A Level Computer Science 9618, topic 13.3
Floating-point numbers, representation and manipulation: past paper questions
21 Cambridge A Level Computer Science 9618 questions on Floating-point numbers, representation and manipulation (13.3) from 21 papers, 2023 to 2026. Open the paper or try a question free.
Practising builds a set from this topic, free with an account. One question opens straight away, with no account.
- Questions
- 21
- Papers
- 21
- Years
- 2023 to 2026
- Total marks
- 122
- Average per question
- 5.8 marks
- Largest question
- 7 marks
By type: Structured 21
How hard the questions are
- Recall0
- Apply15
- Analyse6
- Not banded0
Derived from the command word Cambridge prints in each question, banded by a fixed table beside the syllabus's own definitions. A question printing no command word is unbanded: unknown, not middling.
Command words
- calculateApply16 questions
work out from given facts, figures or information
- explainAnalyse6 questions
set out purposes or reasons / make the relationships between things clear / say why and/or how and support with relevant evidence
- describeApply4 questions
state the points of a topic / give characteristics and main features
- showApply4 questions
- writeRecall2 questions
write an answer in a specific way
- giveRecall1 question
produce an answer from a given source or recall/memory
- outlineApply1 question
set out the main points
Where the questions come from
By year
- 20263
- 20256
- 20246
- 20236
By session
- May/June12
- Oct/Nov9
By paper
- Paper 321
Questions on this topic
Showing 15 of 21, spread across the years. Open one to write your answer and have it marked.
- Try this questionQuestion 3May/June 2026, paper 31Structured6 marks
Numbers are stored in a computer system using binary floating‑point representation with: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 2Oct/Nov 2025, paper 31Structured6 marks
Numbers are stored in a computer system using binary floating‑point representation with: • 12 bits for the mantissa • 4 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 1Oct/Nov 2024, paper 31Structured6 marks
Numbers are stored in a computer using binary floating-point representation with: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 1Oct/Nov 2023, paper 31Structured5 marks
Real numbers are stored in a computer using floating-point representation with: • 12 bits for the mantissa • 4 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and exponent. Write the normalised floating-point representation of +65.25 in this system.
- Try this questionQuestion 3May/June 2026, paper 32Structured5 marksHas a diagram
Numbers are stored in a computer system using binary floating-point representation with: • 12 bits for the mantissa • 4 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 2Oct/Nov 2025, paper 32Structured6 marks
Numbers are stored in a computer system using binary floating-point representation with: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 4Oct/Nov 2024, paper 32Structured6 marksHas a diagram
Numbers are stored in a computer using binary floating‑point representation with: • 12 bits for the mantissa • 4 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent. Calculate the denary value of the given normalised binary floating‑point number.
- Try this questionQuestion 1Oct/Nov 2023, paper 32Structured6 marks
Real numbers are stored in a computer using floating point representation with: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent. Write the normalised floating-point representation of –96.75 in this system.
- Try this questionQuestion 1May/June 2024, paper 31Structured6 marks
Real numbers are stored in a computer system using floating-point representation with: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent. Calculate the denary value of the given normalised floating-point number.
- Try this questionQuestion 1May/June 2023, paper 31Structured6 marks
Numbers are stored in two different computer systems by using floating-point representation. System 1 uses: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 2May/June 2025, paper 32Structured6 marksHas a diagram
Numbers are stored in a computer using binary floating-point representation with: • 12 bits for the mantissa • 4 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 1May/June 2024, paper 32Structured5 marks
Describe the effect of changing the allocation of bits used for the mantissa and for the exponent in a floating-point number with a fixed total number of bits.
- Try this questionQuestion 1May/June 2023, paper 32Structured5 marks
Numbers are stored in a computer using floating point representation with: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 2May/June 2025, paper 33Structured6 marks
Numbers are stored in a computer using binary floating-point representation with: • 8 bits for the mantissa • 8 bits for the exponent • two’s complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.
- Try this questionQuestion 1May/June 2023, paper 33Structured6 marks
Numbers are stored in two different computer systems by using floating-point representation. System 1 uses: • 10 bits for the mantissa • 6 bits for the exponent • two's complement form for both the mantissa and the exponent.