Post Mortem Notes This is not a VCAA publication.
I do not speak for the VCAA, the IT examiners, or exam markers. I was not involved in the writing or marking of this examination. Extracts from exams are all Copyright © VCAA, and are used with permission. Use these post mortems at your own risk. I reserve the right to change my mind completely, at short notice, about anything I've said here. Suggestions, discussions and corrections are welcome. Questions look like this. |
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March 9, 2022 11:35 AM
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The Post Mortem Awards |
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The SCHMACKOS award is given to questions that are a complete dog's breakfast. |
The Questions That Make You Sick As A Dog Award Questions that are not totally wrong, but are just dumb or are wrong in a way that does not jeopardise the answer. |
And the exciting Illiteracy Award. |
SECTION A - Multiple-choice questions |
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Victorian Certificate of Education 2012 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: IT APPLICATIONS Monday 13 November 2012 Reading time: 11.45 pm to 12.00 pm (15 minutes) QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK Structure of book
Materials supplied
Instructions
At the end of the examination
Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic devices into the examination room. |
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Examiners' general comments on the 2012 ITA exam (source) Generally, students who were able to apply their knowledge and understanding to the specific context of a question achieved higher marks than those who provided a more recall-type response. Similarly, students who could draw on their practical experiences of using relational database management systems (RDBMS) or spreadsheet software when answering the relevant questions scored well. The positive influence of students' familiarity with online communities was very evident in the responses to the social
media question (Section B, Question 6). Most students were able to develop a coherent argument to support their point
of view about the relationship between users' needs and solutions. The responses to this question contained
well-thought-out examples of functions and applications that are available on social media websites and their alignment
with users' needs. Similarly, many responses indicated that students understood the interpersonal aspects that complicated the ethics of accepting stolen printing credits (Section B, Question 8). Many students outlined three or four issues to be considered, stated that there was a need for a systematic response and identified a range of points of view. Generally, students could identify the design elements used in a prototype website and explain how these influenced the appearance of the website (Section B, Question 7). They could also choose an appropriate design tool to represent the appearance of a website. Less well understood was the influence of design elements on the functionality of a website. Many students did not annotate the diagram as required. Finally, teachers are reminded that questions usually ask students to 'state', 'explain', 'discuss' or 'justify' some feature that is described in a scenario and that each of these words is requesting a specific type of response. This is also the case where a 'procedure' or 'strategy' is mentioned in a scenario. It was very pleasing to see that many students understood that each of these words refers to a sequence of processes or set of actions. Problem-solving methodology The problem-solving methodology (VCE Information Technology Study Design, pp. 16–18) is fundamental to the IT Applications study, and it is critical that students have a sound understanding of the purpose of the methodology, the role of each stage and the nature of the activities undertaken in each of these. Generally, students performed poorly on the multiple-choice questions based on this methodology. It is pivotal to every Area of Study and as such will be addressed in a variety of ways in examinations. |
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SECTION A - Multiple-choice questionsInstructions for Section AAnswer all questions in pencil on the answer sheet provided for multiple-choice questions. |
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Question 1 The stage of the problem-solving methodology where the solution requirements are determined is Answer is B. See the study design, page 16. 75% of the state got this right. 13% went for A. |
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The best electronic validation technique for ensuring that an online data entry form is complete is Answer is C, but I think most of us call it an existence check. Why does VCAA like inventing non-standard terminology? 74% of the state got this right. A and B got about 11% each. |
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Question 3 The manager of a graphic art studio wants to use cloud computing instead of an external hard drive to store image data. Answer is D. All the others are efficiency (cost,time). 61% of the state got this right. C got 18%. |
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Question 4 The best design tool to show the structure of a database solution is Answer is C. Site maps are for websites, mockups design appearance rather than architecture, IPO designs formulas. 60% of the state got this right. 19% went for A. |
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Question 5 A relational database management system (RDBMS) developer is creating a new table within a database. The most efficient name and data type for a field containing phone numbers, such as (03) 456 5667, is Answer is C. Phone numbers have to be text to accommodate the parentheses and leading zero. <B> is not as good because its name is less clear. Option C (name: custPhNum, data type: text) is the most efficient name and correct data type because 'custPhNum' is more easily and quickly identified by users as the field name for the given phone numbers. A field name 'cusPn#' could be interpreted as a customer PIN field. 62% of the state got this right. The others went for the other options in nearly equal numbers. |
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Question 6 A farmer has hired you to develop a new stock management solution. During development, to ensure that the new solution does what it is intended to do, you should It can't be <B> because the documentation is irrelevant, and probably won't even exist yet. Reading the QSG does not test if the solution is working properly - it would only test the quality of the QSG! It can't be <C> because the problem solving methodology says that evaluation criteria are determined during design, not development. If this is the answer, the question contradicts the study design and must be declared invalid. It can't be <D> because that's obviously evaluation. So it has to be <A> but - really - "enter a lot of data"? That is very odd wording. Test data is about quality, not quantity. This question has raised a lot of debate amongst teachers. It's not a good question. Option A (enter a lot of data to make sure the stock numbers are correct) occurs during development. Creating a set of evaluation criteria (Option C) occurs during design. Students need to take into account the problem-solving methodology and activities that are performed in each of the four stages. Only 32% of the state got this right. 58% went for C! |
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Question 7 A government school has decided to store all parents' credit card information in a text file on the school's computer system. The school has a legal obligation to change this information management strategy because Answer is C. Too easy. 82% of the state got this right. I told you it was too easy! |
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Question 8 Barry received a three-monthly report showing that the number of complaints about orders being delivered to the wrong addresses had increased. He decides that all stages of the order delivery process will be completely computerised in three years. Strategies for evaluating the new solution are best carried out A. during testing. Answer is D. It's obviously evaluation, which happens after implementation. 48% of the state got this right. 29% went for A. |
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Question 9 The best procedure to dispose of a data file and make it extremely difficult to retrieve is to Answer is B. Is it just me, or are these questions ridiculously obvious? 64% of the state got this right. 16% went for C and 13% for D. Maybe not as 'ridiculously obvious' as I thought. |
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Question 10 Drivers are insured for mountain track driving if they pass a special driving course (SDC), have a car with roll bars (RB) and are without any convictions (C) for dangerous driving. The design for a query to identify drivers who can receive insurance is Answer is D. Again, easy. 76% of the state got this right. 18% opted for B. |
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Question 11 An operating system is designed to Answer is B. Yawn. 88% of the state got this right. |
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Question 12 A text box on a data entry form has this validation rule applied to it: 2999 < Postcode < 4000. The most suitable data to test the rule is Answer is B. It has data that are too low, in range, and too high so it it covers all possible data possibilities. <D> does a better job testing boundary conditions, but it does not have a value that is too low. 56% of the state got this right. Most of the others opted for C. |
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Question 13 A telecommunications company has more than 2000 employees across Australia with 24-hour access to the company intranet. The human resource manager wants to make sure that employees can check their holiday entitlements at any time.
The most efficient method of achieving this would be to My answer is B, but probably shouldn't be. (Spoiler: The official answer is C). Option C (send new entitlement information to the relevant employees' company mobile phones) is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way for a telecommunications company to communicate the information to the people affected. As all employees have been issued with a mobile phone, direct contact is assumed. Option A relies on relevant employees having access to the internet in order to receive their emails. A home page on an intranet (Option B) is not an appropriate place to store a large amount of personal information and there would not be enough space. Providing a written copy of entitlements (Option D) is not cheap. Only 9% of the state chose C! 66% went for B, 18% for A. |
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Question 14 The database table below shows the most popular songs during the decade 2000 to 2010, as voted by an online music community in 2011.
The query Artist = The Black Eyed Peas OR Year < 2009 will display records Answer is D. And that's all I got to say about that. 55% of the state got this right. The others went for A,B or C in equal numbers. |
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Question 15 A non-technical constraint on using company logos for promotions on a website is Answer is A. You didn't need to study ITA for 12 months to work that one out. 82% of the state got this right. |
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Question 16 Determining the scope of a solution includes Answer should be A, but it's probably going to end up being B. (Spoiler: It did end as B) There's a lot of debate about this one: many people prefer B because the study design uses those words. But if anyone can tell me the difference between solution requirements and scope, I'd be glad to hear it, because it's at the heart of this question. Once you have defined all that a solution has to do for its users, have you not also effectively defined its scope? What is in 'scope' that is not already in 'solution requirements'? I'd like to know! Anyway, <B> uses the present tense for a future system... it should be "determining what the solution will and will not be able to do." The examiners had nothing to say about this in their report on the exam. 47% of the state got this right. |
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Question 17 The efficiency of the information architecture of a website can be measured by Answer is A. The others are all effectiveness measures. 65% of the state got this right. Most of the others chose B. |
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Question 18 To protect the rights of individuals and organisations that are supplying data on a website, a host company is legally required to include on its website a policy statement regarding Answer is C. It's a privacy policy. 84% of the state got this right. Most of the others chose B. |
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Question 19 A complete disaster recovery strategy involves If I had to guess, I'd go for D [which turned out to be the official correct answer], based on my patented "What Were The Examiners Hoping I Would Say?" strategy. But I don't like any of the options. Let me explain how I read the question: A "complete disaster recovery strategy" is the series of steps taken after a disaster to recover from the disaster. It won't be <A>. A backup plan should be prepared before the disaster, not after. I don't like any of the options. Option D (undertaking a risk assessment, and documenting and practising the procedures for managing risk to an organisation's data and employees) is complete because it involves undertaking risk assessment, and documenting and practising procedures for managing risk to an organisation's data and employees. 48% of the state got this right. Nearly everyone else chose A or B. |
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Question 20 Developing a prototype website involves Answer is A. <B> and <C> are done during analysis. <D> is working out evaluation criteria, which the study design insists is done during the design stage. Conducting tests and recording results (option A) are part of developing a solution. Considering the constraints and conditions that need to be met (Option C) and determining what benefits the solution will bring to users (Option B) are both part of analysis. Students are reminded to refer to the problem-solving methodology and activities associated with each of the four stages. 33% of the state got this right. 32% chose C. |
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END OF SECTION A |
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Overall - too easy. The wording was rather slapdash in Q6, the real difference between solution requirements and scope is yet to be defined for A16, and the options in 19 were poor. |
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SECTION B - Short answer questions |
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Answer all questions in the spaces provided. |
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Question 1 | An accounting company wants to raise its profile by developing a website that will provide a secure login and allow existing clients to check their own tax returns. a. Name one software component that is required to set up the website. Describe its function. 2 marks
Many correct responses identified well-known software, such as Dreamweaver or Notepad, to receive a mark. Explanations that gained a second mark included 'allowing users to create links using http' or 'helping users to create web pages that can be viewed or tested'. Students who named less well-known software and explained how it could be used to create a website also received full marks. Average mark was 0.9 b. Name one hardware component that is required to host the website. Describe its function. 2 marks
One mark was allocated to naming a hardware component and one mark for a description of its function. The most common student responses were 'web server' or 'hard disk' as the hardware component. Other accepted answers included any one of Network Interface Cards, modems or routers (network hardware). Acceptable descriptions of the functions for web servers, hard disks and network hardware included 'stores applications', 'stores data files' and 'provides communication to the network'. Average mark was 1.3 c. The company would also like to set up an online community where users can discuss sensitive tax issues. Explain what should be considered when deciding if the website should be closed or open. 2 marks
There's not a lot to be considered. The question says the issues are sensitive and obviously must not be open to everyone to see! Most responses to this question identified either 'privacy of client data as a legal obligation' or 'confidentiality of client data as part of ethical business practice'. Typically, these students argued that the website should be closed and accessed only by registered clients using a login identity and password. Students who argued for an open website and explained that they wanted to encourage more business or have more open discussion were also rewarded. Average mark was 1.1 |
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Question 2 | Discuss the possible effects on data integrity if an employee does not follow the company's security procedures for shutting down their computer at the end of the day. 3 marks
Students had to identify the possible consequences of a user's action. Responses that described possible scenarios and likely consequences for the company's information system received marks. For example, one effect is that anyone else in the office can access at least the network and possibly private client data. This means that the business has not met its legal obligations. Another effect is that incorrect shutdown or power-off can cause data loss because the most recent activity is not saved or client files are corrupted. Another effect is that changes to data might not show up because the intruder is wrongly identified as a legitimate user. As a consequence, the company could lose customer data and not know it has gone or been stolen, or not be able to identify who last accessed a file. Average mark was 1.7 |
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Question 3 | A teacher records student percentage results on tests and calculates averages, as shown in the table below.
a. State how the teacher can list the students from highest average to lowest average. 1 mark Sort them by their average value. This is a year 12 question?? Students who chose RDBMS typically stated 'Sort Average field Z to A'. Students who chose spreadsheet software typically stated 'Sort the Average column Z to A'. Average mark was 0.6 b. Recommend an effective format that the teacher could use to display each student's average mark in a report. Justify your answer. 2 marks Show them as percentages, maybe with a decimal place or rounded to the nearest integer. Right-justify the numbers, or align them on their decimal points. The percentage sign is a clear indicator to the reader what the value is. The rounding or removal of decimal places makes the key information (the integer part) easier to find and read. Many students struggled with this question. Correct responses included 'displaying in bold or red font with the label
'Average' and displaying 'as a graph so that parents can compare individual marks to the average'. Marks were also
awarded to answers that focused on the number of decimal places appropriate for a report. Examples of student
responses included Average mark was 0.5 c. List the steps in a procedure that the teacher could use to test the accuracy of the averages provided by the software. 3 marks
Really - this is year 12 level material? My year sevens would be bored by the simplicity of this stuff. Responses that covered the three steps in a testing procedure received full marks. These steps are: 'create test data', 'use a calculator or desk check' and 'compare manually calculated answers to software answers' or 'get another person to check manual answers'. Students handled this question reasonably well. Average mark was 1.5 |
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Question 4 |
a. Name a design tool that is used to represent the appearance of a website solution where music can be sold and downloaded. 1 mark A screen mockup. Responses that covered the three steps in a testing procedure received full marks. These steps are: 'create test data', 'use a calculator or desk check' and 'compare manually calculated answers to software answers' or 'get another person to check manual answers'. Students handled this question reasonably well. Average mark was 0.6 b. Describe a strategy for evaluating the extent to which the website solution meets the organisation's needs. 2 marks
The question is not really fair, since it does not tell students what the organisation's needs are. Students have to guess. High-scoring responses included two steps. The first was to identify what would be measured and the second was a
comparison over time. The most frequently accepted responses were Average mark was 0.7 c. Recommend a type of on-screen user documentation for new users of the website solution. Justify your choice. 2 marks
There was a variety of accepted responses to this question. Those that were accompanied by a reasonable, plausible
explanation of how the on-screen user documentation applied to new users purchasing music online achieved high
marks. Typical examples were Average mark was 1.2 d. Name legislation that could apply to this website. 1 mark
Well, the question said "name it". So, you just name it. Don't explain it or justify it. Just name it. It seems a pretty silly way to find out if students know why they're choosing that legislation. Students received a mark for stating the Copyright Act 1968 or the Privacy Act 1988. Average mark was 0.4 |
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Question 5 |
I mean, what else can one say? What are they after, I wonder... 'Online survey' and 'form' were the most frequently accepted responses to this question. This question related directly to a key skill in Unit 3, Outcome 2, Task 2 (techniques for acquiring data via websites), and the key knowledge for this Area of Study specifically mentions 'voting' as a reason why individuals and organisations supply data via websites. Average mark was 0.4 b. Explain how the website designers could protect the rights of voters. 2 marks
What rights? Rights under the Privacy Act? Rights under the Human Rights and Responsibilities Act? Spam Act? All of the above? It's all a bit vague. Most students answered this question well. A range of responses was accepted for this question, including allow voting only by users with usernames and passwords to ensure users vote only once Average mark was 1.1 |
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Question 6 | Identify an online social networking website and explain how the needs of its users influence the nature of the website. 4 marks One guesses the examiner is waiting for everyone to identify Facebook...
Students had to identify a social media website and respond to a statement about the relationship between users and the
website. The question was very well answered. Most frequently, students identified Facebook and then went on to
describe situations in which users' needs had resulted in a range of additional functions being added to the website. For
example The few students who argued that changes were brought about by commercial needs and who provided a coherent argument with examples to illustrate their claim also received marks. Average mark was 2.5 |
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Question 7 | A mock-up for the Southern Bird Spotters organisation's website is shown below. Members of this organisation observe birds in the temperate southern regions of Australia. The organisation wants to encourage members to use a range of online communication features to present and exchange information, and share a collective identity. a. Select two of the following design elements. On the mock-up, show with a label where these elements have been applied. 2 marks
The examiners' answer annotate the picture in the exam. Arrows pointed to the relevant area... The majority of students scored full marks on this question, though some did not annotate the mock-up. Those who correctly labelled any two of the many examples available received full marks. The mock-up above shows examples of correct answers. Average mark was 1.4 b. Briefly explain how these two design elements have been used to influence the appearance of the website. 2 marks
Most students could describe features on the website to illustrate how two of the three design elements were used to
enhance the appearance of the website. For example Average mark was 1.4 c. Select two of the following design elements and explain how they have been used to enhance the functionality of the website. 4 marks.
Most students chose to explain how navigation and relevance had been used to enhance the functionality of the website. Very few students chose to explain how appropriateness influenced the functionality of the website. Those who did
suggested that the club takes birds and knowledge about birds seriously. Typical responses include Average mark was 2.7 d. Discuss the extent to which this website meets the organisation's aim to encourage members to present and exchange information, and share a collective identity. 4 marks
Students were required to address the two aims stated in this question to receive full marks. Average mark was 2.2 |
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Question 8 | Ally knows that her best friend Jack, who is a brilliant programmer, has access to other students' passwords. Jack uses these passwords to access the other students' print accounts to print his own assignments on the school network. He has offered to print Ally's assignments. This would save Ally at least $50. State an ethical dilemma that Ally might have and discuss what she should consider when resolving this issue. 3 marks
This question was well answered. Many students framed questions that Ally might ask herself. For example Average mark was 1.9 |
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Question 9 | The following data has been collected and stored by an elderly citizens' club. Drivers who transport members of the club are paid an hourly rate according to the number of years they have worked and the type of car they drive - $10 for a small car and $20 for a large car with wheelchair access. You have been asked to set up a database of members and drivers so that the information can be accessed online.
Normalise this data and explain how each normal form (1-3) ensures the integrity of data. Use the space below and over the page. 6 marks [1.5 empty pages provided!] To achieve 1NF, I needed to split up multiple data items that were in a single cell: member title, firstname, surname; driver firstname, surname. This lets us search, sort and report on the data items individually rather than as a unit. The member and driver tables needed unique IDs to avoid potential confusion between different people with the same names. These IDs are used as key fields for their tables. 1NF also requires each field to refer to the key, but in this table there is no unique key field: you'd have to use membername+drivername as a combined key. Adding key fields to the members and drivers tables avoids that: now, each field in those tables relates directly to the key in that table. e.g. a member's address and title are both connected to that member's ID. Using a combination of fields as a key is A Bad Idea, because it allows 2NF failure. 2NF is never going to be a problem if you create a unique key field in each table you create. 2NF says that each field in a table must refer to the whole key, not just part of it. The original table fails because if we use membername+drivername as the key, the member address only relates to the membername, not the drivername. And the driver's Car rate only relates to the drivername, not the membername. This violates 2NF. Creating the separate key fields in each table avoids this problem. Having only the member and driver table was a partial solution, but it had its limitations: one driver could help many members, but a member would be tied to a single driver. It would be impossible for a member to use different drivers on different days without using a many:many relationship, and RDBMS do not allow many:many relationships! Another problem is that a history of trips would not be possible to produce since there is no record of individual trips: the driver's payrate is just increased after each trip. This is unacceptable. To solve these problems, a "line table" is used to avoid having a many:many relationship. It acts as an intermediary between the two main tables. One record in the trips table records the member, the driver and the trip cost. The calcTotalFee field is a calculated field equal to Drivers_Table::numYearsWorked * Drivers_Table::numCarRate. With referential integrity turned on (in Access - RI does not exist in Filemaker Pro), database integrity can be helped by preventing the deletion of drivers who have trip data that refers to their record. 3NF requires that each non-key field in table should refer to nothing but the key field. In the normalised database, each non-key field in each table relates only to the key field in that table. e.g. the totalfee relates to the trip that produced it, not to the driver to whom it applies. I confidently predict that the average mark for this question will be about 1.5 out of 6! Six marks for a normalisation question is grossly excessive and unfair. Detailed normalisation theory is not something for year 12 students to have to worry about. APRIL 2013 - ha... I knew it! The average mark was 1.7 out of 6. 38% of students got zero. Few students gave complete responses to this question. Many were able to correctly normalise the data but did not
attempt to explain how each normal form contributes to data being stored efficiently and redundancy or repetition being avoided. With regard to the first normal form, students either stated that a field should contain only a single item of data and
provided an example or they prepared a new table in which the 'Address' field was separated into three new fields of
'StreetNumber', 'StreetName' and 'Suburb'. An explanation of the reason for this adjustment was also required. The
most frequent explanation for separating the 'Suburb' from the 'StreetName' or the 'FirstName' from the 'LastName' is
it allows for greater accuracy and more detailed searches. For example, 'drivers can be grouped by suburb and then |
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Question 10 |
Spreadsheet worksheet
Database datasheet
Indicate with a tick one software type that your answers will refer to.
a. State how you would list all the coaches who are working on Monday. 1 mark
Average mark was 0.5 b. State how you would list all Juniors trained by James. 2 marks
Average mark was 0.9 c. Explain how you would calculate and display the total amount of money paid by Seniors. 3 marks
Average mark was 1.1 Students who chose spreadsheet software generally used a filter function and 'IF' statement in their response to this
question. High-scoring responses used names and headings from the question. Examples of accepted responses include |
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Question 11 |
a. Describe how AppsNow can make sure that the apps stored online are safe from hackers. 2 marks
This question was very well answered, with most students providing appropriate examples to support their recommendations and strategies.The most frequently accepted response to this question was 'encrypt the Apps-R-Us files so that they are unreadable to anyone who does not have the encryption key'. Responses that suggested a firewall and clearly described how it protected the apps stored online from external threats were also awarded marks. Average mark was 1.3 b. Explain how AppsNow can test that the apps uploaded to the cloud are completely uploaded. 2 marks
What an odd question. What point was it trying to make, I wonder? It does not seem relevant to anything in the study design. Successful testing strategies involved comparing two versions of a file. Some students suggested uploading a file twice and comparing the two. Others suggested checking that all of the coding is present in both copies of the file. Average mark was 1.0 c. Explain one disadvantage of using cloud computing for storing data with AppsNow. 2 marks
There was a variety of accepted responses to this question. The most common response was that backup and retrieval
depends on the internet functioning. Other acceptable responses included Average mark was 1.3 |
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Question 12 | Fast Wheels sells eight models of sports bicycles. The manager wants to increase bicycle sales in the new year and reduce costs. He has decided to
Describe how you would use a spreadsheet or a relational database management system to provide the information the manager needs. For each information requirement, make reference to
Indicate with a tick one software type that your answer will refer to.
9 marks! The 8 mark question was poorly answered last year, so what do the examiners do? Make it into a 9 mark question! Average mark was 3.4 out of 9. 22% of students scored zero. The responses to this question were frequently well framed and coherent. Most students set out their response under the
three main headings: review the sales trends, drop the two models and reward sales staff. Under each heading they then
described the data required for processing, a function used and the test data required.
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RDBMS solution (Filemaker Pro) To compare models Test data could be as simple as a single field containing a bike model and the number sold in the transaction. If the database has to isolate records from the past 3 months, a date field would also be required. Use a find on the date field with a value of (say) ">=1/1/2012 AND <=31/3/2012" to find records. Gather the sales records from the 3 months, including the model of the bike sold. Sort the records by the model field. Create a layout (Filemaker) that has a subsummary part with MODEL as its break field. In the subsummary part, put a summary field defined as NumSold = "SUM OF NumSold". This will display the total bikes sold for each model. From this they can easily see the worst-selling models. (I don't know how you'd do this in Access.) To give sales bonuses (boni?) Each test data record needs to include salespersonID (and date if necessary. Use the method described above to locate the records from the required 3 months) and the number of bikes sold in the transaction. Ensure at least one salespersonID has 20 or more sales. In the sales table, create a summary field defined as CountOfSales = "SUM of NumSold" to count the occurences of models. Sort the data by SalespersonID and create a layout with a trailing subsummary part containing the salesperson ID and the summary field. The layout will show/print a sorted list of IDs with a count of their sales. To sweeten the deal, create a calculated BONUS field defined as IF(CountOfSales>20, "Bonus", "No Bonus") and show the value of this field along with the total sales figure. Students who selected RDBMS software included an introductory description or drawing of the tables and fields. For
example, 'Create database tables 'Staff', 'Bicycles' and 'Sales' with the fields 'StaffID' and 'BicycleModelID', and
'SaleID' and 'QuantitySold' in the 'Sales' table. Then 'At the end of three months the Manager would …' Create a report using the 'SUM for each Bicycle Model' and display the list sorted A to Z. Identify the two lowest-selling models. An accepted response for testing the functionality of the solution was 'use equal quantities sold for some models and check the actual minimums'. Reward sales staff Create a query using 'QuantitySold is greater than 20' to list all 'StaffID who get a bonus'. An accepted response for testing the functionality of the 'Bonus' list was 'QuantitySold is 19, 20 and 21 and check the actual outcome'.
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Spreadsheet solution (Excel) To compare models Test data may need a sales date (see above). Each sales record should include the model and number sold in the transaction. Sort the data by model. Use the SUBTOTAL button in Excel and specify that you want to "At each change in MODEL use function SUM and add subtotal to SALES." This will show the subtotals for each model. To give sales bonuses Test data needs a SalesPersonID value and a number of bikes sold. Use the SUMIF function to generate totals for each salesperson. e.g. =SUMIF(SalesPersonIDs,"Fred",NumberSoldRange) to count the sales for each sales person. Students who selected spreadsheet software included an introductory description or drawing of the column structure in
their response. For example, 'Set up a spreadsheet with 'Staff', 'Bicycles' and 'Sales' worksheets. Use columns for
'StaffID', 'BicycleModel' and 'QuantitySold' in the 'Sales' worksheet to record each sale. Then 'At the end of three
months the Manager would ….' |
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END OF QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK |
Overall - It's strange that there was only one graphic in the entire paper. Usually they like to dress up their papers with nice pictures. There were stretches of tedious, easy questions punctuated by moments of needless terror such as normalisation. And is it my imagination or did the paper seem very short this year in spite of having one more question and 4 more pages than 2011? |
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Created 14 November 2012
Last changed: March 9, 2022 11:35 AM
VCE Applied Computing Notes © Mark Kelly 2001-
Original Content © Mark Kelly 2012
Images and questions © Victorian Curriculum
and Assessment Authority 2012.
Reproduced here with permission.