At a glance
The course in numbers
How to read it. One row is one 45-minute lesson; its pack holds the plan, worksheet and quiz. The week column counts 3 lessons a week until you change the control above; the sheet you download uses the same numbers. Each topic ends at an assessment point, its question bank, which you can assign in the app for a marked score. The learning intention is the first idea of each lesson in the students' own pages; the traps are the examiner traps those pages pre-empt.
The topics in syllabus order
Weeks 1 to 24Topic 1Data representation
Weeks 1 to 4| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.1 | Why computers use binary: binary and denary | Click the bits in the lab to switch them on and off. |
| 1 | 1.1 | Hexadecimal and where it is used | In the lab, flip the bits and watch each group of four turn into a single hex digit. |
| 1 | 1.1 | Binary addition and overflow | In the lab, set two 8-bit numbers and step through the addition one column at a time. |
| 2 | 1.1 | Logical binary shifts | In the lab, choose a number and press the left shift button. |
| 2 | 1.1 | Two's complement for negative numbers | In the lab, switch the bits on and off. |
| 2 | 1.2 | Representing text: ASCII and Unicode | Type some text into the lab and watch each character turn into its code and then into binary. |
| 3 | 1.2 | Representing sound: sample rate and resolution | In the lab, look at the smooth sound wave and the samples taken from it. |
| 3 | 1.2 | Representing images: resolution and colour depth | In the lab, paint a few pixels and read off the binary stored for each row. |
| 3 | 1.3 | Measuring data storage and calculating file sizes | In the lab, type a value, pick its unit and step it up or down the ladder. |
| 4 | 1.3 | Lossy and lossless compression | Smaller files help everyone who stores or sends them. |
| 4 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 60 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- "Computers use binary because it is easier for them" earns nothing.
- Leaving out leading zeros changes nothing in value, but if the question says "8-bit" you must give all 8 bits: 00111010, not 111010.
- Do not write 12 as the hex digit for twelve.
Topic 2Data transmission
Weeks 4 to 6| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2.1 | Packets and packet switching | A large file is split into many small packets of data before it is sent. |
| 4 | 2.1 | Serial and parallel, simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex | Send the same byte both ways in the lab. |
| 5 | 2.1 | The universal serial bus (USB) | Each word in the name matters. |
| 5 | 2.2 | Parity checks, checksums and echo checks | Sender and receiver first agree on even or odd parity. |
| 5 | 2.2 | Check digits and automatic repeat query (ARQ) | Check digits protect data entry: a person typing a code, or a scanner reading one. |
| 6 | 2.3 | Symmetric and asymmetric encryption | Data travelling across networks passes through many devices and can be intercepted by a hacker. |
| 6 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 36 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- Packets do not make the data itself smaller.
- The packet number goes in the header, not the trailer.
- It is the router that controls the route a packet takes.
Topic 3Hardware
Weeks 6 to 9| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3.1 | The CPU and Von Neumann architecture | Explore each part in the lab to see its job. |
| 6 | 3.1 | The fetch-decode-execute cycle | Step through the cycle in the lab and watch the values move between registers. |
| 7 | 3.1 | Cores, cache and clock speed | In the lab, change the clock speed, the cache size and the number of cores, and watch how long the same set of tasks takes. |
| 7 | 3.1 | Instruction sets and embedded systems | In the lab, pick an opcode and see how the instruction is built from binary. |
| 7 | 3.2 | Input and output devices | Each input device converts something from the real world (a key press, light, sound, a pattern) into binary data the computer can process. |
| 8 | 3.2 | Sensors and how they are used | People can check a temperature now and then; a sensor can check it every second, day and night, without mistakes or getting tired. |
| 8 | 3.3 | Primary storage: RAM and ROM | When you open an app, it is copied from secondary storage (such as an SSD) into primary storage so the CPU can fetch its instructions. |
| 8 | 3.3 | Magnetic, optical and solid-state storage | A hard disk drive (HDD) contains one or more circular platters coated in a magnetic material, spinning at thousands of revolutions per minute. |
| 9 | 3.3 | Virtual memory and cloud storage | The CPU can only use instructions and data that are in RAM. |
| 9 | 3.4 | NICs, MAC addresses, IP addresses and routers | In the lab, look at a device's MAC address and IP address, and see what changes when it joins a different network. |
| 9 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 60 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- "The CPU stores all the files" is wrong.
- Do not mix up the MAR and the MDR.
- The data bus carries instructions as well as data, because in a Von Neumann computer both are stored in the same memory.
Topic 4Software
Weeks 9 to 11| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 4.1 | System software and application software | System software runs the computer and keeps it working well. |
| 10 | 4.1 | The operating system, firmware and the hardware | Learn the nine functions in the syllabus, and for each one be ready to say what the OS actually does. |
| 10 | 4.1 | Interrupts | In the lab, trigger different interrupts while a program runs and watch the processor respond to them in order of priority. |
| 10 | 4.2 | High-level and low-level languages | High-level languages are designed for people. |
| 11 | 4.2 | Assemblers, compilers and interpreters | Which translator you need depends on the language the source code is written in. |
| 11 | 4.2 | Integrated development environments (IDEs) | Without an IDE a programmer would type code in one program, translate it in another and run it in a third. |
| 11 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 36 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- Naming a brand ("Windows") is fine as an example, but when asked to describe system software you must say what it does: it provides the services the computer needs, such as managing hardware and running applications.
- A web browser is application software, even though it feels like part of the computer.
- "It manages memory" on its own often scores nothing.
Topic 5The internet and its uses
Weeks 11 to 13| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 5.1 | The internet, the world wide web and URLs | Think of the internet as the road network and the web as one kind of traffic that uses the roads. |
| 12 | 5.1 | HTTP, HTTPS and web browsers | In the lab, watch the request leave the browser and the response come back from the web server. |
| 12 | 5.1 | How a web page is located and retrieved: DNS | Run the lab from start to finish. |
| 12 | 5.1 | Session and persistent cookies | HTTP on its own does not remember anything between one request and the next. |
| 13 | 5.2 | Digital currency and blockchain | You may already pay by card or phone, but a digital currency goes further: the money itself is only ever data. |
| 13 | 5.3 | Cyber security threats | These three threats are about getting at data without permission. |
| 13 | 5.3 | Keeping data safe from security threats | Authentication checks that users are who they claim to be; access levels then decide what each user may do. |
| 13 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 42 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- "The web is the internet" or "the internet is a website" earns nothing.
- A URL is not the same as an IP address.
- HTTPS does not stop data being intercepted.
Topic 6Automated and emerging technologies
Week 14| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 6.1 | Automated systems: sensors, microprocessors and actuators | Every automated system in an exam answer works the same way. |
| 14 | 6.2 | Robotics | Exam questions often ask you to describe the characteristics of a robot. |
| 14 | 6.3 | Artificial intelligence: expert systems and machine learning | AI does not mean a computer that is conscious or truly understands. |
| 14 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 18 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- "The sensor turns on the heater" earns nothing.
- Name the right sensor for the scenario.
- "It is more efficient" on its own is too vague to earn a mark.
Topic 7Algorithm design and problem-solving
Weeks 15 to 17| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 7 (1-2) | The program development life cycle | Before anyone designs anything, they must know exactly what the program has to do. |
| 15 | 7 (1-2) | Decomposition, structure diagrams, flowcharts and pseudocode | A games console is one system, but inside it are a controller sub-system, a graphics sub-system, a storage sub-system and more. |
| 15 | 7 (3-4) | Standard methods: linear search and bubble sort | Step through the search in the lab. |
| 16 | 7 (3-4) | Standard methods: totalling, counting, maximum, minimum and average | In the lab, choose the totalling and counting programs and run them. |
| 16 | 7 (5-6) | Validation and verification checks | Type different values into the validation tab of the lab and see which check accepts or rejects each one. |
| 16 | 7 (5-6) | Normal, abnormal, extreme and boundary test data | In the lab's test data mode, pick values for each category and run the validation routine. |
| 17 | 7 (7-9) | Dry-running algorithms with trace tables | Load a program in the lab, enter the test data and step through it line by line. |
| 17 | 7 (7-9) | Finding and correcting errors in algorithms | Try the find-the-error tab in the lab. |
| 17 | 7 (7-9) | Writing and amending algorithms | Examiners can only award marks for statements a computer could follow. |
| 17 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 54 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- Abstraction is not the same as decomposition.
- Iterative testing belongs to the coding stage: small parts are tested and corrected repeatedly while they are being written.
- A structure diagram is not a flowchart.
Topic 8Programming
Weeks 18 to 21| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 8.1 | Variables, constants and data types | Run the totalling program in the lab one line at a time. |
| 18 | 8.1 | Sequence and selection: IF and CASE | In the lab, choose the Nested IF program and step through it. |
| 18 | 8.1 | Iteration: count-controlled, pre-condition and post-condition loops | In the lab, try the Nested FOR with STEP and REPEAT UNTIL programs. |
| 19 | 8.1 | String handling | In the lab, choose the String handling program. |
| 19 | 8.1 | Arithmetic, relational and logical operators | Work out each expression using the normal mathematical order: brackets, then powers, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction. |
| 19 | 8.1 | Procedures, functions, parameters and scope | In the lab, choose Procedure with a parameter and step through it. |
| 20 | 8.1 | Library routines: MOD, DIV, ROUND and RANDOM | In the lab, choose MOD, DIV and ROUND. |
| 20 | 8.1 | Writing maintainable programs | Compare the two versions of the same algorithm. |
| 20 | 8.2 | One-dimensional arrays | The declaration gives the identifier, the range of indexes and the data type of every element. |
| 21 | 8.2 | Two-dimensional arrays and nested loops | The two bounds in the declaration give the number of rows and the number of columns. |
| 21 | 8.3 | Reading from and writing to files | In the lab, choose Write a file, then read it. |
| 21 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 66 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- "A constant never changes" is not enough on its own.
- A phone number is a STRING, not an INTEGER: storing it as a number would lose the leading zero, and nobody adds or multiplies phone numbers.
- OUTPUT "Total" displays the word Total; OUTPUT Total displays the value stored in the variable Total.
Topic 9Databases
Weeks 21 to 22| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 9 (1-3) | Single-table databases: fields, records and data types | In the lab, click a column heading to highlight a field and click a row to highlight a record. |
| 22 | 9 (1-3) | Primary keys | In the lab, try each field of the Books table as the primary key. |
| 22 | 9 (4) | SQL: SELECT, FROM, WHERE and ORDER BY | In the lab, build a query on the Books table: tick fields for SELECT and run it. |
| 22 | 9 (4) | SQL: SUM, COUNT, AND and OR | In the lab, run a SUM or COUNT query on the Books table and compare it with the same query without them: the list of rows collapses into one number. |
| 22 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 24 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- Do not mix the two words up.
- "Number" and "string" are not accepted as answers.
- A range check on Weight would still accept 21.5 when the dog really weighs 12.5.
Topic 10Boolean logic
Weeks 23 to 24| Week | Ref | Lesson | Learning intention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 10 (1-2) | The six logic gates | Pick a gate in the lab and click its input switches. |
| 23 | 10 (3) | Drawing logic circuits | Choose an expression in the lab and watch it become a circuit. |
| 23 | 10 (3) | Completing truth tables | Each row of inputs is a binary number. |
| 24 | 10 (3) | Writing logic expressions | Pick an expression in the lab and study the circuit it draws. |
| 24 | Assessment point | Topic question bank, 24 multiple-choice questions: print or review, or assign in the app for a marked score. |
Examiner traps to pre-empt:
- Draw the shapes carefully: an AND gate has a straight back, an OR gate a curved back.
- Learn the six output columns by heart in the order 00, 01, 10, 11: AND 0001, OR 0111, NAND 1110, NOR 1000, XOR 0110.
- Do not draw a three-input AND gate: at IGCSE every gate except NOT has exactly two inputs.
Also for this course
Beyond the scheme
Lesson packs70 packs: plan, worksheet, quiz
Question bankBuild a test from every course
PlannerBlock out the term
Classes and gradebookAssign the banks, track everyone
Student syllabus pageIGCSE Computer Science 0478
Original work by the TheLucidSTEM team. Week numbers assume 3 lessons a week unless you change the control; the download carries the numbers shown.