What grade do I need to pass GCSE?

Grade 4 is the Standard Pass (equivalent to the old grade C). Grade 5 is the Strong Pass and is increasingly required by sixth forms and employers. Most university requirements start at grade 4 or 5.

How are AQA GCSEs graded?

AQA GCSEs are graded on a 9–1 scale, where 9 is the highest grade. Grades 9, 8, and 7 broadly correspond to the old A* and A grades.

How many GCSE subjects do students typically take?

Most students take 9–10 GCSE subjects. English Language, English Literature, and Mathematics are compulsory. Students then choose from History, Geography, Sciences, Languages, and other options.

When are AQA GCSE exams held?

The main AQA GCSE exam series runs in May and June each year. Results are published in August. There is a smaller November resit series for English Language and Mathematics.

AQA GCSE Computer Science Paper 2 — Free 46-Question AQA GCSE Practice Test

Q01.1Convert the binary number 11010100 into decimal.Easy

Q01.2Convert the binary number 10111001 into hexadecimal. You should show your working.Medium

Q01.3State the largest decimal number that can be represented using 6 bits.Easy

Q02.1Add together the following three binary numbers and give your answer in binary. 00110110 10010010 + 00100001 ----...Medium

Q02.2Apply a binary shift three places to the right on the bit pattern 10101000. Give the result using 8 bits.Easy

Q02.3The arithmetic effect of applying a left binary shift of two to a binary number is to multiply that number by four. S...Easy

Q02.4State the arithmetic effect of applying a left binary shift of three followed by a right binary shift of five to a bi...Medium

Q03.1Complete the truth table for the XOR logic gate.Easy

Q03.2A game uses three sensors. A red light (R) in the game switches on if **all** of the following conditions are true: -...Medium

Q03.3Another circuit in the game will output True if any two sensors are activated or if all three sensors are activated. ...Medium

Q03.4A green light (G) in the game switches on if **all** of the following conditions are true: - sensor D is off - sensor...Medium

Q04.1Describe what is meant by the terms system software and application software.Easy

Q04.2State **four** functions of an operating system.Medium

Q05An autonomous vehicle is controlled by a computer system, senses its environment and requires no input from a human d...Hard

Q06.1Programming languages can be classified as low-level or high-level. Which of these statements is true about code writ...Medium

Q06.2From the list of statements about low-level languages, identify another true statement.Medium

Q07.1Assemblers and interpreters are two types of program translator. State the purpose of an assembler.Easy

Q07.2Explain how an interpreter works.Medium

Q08State **two** reasons why computers have more RAM than cache memory.Easy

Q09.1Data is increasingly being stored 'in the cloud'. State **two** advantages of using cloud storage instead of local st...Easy

Q09.2Many new computers use solid-state storage for secondary storage rather than magnetic storage. Explain why solid-stat...Easy

Q10How many bits are there in two kilobytes? Show your working.Easy

Q11The ASCII value for the character **x** is the decimal number 120. Complete **Table 1** with the missing ASCII and Un...Easy

Q12**Figure 1** shows a 10 x 8 bitmap image that uses three colours. Calculate the minimum file size that would be requi...Medium

Q13.1Analogue sound must be converted to a digital form for storage and processing in a computer. Define the term **sample...Easy

Q13.2State **one** disadvantage of a high sample resolution.Easy

Q13.3A 50-second sound has been recorded at a sample rate of 40 000 Hz. Two bytes have been used to store each sample of t...Medium

Q14.1Computer networks can be installed using wired or wireless technology. State **one** wireless method used to connect ...Easy

Q14.2Describe **two** differences between a Local Area Network (LAN) and a Wide Area Network (WAN).Easy

Q14.3Give **three** advantages of using a wireless network instead of a wired network.Easy

Q14.4Shade **one** lozenge to indicate the application layer protocol used for sending emails from a client device to a ma...Easy

Q14.5Explain the purpose of the HTTPS protocol.Easy

Q15.1State **two** issues with only using usernames and passwords in an authentication system.Easy

Q15.2Describe **one** security measure that could be used, in addition to a password, to make sure that a user is who they...Easy

Q15.3State **two** reasons why automatic software updates provide better security than manual software updates.Easy

Q16.1Explain what penetration testing is.Easy

Q16.2Describe the aim of a white-box penetration test.Medium

Q17.1State **two** reasons why data are compressed.Easy

Q17.2**Figure 2** shows a string. **Figure 2** `MISSISSIPPI` One method for compressing data is run length encoding (RLE)....Medium

Q17.3Another method for compressing data is Huffman coding. In Huffman coding, the codes for the characters can be created...Medium

Q18.1A relational database has been developed for a youth club to store information about their members and the awards the...Easy

Q18.2State **one** benefit of using relational databases.Easy

Q18.3State the name of the field from the **Member** table that is the most suitable to use as the primary key.Easy

Q18.4State the name of the field from the **Award** table that is a foreign key.Easy

Q18.5The youth club needs to produce a report listing the members who have been given the Leader award. The report must in...Hard

Q18.6A new member joins the youth club. The following SQL is run to add their details to the database: `INSERT INTO A (B) ...Easy

AQA GCSE Computer Science Paper 2

Difficulty breakdown

Topics covered

Sample questions

Ready to Practice the full exam?

All questions (46)