IT Applications 2011 Sample Exam Answers

[Lasercookie]

Finally decided to get around to typing up my answers to the IT Applications Sample Exam. Since there are no official answers to these, I'm not sure if they are all correct. Feel free to post your answers if they are different to mine. Some questions would have more than one possible answer.

If you haven't attempted these already, I would suggest doing so as soon as possible. They identify how VCAA will examine the new concepts in the study design. There is a significant change in style from previous study designs here.
Here is the link: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcaa/vce/studies/infotech/it-applications/publications/IT-Apps-samp.pdf
The multiple choice questions have answers provided.

Question 7, 9 and 12 where all large questions worth a fair bit of marks.

I am not sure of my answer to Question 7. I picked RDBMS since I could then talk about which fields to relate and talk about normal form etc. (it specified that it wanted some technical detail). I am also not sure of question 1b. I didn't like my answer to it at all (seemed too dodgy), so I didn't bother typing it up.


Short answer:
Q1.
a. Boolean

b.

c. Display their privacy statement; Tell users the benefits of entering their data for a diagnosis.

d. Since it is the user entering the data, they can ensure the accuracy themselves. For example, if an employee had to transcribe the data, they may make a mistake or be unsure of what it says.

e. A field containing a list of incompatible drugs could be added to the table. A query could be run, with the criteria set to be 'not equal' to one of the incompatible drugs. This query could output a warning message if the drugs are not compatible.
Q2. High bandwidth internet connection. Video conferencing transfers large amounts of data. A high bandwidth connection will allow for this.
Q3.
a. Gender - this is an answer that  has only two options, in this case 'M' or 'F'.

b. Consistency is required. Each word should start with a capital letter, and be separated with a space. Most of the fields are already named in this fashion, only 2 fields need to be renamed.

c. 1NF - Eliminates redundant data, all fields split up to only contain one piece of data. E.g. 'Name' would be split up into 'First Name' and 'Surname'.

d. Removing redundant data ensures data integrity. If data has been duplicated then it is more work to change. E.g. if address needed to be changed, it would only need to be fixed once.
Q4. Entity - Teacher; Attribute - FirstName; Relationship - supervises
Q5.
a. Have customers register with usernames and passwords. Once logged in, they could fill out a web-based form. A scripting
language (e.g. PHP) could be used to transfer this data into the database.

b. It is required in order to carry out the customer orders. E.g. they need customer addresses to know where to deliver the goods.

c. Create and display their privacy policy on their website (complying with legislation will cover many customer privacy rights). Provide access to https:// via the SSL protocol.
Q6.
a. The last name field is not a unique identifier. e.g. two people may have the same last name.

b. Phone numbers require formatting that involves brackets and spaces. The text data type allows for this, the numeric type does not.

c. Boolean. 'Paid?' only has two options, yes or no.
(this is a big one - 8 marks!)

Q7. I chose RDBMS.
The database could contain a table named: "Items Available". The fields in this would be:
- Primary Key: "itmID" - Numeric (this is unique for each product, for this reason it can be selected to be the primary key)
- "itmName" - Text
- "itmType" - Text (what type of item is it, e.g. frozen food, dairy, meat, toiletry etc.)
- "itmPrice" - Currency
"itm" precedes each field name to identify that it is an item. This will be useful to avoid confusion when creating calculations and queries.

The supermarket would a table that describes their inventory - "Inventory".
- Primary Key: "invID" - Numeric
- "Store" - Text (the name of the store which it is housed)
- "itmID" - Numeric - this will have a one to many relationship with the records in "Items Available". "Items Available" has one record of it, and it will be located in many stores as listed in the Inventory. This relationship will allow them to easily view the data associated with each item (the name, type etc.)
- "qty" - Numeric (the number of this item in stock at this store)
- "numSold" - Numeric (this would be increased by one everytime a transaction for this item is made - this could be done through an automatic update query).
- "amtEarned" - Currency (a cumulative value of the amount of money earned from this item - again automatically updated through an update query).
All stores use the same table for Inventory, this is so that if an item is out of stock in one store, they can quickly see where else the item is available.

Each store be allocated a table that would contain transaction data. It would be named "STORELOCATION - Transactions".
The fields would be:
- Primary Key: "transID" - Numeric
-"itmID" - Text (this will have a one to one relationship with the records in "STORELOCATION - Inventory")
-"Cost" - Currency

There would be forms for entering data into each table. The transaction table in particular would have to be easy to use, as it would be used at the point of sale.

To support their tactical decisions, the managers could run many queries on the data obtained. They could sort the inventory table by "amtEarned" and see which item (and at which store) is earning them the most money. They could query the "Inventory" table for "numSold" is less than 15 (or another selected number) and see which items are selling poorly. This query could be accompanied by store locations, item types and qty etc. to allow them to see trends in sales and make decisions based on this.

(I ran out of space here, I don't know if I provided enough technical detail. I wasted too much space on unnecessary words. I think reports may have been taken off the study design, that's why I opted not to mention them. Reports are on the study design (in U4O1))
Q8.

a. Unique usernames for each member can identify members. This would require each member to register through a web-based form.

b. Federal Privacy Act 1998 requires that private information cannot be passed onto a third party without consent - publishing the data to the other members would be violating this. She can only use the information for the purpose it was collected i.e. selling cooking equipment. This should be stated in the privacy statement before collection. Data must be safeguarded against misuse - publishing this information would not safeguard the data. However, she would be allowing individuals to see the information she has collected, thus fulfilling their entitlement.  (I need to shorten this - I went out of the lines provided).
(another big question)
Q9.
Privacy Act 1988 requires that organisations take all reasonable steps to protect collected personal data.
The company would need to ensure it's systems are secure. They would need to install an up-to-date operating system, antivirus and firewall. These would need to be kept updated.
They would need to safeguard against unauthorised access (e.g. hackers).
Utilise usernames and passwords and have a user hierarchy (e.g. lower level users cannot access data they do not need)
Keep regular full and incremental backups.
Store these backups in a secure, fireproof location onsite AND offsite.
(I think I covered 8 marks here).
Q10.
a. A physical location is not required, they are free to move around and use different computers (as long as they have an internet connection). They can collaborate as a virtual team using tools provided by the cloud computing service.

b. Access to the service is reliant on internet availability. If they are relying on this for their backups, they will not be able to restore their data if they lose internet access.

c. Disposal will not be carried out because they are running out of hard drive space, data will be disposed when they no longer need the data. This will be when the client has not used their services for a period (e.g. 12 months). If the client does not contact them for 12 months, they can set the data to be deleted. Archiving is not necessary as they do not need to worry about storage space.
Q11.
a. Wiki. Users need the ability to upload their own content (photos). Each brand and store can have their own page - users could comment and discuss here. The wiki would need to be restricted to members only, in order to differentiate between people rather than anonymous.

b. Consistency - each page would need to follow the same formats and conventions. This will make the website coherent and easy to use (users will not need to learn how each page works, as they will all function similarly).
Colour and Contrast - elements need to be differentiated, contrast can allow this.  E.g. the text should be different colour to the background, this will make it easier to read.

c. Offensive language (i.e. swear words) should be banned, this will force a friendlier and more child-friendly (the target audience is mainly under-18s) website. A level of anonymity should be maintained (e.g. no addresses posted), this will help protect the users from danger (such as online predators).
(another big question, 'only' 6 marks though)
Q12.
A query allows the user to search for data that fits their specified criteria. E.g. A borrower searching for books could search for the key word 'The Beatles' in the Topic field to search for books about 'The Beatles'. They could also query their borrowing record for any unpaid fines or overdue books.

A specific search allows a user to search for a single, specific record. For example, if they had their library id number, they could search for this and view their contact details as listed in the database.

A sort allows the user to process the data more efficiently. E.g. if they had a list of overdue fines, they could sort them from largest to smallest, to see which is the most expensive fee they owe.

A filter can exclude data that is not relevant - allowing the user to focus only on the data they need. E.g. if they had a list of books, they could filter out books that were already checked out by someone, leaving them with a list of books that are available for borrowing.

(I think that would be six marks covered, again nearing on the lengthy side - need to keep to really short and concise dot points)

I encourage everyone to type up their answers so we can compare.

Edit: So looking back on these answers, as pointed out, they are a bit dodgy and I would answer these a lot better if I were to redo them. You shouldn't trust any non-VCAA solutions anyway.

[conorp]

Have you had these checked by a teacher? A number of the answers in my opinion are wrong, such as Q1D (What I am up to), where I dont believe you answer is applicable at all.

[MJRomeo81]

Have you had these checked by a teacher? A number of the answers in my opinion are wrong, such as Q1D (What I am up to), where I dont believe you answer is applicable at all.

I agree with your opinion on 1D. The answer would be about saving time for the user (convenience), etc.

You could also mention how some users may feel more comfortable in using such a service rather than going to your local GP. i.e. if you have an embarrassing medical condition.

[Lasercookie]

Have you had these checked by a teacher? A number of the answers in my opinion are wrong, such as Q1D (What I am up to), where I dont believe you answer is applicable at all.

No, I haven't had these checked (hence why I posted here). Thanks for responding, I was hoping somebody would point out my errors. I agree, there are a lot of answers that are a bit dodgy and I would probably answer them differently when I go through the questions again.

Actually, the way I approach most of these questions has significantly changed since I did these questions. This was the first exam I did, so my exam technique was quite poor and it shows :/

If your answers are typed up, feel free to post them.

[abzzzz]

can someone PLEASE answer question 7 by using SS?

[conorp]

Dont really understand Q 3D, how does normalisation ensure data integrity?

[conorp]

Also, I interpreted Q 5B as the company collecting data to determine trends

[MJRomeo81]

Also, I interpreted Q 5B as the company collecting data to determine trends

Me too. Although I think laseredd's answer is acceptable as well.

Dont really understand Q 3D, how does normalisation ensure data integrity?

From Mark Kelly's website: "Normalisation is the process where tables are created and relationships set up between them so data repetition is removed and powerful data lookups are made possible."

http://vceit.com/slideshows/Database-Normalisation.ppt

http://vceit.com/slideshows/database-normalisation-forms.ppt

http://vceit.com/slideshows/database-normalisation-example.ppt

[Lasercookie]

can someone PLEASE answer question 7 by using SS?

I'll give it a shot sometime later this weekend. You'd be talking about 'what-if' analysis, producing charts, macros, validation, easy calculations etc.

On another note, I found this: a set of answers by a teacher. It's nothing official, room for disagreement, but better than nothing I guess. http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/itapps/2011-September/007870.html

Actual attachment file: http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/itapps/attachments/20110920/cf800ed4/attachment-0001.bin (save it as a .docx file)

Interestingly, that lady also wrote about accuracy. However she justified it better with the context of the question (entering personal data accurately means more likely to be an accurate diagnosis). What MJRomeo suggested sounds to be a better answer to me though (saves time and the privacy thing).

The teacher also answered using spreadsheets, I guess you could refer to that abzzzz

Dont really understand Q 3D, how does normalisation ensure data integrity?

When you normalise a database, you rearrange it to remove redundant fields and such. You know how when you get rid of repeating fields (e.g. you create a table for phone numbers). This means that you can cater for the fact that a customer may  have more than one phone number, otherwise you'd be limiting the data.

You could also talk about how you move around data that's repeated more than once (e.g. you don't keep repeating the customer name in a sales transaction table, you put customer data into a separate table). This is done so if that piece of data changes (say their address), you only have to update it once. If the data appeared more than once, you'd need to change/enter it more than once.

Also, I interpreted Q 5B as the company collecting data to determine trends

The question clearly indicates that an order is being undertaken. The "order form" requires and "delivery address". They can only collect and store data for the relevant purpose and "delivery" is something that clearly indicates that an order is being made. Hence why I answered with they need it to make the order.

But yeah, I guess that's another reason why a company would collect data. I doubt/hope they wouldn't penalise either interpretation, as they're both correct really. You'd expect a lot of companies would keep stuff like that (and outline that they intend do this in their privacy policy) and use it for trends.

Trends might be borderline irrelevant though I guess, as the question explicitly states that it's an "order form". Another reason to complain about the lack of official answers We don't know how broad an answer VCAA will accept.

I'd say that my answer  is a safer answer if VCAA decides to be uptight. Let us hope that they're not that uptight - trends should be a valid answer.

Edit: didn't want to double post, but:

(I ran out of space here, I don't know if I provided enough technical detail. I wasted too much space on unnecessary words. I think reports may have been taken off the study design, that's why I opted not to mention them.)

On the topic of reports for databases, they are on the study design. However, they were taken off the Unit 3 Outcome 2, but they are apart of Unit 4 Outcome 1. This was my source of confusion when I wrote up these answers and reports is definitely something I now mention on these type of questions.

[Lasercookie]

can someone PLEASE answer question 7 by using SS?

Oh oops, forgot to answer the question during the weekend :/ Sorry about that.

Q7. Victorian sales managers who make tactical decisions about the range and quantity of supermarket products
need information about items that are not selling well in some suburbs. Describe how the use of either a spreadsheet (SS) or a relational database management system (RDBMS) could be used to create a solution for the sales managers that effectively identifies poor selling items and the suburbs. Your answer should consider specific functions, formats and conventions.

Each branch could have it's own worksheet. Each worksheet would contain inventory and sales data for that particular branch. For consistency, a naming convention would be used for each worksheet: "[suburb] Inventory/Sales". Conditional formatting could be used to identify poor selling items. Spreadsheets allow calculations to be carried out easily. The =TOTAL() function could calculate the total income generated by each branch. Combined with other formulas, data could be used to create charts could be produced for the most successful and most unsuccessful suburbs. This data that produces the charts can be edited by the managers. All other cells that do not need data inserted can be protected, to avoid accidental damage to the spreadsheet. Cells can be temporarily unprotected with the password. This effectively allows the spreadsheet to be used for 'what-if analysis', allowing the managers to see how certain decisions may affect the organisation in the bigger picture. A macro could be provided to restore all these editable fields to their original formulas - giving the managers more freedom in their manipulation of the data.

So yeah, that does just fit into the lines if you are wondering. I talked about: worksheets, naming conventions, conditional formatting, formulas, charts, cell protection, what-if analysis and macros. I hope that would cover all 8 points. Perhaps it could be improved a bit to have more relevance, but the space given is rather tight. I opt for sentences, as dot points you tend to waste a bit of space. You can't have a dot point on one line, and then start a dot point on the same line - but you can with sentences.

Overuse of the word 'could' also annoys me about my answer.

[abzzzz]

Would you also be able to talk about Validation and how worksheets can be linked?
Would sufficient dot points be legible for 8marks?

Wow dude, you're always there to help, thanks man

[Lasercookie]

Would you also be able to talk about Validation and how worksheets can be linked?
Would sufficient dot points be legible for 8marks?

Wow dude, you're always there to help, thanks man

yeah there is a whole stack of stuff you could discuss. That VCAA functions list may also give you a few ideas.

As far as I know, dot points are fine.

[observer7]

what about 1b?

[observer7]

for 11a) - I would be inclined to suggest a forum. This is because they are going to be primarily discussing the topic of shoes so to speak (lol). They also want to be able to upload pictures of them wearing the shoes which can be done one their forum profile page as well as included in the forum.

However I think if you justify why, they won't mark you wrong as long as it is a reasonable justification as to why it will work.

[MJRomeo81]

However I think if you justify why, they won't mark you wrong as long as it is a reasonable justification as to why it will work.

Yep. This is the trick in ITA. You will rarely lose marks based on an opinion. It is all about the justification that earns you marks.