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NSW Education Standards Authority

Higher School Certificate Examination

Software Engineering

General Instructions

  • Reading time – 10 minutes
  • Working time – 2 hours 20 minutes
  • Write using black pen only
  • Total marks – 80

Section I: 20 marks

Attempt Questions 1–10

Section II: 60 marks

Attempt Questions 11–16

Section I — 20 marks
Attempt Questions 1–10
Allow about 25 minutes for this section

Use the answer sheet provided. Choose the alternative A, B, C or D that best completes the statement or answers the question.

2 marks

1 Which programming construct is demonstrated in the following pseudocode?

WHILE temperature > 25 turn_on_air_conditioning() read_temperature() END WHILE
(A) Sequence
(B) Selection
(C) Iteration
(D) Function
2 marks

2 In object-oriented programming, encapsulation refers to

(A) creating multiple instances of a class
(B) bundling data and methods together in a class
(C) inheriting properties from a parent class
(D) overriding methods in subclasses
2 marks

3 Which SQL statement correctly creates a foreign key relationship?

(A) PRIMARY KEY (student_id)
(B) FOREIGN KEY (course_id) REFERENCES courses(course_id)
(C) UNIQUE (email)
(D) CHECK (age > 0)
2 marks

4 The primary security benefit of HTTPS is

(A) faster website loading
(B) encryption of data transmission
(C) file compression
(D) automatic caching
2 marks

5 In a mechatronic system, the role of a sensor is to

(A) process data and make decisions
(B) detect physical properties and provide input
(C) create physical movement
(D) store program instructions
2 marks

6 Which development methodology is characterised by sequential phases that must be completed before moving to the next?

(A) Agile
(B) Scrum
(C) Waterfall
(D) Kanban
2 marks

7 SQL injection attacks can be prevented by

(A) using longer passwords
(B) parameterised queries
(C) encryption of all data
(D) regular software updates
2 marks

8 In Continuous Integration (CI), code changes are

(A) manually reviewed monthly
(B) automatically built and tested frequently
(C) deployed immediately to production
(D) stored without testing
2 marks

9 A closed-loop control system differs from an open-loop system because it

(A) uses cheaper components
(B) operates faster
(C) uses feedback to adjust performance
(D) requires less programming
2 marks

10 Linear regression in machine learning is used to

(A) classify data into categories
(B) predict continuous numerical values
(C) compress large datasets
(D) encrypt sensitive information
Section II — 60 marks
Attempt Questions 11–16
Allow about 115 minutes for this section
8 marks

Question 11

A school library is developing a digital system to manage book loans.

(a) Draw a context diagram for the Library Management System showing at least FOUR external entities and their data flows with the system. (5 marks)

Draw your context diagram here

(b) Explain the purpose of system boundaries in context diagrams. (3 marks)

10 marks

Question 12

Consider this Python code for a smart home system:

class Device: def __init__(self, name, location): self.name = name self.location = location self.is_on = False def turn_on(self): self.is_on = True class Light(Device): def __init__(self, name, location, brightness=100): super().__init__(name, location) self.brightness = brightness def dim(self, level): if 0 <= level <= 100: self.brightness = level

(a) Identify and explain TWO object-oriented programming concepts demonstrated in this code. (6 marks)

(b) Write Python code to create a Fan class that inherits from Device and includes a set_speed(speed) method that validates speed is between 1 and 5. (4 marks)

12 marks

Question 13

A university wants to create a database to manage student enrollments.

(a) Design an Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) showing the relationships between Student, Course, and Enrollment entities. Include appropriate attributes and relationship cardinalities. (6 marks)

Draw your ERD here

(b) Write SQL CREATE TABLE statements for the Student and Enrollment tables with appropriate primary keys, foreign keys, and constraints. (6 marks)

15 marks

Question 14

A company is developing a web-based student portal that handles sensitive academic records.

(a) Explain the difference between authentication and authorisation in the context of this portal. Provide ONE example of each. (6 marks)

(b) Identify and explain TWO security vulnerabilities that could affect this web portal and describe how each can be prevented. (6 marks)

(c) Justify why HTTPS should be used for this portal rather than HTTP. (3 marks)

10 marks

Question 15

A software development team is implementing a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline for their school management application.

(a) Describe FOUR stages that should be included in their CI/CD pipeline and explain the purpose of each stage. (8 marks)

(b) Compare the benefits of automated testing versus manual testing in this context. (2 marks)

15 marks

Question 16

An agricultural company is developing an automated greenhouse monitoring system that controls temperature, humidity, and watering based on sensor readings.

(a) Explain why this system should use closed-loop control rather than open-loop control. Include the role of feedback in your explanation. (5 marks)

(b) Identify THREE types of sensors that would be needed for this system and explain what each sensor would monitor. (6 marks)

(c) The company wants to use machine learning to predict optimal watering schedules based on historical data. Explain how linear regression could be applied to this problem, including what the input and output variables might be. (4 marks)

End of examination

ANSWER SHEET - SECTION I

Mark your answers clearly with a cross (X) in the appropriate box

Question A B C D
1
2
3
4
5
Question A B C D
6
7
8
9
10