WAEC SSCE - Computer Studies - 2020 (Essay)

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(a) Inventors of the listed devices.

Notes: Charles Babbage is also called the "father of the computer". Blaise Pascal built the first mechanical digital calculator (the Pascaline). William Oughtred invented the slide rule. The punched card for data processing is credited to Herman Hollerith (Joseph Marie Jacquard earlier used punched cards to control his weaving loom, so Jacquard is also accepted).

(b)(i) An input device is any hardware component used to enter data, instructions or signals into a computer for processing.

(b)(ii) Four input devices:

1. Keyboard
2. Mouse
3. Scanner
4. Microphone

(Other acceptable input devices: joystick, light pen, webcam, barcode reader, touch screen.)

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(a) Differences between an algorithm and a flowchart

Algorithm	Flowchart
It is a step-by-step set of instructions for solving a problem, usually written in plain English or pseudocode.	It is a graphical or diagrammatic representation of the steps used to solve a problem.
It is text-based and does not require standard diagram symbols.	It uses standard symbols, such as terminators, input/output parallelograms, process rectangles and decision diamonds, connected by flow lines.

(b) Examples of utility programs

1. Anti-virus program.
2. Disk defragmenter.
3. Backup utility.

(c) Flowchart for updating a customer’s balance

The transaction type is entered as either Credit or Debit. A credit is added to the old balance, while a debit is subtracted.

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(a)(i) What is video conferencing?

Video conferencing is a form of telecommunication in which two or more people at different locations hold a live meeting by transmitting sound (audio) and moving pictures (video) to one another in real time over a network such as the Internet.

(a)(ii) Four essential items to a video conference

1. A computer (or smart device).
2. A camera / webcam.
3. A microphone.
4. A network / Internet connection with video conferencing software (for example Zoom, Skype, Google Meet).

(a)(iii) Two other hardware components essential to a video conference

1. Speakers (or headset) to hear the participants.
2. Display screen / monitor (or projector) to see the participants. (A modem or router providing the connection is also acceptable.)

(b) Two examples of data cables

1. USB cable.
2. Ethernet (twisted-pair / RJ-45) cable. (Also acceptable: HDMI cable, coaxial cable, fibre-optic cable.)

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(a) Two graphic applications used in editing photographs

1. Adobe Photoshop.
2. CorelDRAW (also acceptable: GIMP, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Paint).

(b) Four steps to insert the edited photographs into a multimedia application

1. Save the edited photograph in a suitable format (such as JPEG or PNG) in a known folder.
2. Open the multimedia application and go to the slide or page where the picture is required.
3. Click the Insert menu, then Picture / Image, and browse to the folder where the photograph was saved.
4. Select the photograph and click Insert/Open, then resize and position it, and save the multimedia file.

(c) One multimedia element other than graphics and text

Audio (sound). (Video or animation is also acceptable.)

(d) Three multimedia hardware for developing and displaying presentation

1. Computer (with sound and graphics cards).
2. Multimedia projector (for display).
3. Speakers (and, for development, a microphone, scanner or digital camera).

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(a) Home page

A home page is the main or opening page of a website. It is the first page that is displayed when a website is opened in a browser, and it usually gives an introduction to the site and contains links (menus) to the other pages of the site.

(b)(i) Two reasons why computers are connected

1. To share resources such as printers, files and Internet access.
2. To communicate and exchange data quickly (for example e-mail, messaging and information sharing).

(b)(ii) Two reasons why computers are not connected

1. To keep the data on the computer secure and private (an unconnected computer cannot be attacked by hackers or network viruses).
2. To avoid the cost of networking equipment, and where there is no need to share resources.

(c) Four additional items needed to send an e-mail

1. A computer or smart device.
2. An Internet connection.
3. An e-mail account / address (with an e-mail program or web-mail service).
4. The recipient's e-mail address.