How to Answer Programming Questions (Cambridge International IGCSE Computer Science)
Exam board Cambridge International · IGCSEUpdated 2025-08-01
How do I answer an OCR GCSE (9-1) Computer Science programming question?
How do I answer a CIE IGCSE Computer Science programming question?
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Programming questions can appear in both papers
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Paper 1 may include questions that test understanding and interpretation of algorithms and computational thinking principles, including the ability to trace and explain pseudocode
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Paper 2 is the paper that primarily assesses the ability to design, write, test, and refine programs
- It also includes a fixed 15‑mark programming question at the end of the paper
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All questions must be answered using:
- CIE **pseudocode **notation
- Structured English
- High‑level programming language
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To attempt a programming question that requires the writing of a new program, you should always ask yourself the following** five key questions**:
- What are the inputs?
- What are the outputs?
- What processes **take place?
- What** constructs will I need to use?
- Do I need to use subprograms?
Example
| Question |
|---|
The string operation SUBSTRING(Quote, Start, Number) returns a string from Quotebeginning at position Start that is Number characters long. The first character in Quote is in position 1.Write pseudocode statements to: - store the string " Learning Never Exhausts The Mind" in Quote- extract and display the words " The Mind" from the string- output the original string in lower case. [5 marks] |
| What are the inputs? What are the outputs? What processes take place? |
| The string operation SUBSTRING(Quote, Start, Number) returns a string from Quote beginning at position Start that is Number characters long. The first character in Quote is in position 1.- store the string " Learning Never Exhausts The Mind" in Quote- extract and display the words " The Mind" from the string- output the original string in lower case. |
| What constructs will I need to use? |
| - Sequence - Each pseudocode instruction is executed in order - Assignment - Assigning the string to Quote- String manipulation - Using SUBSTRING() to extract part of a string- Case conversion - Using LCASE() (or similar function) to convert the string to lowercase |
| Do I need to use subprograms? |
| - In this question, the subprograms are built-in string handling functions: - SUBSTRING(Quote, Start, Number) – extracts part of a string- LCASE(Quote) – returns the lowercase version of the string |
| Final answer: Answer |
| Pseudocode |
| Quote ← "Learning Never Exhausts The Mind" Start ← 25 Number ← 8 OUTPUT SUBSTRING(Quote, Start, Number) OUTPUT LCASE(Quote) |
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