ASSEB HS Computer Science and Application study plan

Trace the execution of short programs by hand, tracking variable values line by line for at least 15 code snippets covering loops, conditionals, and nested control flow.

Write, compile, and debug 10 small programs from scratch in one chosen language, deliberately triggering and then fixing at least one off-by-one and one type error per program.

Decompose 8 word problems into input, process, and output, then express each solution as pseudocode before coding it.

Build a personal syntax cheat sheet covering variable declaration, iteration, functions, and parameter passing, and verify every entry by running the code.

Implement linear search, binary search, bubble sort, insertion sort, and merge sort from memory without reference material, then compare their behaviour on the same input list.

Derive the time complexity of each implemented algorithm by counting operations and state best, average, and worst cases in a comparison table.

Solve 12 recursion problems by writing the base case and recursive case separately before combining them, including factorial, Fibonacci, and a recursive list reversal.

Explain in writing why binary search requires sorted input and demonstrate the failure mode on unsorted data.

Implement a singly linked list, a stack, and a queue from scratch with insert, delete, and traverse operations, and test each with edge cases such as empty and single-element structures.

Convert between array-based and linked implementations of a stack, and write a short note on the trade-offs in memory and access time.

Trace a binary search tree insertion and deletion sequence of 12 values by hand, then verify the result against your own implementation.

Apply a stack to solve bracket matching and apply a queue to simulate a round-robin scheduler, documenting the algorithm for each.

Convert numbers between binary, denary, and hexadecimal by hand for 20 values, including negative numbers in two's complement.

Perform binary addition and subtraction on 8-bit values and identify overflow conditions in at least 5 cases.

Draw the fetch-decode-execute cycle and label the roles of the program counter, accumulator, and memory address register during a short instruction sequence.

Construct truth tables for AND, OR, NOT, NAND, and XOR, then derive and simplify a Boolean expression for a stated logic problem.

Describe the function of cache, RAM, ROM, and secondary storage and rank them by speed and volatility in a written comparison.

Compare von Neumann and Harvard architectures in a written paragraph naming at least three concrete differences and one consequence of each.

Explain how characters, images, and sound are represented digitally, giving bit-depth and resolution effects on file size for each.

Describe the TCP/IP layer model and place HTTP, TCP, IP, and Ethernet at their correct layers.

Calculate the number of addresses in a subnet given a prefix length, and work through 5 subnetting examples by hand.

Distinguish circuit switching from packet switching and list two advantages of each.

Write SQL queries using SELECT, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY, and HAVING against a small schema you design yourself, covering at least 10 queries of increasing difficulty.

Design a normalised database schema for a stated scenario and justify each table's primary key and foreign keys in writing.

Explain the difference between a primary key, candidate key, and foreign key with one example of each from your own schema.

Describe how DNS resolution and HTTPS work step by step, from typing a URL to the page rendering.

Identify three network security risks such as packet sniffing or man-in-the-middle attacks and state one mitigation for each.

Compare waterfall, iterative, and agile development models in a table of at least four criteria including risk handling and customer involvement.

Produce a requirements specification for a small system with 5 functional and 3 non-functional requirements, each testable.

Write test cases covering normal, boundary, and erroneous inputs for one function, and execute them.

Classify five given security threats as phishing, malware, SQL injection, or denial of service, and state a defence for each.

Summarise two legal or ethical issues in computing, such as data protection or software licensing, with a concrete example of each.

Complete two full timed mock papers under exam conditions and record your score per domain.

Review every missed question and write a corrected explanation for each, referencing the underlying concept.

Re-implement one data structure and one sorting algorithm from memory to confirm retention.

Rehearse the 20 number conversions and 5 subnetting calculations until each takes under two minutes.