Posted: April 30th, 2023

TMA 01
Tutor-marked assignment TMA 01
Cut-off date for TMA 01: 12 noon 4 May 2023.
This module requires all assignments to be submitted electronically. To submit an assignment,
please follow the link(s) from your StudentHome page to the online TMA/EMA service.
If you foresee any difficulty with submitting your assignment on time, you should contact your tutor
well in advance of the cut-off date.
Help with assignment questions
You should read the TM112 Assessment guide in the Assessment section of the TM112
website before answering the questions here.
If you need further guidance on any assignment questions, ask your tutor, who will be happy to
help. Do not discuss TMA questions on the forums.
Your TMA answers must be your own work. The University takes copying answers from
others, collusion with other students and soliciting answers from others very seriously.
Assignments are checked both automatically and by your tutor. Any offences can have grave
consequences, from disallowing a part or the whole of an assessed piece of work to
withholding or withdrawing qualification, credit, or your registration.
Word counts
You must provide a word count for each question or question part where a limit is specified.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 1 of 12
Evidence of Block 1 quiz engagement for this TMA 01
The final question of this TMA asks you for evidence of engagement with the Block 1 quiz.
Read the final question first to make sure you know what will be required.
Question 1 (22 marks)
This question tests your understanding of Block 1 Part 1.
You must show your mathematical working for full marks.
This question is about Block 1 Part 1. You must show all of your working for full marks.
a. A digital system stores the current time as the number of seconds that have passed since 1
January 1980, using a 32-bit unsigned binary representation.
(9 marks)
i. Explain why an unsigned binary representation, rather than a 32-bit signed binary
representation, was chosen in this instance.
ii. Show that the largest number of seconds that can be stored as a 32-bit unsigned binary
representation is 4,294,967,295 seconds.
iii. What is the name given to the problem that would occur should an attempt be made to
store an integer greater than 4,294,967,295 in such a system?
iv. Convert 4,294,967,295 seconds to years (take one year to be 365.25 days). Round your
answer to the nearest tenth of a year.
v. In what year will this digital system encounter the problem you have identified in part iii.?
b. A computer programmer notices that when she adds 0.1 to 0.1 on her computer, the result
is reported as 0.1953125 . However, when she adds 0.125 to 0.125 on the same
computer the result is correctly shown as 0.250 .
10 10
10 10 10
10
i. Explain in one or two sentences why the computer gives an imprecise value for the first
calculation but a precise value for the second calculation.
ii. Find the reported value of 0.195312510 as a percentage of the expected value of 0.210.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 2 of 12
(7 marks)
Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent.
iii. Show that 1 × 2 can be used to represent 0.125 -3 10
c. A car has three controls, an accelerator (A), a brake (B) and a Cruise control (C). An
embedded system is to be developed to activate a warning light, as follows:
If the brake control and the accelerator control are used together the warning light should
be red. The warning light should also be red if the accelerator control is used whilst the
cruise control is activated. In all other cases the warning light is green.
i. Complete this truth table where a 1 in the result column indicates that the warning light is
red, and a 0 indicates that the warning light is green.
Key: 1 = Control used, 0 = Control not used
Table 1
A B C Result
(Red warning light = 1)
(Green warning light = 0)
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 3 of 12
A different warning system is to be used for controls D, E and F. Table 2 shows a truth
table indicating whether a red light or a green light should be activated for this new
warning system:
(6 marks)
Table 2
D E F Result
(Red warning light = 1)
(Green warning light = 0)
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 1 1 0
ii. Using the method shown in Section 1.3.2, write a logic expression using D, E and F, that
could be used to build a logic circuit for the truth table in Table 2.
Question 2 (25 marks)
This question tests your understanding of Block 1 Part 2.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 4 of 12
A frieze pattern is a decoration made from repeated copies of a basic element, arranged in a row.
Figure 1 shows an 11 century example from Iran.
Figure 1 Example friezes
In the remainder of this question, you will design and implement a program to draw the particular
frieze shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 The frieze pattern for this question
th
a. Provide a top-level decomposition of the problem of drawing a frieze pattern, assuming for the
moment that the basic element is repeated just 4 times.
At this stage you are not trying to produce a solution, just break the problem itself down into
smaller parts. We are looking for a “bird’s eye view” that could apply to a frieze composed of
any basic element, and for now you should just assume that the exact form of the basic
element will be considered later, so you can just say “draw basic element” for that step.
Your initial decomposition should use exactly one loop.
(4 marks)
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 5 of 12
In this frieze the length of each of the six “spokes” of the basic element is 50 and the angle
between the spokes is 36º. Each repeat is 125 units to the right of the previous one, as
measured from the centre of one basic element to the centre of the next (where the centre is
the point where the spokes of a basic element meet).
b. Next refine your decomposition, adding more detail so that it becomes an algorithm. This is not
yet a program, so you should write the steps in English rather than as Python statements. To
draw the basic unit of the frieze you will need to use a second loop.
(8 marks)
c. Translate your algorithm into Python, including appropriate comments. Name your Python file
Q2_OUCU_c.py, where ‘OUCU’ is your OU computer username, e.g. abc123. Run your
program to test it produces an output corresponding to Figure 2.
Paste your Python code into your solution document as text, using an evenly-spaced font such
as Courier New or Consolas, and state whether it produced the expected output.
Also include the code file in your TMA zip file.
Your answer must be a translation of your algorithm from (b), otherwise marks will be
lost.
Here and in (d) below you should use only techniques and language features taught in
TM112. If you decide to use techniques or language features not covered in the module,
you must give a justification for this, or marks will be lost.
(11 marks)
d. Save the code file again, this time as Q2_OUCU_d.py. In (c) your code always produces 4
repetitions of the basic element. Now modify your code so that the required number of
repetitions is held in a variable number_of_elements, where number_of_elements is
initialised to 4 in this case but can be initialised to a different value as required.
Run your program using different values of number_of_elements to test that it produces the
expected output.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 6 of 12
(Total 25 marks)
Paste your Python code into your solution document as text, using an evenly-spaced font such
as Courier New or Consolas, and state whether it produced the expected output when you ran
it.
Also include the code file in your TMA zip file.
(2 marks)
Question 3 (25 marks)
You must give a word count for any question with a maximum word limit.
You must show your mathematical working for full marks.
This question tests your understanding of Block 1 Part 3.
a.
(7 marks)
i. Provide a brief definition of what Virtualisation is and why it is important in the context of
cloud computing.
(4 marks)
The maximum word limit for Question 3 (a)(i) is 50 words.
ii. Explain what a Hypervisor is and describe its role in Virtualisation, making it clear where
it sits as a “layer” in a server.
(3 marks)
The maximum word limit for Question 3 (a)(ii) is 50 words.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 7 of 12
The maximum word limit for Question 3(c) is 40. Note that the reference does not count towards this
word count.
(5 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
b. A musician is looking to digitise some of their record collection to create samples for a
soundtrack they are working on. The musician is looking to use a sampling rate of 128 kHz
with each sample 4 bytes (on a single/mono channel).
(13 marks)
i. How many bits are there in each sample?
ii. How many bits per second are processed while the music is being recorded? Express
your answer in scientific notation to 3 significant figures.
iii. The piece of music is 5 and a half minutes long, how many bits are processed in total?
Express your answer in scientific notation to 3 significant figures.
iv. If the sampling rate is decreased to 96 kHz how many bits will be processed using the
same piece of music? Express your answer in scientific notation to 3 significant figures.
v. What is the percentage decrease in the number of bits processed as a result of
decreasing the sampling rate from 128 kHz to 96 kHz? Express your answer to the
nearest percent.
c. This question assesses your ability to research and reference key information about
programming languages.
Over the decades, the programming languages C and C++ have played fundamental roles in
the development of operating systems and software. Identify two similarities and two
differences between these two languages.
Properly reference the source of your information. Use the Cite Them Right version of Ace my homework – Write my essay – Harvard
guidance here: https://www-citethemrightonline-com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/sourcetype?
docid=b-9781350927964&tocid=b-9781350927964-29
Question 4 (23 marks)
This question tests your understanding of Block 1 Part 4.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 8 of 12
A program is required to print out the TM112 result of a student, where the inputs are an average
TMA score, to 1 decimal place, and the integer score on TMA03.
A student fails if either the TMA03 score is below 30 or the average TMA score is below 40.0 (or
both). If the student scores more than 30 on TMA03, they get a distinction if their average TMA
score is at least 85.0 and a pass if their average TMA score is between 40.0 and 84.9 (inclusive).
You can assume that the average TMA score and the score on TMA03 are between 0 and 100
(inclusive). The program should output a string of the form
The student got a xx
Where xx is the grade.
You are given the following test data and an incomplete and error-filled program which you can
download from the assessment page.
Test number Inputs tma03 Average Expected Output
1 29 39.9 The student got a fail
2 30 40.0 The student got a pass
3 31 40.1 The student got a pass
4 29 84.9 The student got a fail
5 30 85.0 The student got a distinction
6 31 85.1 The student got a distinction
# Problem: Determine TM112 result
# Input: average TMA score
# Input: tma03 score
tma03 = 42
average = 73.8
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 9 of 12
if tma03 < 30 or average < 40 :
result = ‘fail’
if tma03 >= 30 and average >= 85 :
result = ‘distinction’
if tma03 >= 30 and average >= 40
result = ‘pass’
print(‘The student got a ‘ result)
a.
i. What type of data is expected for the inputs?
ii. What are the admissible values for the inputs?
Give an explanation for the choice of input values shown in the test table.
(7 marks)
b.
i. What are the syntax errors in this program? Consider no other errors at this point.
ii. Once the syntax errors are corrected, which of the tests in the test table would the
program still fail? Refer to test cases using their Test Number from the first column
of the test data table.
iii. Explain why the code still fails the tests you have identified.
(6 marks)
c.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 10 of 12
(Total 23 marks)
i. The above program is based on the use of Pattern 4.2. Explain why Pattern 4.4 would be
better at expressing the multiple cases.
ii. Using Pattern 4.4, write an algorithm for the corrected version of the program above.
Your algorithm must initialise average and TMA03 to be valid inputs.
(6 marks)
d. This part of the question involves writing Python code. Produce code corresponding to your
algorithm. Get custom essay samples and course-specific study resources via course hero homework for you service – Include comments. Use the test table to check your code works. You do not need to
submit test outputs.
Name your Python file Q4_OUCU.py, where ‘OUCU’ is your OU computer username, e.g.
abc123. The include the code file in your TMA zip file.
Paste your completed Python code into your solution document as text, using an evenlyspaced font such as Courier New or Consolas,
(4 marks)
Question 5 (5 marks)
You must give a word count for any question with a maximum word limit.
a. Get custom essay samples and course-specific study resources via course hero homework for you service – Include a screenshot showing an overview of all the Block 1 quiz questions you engaged with.
You must follow the instructions in the TM112 Assessment guide on including a screenshot of
the quiz questions.
(2 marks)
b. Ace my homework – Write a few sentences in which you tell your tutor about your experience of the quiz. For
instance, you may have found some Block 1 quiz questions particularly interesting or
challenging. In that case, tell your tutor why you found these questions challenging or
interesting.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 11 of 12
(Total 5 marks)
You can discuss quiz questions and their answers on the Module discussion and Python
help forums. If you have done so, then (in answer to this question) you can also write about
your experience of discussing the quiz questions with fellow students/moderators.
Think of your answer to this question as an opportunity to communicate with your tutor.
The maximum word limit for Question 5(b) is 100 words.
(3 marks)
Acknowledgements
Figure 1: Taken from: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/449618 This file is in the
public domain.
26/04/2023, 06:37
Page 12 of 12

Write My Paper