Exam

Name___________________________________

TRUE/FALSE.  Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 

1) 

Software is a collective term for the instructions computers perform to implement applications. 

1) 

_______ 

2) 

ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) is a standard processor that is often used as a component of consumer devices. 

2) 

_______ 

3) 

The computer first digitized the U.S. census data in 1980. 

3) 

_______ 

4) 

The camera in a smart phone can be classified as an input device. 

4) 

_______ 

5) 

The early computer, ENIAC, weighed thirty tons. 

5) 

_______ 

6) 

Transistors helped advance computing because they increased the complexity of the assembly process. 

6) 

_______ 

7) 

Writing software is the job of programmers and software developers. 

7) 

_______ 

8) 

If a device does not have a keyboard attached to it, it cannot be considered a computer. 

8) 

_______ 

9) 

In software, the agent is anything that can follow instructions. 

9) 

_______ 

10) 

In computing, all data is represented by numbers, regardless of whether the data is stored in memory, on a hard disk, in the cloud, or anywhere else. 

10) 

______ 

11) 

Describing a technical problem with the right words helps to facilitate a speedy answer from tech support. 

11) 

______ 

12) 

There is normally only one unique way to solve every computational task. 

12) 

______ 

13) 

Only a computer can use digital information. 

13) 

______ 

14) 

An integrated circuit contains, among other things, transistors. 

14) 

______ 

MULTIPLE CHOICE.  Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 

15) 

A precise, systematic way to produce a specified result is a(n) 

15) 

______ 

A) 

abacus 

B) 

computation 

C) 

algorithm 

D) 

agent 

16) 

Booting a computer means to 

16) 

______ 

A) 

run a program from the hard disk 

B) 

restart the computer 

C) 

start the computer 

D) 

None of these 

17) 

In the story of the tortoise and the hare, the abstraction is 

17) 

______ 

A) 

the hare 

B) 

that speed is deceiving 

C) 

the tortoise 

D) 

that slow and steady wins the race 

18) 

Understanding how the pedals on your bicycle transfer power to the wheels 

18) 

______ 

A) 

is a generalization 

B) 

is an abstraction 

C) 

is an algorithm 

D) 

makes you operationally attuned 

19) 

Using ROY G BIV to remember, in order, the colors of the rainbow as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet is an example of a(n) 

19) 

______ 

A) 

algorithm 

B) 

mnemonic 

C) 

abstraction 

D) 

generalization 

20) 

The central idea or concept, removed from a situation, is called 

20) 

______ 

A) 

generalization 

B) 

interaction 

C) 

information 

D) 

abstraction 

21) 

A simpler way to say, "The ability to apply what we know about how a device or system works to simplify its use" is to  

21) 

______ 

A) 

use a mnemonic 

B) 

be operationally attuned 

C) 

generalize 

D) 

use an abstraction 

22) 

Rebooting a computer means to 

22) 

______ 

A) 

restart the computer 

B) 

start the computer 

C) 

run a program from a hard disk 

D) 

None of these 

23) 

The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) is stored on a microchip called the 

23) 

______ 

A) 

boot ROM 

B) 

flash memory package 

C) 

ARM processor 

D) 

kernel 

24) 

When an integrated circuit is manufactured 

24) 

______ 

A) 

a complicated circuit is created as a unit, with all parts created together 

B) 

the circuit is cut into a silicon chip by a microscopic drill bit 

C) 

many small parts are assembled by firing them onto a silicon chip 

D) 

the parts are created consecutively by type first created are the operational units, then the connection, and then all the rest 

25) 

In the 1950s and 1960s before integrated circuits were used, memory was made 

25) 

______ 

A) 

by a process of printing bits, similar to film photography 

B) 

by creating a standing wave on a tightened electrical wire 

C) 

by using a single transistor 

D) 

by stringing tiny magnetic "donuts" onto a grid of wire threads 

26) 

The first production application of digital information was 

26) 

______ 

A) 

the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs 

B) 

the ENIAC computer  

C) 

the use of vacuum tubes for calculations needed by the US Army 

D) 

punched card tabulation for the 1890 US Census 

27) 

The ARM is a 

27) 

______ 

A) 

variety of boot ROM 

B) 

type of software 

C) 

brand of microwave oven 

D) 

type of processor 

28) 

Select all that apply. Which of the following are advantages of transistors over vacuum tubes? 

28) 

______ 

A) 

Transistors can be used alone while vacuum tubes must be used in pairs. 

B) 

Transistors are smaller than vacuum tubes. 

C) 

Transistors are more reliable than vacuum tubes. 

D) 

Transistors use less power than vacuum tubes. 

SHORT ANSWER.  Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 

29) 

________ is the physical implementation of a computer, usually electronic, and includes the processor, memory, and, typically, its peripheral devices. 

29)  

_____________ 

30) 

________ are algorithms that have been specialized to a specific set of conditions and assumptions and (usually) are written in a specific programming language. 

30)  

_____________ 

31) 

________ is the collective term for computer programs. 

31)  

_____________ 

32) 

In tech speak, processor is a synonym for ________. 

32)  

_____________ 

33) 

A(n) ________ is a series of layers of programs that support user applications. 

33)  

_____________ 

34) 

The agent that runs an algorithm may not be a computer. Often it is a(n) ________ instead. 

34)  

_____________ 

35) 

A(n) ________ is a block of silicon in which active and connective parts are fabricated together. 

35)  

_____________ 

36) 

Computers can be found ________. 

36)  

_____________ 

37) 

To apply your knowledge of how a device works as an aid to simplifying its user means to be ________. 

37)  

_____________ 

38) 

The replacement of hardware with software, integrated circuits, and layered software are all techniques to ________. 

38)  

_____________ 

 

1) 

TRUE 

2) 

TRUE 

3) 

FALSE 

4) 

TRUE 

5) 

TRUE 

6) 

FALSE 

7) 

TRUE 

8) 

FALSE 

9) 

TRUE 

10) 

TRUE 

11) 

TRUE 

12) 

FALSE 

13) 

FALSE 

14) 

TRUE 

15) 

C 

16) 

C 

17) 

D 

18) 

D 

19) 

B 

20) 

D 

21) 

C 

22) 

A 

23) 

A 

24) 

A 

25) 

D 

26) 

D 

27) 

D 

28) 

B, C, D 

29) 

Hardware 

30) 

Programs 

31) 

Software 

32) 

computer 

33) 

software stack 

34) 

person 

35) 

integrated circuit 

36) 

everywhere 

37) 

operationally attuned 

38) 

reduce the impact of complexity