This document provides a practice exam for the Caribbean Examinations Council Advanced Proficiency Examination in Computer Science. The exam covers fundamentals of computer science, including programming constructs like loops and functions, generations of programming languages, and basic computer hardware concepts. It consists of 45 multiple choice questions testing these core CS topics.

1. CARIBBEAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL
ADVANCED PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
COMPUTER SCIENCE
PRACTICE PAPER
UNIT 1 – FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
PAPER 01
1 ½ hours
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
1. DO NOT open this examination paper until instructed to do so.
2. Answer ALL questions.
Caribbean Examinations Council
prepared by Lavare Henry

2. ~2~
1. A ‘while’ loop is an example of which of the following constructs?
(a) ascending
(b) repetition
(c) sequence
(d) selection
2. a subroutine which is define in terms of itself is said to be
(a) iterative
(b) recursive
(c) selective
(d) incremental
3. A programming language that is English-like in nature and that is designed to manipulate a
relational database can be BEST categorised as a
(a) 1 GL
(b) 2 GL
(c) 4 GL
(d) 5 GL
Item 4 refers to the following information.
Two students James and Richard wrote programs to solve a simple task. Each student’s program
runs on his type of computer only but not on any other type of computer.
4. The generation of languages used by BOTH students is
(a) second
(b) third
(c) fourth
(d) fifth
5. James viewed the source code of a program and noticed patterns of binary digits throughout the
program. The languages used is known as a
(a) 1st generation programming language
(b) 2nd generation programming language
(c) 3rd generation programming language
(d) 4th generation programming language
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3. ~3~
6. Joe wants to teach his little sister, Mary, about programming, but Mary is impatient and wants
to see things happen as soon as she enters program statements into the computer. Joe should
use a language that utilises
(a) an assembler
(b) a compiler
(c) an interpreter
(d) a profiler
7. Consider the following function Mystery that takes two input parameters A and B of type integer
and returns an integer value:
Function Mystery(A, B:integer):integer
Begin
if B is equal to 0 then
ans = 1
else
ans = A * Mystery(A, B-1)
endif
return ans
End Function
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 8
(d) 16
8. Which of the following descriptions BEST suits the function of Cache memory?
(a) It gives the CPU more rapid access to data
(b) It increases data transfer rate between a computer and printer
(c) It speeds up access to data on the hard disk
(d) It stores the operating system when the computer “boots”.
9. Which of the following devices would help prevent data loss in the event of an electrical outage?
(a) power strip
(b) surge protector
(c) UPS
(d) Voltage regulator
10. A computer’s word size is the
(a) length of an instruction
(b) maximum number of characters in a typed word
(c) storage capacity of the computer’s memory
(d) number of bits that the CPU can manipulate at one time
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4. ~4~
11. The 8-bit two’s complement representation of the decimal numeral -39 is:
(a) 00100110
(b) 10100101
(c) 11011001
(d) 11100110
12. The 8-bit sign and magnitude representation of the decimal numeral -25 is:
(a) 10011001
(b) 10100101
(c) 11100111
(d) 11100110
13. What is the purpose of the program counter in a microcomputer?
(a) to determine how many programs can be opened at one time
(b) to determine the sequence in which the program instructions are to be executed
(c) to hold the number of the last instruction executed
(d) to keep a count of the number of instructions in memory
14. Which of the following is not true of a flip flop?
(a) it has two inputs
(b) it has two outputs
(c) is a bistable device
(d) it can function as a 1-bit memory
15. The list I – VI represent steps in the computer-based problem solving process.
I
Analyse the problem
II
Code the solution
III
Define the problem
IV
Develop an algorithm
V
Maintain the program
VI
Test and debug the program
Which of the following represents the correct sequence of steps in the computer-based problem
solving process?
(a) I, II, III, IV, V, VI
(b) III, I, IV, II, VI, V
(c) III, II, VI, IV, V, I
(d) III, I, VI, II, V, VI
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5. ~5~
Items 16 – 17 refer to the following algorithm.
Num = 5
For I = 1 to Num do
Print I * 2
Endfor
16. This algorithm is an example of
(a) unbounded iteration
(b) recursion
(c) selection
(d) bounded iteration
17. What is the output of the algorithm?
(a) 1 1
(b) 1 2 3 4 5
(c) 2 4 6 8 10
(d) I*2 I*2 I*2 I*2 I*2 I*2
18. What is the technical term for the graphical representation of an algorithm?
(a) flowchart
(b) HIPO chart
(c) Narrative
(d) Pseudocode
19. Which of the following are properties of a well designed algorithm?
I
A finite number of steps
II
Flow of control from one process to the next
III
Correct syntax
IV
Ambiguous instructions
(a) I and II only
(b) I and III only
(c) I, II, and III only
(d) II, III and IV only
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6. ~6~
20. What are the values of p and r after execution of the following algorithm?
p=8
q=r
r=8
if(p >q) AND (q>r)
p = +1
else
r=r–1
endif
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
p = 7, r = 8
p = 9, r = 7
p = 7, r = 7
p = 8, r = 7
21. What is the error in the following C program which is intended to print the string constant ‘C
programming is fun’?
#include <stdio.h>
,printf(“C programming is fun”);(a) The brackets ( and ) should be on different lines.
(b) The function main is missing.
(c) The braces { and } should be on different lines.
(d) Single quotation marks ‘ and ‘ should be used.
22. Which of the following statements are true about programs and algorithms?
I
Every program uses algorithms
II
All programs are algorithms
III
Algorithms are derived from programs
(a) I and II only
(b) I and III only
(c) II and III only
(d) I, II and III
23. Programming languages may be classified by Generation and Paradigm among other things.
Which of the following is NOT an example of a programming language paradigm?
(a) Imperative
(b) Functional
(c) Prerogative
(d) Declarative
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7. ~7~
Item 24 refers to the following algorithm
#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
int a, b, sum;
a = 10;
b = 20;
sum = a + b;
printf(“The sum of the numbers is %d /n”, sum);
}
24. The program line: sum= a+b is an example of
(a) a function call
(b) a C operator
(c) a variable declaration
(d) the C assignment
25. What output would you expect from the following program?
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
printf(“One-----------------”);
printf(“Two----------------“);
printf(“Threen“);
}
(a) One--------Two----------Three
(b) One-------, Two--------, Three
(c) One--------Two--------Threen
(d) One-------, Two--------, Threen
26. Which of the following programs translates all program instructions at one time and produces a
stand-alone object program that can be executed on its own?
(a) an interpreter
(b) a compiler
(c) an assembler
(d) a generator
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8. ~8~
27. The compilation process can be broken up into THREE main stages. The CORRECT order of the
stages is
(a) syntax analysis, lexical analysis, code generation
(b) lexical analysis, code generation, syntax analysis
(c) lexical analysis, syntax analysis, code generation
(d) code generation, lexical analysis, syntax analysis
28. Consider the following partial declaration in C
#include<stdio.h>
#define SIZE
main)
{
int k;
int table[SIZE];
Which of the following lines of code read FIVE integers from the standard input?
(a) for(k=0; k<SIZE; k++)
printf(“%d”, table*k+);
(b) for(k=0; k<SIZE; k--)
printf(“%d”, table*k+);
(c) for(k=0; k<SIZE; k--)
Scanf(“%d”, table*k+);
(d) for(k=0; k<SIZE; k++)
scanf(“%d”, table*k+);
29. After compiling a program written in a high level language
(a) it must be interpreted before it can run on the CPU
(b) it must be converted to decimal before it can be run on the CPU
(c) it can run on the CPU immediately after compilation
(d) it must be re-compiled to a low level language then run on the CPU
30. In Computer Science, volatility refers to memory that
(a) retains its data when power is turned off
(b) looses its data when power is turned off
(c) retains its data when power is on
(d) looses its data when power is turned on
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9. ~9~
31. Many banks use ATM’s to allow customers to access their accounts.
What is the BEST type of computer for storing the account information to facilitate this
procedure?
(a) micro-computer
(b) mainframe
(c) mini-computer
(d) single user
32. Authentication of files would HELP increase the security of data by
(a) keeping information error-free
(b) allowing easy data protection
(c) allowing easy data access
(d) keeping data secure
33. Wilmott Smith was contracted by a small manufacturing company to address problems being
expressed in its data processing department. Which of the following arrangements of the stages
in the problem solving process should he adopt in order to minimise difficulties?
(a) problem analysis, problem definition, selection of solution, evaluation of possible solutions
(b) problem definition, problem analysis, evaluation of possible solutions, selection of solution
(c) problem definitions, problem analysis, selection of solution, evaluation of possible solution
(d) problem definition, evaluation of possible solutions, problem analysis, selection of solution.
34. The final state of the problem solving process is
(a) implementation and review
(b) selection of solution
(c) problem definition
(d) problem analysis
35. Functional programming emphasises
(a) the sending and receiving of messages
(b) the changes in state of its variables
(c) the execution of sequential commands
(d) the evaluation of mathematical computation
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10. ~ 10 ~
Item 36 – 37 refer to the diagram below.
Code (I)
generation
source
code (II)
object
code (III)
syntax
analysis(IV)
lexical
analysis(V)
36. What process does the diagram MOST likely represent?
(a) debugging
(b) programming
(c) execution
(d) compilation
37. What is the correct order of the process?
(a) I, II, III, IV, V
(b) V, IV, III, II, I
(c) IV, III, II, V, I
(d) I, V, IV, I, IIII
38. The instructions below represent an algorithm that simulates throwing a die a number of times.
it displays the number of times each face appears and takes as input the number of throws to be
made.
Arrange the following instructions in the correct order. (ASSUME:
1
RANDOM() is a function that returns a random integer.
2
The array arr is initialised with 0’s
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
For j= 1 to 6
arr[num] = arr[num]+1
num = (RANDOM() MOD 6) + 1
ENDFOR
FOR i=1 to THROWS
READ THROWS
PRINT arr[j]
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11. (a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
VI, V, III, II, IV, I, VII, IV
VI, I,III, IV, V, VII, IV
VI, V, III, II, I, VII, IV, IV
V, VI, II, III, IV, I, VII, IV
39. Two students James and Richard wrote programs to solve a simple task. Each student’s program
runs on his type of computer but not on any other type of computer.
An example of a language used to write the program is
(a) Java
(b) Pascal
(c) Basic
(d) Assembly
40. Consider the following statements:
I
ALL programs ARE algorithms
II
EVERY program USES algorithms
III
Algorithms are derived from programs
Which of the above are true?
(a) I and II only
(b) I and III only
(c) II and III only
(d) I, II and III
41. For which logic gate is the following table
ABC
00 0
01 1
10 1
11 1
(a) AND
(b) OR
(c) NOT
(d) EOR
42. What is the hexadecimal equivalent of the binary number: 111111012
(a) FD16
(b) 151316
(c) 2A16
(d) 25316
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12. ~ 12 ~
43. What is the binary equivalent of the hexadecimal number CB16
(a) 101011012
(b) 010011002
(c) 110010112
(d) 101111112
44. What is the binary equivalent to the decimal number 2510
(a) 11012
(b) 110012
(c) 001001201
(d) 11102
45. The diagram below represents what type of logic gate:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
AND
OR
NOT
EOR
IF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, CHECK YOUR WORK ON THIS TEST.
END OF TEST