[Year 12 IT Apps] VITTA ITA exam 2 - my ideas of errata

Mon Oct 15 13:36:41 EST 2007

Hi all.  I could not find errata for VITTA ITA exam 2 on the VITTA site, 
so here are my thoughts.  Take them as you will.  I don't aim to offend.

--

VITTA ITA Practice Exam 2

SECTION A – Multiple-choice

Question 1
Which of the following enables several LANS to connect over a WAN?
Suggested answer: D. Router.

A router protects a LAN from the outside world, but its role is not 
principally to enable communications.  I suspect the best answer would 
be a modem.

Question 3
Which type of backup uses two sets of backup media and backs up the most 
recent changes on the second media?
Suggested answer: B. Differential.

This can’t be right.,  The question is very odd.  Two sets of backup 
media? From http://www.backuptool.com/incremental%20backup.htm...

"three backup modes:
•	Full: All files that match your selection are included into the backup.
•	Incremental: Only those files will be included which have been changed 
since the last backup.
•	Differential: Only those files will be included which have been 
changed since the last FULL backup."

Question 4
The main purpose of validating a solution is to
Suggested answer: C. Ensure that data entered into the computer is 
correct and complete.

No!  Validation ensures data is reasonable, not correct!

Question 5
The manager of Nail Nirvana needs to decide whether one of the nail 
technicians can take holiday leave in
October. What type of decision needs to be made?
Suggested answer: B. Tactical.

I’d argue operational.  It’s a pretty low-level decision, and not aimed 
to accomplish a larger strategic goal.

Question 6
A real estate agency that is closing down would like to sell its client 
database to another agency in order to recoup some of its losses. What 
privacy legislation should influence the real estate agency’s decision?
Suggested answer: A.	Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000.

No. The amendments are no longer part of the laws to be discussed in 
ITA.  Refer to the definition of “Legal obligations” in the study 
design, page 50.

Question 12
Which form of documentation is not usually provided in on-line form?
Suggested answer: B. User manual.

This is strange.  I’ve seen many online user manuals.  And does “online” 
mean “on the internet”, or just “electronic”?  There’s a big difference. 
  If  it’s properly interpreted as “on the internet” then the answer is 
clearly “tool tips” or “context-sensitive” which are not used in a 
website.  I’ve hardly ever seen quick-start guides online.  In fact, 
“user manual” is the worst possible answer of the 4.

Question 20
Two widely used formats for on-screen user documentation are
Suggested answer: A. PDF and Hypertext.

PDF is primarily designed, AFAIK, as a printable format!  It lacks most 
of the distinctive features of documentation that is primarily designed 
to be viewed onscreen, such as animation, hyperlinks, transitions etc.

SECTION B – Short answer Questions

Question 1
Explain how a modem enables users to access the Internet.

Sample answer: A modem modulates digital data it receives from a 
computer into an analog signal so that it can be transported over 
telephone lines. The receiving modem demodulates the analog signal 
received from the telephone line into a digital signal so that the 
receiving computer can receive it. This “translation” of signals is 
required so that communication across the Internet can take place.

A modem is, for most people today, a digital device for ADSL or cable 
internet that has no modulation or demodulation happening!  The question 
should have referred to analogue modems if it wanted this answer.

Question 5
Marvellous Modelling wants to keep a database of its models and intends 
to set up the following fields:

Field 		Data Type
ModelId 	Primary Key

No.  A primary key is not a data type

ModelFirstName 	Text
ModelLastName 	Text
ModelStreetAddress Alphanumeric

Which DBMS offers alphanumeric type? Text type is used for pure text or 
typable characters (i.e. alphanumeric)

ModelPostcode Number
ModelHomePhone Number
ModelMobilePhone Number

Arghhh, no.  Phone numbers should not be stored as numbers.  They 
exclude characters like spaces, parentheses, + for international dialing 
etc.

b. Determine validation rules and validation text for two of the fields.
Field: ModelPostcode
Suggested answer: Validation rule: >=3000 and <=3999

A quibbly 'No': New Melbourne postcodes include numbers in the 8000 range.

Validation text: Please enter a postcode beginning with 3.

Field: ModelHeight

Suggested answer: Validation rule: >=165
Suggested answer: Validation text: Please enter a number greater than or 
equal to 165

A silly rule, if you ask me.  Models MUST be tall nowadays?  Including 
hand models and child models?

Question 11
Adam, an accountant and owner of a growing taxation business is 
concerned about the security of his data as his clientele base expands. 
Currently, Adam and his wife Anna (who is also an accountant) work on 
standalone computers and save their data daily to the hard drive and 
then back up the week’s data on CD every Saturday morning. The CD’s are 
kept in a locked safe in their house. Adam and Anna also have individual
Internet and email access. Adam has a broadband connection while Anna’s 
Internet connection is dial up and ties up the family phone when she is 
using it. Adam has begun advertising for an assistant to help them with
administrative tasks such as producing business correspondence, 
answering the phone, photocopying, etc.

a. Suggest and describe two physical and two logical security measures 
that Adam can employ to protect the data.

Physical security measures

Suggested answer:

• A voice recognition device can be used to authorise users to access 
rooms, equipment or information.

Physical?  Electronic, surely!  And not a very sensible option, if you 
ask me.

• Multiple copies of backup should be made and kept off site. One copy 
is not sufficient if theft or damage occurs in the house.

Backups are not security; certainly not physical security!

• Video surveillance would also be a useful security measure. Video 
cameras capture the activity in the house.

These all seem inappropriate for such a small setup.  What about locked 
doors, barred windows?

c. Identify one software item and one hardware item that will be 
required in setting up the network and explain their role or usefulness 
in the network.

Suggested answer: Software: the most essential software for a network is 
the network operating system. This software controls the traffic on the 
network and defines how the devices connected in the network will 
communicate with each other.

Only if they need a server – which I’d say they would not.

d. Explain how the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000 impacts 
upon Adam’s security and storage measures.

Again, this amendment is not used in ITA.

Question 12
"The organisation Gems & Jewels would like to develop a database to keep 
track of all the different items of jewellery they have in stock. The 
management have written down the tasks which are required to construct
the database and have added the time each is expected to take and which 
tasks cannot begin without others being finished."

The answer is a bit of a mess.
Tasks B and D are 14 weeks in the chart, not 6 as in the data.
This pushes tasks E and I way too far late.
It should look like this:  (see attachment)

b. Which task cannot begin without others being finished?
Suggested answer: J

An unfair question.  I assume the “S” on the end of “others” demands a 
task that has more than one predecessor.  It should say so.  To be fair 
it should ask which task has to wait for more than one other task to 
finish before it can begin.  I bet 99% of kids would be confused and say 
that there are 6 viable tasks.

---

Let me see, that makes about 18c worth.

Any other opinions out there?

-- 
Mark Kelly
Manager - Information Systems
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: 8520 9085
School Phone +613 8520 9000
School Fax +613 95789253
kel AT mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au

Webmaster - http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
IT Lecture notes: http://vceit.com
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You'll know when we are officially a civilised race: our schools have 
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