Answers

F13.4 Programming questions

Exam preparation · GCSE · about 20 min

What this lesson is about

Taking a question apart, the jobs that come up again and again, and how the marks are given.

• Read the question like a specification
• The jobs that come up again and again
• How the marks are given
• Worked example

Questions 5 marks in all

1. [1 mark]You cannot finish a programming question. What is the best thing to do?

   1. AWrite what is left as comments or pseudocode
   2. BLeave it blank
   3. CRub out what you have
   4. DCopy an earlier answer
   Answer: A. Marks are given in steps, and a correct approach scores.

2. [1 mark]Which of these earns marks in a written programming answer?

   1. AMeaningful variable names and clear structure
   2. BVery short variable names
   3. CNo comments at all
   4. DPerfect punctuation
   Answer: A. The marker must be able to follow what you meant.

3. [1 mark]A question says to reject an input over 60. What is that worth?

   1. AA mark: handle the failure case
   2. BNothing
   3. COnly if the program runs
   4. DA mark only in an on-screen exam
   Answer: A. Every rule in the question usually carries a mark.

4. [1 mark]What does this program print?

   done = 0
   steps = 0
   while done < 32:
       step = min(7, 32 - done)
       done = done + step
       steps = steps + 1
   print(steps, done)

   Answer:

   5 32

   Four steps of 7 and a last step of 4.

5. [1 mark]What should you do before writing any code in a long question?

   1. AUnderline the inputs, outputs and rules
   2. BWrite the last line first
   3. CChoose variable names for everything
   4. DCount the marks
   Answer: A. Then write the structure: input, process, output.

The task: an exam-style program

# the two lines every program starts with: the commands, then the robot
from bugbot import *
connect()

far = 32
step = 7

from bugbot import *
connect()
far = 32
step = 7
done = 0
count = 0
while done < far:
    this = min(step, far - done)
    forward(50, distance=this)
    done = done + this
    count = count + 1
    print(f"so far: {done} cm")
print("steps:", count)
print(f"total: {done} cm")