Cambridge O Level Computer Science (2210)
Data Representation – Exam Style Paper with Answers (page # 41)
Question 1
(a)(i) Sampling resolution [1]
Number of bits used to represent each sample.
(a)(ii) Effect on accuracy [3]
• Higher sampling resolution uses more bits per sample. (1)
• This allows a greater number of possible amplitude values. (1)
• Therefore the digitised sound is a more accurate/realistic representation of the original
sound wave. (1)
Keyword to note: More bits per sample → more possible amplitude values → more
accurate representation of sound.
(b)(i) Image resolution [1]
Total number of pixels (width × height).
(b)(ii) Bits per pixel [1]
2^n = 16 → n = 4 bits.
(b)(iii) File size [3]
Pixels = 16384 × 512 = 8,388,608
Bits = ×8 = 67,108,864 bits
Bytes = ÷8 = 8,388,608
≈ 0.0078 GiB
(b)(iv) Compression [3]
Lossy removes data to reduce size. Lossless keeps all data. Example: RLE/JPEG.
Question 2
(a) Sampling [3]
• The sound wave is measured at regular time intervals (sampling). (1)
• Each sample’s amplitude is recorded and converted into a binary value. (1)
• The binary values are stored to form the digital sound file. (1)
Keywords to remember: Sound measured at regular intervals, converted to binary and
stored.
(b) Compression [3]
• Lossy compression should be used. (1)
• It removes some unnecessary data from the sound file. (1)
• This significantly reduces the file size, making it quicker and easier to send via email.
(1)
(c)(i) RLE [3]
• Run Length Encoding (RLE) is a lossless compression technique. (1)
• It stores data by recording a value and the number of times it repeats. (1)
• This reduces file size when there are many repeated values. (1)
(c)(ii) Example [4]
Pattern in an image: 3G2W4G9W4G2W1G2W2G2W1G
Gray square =0 and white square=1
Substituting values in an identified pattern: 3021409140211021202110
Question 3
a) 00110110 = 54
b)
i) 1 Right shift → 00011011
ii) 1 Right shift → 00011011 = 27
c)
i) 2 Left shift of the original value→ 11011000
ii) Effect: value increases ×4, overflow possible.
Question 4
a)
i) 123 → 01111011
ii) 55 → 00110111
iii) 180 → 10110100
b)
i) 123 + 55 = 178 → 10110010
ii) 123 + 180 → overflow
c) Two’s complement:
i)
Key to remember: In two’s complement: If MSB (first bit) is 0, the number is
positive.
-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
add all the 1 values to find out the given value of 2’s complement: 64+32+16+4=116
ii)
Step 1: Write +112 in binary
112 = 64 + 32 + 16
So:
112 = 01110000
Step 2: Take two’s complement
1. Invert bits:
01110000 → 10001111
2. Add 1:
10001111
+ 1
---------
10010000
-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
iii)
-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1
-128+32+16+8+1=-71
d) i) 104
-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Ii) -104
Step 1: Convert +104 to binary
104 = 64 + 32 + 8
So:
104 = 01101000
Step 2: Take two’s complement
Invert bits:
01101000 → 10010111
Add 1:
10010111
+ 1
---------
10011000
−104 = 10011000 (in 8-bit two’s complement)
-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Question 5
Pixel:
• A pixel (picture element) is the smallest individual dot of a digital image.
• Each pixel stores a single colour value.
• when many pixels are combined, they form the complete image.
Colour depth: bits per pixel
Colour depth
• Color Depth is the number of bits used to represent the colour of each pixel.
• It determines how many different colours an image can display.
• For example, 24-bit colour depth allows 2^24 different colours.
c) Number of images on a 32 GiB memory stick
Step 1: Total pixels in one image
1140×1080=1,231,200 pixels
Step 2: Bits per image
Colour depth = 24 bits per pixel
So: 1,231,200×24=29,548,800 bits per image
Step 3: Convert to bytes
29,548,800÷8=3,693,600 bytes per image
Step 4: Convert memory stick size to bytes
1 GiB = 1024^3=1,073,741,824 bytes
32 GiB = 32×1,073,741,824=34,359,738,368 bytes
Step 5: Number of images
34,359,738,368÷3,693,600≈9304
✅ Final Answer:
Approximately 9,304 images
d) How to increase number of images stored
You can store more images by:
• Reducing resolution (fewer pixels per image → smaller file size)
• Reducing colour depth (fewer bits per pixel → less data per image)
• Using image compression (especially lossy compression like JPEG to reduce file
size significantly)
Question 6
a) How captured images are converted to digital photo files
When Nancy takes a photo using a digital camera:
1. Light enters the camera lens and falls on a light-sensitive sensor (CCD or CMOS).
2. The sensor is divided into millions of tiny cells called pixels.
3. Each pixel measures the intensity and colour of light it receives.
4. These values are converted into binary data (0s and 1s) by an analogue-to-digital
converter (ADC).
5. The binary data is then processed and stored as a digital image file (such as JPEG
or PNG) on the camera’s memory card.
b) Best type of file compression
Answer: Lossy compression
Explanation:
• Lossy compression reduces file size by removing some image data permanently.
• It is ideal for photos because the removed data is usually not noticeable to the
human eye.
• It produces much smaller file sizes, making it easier to email or share many
images.
• Common format: JPEG.
Question 7
a)
02 → 00000010
31 → 00011111
58 → 00111010
b) Result: 05:26:55
Question 8
a) Number of photographs (10 KiB each) in 64 GiB
Step 1: Convert 64 GiB to KiB
1 GiB = 1024 MiB
1 MiB = 1024 KiB
So:
64×1024×1024=67,108,864 KiB
Step 2: Divide by photo size
Each photo = 10 KiB
6,710,8864÷10=6,710,886.4
Answer:
6,710,886 photographs (approx.)
b) Photographs on SSD
i) One way of reducing file size
Use file compression (lossy compression such as JPEG)
ii) Two advantages of reducing file size
• Uses less storage space on the SSD
• Faster transfer/uploading of files (e.g. sharing or backup)
iii) One disadvantage of reducing file size
• Loss of image quality / detail (especially with lossy compression)
c) Bitmap images
i) Why 3 bytes are needed per pixel
• Each pixel uses 24 bits (colour depth)
• 24 bits = 8 bits × 3 = 3 bytes
• Each byte stores one primary colour channel:
o Red
o Green
o Blue
So each pixel needs 3 bytes to represent its colour combination.
ii) Number of possible colours
Each byte has 256 possible values (0–255).
So:
• Red = 256 values
• Green = 256 values
• Blue = 256 values
Total colours:
256×256×256=16,777,216
Answer:
16,777,216 possible colours