Information Technology: IT Applications

The following questions have been taken from the Cambridge Checkpoints 2007
– VCE IT Applications – Potts. (Also check out the online quizzes at
www.cambridge.edu.au/checkpoints)

CHAPTER 2
Networks
Question 2
Caz wishes to connect to the Internet from her home computer. She has
been told she needs to connect a modem to her computer and to the
standard telephone line.

a. What is the function of a modem? Explain in terms of both sending

and receiving information.

b. What part of the computer does the modem physically connect to?

c. Indicate the specification of a modem that would be appropriate.

Question 3

a. An organisation is introducing a network system into their head

office. The hardware that will be installed includes several servers
and routers.
Describe the functions of a server and a router.
Server:
Router:

b. The network backbone is to consist of fibre-optic cable. The cabling

to each network access point will be Cat5 (coaxial) cabling.
Contrast these two types of cabling.

c. Some portable computers will be connected via wireless technology.

What does this entail?

Question 6

What is the function of the following servers in a client-server network?

a. File server

b. Print server

c. Proxy server
Question 10
A bus network uses a single cable, called a backbone, to which all computers and
resources are attached. Why are bus networks considered easy to maintain?

Question 11
Describe the topology of a star network.

Question 14
What advantage does a router have over a bridge when used to connect two
LANs?

Question 18
Why is fibre-optic cable able to be used over larger distances that coaxial cable
or in areas of high electrical interference?

Question 20 [VCAA 2003] = 6 Marks

One possible way to prevent a thief from attempting to steal data/information
from a network is to install a firewall.

a. Describe how a firewall works.

b. Describe on limitation of using a firewall.

Another strategy that can be used to protect data is encryption.

c. Select the email that is most likely to be encrypted and justify why it is
more likely to be encrypted than either of the other two choices.

I. An email message confirming a date and time for a meeting.

II. An email with an attached file asking for bank details.

III. An email containing a user’s login name and password.

Question 21 [VCAA 2003] = 9 Marks

Distance education teachers will no longer be able to hide their bad hair days, as
new satellite technology will enable students to see their teachers online... As
part of a three-year, $17 million project, three School of the Air teaching studios
in NSW (Dubbo, Broken Hill and Port Macquarie) and two distance education
centres in the Northern Territory (Darwin and Alice Springs) will be supplied with
new equipment. Each studio will have computers with large touch screens, video
cameras and satellite broadband infrastructure. Students will have a satellite
dish, a dedicated PC and software in their homes. Once fully operational, they
will be able to see their teachers on their screens as well as hear them … Initially
due to cost and bandwidth limitations, teachers won’t be able to see students,
nor students see other students.
The Age Next p.10 Tuesday, 11 February
2003
 a. What type of network is described in the above article?

b. Explain what is meant by ‘bandwidth limitations’ by referring to the

article.

In the future ‘on an outback situation, a student communicates in real-

time with the teacher and other students via a web cam attached to
the PC. Email replaces the slow and unreliable postal service’.

c. Discuss two benefits of upgrading to a real-time system with email

facilities for students.

Once the network with the web cam has been fully implemented,
students will be surveyed about the success of the change.

d. Prepare two questions for inclusion in the survey. The first question
must focus on identifying any improvements in the efficiency of the
network. The second question must focus on the effectiveness of
the new network.
Efficiency:
Effectiveness:

Question 23 [VCAA 2002] = 4 Marks

Teleticket sells tickets by telephone for various theatres around Melbourne.
Currently, all ticket sales are made by telephone sales assistants and are
recorded manually on an order form. The order for is then passed to the postal
clerk who mails the tickets out to customers. As calls are received, the telephone
sales assistants walk to a diagram of the particular theatre to check which seats
are available. They have employed a consultant who has recommended the
installation of a Local Area Network (LAN).

a. Describe one problem that the telephone sales assistants may experience
with the current procedures.

b. The consultant has recommended that user documentation be provided

only in electronic format. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of
this recommendation.

Advantage:

Disadvantage:

c. What is the best method of evaluating the speed of the new system?

A. Record the number of customer complaints

B. Record equipment breakdowns per day

C. Complete a staff satisfaction survey

 D. Record server start-up times per day

E. Record the number of sales made per day

Question 25 [VCAA 2005] = 6 Marks

Aloha advertising is a small Geelong based company providing services to the
travel industry. Zelda Computing, based in Melbourne, employs 15 staff, all of
whom have a PC linked to a LAN. Zelda is providing Aloha with

• Upgrade hardware – including servers, 20 computers, 5 printers

• Internet and email access

• Network management – to be conducted remotely through a modem and

dial-up connection

• A qualified technician to visit Aloha one morning per week to provide

onsite hardware support.

a. Identify two security issues Aloha should discuss with Zelda Computing.

Issue 1:

Issue 2:

b. Identify two constraints which might prevent the onsite technician from
completing his proposed tasks in the allotted time.

Constraint 1:

Constraint 2:

c. Identify and explain one additional support service that Aloha should get
Zelda Computing to provide.