Question 1

Which of the following is not a microprocessor manufacturing company?

Accepted Answer

Dell is a computer hardware company, not a microprocessor manufacturing company. The other choices all produce microprocessors.

Question 2

The CPU is able to quickly access data stored at any random location in ROM.

Accepted Answer

The CPU cannot quickly access data stored at any random location in ROM as compared to RAM. ROM is a non-volatile memory that stores permanent data and instructions, but it is slower than RAM, and access times are limited due to physical constraints. The CPU usually retrieves data from ROM sequentially, and it may take more clock cycles to access data from different locations.

Question 3

Where does a computer store a program and the data that the program is working with while the program is running?

Accepted Answer

A computer stores a program and the data it's working with in the main memory or RAM (Random Access Memory) while the program is running. This allows for quick access to the necessary data and instructions, enabling the computer to execute the program efficiently. While secondary storage devices like hard drives and solid-state drives also store data, they are not used while a program is actively running. Likewise, the CPU (Central Processing Unit) and microprocessor chip are responsible for processing data and executing instructions, but they do not store program or data over the long term.

Question 4

The smallest storage location in a computer's memory is known as a _____.

Accepted Answer

The smallest storage location in a computer's memory is known as a bit, which can be either a 0 or a 1. A byte is a collection of eight bits, a ketter is not a term commonly used in computer memory, and a switch is a component that connects multiple devices in a network.

Question 5

Which computer language uses short words known as mnemonics for writing programs?

Accepted Answer

Assembly language uses mnemonics for writing programs. Mnemonics are short words that represent machine language instructions.

Question 6

The _____ coding scheme contains a set of 128 numeric codes that are used to represent characters in the computer memory.

Accepted Answer

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is a 7-bit coding scheme that contains a set of 128 numeric codes used to represent characters in the computer memory. It includes all uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, punctuation marks, and control characters. Unicode, on the other hand, is a coding scheme that uses up to 32 bits to represent over 110,000 characters from various languages and scripts. ENIAC is one of the first general-purpose electronic computers, and twos complement is a binary representation of signed numbers.

Question 7

A computer is a single device that performs different types of tasks for its users.

Accepted Answer

A computer is not a single device but a combination of multiple hardware and software components working together to perform various tasks.

Question 8

What is the encoding technique called that is used to store negative numbers in the computer's memory?

Accepted Answer

Two's complement is a mathematical operation used to represent negative numbers in binary form. It is the most commonly used method for storing negative numbers in computer memory. Unicode and ASCII are character encoding schemes, and floating-point notation is a way to represent real numbers in a binary format.

Question 9

The following is an example of an instruction written in which computer language?
10110000

Accepted Answer

The instruction written in the given format is in machine language, which consists of binary code that can be directly understood and executed by the computer's hardware. Assembly language is a type of low-level programming language that uses mnemonics to represent machine language instructions. JAVA and C# are high-level programming languages that require a compiler or interpreter to translate the code into machine language.

Question 10

What is the largest value that can be stored in one byte?

Accepted Answer

One byte can store a maximum value of 2^8-1, which is 255.

Question 11

Which of the following is considered to be the world's first programmable electronic computer?

Accepted Answer

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) is considered to be the world's first programmable electronic computer. It was developed in the United States during World War II for calculating missile trajectories. IBM, Dell, and Gateway are all computer companies that developed computers later on.

Question 12

The disk drive is a secondary storage device that stores data by _____ encoding it onto a spinning circular disk.

Accepted Answer

The disk drive stores data by magnetically encoding it onto a spinning circular disk.

Question 13

A software developer is the person with the training to design, create, and test computer programs.

Accepted Answer

A software developer is responsible for designing, creating, and testing computer programs. They have the necessary technical training and expertise to develop software applications for a variety of platforms and industries.

Question 14

All programs are normally stored in ROM and loaded into RAM as needed for processing.

Accepted Answer

Programs are not normally stored in ROM. They are stored in secondary storage devices (such as hard drives or flash drives) and are loaded into RAM as needed for processing.

Question 15

Programs are commonly referred to as _____.

Accepted Answer

Programs are a type of software, which includes both system software and application software. Utility programs are a type of application software that perform specific tasks such as cleaning up files or optimizing system performance. However, "software" is the most general and inclusive term.

Question 16

Which of these is not a major component of a typical computer system?

Accepted Answer

While it is true that an operating system is an essential component of a typical computer system, it is not considered one of the major components like the CPU, main memory, and secondary storage devices. The operating system is more of a software layer that interacts with the hardware components to manage system resources and provide a user interface.

Question 17

Which language from the following list is referred to as a low-level language?

Accepted Answer

Assembly language is a low-level language as it is a one-to-one representation of machine language and directly interacts with the computer hardware. The other options mentioned are high-level languages which are easier to read, write, and understand than low-level languages.

Question 18

The process known as the _____ cycle is used by the CPU to execute instructions in a program.

Accepted Answer

The fetch-decode-execute cycle is the process used by the CPU to execute instructions in a program. It involves fetching the instruction from memory, decoding what the instruction means, and then executing it. This cycle is repeated for each instruction in the program. Choices A, B, and D are not the correct order of the steps in the cycle.

Question 19

What type of volatile memory is usually used only for temporary storage while running a program?

Accepted Answer

RAM (Random Access Memory) is volatile memory that is used for temporary storage while running a program. It allows the computer to access data quickly and efficiently but does not retain the information once the power is turned off. ROM is non-volatile memory used for permanent storage of firmware or software. TMM and TVM are not commonly used acronyms in reference to computer memory.

Question 20

A _____ has no moving parts, and operates faster than a traditional disk drive.

Accepted Answer

A solid state drive (SSD) has no moving parts, unlike a traditional disk drive, which has spinning disks. This allows an SSD to operate faster and more reliably than a disk drive. Options A, C, and D are all incorrect choices as they do not fit the description provided in the question.

Quiz 1: Introduction to Computers and Programming