Chapter 4: Computer Hardware Key
1. The ENIAC is an example of an early computer.
2. The ENIAC was built using transistors.
3. The ABC is regarded as world’s first automatic digital electronic computer.
4. The ENIAC, ABC, and Z3 are all examples of early computers.
5. The first personal computer is regarded as the Altair.
6. Charles Babbage was the inventor of the Difference and Analytical Engines.
7. The main chip of any computer is regarded as the microprocessor chip.
8. Integrated circuits are built by combining basic building blocks called logic gates which contain a few
interconnected transistors.
9. One type of logic gate is the OR gate.
10. OR gates, AND gates, XOR gates are all example of transistors.
11. If a NOR gate has two inputs and one output and each input is a 1, then the output of the NOR gate will be a
0.
12. An inverter or NOT gate has one input and one output and basically produces an inverse of its input.
13. The microprocessor is also referred to as the CPU.
14. Main memory is not an integral part of a computer.
15. A speaker is an example of an input device.
16. The main units of the microprocessor are the control unit, arithmetic logic unit (ALU), registers, and cache
memory.
17. Besides addition, the ALU also performs logical operations such as comparing two numbers and
determining which is larger.
18. The registers within the CPU are small areas for temporarily storing information, such as instructions that
are supplied to the control unit and the results of addition and comparison operations implemented by the ALU.
19. The contents of dynamic RAM must be refreshed several times per second, because the electrical charges
representing the bits of DRAM leak out and must be replenished.
20. Information on a PROM chip can be written only once; once it is written, the information cannot be erased,
and the PROM chip cannot be reused for any other purpose.
21. The system bus connects expansion cards called graphics cards/adapters to the CPU.
22. Bus width is an important factor that affects computer performance.
23. Word length has no affect on computer performance.
24. Incorporating more than one microprocessor increases a computer’s processing power and speed because it
can use more transistors and perform multitasking.
25. Boards that carry RAM chips are called memory modules, and are connected to the microprocessor through
AGP slots on the motherboard.
26. External graphics adapters connect to the motherboard via a special expansion slot, such as the AGP slot.
27. External sound adapters can be connected to the motherboard via one of its expansion slots, such as the
PCI/PCI-E slots.
28. Parallel ATA connections have two advantages over serial ATA: they can transfer data at a faster rate
between the motherboard and the drive, and they are more physically compact.
29. The main differences between desktop computers and laptops are their size and portability, their
motherboard, and their human-computer interface.
30. Upgrading a desktop computer is fairly easy, but updating features on laptops is much more difficult.
31. Data on a hard disk is stored on a spiral track on the surface of the disk.
32. A magnetic disk can provide random access whereas a magnetic tape can only provide sequential access.
33. Electronic storage technologies store bits by trapping magnetic energy within an array of transistors
arranged on a silicon chip.
34. Optical disks are not affected by magnetic fields, so they are considered more robust than magnetic devices,
which are prone to data loss over time.
35. Augusta Ada Byron is regarded as the world’s first ____________________.
36. Charles Babbage is the inventor of the ____________________ and the ____________________.
37. Konrad Zuse developed a computer called the ____________________.
38. Herman Hollerith built a machine called the ____________________ to tally US census data.
39. British Scientists built ____________________ to help decode German encryption algorithms during World
War II.
40. Grace Murray Hopper was a prominent programming figure in history who worked in programming the
____________________ computer.
41. A ____________________ table is a table that lists all the possible inputs and outputs of a logic gate.
42. If all inputs to an OR gate are 0 then its output will be a ____________________.
0 or
43. If one input to an AND gate is 0 then its output will be a ____________________.
0 or
44. A NOT gate is also called an ____________________.
45. An integration technology that can integrate up to 100 devices on a chip is called
______________________________.
46. Hardware components that are not vital to a computer’s operation, but are attached to the computer to
enhance its capabilities, are called ____________________.
47. The most crucial component of a computer is the CPU, commonly called the ____________________.
48. Besides the instructions that users issue through input hardware devices, computers also receive instructions
via the software stored in its ____________________.
49. The CPU receives instructions from the I/O devices and then ____________________ and executes them.
50. The monitor is classified as an ____________________ device.
51. The microprocessor’s many tasks include fetching a wealth of software instructions,
____________________ and ____________________ these instructions, and storing and outputting results.
52. The key component of the CPU is the ____________________ unit.
53. If the instruction involves the addition of two numbers, then the control unit issues control signals to a unit
called the ____________________, which is responsible for arithmetic operations.
54. Software instructions that the CPU interprets and data that it processes are fetched from a module called
____________________ memory that resides outside the CPU.
55. Unlike main memory, cache memory is ____________________ to the CPU.
56. The main memory of a computer consists of two types of memory: ____________________ and
____________________.
57. RAM is classified as volatile, or ____________________ memory.
58. Essentially, two types of RAM are used to store information as long as power is supplied to the computer:
____________________ and ____________________.
59. RAM chips reside on a small board called a ____________________ module.
60. The computer must be instructed to locate and load the instructions that correspond to the operating system
when it is turned on. This is accomplished using special instructions stored permanently on a ROM chip called
the ____________________ chip.
61. Memory sticks, which are prominently used in digital cameras, are an example of ____________________
memory.
62. The physical system that connects I/O devices, main memory, CPU, storage, and other components is called
the ____________________ system.
63. The System bus is a parallel bus that connects the CPU and main memory. The system bus is also called the
____________________ bus.
64. A computer with a large ____________________ width can carry more bits at a time between computer
components, such as between main memory and the CPU, making it faster than a computer with a small
____________________ width.
65. The on and off switching of transistors within the integrated circuits of a computer is managed by a central
digital electrical signal called a ____________________.
66. A computer’s CPU is typically based on a ____________________ set computer architecture or a
____________________ set computer (RISC) architecture.
67. The term ____________________ refers to a group of chips that support the microprocessor by controlling
the flow of information between it and other components, such as the memory chips, graphics and sound cards,
disk drives, and I/O devices.
68. The BIOS chip is a flash memory chip that stores permanent instructions required by the CPU during the
start-up or ____________________phase.
69. One common type of hard drive is the Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) drive, which is also called
a parallel ____________________ drive, an Integrated ____________________ drive, or an Enhanced IDE
(EIDE) drive.
70. The microprocessor chip can be cooled by various methods; one popular technique is to install a metallic
component called a ____________________.
71. ____________________ are large, high-capacity computers used by large organizations to process and store
72. Serversare computers that provide services to other computers called ____________________ over a
network.
73. One popular type of server is called a ____________________ server, a computer without a keyboard or a
monitor that resembles a big, flat, rectangular pizza box.
74. By replacing electricity with light within computers, optical components in place of transistors, and
____________________in place of wires, researchers hope to overcome the bottleneck that transistors and
metallic wires pose.
75. To record information on a magnetic disk, a plastic tape, plastic disk, or ceramic disk is coated with a
____________________ a unique material that can be magnetized.
76. Bits on a CD-ROM are recorded by physically creating tiny protrusions, also called lands, on the CD’s clear
plastic surface during the manufacturing phase. Areas without lands remain shallow; these areas are called
____________________.
77. Each storage technology has a limit to its packing density. On magnetic media, the ____________________
effect causes random fluctuations toward the magnetic field if bits are packed too closely to each other.
78. Who is regarded as the “Father of Computing”?
79. Which computer was used in the 1890 U.S. census?
80. Who is regarded as the world’s first computer programmer?
81. Which of the following are examples of logic gates?
82. Which types of logic gates always produces a 1 at its output if any input is a 1 regardless of all the other
inputs?
83. Which types of logic gates always produces a 0 at its output if any input is a 0 regardless of all the other
inputs?
84. Which of the following are examples of integration technologies?
85. Which of the following is the result of the following operation: 1+1?
86. Which of the following are the fundamental components of any computer?