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HKDSE ICT Paper 1 Mock Paper (2027): 16 MC and 4 Structured Questions with Answers
TUTORZONE ORIGINAL MOCK PAPER · HKDSE ICT PAPER 1
Written to the HKEAA 2027 framework: ICT Paper 1 covers the Compulsory Part, 55% of the subject in 2 hours, with Section A multiple-choice at 22% of the subject mark and Section B short and structured questions at 33%; Paper 2 (Electives) is 25% over 1 h 30 min (choose two of four) and SBA is 20%. This paper has 16 MC items and 4 structured questions with answers and mark allocation.
What is in HKDSE ICT Paper 1?
Direct answer: Paper 1 covers the Compulsory Part, 55% of the subject in 2 hours: Section A multiple-choice at 22% of the subject mark and Section B short and structured questions at 33%. The Elective Part is Paper 2 (25% in 1 h 30 min, two of four) and SBA is 20%.
Assessment at a glance (2027)
| Component | Content | Weighting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section A (multiple-choice) | Compulsory Part; 22% of the subject mark | 22% | 40 min |
| Section B (short and structured questions) | Compulsory Part; 33% of the subject mark | 33% | 75-80 min |
| Paper 2 (Elective Part, separate paper) | 25% over 1 h 30 min, choose two of four; SBA 20% | 25% | 1 h 30 min |
Two hours: about 40 minutes for the 16 MC items and 75-80 for the four structured questions. Structured answers are marked on steps and reasons – show place values in conversions and say what each device does – because a bare name usually earns one mark.
How this paper was built
This is a TutorZone original mock paper: the questions follow the 2027 framework’s structure (Paper 1 at 55% in 2 hours, Section A 22% and Section B 33%) and the answers are our own, not HKEAA past papers or marking references.
HKEAA publishes no fixed question count, so this paper sets its own: 16 MC items and 4 structured questions. Conversions and calculations were recomputed programmatically.
Pacing
| Section | Marks | Suggested time | What to do first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section A (multiple-choice) | 22% | about 40 min | Binary/hex conversion and networking concepts recur most |
| Section B (short and structured questions) | 33% | about 75-80 min | Show steps and reasons; SQL and diagram answers must be precise |
| Paper 2 (Elective Part, separate paper) | 25% | not covered here | This paper covers Paper 1 only |
How should the 120 minutes be split?
Direct answer: about 40 minutes for the 16 MC items and 75-80 for the four structured questions, plus five minutes to check. Structured answers need steps and reasons; a bare name usually earns one mark.
Section A: multiple-choice (16 questions)
Aim for about 40 minutes. Write place values on conversions and definitions on concepts.
Question 1
What is the decimal value of the binary number 1011?
A. 13B. 7C. 11D. 1011
Question 2
What is the decimal value of the hexadecimal number 2F?
A. 31B. 47C. 45D. 215
Question 3
How many bytes are in 1 KiB?
A. 512B. 1 000C. 1 024D. 1 024 000
Question 4
Which protocol is used to transfer web pages?
A. FTPB. HTTPC. POP3D. SMTP
Question 5
What is the main purpose of an IP address?
A. Encrypt dataB. Identify devices on a network to route dataC. Compress filesD. Store web pages
Question 6
In a relational database, what is the purpose of a primary key?
A. Uniquely identify each recordB. Encrypt dataC. Connect to the InternetD. Sort records
Question 7
In a spreadsheet, what does AVERAGE(B2:B6) do?
A. Calculate the maximum valueB. Calculate the average of B2 to B6C. Calculate the sumD. Count the number of entries
Question 8
Which sorting algorithm has an average time complexity of O(n log n)?
A. Merge sortB. Bubble sortC. Insertion sortD. Selection sort
Question 9
Which of the following is a function of an operating system?
A. Design web pagesB. Edit spreadsheetsC. Compress imagesD. Manage memory and processes
Question 10
What is the <a> tag used for in HTML?
A. Apply boldB. Create hyperlinksC. Create tablesD. Insert images
Question 11
What is the main method of a phishing attack?
A. Encrypt victims’ files and demand ransomB. Impersonate a trusted organisation to obtain personal informationC. Guess passwordsD. Send a large number of requests to a server
Question 12
What distinguishes lossless compression?
A. The file must be smallerB. Applies only to imagesC. The original data can be completely restored after decompressionD. It will be distorted after decompression
Question 13
Which is NOT an advantage of cloud computing?
A. Scale resources on demandB. Access anytime, anywhereC. Data is completely unaffected by network failuresD. Reduce local hardware investment
Question 14
Which logic gate outputs 1 only when all its inputs are 1?
A. NAND gateB. OR gateC. NOT gateD. AND gate
Question 15
How does data validation differ from data verification?
A. Validation is only performed onlineB. The two are exactly the sameC. Validation checks whether the data is reasonable, while verification checks whether it matches the original dataD. Verification only checks the format
Question 16
A loop runs for i in range(3): total = total + 2. By how much does total increase?
A. 8B. 6C. 2D. 3
Section B: structured questions (4 questions, 33 marks)
Aim for 75-80 minutes. Show steps and reasons throughout; SQL, diagrams and lists must be precise.
Question 1 (8 marks)
(a) Convert the binary number 11010110 to hexadecimal; (b) convert the hexadecimal number 3A to decimal; (c) explain why computers use binary rather than decimal.
Question 2 (8 marks)
A school wants to connect computers across three buildings. (a) Say whether a LAN or a WAN is appropriate and explain the difference; (b) explain the role of a router; (c) why are IP addresses used for internet routing rather than MAC addresses?
Question 3 (8 marks)
A bookshop keeps books and orders in a database. (a) Identify the primary key for the BOOK table and explain; (b) explain how the ORDER table links to it; (c) write a query to list all books published after 2020 priced under $100.
Question 4 (9 marks)
(a) Describe three common network attacks; (b) suggest one effective countermeasure for each.
Where are the answers, and do they show the steps?
Direct answer: each question is followed by an answer-and-marks block: conversions show place-value steps (1101 = 8 + 4 + 1 = 13) and structured parts give the points with their marks (the networking question: 1 mark for the LAN call, 3 for the router, 2 for the IP versus MAC comparison).
Section A answers and explanations
Question 1
Answer: C (11) 1×8 + 0×4 + 1×2 + 1×1 = 11.
Question 2
Answer: B (47) 2×16 + 15 = 47 (F stands for 15).
Question 3
Answer: C (1 024) Binary prefix: 1 KiB = 2¹⁰ bytes = 1 024 bytes.
Question 4
Answer: B (HTTP) HTTP/HTTPS serves web pages; SMTP sends mail, POP3 retrieves it and FTP moves files.
Question 5
Answer: B (Identify devices on a network to route data) It identifies each device so packets can be routed to the right destination.
Question 6
Answer: A (Uniquely identify each record) A primary key is unique and not null; a foreign key links to another table.
Question 7
Answer: B (Calculate the average of B2 to B6) AVERAGE gives the mean; SUM adds, MAX finds the largest and COUNT counts.
Question 8
Answer: A (Merge sort) Merge and quick sort average O(n log n); bubble, insertion and selection sort are O(n²).
Question 9
Answer: D (Manage memory and processes) An OS manages CPU, memory, files and devices and provides the user interface.
Question 10
Answer: B (Create hyperlinks) <a href> makes a hyperlink; <img> adds an image, <table> a table and <b> bold text.
Question 11
Answer: B (Impersonate a trusted organisation to obtain personal information) Phishing impersonates a trusted organisation to harvest credentials; DDoS floods a server and ransomware encrypts files.
Question 12
Answer: C (The original data can be completely restored after decompression) Lossless formats such as ZIP restore the data exactly; lossy ones such as JPEG discard detail permanently.
Question 13
Answer: C (Data is completely unaffected by network failures) Cloud services depend on connectivity, so immunity to network failure is not an advantage.
Question 14
Answer: D (AND gate) AND requires all inputs high; OR needs any one high; NOT inverts.
Question 15
Answer: C (Validation checks whether the data is reasonable, while verification checks whether it matches the original data) Validation checks the input against rules such as range or format; verification checks it against the source, for example double entry.
Question 16
Answer: B (6) range(3) loops three times, adding 2 each time for 6.
Section B answers and mark allocation
Question 1
(a) 1101 0110 → D6₁₆ (3 marks); (b) 3 × 16 + 10 = 58 (2 marks); (c) a digital circuit has two stable states (high and low), so 0 and 1 are the most reliable representation, with simpler circuits and better noise immunity (3 marks).
Question 2
(a) a LAN (1 mark) – a limited area under one organisation with high speed; a WAN spans a wide area and usually relies on public networks (2 marks); (b) a router joins networks and forwards packets by IP address, choosing the path (3 marks); (c) a MAC address is hardware-bound and only meaningful locally, while an IP address reflects network location and supports hierarchical routing (2 marks).
Question 3
(a) use the ISBN (1 mark) because it is unique per title and avoids confusion between books with the same name (2 marks); (b) the ORDER table carries a foreign key ISBN referencing the primary key of BOOK (2 marks); (c) SELECT * FROM BOOK WHERE year > 2020 AND price < 100; (3 marks).
Question 4
(a)(b) Phishing – fake emails or sites harvesting credentials (1 mark) → verify domains, train users, enable two-factor authentication (2 marks); ransomware – encrypting files for payment (1 mark) → offline backups, patching, least privilege (2 marks); DDoS – flooding a server with requests (1 mark) → filtering or a CDN, rate limiting and firewalls (2 marks).
Where are Paper 1 marks most easily lost?
Direct answer: conversions with no working; validation confused with verification; incomplete SQL; and security answers that name a measure without matching it to the attack. All four are cases of knowing the answer but writing too little.
Where these marks are usually lost
| Mistake | What it looks like | What it costs | Instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversions with no working | The answer alone | Conversion marks are given per place-value step | Write 1101 = 8 + 4 + 1 = 13 |
| Mixing validation and verification | Treating them as the same thing | Validation checks plausibility, verification checks consistency, and exams exploit the difference | Fix the definitions first |
| Broken SQL syntax | Describing the query in words | SQL marks require correct keywords and structure | Learn SELECT … FROM … WHERE … as a fixed shape |
| Security answers with one word | “install antivirus” and nothing else | Each attack needs its matching countermeasure | Write the attack, the measure, then why it works |
How to use this paper
First sit: no references, the full 120 minutes.
Mark it: rewrite the place-value steps on conversions and check that every structured part shows steps and reasons.
Second sit: finish inside 90 minutes with all conversion items correct.
What should I do after this paper?
Direct answer: make conversions (binary, hex, storage units) reflexive; write the basic SQL statements three times; drill past-paper questions by topic (hardware, data organisation, networking, programming, security); then redo this paper inside 90 minutes.
FAQ
Is this an HKEAA paper?
No. The questions and answers are TutorZone originals; only the framework figures (55%, 2 hours, 22/33, Paper 2 at 25%, SBA 20%) come from the HKEAA 2027 assessment framework.
Does ICT have SBA?
Yes – SBA is 20% and compulsory for school candidates; Paper 1 is 55% and Paper 2 is 25%.
How does Paper 2 work?
It covers the Elective Part: 25% in 1 h 30 min, and candidates answer two of the four elective modules.
Official references
| Resource | What to check |
|---|---|
| HKEAA 2027 HKDSE ICT Assessment Framework | Confirm Paper 1’s 55% in 2 hours (22/33), Paper 2’s 25% and SBA’s 20% |
| https://www.tutorzone.com.hk/en-dse-ict-paper-1-2-drill-guide/ | Papers 1 and 2 drilling guide |
| https://www.tutorzone.com.hk/en-dse-ict-past-paper-drill-guide/ | The full ICT drilling guide |
Related: practice area · papers 1 and 2 guide · Economics Paper 1 mock
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