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🚀 Extension Sheets

Cambridge AS & A Level Computer Science 9618 - optional stretch material for the strongest students

Each sheet takes one topic a step beyond the syllabus: the next idea along, a worked example and three challenge questions with full answers on the last page. Nothing here is examined directly, so it is entirely optional. It is aimed at students who already feel secure on the core content and want to deepen their understanding, prepare for university-level study, or simply find out how things really work.

Not sure where to start? Make sure you can complete the topic's keyword sheet from memory first.

AS Level (Topics 1-12)

1 Information RepresentationHuffman coding, Hamming codes, Gray code · PDF ⬇ Download 2 CommunicationLayers and encapsulation, TCP handshake, NAT · PDF ⬇ Download 3 HardwareNAND universality, SRAM vs DRAM cells, SSD internals · PDF ⬇ Download 4 Processor FundamentalsCache and locality, Harvard architecture, Amdahl's law · PDF ⬇ Download 5 System SoftwareSystem calls, booting, linking, containers · PDF ⬇ Download 6 Security, Privacy and Data IntegritySalting and hashing, entropy, integrity vs authenticity · PDF ⬇ Download 7 Ethics and OwnershipEthical frameworks, algorithmic bias, Therac-25 and Horizon · PDF ⬇ Download 8 DatabasesACID, indexing, joins and GROUP BY, NoSQL · PDF ⬇ Download 9 Algorithm Design and Problem-SolvingLoop invariants, growth rates, two-pointer technique · PDF ⬇ Download 10 Data Types and StructuresBinary heaps, amortised cost, choosing structures · PDF ⬇ Download 11 ProgrammingFloating-point traps, overflow, call stack, short-circuiting · PDF ⬇ Download 12 Software DevelopmentVersion control, CI/CD and TDD, technical debt · PDF ⬇ Download

A Level (Topics 13-20)

13 Data RepresentationIEEE 754, rounding error, Bloom filters · PDF ⬇ Download 14 Communication and Internet TechnologiesBGP, TCP congestion control, latency and CDNs · PDF ⬇ Download 15 HardwareFinite state machines, speculative execution, GPUs · PDF ⬇ Download 16 System SoftwareLexing with automata, recursive descent, garbage collection · PDF ⬇ Download 17 SecurityRSA by hand, Diffie–Hellman, post-quantum · PDF ⬇ Download 18 Artificial IntelligenceGradient descent, minimax and alpha-beta, k-nearest neighbours · PDF ⬇ Download 19 Computational Thinking and Problem-SolvingDynamic programming, BFS and DFS, halting problem · PDF ⬇ Download 20 Further ProgrammingComposition, design patterns, race conditions, functional style · PDF ⬇ Download