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ZAK Assignments

Every topic of 2210 / 0478 / 9618 has a full assignment — written by AskZ from ZAK's own class assignments and Cambridge past papers, polished to exam standard, with figures, model answers, a mark scheme and an examiner's tip on every part. Open one in its own tab, answer on screen or on paper, self-mark for XP, and download it as a PDF on ZAK's letterhead. The first open of a set takes about a minute; after that it is instant for everyone and saved on your device. Notes for each topic are on the Learn pages.

2210 · 0478Paper 1
1. Data Representation
4 sub-topics · Everything is numbers. Learn how binary, hexadecimal, text, images and sound are stored and how data is compressed.
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2210 · 0478Paper 1
2. Data Transmission
3 sub-topics · How data travels — serial/parallel, simplex/duplex, USB, packets, error checking and encryption.
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2210 · 0478Paper 1
3. Hardware
5 sub-topics · The CPU and Von Neumann architecture, the fetch–decode–execute cycle, input/output devices, storage and virtual memory.
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2210 · 0478Paper 1
4. Software
2 sub-topics · System vs application software, the operating system, interrupts, and how high-level languages become machine code.
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2210 · 0478Paper 1
5. The Internet and Its Uses
3 sub-topics · Internet vs World Wide Web, URLs, HTTP/HTTPS, browsers, cookies, blockchain, cyber security threats and how to stop them.
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2210 · 0478Paper 1
6. Automated and Emerging Technologies
3 sub-topics · Automated systems with sensors, microprocessors and actuators; robotics; and artificial intelligence including expert systems and machine learning.
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2210 · 0478Paper 2
7. Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving
6 sub-topics · Program development life cycle, decomposition, flowcharts and pseudocode, standard algorithms (searching, sorting, totalling, counting, max/min), validation and testing with trace tables.
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2210 · 0478Paper 2
8. Programming
5 sub-topics · The core skills: variables, constants, data types, input/output, selection (IF/CASE), iteration (FOR/WHILE/REPEAT), procedures, functions, string handling, arrays and file handling — in pseudocode and a high-level language.
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2210 · 0478Paper 2
9. Databases
4 sub-topics · Single-table databases: fields, records, data types, primary keys and SQL queries with SELECT, FROM, WHERE, ORDER BY, SUM and COUNT.
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2210 · 0478Paper 2
10. Boolean Logic
4 sub-topics · Logic gates (NOT, AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR), logic circuits, truth tables and logic expressions.
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9618Paper 1
1. Information Representation
4 sub-topics · Number systems, BCD, two's complement, character sets, multimedia (bitmap/vector, sound) and file compression.
Set A Set B Set C
9618Paper 1
2. Communication
3 sub-topics · Networks (LAN/WAN, client–server, peer-to-peer, thin and thick clients), topologies, cloud computing, wired and wireless media, LAN hardware, Ethernet, bit streaming, the internet's infrastructure, IP addressing, URLs and DNS.
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9618Paper 1
3. Hardware
4 sub-topics · Input, output and storage devices and how they work, buffers, embedded systems, memory types (RAM/ROM, SRAM/DRAM, PROM/EPROM/EEPROM), monitoring and control systems, and logic gates and circuits.
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9618Paper 1
4. Processor Fundamentals
4 sub-topics · Von Neumann CPU, registers, buses, the FDE cycle with register transfer notation, interrupts, assembly language, addressing modes and bit manipulation.
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9618Paper 1
5. System Software
2 sub-topics · Operating systems and utilities, language translators, compilers vs interpreters, IDE features.
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9618Paper 1
6. Security, Privacy and Data Integrity
2 sub-topics · Data security vs data integrity, threats, prevention, validation and verification.
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9618Paper 1
7. Ethics and Ownership
3 sub-topics · Ethical behaviour, professional codes of conduct (BCS/ACM/IEEE), copyright, licensing and AI ethics.
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9618Paper 1
8. Databases
3 sub-topics · Relational databases, normalisation to 3NF, ER diagrams, DDL and DML with SQL.
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9618Paper 2
9. Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving
3 sub-topics · Computational thinking (abstraction, decomposition), identifier tables, pseudocode with the three basic constructs, structured English and flowcharts (and converting between them), stepwise refinement and logic statements.
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9618Paper 2
10. Data Types and Structures
4 sub-topics · Data types, records, arrays (1D/2D), files, and how ADTs are implemented with arrays.
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9618Paper 2
11. Programming
3 sub-topics · Programming basics, constructs, structured programming — procedures, functions, parameters by value/reference, scope.
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9618Paper 2
12. Software Development
4 sub-topics · Program development life cycle, program design tools, program testing, test data and maintenance.
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9618Paper 3
13. Data Representation
3 sub-topics · User-defined data types, file organisation and access, floating-point representation, normalisation and rounding errors.
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9618Paper 3
14. Communication and Internet Technologies
2 sub-topics · Protocols (TCP/IP stack, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, BitTorrent), circuit and packet switching in depth.
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9618Paper 3
15. Hardware and Virtual Machines
2 sub-topics · RISC vs CISC, pipelining, parallel processing (SISD/SIMD/MISD/MIMD), massively parallel computers, virtual machines — plus Boolean algebra, De Morgan's laws, Karnaugh maps, adders and flip-flops.
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9618Paper 3
16. System Software
3 sub-topics · Operating system internals — process management, scheduling algorithms, memory management (paging, segmentation, virtual memory) — and how compilers work (lexical, syntax, code generation, optimisation, RPN).
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9618Paper 3
17. Security
2 sub-topics · Asymmetric encryption, digital signatures and certificates, SSL/TLS, quantum cryptography.
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9618Paper 3
18. Artificial Intelligence
2 sub-topics · Graphs and graph algorithms (Dijkstra, A*), machine learning categories (supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement), deep learning, back-propagation and regression.
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9618Paper 4
19. Computational Thinking and Problem-Solving
3 sub-topics · Recursion, ADTs in code (stack, queue, linked list, binary tree, dictionary, hash table), searching and sorting (binary search, insertion sort, bubble sort), and Big O.
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9618Paper 4
20. Further Programming
4 sub-topics · Programming paradigms (low-level, imperative, OOP, declarative), full object-oriented programming (classes, inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation), file processing with random-access files, and exception handling.
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