick | AO1 10 · AO3 2 |
| Q3= 2210 | 9 | The Internet and Its Uses | Identify, Complete | AO1 9 |
| Q4= 2210 | 6 | The Internet and Its Uses | Describe | AO1 6 |
| Q5= 2210 | 8 | Automated and Emerging Technologies | Describe | AO1 8 |
| Q6= 2210 | 10 | Boolean Logic | Identify, Write, Draw, Consider | AO2 10 |
| Q7= 2210 | 14 | Data Representation+ The Internet and Its Uses (7) | State, Describe, Explain, Give | AO1 8 · AO3 6 |
| Q8= 2210 | 11 | Data Transmission | State, Describe, Identify | AO1 5 · AO2 4 · AO3 2 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 8 questions · 75 marks mapped. Questions marked “= 2210” were set word for word under 2210 too; the bank keeps them under the 2210 reference.
0478/12 Paper 1, variant 2
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1= 2210 | 11 | Data Representation | Identify, Give, Complete | AO1 3 · AO2 6 · AO3 2 |
| Q2= 2210 | 14 | Hardware | Describe, Identify, Give, Tick | AO1 11 · AO3 3 |
| Q3= 2210 | 10 | Boolean Logic | Identify, Write, Draw, Consider | AO2 10 |
| Q4= 2210 | 12 | The Internet and Its Uses | State, Identify, Tick | AO1 12 |
| Q5= 2210 | 10 | Automated and Emerging Technologies | Describe, Identify | AO1 10 |
| Q6= 2210 | 7 | The Internet and Its Uses | Describe, Explain | AO1 3 · AO3 4 |
| Q7= 2210 | 5 | The Internet and Its Uses | Explain, Give | AO1 3 · AO3 2 |
| Q8= 2210 | 6 | Hardware | Complete | AO1 6 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 8 questions · 75 marks mapped. Questions marked “= 2210” were set word for word under 2210 too; the bank keeps them under the 2210 reference.
0478/13 Paper 1, variant 3
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 13 | Data Representation+ Hardware (9) | Describe, Identify, Convert, Tick | AO1 8 · AO2 5 |
| Q2 | 5 | Data Representation | State, Describe | AO1 3 · AO3 2 |
| Q3 | 8 | Hardware | Identify, Complete | AO1 8 |
| Q4 | 5 | The Internet and Its Uses | Explain, Give | AO1 5 |
| Q5 | 6 | Software | Tick | AO1 6 |
| Q6 | 10 | Data Transmission | State, Describe, Identify | AO1 4 · AO2 5 · AO3 1 |
| Q7 | 4 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | Identify, Give | AO1 4 |
| Q8 | 7 | Boolean Logic | Identify, Write, Consider | AO1 3 · AO2 4 |
| Q9 | 9 | Hardware+ Automated and Emerging Technologies (5) | Describe, Complete | AO1 9 |
| Q10 | 8 | Hardware | Give, Tick | AO1 8 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 10 questions · 75 marks mapped.
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= 2210 | 20 | Programming | Explain, Identify, Write | AO1 7 · AO2 13 |
| Q2= 2210 | 3 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | Tick | AO1 3 |
| Q3= 2210 | 6 | Programming | Name | AO1 6 |
| Q4= 2210 | 9 | Programming | Describe, Write | AO2 9 |
| Q5= 2210 | 6 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | Describe, Complete | AO2 6 |
| Q6= 2210 | 6 | Databases | State, Complete, Show | AO1 2 · AO2 4 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 6 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.
0478/22 Paper 2, variant 2
| Q | Marks | Topic | Command words | AO mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1= 2210 | 20 | Programming+ Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving (9) | Describe, Explain, Identify, Write | AO1 14 · AO2 6 |
| Q2= 2210 | 8 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving+ Programming (4) | Describe, Write | AO2 8 |
| Q3= 2210 | 6 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | State, Draw | AO1 3 · AO2 3 |
| Q4= 2210 | 7 | Programming+ The Internet and Its Uses (4) | Explain, Complete | AO1 4 · AO2 3 |
| Q5= 2210 | 4 | Programming | Explain, Write | AO2 3 · AO3 1 |
| Q6= 2210 | 5 | Databases | Identify, Show, Rewrite | AO2 5 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 6 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 | 20 | Programming | Describe, Explain, Identify, Give, Write | AO1 12 · AO2 8 |
| Q2 | 3 | Databases | Draw | AO1 3 |
| Q3 | 6 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | Identify | AO2 6 |
| Q4 | 8 | Programming+ Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving (2) | Identify, Show | AO2 8 |
| Q5 | 7 | Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving | State, Complete, Suggest | AO1 1 · AO2 6 |
| Q6 | 6 | Databases | Complete, Show, Suggest | AO2 6 |
Q links open the question with its mark scheme. 6 questions · 50 marks mapped of 75 — questions that lean on pre-release material, or that the bank could not slice cleanly, are left out.
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 Uses51 marks · 23% · trend
- Data Representation30 marks · 13% · trend
- Boolean Logic27 marks · 12% · trend
- Data Transmission26 marks · 12% · trend
- Automated and Emerging Technologies23 marks · 10% · trend
- Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving4 marks · 2% · trend
Paper 2 150 marks over 3 variants
- Programming84 marks · 56% · trend
- Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving43 marks · 28% · trend
- The Internet and Its Uses4 marks · 2% · 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.