Deck 2: Computer Hardware

Question 1

A UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is a device that not only provides surge protection, but also furnishes your computer with battery backup power during a power outage.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A microprocessor's clock speed is equal to the number of instructions it can execute in one second.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A RISC processor has a complex instruction set, each requiring several clock cycles for execution.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A keyboard is an example of a pointing device.

Question 5

Most processors in today's personal computers use RISC technology.

Question 6

You can easily identify the microprocessor when looking inside a computer, as it is the only chip on the motherboard.

Question 7

A card reader is a storage device that is used to read from and write to solid state storage cards, like SecureDigital (SD) and CompactFlash cards.

Question 8

The term form factor refers to the size and dimensions of a component, such as a system board.

Question 9

A flash drive, like the one in the accompanying figure, is a portable storage device featuring a built-in connector that plugs directly into a computer s USB port.

Question 10

The speed of CD, DVD and Blu-ray drives are all measured on the same scale, based upon the original 1.2 megabits per second data transfer rate of the first CD drives.

Question 11

A touch screen, also known as a touch-sensitive screen, can serve as both an input and output device.

Question 12

An ink jet printer has a nozzle-like print head that sprays ink onto paper to form characters and graphics.

Question 13

The system unit is the case that holds the main circuit boards, microprocessor, memory, power supply, and storage devices of a personal computer system.

Question 14

Processors with a smaller word size can process more data during each processor cycle.

Question 15

Currently, hard drive capacity is measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB).

Question 16

Currently, there are three personal computer platforms: PC, Mac, and Linux.

Question 17

RAM is volatile, which means it must constantly receive electric power to hold data.

Question 18

A fast front side bus moves data quickly and allows the processor to work at full capacity.

Question 19

DVD-RW technology allows you to write data to a disc, and then later change that data.

Question 20

All other things being equal, a computer with a 933 MHz processor is faster than a computer with a 2.6 GHz processor.

Question 21

In the accompanying figure, the microprocessor is shown in picture B .

Question 22

Sequential access is the ability of a device to "jump" directly to requested data.

Question 23

The term ____ designates equipment that might be added to a computer system to enhance its functionality.

A) digital device
B) system add-on
C) disk pack
D) peripheral device

Question 24

Access time is the amount of data a storage device can move each second from the storage medium to the computer.

Question 25

The main component of a typical desktop computer is the ____, which houses the processor, memory, some storage devices, and display and sound circuitry.

A) kiosk
B) system unit
C) form factor
D) platform

Question 26

The number of horizontal and vertical pixels that a device displays on a screen is referred to as its resolution .

Question 27

Storage mass is the maximum amount of data that can be stored on a storage medium.

Question 28

The more data and programs that can fit into EEPROM , the less time your computer will spend moving data to and from virtual memory.

Question 29

CDs and DVDs are examples of magnetic storage media.

Question 30

On a display device the refresh rate is the distance in millimeters between like-colored pixels, and is a measure of image clarity.

Question 31

Internal drive bays can easily detach from the system unit.

Question 32

The term ____ refers to the size and dimensions of a computer component.

A) form factor
B) system specification
C) disk header
D) peripheral metric

Question 33

In the accompanying figure, expansions slots are shown in picture D .

Question 34

In the accompanying figure, the connection between pictures A and B represents the expansion bus.

Question 35

A ____ computer is a small, lightweight personal computer with screen, keyboard, storage, and processing components integrated into a single unit.

A) tower
B) tablet
C) desktop
D) portable

Question 36

The microprocessor is the most important component of a computer, and usually the most expensive single component.

Question 37

____ are the form factor of choice for computer owners who might want to upgrade components in the future because it is easy to get inside the case and swap out parts.

A) Cube units
B) Base units
C) Tower units
D) Minicases

Question 38

RAM circuitry holds "hard-wired" instructions that are a permanent part of the circuitry.

Question 39

EIDE, Ultra ATA, SCSI and DMA refer to the different types of controllers used by a hard disk drives.

Question 40

RAM speed is often expressed in nanoseconds (ns) or megahertz (MHz).

Question 41

Unlike disk storage, most RAM is ____.

A) virtual
B) integrated
C) non-volatile
D) volatile

Question 42

____ is used to enhance processor performance.

A) Pipelining
B) HyperThreading technology
C) Multi-core processors
D) all of the above

Question 43

____ is a temporary holding area for data, application program instructions, and the operating system.

A) ROM
B) EEPROM
C) Disk storage
D) RAM

Question 44

A technology called ____ allows the processor to begin executing another instruction before it completes the previous instruction.

A) pipelining
B) serial processing
C) benchmarking
D) HyperTransport

Question 45

A processor that includes circuitry for two or more processing units is called a ____ processor.

A) HyperTransport
B) pipelined
C) multi-core
D) serial

Question 46

____ are the results of a series of tests used to gauge overall microprocessor speed and are useful in comparing microprocessor performance.

A) Benchmarks
B) Hyper-Threads
C) Clocking figures
D) FSC reports

Question 47

____ refers to the number of bits that a microprocessor can manipulate at one time.

A) Processor speed
B) Word size
C) Register space
D) ALU

Question 48

____ means a billion cycles per second.

A) Gigahertz
B) Megahertz
C) Terahertz
D) Nanohertz

Question 49

A microprocessor whose instruction set includes a limited set of simple instructions uses ____ technology.

A) HyperTransport
B) RISC
C) CISC
D) benchmarked

Question 50

Gaming computers typically include ____.

A) very fast processors
B) lots of memory
C) state-of-the-art sound capabilities
D) all of the above

Question 51

RAM can be thought of as the ____ for the computer's processor.

A) factory
B) operating room
C) waiting room
D) planning room

Question 52

In an advertisement, a speed specification, such as 2.66 GHz, indicates the speed of the microprocessor ____.

A) control unit
B) register
C) clock
D) none of the above

Question 53

Overclocking is a technique for increasing the speed of a computer component, such as ____. It can be very risky.

A) the processor
B) graphics card
C) memory
D) all of the above

Question 54

A(n) ____ is a small form factor tablet computer designed to run most of the software available for larger portable computers.

A) digital
B) mini-notebook
C) ultra-mobile PC
D) microtablet

Question 55

Using a technology called ____, a processor can begin executing an instruction before it completes the previous instruction.

A) serial processing
B) multitasking
C) pipelining
D) benchmarking

Question 56

If the system runs out of RAM, the operating system uses an area of the hard disk called ____ to store parts of a program or data file until they are needed.

A) volatile memory
B) capacitor memory
C) virtual memory
D) integrated memory

Question 57

A ____ computer is also referred to as a laptop computer.

A) desktop
B) tablet
C) notebook
D) PDA

Question 58

In the context of computing, a(n) ____ is a custom, hand-built modification to a computer system component.

A) bit
B) icon
C) key
D) mod

Question 59

A(n) ____ tablet configuration resembles a high-tech clipboard and lacks a built-in keyboard.

A) convertible
B) slate
C) ultra-mobile
D) portable

Question 60

A ____ computer is a portable computing device featuring a touch-sensitive screen that can be used as a writing or drawing pad.

A) tower
B) tablet
C) desktop
D) microcomputer

Question 61

Personal computer hard disk platters typically have storage capacities ranging from 40 GB to ____.

A) 60 GB
B) 100 GB
C) 750 GB
D) 1 TB

Question 62

The ____ is the amount of data that a storage device can move from the storage medium to the computer per second.

A) data migration rate
B) data transfer rate
C) data digitizing rate
D) data access rate

Question 63

____ is the most popular type of RAM because it is fast and relatively inexpensive.

A) RDRAM
B) EEPROM
C) SDRAM
D) none of the above

Question 64

RAM speed is often expressed in ____.

A) milliseconds
B) macroseconds
C) megaseconds
D) nanoseconds

Question 65

Hard disk storage technology can be classified as ____ storage.

A) optical
B) magnetic
C) fluid-state
D) pipelined

Question 66

The accompanying figure shows us a ____.

A) CompactFlash card
B) SmartMedia card
C) USB flash drive
D) CD drive

Question 67

Hard disk drive capacities are measured in ____.

A) milliseconds (ms)
B) gigabytes or terabytes
C) gigabits or terabits per second
D) none of the above

Question 68

Which of the following is an example of a rerecordable optical storage medium?

A) BD-RE
B) CD-RW
C) DVD+RW
D) all of the above

Question 69

____ time is the average time it takes a computer to locate and read data on the storage medium.

A) Identification
B) Isolation
C) Access
D) Find

Question 70

____ is the ability of a device to "jump" directly to the requested data.

A) Sequential access
B) Quick access
C) Random access
D) all of the above

Question 71

CD and DVD storage technologies can be classified as ____ storage.

A) solid state
B) bubble
C) magnetic
D) optical

Question 72

A ____ is a touch-sensitive surface on which you can slide your fingers to move the on-screen pointer.

A) pointing stick
B) trackpad
C) trackball
D) joystick

Question 73

A(n) ____ chip is a type of non-volatile memory chip that does not require power to hold data.

A) RAM
B) EEPROM
C) SDRAM
D) all of the above

Question 74

____ is an example of a pointing device.

A) joysticks
B) touch screen
C) mouse
D) all of the above

Question 75

A hard disk ____ is a flat, rigid disk made of aluminum or glass and coated with magnetic iron oxide particles.

A) window
B) fragment
C) platter
D) control unit

Question 76

Solid state storage, also called flash memory storage, ____.

A) provides slower access to data than magnetic storage technology
B) provides faster access to data than optical storage technology
C) includes moving parts
D) all of the above

Question 77

ROM BIOS is a small set of instructions that tells the computer ____ .

A) how to access the hard disk
B) where to find the operating system
C) how to load the operating system into RAM
D) all of the above

Question 78

____ is a type of memory circuitry that holds the computer's startup routine.

A) RIM (Read initial memory)
B) RAM (Random access memory)
C) ROM (Read only memory)
D) REM (Ready ever memory)

Question 79

A built-in ____ in your personal computer can make it simpler to transfer photos from a solid state memory card used in your digital camera.

A) card reader
B) USB drive
C) U3 drive
D) MP3 media player

Question 80

Tablet computers, many PDAs, UMPCs, retail store self-checkouts, and information kiosks collect input from a ____.

A) pointing stick
B) joystick
C) trackball
D) touch screen