Hardware

Question 1

___ ___ are very small, portable devices that can store anywhere from 500 M of data to over several gigabytes of data. The term “drive” is a bit of a misnomer as there are no moving parts to the “drive.” Rather, the memory in a flash drive is similar to the RAM used as primary storage for your CPU

Answer 1

flash drives (also known as jump drives or thumb drives)

Question 2

Define “supercomputers”.

Answer 2

Computers at the leading edge of processing capacity. Their definition is constantly changing as the supercomputer of today often becomes the personal computer of tomorrow. They are generally used for calculation-intensive scientific applications, for example, weather forecasting and climate research.

Question 3

____ devices transfer data from the processing unit to other formats.

Answer 3

output devices

Question 4

Printers, plotters, monitors, flat panel displays, and CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) displays are examples of ___ ___.

Answer 4

output devices

Question 5

___ are devices that transfer data to or from the CPU but do not take part in processing data.

Answer 5

Peripherals

Question 6

___ are commonly known as input and output devices (I/O devices).

Answer 6

Peripherals

Question 7

___ ___ are random access devices. Data can be stored on, and retrieved from, the disk in any order.

Answer 7

Magnetic disks

Question 8

___ ___ are the most efficient way to store and retrieve individual records.

Answer 8

Magnetic disks

Question 9

___ ___ are the most commonly used form of secondary storage.

Answer 9

Magnetic disks

Question 10

A ___ ___ interprets program instructions.

Answer 10

control unit

Question 11

What is the purpose of primary storage (main memory)?

Answer 11

To store programs and data until they are ready to be used by the computer’s processor.

Question 12

Primary storage is divided into two main parts - ___ ___ ___ (___) and ___ ___ ___ (___).

Answer 12

random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM).

Question 13

What is the purpose of secondary storage devices?

Answer 13

Provide permanent storage for programs and data. Depending on the way the devices are set up, they can either be online (the data on the device is available for immediate access by the CPU) or offline (the device is stored in an area where the data is not accessible to the CPU).

Question 14

___ devices instruct the CPU and supply data to be processed.

Answer 14

Input devices

Question 15

A keyboard, mouse, trackball, touch-screen technology, and point of sale (POS) scanners are examples of ___ ___

Answer 15

Input devices

Question 16

What is the function of random access memory (RAM)?

Answer 16

It stores data temporarily while it is being processed.

Question 17

What is the purpose of the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)?

Answer 17

To performs arithmetic calculations.

Question 18

How is read-only memory (ROM) used?

Answer 18

Used to permanently store the data needed to power on the computer; includes portions of the operating system.

Question 19

___ or ___ ___ (___) are computers comprise an extremely diverse group of devices ranging from handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) through desktop machines that can serve as components in large, networked environments.

Answer 19

microcomputers or personal computers (PCs)

Question 20

Some of the more common classifications of microcomputers or personal computers (PCs) include ___ or ___ ___ and ____.

Answer 20

fat or thin clients and workstations.

Question 21

___ are microcomputers or personal computers (PCs) that have been configured to provide resources to the network.

Answer 21

Servers

Question 22

___ ___ use laser technology to “burn” data on the disk (although some re-writable disks use magnetic technology to record data).

Answer 22

Optical discs

Question 23

In general, read-only and write-once ___ ___ are a more stable storage medium than magnetic disks.

Answer 23

optical disks

Question 24

___ ___, like magnetic disks are random access devices.

Answer 24

Optical disks

Question 25

Optical disks, like ___ ___ are random access devices.

Answer 25

magnetic disks

Question 26

Optical disks, like magnetic disks are ___ ___ ___.

Answer 26

random access devices.

Question 27

The ___ is the control center of the computer system. It has three principal components.

Answer 27

CPU (central processing unit)

Question 28

___ ___ includes the physical equipment in your computer and the equipment that your computer uses to connect to other computers or computer networks.

Answer 28

Computer hardware

Question 29

___ ___ are computers used by commercial organizations to support mission critical tasks such as sales and order processing, inventory management, and e-commerce applications.

Answer 29

Mainframe computers

Question 30

Unlike ___, which tend to support processor-intensive activities (i.e., a small number of highly complex calculations), mainframe computers tend to be input/output (I/O) intensive (i.e., a very large numbers of simple transactions).

Answer 30

supercomputers

Question 31

Unlike supercomputers, which tend to support processor-intensive activities (i.e., a small number of highly complex calculations), ___ ___ tend to be input/output (I/O) intensive (i.e., a very large numbers of simple transactions).

Answer 31

mainframe computers

Question 32

___ ___ is a sequential access device. Data is stored in order of the primary record key (i.e. document number, customer number, inventory number, etc.) and must also be retrieved sequentially. Although once used for transaction processing, this medium is now used mostly for archiving data.

Answer 32

magnetic tape

Question 33

Applications of supercomputers include ___ applications and___-___ applications in finance and business.

Answer 33

scientific; calculation-intensive

Question 34

An ___ ___ ___ uses a laser to burn data onto a disk surface.

Answer 34

optical disc recorder