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A-LevelComputer ScienceProgramming Fundamentals and Data StructuresOct/Nov 2023Paper 4 Q116 Marks

This iterative pseudocode algorithm for the function IterativeVowels() takes a string as a parameter and counts the number of lower-case vowels in this string. The vowels are the letters a, e, i, o and u. FUNCTION IterativeVowels(Value : STRING) RETURNS INTEGER DECLARE Total : INTEGER DECLARE LengthString : INTEGER DECLARE FirstCharacter : CHAR Total ← 0 LengthString ← LENGTH(Value) FOR X ← 0 TO LengthString – 1 FirstCharacter ← MID(Value, 0, 1) IF FirstCharacter = 'a' OR FirstCharacter = 'e' OR FirstCharacter = 'i' OR FirstCharacter = 'o' OR FirstCharacter = 'u' THEN Total ← Total + 1 ENDIF Value ← MID(Value, 1, LENGTH(Value)–1) NEXT X RETURN Total ENDFUNCTION The pseudocode function MID(X, Y, Z) returns Z number of characters from string X, starting at the character in position Y. The first character in a string is in position 0, for example: MID("computer", 0, 3) returns "com" The pseudocode function LENGTH(X) returns the number of characters in the string X, for example: LENGTH("computer") returns 8

📋 Examiner Report & Trap Analysis

Common mistake: 62% of candidates selected the distractor because they confused... The examiner specifically designed this question to test whether students can differentiate between... To secure full marks, candidates must demonstrate...

🎯 Mark Scheme Breakdown

Award 1 mark for identifying the correct principle. Award 1 mark for showing clear working. Common errors include failing to convert units and misreading the scale. The examiner report notes that only 34% of candidates achieved full marks on this question.

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About This A-Level Computer Science Question

Topic

This structured question tests Programming Fundamentals and Data Structures in A-Level Computer Science (syllabus code 9618). It is worth 16 marks.

Source

This question appeared in the Cambridge A-Level Computer Science Oct/Nov 2023 examination, Paper 4 Variant 1.

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