Computer Applications Technology is not a list of buttons. It is knowing what a computer does with your data and how to make it do the job properly.The GOAT Notes™
The year-end examination has two papers. Paper 1 is practical (Solution Development): you work on supplied files on a computer. Paper 2 is theory: you write. Each is 120 marks, so 120 + 120 = 240 marks. CAPS makes Grade 10 papers internal: your school or province sets them and they are moderated.
CAPS gives a minimum of 2,5 hours for each paper. One province's 2026 teaching plan prints 3 hours for the year-end papers. No source fixes one time, so this guide claims none.
No Grade 10 November paper from 2022 on could be obtained. What follows comes from CAPS and one set of mid-year mark schemes (June 2025, 100 marks each). CAPS says the Grade 10 allocation will differ from the layout it prints for later grades.
CAPS splits Paper 1 as about 40% word processing, 30% spreadsheets, 15% presentations and 15% general (applying skills to new situations). On 120 marks that is arithmetic, not a CAPS figure, so each result carries a tilde (~). Each correct setting or formula earns a mark, and an HTML tag sheet is supplied for web questions. The June 2025 Paper 1 had four questions of 29, 22, 16 and 33 marks.
The June 2025 Paper 2 was 100 marks in three sections. Section A held three kinds of one-mark item: multiple choice, matching and true or false.
No choice is printed in the mark schemes read; check your own paper's instructions.
The planned marks are planning weights, not published marks: Paper 1 uses the CAPS percentages and Paper 2 scales the one June scheme. CAPS sets Paper 2 at 40% remembering, 40% understanding and applying, and 20% higher order; Paper 1 at 30%, 40% and 30%.
How many marks is the year-end examination in all, and how are they split?
What do you do in the year-end Paper 1?
What does the mid-year examination cover, and how many marks is each paper?
A learner adds the two year-end papers and the two mid-year papers. What is the total?
A friend says the national Department sets one Grade 10 paper for every school. What does CAPS say?
Which share of Paper 1 does CAPS give to spreadsheets?
Which two parts of Paper 1 have the same CAPS share?
Spreadsheets are about 30% of Paper 1. About how many marks of the 120 is that?
Word processing is about 40% of Paper 1. How many marks is that, and how many are left for the other three parts?
Your paper has no presentation question, yet CAPS lists presentations at about 15%. What explains this?
How many marks was Section A of the June 2025 Paper 2, which was out of 100?
Which three kinds of item made up Section A of the June 2025 Paper 2?
Section B was 60 marks. How was it built?
Add June's sections: A 25, B 60 and C 15. What is the total, and what was Section C?
Why can you not treat the June layout as the November Paper 2 layout?
What does CAPS give as the time for each Grade 10 paper?
Why does this guide not print one exact time for your year-end papers?
Where do you find the time that applies to your own year-end paper?
No Grade 10 November paper could be obtained. What does that mean for a topic's planned marks?
Which statement about choice in Paper 2 is supported by the mark schemes read?
What share of the Grade 10 theory paper does CAPS give to remembering?
What share of the practical paper does CAPS give to analysing, evaluating and creating?
Which command word asks mainly for remembering?
The theory paper is 120 marks. About how many marks are remembering?
Which pair of levels has the same share in the theory paper?
How many marks is the PAT?
What share of the promotion mark is the school-based assessment (SBA)?
The SBA is 40%, the PAT 20%, Paper 1 20% and Paper 2 20%. What share do the two papers carry together?
Which of these is not part of either written paper?
A friend says the PAT is worth more than one year-end paper. Which reply is right?
Name the three sections of the June 2025 Paper 2 and give the marks of each, then the total of the paper.
Section A is 25 marks of short questions. Section B is 60 marks, four questions of 15. Section C is 15 marks, one integrated scenario. 25 + 60 + 15 = 100 marks in all.
CAPS gives Paper 1 about 40% word processing, 30% spreadsheets, 15% presentations and 15% general. Work out the marks of each on the 120-mark paper, and say why each carries a tilde (~).
Word processing: 40% of 120 = about 48 marks. Spreadsheets: 30% of 120 = about 36 marks. Presentations and general: 15% of 120 = about 18 marks each. The tilde marks arithmetic on the CAPS percentages, not a figure CAPS prints.
A friend studies only the June 2025 layout and says the November Paper 2 must be Section A 25, Section B 60 and Section C 15. Give TWO reasons the friend cannot be sure, and ONE thing to check instead.
June was a mid-year paper of 100 marks on Terms 1 and 2; the year-end Paper 2 is 120 marks, so the layout can change and the sections cannot simply be repeated. No source we read prints the November layout, and CAPS says the Grade 10 allocation will differ. Check the cover and instructions of your own paper.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner how the Grade 10 Computer Applications Technology examination is built: the two papers, their marks, and who sets them.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner what the June 2025 Paper 2 looked like, and why you cannot treat it as the November paper.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner how the planned marks by topic are worked out and how to use them to decide what to practise first.
| Command word | What the answer needs |
|---|---|
| Name, state, identify | The term or value only, with its unit |
| Briefly explain, describe | A fact and its reason |
| Compare, differentiate | A fact about each side |
| Recommend, motivate | A choice, tied to the user's need |
A classify item gives a device and asks for its type and the reason.
Scenario items describe a device. Name it, then give its use. A square pattern that opens a web page on a phone is a QR code.
Output items ask for hard or soft copy and a printer; storage items ask for a unit and a comparison.
A sketch with lettered parts asks you to name each part and to state what GHz measures.
Port items show sockets A to D; name each. A laptop with only USB-C needs the adapter shown to reach an HDMI projector.
Answer yes or no for each need, with a reason from the card.
A bare yes earns nothing.
An advert reads: Processor 2,8 GHz; Memory 8 GB; Storage 256 GB SSD; Screen 15,6 inch. Which line gives the speed of the processor?
A monitor is advertised as 21,5 inch with 1920 × 1080. Which part of the advert gives its resolution?
Four laptops are advertised. Which one has the MOST storage?
An advert lists Memory 16 GB and Storage 512 GB SSD. Zinhle says she can store 16 GB of photos. What is wrong with this?
Lindiwe has R8 000. She needs to run many programs at once and keep 400 GB of files. Which advert fits her best?
Which line classifies a keyboard, speakers and an SSD correctly?
One learner prints a report. Another learner reads the same report on her screen. Which statement is correct?
A teacher shows the class's marks report on a data projector. Is this a hard copy or a soft copy?
A computer in the school office stores the learners' files and sends them to other computers. How is it classified?
A shop records three sales of R40, R25 and R60 and the till prints Total: R125. Which choice is correct?
A poster shows a black-and-white square pattern. A learner points her phone camera at it and a web page opens. What is the pattern?
A gate opens when a worker holds a staff card near a reader, without swiping it or showing any printed lines. Which technology is this?
Which is a correct advantage of a barcode system in a shop?
A bank wants customers identified by a feature of their body that cannot be lent to someone else. Which input is best?
A municipality scans thousands of printed forms and wants to search for the words inside them. Which technology makes this possible?
Which port would you use to connect headphones to a laptop?
Which is a wireless way of connecting a keyboard to a computer?
A learner's laptop has only USB-C ports, but the classroom projector has an HDMI cable. What should she use?
Which choice gives one advantage and one disadvantage of a wireless mouse?
Two teachers bring laptops to a hall with an HDMI projector. Teacher 1's laptop has an HDMI port; Teacher 2's has only USB-C ports. Which statement is correct?
Which of these loses its contents when the power is switched off?
Which line lists the units in order from the smallest to the largest?
The question states 1 GB = 1 000 MB. A video file is 2,5 GB. How many MB is that?
One processor is advertised at 3,6 GHz and another at 2,4 GHz. Everything else is equal. What can be said?
After a power cut, Ayanda finds that the essay she typed but never saved is gone, while the photos she saved last week are still there. What explains this?
Study this advert: Processor 3,0 GHz; Memory 16 GB; Storage 2 TB HDD; Screen 15,6 inch. (a) State the processor speed, with its unit (1). (b) State what the 16 GB memory in the advert is called, and what it is used for (1). (c) The question states 1 TB = 1 000 GB. Convert the storage to GB, showing your working (2).
(a) 3,0 GHz ✓ (b) RAM, the workspace for the programs that are in use ✓ (c) 2 × 1 000 ✓ (c) = 2 000 GB ✓
A teacher's laptop has only USB-C ports. She wants to show a lesson on a projector with an HDMI cable and use a wireless mouse. (a) What must she use so the laptop can connect to the HDMI cable (1)? (b) State what the HDMI cable carries (1). (c) State ONE disadvantage of the wireless mouse about its power, and ONE about its connection (2).
(a) She must use a USB-C to HDMI adapter ✓ (b) It carries video and sound ✓ (c) The mouse needs batteries or charging ✓ (c) Its signal can drop or lag ✓
Explain to a Grade 8 learner how to read an advert: which line is the speed, which is the workspace and which is the place for saved files.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner why a laptop with only USB-C ports needs an adapter to use an HDMI projector.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner the difference between a hard copy and a soft copy, using a school report as the example.
This is a free preview of Topic 1. The full guide has every topic, the self-marking quizzes, mock exams, planner, journal and wellbeing tools.
Unlock the full guide on WhatsAppSee pricingYour journal is saved only on this device and browser (it does not sync across devices and is lost if you clear browser data). Use "Export" to keep a copy.
Exam stress is completely normal. Here are a few things that actually work. None of this replaces a doctor or a trusted adult.
Box breathing: 4 counts in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold. Do it four times.
Look at the worked example below first, then make your own. Tick off each topic as you finish it.
Example (already filled in)
| Date | Subject | Topic | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 8 Jul | Life Sciences | Your weakest topic, notes + summary | ✓ |
| Tue 9 Jul | Life Sciences | Next topic + 10 practice questions | ✓ |
| Wed 10 Jul | Life Sciences | A full past paper under time | – |
| Thu 11 Jul | Life Sciences | Mark the paper, revise weak spots | – |
Your plan
| Date | Subject | Topic | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
Your plan is saved only on this device. Use "Export plan" to keep a copy.
Every setting you can name, every formula you can build and every term you can explain is a mark you have already banked. Go and collect them.