Deck 2: The System Unit, Processing, and Memory

Question 1

The number of bits being transmitted at one time is dependent on the bus width.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

As a hard drive begins to get full, it takes less time to locate the data stored on the hard drive.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The backside bus (BSB) has been one of the most common types of expansion buses in past years.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Early computers required programs to be written in machine language.

Question 5

ROM (read-only memory), also called main memory or system memory, is used to store the essential parts of the operating system while the computer is running.

Question 6

Unlike ASCII and EBCDIC, Unicode is a universal international coding standard designed to represent text-based data written in any ancient or modern language, including those with different alphabets.

Question 7

Thunderbolt ports are used to receive wireless transmissions from devices.

Question 8

To create 3D RAM or flash memory chips, the memory cells are stacked on top of one another in layers.

Question 9

Pipelining increases the number of machine cycles completed per second.

Question 10

To convert analog sound to digital sound, several thousand samples-digital representations of the sound at a particular moment-are taken every second.

Question 11

Each location in memory has an address.

Question 12

Each pixel in a monochrome graphic can be only one of two possible colors (such as black or white).

Question 13

USB ports are used to connect a computer to a phone outlet via telephone connectors.

Question 14

Several of the original ports used with desktop computers-such as the parallel ports traditionally used to connect printers-are now considered standard ports.

Question 15

The binary numbering system uses only two symbols-the digits 0 and 1-to represent all possible numbers.

Question 16

The control unit takes the instructions fetched by the prefetch unit and translates them into a form that can be understood by the control unit, ALU, and FPU.

Question 17

The main circuit board inside the system unit is called the megaboard.

Question 18

The process of representing data in a form that can be understood by a digital computer is called decimal byte representation.

Question 19

The decode unit coordinates and controls the operations and activities taking place within a CPU core.

Question 20

Some basic capabilities are often integrated directly into the motherboard instead of requiring the use of an expansion card .

Question 21

RAM capacity is measured in bits . _________________________

Question 22

The numbering system we commonly use is called the decimal numbering system because it uses ____ symbols to represent all possible numbers.

A) 2
B) 5
C) 10
D) 16

Question 23

To help you identify USB 3 ports, they are colored red . _________________________

Question 24

The buses that connect peripheral (typically input and output) devices to the motherboard are often called expansion buses . _________________________

Question 25

The system unit is the main case of a computer or mobile device. _________________________

Question 26

Benchmark tests typically run the same series of programs on several computer systems that are identical except for one component (such as the CPU) and measure how long each task takes in order to determine the overall relative performance of the component being tested. _________________________

Question 27

ASCII is the coding system traditionally used with personal computers. _________________________

Question 28

Each place value in a binary number represents ____ raised to the appropriate power.

A) 0
B) 1
C) 2
D) 10

Question 29

Each machine language instruction in a CPU's instruction set is broken down into several smaller, machine-level instructions called supercode . _________________________

Question 30

Because of its large size, audio data is usually encrypted to reduce its file size when it is transmitted over the Internet or stored on a  smartphone or another device. _________________________

Question 31

Eight bits grouped together are collectively referred to as a ____.

A) kilobit
B) byte
C) pixel
D) binary

Question 32

Cache memory today is usually external cache. _________________________

Question 33

A ____ is approximately 1,000 bytes.

A) kilobyte (KB)
B) megabyte (MB)
C) gigabyte (GB)
D) terabyte (TB)

Question 34

Today's CPUs contain hundreds of millions of transistors, and the number doubles approximately every 18 months, a phenomenon known as Moliere's Law . _________________________

Question 35

With pipelining , a new instruction begins executing as soon as the previous one reaches the next stage of the pipeline. _________________________

Question 36

Most recent software programs, including the latest versions of Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Microsoft Office, use ASCII . _________________________

Question 37

Processors  consist of a variety of circuitry and components that are packaged together and connected directly to the motherboard. _________________________

Question 38

There are buses inside the CPU, as well as on the memory channel . _________________________

Question 39

Single-core CPUs allow computers to work simultaneously on more than one task at a time. _________________________

Question 40

A ____ is the smallest unit of data that a binary computer can recognize.

A) byte
B) datum
C) pixel
D) bit

Question 41

A computer ____ is the amount of data (typically measured in bits or bytes) that a CPU can manipulate at one time.

A) word
B) character
C) statement
D) unit

Question 42

The bus width and bus speed together determine the bus's ____.

A) clock speed
B) bandwidth
C) machine cycle
D) memory

Question 43

Network ports are used to connect a computer to a computer network via a networking cable-typically a cable using a(n) ____, which looks similar to a telephone connector but is larger.

A) RJ-11 connector
B) RJ-12 connector
C) RJ-14 connector
D) RJ-45 connector

Question 44

____ are small components typically made out of aluminum with fins that help to dissipate heat.

A) ACs
B) Fans
C) Heat buses
D) Heat sinks

Question 45

The key element of the microprocessor is the ____-a device made of semiconductor material that controls the flow of electrons inside a chip.

A) processor
B) transistor
C) chipbus
D) S-card

Question 46

The JPEG images taken by most digital cameras today use 24-bit ____.

A) mega color images
B) true color images
C) real color images
D) full color images

Question 47

Video data-such as home movies, feature films, video clips, and television shows-is displayed using a collection of ____.

A) slides
B) pixels
C) vectors
D) frames

Question 48

Most computers today support the ____ standard, which means the computer automatically configures new devices as soon as they are installed and the computer is powered up.

A) Plug and Play
B) Match
C) Serial port
D) Parallel port

Question 49

To connect multiple USB devices to a single USB port, a ____ can be used.

A) USB hub
B) module
C) USB  bus
D) connector

Question 50

With bitmapped images, the color of each ____ is represented by bits; the more bits used, the better the image quality.

A) pixel
B) vector
C) map
D) byte

Question 51

A ____ is an electronic path over which data can travel.

A) bus
B) lane
C) word
D) cache memory

Question 52

A(n) ____ instruction might look like a meaningless string of 0s and 1s, but it actually represents specific operations and storage locations.

A) COBOL language
B) ASCII
C) programming language
D) machine language

Question 53

Like graphics data, ____-such as a song or the sound of someone speaking-must be in digital form in order to be stored on a storage medium or processed by a computer.

A) pixel data
B) giga data
C) audio data
D) audio programs

Question 54

One measurement of the speed of a CPU is the ____, which is rated in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).

A) system speed
B) CPU clock speed
C) system rpm
D) CPU rpm

Question 55

A circuit board is a thin board containing ____ and other electronic components.

A) p ixels
B) pentiums
C) computer chips
D) computer  bits

Question 56

The ____ allows 127 different devices to connect to a computer via a single USB port on the computer's system unit.

A) HyperTransport bus
B) USB standard
C) AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus
D) PCI Express Bus

Question 57

____ have begun to replace ROM for storing system information, such as a computer's BIOS.

A) Motherboards
B) Microprocessors
C) Adapter cards
D) Flash memory chips

Question 58

The term ____ refers to chip-based storage.

A) storage media
B) memory
C) hard drive
D) zip drive

Question 59

Magnetic RAM (MRAM) uses ____ rather than an electrical charge to store data.

A) memristors
B) three layers
C) magnetic polarization
D) carbon nanotubes

Question 60

____ consists of nonvolatile memory chips that can be used for storage by the computer or the user.

A) RAM
B) Register
C) SDRAM
D) Flash memory

Question 61

Today's CPUs are formed using a process called ____ that imprints patterns on semiconductor materials.

A) vectoring
B) lithography
C) serigraphy
D) imprintment

Question 62

____________________ data consists of still images, such as photographs or drawings.

Question 63

The ____ tries to predict what data and instructions will be needed and retrieves them ahead of time in order to help avoid delays in processing.

A) control unit
B) floating point unit
C) arithmetic/logic unit
D) prefetch unit

Question 64

One of the most common methods for storing graphics data is in the form of a bitmap image-an image made up of a grid of small dots, called ____________________, that are colored appropriately to represent an image.

Question 65

Unicode is updated regularly to add new characters and new languages not originally encoded-the most recent version is ____________________.

Question 66

Computer chips are also called ____________________.

Question 67

The ____ allows a core to communicate with other CPU components, such as the memory controller and other cores.

A) control unit
B) prefetch unit
C) decode unit
D) bus interface unit

Question 68

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-1 Jess is a musician who has just bought a new computer. Now she need to figure out how to connect this computer to the devices that were connected to her old computer. Jess has pictures from her old computer saved on a flash memory card. To transfer these to her new computer, she will insert the card into a(n) ____.

A) SCSI  port
B) IrDA  port
C) modem
D) slot

Question 69

One nanometer (nm) is ____ of a meter.

A) one-billionth
B) one-millionth
C) one-thousandth
D) one-tenth

Question 70

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-2 Jack has a computer at home that he uses to access the Internet, store and edit personal photos, and create and edit documents. Recently, he has come to realize that in order to keep the computer performing at its best, he needs to carry out regular system maintenance on the computer. Jack can speed up his computer by scanning it for viruses and ____.

A) mailware
B) utilities
C) spyware
D) icons

Question 71

To synchronize all of a computer's operations, a ____, which is located on the motherboard, is used.

A) cycle chip
B) fetch unit
C) system clock
D) microprocessor

Question 72

One reason a computer might become inefficient is that when programs are uninstalled, pieces of the program are sometimes left behind or references to these programs are left in operating system files such as the ____.

A) Windows defender
B) Windows registry
C) kernel
D) Security Accounts Manager (SAM)

Question 73

The ____ is the section of a CPU core that performs arithmetic involving integers and logical operations.

A) FPU
B) control unit
C) decode unit
D) ALU

Question 74

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-2 Jack has a computer at home that he uses to access the Internet, store and edit personal photos, and create and edit documents. Recently, he has come to realize that in order to keep the computer performing at its best, he needs to carry out regular system maintenance on the computer. Jack can use the ____ program to locate and delete temporary files, such as installation files, Web browsing history, and files in the Recycle Bin.

A) Windows Registry
B) Disk Defragmenter
C) Temporary Files
D) Windows Disk Cleanup

Question 75

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-1 Jess is a musician who has just bought a new computer. Now she need to figure out how to connect this computer to the devices that were connected to her old computer. To connect her external hard drive, in which all of her music files are stored, to the computer, Jess needs to use a ____.

A) serial port
B) USB port
C) network antenna
D) modem cable

Question 76

The ____ takes instructions from the prefetch unit and translates them into a form that the control unit can understand.

A) register
B) decode unit
C) ALU
D) internal cache

Question 77

The ____ orders data and instructions from cache or RAM based on the current task.

A) ALU
B) prefetch unit
C) control unit
D) decode unit

Question 78

Integrated circuits contain interconnected components such as _______________ that enable electrical current to perform particular functions.

Question 79

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-2 Jack has a computer at home that he uses to access the Internet, store and edit personal photos, and create and edit documents. Recently, he has come to realize that in order to keep the computer performing at its best, he needs to carry out regular system maintenance on the computer. Since Jack has a Windows system, he can right-click a hard drive icon in File Explorer, select Properties, and then select the ____ option on the Tools tab to check that hard drive for errors.

A) Check
B) Disk Defragmenter
C) Defragment now
D) Windows Disk Cleanup

Question 80

Terascale computing is the ability of a computer to process one ____ floating point operations per second (teraflops).

A) million
B) billion
C) trillion
D) quadrillion