Deck 1: Introduction

Question 1

Programming defines the field of computer science.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A representation of a problem that includes the relevant aspects of what is being represented is known as an abstraction.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In order to solve a problem computationally, two things are needed: a representation that captures all the relevant aspects of the problem, and an algorithm that solves the problem by use of the representation.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In the Man, Cabbage, Goat and Wolf problem example, the state [W, E, W, E] indicates that the cabbage and wolf are on the east side of the river, and the man and goat are on the west side.

Question 5

Regardless of your skills as a programmer, computing problem solving cannot be performed without the knowledge and use of computer algorithms.

Question 6

The Traveling Salesman Problem becomes intractable using a brute-force approach for more than twenty cities.

Question 7

There are more possible chess games that can be played than the number of grains of sand it would take to fill the universe solid.

Question 8

Any algorithm that correctly solves a given problem must solve the problem in a reasonable amount of time; otherwise it is of limited practical use.

Question 9

The brute force approach is one of the most widely used algorithmic programming solutions because it is such an efficient problem - solving method.

Question 10

Any algorithm that solves a general computational problem is referred to as tractable.

Question 11

Computer science is fundamentally about

A)computational Problem Solving
B) programming
C) software engineering

Question 12

The idea of a brute force approach can be described as

A)trying all possible solutions to a given problem
B)a computational approach that uses a great deal of memory
C) the most efficient, effective, and direct means to solve a problem

Question 13

An algorithm is of practical use if it

A) uses the brute force approach
B) can find a solution a problem in a reasonable amount of time
C) bypasses the need for computational problem solving

Question 14

An _________ is a finite number of clearly described, unambiguous, "doable" steps that can be systematically followed to produce a desired result for given input in a finite amount of time.

Question 15

For the Man, Cabbage, Goat, Wolf problem, assume that each state is represented by a sequence of the form [man, cabbage, goat, wolf], in which a value of 0 indicates that the item is on the east side of the river, and a value of 1 indicates that the item is on the west side. For example, [1,0,1,0] would indicate that the cabbage and wolf are on the east side of the river, and the man and goat on the west side.
-Give a list of all the invalid states in this representation.

Question 16

For the Man, Cabbage, Goat, Wolf problem, assume that each state is represented by a sequence of the form [man, cabbage, goat, wolf], in which a value of 0 indicates that the item is on the east side of the river, and a value of 1 indicates that the item is on the west side. For example, [1,0,1,0] would indicate that the cabbage and wolf are on the east side of the river, and the man and goat on the west side.
-Give a sequence of states that solves the problem (assuming that all items start on the east side of the river, and the village is on the west side.)

Question 17

All algorithms must terminate after a finite amount of time.

Question 18

Algorithms are general computational methods for solving specific problems.

Question 19

The computation that a given computer performs is only as good as the underlying algorithm used.

Question 20

Because computers can execute instructions very quickly and reliably without error, algorithms and computers are a perfect match.

Question 21

Which of these is not an algorithm?

A) A pasta recipe
B) A shopping list
C) The steps used in performing long division

Question 22

Most algorithms require computers because

A) they would require too much time and/or detail for a person to apply
B) algorithms are only written in programming languages
C) most algorithms are simple and practical enough for computers to understand

Question 23

For the Day of the Week algorithm given below, determine the day of the week for the following dates:
(a) September 14, 1864
(b) April 5, 1971
(c) February 21, 2004

Question 24

The more voltage levels that the hardware is able to utilize and distinguish, the more reliable the hardware design becomes.

Question 25

All of the information in a computer system is represented using digits 0-9.

Question 26

Digital computers are designed to either use binary values 0,1.

Question 27

In binary representation, each digit represents either the value -1, 0, or 1.

Question 28

A transistor is an electronic switch that can switch at very high speed.

Question 29

Integrated circuits, the building blocks of computer hardware, are made up millions or even billions of transistors.

Question 30

The decimal value of the binary number 1001 is 9.

Question 31

The binary number 1000 is larger than binary number 0111.

Question 32

The number following binary number 1011 is 1100.

Question 33

A byte is a group of (usually) eight bits.

Question 34

The algorithm for converting a number in base 10 to base 2 is to successively divide the number by ten until the remainder becomes 0.

Question 35

The fundamental hardware components of computer system are the central processing unit (CPU), main memory, volatile memory, input/output devices, and buses.

Question 36

Main memory is volatile, meaning that its contents are retained only when power is supplied.

Question 37

A Central Processing Unit is designed to execute instructions written as a sequence of bits.

Question 38

A flash (USB) drive is an example of a device containing nonvolatile memory.

Question 39

Buses provide communication between hardware components.

Question 40

An operating system is the part of the hardware that controls all the other hardware components of a computer system.

Question 41

An operating system is what determines the look and feel of a given computer system, not the particular hardware components of the system.

Question 42

Moore's Law states that the number of transistors that can be put on a silicon chip doubles roughly every two years, first predicted in 1980.

Question 43

Computer hardware comprises

A) applications and programs used by your computer
B) files stored on your computer
C) the physical parts of a computer system

Question 44

All information within a computer system is represented by the use of

A) graphs, charts, numbers, and complex algorithmic languages
B) only two digits, 0 and 1
C) sixteen digits, 0 - 9 and A - F known as hexadecimal representation

Question 45

The term bit stands for

A) beta digit
B) binary digit
C) binary integrated transistor

Question 46

Although values represented in base 2 are significantly longer than those represented in base 10, binary representation is used in digital computing because

A) it's impossible to design a switch with more than two options
B) of the resulting simplicity of hardware design
C) early technology wasn't advanced enough to utilize binary representation

Question 47

An operating system

A) is software that manage the hardware of a computer and provides a user interface
B) converts binary data to hexadecimal data for the computer to understand

Question 48

We are used to representing numbers in a decimal system, that is, in base ______.

Question 49

Any information can be represented by use of only ____symbols.

Question 50

10011 is a binary number. The number that it translates to in the decimal system that we are used to is ________.

Question 51

A byte usually consists of ______ bits.

Question 52

The prediction that the number of transistors that would be able to be put on a silicon chip would double roughly every two years is known as ______.

Question 53

Convert the following binary numbers to base ten.
-1010

Question 54

Convert the following binary numbers to base ten.
-10000

Question 55

Convert the following binary numbers to base ten.
-1111

Question 56

Convert the following binary numbers to base ten.
-1111111

Question 57

Convert the following binary numbers to base ten.
-10000001

Question 58

Show all steps for converting the following base ten values into binary (base 2) representation.
(a) 11
(b) 25
(c) 47

Question 59

Charles Babbage is considered the first computer programmer.

Question 60

While system software is intrinsic to a computer system, application software serves the particular needs of the user.

Question 61

The statement "Hear are the results." contains a semantic error.

Question 62

Programming languages are artificial languages, and therefore do not have a clear set of rules of syntax.

Question 63

Most programs are written in machine code because this is the only thing the CPU can process.

Question 64

Python is a "high level" programming language?

Question 65

Compiled programs generally execute faster than interpreted programs.

Question 66

Computers do not understand what a program is meant to do, they only follow given instructions.

Question 67

Program debugging is a small part of program development.

Question 68

Syntax errors are generally easier to find than logic (semantic) errors.

Question 69

The two major programming paradigms in use today are imperative programming and object-oriented programming.

Question 70

A photo editing program is an example of

A) system software
B) application software
C) security software
D) none of the above

Question 71

"Hello there, how are you?" is an example of an English sentence that is

A) syntactically correct
B) semantically incorrect
C) both of the above

Question 72

"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" is an example of an English sentence that is

A) syntactically correct
B) semantically correct
C) neither the above

Question 73

The Central Processing Unit can only run programs written in _________.

Question 74

The two major programming paradigms in use today are ______ programming and _______ programming

Question 75

For each of the following, indicate whether it contains a syntax error, a semantic (logic) error, or has no syntax or semantic errors.

-n1 = 10
n2 = 20
print('The sum of n1 + n2 is', n2)

Question 76

For each of the following, indicate whether it contains a syntax error, a semantic (logic) error, or has no syntax or semantic errors.

-n1 = 5
n2 = 10
n3 = 20
result = n1(n2 + n3)
print('Result =', result)

Question 77

For each of the following, indicate whether it contains a syntax error, a semantic (logic) error, or has no syntax or semantic errors.

-firstname = input('Please enter your first name: ')
lastname = input('Please enter your last name: ')
print('Hello', firstname, lastname)

Question 78

A brute force approach to computational problem solving is never tractable.

Question 79

Every computational problem has an infinite number of solutions.

Question 80

There is only one best solution for any given computational problem.