Deck 3: Computer Hardware

Question 1

The top criteria for corporate PC ownership are operating system ready, connectivity, solid performance, and global compatibility.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Moore's Law refers to the exponential growth in the number of transistors per integrated circuit, which quadruples computer power every six months.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Experts predict the merging or disappearance of several computer categories. For example, many midrange and mainframe systems have been made obsolete by the power and versatility of client/server networks composed of microcomputers and servers.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The computing power of microcomputers currently exceeds that of the mainframe computer of previous generations, at a fraction of the cost.

Question 5

Today's corporate buyers seek networked PCs equipped with reliable wireless capabilities.

Question 6

Network servers are some of the less powerful microcomputers; they are used to coordinate telecommunications and resource sharing in small LANs and in Internet and intranet websites.

Question 7

The central processing unit (CPU) is the main processing component of a computer system.

Question 8

The output devices of a computer system can include video display units, scanners, and printers.

Question 9

The first electronic digital computer was completed in the 1960s.

Question 10

Personal computers, network servers, and technical workstations are terms used to highlight major uses of particular types of computers.

Question 11

Some microcomputers are powerful enough to support applications with heavy mathematical computing and graphics display demands, such as computer-aided design (CAD) or investment analysis.

Question 12

Web-enabled personal digital assistants use touch screens, pen-based handwriting recognition, or keyboards, so mobile workers can send and receive e-mail, access the Web, and exchange information with their desktop PCs or Web servers.

Question 13

A RIM Blackberry combines a mobile phone, a music and video player, and an Internet communications device.

Question 14

Microcomputers can act as powerful workstations for computer-aided design and other computation and graphics-intensive applications.

Question 15

The control unit of the CPU interprets instructions and directs processing.

Question 16

Midrange computers are often used as network servers in order to help manage large Internet websites, corporate intranets and extranets, and client/server networks.

Question 17

All computers are systems of input, processing, output, storage, and distribution components.

Question 18

Network servers are the most important category of computer systems for both businesspeople and individual consumers.

Question 19

The function of an input device is to interpret computer program instructions and to transmit directions to the other components of the computer system.

Question 20

The clock speed of a microprocessor today is commonly expressed in teraflops; earlier microcomputer speeds were reported in gigahertz.

Question 21

Some touch screens emit a grid of infrared beams or sound waves that is broken when the screen is touched.

Question 22

Speaker independent voice recognition systems allow a computer to understand a few words from a voice it has never heard before.

Question 23

A pointing stick is the most popular pointing device used today.

Question 24

Optical scanning enables the direct entry of data from source documents into a computer system.

Question 25

Printing information on paper is the most common form of information output.

Question 26

Peripherals depend on direct connections or telecommunications links to the central processing unit of a computer system.

Question 27

Digital cameras and digital video cameras enable users to shoot, store, and download still photos or full-motion video and audio onto their PCs.

Question 28

Smart cards, a form of input technology that contains an embedded microprocessor chip, are becoming popular in the United States for use in debit and credit cards.

Question 29

High speed storage media cost less per byte and provide higher capacities than lower-speed storage media.

Question 30

Speech recognition systems typically require training the computer to recognize your voice and its unique sound patterns in order to achieve a high degree of accuracy.

Question 31

The dark, magnetic stripe on the back of credit cards can hold about 200 gigabytes of information.

Question 32

Pen-based computing technologies are being used in many hand-held computers and personal digital assistants.

Question 33

Data are processed and stored in a computer system through the presence or absence or electronic or magnetic signals to the computer. This is called a "bi-state" representation of data, because the computer and the media can exhibit only two states or conditions.

Question 34

Offline devices are separate from, but can be electronically connected to and controlled by, a CPU.

Question 35

When discussing the concept of a computer system, peripherals is the generic name given to all input, output, and secondary storage devices that are part of a computer system.

Question 36

One of the major trends in secondary storage has been toward massive capacities using magnetic and optical media.

Question 37

Video displays and printed documents have been, and still are, the most common forms of output from computer systems.

Question 38

Advances in video monitor technology, such as active matrix and dual scan capabilities, have improved the color, but not the clarity, of LCD displays.

Question 39

OCR technology is used to read codes on merchandise tags, product labels, credit card receipts, and other documents.

Question 40

A trackball is a type of pointing device that converts drawings and other graphic images into digital data in order to enter it into a computer system.

Question 41

The mechanical loom was invented by _______________.

A) Blaise Pascal
B) Joseph Jacquard
C) Herman Hollerith
D) Keith Glennan

Question 42

The terms direct access and random access describe the same concept.

Question 43

A byte typically consists of ten bits and represents one character of data in most computer coding schemes.

Question 44

RFID chips may be attached to objects, but cannot be injected into them because it interferes with radio signal transmission.

Question 45

Random Access Memory (RAM) is non-volatile memory.

Question 46

Most CD-ROM disks can hold more than 600 megabytes of information.

Question 47

The first generation of computers relied on _______________.

A) miniaturized circuits
B) transistors
C) vacuum tubes
D) punch cards

Question 48

Active RFID chips are self-powered and must be close to the reader to transmit their signal.

Question 49

ROM chips are widely used as a primary storage medium because they can be erased and overwritten.

Question 50

RAID disk units provide fault tolerant storage capacity because data can be recovered from backup copies stored on other disks should one disk fail.

Question 51

The use of RFID technology poses concerns for privacy issues.

Question 52

Computer systems rely on which of the following components?

A) Input, processing, output, storage, and control
B) Input, processing, output, storage, and the Internet
C) The Internet, processing, output, storage, and control
D) Input, processing, output, the Internet, and control

Question 53

The primary storage (main memory) of a computer consists of microelectronic semiconductor memory chips.

Question 54

Computer systems rely on all the following components except _______________.

A) input
B) internet
C) processing
D) storage

Question 55

Magnetic disks are common forms of secondary storage because they provide fast access and high storage capacity at a reasonable cost.

Question 56

DVD+RW+R with CD-RW provides an all-in-one drive for burning DVD-RW or DVD-R disks, burning CDs, and reading DVDs and CDs.

Question 57

Magnetic tapes are no longer used by businesses today because the cost of storage on tape is very expensive compared to other types of storage media.

Question 58

Magnetic tape devices are frequently called direct access storage devices (DASDs), while magnetic disks are known as sequential access devices.

Question 59

The main advantage of CD-R (compact disk-recordable) disks is that they enable recorded data to be erased many times.

Question 60

It is predicted that in the future we will be able to back up our biological memories.

Question 61

_______________ are the most important category of computer systems for both businesspeople and individual consumers.

A) Microcomputers
B) Supercomputers
C) Network Servers
D) Mainframes

Question 62

The _______________ generation of computers was characterized by further miniaturization of circuits, increased multiprogramming, and virtual storage memory.

A) second
B) third
C) fourth
D) fifth

Question 63

Which of the following statements best describes a workstation computer?

A) Supports applications with heavy mathematical computing and graphics display demands, such as computer-aided design (CAD)
B) Coordinates telecommunications and resource sharing in small, local area networks (LANS)
C) Allows convenient mobile communications and touch-screen computing
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 64

In the 1950s, _______________ were invented and quickly replaced the thousands of vacuum tubes used in electronic computers.

A) microchips
B) resistors
C) transistors
D) miniaturized circuits

Question 65

Personal digital assistants most commonly use which of these technologies?

A) Pen-based computing
B) Optical scanning
C) Jump drives
D) Back-lit keyboards

Question 66

A BlackBerry ____________________.

A) performs common PDA functions
B) doesn't have a visible antenna
C) uses the same network as most mobile phones
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 67

According to the text, which of the following is considered by millions of computer users to be the primary function of the desktop PC?

A) Allows access to the Internet
B) Increases productivity through the use of software applications
C) Facilitates creation of local area networks
D) All of the choices are correct

Question 68

The second generation of computers relied on _______________.

A) miniaturized circuits
B) transistors
C) vacuum tubes
D) punch cards

Question 69

What sets the RIM BlackBerry apart from other wireless PDA solutions?

A) Lower price
B) It is always on and connected
C) Smaller size and weight
D) Longer battery life

Question 70

__________ are some of the more powerful microcomputers; they are used to coordinate telecommunications and resource sharing in small LANs and in Internet and intranet websites.

A) Mainframes
B) Supercomputers
C) Network Servers
D) None of the choices are correct.

Question 71

_______________ are high-end network servers that handle large-scale processing of business applications.

A) Midrange computers
B) Mainframes
C) Supercomputers
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 72

Which of the following is a common application for a midrange computer?

A) Internet functions.
B) Integrated enterprise-wide manufacturing and distribution.
C) Financial applications.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 73

The first electronic digital computer was completed in the _______________.

A) 1870s
B) 1940s
C) 1950s
D) 1960s

Question 74

According to the text, using web-enabled PDAs allows workers to realize all the following benefits except:

A) Send and receive email
B) Access the Web
C) Exchange information with desktop PCs or Web servers
D) Helps retain younger and more technologically savvy employees

Question 75

An intelligent terminal that can perform data entry and some information processing tasks independently is called a _______________ terminal.

A) transaction
B) dumb
C) Windows
D) remote

Question 76

_______________ are popular as powerful network servers to help manage large Internet Websites, intranets, and extranets.

A) Workstations
B) Minicomputers
C) Supercomputers
D) Mainframes

Question 77

Which of the following does not apply to a personal digital assistant (PDA)?

A) Supports applications with heavy mathematical computing
B) Touchscreens
C) Pen-based handwriting recognition
D) Web access

Question 78

According to the text, which of the following is not true of Mainframes?

A) Mainframes can process thousands of million instructions per second (MIPS).
B) Mainframes are large, fast, and powerful.
C) Mainframes have large storage capacities.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 79

The third generation of computers relied on _______________.

A) solid state technology and integrated circuits
B) transistors
C) vacuum tubes
D) punch cards

Question 80

Which of the following would not be considered a characteristic of supercomputer systems?

A) Costs between $5 million and $50 million.
B) Used for global weather reports and military defense.
C) Runs the same software found on most home computers, but at faster speeds
D) Designed specifically for high-speed numeric computation