← Computer Science syllabus

EnglandComputer Science

1.5 Legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What laws govern the use of computers and data, and how do copyright and software licensing work?

The legislation relevant to computing: the Data Protection Act, the Computer Misuse Act, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and the principles of copyright and software licensing including open source and proprietary models.
An OCR H446 answer on the legislation relevant to computing: the Data Protection Act, Computer Misuse Act, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and the principles of copyright and software licensing including open source and proprietary models.
13 min answer →

What data structures store collections of data, and how do stacks, queues, linked lists, trees and hash tables differ?

Data structures: arrays, records, tuples and lists, the stack and queue abstract data types and their operations, linked lists, trees and graphs, and hash tables, including how each is used and its advantages.
An OCR H446 answer on data structures: arrays, records, tuples and lists, the stack and queue abstract data types with their operations, linked lists, trees, graphs and hash tables, including how each is used and its advantages and disadvantages.
14 min answer →

What are the primitive data types, and how are characters represented in binary?

Primitive data types (integer, real/float, Boolean, character, string) and how text is represented using character sets such as ASCII and Unicode, including the size and range implications of each type.
An OCR H446 answer on primitive data types and text representation: the integer, real, Boolean, character and string types and their storage, and how characters are represented in binary using character sets such as ASCII and Unicode, with their size and range implications.
13 min answer →

What mathematical tools (sets, logic and quantitative comparison) underpin computer science?

Mathematical skills for computer science: set theory and set operations, the comparison of binary, denary and hexadecimal magnitudes, simple logic propositions, and the use of these tools to reason about data and algorithms.
An OCR H446 answer on the mathematical skills underpinning computer science: set theory and set operations, comparing magnitudes across binary, denary and hexadecimal, simple logic propositions, and applying these tools to reason about data and algorithms.
13 min answer →

What are the moral, ethical, cultural, privacy and environmental impacts of computing?

The moral, social, ethical and cultural impact of computer science, including privacy, the environmental impact of computing, automation and employment, the digital divide, and how to evaluate the ethical issues raised by new technologies.
An OCR H446 answer on the moral, social, ethical and cultural impact of computer science: privacy and surveillance, the environmental impact of computing, automation and employment, the digital divide, and how to evaluate the ethical issues raised by new technologies.
13 min answer →