Scotland Β· SQASyllabus
Computer Science syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Scotland Computer Sciencesyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Computer systems
Module overview β- What are the main parts of a computer's architecture, and what is the environmental impact of using computers?Computer architecture: the role of the processor, memory and the buses that connect them; and the environmental impact of the manufacture, use and disposal of computer systems.10 min answer β
- How is data stored and measured in a computer system?Data representation in a computer system: storing positive integers, real numbers and characters in binary, and the units used to measure storage from the bit upwards.10 min answer β
- What are the main security risks to a computer system, how do we guard against them, and what does the law say?Security risks and precautions: common threats to a computer system, the precautions of encryption, passwords and biometrics, and the legal protection of the Computer Misuse Act.10 min answer β
Database design and development
Module overview β- How do we analyse the requirements for a database and design its tables, fields and validation?Database analysis and design: identifying end-user and functional requirements, designing tables with fields and appropriate field types, and choosing primary and foreign keys and validation.10 min answer β
- How do we use SQL to search, sort, add, change and delete data in a database?SQL implementation: searching and sorting with SELECT, FROM, WHERE and ORDER BY, and changing data with INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE, then testing and evaluating the database.11 min answer β
Software design and development
Module overview β- How do developers work out exactly what a program must do before writing it?Analysis: identifying the purpose, scope and boundaries of a problem and writing functional requirements in terms of inputs, processes and outputs.9 min answer β
- What building blocks do we combine in a high-level language to make a program work?Computational constructs: assignment, arithmetic, comparison and logical operators, concatenation, predefined functions, and the control structures of selection and iteration (fixed and conditional).11 min answer β
- What data types and data structures does a National 5 program use, and when is each one chosen?Data types and structures: variables holding character, string, numeric (integer and real) and Boolean values, and the 1-D array as a structure for holding many values of the same type under one name.10 min answer β
- How do developers plan a program and its user interface before coding?Design techniques: representing a program design with structure diagrams, flowcharts and pseudocode, and designing the user interface with a wireframe.10 min answer β
- What are the stages of the software development process and what happens at each one?The iterative software development process: analysis, design, implementation, testing, documentation and evaluation, and why the process is iterative rather than strictly linear.9 min answer β
- How are numbers, text and graphics stored using only binary digits?Low-level operations and data representation: representing positive integers in binary, characters using a code such as ASCII, real numbers using floating point (mantissa and exponent), and graphics as bit-mapped or vector data.11 min answer β
- What standard algorithms must a National 5 programmer know how to design and code?Standard algorithms: input validation, running total within a loop, and traversing a 1-D array, each as a reusable pattern built from selection and iteration.10 min answer β
- How do we test a program and judge whether it is any good?Testing with normal, extreme and exceptional test data; the three kinds of error (syntax, execution and logic); and evaluating software for fitness for purpose, efficiency, robustness and readability.10 min answer β
Web design and development
Module overview β- How do we analyse the requirements for a website and design its structure and pages?Web analysis and design: identifying end-user and functional requirements, and designing the structure and page layouts of a website using a wireframe and a navigation structure.9 min answer β
- How do HTML and CSS build the content and appearance of a web page?HTML and CSS: building page content and hyperlinks with HTML elements, and controlling appearance with CSS using element, class and id selectors and common properties.11 min answer β
- How does JavaScript add interactivity, and how are media files used on web pages?JavaScript and media: adding interactivity with event-driven JavaScript (such as onmouseover, onmouseout and onclick), and using media files with appropriate standard file formats and compression, then testing and evaluating the website.10 min answer β