Lesson 4: Four Basic Computer Periods

Question 1

Four basic periods are:

Answer 1

Pre-Mechanical
Mechanical
Electromechanical
Electronic

Question 2

is the earliest age of information tech-
nology

Answer 2

Premechanical

Question 3

The ___ devised a writing system called ___.

Answer 3

Sumerians; cuneiform

Question 4

When humans first started com-
municating, they would try to use language or simple pictures or
drawings known as ____.

Answer 4

petroglyths,

Question 5

pens and paper began to be developed.

Answer 5

Premechanical

Question 6

the first numbering systems was invented

Answer 6

Premechanical

Question 7

A popular model of calculator

Answer 7

Abacus

Question 8

invented the mov-
able metal-type printing process in 1450 and sped up the process
of composing pages from weeks to a few minutes.

Answer 8

Johannes Gutenberg

Question 9

invented the slide rule, a device that allowed the user to multiply
and divide by sliding two pieces of precisely machines and scribed
wood against each other.

Answer 9

William Oughtred

Question 10

created a machine that could both calculate numbers and
print

Answer 10

Charles Babbage

Question 11

helped Babbage design the instructions that would be given to the machine on punch cards and to
describe, analyze, and publicize his ideas.

Answer 11

Lady Augusta Ada Byron

Question 12

She has been called the
”first programmer”.

Answer 12

Lady Augusta Ada Byron

Question 13

invented the Pascaline around 1642 which was a very popular mechanical computer;
it used a series of wheels and cogs to add and subtract numbers

Answer 13

Blaise Pasca

Question 14

These are
the beginnings of telecommunication.

Answer 14

Electromechanical

Question 15

It is the first major
invention to use electricity for communication purposes and made it
possible to transmit information over great distances with great speed.

Answer 15

Telegraph

Question 16

a system that broke
down information (in this case,
the alphabet) into bits (dots
and dashes) that could then be
transformed into electrical im-
pulses and transmitted over a
wire (just as today’s digital technologies break down information
into zeros and ones).

Answer 16

Morse code

Question 17

perfected a machine that could
automatically sort census cards into
a number of categories using elec-
trical sensing devices to ”read” the
punched holes in each card and thus
count the millions of census cards
and categorize the population into
relevant groups

Answer 17

Herman Hollerith,

Question 18

decided
to try to combine Hollerith’s
punched card technology with
Babbage’s dreams of a general-
purpose, ”programmable” com-
puting machine

Answer 18

Howard Aiken

Question 19

he built a ma-
chine known as the Mark I,
which used paper tape to supply
instructions (programs) to the
machine for manipulating data
(input on paper punch cards),
counters to store numbers, and
electromechanical relays to help
register results.

Answer 19

Howard Aiken

Question 20

was the first high-speed, digital computer capable of
being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems

Answer 20

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
(ENIAC)