← GCSE Computer Science

D05 3.3.4 Binary addition (up to three 8-bit numbers)

Currently Secure · last touched 2026-11-01

Overflow sentence (name + lost digit + stored answer wrong) said 2/2 cold once (19 Oct); a second unprompted day still to see. Carries not written on the paper sum: fine while the answer is right.

Every change

WhenChangeEvidenceSession
2026-11-01Developing → Secureadjudicated paper #10 Q10: 3/3, why:stretch, developing → secure — three 8-bit numbers added in columns, correct, unaided, 2 min, inside a timed section. Second independent occasion at the secure bar: 16 Oct handwritten two-number sum with carries 1/1 unaided. Overflow sentence 2/2 cold on 19 Oct. One level.standalone
2026-10-21Developing → Developingpaper #10 Q10: 3/3, loss=none — three 8-bit numbers added in columns, correct, 2 minsession 127
2026-10-20Developing → Developing19 Oct cold, first item, typed: extra digit is lost and the stored answer is too small. Name, mechanism and effect in one unaided sentence, 2/2 (16 Oct 1/2). With the 16 Oct handwritten sum, proposed secure for adjudication.session 117
2026-10-16Developing → DevelopingCorrection to the 16 Oct line: the status is developing, not secure - 'stays secure' there should read 'stays developing'. The handwritten sum (1/1 unaided) is the first of the two unaided occasions secure needs; the overflow sentence at 1/2 is the other half still owed.standalone
2026-10-16Developing → DevelopingSession 114, 16 Oct, by hand in pen, photo 13:16 (set 13:12, agreed 13:19): 10110111 + 01101101 -> 00100100 with carry marks, eight bits right, unaided - the sum owed since 2 Oct is done. Overflow: open -> 'an error and it won't compute' (0/2); 'right or wrong' -> wrong; 'kept or lost' -> 'it gets lost'; own sentence 'called overflow... extra diget and the diget gets lost' 1/2, effect on the answer not added when invited. Sum at the bar; sentence not. Stays secure. Retrieval: retry.standalone
2026-10-01Developing → Developing1 Oct starter, no notes: 01101110 + 00110111 → 10100101, six carries named by column (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64), checked as 165 in decimal unprompted. 1/1 unaided, typed; asked to work on paper, no photo seen. Overflow sentence not asked.session 61
2026-09-29Not started → DevelopingCorrection (parent rule, 29 Sep): a topic taught and answered cannot stay notstarted — right → developing, wrong → gap. Session 58, 29 Sep: binary addition taught, carry rule in her own words; 45+22 → 01000011 and 103+93 → 11000100 with all seven carries named, 2/2 unaided. notstarted → developing, one level.standalone
2026-09-29Not started → Not started29 Sep: four addition rules taught; carry explained in her own words; 45+22 → 01000011 alone (no carry row shown), 103+93 → 11000100 with all seven carries named alone, 2/2. Overflow: named the idea ('the max number we can put'), term supplied by the tutor. Proposed developing; not moved — two items only, no independent exit item and overflow not yet produced by her.session 58
2026-09-28Not started → Not startedPlacement Q6: 7 min of focus then 'skip' on 8-bit binary addition. 0/2, 28 Sep. Untaught.session 53

In papers

AttemptPaperQMarksNote
Exam practice — week 43 · lang, lit, cs — GCSE Computer Science sectionexam-skills #10103/310011110 — correct. Column addition set out, carries not written. Stretch item done in 2 min.
Placement — Computer Science paper 2 (theory) — GCSE Computer Science sectionexam-skills #260/2skip after 7 min of focus — tried binary addition. 0/2. D05 untaught.

Materials

PILOT 16 Oct (Dad): run the Friday quiz block on paper from one sheet
Run session 108 unchanged. Two cold items in chat first. Then ONE sheet message: the sum 10110111 + 01101101, a 5-line count loop (count=1; total=0; while count<=4: total+=count*2; count+=1; print total), headings count/total/output; no grid, no row labels. She rules her own grids on A4, draws where the last carry goes, writes the overflow sentence. Checkpoints only: photo of sum + sentence; typed 01011010, say nothing about working; photo of trace table; log. Evidence: grids unaided, messages.
other
Craig'n'Dave: Adding three 8-bit binary integers
Including overflow. Require the carries written out, not mental arithmetic.
video
Teach-ICT: Binary
Binary addition and overflow.
notes
PMT: Fundamentals of Data Representation (notes and questions)
Free, no login. Retrieval layer after teaching.
practice
AQA 8525 specification v1.3 (first teaching Sept 2025, exams June 2027 onwards)
THE document to teach to. Sections 3.1–3.8 are the syllabus; the right-hand 'additional information' column gives the depth limits. Verified 5 Sep 2026.
notes
AQA Summary of changes (8525), June 2025 — what was removed for 2027
Removed: Von Neumann as a named model, optical storage, LAN topologies, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, UDP, FTP, alternative link-layer names. Void these questions on any 2022–2026 paper.
notes
AQA 8525 overview page (specs, teaching guides, sample papers)
Stable entry point if any file link below dies. Lists both spec versions and the 2027 sample materials.
other
AQA subject-specific vocabulary (first exam 2027)
The terminology examiners expect. Use for retrieval starters and to check definitions in written answers.
notes
AQA Notes and guidance: Pseudo-code (8525/1)
Every algorithm in a question paper uses this pseudo-code. She must READ it fluently; she need not write in it.
notes
AQA Notes and guidance: Python (8525/1)
The exact Python style AQA uses in question papers and mark schemes. Use if Python 3 is the chosen language.
notes
AQA Notes and guidance: C# (8525/1)
The exact C# style AQA uses in question papers and mark schemes. Use if C# is the chosen language.
notes
AQA Notes and guidance: VB.NET (8525/1)
The exact VB.NET style AQA uses in question papers and mark schemes. Use if VB.NET is the chosen language.
notes
AQA Notes and guidance: 8525/1 Marking guidance (coded solutions)
FOR THE MARKER. AQA's examiner rulebook: logic over syntax, indentation rules per language, design marks, meaningful variable names, typing rules, records. Read before marking any code question. Verified 5 Sep 2026.
notes
Specimen Paper 1 (Python) 8525B/1 — sample assessment materials
Official specimen, 90 marks, 2h. Paper 1 content unchanged for 2027, so fully usable. Handwrite the code answers.
paper
Specimen Paper 1 (VB.NET) 8525C/1 — sample assessment materials
VB.NET variant of the same specimen. The C# variant (8525A/1) is on the AQA assessment-resources page.
paper
Specimen Paper 1 mark scheme (all three languages) 8525/1
Mark against the section for her language only. Shows the 'Mark A/B/C' feature-marking and 'max N if any errors' caps.
paper
Sample Paper 2 question paper — Sample set 1 (first exam 2027) 8525/2
The ONLY official Paper 2 on the 2027 content. Use as the first full Paper 2 mock. 90 marks, 1h45.
paper
Sample Paper 2 mark scheme — Sample set 1 (first exam 2027) 8525/2
Contains the level-of-response band descriptors and flags the Von Neumann question as no longer asked from 2027.
paper
June 2023 Paper 2 question paper 8525/2 (legacy spec)
LEGACY: void any question on Von Neumann, optical storage, topologies, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, UDP, FTP and reduce the maximum before marking.
paper
June 2023 Paper 1 (VB.NET) question paper 8525/1C (legacy spec)
Paper 1 is unaffected by the 2027 changes. The 1A (C#) and 1B (Python) variants of the same paper are on the AQA past-paper finder.
paper
June 2023 Paper 1 mark scheme 8525/1 (all languages)
Covers 1A, 1B and 1C. Note the examiner 'I.' (ignore) lists — the compile tolerance in practice.
paper
June 2023 Paper 1 examiner report 8525/1
What real candidates got wrong. Key lines: design marks exist even for wrong code; attempt every coding question; the indentation grids are misused.
notes
June 2022 Paper 1 mark scheme 8525/1 (all languages)
Legacy but Paper 1 content is unchanged. Question paper via the past-paper finder.
paper
AQA past-paper finder (2022–2024 papers, mark schemes, examiner reports, modified papers)
Search 8525. The most recent series (2025, 2026) are login-gated for about a year — ask the exam centre. 2027 is the first series on the new content.
other
AQA 8525 assessment resources page
The file list renders in-browser only. Filter by 'Sample papers' for the C# specimen (8525A/1).
other
AQA GCSE grade boundaries — June 2024 (contains 8525A/B/C rows, out of 180)
Legacy proxy only. The tracker holds the 8525C row. Look up 8525A or 8525B here once the language is chosen. No 2027 boundaries exist until August 2027.
other
AQA GCSE subject grade boundaries — June 2025
Most recent legacy series. Directional only.
other
AQA GCSE exam timetable May/June 2027 (version 1.0)
8525/1A/1B/1C Monday 10 May 2027 am; 8525/2 Wednesday 19 May 2027. Confirm with the centre.
other
AQA private candidates page
PARENT: the centre must sign the Practical Programming Statement (spec 5.1) and declare the Paper 1 language at entry. Confirm both in writing early.
other