Assessment Test Flashcards
Which of the following is not considered a system component that can be found inside a computer? A. CPU B. RAM C. PCIe graphics adapter D. Motherboard
C. System components are essential for the basic functionality of a computer system. Many
of the landmarks found on the motherboard can be considered system components, even
expansion slots to a degree. What you plug into those slots, however, must be considered
peripheral to the basic operation of the system. For more information, see Chapter 1
Which of the following is a physical memory format installed directly in today’s desktop computer systems? A. DIMM B. HDD C. SSD D. eMMC
A. Except for DIMMs, all options represent some form of secondary storage, all of which
are covered in Chapter 2. For more information, see Chapter 1.
Which of the following are components that can commonly be found on a motherboard? (Choose all that apply.) A. Slots B. Fan connectors C. Gyroscope D. Scanner E. HDD
A, B. Motherboards commonly have RAM slots and expansion slots. Older motherboards
even had CPU slots. Modern motherboards have connectors for powering cooling fans.
Gyroscopes are most commonly found in mobile devices. Scanners are external devices.
Although there might be one or more types of HDD interfaces built into the motherboard,
the HDD itself is not. For more information, see Chapter 1.
What suffix indicates that the capacity of an optical disc is roughly twice that of its standard counterpart? A. DL B. R C. RW D. RE
A. DL stands for double or dual layer. With DVDs, the capacity almost doubles, but with
Blu-ray discs, it actually does. For more information, see Chapter 2.
What is the name of the standard power connector that has been used with larger drives
since the first IBM personal computers were introduced?
A. AT system connector
B. Berg
C. Molex
D. ATX system connector
C. The standard peripheral power connector, or Molex connector, is commonly used on
larger drives because it allows more current to flow to the drive than smaller peripheral
connectors. For more information, see Chapter 2.
Except in the case of RAID 0, which two things do all types of RAID offer?
A. Faster read speeds
B. Faster write speeds
lviii Assessment Test
C. Redundancy
D. Fault tolerance
E. Ability to restore automatically from tape after a drive failure
C, D. Except for RAID 0, all implementations of RAID offer a way to recover from the
failure of at least one drive, which is an example of fault tolerance, through the implementation
of some mechanism that stores redundant information for that purpose. Some RAID
types offer faster read and/or write performance. RAID 1, for instance does not guarantee
either. For more information, see Chapter 2.
You are installing a new graphics adapter in a Windows 7 system. Which of the following
expansion slots is designed for high-speed, 3D graphics adapters?
A. USB
B. FireWire
C. PCI
D. PCIe
D. Although technically PCI could be used for graphics adapters, PCIe supports highspeed,
3D graphic video cards. PCIe offers better performance than older graphics adapters.
USB and FireWire can stream video, but they are not used for attachment of graphics adapters.
For more information, see Chapter 3.
A user complains that changing from a VGA graphics card to one that supports the latest
HDMI revision has resulted in not being able to play back certain content from the computer.
Some content does play back, however. What could be the problem?
A. Digital signal required
B. Resolution too low
C. DRM
D. VGA cable not compatible
C. Digital rights management (DRM), using High-bandwidth Content Protection (HDCP),
is supported by adapters and monitors that support HDMI and later versions of DVI. If
the content is protected, HDMI in the adapter will use HDCP to encrypt the stream across
the cable, and the monitor will use HDCP to decrypt it for playback. From the information
given, it cannot be assumed that the monitor changed when the adapter did. As a result, the
monitor might have an older DVI-D port that uses a passive converter to receive the HDMI
cable’s signal but that does not support HDCP. The signal over the HDMI cable is always
digital. As a result, a VGA cable, which only supports analog signals, cannot be used when
a DVI-D or HDMI interface is involved. HDMI supports all resolutions supported by a
VGA interface. For more information, see Chapter 3.
Which of the following are modular ports used in data communications? (Choose two.) A. RG-6 B. RJ-45 C. RJ-11 D. Thunderbolt E. RG-11
B, C. RJ-11 ports are used in analog telephony, and they allow modems attached to computer
serial ports to transmit modulated digital information across the public switched telephone
network (PSTN). RJ-45 ports are used by various network interface controller (NIC)
cards for attachment to networks such as Ethernet. RG-6 and RG-11 are coaxial cable
types, and Thunderbolt connectors are not modular. For more information, see Chapter 3.
The\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_is the measurement of the number of pixels an LCD monitor can display without the image appearing distorted. A. Native resolution B. Contrast ratio C. Pixelation D. Base frequency
A. The native resolution refers to how many pixels an LCD screen can display (across and
down) without distortion. The native resolution is based on the placement of the actual
transistors that create the image by twisting the liquid crystals. The contrast ratio is the
measurement between the darkest color and the lightest color that an LCD screen can display.
For more information, see Chapter 4
Which of the following is not a common monitor technology? A. LCD B. Plasma C. OLED D. Super PMOLED
D. Although there is a Super AMOLED display, employing active-matrix technology, there
is no corresponding “super” passive-matrix version. The other technologies exist and are
discussed in further detail in Chapter 4.
What can be used at the check-in desk of a doctor’s office to prevent patients from viewing confidential information? A. An antiglare filter B. A privacy filter C. An LED-backlit display D. A thin client
B. Privacy filters are used to limit the viewing angle for a monitor. With such filters, the
screen image becomes indiscernible when viewed at just a few degrees from center. For
more information, see Chapter 4.
Which of the following is a standard computer that can access resources locally as well as
from servers but requires no specialized enhancements?
A. Gaming PC
B. Home server
C. Thin client
D. Thick client
D. A thick client is any computer system with a standard configuration. The gaming PC has
enhancements over thick clients to their CPU, video, audio, and cooling. The home server
PC must have specialized capabilities and services along with a faster NIC than the thick
client and a RAID array. The thin client is a lesser device in comparison to the thick client,
but that cost-saving feature is its enhancement. These less expensive computers can connect
over the network to servers for their operating system images and applications. For more
information, see Chapter 5.
Which of the following is a requirement for virtualization workstations? A. Enhanced video B. Enhanced audio C. Maximum RAM and CPU cores D. RAID array
C. Virtualization workstations require more RAM than standard systems and need to be
equipped with as many multicore processors as possible. Video and audio are not resources
that need to be enhanced for such workstations. Although a RAID array is a wise addition
whenever servers with valuable information are involved, a virtualization workstation does
not require one. For more information, see Chapter 5.
Which of the following is not a requirement for a home server PC? A. TV tuner B. Print and file sharing services C. Gigabit NIC D. RAID array
A. A TV tuner card is a requirement for a home theater PC but not for a home server.
The other options are among those features that are required. For more information, see
Chapter 5.
Which network connectivity device stops broadcasts from being sent to computers on a different network segment? A. Hub B. Switch C. Router D. Firewall
C. A router does not pass along broadcasts to computers on other segments. Hubs and
switches send broadcasts along because they do not segment traffic at the logical network
address level. See Chapter 6 for more information.
Which layer of the OSI model has the important role of providing error checking? A. Session layer B. Presentation layer C. Application layer D. Transport layer
D. A key role of the Transport layer is to provide error checking. The Transport layer also
provides functions such as reliable end-to-end communications, segmentation and reassembly
of larger messages, and combining smaller messages into a single larger message. See
Chapter 6 for more information.
On which port does FTP run by default? A. 21 B. 25 C. 63 D. 89
A. FTP listens on port 21. See Chapter 7 for more information.
Which of the following protocols can be used by a client to access email on a server? A. DNS B. FTP C. SMTP D. IMAP
D. The IMAP and POP3 protocols can be used to retrieve email from mail servers. See
Chapter 7 for more information.
Which of the following is a company that provides direct access to the Internet for home and business computer users? A. ASP B. ISP C. DNS D. DNP
B. An Internet service provider (ISP) provides direct access to the Internet. See Chapter 8
for more information.
What is the data throughput provided by one ISDN bearer channel? A. 16Kbps B. 56Kbps C. 64Kbps D. 128Kbps
C. An ISDN B (bearer) channel provides 64Kbps data throughput. A home-based BRI
ISDN provides two B channels. See Chapter 8 for more information.
Which LCD component in a laptop is responsible for providing brightness? A. Backlight B. Inverter C. Screen D. Backdrop
A. The backlight provides light to the LCD screen. The inverter provides power to the
backlight, and the screen displays the picture. See Chapter 9 for more information.
Your laptop has 2GB of installed memory and uses shared video memory. If the video card
is using 512MB, how much is left for the rest of the system?
A. 2GB
B. 1.5GB
C. 512MB
D. Cannot determine
B. If the laptop is using shared video memory, then the system memory is shared with the
video card. If the video card is using 512MB (half a gigabyte), then there is 1.5GB left for
the system. See Chapter 9 for more information.
Which of the following standards supports both PCIe and USB 3.0? A. PC Card B. PlugCard lx Assessment Test C. ExpandCard D. ExpressCard
D. ExpressCard supports PCIe and USB 3.0. See Chapter 9 for more information.
When using a capacitive touchscreen on a mobile device, what is the most common tool used to input data? A. Keyboard B. Trackball C. Stylus D. Finger
D. Capacitive touchscreens react to slight changes in electrical charges. The human finger is
used as an input device for capacitive touchscreens. For more information, see Chapter 10.
Which technology used by e-Readers gives them longer battery life than tablets? A. Lithium-polymer battery B. Low-power backlight C. Electrophoretic ink D. Capacitive touchscreen
C. e-Readers use electrophoretic ink, also known as E Ink. E Ink uses less energy than
other LCD displays, prolonging battery life. For more information, see Chapter 10.