O Level Computer Science 2210, topic 8

Programming: past paper questions

61 Cambridge O Level Computer Science 2210 questions on Programming (8) from 11 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
61
Papers
11
Years
2023 to 2026
Total marks
475
Average per question
7.8 marks
Largest question
15 marks

By type: Multiple choice 5 · Structured 54 · Essay 2

How hard the questions are

  • Recall12
  • Apply21
  • Analyse28
  • 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

  • explainAnalyse19 questions

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

  • writeRecall14 questions
  • suggestAnalyse11 questions

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

  • completeApply10 questions
  • describeApply7 questions

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

  • identifyRecall7 questions

    name/select/recognise

  • stateRecall7 questions

    express in clear terms

  • useApply7 questions
  • giveRecall3 questions

    produce an answer from a given source or recall/memory

  • calculateApply2 questions

    work out from given facts, figures or information

Where the questions come from

By year

  • 202614
  • 202514
  • 202416
  • 202317

By session

  • May/June46
  • Oct/Nov15

By paper

  • Paper 261

Questions on this topic

Showing 30 of 61, 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 1Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Multiple choice1 mark

    Tick (✓) one box to complete this sentence.

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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 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 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 4Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured9 marks

    An algorithm has been written in pseudocode to allow the names of 50 cities and their countries to be entered and stored in a two-dimensional (2D) array. The contents of the array are then output.

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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 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 5Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured3 marks

    Explain how variables and constants should be used when creating and running a program.

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

    This flowchart represents an algorithm.

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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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  • Question 7Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured5 marks

    The string operation SUBSTRING(Quote, Start, Number) returns a string from Quote beginning at position Start that is Number characters long. The first character in Quote is in position 1.

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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 8Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Structured15 marks

    A program is required to test the fairness of the random number generator. The one-dimensional (1D) array RandomNumber[] is used to store 100 000 random integers.

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  • Question 2May/June 2024, paper 21Structured9 marks

    Four descriptions of programming concepts and five programming concepts are shown. Draw one line to link each description to the most appropriate programming concept.

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  • Question 8Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured4 marks

    Explain why a programmer would use procedures and parameters when writing a program.

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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 3May/June 2025, paper 21Structured4 marks

    The following pseudocode algorithm uses a count-controlled loop to read in 10 names and store them in the array Names[] FOR Count ← 1 TO 10 OUTPUT "Please…

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  • Question 3May/June 2024, paper 21Structured4 marks

    State what is meant by the data types integer and real.

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  • Question 11Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured15 marks

    A wood flooring company stores the names of up to 100 customers in a one-dimensional (1D) array Customers[].

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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 4May/June 2025, paper 21Structured8 marks

    A telephone number with 13 characters is input. The first character is a ‘+’, followed by a 2-digit country code, for example: +20xxxxxxxxxx where 20 is the country code and x is a digit between 0 and 9 inclusive.

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  • Question 4May/June 2024, paper 21Structured10 marks

    This pseudocode algorithm is intended to allow, at random, between 1 and 20 values to be entered and totalled. The total and average of the entered values are output at the end of the algorithm.

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  • Question 2May/June 2023, paper 21Multiple choice1 mark

    Tick (✓) one box to show the name of the data structure used to store a collection of data of the same data type.

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  • Question 12May/June 2026, paper 21Essay15 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 5May/June 2025, paper 21Structured4 marks

    Two library routines used in programming are MOD and DIV. State the purpose of each of the library routines.

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  • Question 5May/June 2024, paper 21Structured5 marks

    Write the pseudocode statements to perform this task: • accept the input of a whole number from 1 to 4 inclusive • use a CASE statement to: ○ output the number (1 to 4 inclusive) that was entered ○ output the word “ERROR” if a 1 to 4 inclusive number was not entered.

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