Section 3: Computer Hardware And History Flashcards
1
Q
When did the idea of communicating instructions with punched cards originate?
A
1801
2
Q
When were punch cards used to calculate the US census for the first time?
A
1890
3
Q
What is ENIAC?
A
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator
4
Q
What was the Colossus?
A
A machine/computer built in England to decode German messages during the latter part of WW2
5
Q
Name a semiconductor material used in computers?
A
Silicon
6
Q
When was Apple Computer Inc. Created?
A
1976
7
Q
Who created the PC and when?
A
IBM in 1981
8
Q
What were mainframes?
A
Some of the first computers which occupied the size of a room. Consumed a lot of power, created a lot of heat and was pretty unreliable.
9
Q
What years were Vacuum Tubes used?
A
1946–1959
10
Q
What are transistors?
A
11
Q
What did first generation computers use for circuitry and memory?
A
They used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drinks for memory what generation of computers?
12
Q
What does EDVAC stand for?
A
Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
13
Q
What does UNIVAC stand for?
A
Universal Automatic Computer
14
Q
IBM-701 and IBM-650 are notable computers of what generation
A
First generation computers
15
Q
What technology did transistors replace?
A
Vacuum tubes replaced what?
16
Q
What years were Transistors used?
A
1959–1965
17
Q
What states could transistors maintain? How were they represented?
A
Off and On; Represented as 0 and 1.
18
Q
What did second-generation computers rely on for input?
A
printouts, still
19
Q
What was used for storage in second generation computers?
A
tapes and disks
20
Q
What generation was the Honeywell 400 a part of?
A
second-generation
21
Q
What generation was the IBM 7094 a part of?
A
Second-Generation
22
Q
What generation was the CDC 1604 a part of?
A
second generation
23
Q
What generation was the CDC 3600 a part of?
A
second-generation
24
Q
What generation was the UNIVAC 1108 a part of?
A
Second-Generation
25
What were the first computers of the second generation of computers built for?
Atomic energy industry?
26
How many computer programming languages were invented to work with second generation computers?
over 100
27
Name two early high-level programming languages?
FORTRAN and COBOL
28
What does FORTRAN stand for and what is it?
FORmula TRANslation
Early High-level computer programming language
29
What is COBOL and what does it stand for?
COmmon Buisness-Oriented Language
Early High-level programming language
30
What technology did integrated circuits replace?
Transistors. They miniaturized them.
31
What are semiconductors?
A silicon chip that miniaturized transistors.
32
What input devices did third generation computers use?
Keyboards and monitors
33
What technology did third generation computers use and from what years?
1965–1971
34
What generation of computers did it become possible to run multiple programs at the same time?
Third generation of computers
35
What was the computational time in third generation computers?
nanoseconds
36
What did integrated circuits do for computers?
they increased computing power
37
What generation of computers did the PDP—8 belong to?
Third-Generation
38
What generation of computers did the PDP—11 belong to?
third-generation
39
What generation of computers did ICL 2900 belong to?
third-generation
40
What generation of computers did IBM 360 belong to?
Third generation
41
What generation of computers did IBM 370 belong to?
third generation
42
What was the technology used in fourth-generation computers and what years was it used from?
Microprocessors and 1971—Present)
43
What are microprocessors?
Microprocessors include thousands of integrated circuits on a single silicon strip.
44
What is the fourth generation of computers characterized by?
A significant reduction in processor size (microprocessors) and a significant increase in capabilities.
45
What was the first microprocessor chip that changed everything? When was it developed?
Intel 4004, developed in 1971
46
When was the first IBM computer for home use released?
1981.
47
Name four developments in the fourth generation of computers.
1. Microprocessors
2. Graphical user interfaces
3. Mouse
4. handheld devices
48
Name two operating systems developed during the fourth generation of computers. (There are more than two.)
1. MS-DOs
2. Microsoft Windows.
49
What is the calculation speed of fourth generation computers?
Picoseconds (one trillionth of a second)
50
What are computer generations defined by?
Major technological developments that fundamentally changed the way computers operated.
51
How fast could first generation computers compute?
Computed in milliseconds
52
Why were second generation computers less prone to crashing?
Because the transistors generated less heat than vacuum tubes which made overheating less of a concern. This translated to components lasting longer and the system crashed less often
53
What four innovations in technology are used to define the four generations of computers?
1. Vacuum Tubes
2. Transistors
3. Integrated Circuits
4. Microprocessors
54
What technology will define the fifth generation of computers?
Artificial Intelligence
55
When did the fifth generation of computers first emerge?
1980’s
56
What developments will fifth generation computers support?
Artificial intelligence and natural language processing while using principles of robotics, neural networks, expert systems and natural language understanding and generation
57
What does ULSI stand for?
Ultra-Large-Scale Integration
58
What is parallel processing?
Multiple programs running concurrently
59
Name 3 emerging technologies that are expected to significantly contribute to the abilities of fifth-generation computers?
1. Quantum computing
2. Molecular technology
3. Nanotechnology
60
What is quantum computing?
The study of a non-classical model of computation.
61
Why are quantum computers more efficient than modern computing?
Quantum tunneling
62
How much are quantum computers expected to reduce power consumption?
Expected to reduce power consumption from 100 to 1,000 times what is currently available.
63
What is Nanotechnology and Molecular Manufacturing?
Involves the use of nanoscale (extremely small) tools and nonbiological processes to build structures, devices, and systems at the molecular level.
Technology based on the ability to build structures to complex, atomic specifications by means of mechanism thesis or reaction outcomes determined by the use of mechanical constraints.
64
What does a CPU do?
Processes all information from programs run by the computer.
65
How is processor speed measured?
gigahertz (GHz)
66
Where is RAM found in a computer?
In the memory slots on the motherboard
67
What does RAM do?
To temporarily store information created by programs and to do so in a way that makes the dad immediately accessible.
68
Name 4 tasks that require RAM
1. Rendering images
2. Editing video
3. Editing photographs
4. Multitasking with multiple applications open.
69
What does a hard drive do?
Stores permanent and temporary data.
70
What are the two different types of storage devices?
1. HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
2. SSD (Solid-State Drives)
71
How do Hard Disks Work?
Storage that works by writing binary data onto spinning magnetic discs called platters that rotate at high speeds.
72
How do SSD work?
Stores data by using static flash memory chips
73
What is the difference between on-board graphic capabilities and dedicated graphics cards?
Graphics cards interface with the motherboard via an expansion slow to work almost exclusively on graphic rendering.
Modern GPU’s fulfill broad computational workloads beyond just rendering making them an extension of the CPU.
74
What is an Expansion Card?
It’s a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector or expansion slot on a computer motherboard, backplane, or riser card to add functionality to a computer system via the expansion bus.
75
What is an expansion bus?
A computer bus that moves information between the internal hardware of a computer system (including the CPU and RAM) and peripheral devices.
It is a collection of wires and protocols that allows for the expansion of a computer.
76
What are other names for Expansion cards?
Expansion board
Adapter Card
Accessory Card
77
USB Stands for?
Universal Serial Bus
78
What are the three major components of computer hardware?
1. CPU
2. Storage
3. Peripheral Devices
79
What are peripheral devices and what do they support?
peripheral devices support input and output operations of the system. (Monitors, mouse, keyboard, printers etc.)
80
What piece of hardware often has a fan mounted to the top of it?
CPU
81
What is the primary hardware component in a computer
motherboard. All other parts including the CPU, Storage, RAM, Etc are plugged into the motherboard
82
What is the smallest form of memory your computer has and where is it stored?
Cache is the smallest unit of memory in the computer and it’s stored in the CPU
83
SRAM
Static Random Access Memory
84
DRAM
Dynamic Random Access Memory
85
BIOS
Basic input output system
86
UEFI
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
87
What tech replaced BIOS
UEFI
88
PCIE
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
89
ISA
Industry Standard Architecture
90
EISA
Extended Industry standard architecture
91
What is the difference between ports and slots?
Slots are internal
Ports are external
92
What are the 3 parts of a CPU?
1. The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which contains circuitry that performs operations on data, such as addition and subtraction.
2. The control unit, which contains the circuitry coordinating the machine’s activities
3. the processor register which contains data storage cells called registers
93
What are registers?
high speed storage areas in the CPU.
94
Where must all data be stored before it can be processed?
in the CPU register
95
ALU
arithmetic logic unit
96
To perform an operation on data stored in the main memory, the control unit (4)
1. transfers data from main memory into the registers.
2. informs the ALU which registers hold the data
3. activates the ALU
4. tells the ALU which register should receive the results.
97
MAR
Memory address register
98
What does the MAR do?
holds the memory location of data that needs to be accessed.
99
MDR
Memory Data Register
100
What does the MDR do?
Holds data that is being transferred to or from memory
101
AC
Accumulator
102
What does the AC do?
holds the ALU results
103
PC (not personal computer)
Program Counter
104
What does the program counter do?
holds the address of the next program instruction to be executed.
105
CIR
Current Instruction Register
106
What does the CIR do?
Holds the current instruction during processing.
107
What are 5 types of registers?
1. MAR
2. MDR
3. AC
4. PC
5. CIR
108
What is RAM also sometimes referred to?
Primary or main memory
109
What are hard drives sometimes referred to?
permanent memory, secondary memory
110
What is the differences between RAM and Hard Drive memory?
RAM is fast and is directly accessible by the CPU. Loading data from the secondary to primary memory allows the CPU to operate faster.
111
Define Ephemeral
data is lost when the computer is powered off.
112
What does each RAM partition consist of?
what form does it take?
and address and it’s contents.
Found in binary form
113
ROM
Read only memory
114
What is ROM used for?
booting up the system and initializing different computer components.
115
What are busses?
wires that serve as electrical roadways, transmitting information between the CPU and other components.
116
What are 3 kinds of buses?
1. Address buses
2. Data buses
3. Control buses
117
What does the address bus do?
Carries the destination address of where the data is assigned to be processed
118
What is the Data bus?
Carries data between the processor, the memory unit, and the input/output devices
119
What is the control bus?
Carries control signals (commands) from the CPU (and status signals from devices); controls and coordinates all activities within the computer system.
120
What is the tower of chassis?
The system unit
121
What is the system unit?
encases various components such as the motherboard, CPU, RAM, power supply and any other internally installed components.
often used to differentiate between the computer and it’s peripheral devices.
122
What are the components of the motherboard?
Holds the CPU, RAM and ROM chips, as well as other hardware components.
123
What is the difference between RAM and ROM?
RAM is volatile meaning its contents are lost when the computer is shut off
ROM is nonvolatile memory, it keeps its contents whether the computer is on or off and generally contains instructions for starting up the computer.
124
What is the system clock and what does it do?
The system clock sends out a pulse of electricity at regular intervals. The electronic components of the computer need these pulses in order to operate. The more pulses sent out by the system clock, the faster the computer.
125
How is the system clock speed commonly measured?
megahertz (MHz) which converts to millions of pulses per second
gigahertz (GHz) which converts to billions of pulses per second.
126
Name 3 common types of expansion cards
1. graphics
2. sound
3. network cards
127
What are ports? name 3 examples.
sockets that allow cables to be plugged in without opening the system unit.
1. Serial
2. parallel
3. USB
128
Name 5 types of secondary storage
1. floppy
2. hard drive
3. flash drive
4. magnetic tape
5. optical discs (CDs and DVDs)
129
What is the smallest unit of storage and what is it set to?
bit is the smallest unit of storage
bits are set to a 0 or a 1
130
what is a byte?
a byte contains 8 bits.
131
how much information is contained in a single byte?
enough information to store a single character such as the letter “M”
132
How many bytes are in 1 KB
1024x1024
133
How many KB is in one MB
1,024
134
How many MB is in one GB
1024
135
How many GB in one TB
1024
136
How many TB in one PB
1024
137
PB
petabyte
138
What are communication devices and what do they do?
communication devices allow a computer to send and receive data to and from other computers
139
What is an example of communication devices?
modems.
network cards
satellite
wireless
bluetooth
140
How do modems send information?
over a phone line or a coaxial cable.
141
How do network cards send information?
over dedicated network cables.
142
how do satellite communicate
using radio signals and orbiting satellites to receive and send data from one system to another.
143
What are supercomputers?
they are the biggest and fastest computers designed to process huge amounts of data.
144
How are supercomputers built?
as a system of thousands of interconnected processors.
145
What are supercomputers useful for? (4)
1. Scientific and engineering applications such as
2. weather forecasting
3. scientific simulations
4. nuclear energy research
146
What are mainframe computers?
designed to support hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously.
147
What is a workstation
a single-user computer designed for technical or scientific applications.
148
What is a microcomputer?
commonly known as a personal computer. general-purpose computer for individual use.
