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Year 10
AQA

Assembly language

I can describe the purpose of assembly language and how it interacts with computer hardware.

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Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 10
AQA

Assembly language

I can describe the purpose of assembly language and how it interacts with computer hardware.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Assembly language is a low-level programming language.
  2. It provides direct control over hardware and is used for critical applications and embedded systems.

Keywords

  • Assembly language - a language that replaces machine code with short, readable instructions to make it easier for humans to write and understand

  • Machine code - a program written using 1s and 0s that a computer can execute directly

Common misconception

Assembly language is only used for very old computers, and it's not relevant to modern programming.

It's true that assembly was used more in the past, but it's still relevant. It gives direct hardware control, crucial for things like embedded systems and device drivers. Understanding it helps you see how computers work at a low level.


To help you plan your year 10 computer science lesson on: Assembly language, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Instead of just stating what assembly language is, start with why it exists and why it was developed. Connect it to the limitations of early computers and the need for efficiency.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a low-level programming language?
a language that only works on web browsers
a language that uses natural language to write code
Correct answer: a language that provides direct control over hardware
a language that is easy for humans to read and write
Q2.
What is a high-level programming language?
Correct answer: a language that uses abstraction to make programming more human-readable
a language that directly controls hardware
a language that uses binary code
a language that doesn’t require translation
Q3.
What is the role of a compiler?
to execute code line by line
to directly control hardware
to create a programming interface
Correct answer: to translate high-level code into machine-readable code
Q4.
What does an interpreter do?
converts code into a complete executable file
Correct answer: translates and executes code line by line
provides direct hardware control
simplifies programming with abstraction
Q5.
Which of the following is an example of a low-level language?
Python
HTML
Correct answer: Assembly language
JavaScript
Q6.
Arrange the steps in writing and running a program in a high-level language.
1 - write the code
2 - compile the code
3 - execute the program

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is assembly language?
a high-level programming language
a markup language used to design web pages
a tool for debugging programs
Correct answer: a low-level programming language that uses short, readable instructions
Q2.
What is the term for a program written using 1s and 0s that a computer can execute directly?
Correct Answer: machine code, Machine
Q3.
Why is assembly language still relevant today?
It’s used for creating web pages.
Correct answer: It’s used for applications that need direct hardware control (embedded systems).
It’s the easiest language for beginners to learn.
It’s faster than all other programming languages.
Q4.
What is the main difference between machine code and assembly language?
Correct answer: Assembly language uses short instructions and machine code is written in binary.
Machine code is human-readable, while assembly language is not.
Assembly language is faster than machine code.
Machine code is used only in modern computers.
Q5.
Place the following languages in order of abstraction (lowest to highest).
1 - machine code
2 - assembly language
3 - high-level language
Q6.
Match the terms to their uses.
Correct Answer:assembly language,writing device drivers for hardware

writing device drivers for hardware

Correct Answer:machine code,executed directly by the computer’s processor

executed directly by the computer’s processor

Correct Answer:high-level language,used for general-purpose programming, such as creating applications

used for general-purpose programming, such as creating applications