AQA A-Level Computer Science 2024
Paper 1 Exam
Questions with Answers
What is a primitive data type?
A data type that can only contain one value
What is a composite/compound data type?
A data type built by combining primitive data types,
e.g. a class.
What is a data structure?
A collection of data that is organised to allow
efficient processing.
What is an abstract data type?
A conceptual model that describes how data is
organised and which operations can be carried out
on the data, with no information as to how this is
implemented.
What is a static data structure?
A data structure that reserves memory for a set
amount of data, e.g. a fixed-size array
, What is a dynamic data structure?
A memory efficient data structure which changes in
size dynamically.
What are some disadvantages of a dynamic data
structure versus a static data structure?
- Accessed by memory location rather than index,
which is sequential, so can take longer to access
data.
- Additiomal memory is needed for pointers.
What is a disadvantage of a static data structure
verus a dynamic data structure?
A static data structure can waste memory if it isn't all
used, e.g. if an array is initialized with size 100, but
only 10 elements are stored.
What is a queue?
A FIFO (first in, first out) abstract data type.
How does a queue work?
A pointer to the front of the queue is maintained, as
well as one to the rear.
Paper 1 Exam
Questions with Answers
What is a primitive data type?
A data type that can only contain one value
What is a composite/compound data type?
A data type built by combining primitive data types,
e.g. a class.
What is a data structure?
A collection of data that is organised to allow
efficient processing.
What is an abstract data type?
A conceptual model that describes how data is
organised and which operations can be carried out
on the data, with no information as to how this is
implemented.
What is a static data structure?
A data structure that reserves memory for a set
amount of data, e.g. a fixed-size array
, What is a dynamic data structure?
A memory efficient data structure which changes in
size dynamically.
What are some disadvantages of a dynamic data
structure versus a static data structure?
- Accessed by memory location rather than index,
which is sequential, so can take longer to access
data.
- Additiomal memory is needed for pointers.
What is a disadvantage of a static data structure
verus a dynamic data structure?
A static data structure can waste memory if it isn't all
used, e.g. if an array is initialized with size 100, but
only 10 elements are stored.
What is a queue?
A FIFO (first in, first out) abstract data type.
How does a queue work?
A pointer to the front of the queue is maintained, as
well as one to the rear.
