Computer Fundamentals Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Correct answer: System Bus

The system bus is the set of parallel lines joining the processor, memory and input/output controllers. It comprises the address bus that names the location, the data bus that carries the value, and the control bus whose timing signals decide who may drive the lines and when - which is the controlled manner the question refers to.

Answer: B

Correct answer: File Server

A file server holds documents, images, video and other files centrally and serves them to the machines on the network, handling the storage, permissions and backup in one place. A print server manages printers, and a web server delivers pages over HTTP.

Answer: D

Correct answer: PC

A general-purpose microcomputer intended to be used by one person at a time is a personal computer - general in purpose, built around a microprocessor, and single-user by design. A special-purpose computer is built for one fixed task, and KIPS is a measure of speed in thousands of instructions per second.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Binary

Every circuit in a computer distinguishes just two states - off and on, low and high - so all data is stored as binary patterns of 0s and 1s. Decimal, octal and hexadecimal are notations people use to write those patterns conveniently; hexadecimal is popular because one digit stands for exactly four bits.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Local Area Network

LAN stands for Local Area Network - computers linked over a small area such as one office or building, typically by Ethernet or Wi-Fi, giving high speed and low delay. A network spanning cities or countries is a WAN.

Answer: C

Correct answer: can be temporarily removed by compaction

Fragmentation leaves a file’s blocks scattered across the disk, so compaction (defragmentation) rewrites them contiguously and gathers the free space together. The relief is temporary: continued creation and deletion of files fragments the disk again.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Machine Language

Machine language is the processor’s own binary code - the only form it can execute directly, with no translation of any kind. Assembly language is one step above it, replacing the binary with mnemonics that an assembler converts, and COBOL and Perl are high-level languages further removed still.

Answer: C

Correct answer: COBOL

Machine language and assembly language are low-level: they work in terms of the particular processor’s instructions and registers. COBOL is a high-level language whose statements are written in English-like sentences and are translated by a compiler, so it is independent of any one machine.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Magnetic card

A magnetic card carries a short stripe of magnetic material and so holds only a small quantity of data - an account number, an identifier, an expiry date. Tape holds vast amounts sequentially, and an optical mark reader is an input device rather than a storage medium.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Sentinel

A sentinel is a value placed in the data stream to mark a significant point - most often the end of a list or a record - so that a loop can stop when it meets the sentinel instead of counting items. The null terminator ending a C string is the familiar example.