Computer Fundamentals Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: Abacus

The abacus is still in everyday use for arithmetic, and a practised operator can add long columns of figures on it very quickly. EDSAC, ENIAC and UNIVAC were early electronic computers, all long since retired to museums.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Rotational delay

Reaching a sector takes two movements: the arm steps to the right track - the seek - and then the platter must turn until the sector passes under the head, which is the rotational delay or latency. On average it is half a revolution, so a 7200 rpm disk averages about \( \tfrac{1}{2} \times \tfrac{60}{7200} = 4.2 \) ms.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Mask

A mask is a bit pattern combined with another value to control its form: ANDing with a mask clears the bits that are 0 in it, ORing sets the bits that are 1, and XORing inverts them. It is how individual flags are read and written inside a word.

Answer: D

Correct answer: PC

A general-purpose microcomputer intended for one person at a time is a personal computer. All three characteristics in the question apply to it: a microprocessor at its heart, general rather than dedicated in purpose, and a single user at the keyboard.

Answer: A

Correct answer: American standard code for information interchange

ASCII is the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a 7-bit code giving \( 2^7 = 128 \) values - the letters, digits, punctuation and control characters. Its universality is what allows text written on one machine to be read on another.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Mouse

The mouse lets a user point at and select what is on the screen instead of typing commands, which is what made the graphical interface possible. A light pen and a touch screen also point, but the mouse is the device that replaced keyboard-driven operation in general use.

Answer: A

Correct answer: 8080 microprocessor

The Intel MCS-80 was the family of chips built around the 8080 microprocessor, introduced in 1974 - an 8-bit processor with a 16-bit address bus reaching 64 KB of memory. The 8085 and the 16-bit 8086 belong to the later MCS-85 and iAPX 86 families.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Babbage

Babbage was the machine-oriented high-level language written for GEC’s 4080 series minicomputers, giving structured statements while still allowing direct access to the hardware. LOGO, SNOBOL and ALGOL were general languages not tied to that machine.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Software tool

A program used to build, repair or improve other programs - a compiler, an editor, a debugger, a linker, a version control system - is a software tool. What sets the class apart is its subject: other software, rather than the user’s own data.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Backing store

Storage added beyond the immediately usable main memory is the backing store: it is non-volatile and far larger, but the processor cannot address it directly, so its contents must be brought into main memory before use. Floppy disks, hard disks and punched cards are particular examples of it.