Information Processes and Technology 2024 HSC exam pack (archive)

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
• engage with any stimulus material provided and refer to it in the response
• communicate ideas and information using relevant examples
• expect to perform some mathematical functions, interpret data/graphs/tables and assess information for accuracy, reliability and/or validity
• consider using graphical solutions if appropriate
• review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide an outline of an action, relevant to the scenario, that a project manager could use to minimise disagreements, such as using negotiation skills (a)
• understand the purpose of Gantt charts as well as how they can be used by a manager throughout the development of a system to identify when new or additional resources are required to ensure a project meets its timeline (b)
• identify an ethical issue relevant to the scenario or situation, such as a breach of private data stored by the company, rather than other issues (c)
• identify a conversion method relevant to the website implementation and provide reasons to support its use. For example, direct conversion could be used as it is a new system and there is no other system to be replaced (d).

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding how the key communication skills of active listening, conflict resolution, negotiation skills, interview techniques and/or team building can assist a project manager to minimise issues (a)
• understanding that Gantt charts can assist in the allocation of resources throughout a system being developed, for example if running behind schedule more human resources can be allocated to help complete the project on time or closer to the scheduled time (b)
• distinguishing between social and ethical issues (c)
• understanding the characteristics of the four conversion methods and identifying which methods are applicable to different systems during implementation (d).

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• articulate specific benefits involved with prototyping, such as user involvement and feedback, allowing for early detection and correction of errors in design, and improving communication between the developer and organisers (a)
• present a range of elements relating to the redesign of the screen layout and clearly label features such as, the format of the email, dropdown or radio buttons, and verification when the form is submitted (b)
• demonstrate an understanding of a variety of security measures that could prevent tampering and their suitability for the given scenario, for example, two-factor authentication and protocols such as https (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing explicit examples of the benefits of prototypes in relation to design aspects of the scenario. For example, prototypes are used to provide feedback on the design based on the business needs (a)
• identifying form control elements that can be used to limit user input to reduce errors, for example, separate fields to capture first name and last name, and radio buttons to select one option only (b)
• strengthening understanding of security measures such as logins, passwords, encryption and backup strategies and applying this understanding in the context of different scenarios (c).

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• distinguish between one social issue and one ethical issue for the scenario and elaborate on their relevance using examples (a)
• use the data to construct 3 tables, one of which needed to be a council registration table, with relevant fields, and accurately identify primary and foreign keys and relationships in all 3 tables (b)
• engage with the stimulus to identify relevant features of the required hardware in the network diagram and provide communication links between each hardware device (c)
• incorporate key hardware elements in the network diagram, for example the owner's mobile phone, pet collar, short-range reader used by vets and satellite or 5G towers (c)
• clearly label all network components and identify short- and long-range connections between devices (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• distinguishing between a social issue and an ethical issue in relation to the scenario and drawing out the implications, for example privacy of owners, use of collars for other unintended uses, accuracy in connecting a pet to the correct owner (a)
• using the data to construct 3 distinct tables that link the pet collar data with a relevant owner’s data field by a council registration table, correctly labelling primary keys, foreign keys and one-many relationships between all 3 tables (b)
• clearly labelling network hardware components when using basic symbols to represent a network diagram and identifying devices relevant to long- and short-range wireless links, for example satellite, short-range readers used by vets, pet collar and mobile phone of owner (c)
• specifying only hardware, not software, in network diagrams (c).

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• link relevant tasks carried out by a network administrator through using examples that relate to the stimulus material (a)
• identify two application–level protocols and describe their workings in relation to the scenario (b)
• show an understanding of the impact hardware devices have on the efficiency and functioning of a communication system (c)
• provide valid reasons, when comparing hardware devices, as to why the use of specific communications hardware impacts a communication system’s performance/reliability (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying the different tasks carried out to maintain a network system and the various management procedures specifically relating to hardware and software. For example, creating usernames and passwords for each individual team member to use for accessing network resources (a)
• understanding the differences between software, hardware and communication protocols and the implementation throughout the communications mode. For example, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used for accessing and retrieving email messages from email servers to user devices (b)
• identifying the different types of communication hardware connections and understanding their specific characteristics associated with the performance of data transmission in a network (c).

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide an accurate definition of data integrity and a relevant example such as correctness, reliability and timeliness, and link these concepts to a real-world example, such as the use of data validation and verification tools for checking data upon entry into an online form (a)
• demonstrate understanding that rollback involves reverting a system back to a consistent state, prior to an error occurring during a transaction. Reference to the use of a transaction log, which details a series of steps that took place during a transaction and can be used in a rollback procedure to undo procedures that contained errors, was also included (b)
• illustrate a system correctly using data flow diagram symbols, including multiple processes, an external entity, a data store and flow lines that represent data’s movement within a system (ci)
• provide a report that contains a table of data for each club section, identifying a header section, a table representing the data of the system and a section for cumulative data, such as the number of members entering a section during a specific time period (cii)
• link the ways data mining is used within a system in the context of the information processes of analysing and retrieving. For example, explain how data warehouses are a source for the retrieval of data and online analytical processing (OLAP) tools to support data analysis (d).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing relevant examples of data integrity (a)
• understanding the difference between rollback and retrieval within transaction processing systems, where a transaction log can support a rollback procedure by undoing steps that led to an error (b)
• understanding the use of symbols within a data flow diagram to represent a real-world scenario (ci)
• understanding a database layout of a report to display information, which includes a header section, a body containing database information and footer section for cumulative data or version control (cii)
• understanding features related to data mining, including data warehousing and the use of online analytical processing (OLAP) tools for supporting retrieval and analytical processes (d).

Question 26

In better responses, students were able to:

• articulate advantages and/or disadvantages of using GDSS tools, for example, remote collaboration and anonymous voting to help with decision making (a)
• accurately construct a formula using cell referencing using the correct structure of an if statement to help analyse data (bi)
• identify that the process of analysing was occurring using pivot tables to gain insights into the performance of the sales team and their products so that data-driven decisions could be made (bii)
• use the diagram as reference to explain the role of the knowledge engineer in designing the specific structure and functionality of an expert system for each process in the diagram (c)
• articulate how data used to train a neural network could impact decision making when authenticating artworks and how the network learns from interactions with art collectors and features such as artistic styles (d).

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying features of a GDSS, showing understanding of the benefits for the decision-making process. For example, using teleconferencing to allow team members to collaborate remotely or having anonymous voting to enable equity of expression in the decision-making process (a)
• using cell referencing in formulas and understanding the syntax of different types of formulas used to analyse data (bi)
• recognising the advantages of using specific views in pivot tables to analyse data to aid data-driven decision making (bii)
• referring to the stimulus diagram to demonstrate an understanding of the role of a knowledge engineer in designing an expert system (c)
• focusing on the functions of a neural network that could impact on decisions related to the neural network determining the authenticity of artworks. For example, the weightings of the neurons in the hidden layer being adjusted when learning new data inputs related to previously unknown artworks or styles (d).

Question 27

In better responses, students were able to:

• distinguish between continuous and batch processing by providing definitions and examples relevant to an automated manufacturing system, such as an air-conditioning unit for continuous processing and custom shoe creation for batch processing in various sizes (a)
• describe how adjusting damping could directly address safety concerns with the boom gate by reducing its slamming motion, identifying its current underdamped state, determining the need for critical damping (b)
• demonstrate understanding of the automated doughnut system by explaining the interactions between sensors, control units, and actuators, supporting this with a well-organised block diagram that included at least two sensor inputs, a control unit, and at least two actuator output stages (ci)
• show how quality control in the doughnut-making system can be achieved by referring to consistent heat regulation via a sensor and the precise flipping motion of an actuator, and linking these to the quality and uniformity of the doughnuts produced (cii)
• explain the role of an automated irrigation system in agriculture, focusing on how specific sensors and actuators can enhance crop production by optimising water usage and aligning with weather data to control costs (d).

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the differences between continuous and batch processing beyond surface definitions by using examples within an automated manufacturing system context (a)
• describing the concept of damping using terms such as ‘underdamping’, ‘overdamping’, and ‘critical damping’ to assist in addressing the issue with the boom gate in the scenario (b)
• responding to all parts of the question by providing an explanation of how the system works and a block diagram to clearly show understanding, clarifying how sensors, control units, and actuators function together in automated systems and representing this interaction in a block diagram (ci)
• identifying the use of sensors, controllers, and actuators for the quality control of the doughnut production process, rather than making generic statements about the benefits of automation manufacturing systems (cii)
• correctly naming specific sensors and actuators in automated irrigation systems and showing how they contribute to both maximising crop yield and minimising production costs, with a broader perspective on efficiency and resource management in agriculture (d).

Question 28

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe the practical method by which a data compression technique reduces the size of a raw audio file and identify a relevant compressed audio file type (a)
• provide accurate details of the features of an animation file and how they combine to increase storage requirements, for example frame rate, frame resolution, bit depth and length (b)
• provide characteristics and features of hardware devices such as CPU, GPU, display devices and both primary (RAM) and secondary (HDD/SDD) storage that form a system capable of withstanding the high demands of processing, storing and displaying large video files (c)
• identify relevant roles, for example content providers, in the development of an app for children, linking the aspects of the specialist role to the application and its users (di)
• show a link between the app features that cater to the specific needs of a user group and link the features to the displaying and collecting processes that provide accessibility to overcome impairments or barriers (dii).

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding how data is removed or reduced through compression techniques such as lossy or lossless compression (a)
• linking features of an animation to the size of a file by describing how the size of the file can increase because on the animation components, for example frame rate, frame resolution, bit depth and length (b)
• making the link between the capabilities of specific hardware devices and the high demand on processing, rendering and storage of a raw video, for example linking a powerful CPU to multitasking, or a high amount of RAM to rendering of clip previews (c)
• identifying specialist role(s) and how they impact on the development, implementation and maintenance of the application, for example the way that a content provider can create accurate images and videos relating to specific plants and flowers (di)
• using appropriate terminology that relates to specialist roles in application development, for example graphic design, UI/UX design, content specialists, programmers and technical specialists (di)
• demonstrating a clear relationship between a feature of the system, the group that is catered for and how it impacts on their experience of collecting and/or displaying data within the environment of the application (dii).