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.
- Try this questionQuestion 2May/June 2026, paper 21Structured4 marks
Identify four operators that are not arithmetic operators from the list.
- Try this questionQuestion 1Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Multiple choice1 mark
Tick (✓) one box to complete this sentence.
- 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 3May/June 2026, paper 21Structured3 marks
Complete the table by writing the most appropriate data type for each variable described.
- 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 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.
- 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 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 5Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured3 marks
Explain how variables and constants should be used when creating and running a program.
- 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 5Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Structured13 marksHas a diagram
This flowchart represents an algorithm.
- 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- 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 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 8Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured4 marks
Explain why a programmer would use procedures and parameters when writing a program.
- 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 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…
- Try this questionQuestion 3May/June 2024, paper 21Structured4 marks
State what is meant by the data types integer and real.
- Try this questionQuestion 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[].
- 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 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.
- Try this questionQuestion 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.






