Communication: past paper questions

Where the questions come from

• Question 7May/June 2026, paper 11Structured13 marks

  A networked computer game competition takes place in a school. The game is hosted on a server on the school LAN (local area network). Each competitor logs on using their own computer.

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• Question 7Oct/Nov 2025, paper 11Structured14 marks

  Web browsers use Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Complete the table by describing the following types of IP address.

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• Question 9Oct/Nov 2024, paper 13Structured14 marks

  A computer is connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) that connects to a Wide Area Network (WAN). Describe the characteristics of a WAN.

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• Question 2Oct/Nov 2023, paper 11Structured10 marks

  A school has a Local Area Network (LAN). The LAN connects to the internet using a router. Describe the function of a router in a network.

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• Question 6May/June 2026, paper 12Structured11 marks

  A health monitor attaches to a person’s arm and measures key health information, for example heart rate. The monitor transmits data to the user’s smartphone. The results are analysed by the phone, which displays information to the user about their health.

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• Question 5Oct/Nov 2025, paper 12Structured13 marksHas a diagram

  A local area network (LAN) has five computers, one switch and one server. Describe the characteristics of a LAN.

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• Question 5May/June 2024, paper 11Structured16 marks

  A bank allows customers to access their accounts using an application that they can download onto a device such as a smartphone. The system that allows customers to access their accounts using the application is a client-server model.

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• Question 7Oct/Nov 2023, paper 12Structured17 marks

  A Local Area Network (LAN) contains four devices: • a router • two laptop computers • a server. The server has the IP address 192.168.3.2 Explain why this is not an IPv6 address.

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• Question 8Oct/Nov 2025, paper 12Structured10 marks

  A restaurant accesses software and stores data using cloud computing. Give two benefits of storing data using cloud computing.

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• Question 8May/June 2024, paper 11Structured8 marks

  A business is creating a local area network (LAN) in its office. The business is deciding which topology to use. Tick (✓) one or more boxes in each row to identify the topology, or topologies, each statement describes.

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• Question 3Oct/Nov 2023, paper 13Structured18 marks

  A company sells online Computer Science courses to students in different countries. The courses are stored on a public cloud. Explain why the company uses a public cloud to store these courses.

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• Question 4Oct/Nov 2025, paper 13Structured7 marks

  A network engineer is setting up a Local Area Network (LAN) in an office. The network uses both wired and wireless connectivity. Give three advantages of a wireless network compared to a wired network.

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• Question 3May/June 2024, paper 12Structured14 marks

  An assessment board scans exam papers and stores the digitised papers on a server. Exam markers download the digitised papers to mark. The exam markers then upload the mark for each paper.

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• Question 4May/June 2023, paper 11Structured20 marks

  A networked closed-circuit television (CCTV) system in a house uses sensors and cameras to detect the presence of a person. It then tracks the person and records a video of their movements. Data from the CCTV cameras is transmitted to a central computer.

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• Question 2May/June 2025, paper 11Structured13 marks

  Programmers in a software development company take part in live video conferences to discuss their work. The live video conferences take place using real-time bit streaming. The video is compressed before it is transmitted.

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• Question 5May/June 2024, paper 13Structured11 marks

  A multimedia design company has an office with a LAN (local area network). The LAN can have up to 20 devices connected with cables and other devices connected using wireless access. The company has private cloud storage for its employees to store their work.

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• Question 1May/June 2023, paper 12Structured11 marks

  A company has a LAN (local area network). Give two benefits of connecting computers to a LAN.

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• Question 6May/June 2025, paper 12Structured19 marks

  A company has multiple sites in different cities. The company has drivers who deliver products to customers. Each driver can connect to the company’s WAN (Wide Area Network) whilst out of the office using a smartphone.

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• Question 2May/June 2023, paper 13Structured15 marks

  A university has two sites. Each site has several computer rooms. The computers are all connected as a WAN (wide area network).

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