FSc Part 1 computer science MCQs with answers — 20 for ICS practice.

Who it's for: ICS and FSc Part 1 (first year, Class 11) computer science students in Pakistan, ages 16–17, and their teachers.

These are original practice questions on topics from the first-year computer science syllabus. They are not official board questions or past papers, so check your own board's book for exact wording.

Use them for chapter revision, a weekly class test, or self-practice before the board exam. Every question has one correct answer except question 5, which has two. All twenty fit in one Quizoma quiz.

The 20 first-year computer science MCQs with answers

Correct answers are marked with a tick. The same questions, with the same answers, are in the CSV file, in the same order.

Computer systems

1. Which of these is system software?
   A. A word processor · B. A photo editor · C. A computer game · D. An operating system ✓
2. The CPU is made up of the ALU and what?
   A. The hard disk · B. The monitor · C. The control unit ✓ · D. The keyboard
3. Which memory is volatile?
   A. DVD · B. RAM ✓ · C. ROM · D. Hard disk
4. Cache memory sits between which two parts?
   A. The keyboard and the CPU · B. RAM and the hard disk · C. The monitor and the printer · D. The CPU and main memory ✓
5. Which of these are input devices? (more than one answer)
   A. Microphone ✓ · B. Plotter · C. Scanner ✓ · D. Speaker

Number systems

6. What is the binary number 1111 in decimal?
   A. 16 · B. 1111 · C. 14 · D. 15 ✓
7. Which hexadecimal digit stands for decimal 12?
   A. C ✓ · B. 12 · C. D · D. B
8. What is the base of the octal number system?
   A. 10 · B. 2 · C. 16 · D. 8 ✓
9. In computer memory, one kilobyte (KB) is usually taken as how many bytes?
   A. 2048 · B. 512 · C. 1024 ✓ · D. 1000
10. Why was Unicode created?
    A. To encrypt data · B. To speed up the CPU · C. To compress files · D. To represent the characters of all the world's languages ✓

Networks & data communication

11. Which transmission mode sends data both ways, but only one direction at a time?
    A. Broadcast · B. Simplex · C. Half-duplex ✓ · D. Full-duplex
12. Which transmission medium is fastest?
    A. Fibre-optic cable ✓ · B. Telephone wire · C. Coaxial cable · D. Twisted-pair cable
13. What does HTTP stand for?
    A. Host Transfer Text Process · B. HyperText Transmission Program · C. High Transfer Text Protocol · D. HyperText Transfer Protocol ✓
14. Which device converts digital signals to analogue signals and back?
    A. Switch · B. Modem ✓ · C. Hub · D. Repeater
15. Which set of protocols does the internet use?
    A. JPEG · B. HTML · C. ASCII · D. TCP/IP ✓

Software & databases

16. Which translator converts a whole program into machine code at once?
    A. Compiler ✓ · B. Interpreter · C. Linker · D. Assembler
17. What is a row in a database table also called?
    A. A table · B. A record ✓ · C. A key · D. A field
18. Which field uniquely identifies each record in a table?
    A. A query · B. An index · C. A foreign key · D. The primary key ✓
19. Which spreadsheet formula adds the cells A1 to A5?
    A. SUM A1+A5 · B. =TOTAL(A1,A5) · C. =SUM(A1:A5) ✓ · D. =ADD(A1-A5)
20. What is software whose source code is freely available called?
    A. Shareware · B. Proprietary software · C. Open-source software ✓ · D. Malware

Some wrong options are the usual exam mistakes. Interpreter in question 16 translates one line at a time; Simplex in question 11 only ever sends data one way; and Field in question 17 is a column, not a row. Quizoma's results show the accuracy of every question, so a teacher sees straight away which chapter needs another lesson.

Students can use the same set to revise on their own: import it, switch on Show Score and Retake, and it becomes a practice test they can take until every answer sticks.

How to use this template

1. Download the file: quizoma-template-fsc-part-1-computer-science-mcqs.csv.
2. Open Quizoma Studio in your browser (or the Android app) and choose Import from file.
3. Pick the .csv. Quizoma shows every question for review before anything is saved, so you can fix a wording, drop a question or add your own.
4. Save, then share the 6-character quiz code or QR with your class. Participants answer at quizoma.com/take in any browser.

Timing and points are set on the quiz when you import, not in the file. If you would rather not import at all, you can type the questions into the online quiz maker directly.

What is in the file

One row per question: the question, then the options, then a final correct column holding the number of the right option. Where more than one option is right, the numbers are joined with a |. The first lines look like this:

question,option1,option2,option3,option4,correct
Which of these is system software?,A word processor,A photo editor,A computer game,An operating system,4
What is the binary number 1111 in decimal?,16,1111,14,15,4

Open it in any spreadsheet to edit, and save it as CSV again before importing — an .xlsx file is not read. The same format is described on the templates page.