IGCSE Computer Science 0478, topic 8

Programming: past paper questions

111 Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science 0478 questions on Programming (8) 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
111
Papers
21
Years
2023 to 2026
Total marks
873
Average per question
7.9 marks
Largest question
15 marks

By type: Multiple choice 12 · Structured 95 · Essay 4

How hard the questions are

  • Recall21
  • Apply39
  • Analyse50
  • Not banded1

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

  • explainAnalyse34 questions

    set out purposes or reasons / make the relationships between things clear / say why and/or how and support with relevant evidence

  • writeRecall28 questions
  • completeApply21 questions
  • suggestAnalyse20 questions

    apply knowledge and understanding to situations where there are a range of valid responses in order to make proposals / put forward considerations

  • describeApply11 questions

    state the points of a topic / give characteristics and main features

  • identifyRecall11 questions

    name/select/recognise

  • stateRecall11 questions

    express in clear terms

  • useApply9 questions
  • drawApply8 questions
  • giveRecall6 questions

    produce an answer from a given source or recall/memory

Where the questions come from

By year

  • 202618
  • 202530
  • 202426
  • 202337

By session

  • May/June65
  • Oct/Nov46

By paper

  • Paper 2111

Questions on this topic

Showing 30 of 111, spread across the years. Open one to write your answer and have it marked.

  • Question 2May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marks

    Identify four operators that are not arithmetic operators from the list.

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  • Question 3Oct/Nov 2025, paper 21Multiple choice1 mark

    Tick (✓) one box to identify the operator that returns the quotient of a calculation with the fractional part discarded.

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  • Question 3Oct/Nov 2024, paper 21Structured4 marks

    Four operators and three types of operator are shown. Draw one or more lines from each operator to its correct operator type.

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  • Question 1Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Multiple choice1 mark

    Tick (✓) one box to show which operator means less than or equal to.

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  • Question 3May/June 2026, paper 21Structured3 marks

    Complete the table by writing the most appropriate data type for each variable described.

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  • Question 9Oct/Nov 2025, paper 21Structured4 marks

    A school stores all the students’ attendance data in a file called Attendance.txt Write an algorithm in pseudocode to read a line of text from the file and…

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  • Question 6Oct/Nov 2024, paper 21Structured9 marksHas a diagram

    An incomplete algorithm has been written in pseudocode to count the number of zeros stored in an array and total the non-zero values.

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  • Question 2Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Multiple choice1 mark

    Tick (✓) one box to show how a value can be passed to a procedure.

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  • Question 4May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marks

    The following pseudocode algorithm uses a bubble sort to sort the array Names[50] Complete the algorithm.

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  • Question 10Oct/Nov 2025, paper 21Structured5 marks

    The variables Seconds and Minutes are used in a program. Seconds holds the number of seconds as a whole number and Minutes holds the number of minutes as a whole number. Write pseudocode statements to declare the variables Seconds and Minutes

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  • Question 8Oct/Nov 2024, paper 21Structured11 marksHas a diagram

    A programmer is designing a program to check the length of a password and to check if the password input is the same as the stored password.

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  • Question 3Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Structured4 marks

    Four descriptions of data and five data types are shown. Draw one line to link each description to the most appropriate data type.

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  • Question 5May/June 2026, paper 21Structured12 marks

    A computer system automatically creates usernames for new users. A new user enters their first name and their last name.

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  • Question 11Oct/Nov 2025, paper 21Structured15 marks

    The scores for each competitor in an archery competition are recorded. The one-dimensional (1D) array CompetitorName[] is used to store the names of the competitors. The maximum number of competitors is 30.

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  • Question 11Oct/Nov 2024, paper 21Structured15 marks

    A running club has 200 members who compete in a 1-kilometre running competition every month.

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  • Question 4Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Structured3 marks

    Circle the three words representing places where data may be stored. array constant dimension input output procedure variable Circle the three words representing places where data may be stored. array constant dimension input output procedure variable

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  • Question 6May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marks

    Give programming examples for a count-controlled loop and a post-condition loop.

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  • Question 1Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Multiple choice1 mark

    Tick (✓) one box to complete this sentence.

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  • Question 6Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Structured10 marksHas a diagram

    An algorithm has been written in pseudocode.

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  • Question 7May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marksHas a diagram

    An algorithm has been written in pseudocode for a user to repeatedly input positive whole numbers and store them in an array called Values[] until –1 is input or until the array is full. The algorithm outputs the average of the numbers to 2 decimal places.

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  • Question 2Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Structured15 marks

    This pseudocode algorithm is intended to input a first name from a user and search for it in a two-dimensional (2D) array.

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  • Question 4Oct/Nov 2024, paper 22Structured8 marks

    This pseudocode algorithm is intended to sort a pre-populated one-dimensional (1D) array named ItemList into alphabetical order using a bubble sort.

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  • Question 10Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Structured15 marks

    Drama students put on a performance of a play for one evening. Seats in a small theatre can be booked for this performance. The theatre has 10 rows of 20 seats.

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  • Question 11May/June 2026, paper 21Structured5 marks

    The function Power(FirstNumber, SecondNumber) returns the value of FirstNumber raised to the power of SecondNumber. FirstNumber and SecondNumber are integers.

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  • Question 4Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Structured7 marksHas a diagram

    A length check is a type of validation check. State the purpose of a length check.

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  • Question 10Oct/Nov 2024, paper 22Structured6 marks

    The function LENGTH(X) calculates the length of a string X Write the pseudocode statements to: • allow a line of text to be input to an appropriate variable •…

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  • Question 3Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured8 marksHas a diagram

    Four pseudocode statements and five pseudocode uses are shown. Draw one line to link each pseudocode statement to the most appropriate pseudocode use.

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  • Question 12May/June 2026, paper 21Structured15 marks

    A weather monitoring station records the number of minutes of sunshine for each day of a month. The one-dimensional (1D) array Sunshine[] is used to store the number of minutes of sunshine for each day. The index of the array represents the day.

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  • Question 5Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Structured13 marksHas a diagram

    This flowchart represents an algorithm. The first data row of the trace table shows the values currently stored in CodeStore[] Complete the trace table for the algorithm, using the input data: 7686, Face, Speed, 432U, Yp79

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  • Question 12Oct/Nov 2024, paper 22Structured15 marks

    A one-dimensional (1D) array Rooms[] contains the names of up to 20 rooms in a house. A two-dimensional (2D) array Dimensions[] is used to store the length, width and area of each room. The position of any room’s data is the same in both arrays.

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