Module 2

Question 1

A modern computer is

Answer 1

an electronic device that can follow instructions, written in programs, to manipulate data.

Question 2

four functions that define modern computers,

Answer 2

(input, process, output, storage)

Question 3

The abacus, also called a counting frame

Answer 3

is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes.
The device was first used in Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq) in 2700-2300 BC.

Question 4

Antikythera mechanism

Answer 4

is an ancient mechanical computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered in 1900–1901 from the Antikythera shipwreck off the coast of Greece. I

made around 150-100 BC making the mechanism the oldest known complex scientific calculator

Question 5

slide rule

Answer 5

mechanical analog computer

Question 6

The Jacquard loom

Answer 6

is a mechanical loom

controlled by punched cards with punched holes,

Question 7

Difference Engine

Answer 7

Created by Charles Babbage 1822 - used the decimal number system and was powered by a handle. - never finished

Question 8

Difference Engine 2

Answer 8

Used punch cards to store pre written programs -

Created bu Science museum 1989 -91 to celebrate Babbages idea - In 2000 the printer from Babbage’s design was completed

Question 9

electromechanics

Answer 9

the combinations of the sciences of electromagnetism, of electrical engineering and mechanics.

Question 10

relays

Answer 10

Many of the first electromagnetic computers used relaus to perform calculations and to provide output.

A relay, therefore, acts as a switch to enable the passage of electrical current to other relays or to an output, such as a light.

Question 11

Z3

Answer 11

designed by and completed in 1941 by Konrad Zuse in Berlin.

an example of an electromechanical computer.

built with 2,000 relays with program codes and data being stored on punched film.

Question 12

Mark I

Answer 12

Another example of electromagnetic computers

Howard Aiken’s quickly obsoleted electromechanical calculator

built between 1937 and 1945

Question 13

conditional branching

Answer 13

is where a sequence of programming code is executed at a branching point only when certain conditions are either true or false.

For example, a computer can be programmed to perform a calculation when a prior calculation returns a value than meets a specific criterion.

Question 14

The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

Answer 14

John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert at the University of Pennsylvania, was the world’s first general-purpose electronic digital computer.

The project was a response to U.S. wartime needs

weighting 30 tons, occupying 15,000 square feet of floor
space, and containing more than 18,000 vacuum tubes

capable of 5000 additions per second.

Question 15

vacuum tubes

Answer 15

Vacuum tube diode: electrons from the
hot cathode flow towards positive anode, but
not vice versa

Question 16

EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer).

Answer 16

stored-program concept -

the first publication of the idea was in a 1945 proposal by von Neumann for a new computer, the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer).
In

Question 17

IAS computer

Answer 17

Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies. The IAS computer, although not completed until 1952, is the prototype of all subsequent general-purpose computers.

Question 18

UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer)

Answer 18

was commissioned by the Bureau of the Census for the 1950 calculations.

Question 19

upward compatible

Answer 19

new machines compatible with the older machines.

Question 20

International Business Machines (IBM),

Answer 20

which was then the major manufacturer of punched-card processing equipment, delivered its first electronic stored-program computer, the 701, in 1953.

Question 21

Second Generation - Transistors

Answer 21

replacement of the vacuum tube by the transistor.

smaller, cheaper and dissipates less heat than a vacuum tube, but can be used in the same way as a vacuum tube to construct computers.

used to amplify and switch electronic signals and is built as solid-state devices, being constructed entirely from solid materials (such as silicon) in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material.

Question 22

use of the transistor

Answer 22

defines the second generation of computers and remains as a fundamental building block of modern electronic devices

Question 23

discrete component

Answer 23

A single, self-contained transistor

Question 24

integrated circuit (IC)

Answer 24

IC is an electronic circuit usually constructed of a semiconductor material such as silicon that has both the electronic components and their interconnections etched or imprinted upon it

IC defines the third generation of computers

Question 25

Large-scale integration (LSI - Fourth Generation micoprocessors

Answer 25

could fit hundreds of components onto one chip (of silicon).

Question 26

very large-scale integration (VLSI)

Answer 26

squeezed hundreds of thousands of components onto a chip.

Question 27

Ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI)

Answer 27

increased that number into the millions.

Question 28

Moore’s law

Answer 28

describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware: the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years.

Question 29

(RAM)

Answer 29

Computer memory

Question 30

Artificial Intelligence - 5th generation

Answer 30

are in development - although applications like voice recognition are already inuse today

Question 31

parallel processing

Answer 31

the ability to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously) is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.

Question 32

goal of fifth-generation computing

Answer 32

develop devices that respond to natural language input (i.e. spoken English, etc.) and are capable of learning and self-organization.

Question 33

supercomputer

Answer 33

goal of a supercomputer is to solve scientific and engineering problems as fast as possible. Such a computer typically has thousands of processors capable of performing upwards of trillions of instructions per second (and beyond!)

worldwide weather reports and performing large-scale simulations

Question 34

FLOPS

Answer 34

speed of a supercomputer is measured

Question 35

mainframe

Answer 35

performance is measured in millions of instructions per second (MIPS).

commonly used to provide large numbers of people access to computer resources. These can be found in large institutions such as hospitals, airline reservations companies, and larger companies

Question 36

minicomputer

Answer 36

class of multi-user computers and is positioned between the largest multi-user computer (mainframe) and the smallest single-user systems (microcomputer) in terms of size.

preferred by the smaller businesses, colleges, and so on.

Question 37

Microcomputers

Answer 37

have a memory to meet the assignments of students and necessary tasks of businesspeople. There are many types of microcomputers: desktop, workstation, laptop, etc. The term “micro” was common in the 1970’s and 1980’s however has largely been replaced with personal computer.

Question 38

personal computer

Answer 38

any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator

Question 39

microprocessor

Answer 39

a single chip with all the circuitry that formerly occupied large cabinets, led to the proliferation of personal computers after about 1975.

Question 40

Workstations

Answer 40

characterized by high-performance processors and graphics displays, with large local disk storage, networking capability, and running under a multitasking operating system.

Question 41

Single unit PCs (also known as all-in-one PCs

Answer 41

subtype of desktop computers, which combine the monitor and case of the computer within a single unit

Question 42

laptop

Answer 42

also called a notebook computer or sometimes a notebook, is a small personal computer designed for mobility

Question 43

Desktop replacements

Answer 43

large laptops meant to replace a desktop computer while keeping the mobility of a laptop.

Question 44

tablet PC

Answer 44

notebook or slate-shaped mobile computer, first introduced by Pen computing in the early 90s with their PenGo Tablet Computer. Its touchscreen or graphics tablet/screen hybrid technology allows the user to operate the computer with a stylus or digital pen, or a fingertip, instead of a keyboard or mouse.