section 2.3 vocab

Question 1

The smallest unit of digital information. Each individual one and zero in a binary sequence is a bit.

Answer 1

Bit

Question 2

Eight bits together form a byte. The value of a single byte can range from 0 (eight 0s) to 255 (eight 1s).

Answer 2

Byte

Question 3

One kilobyte is equal to 1,000 bytes.

Answer 3

Kilobyte (KB)

Question 4

One megabyte is one million bytes of information. Therefore, 1 megabyte equals 1,000 kilobytes.

Answer 4

Megabyte (MB)

Question 5

One gigabyte is one billion bytes. Therefore, 1 gigabyte equals 1,000 megabytes.

Answer 5

Gigabyte (GB)

Question 6

One terabyte is equal to 1,000 gigabytes.

Answer 6

Terabyte (TB)

Question 7

A physical signal, such as text, numbers, graphics, or sound, interpreted by converting it into binary numbers.

Answer 7

Digital data

Question 8

Integers can have a positive or negative value. Computers encode 32 bit by using the first bit for the sign, one for negative and zero for positive. Then, the remaining 31 bits are used to encode the number itself, giving a range from about negative 2 billion to positive 2 billion.

Answer 8

Encoding integers

Question 9

Computers represent text by using 1s and 0s as stand-ins for physical signals, such as magnetic or electrical charge. The computer can encode text by assigning a unique binary code to each character.

Answer 9

Encoding text

Question 10

In 64-bit processors, computers can receive or send eight bytes of data at once. Each time the processor writes data to memory or reads data from memory is called a cycle. The base unit of measure is hertz (Hz). One hertz means one cycle per second.
1 kilohertz (KHz) = 1000 Hz
1 megahertz (MHz) = 1 million Hz (Often seen on an older PC bus interfaces.)
1 gigahertz (GHz) = 1 billion Hz (Often used with fiber optic networks. Newer computer CPUs run at gigahertz speeds.)

Answer 10

Processing speed

Question 11

Data storage usually refers to the number of bytes. Since bits and bytes are so small and can't store much information, we use the metric system to describe them in groups.
1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes
1 megabyte = 1024 kilobytes
1 gigabyte = 1024 megabytes
1 terabyte = 1024 gigabytes

Answer 11

Storage space

Question 12

Throughput, or data transmission from one computer to another, usually refers to the number of individual bits that can be transmitted in one second. For example, a gigabit internet connection can send a billion ones and zeroes every second.

Throughput is also associated with PC bus speeds, or in other words, how quickly the system bus can move data from one computer component to the other. Some of the most common throughput terms are:
Kbps (kilobits per second) - 1 Kbps is equal to 1,000 bits per second. This type of throughput is sometimes found in slow network links or in public spaces such as a train.
Mbps (megabits per second) - 1 Mbps is equal to 1,000,000 bits per second. Often found in home networks and wireless networks. To get the bandwidth available to a memory controller in Mbps, multiply the MHz by 64 and then divide by 8.
Gbps (gigabits per second) - 1 Gbps is equal to 1,000,000,000 bits per second. Many modern networks and PC bus standards support Gbps.
Tbps (terabit per second) - 1 Tbps is equal to 1,000,000,000,000 bits per second and is often used when linking data centers, cities, and countries.

Answer 12

Throughput

Question 13

A computer needs memory space available for processing. Processing would be very slow if you had to call up everything to be processed from a mass storage system. Instead, computers are equipped with a system memory that is a storage working space while the computer is running.

Random Access Memory (RAM) is this memory system. However, it is volatile memory. RAM clears all data when the computer shuts down.

Some RAM types include:
Dynamic RAM (DRAM) is a system RAM that is often used for a computer's main processing memory. A DRAM cell is an integrated circuit composed of a capacitor and a transistor. A data bit is held in the capacitor until the electrical charge is discharged which happens continuously at a slow rate. The DRAM is pulsed with a new electrical charge every few milliseconds in order to retain the data bit.
Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) is dynamic RAM that is synchronized to the system bus, the system for communication between the memory and the CPU.
Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM), or RAM stick, is made of several DRAM integrated circuits. They are used for SDRAM in a desktop PC.
Small Outline DIMM (SO-DIMM) is a smaller version DIMM that can be used in smaller devices like laptops and tablets.

Answer 13

System memory