411 REFERENCE · Wikibooks
GCSE Computer Science
Reference material by Wikibooks contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
This is a book about GCSE Computer Science. The aim is it should be useful as a revision guide or to find alternative explanations to the ones in your textbook.
This book is not the work of a single author. We welcome both students and teachers to improve this book by adding and making changes. Explaining to someone else is one of the best ways to learn.
This book does not teach any specific programming language per se, but rather uses pseudocode and flowcharts to introduce programmng. There are plenty of other wikibooks available which deal adequately with each of the programming languages you might choose to use in studying GCSE Computer Science.
Contents by topic
Computer Data Representation
Binary systems 75% (AQA 3.3, CIE 1.1.1, Ed 3.1, OCR 2.6)
Hexadecimal 50% (AQA 3.3, CIE 1.1.2, Ed 3.1, OCR 2.6)
Data storage 50% (AQA 3.3, CIE 1.1.3, Ed 3.2-3, OCR 2.6)
Computer Hardware
Logic Gates 75% (AQA 3.4.2, CIE 1.3.1)
Computer Architecture (AQA 3.4.4, CIE 1.3.2, Ed 4.2.1/3, OCR 1.1)
Computer Memory (AQA 3.4.4, CIE 1.3.5, Ed 4.2.2, OCR 1.2)
Computer Storage (AQA 3.4.4, CIE 1.3.5, Ed 4.2.5-6, OCR 1.3)
Computer Input devices and Sensors 50% (CIE 1.3.3)
Computer Output devices (CIE 1.3.4)
Computer Software
Computer Operating systems (AQA 3.4.3, CIE 1.3.6, Ed 4.4.1, OCR 1.7)
Computer Languages and Their Translators (AQA 3.2.13, CIE 1.3.7, Ed 4.5.1-2, OCR 2.5)
Algorithms
Algorithms and Problem Solving (CIE 2.1.1)
abstraction and decomposition (AQA 3.1.1, Ed 1.2, OCR 2.1)
Flowcharts (AQA 3.1.1, CIE 2.1.2,Ed 1.1.1, OCR 2.1)
The 3 Basic Constructs: sequence, selection and iteration (AQA 3.2.2, Ed 1.1.2, OCR 2.2)
Search Algorithms 50%
linear search, binary search(AQA 3.1.3, Ed 1.1.8, OCR 2.1)
Sort Algorithms 50%
bubble sort, merge sort (AQA 3.1.4, Ed 1.1.8, OCR 2.1)
insertion sort (OCR 2.1)
Testing and Improving Algorithms (CIE 2.1.1, Ed 1.1.9, OCR 2.1)
trace tables (AQA 3.1.1, CIE 2.1.1, Ed 1.1.5)
Programming
Pseudocode 50% (AQA 3.2, CIE 2.1.2, Ed 1.1.1-2, OCR 2.1)
Constants, Variables and Data Types 25% (AQA 3.2.1-2, CIE 2.2.1, Ed 2.3, OCR 2.2)
Operators (AQA 3.2.3-5, Ed 2.5, OCR 2.2)
String Handling (AQA 3.2.3-5, Ed 2.3.3, OCR 2.2)
Random numbers (AQA 3.2.8)
Input/output and file handling (AQA 3.2.7, Ed 2.4, OCR 2.2)
Subprograms, Subroutines and Functions (AQA 3.2.10-11, CIE 2.2.1, Ed 2.6, OCR 2.2)
Data Structures, Records and Databases (AQA 3.2.6, CIE 2.2.2 & 2.3, Ed 2.3.2, OCR 2.2)
Robust Programs (AQA 3.2.12, CIE 2.2.1, Ed 2.4.2, OCR 2.3)
GCSE Computer Science/Sequencing (AQA, CIE, Ed, OCR)
Computer Communications
Data transmission (CIE 1.2.3)
Using the Internet and other Networks (CIE 1.2.3)
Computer Networks (AQA 3.5, Ed 5,OCR 1.4-5)
Computer Security (AQA 3.6, CIE 1.4, Ed 5.1/3, OCR 1.6)
Internet Security (CIE 1.2.2, Ed 5.2)
Encryption (Ed 3.4)
Computer Ethics 25% (AQA 3.7, CIE 1.5, Ed 6.1, OCR 1.8)
Content by Current Courses
You may access the content above of a particular courses by selecting course below (if you are not sure which is your course ask your teacher). These apart from the course introduction below these do not introduce new content but rather connect to the relevant parts of the above content:
AQA GCSE Computer Science 8520
OxfordAQA International GCSE Computer Science 9210 content larely the same as AQA GCSE Computer Science 8520 but assessment differs
CIE IGCSE Computer Science 0478
CIE IGCSE(9-1) Computer Science 0984 content same as CIE IGCSE Computer Science 0478 but assessment differs
Edexcel GCSE(9-1) Computer Science 1CP1
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Computer Science 4CP0 content same as 1CP1 but assessment differs
OCR GCSE(9-1) Computer Science J276
Legacy Courses
The courses below are not longer taught, but may be of interest some.
AQA GCSE Computer Science 4512 last examination in 2017
OCR GCSE Computing J275 introduced in 2010 and last examination in 2017
How to read the book
You will meet several coloured boxes, here are their meanings:
Specification link
What the specification says you must learn for each chapter
Examples
Example questions and how to solve them
Questions
Questions to test yourself, click below
to check if you were right
Extension
Topics that aren't examined but you might be interested in
There will be a lot of concepts that you need to be familiar with, definitions are highlighted like so:
Word meaning
G
Computing General Certificate of Secondary Education
25%