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.
- Try this questionQuestion 2May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marks
Identify four operators that are not arithmetic operators from the list.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 1Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Multiple choice1 mark
Tick (✓) one box to show which operator means less than or equal to.
- Try this questionQuestion 3May/June 2026, paper 21Structured3 marks
Complete the table by writing the most appropriate data type for each variable described.
- Try this questionQuestion 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…
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 2Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Multiple choice1 mark
Tick (✓) one box to show how a value can be passed to a procedure.
- Try this questionQuestion 4May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marks
The following pseudocode algorithm uses a bubble sort to sort the array Names[50] Complete the algorithm.
- Try this questionQuestion 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
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 11Oct/Nov 2024, paper 21Structured15 marks
A running club has 200 members who compete in a 1-kilometre running competition every month.
- Try this questionQuestion 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
- Try this questionQuestion 6May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marks
Give programming examples for a count-controlled loop and a post-condition loop.
- Try this questionQuestion 1Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Multiple choice1 mark
Tick (✓) one box to complete this sentence.
- Try this questionQuestion 6Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Structured10 marksHas a diagram
An algorithm has been written in pseudocode.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 4Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Structured7 marksHas a diagram
A length check is a type of validation check. State the purpose of a length check.
- Try this questionQuestion 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 •…
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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
- Try this questionQuestion 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.






