Deck 1: Introduction

Question 1

An algorithm solves a general class of problems.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A program stored in computer memory must be represented in binary digits, which is also known as ASCII code.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Ancient mathematicians developed the first algorithms.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

An important part of any operating system is its file system, which allows human users to organize their data and programs in permanent storage.

Question 5

An algorithm describes a process that ends with a solution to a problem.

Question 6

The part of a computer that is responsible for processing data is the central processing unit (CPU).

Question 7

Informally, a computing agent is like a recipe.

Question 8

Computer science focuses on a broad set of interrelated ideas.

Question 9

The algorithms that describe information processing can also be represented as information.

Question 10

The first electronic digital computers, sometimes called mainframe computers, consisted of vacuum tubes, wires, and plugs, and filled entire rooms.

Question 11

When using a computer, human users primarily interact with the memory.

Question 12

An algorithm describes a process that may or may not halt after arriving at a solution to a problem.

Question 13

Each individual instruction in an algorithm is well defined.

Question 14

A programmer typically starts by writing high-level language statements in a text editor.

Question 15

In the early 1940s, computer scientists realized that a symbolic notation could be used instead of machine code, and the first assembly languages appeared.

Question 16

The most important example of system software is a computer's operating system.

Question 17

The development of the transistor in the early 1960s allowed computer engineers to build ever smaller, faster, and less expensive computer hardware components.

Question 18

Magnetic storage media, such as tapes and hard disks, allow bit patterns to be stored as patterns on a magnetic field.

Question 19

Information is stored as patterns of bytes (1s and 0s).

Question 20

In the 1930s, the mathematician Blaise Pascal explored the theoretical foundations and limits of algorithms and computation.

Question 21

What kind of programming language is Python?

A) An interpreted language.
B) A compiled language.
C) A interpolated language.
D) A manufactured language.

Question 22

What is the name used for the integrated program development environment that comes with a Python installation?

A) Eclipse
B) IDLE
C) PyShell
D) PyDDL

Question 23

What would be the output if you were to print the variable named value as declared by this statement: value = "2" + "2"?

A) The number "4".
B) A floating point value of 4.0.
C) The string "22".
D) A type error, as integers cannot be concatenated.

Question 24

In the 1960s, batch processing sometimes caused a programmer to wait days for results, including error messages.

Question 25

Who is credited as having created the World Wide Web in 1992?

A) Steve Jobs
B) Albert Gore
C) Tim Berners-Lee
D) Paul Allen

Question 26

What built-in function should you use in Python to prompt a user for data input?

A) input
B) cin
C) prompt
D) get

Question 27

In 1984, Apple Computer brought forth the Macintosh, the first successful mass-produced personal computer with a graphical user interface.

Question 28

In Python, the programmer can force the output of a value by using the cout statement.

Question 29

What component of Python is responsible for the execution of Python byte code?

A) IDLE
B) Python interpreter
C) Python virtual machine (PVM)
D) Python Script Engine (PSE)

Question 30

How is data stored within a computer's memory?

A) It is stored as hexadecimal data.
B) It is stored as octal data.
C) It is stored as binary data.
D) It is stored in plain text data.

Question 31

While viewing a screen displaying an active IDLE session, what does green text mean?

A) The text is the result of output, or is the name of a function.
B) The text represents a string.
C) The text is a built-in function name.
D) The text indicates a variable's name.

Question 32

When a Python interpreter runs a script, what is the script translated into?

A) assembly code
B) byte code
C) interpolated language code
D) ELF-formatted binary

Question 33

What program is used by a programmer to convert high-level code into executable code?

A) translator
B) run-time system
C) interpreter
D) text editor

Question 34

A flash memory stick is an example of what type of storage media?

A) magnetic storage media
B) optical storage media
C) electrical storage media
D) semiconductor storage media

Question 35

Moore's Law states that the processing speed and storage capacity of hardware will increase and its cost will decrease by approximately a factor of 3 every 18 months.

Question 36

At what point in the interpretation of a Python program are syntax error messages generated?

A) After the conversion of the code into byte code.
B) Before execution of the program, when it is passed through the translator.
C) During execution of the program by the Python virtual machine.
D) After user input defined by the program is collected.

Question 37

What problem was the Atanasoff-Berry Computer designed to solve?

A) The automatic creation of ballistics tables for the U.S. military.
B) The coded transmissions used by Germany in WWII.
C) The solving of systems of simultaneous linear equations.
D) The calculation of maritime navigation routes for the U.S. Navy.

Question 38

By the mid 1980s, the ARPANET had grown into what we now call the Internet, connecting computers owned by large institutions, small organizations, and individuals all over the world.

Question 39

In a computer, what component is known as the "processor"?

A) RAM
B) CPU
C) basic input/output devices
D) motherboard

Question 40

When using IDLE for Python programming, what color is used to distinguish built-in function names?

A) blue
B) green
C) purple
D) red

Question 41

What processor was contained in the first mass-produced personal computer?

A) Intel 8080
B) AMD486
C) NEC V20
D) Motorola 88000

Question 42

What was the first PC-based operating system called?

A) Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS)
B) UNIX
C) Linux
D) Control Program for Microcomputers (CP/M)

Question 43

In order to change the print function to output on the same line as the previous one, without printing a newline, what expression can be added?

A) terminator = ""
B) end = ""
C) eol = ""
D) newline = 0

Question 44

What is NOT one of the initial four locations connected by the ARPANET in the 1970s?

A) Stanford Research Institute
B) University of California at Los Angeles
C) UC Santa Barbara
D) Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Question 45

What language was designed based on a theory of recursive functions and is considered to be an ideal language for solving difficult or complex problems?

A) COBOL
B) FORTRAN
C) LISP
D) Assembler

Question 46

What type of processing occurs when processes run for a slice of time, then yield access to the CPU to another process, cycling through processes repeatedly?

A) coalescent processing
B) cooperative processing
C) concurrent processing
D) divisive processing

Question 47

When reading the syntax for the print command, what does the ellipsis between expressions indicate?

A) They indicate that all expressions are required to be included.
B) They indicate that the program has a minimum number of expressions that must be included.
C) They indicate that you must pass a value of specific type to the expression.
D) They indicate that you could include multiple expressions after the first one.

Question 48

What technology replaced the vacuum tube as the mechanism for implementing electronic switches in computer hardware?

A) transistor
B) resistor
C) fully programmable gate array
D) microprocessor

Question 49

What language, created by Tim Berners-Lee, allows browsers to structure the information to be displayed on Web pages?

A) Python
B) HTML
C) HTTP
D) Java

Question 50

Regardless of whether print is passed a single or multiple expressions, what does output always end with by default?

A) A carriage return.
B) A null terminator.
C) A newline.
D) An EOL.