Lecture 1: Introduction to Computers and Programming

Question 1

A program is

Answer 1

A set of instructions that a computer follows to perform a task

Question 2

Programs are commonly referred to as

Answer 2

Computer software

Question 3

A programmer (or software developer) is

Answer 3

A person who designs, creates, and tests computer programs

Question 4

The physical devices (or components) which make up a computer are commonly referred to as

Answer 4

Hardware

Question 5

Some of the components that make up a typical computer

Answer 5

1) Central processing unit (CPU)
2) Main memory
3) Secondary storage devices
4) Input devices
5) Output devices

Question 6

When a computer is performing tasks that a program tell it to do, we say that it is

Answer 6

Running or executing the program

Question 7

The central processing unit (or CPU) is the part of

Answer 7

The computer that actually runs the programs

Question 8

The computer sends coded instruction to the CPU, which perform the

Answer 8

Required operations (such as arithmetic and logic)

Question 9

A computer’s main memory consists of a long list of

Answer 9

Memory locations

Question 10

Each memory location holds a string of

Answer 10

0s and 1s

Question 11

When a program is running, it is stored in

Answer 11

Main memory

Question 12

Main memory is also called

Answer 12

Random access memory (or RAM)

Question 13

Because the CPU can quickly access data from

Answer 13

Any random location in RAM

Question 14

RAM is volatile (temporary) storage. When the computer is turned off, all data stored in

Answer 14

RAM is erased

Question 15

Secondary storage holds data for long periods, even while the computer is

Answer 15

Off

Question 16

Installed programs are always stored in

Answer 16

Secondary storage and are temporarily loaded into main memory when they are running

Question 17

When we close Word and it is erased from

Answer 17

Main memory, it still exists in secondary memory

Question 18

The most common type is the

Answer 18

Hard drive, although solid state drives are becoming more popular

Question 19

Input: Data the computer collects from people and other devices. Common input devices

Answer 19

1) Keyboard
2) Mouse
3) Touchscreen
4) Scanner
5) Microphone

Question 20

Output: Data the computer produces for people or other devices. Common output devices

Answer 20

1) Screen
2) Printer
3) Speaker

Question 21

The program that tell a computer what to do are referred to as

Answer 21

Software

Question 22

There are two general categories of software:

Answer 22

System software and application software

Question 23

System software controls and manages the basic operations of a computer. The most common system software is the

Answer 23

Operating system, which controls the internal operations of a computer’s hardware and manages connected devices

Question 24

Application software is any program a computer’s user runs to

Answer 24

Perform some task

Question 25

All data stored in a computer are sequences of 0s and 1s, known as

Answer 25

Binary numbers

Question 26

A single binary digit is called a

Answer 26

Bit

Question 27

Main memory (RAM) is divided into billion of

Answer 27

Storage locations. Each location is large enough to hold a byte

Question 28

A byte is a binary number made up of

Answer 28

8 bits

Question 29

Each memory location can store a

Answer 29

Small number or a letter of the alphabet

Question 30

A bit can be thought of as a light switch that can either be

Answer 30

"On" or "Off"

Question 31

If a bit is 1 we say it is

Answer 31

On

Question 32

If a bit is 0 we say it is

Answer 32

Off

Question 33

Each storage location in main memory has a

Answer 33

Memory address, beginning with address 0

Question 34

The computer uses a memory address to access the data in its

Answer 34

Storage location

Question 35

The addresses and data are in binary, which is how

Answer 35

A computer stores data

Question 36

Although computer only use binary, simplicity

Answer 36

1 will sometimes shows memory addresses in decimal and the data they contain in decimal and letters

Question 37

In binary, all numeric values are written as series of

Answer 37

0s and 1s

Question 38

Any piece of data stored in a computer's memory must be stored as a

Answer 38

Binary number

Question 39

To store a character in memory, we first convert it to a

Answer 39

Numeric code

Question 40

The standard coding scheme used is

Answer 40

ASCII

Question 41

A CPU can only understand instructions written in

Answer 41

Machine language

Question 42

A program written in machine language is a set of instructions made up of only

Answer 42

Binary numbers

Question 43

Each machine language instruction tells the CPU to perform a very simple task. Some examples

Answer 43

1) Read a piece of data from main memory 2) Add two numbers 3) Substract one number from another 4) Multiply two numbers 5) Move a piece of data from one memory location to another 6) Determine whether one value is equal to another

Question 44

The CPU does nothing on its

Answer 44

Own

Question 45

It follows the fetch-decode-execute cycle with the program (or programs) currently loaded in

Answer 45

Main memory

Question 46

The next instruction to be executed is

Answer 46

1) Fetched from main memory 2) Decoded by the CPU 3) Then executed

Question 47

When computer were new,

Answer 47

Assembly language was created as an alternative to machine language

Question 48

Short words called

Answer 48

Mnemonics are used in assembly language to represent the instructions a CPU can follow

Question 49

A program called an

Answer 49

Assembler takes assembly language code and translates it to machine language code

Question 50

The computer's CPU can then run the

Answer 50

Machine language program

Question 51

Although assembly language allows us to avoid writing machine language, it still requires

Answer 51

The programmer to understand a lot about the CPU, and it also require a large number of instructions for even simple program.

Question 52

Since assembly language is similar to machine language, it is called a

Answer 52

Low-level language

Question 53

From the 1950s onward, many

Answer 53

High-level languages have been created

Question 54

A compiler is a program that translates a high-level language program to a

Answer 54

Machine language program

Question 55

The computer's CPU can then run the

Answer 55

Machine language program

Question 56

An algorithm is a sequence of

Answer 56

Precise instructions which leads to a solution

Question 57

As we have seen, an algorithm does not have to be written in programming langugage, we can also describe it in a

Answer 57

Human language