These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. All places, schools and data are fictional. The rubrics are a suggested Marlbridge rubric, not an official scoring guideline. Answers should be balanced and non-political. No calculator is needed.
Question 1 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which best defines the digital divide?
- (A) The difference between binary and decimal numbers
- (B) Differing access to computing devices and the Internet, based on socioeconomic, geographic or demographic characteristics
- (C) The split of a program into two parts
- (D) The gap between the speed of two computers
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B).
- (A), (C) and (D) are unrelated meanings of “divide”.
Question 2 (multiple choice · foundation)
A rural village has only a slow, unreliable Internet connection, while a nearby city has fast connections. Which characteristic is most directly involved?
- (A) Geographic
- (B) Binary
- (C) Compression
- (D) Syntax
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). Where people live affects the access available.
- (B), (C) and (D) are not characteristics of people or places.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A fictional council moves all applications for housing support online only. Which issue is most directly raised for people with no home Internet?
- (A) Access, because they cannot reach the service
- (B) Lossy compression
- (C) Overflow
- (D) Parallel speedup
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). They cannot reach an essential service.
- (B), (C) and (D) are not related.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
In a fictional village of 400 homes, 100 homes have no Internet connection. What percentage of homes have a connection?
- (A) 25%
- (B) 75%
- (C) 100%
- (D) 300%
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). 400 - 100 = 300 homes have a connection; 300 ÷ 400 = 75%.
- (A) is the percentage without a connection.
- (C) and (D) are not possible shares for a part of the whole.
Question 5 (multiple choice, select two · core)
Which two are actions that can help reduce the digital divide?
- (A) A school lends tablets and Wi-Fi hotspots to students who have none
- (B) A company designs its website to work on slow connections and with screen readers
- (C) A website requires the newest devices to run
- (D) Public services move to online-only without alternatives
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A) and (B).
- (C) and (D) could widen the divide.
Question 6 (multiple choice · core)
A company creates an online survey about a city’s transport and then makes planning decisions based on the answers. Most of the respondents live in the city centre and have fast connections. Which concern is best described?
- (A) Influence: people without good access are not heard, so decisions may overlook them
- (B) The survey will not run faster
- (C) The survey has a syntax error
- (D) The results are lossless
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). The decisions reflect those who could respond online.
- (B), (C) and (D) are unrelated to who is heard.
Question 7 (multiple choice · stretch)
A fictional programme gives every student in a district a free laptop. Months later, many students in one rural area still cannot do online homework. Which explanation is most likely?
- (A) The laptops are lossy.
- (B) The area has no reliable Internet connection, so a device alone does not give access.
- (C) The laptops cannot display text.
- (D) The students have too many connections.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Access has several parts: device, connection, cost and skills.
- (A), (C) and (D) are not plausible explanations.
Question 8 (constructed response · core)
A fictional town of 1,200 households surveyed Internet access: 780 have fast broadband, 300 have mobile data only and 120 have none.
(a) Calculate the percentage of households in each group. (3 points)
(b) The town plans to move all permit applications online. Describe one issue this raises and the group most affected. (2 points)
Answer and explanation
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points).
| Point | Award when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | gives 780 ÷ 1200 = 65% |
| 2 | gives 300 ÷ 1200 = 25% |
| 3 | gives 120 ÷ 1200 = 10% (and the groups add to 100%) |
| 4 | names an issue (equity, access or influence) |
| 5 | identifies the group affected (the households with no Internet, or with mobile data only) and links it to the issue |
Sample response. (a) 65%, 25% and 10%; they add to 100%. (b) Access: the 10% with no Internet cannot submit permits online, so they would need another way or they would be at a disadvantage.
Question 9 (constructed response · core)
A fictional school wants students to complete coursework online. Describe two different actions, by different kinds of actors (an individual, an organisation or a government), that could help students without Internet at home, and explain how each helps. (4 points)
Answer and explanation
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | names a first action by a named kind of actor (for example, the school lends devices; a library offers a quiet room) |
| 2 | explains how it helps (it gives access to a device or connection) |
| 3 | names a second action by a different kind of actor (for example, a government funds a network in the area) |
| 4 | explains how it helps (it addresses a different barrier, the lack of a connection) |
Sample response. The school (an organisation) could lend Wi-Fi hotspots, so students without a connection at home can get online. A government could fund a broadband network in the rural area, which would give households a connection of their own.
Question 10 (constructed response · stretch)
A fictional health service moves appointment booking from telephone to an app only. Older patients and patients in remote areas often cannot use the app.
(a) Explain how equity and influence are affected. (2 points)
(b) Suggest two changes, one by the health service and one by the app’s developers, and say what each addresses. (2 points)
(c) Give one limit that would remain. (1 point)
Answer and explanation
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points).
| Point | Award when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | explains equity: patients without app access have less fair access to appointments |
| 2 | explains influence: their needs may be missing from decisions and design feedback if they are not consulted |
| 3 | suggests a change by the health service (keep a telephone line; offer help at the clinic) and says what it addresses |
| 4 | suggests a change by the developers (large text, simple design, offline mode, support for screen readers) and says what it addresses |
| 5 | gives a limit that remains (the phone line may be slower; patients may not know about alternatives; remote patients may still lack a connection) |
Sample response. (a) Equity: patients without the app cannot book as easily. Influence: if feedback is collected through the app, their views are missed. (b) The service keeps a telephone booking line, which addresses the lack of devices or skills. The developers add large text and a simple design, which helps older users. (c) Remote patients with no phone signal might still struggle to call.
How did you do?
Questions 1 to 7 are multiple choice; 8 to 10 are written. If you lost marks on Question 8, check that you divided by the total number of households. Re-read “Equity, access and influence” in the study guide if needed, then use the checklist.