Deck 18: Limitations of Computing

Question 1

Which of the following occurs when the results of a calculation are too small to represent in the computer?

A) Overflow
B) Underflow
C) Parity
D) Cancellation error
E) Representational error

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following make it possible to determine which bit or digit is incorrect when an error is detected?

A) Significant digits
B) Precision
C) Check digits
D) Parity bits
E) Error-correcting codes

Answer 2

E

Question 3

In which of the following does a team perform a manual simulation of a program or design?

A) Inspection
B) Requirement
C) Specification
D) Walk-through
E) Formal verification

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following attempts to prove that an algorithm behaves as intended?

A) Inspection
B) Requirement
C) Specification
D) Walk-through
E) Formal verification

Question 5

Which of the following is the Big-O notation for exponential time?

A) O(1)
B) O(N)
C) O(log₂N)
D) O(2^N)
E) O(N²)

Question 6

Which of the following is the least efficient?

A) O(1)
B) O(N)
C) O(log₂N)
D) O(2^N)
E) O(N²)
F) O(N!)

Question 7

The limits on computing all stem from a computer's finite representation of numbers.

Question 8

The maximum number of significant digits that a computer can represent is known as precision.

Question 9

The root cause of errors in software is complexity.

Question 10

Software verification activities should be carried out in all phases of the software life cycle.

Question 11

Big-O notation indicates how long a solution will take to run on a hypothetical machine.

Question 12

An algorithm that runs in logarithmic time is more efficient than one that runs in quadratic time.

Question 13

A design flaw in a microprocessor chip will not result in periodic errors compromising expected component limits and calculations.

Question 14

The process of _______________ is an attempt to prove that a program meets its requirements.

Question 15

The best-known open source project is _______________.

Question 16

_______________ notation expresses computing time as a term in the function that increases most rapidly relative to the size of the problem.

Question 17

The _____________________ is the concept that software is developed, not just coded, and evolves over time.

Question 18

If a polynomial time solution using one processor can be found for any _______________ problem, then such a solution exists for every such problem.

Question 19

What is overflow?

Question 20

Approximately how many lines of code made up Windows Vista?

Question 21

Which of the following occurs when the results of a calculation are too large to represent in the computer?

A) Overflow
B) Underflow
C) Parity
D) Cancellation error
E) Representational error

Question 22

What is the number of errors per line of code that can be expected in good software?

A) 100 errors per 1000 lines
B) 25 errors per 1000 lines
C) 2 errors per 1000 lines
D) Fewer than 1 error per 1000 lines
E) 0 errors

Question 23

Which of the following is the Big-O notation for linear time?

A) O(1)
B) O(N)
C) O(log₂N)
D) O(2^N)
E) O(N²)

Question 24

All of the following project or system breakdowns occurred as a result of software errors, except:

A) the 9-hour failure of the AT&T long-distance network in 1990.
B) massive radiation overdoses by Therac-25 radiation therapy machines between 1985 and 1987.
C) a U.S. Patriot Missile battery's failure to track and intercept an incoming Iraqi Scud missile that killed and injured American troops in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
D) the Mars Climate Orbiter entering the Martian atmosphere about 100 kilometers lower than expected, causing the craft to burn up.
E) periodically miscalculated spreadsheet data completed on computers manufactured by IBM, Compaq, Dell, Gateway 2000, and other IBM-compatible PCs beginning in 1994.

Question 25

Which of the following is used to detect that an error has occurred between the storing and retrieving of a byte or the sending and receiving of a byte?

A) Overflow
B) Underflow
C) Parity bit
D) Cancellation error
E) Representational error

Question 26

Which algorithm complexity is not dependent on the size of a problem?

A) O(1)
B) O(N)
C) O(log₂N)
D) O(2^N)
E) O(N²)

Question 27

Which of the following statements is most closely associated with Big-O analysis?

A) There is more than one way to solve most problems.
B) The order of magnitude of a function is identified with the term in the function that increases fastest relative to the size of the problem.
C) Given a program and an input to the program, determine if the program will eventually stop with this input.
D) A problem is said to be in Class NP if it can be solved with a sufficiently large number of processors in polynomial time.

Question 28

Representational error and round-off error are synonyms.

Question 29

The computer term "bug" arose from an incident in which a moth got into a computer cabinet.

Question 30

Software testing is capable of proving the absence of bugs in software.

Question 31

Most large software projects are designed by a team of designers and then given to a single person to implement.

Question 32

An algorithm that runs in exponential time is more efficient than one that runs in linear time.

Question 33

The halting problem is an unsolvable problem.

Question 34

Software requirements are broad but precise statements outlining what is to be provided by a software product.

Question 35

A walk-through is a verification method in which a team member reads the program or design aloud line by line and other team members point out errors.

Question 36

Which of the following uses an extra bit to check the validity of a stored or transferred byte of data?

A) Overflow
B) Underflow
C) Parity
D) Cancellation error
E) Representational error

Question 37

What is the number of errors per line of code in the software for the space shuttle?

A) 100 errors per 1000 lines
B) 25 errors per 1000 lines
C) 2 errors per 1000 lines
D) Fewer than 1 error per 1000 lines
E) 0 errors

Question 38

Which of the following is the Big-O notation for constant or bounded time?

A) O(1)
B) O(N)
C) O(log₂N)
D) O(2^N)
E) O(N²)

Question 39

Which of the following is the most efficient?

A) O(1)
B) O(N)
C) O(log₂N)
D) O(2^N)
E) O(N²)

Question 40

The term significant digits refers to the number of places that a computer can accurately represent to the right of the decimal point.

Question 41

Underflow is the condition that occurs when the results of a calculation are too small to represent in a given machine.

Question 42

Most errors in a software project occur in the implementation phase.

Question 43

Alan Turing developed the concept of a theoretical computing machine in the 1930s.

Question 44

Class NP problems are those that can be solved with one processor in polynomial time.

Question 45

The _______________ of a computer refers to the maximum number of digits that it can represent.

Question 46

A(n) _______________ is used to make the number of 1s in a byte odd (or even) to validate the storage or transmission of the byte.

Question 47

A(n) _______________ is designed to stimulate discussion about the way a programmer chose to design or implement the program's requirements.

Question 48

A(n) _______________ is a conceptual computing device that reads and writes symbols on an infinite tape.

Question 49

_______________ problems can be solved using one processor in polynomial time.

Question 50

The fable of the King and the Corn demonstrates _______________ complexity.