Secondary 5 ICT Practice Paper: Computer Systems And Data Representation, Databases And SQL, Programming And Algorithms, Networking And Security, Information Literacy, Multimedia And Emerging Technology

Secondary 5 ICT Practice Paper: Computer Systems and Data Representation, Databases and SQL, Programming and Algorithms, Networking and Security, Information Literacy, Multimedia and Emerging Technology

2026-11-14

ICT – Secondary 5 – Practice Paper

S5 ICT practice paper: 24 parts with marking points on data representation, databases and SQL, algorithms, networks, security and information literacy.

Download　Question paper PDF　|　Answer key PDF

Paper details　S5 ICT practice paper: 24 parts on data representation, file size, SQL, algorithms, networking, security and information literacy, with computed figures and marking points.

Section A: Computer Systems and Data Representation (18 marks)

Source A: A digital camera stores photos at 1920 x 1080 pixels with 24-bit colour depth, so each pixel takes 3 bytes. A USB drive marketed as 16 GB has 90 per cent of that capacity usable. Students copy the unedited files straight onto the drive without compressing them first.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	(a) Convert the binary number 10110110 and the hexadecimal number 2F into decimal, and explain why 8 bits can represent 256 different values.	Answer: 10110110 in binary is 182 (1 mark); 2F in hexadecimal is 47 (1 mark). Each of the 8 bits has two states, so the number of combinations is 2 to the power 8, that is 256 (2 marks).
2	(b) Calculate the uncompressed size of one photo in Source A in MiB (1 MiB = 1 048 576 bytes), and explain why a real JPEG file is usually much smaller.	Answer: 1920 x 1080 = 2 073 600 pixels (1 mark); times 3 bytes = 6 220 800 bytes (2 marks); divided by 1 048 576 is about 5.93 MiB (1 mark). JPEG uses lossy compression that discards high-frequency detail and colour information the eye barely notices, so the real file may be only a few hundred KB (1 mark).
3	(c) Using Source A, how many such uncompressed photos fit on the drive? Show your working and round down to a whole number.	Answer: usable capacity is 16 000 000 000 x 90 per cent = 14 400 000 000 bytes (2 marks); divided by 6 220 800 bytes gives 2 314.8 (2 marks); rounded down, 2 314 photos (1 mark).
4	(d) Compare a solid-state drive with a traditional hard disk, giving one difference in access speed and one in durability.	Answer: on speed, a solid-state drive has no moving parts, so random read and write is much faster and start-up and file loading take less time (2 marks); on durability, it resists shock better because there is no head or spinning platter, though each cell has a limited number of writes (2 marks).

Section B: Databases and SQL (16 marks)

Source B: A school database has two tables, Student (student id, name, class) and Enrolment (student id, subject id, score). Student holds 40 records and Enrolment holds 120 records. Every student takes at least one subject, and every Enrolment record matches an existing student.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	(a) Identify the primary key of the Student and Enrolment tables, and explain why Enrolment needs a foreign key.	Answer: the primary key of Student is the student id (1 mark); the primary key of Enrolment may be the combination of student id and subject id (1 mark); Enrolment stores the student id as a foreign key referencing Student, so every enrolment belongs to an existing student and orphan records are prevented (2 marks).
6	(b) Write an SQL statement listing the subject id and average score for subjects whose average score is above 60, ordered from highest to lowest.	Answer: SELECT subject_id, AVG(score) AS avg_score FROM Enrolment GROUP BY subject_id HAVING AVG(score) > 60 ORDER BY avg_score DESC; (2 marks for syntax, 1 mark each for GROUP BY and HAVING.)
7	(c) Using Source B, how many records result from an equi-join of the two tables on student id? If a left outer join starting from Student is used instead, what is the minimum number of records?	Answer: the equi-join returns 120 records because every Enrolment matches an existing student (2 marks); the left outer join returns at least 120 records, since with every student taking at least one subject the 40 students account for the 120 records and no null rows appear (2 marks).
8	(d) If student names were stored directly in the Enrolment table, state two problems that would arise.	Answer: (i) data redundancy, since the name is repeated for every subject the student takes, wasting space (2 marks); (ii) update anomaly, because a change of name must be applied to many records and any miss leaves inconsistent data (2 marks).

Section C: Programming and Algorithms (18 marks)

Source C: Two algorithms search a list. Program 1 uses linear search, comparing items one by one from the start. Program 2 uses binary search, halving the search range after each comparison. The list holds 1 024 items already sorted in ascending order.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	(a) Using Source C, state the number of comparisons linear search and binary search need in the worst case, and explain the reason for the difference.	Answer: linear search needs up to 1 024 comparisons (1 mark); binary search needs at most 10, because 2 to the power 10 equals 1 024 and the range halves with each comparison (2 marks). Linear search checks items one by one and its time grows in proportion to the data size, while binary search discards half the data each time so its time grows with the logarithm of the size, making it much faster on large lists (2 marks).
10	(b) For bubble sort on 8 unsorted items, state the maximum comparisons in the first pass, the maximum number of passes needed to finish, and the total comparisons in the worst case.	Answer: at most 7 comparisons in the first pass (1 mark); at most 7 passes (2 marks); total comparisons 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 28 (2 marks).
11	(c) Trace the pseudocode below and state the final value of total. total = 0 for i = 1 to 5 total = total + i x i next i	Answer: adding 1, 4, 9, 16 and 25 in turn (3 marks) gives total = 55 (1 mark).
12	(d) A student writes for i = 0 to n to read an array of n elements, and the program fails on the last iteration. Name the error and give the correction.	Answer: this is an off-by-one error; array indices run from 0 to n minus 1, so the loop reads a non-existent element when i equals n (2 marks). Change the loop to for i = 0 to n – 1, or use a while loop with the condition i less than n (2 marks).

Section D: Networking and Information Security (16 marks)

Source D: A school downloads a 240 MB teaching video from its server to a classroom computer. The link runs at 100 Mbps and real transfer efficiency is about 80 per cent of the bandwidth. The campus network uses IPv4 subnets, and one computer has the address 192.168.10.70/26.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	(a) Using Source D, calculate the actual time in seconds to download the video, showing your working.	Answer: 240 MB x 8 = 1 920 Mbit (2 marks); 1 920 divided by 100 gives 19.2 seconds in theory (1 mark); dividing by an efficiency of 0.8 gives about 24 seconds in practice (1 mark).
14	(b) Using the address and prefix in Source D, state the network address, broadcast address and number of usable hosts of that subnet.	Answer: a /26 prefix leaves 6 host bits, giving 64 addresses (1 mark); network address 192.168.10.64 (1 mark); broadcast address 192.168.10.127 (1 mark); usable hosts 64 minus 2 = 62 (1 mark).
15	(c) Compare symmetric and asymmetric encryption and give one suitable use for each.	Answer: symmetric encryption uses one key for both encryption and decryption, is fast, and suits bulk data such as the content of an HTTPS session (2 marks); asymmetric encryption uses a public and a private key, solves the key distribution problem, and suits digital signatures and key exchange (2 marks).
16	(d) A school receives an email pretending to be from the school and asking teachers to enter their passwords. Name this attack and suggest three countermeasures.	Answer: phishing (1 mark). Measures (any three, 1 mark each, 3 marks in total): (i) enable two-factor authentication so a leaked password alone cannot be used; (ii) check the sender domain and link address and do not click suspicious links; (iii) run regular staff awareness training and simulated phishing tests; (iv) filter spoofed domains at the mail gateway and block known malicious links.

Section E: Information Literacy and Society (17 marks)

Source E: A school updates student photos, results and contact details every year and keeps them in a cloud system. It also requires teachers to use only properly licensed software and asks students to cite their sources in project reports.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	(a) Explain what the digital divide means and state two factors that cause it.	Answer: the digital divide is the gap between groups in access to and use of information technology, covering devices, connectivity and skills (2 marks). Factors (any two, 1 mark each): (i) income gaps, since low-income families struggle to buy devices and pay for connectivity; (ii) infrastructure differences, with weaker broadband coverage in remote areas; (iii) education and age differences, as older and less educated people have weaker digital skills.
18	(b) Using Source E, state one main difference between a commercial software licence and an open-source licence, and one thing a school must check when installing software on many machines.	Answer: a commercial licence is usually charged per device or user and forbids unauthorised copying, while an open-source licence allows access to the source code and modification and redistribution under its terms (2 marks). The school must check that the number of installations matches the number of licences bought, keep proof of licence, and avoid cracked copies (2 marks).
19	(c) Under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, describe any two data protection principles and explain how they apply to the cloud system in Source E.	Answer: 1 mark per principle and 1 mark per application, any two. For example: (i) data must be collected lawfully and for purposes directly related to the school function, so only photos and contact details needed for teaching and administration should be gathered; (ii) data must be accurate and kept no longer than necessary, so records of graduated students should be deleted after a reasonable period; (iii) practicable security measures are required, so cloud accounts need access control and encryption.
20	(d) “Digitalisation of schools brings only benefits.” Discuss this view with reference to electronic waste and energy use.	Answer: a clear stance (1 mark). Benefits (2 marks): digital materials cut paper use and improve interaction and administrative efficiency. Limits (2 marks): (i) short replacement cycles turn old computers and projectors into electronic waste that releases heavy metals if not recycled properly; (ii) cloud services and servers draw power continuously, and data centre electricity and cooling raise carbon emissions. Conclusion: digitalisation is sustainable only with recycling schemes, energy-saving settings and longer device lifespans (organisation 1 mark, with an explicit judgement).

Section F: Multimedia and Emerging Technology (15 marks)

Source F: A school library produces a campus tour video for new students to watch on phones. The three-minute clip contains narration, background music, live footage and subtitles, and the school plans to add a face-recognition attendance system.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	(a) Using Source F, identify two multimedia elements already used in the clip and explain the role of each.	Answer: any two, 2 marks each (1 for the element, 1 for its role). For example: (i) narration explains the route by voice so new students need not read text; (ii) live footage shows the campus as it really is, more vividly than still images; (iii) subtitles help viewers follow the content in noisy or muted settings; (iv) background music sets the mood and reduces monotony.
22	(b) Compare streaming with downloading and give one suitable use for each.	Answer: streaming plays while receiving, without waiting for the whole file, but needs a stable connection, as when a tour clip is watched directly on a web page (2 marks); downloading stores the complete file locally for repeated offline use, at the cost of storage and waiting time, as when a teaching video is saved on a classroom computer (2 marks).
23	(c) Name the three cloud service models and give one school example of each.	Answer: infrastructure as a service, such as renting a virtual server to host school systems (1 mark); platform as a service, such as deploying a school enrolment site on a cloud platform (1 mark); software as a service, such as cloud email and document collaboration tools (1 mark, awarded where names and examples match correctly).
24	(d) Referring to the face-recognition attendance proposal in Source F, state one benefit and one privacy risk, and say whether you support its use in schools.	Answer: benefit, attendance is automated, saving roll-call time and reducing proxy signing (1 mark); risk, facial data is biometric and cannot be changed if leaked, and continuous tracking may amount to excessive surveillance (1 mark); a clear stance with a reason (1 mark).

Find a tutor — free Tutor Registration →

A TutorZone practice paper; original questions and passages, not publisher material.