IC2 theory mock exam — first midterm, second midterm or the full exam, with your real mark and a review of every mistake (as if you were in the exam room)
You know your networks and operating systems theory, but would you finish in the 30 minutes the exam gives you? Not sure whether to answer a question you half know or leave it blank? This mock exam is for exactly that. It reproduces the theory exam of Computer Engineering II (IC2): same parts, same time, same split of marks and same penalty. When you hand it in, you get your mark out of 10, the topics where you lost marks and a link to each topic’s article so you can review it.
You can sit it as the first midterm (networks and an introduction to operating systems), the second midterm (processes, memory and files) or the full exam (the whole syllabus, regular or resit sitting). Every attempt is different, because the questions are picked at random from the quizzes of the 11 topics. Below the mock exam I explain what the real exam is like, how it is marked and how to split your time.
Table of Contents
Take the mock exam
Choose the mode, read what it covers and press Start the mock exam. From then on, the clock is running. While you work there are no explanations and no check button: just like in the exam room, you only see what you got right when you hand it in.
The mock exam needs JavaScript. In the meantime, practice with each topic's quiz (the «What each mode covers» table, below).
The first time, do it with the timer on screen and no notes. If you want to practice without pressure, switch the clock off before you start, but don’t get used to it: there are no pauses on exam day.
Nothing is saved or sent. Everything happens in your browser: if you reload the page, the attempt is lost. Before closing it, download it as a PDF if you want to keep it.
What the IC2 theory exam is like
IC2 theory is assessed with a short test and one or two longer exercises. You can pass it through midterms, which free you from those topics (with a 5 in a midterm, its topics no longer count in the final), or sit the full exam in one go, in the regular or the resit sitting. This is what each mode includes:
| Mode | Topics | Time | Questions | What always comes up | Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First midterm | T1-T3: networks and intro to operating systems | 30 min | about 20-22 | One open question with two parts: 5 marks | 5 marks |
| Second midterm | T4-T6: processes, memory and files | 30 min | about 20-22 | One scheduling Gantt chart: 2.5 marks | 7.5 marks |
| Full exam | T1-T6: everything | 30-35 min | about 20-22 | Open question (almost always TCP/IP vs OSI + another part): 2.5 · Gantt: 2.5 | 5 marks |
The mock exam uses 21 questions in all three modes, and the exercises that always come up count towards those 21. In the first midterm, for example, the open question takes two slots (its two parts), which leaves 19 test questions sharing the other 5 marks. The full exam gets 35 minutes, the most the real exam allows.
Look at the chart before deciding how to study. In the first midterm, a good open answer is worth as much as the whole test: nail it and you are halfway to a pass. In the second, the test weighs three times as much as the Gantt chart.
What each mode covers
The questions come from the published quizzes of each topic. The six blocks of the syllabus (T1-T6) are spread over the 11 articles on the site like this:
| Block | Exercise articles (each with its cheat sheet) | First midterm | Second midterm |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 · Introduction to networks | Introduction to networks | Yes | |
| T2 · Models and IP addressing | OSI and TCP/IP models · IP addressing and subnets | Yes | |
| T3 · The OS and its hardware | What is an operating system · Interrupts and memory hierarchy | Yes | |
| T4 · Processes | Processes and threads · CPU scheduling · Concurrency and synchronization | Yes | |
| T5 · Memory | Memory management · Virtual memory | Yes | |
| T6 · Files | File systems | Yes |
The full exam mixes all six blocks. The split is proportional: a block with more published questions contributes more questions to the mock exam. That is why T4, which brings together three topics, usually takes the biggest share of the second midterm. Within each block the questions are picked at random and never repeat in the same attempt.
The questions are original SergioLearns questions, written from the concepts, formats and difficulty of the exam. They are not copied from real exams. The mock exam trains you in the format and shows you which topics are weak, but it can’t guess what will come up.
How it is marked: the penalty, explained
Each type of question is marked its own way, just like in the exam:
| Type | How it scores | Blank |
|---|---|---|
| Single choice | Right: the question’s value. Wrong: subtracts 1/(n − 1) of its value, where n is the number of options | 0 |
| Multiple choice | (right ticks − wrong ticks) / correct options, never below 0 | 0 |
| True/false, gaps, matching, ordering, short answer | The share of correct parts, nothing subtracted | 0 |
| Open question | You mark yourself: tick what your answer covered from the «what the marker looks for» list | 0 |
| Gantt chart | The share of correct cells (completion, turnaround, waiting…) | 0 |
The numbers make it clearer. In the first midterm the test shares 5 marks between 19 questions: 5 / 19 = 0.263 marks each. A wrong single-choice question with 4 options subtracts a third of that: 0.263 / 3 = 0.088 marks. In the second midterm each test question is worth 7.5 / 20 = 0.375 and a wrong one subtracts 0.125. In the full exam, 5 / 18 = 0.278 and a wrong one subtracts 0.093.
Picture a first midterm with 14 test questions right, 3 single-choice ones wrong and 2 blank: 14 × 0.263 − 3 × 0.088 = 3.684 − 0.263 = 3.42 test marks. If your open question is worth 3.5 out of 5, your mark is 3.42 + 3.5 = 6.92. And the test part never goes below 0, however many you get wrong: the mock exam does it that way so it never eats into your open-question marks.
Should I answer or leave it blank?
It’s the eternal question in an exam with a penalty, and it has a mathematical answer. Subtracting 1/(n − 1) is designed so that a blind guess is worth 0 on average. With 4 options you get it right one time in four (+1) and wrong three times in four (−1/3 each time): 1/4 − 3/4 × 1/3 = 1/4 − 1/4 = 0.
As soon as you can rule out one option, the sum changes: between 3 options, 1/3 − 2/3 × 1/3 = 1/3 − 2/9 = +1/9 of the question’s value. Rule out two and hesitate between the other two: 1/2 − 1/2 × 1/3 = +1/3. In first-midterm marks, that is +0.029 and +0.088 on average for each question like that. It looks small, but over three or four doubtful questions it adds up.
Leaving every question you aren’t sure of blank «because of the penalty». If you can rule out at least one option with a reason, answering pays off on average. What doesn’t pay off is ticking at random without ruling anything out: you gain nothing and add stress.
In multiple-choice questions you don’t need every correct option to score, but each wrong tick cancels a right one. Only tick what you can defend.
The open question: how to mark yourself
In the real exam the lecturer marks the open question. In the mock exam you mark yourself. When you hand in, you see the model answer and the «what the marker looks for» list, with a box next to each point. Tick only the points your answer really covered, with the whole idea (naming them is not enough). Your mark updates straight away: if a part is worth 2.5 and has 5 points, each one is worth 0.5.
- In the first midterm, the exercise has two parts worth 2.5 each: one on networks (T1-T2) and one on operating systems (T3).
- In the full exam, the first part is always the comparison between TCP/IP and OSI (the one that comes up most) and the second is another T1-T3 topic. Each part is worth 1.25.
- Write as you would in the exam: ideas in order, a definition, an example and a comparison. If you struggle to get started, jot down a three-line outline before writing.
Be honest with the boxes. If you give yourself points you didn’t earn, your mock mark goes up, but nobody will give you them on exam day.
The Gantt chart in the second midterm
The second midterm and the full exam always include a scheduling Gantt chart (FCFS, SJF, SRTF or Round Robin) worth 2.5 marks. In the mock exam it is a table with boxes: completion, turnaround, waiting (and response when it applies) for each process, plus the averages. Every box counts the same and you score the share you get right. When you hand in, the solution comes with the chart drawn.
- Draw the Gantt chart on paper before filling anything in: the boxes come straight out of the drawing.
- Turnaround = completion − arrival; waiting = turnaround − burst. If a process doesn’t arrive at t = 0, subtract its arrival: it’s the most expensive slip.
- In Round Robin, write down the queue after every quantum. The thing people forget most is the order when a process arrives just as another one uses up its quantum.
If Gantt charts are your weak spot, first work through the five in CPU scheduling, which are solved step by step.
How to split the 30 minutes
There is no single right way, but arriving with a plan stops you running out of time halfway. This is a starting point; adjust it after your first mock exam with the «time used» it shows you when you hand in:
| Mode | Long exercise | Test | Final check |
|---|---|---|---|
| First midterm (30 min) | Open question: about 12 min (6 per part) | 19 questions: about 15 min (under 50 s each) | 3 min |
| Second midterm (30 min) | Gantt chart: about 9 min | 20 questions: about 18 min | 3 min |
| Full exam (35 min) | Open question 8 min + Gantt 9 min | 18 questions: about 15 min | 3 min |
- Start with what is worth most and you know best. If the open question is on a topic you master, do it first while you’re fresh.
- In the test, make a first pass answering the sure ones and mark the doubtful ones. On the second pass, apply the rule-one-out rule.
- Leave long calculations for the end unless they are the compulsory exercise: an easy test question is worth the same as a hard one.
How the mock exam works under the hood
- Live question bank. When you open the page, the mock exam reads the questions from the published IC2 quizzes (the 11 exercise articles). When a new topic is published or questions are added, they join automatically.
- Compulsory first. For each mode it first picks the exercises that always come up (the open question and the Gantt chart), then fills the test at random, spread across topics. Open questions and long table calculations only appear as compulsory exercises, never in the test, so the test is as quick as in the real exam.
- When you hand in: your mark out of 10, how many are right, partly right, wrong and blank, the time used, the breakdown by topic and, on each question, the solution with its explanation and a «Review this topic» link to the article it comes from. With «Show only mistakes and blanks» you keep just what you need to review.
- PDF: the «Download as PDF» button opens your browser’s print dialog with the marked mock exam (questions, your answers, solutions and mark). Choose «Save as PDF» as the printer.
- New attempt: «New mock exam» draws other questions for the same mode. With the current bank of over 400 questions, you can do many attempts without repeating an exam.
Sitting the mock exam five times in a row until you get a 9. From the third attempt on you start recognising questions and the mark stops measuring what you know. Better: one mock exam, review the weak topics using the breakdown and come back another day.
After the mock exam: what to review
The breakdown by topic tells you where your marks go. Use it like this:
- Open your mistakes and blanks with «Show only mistakes and blanks» and read each explanation before looking at the right answer.
- If a block is below 50 %, go back to its exercise article (the link is on every question) and do the full quiz.
- Go over the cheat sheet at the end of each exercise article: it is designed for the last hour before the exam.
- Repeat the mock exam a day or two later and compare the breakdown.
If the test goes well in the first midterm but the open question limps, practice the open questions from the T1-T3 quizzes by writing the whole answer, against the clock, before reading the model answer.
Summary
| If you want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Know whether you’d pass a midterm | The midterm mock exam with the clock on, no notes |
| Know which topics to review | The breakdown by topic and «Show only mistakes and blanks» |
| Decide whether to answer a doubtful one | Answer if you can rule out at least one option; a blind guess gains nothing |
| Improve your open answers | Mark yourself honestly against «what the marker looks for» |
| Save time | Arrive with a plan for the 30 minutes and adjust it with the time used |
Three ideas to take away:
- The mock exam reproduces the real one: same parts, times, marks and penalty, with new questions on every attempt.
- With a 1/(n − 1) penalty, a blind guess is worth 0 on average, but ruling out a single option already makes answering worth it.
- The mark matters less than the breakdown: it tells you which topics to review before the real exam.
All the degree’s exams and mock exams are gathered in Exams and mock exams. The solved IC2 practical exam, with C and Linux, is coming soon. Good luck in your exam!
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IC2 theory mock exam — first midterm, second midterm or the full exam, with your real mark and a review of every mistake (as if you were in the exam room)