Computer Systems

Question 1

Binary

Answer 1

A two-state system, where only 1 or 0 can be used

Question 2

Denary

Answer 2

Our number system that uses 10 digits

Question 3

Bit

Answer 3

A binary digit

Question 4

Floating point representation

Answer 4

Method a computer uses to store real numbers

Question 5

Mantissa and exponent

Answer 5

Two parts of a floating point representation number

Question 6

ASCII

Answer 6

Standard code that all computer systems use to represent text

Question 7

Control characters

Answer 7

ASCII codes that are used to perform actions rather than display a character e.g. delete and tab etc.

Question 8

Printable characters

Answer 8

ASCII codes that are used to display characters on the screen e.g. A, ! etc.

Question 9

Bit mapped graphics

Answer 9

A method of representing graphics that stores information on each individual pixel

Question 10

Vector graphics

Answer 10

A method of representing graphics that stores shapes as list of attributes e.g. coordinates of corners, line thickness, fill colour etc.

Question 11

Advantages of vector graphics

Answer 11

Can be resized without loss of quality and have a smaller file size than bit mapped graphics

Question 12

Advantages of bit mapped graphics

Answer 12

Can be edited at pixel level and can display more realistic images than vector graphics

Question 13

Processor (CPU)

Answer 13

The part of the computer system that handles the instructions used to ensure that hardware and software respond as expected

Question 14

Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

Answer 14

Part of the processor that performs calculations and makes decisions

Question 15

Processor Speed

Answer 15

Referred to as Clock Speed and is measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz).

Question 16

Registers

Answer 16

Part of the processor that temporarily stores data

Question 17

Control Unit

Answer 17

Part of the processor that fetches and executes instructions

Question 18

Main memory

Answer 18

Consists of RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory)

Question 19

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Answer 19

Volatile memory that stores the programs and data currently being used

Question 20

Read Only Memory (ROM)

Answer 20

Non-volatile memory

Question 21

Bus

Answer 21

Collection of wires used to transmit information in a computer system

Question 22

Memory location

Answer 22

Main memory consists of millions of these

Question 23

Addressability

Answer 23

Each memory location has a unique address

Question 24

Address bus

Answer 24

A uni-directional bus that holds the address of the memory location being accessed

Question 25

Data bus

Answer 25

A bi-directional bus that carries data between the processor and memory

Question 26

High level language

Answer 26

Programming language that uses English like words and needs to be translated into machine code

Question 27

Machine code

Answer 27

Computer specific language that consists of 0s and 1s

Question 28

Compiler

Answer 28

Translates the whole high level language into machine code and saves the machine code version

Question 29

Interpreter

Answer 29

Translates the high level language into machine code one line at a time

Question 30

Advantages of interpreters

Answer 30

It reports errors at the end of each line so it is easier to correct your mistakes. It takes less memory than a compiler when translating the program into machine code.

Question 31

Advantages of compilers

Answer 31

The machine code file is saved so it never needs to be translated again. It takes less memory when executing the machine code program than an interpreter.

Question 32

Disadvantage of a compiler

Answer 32

It takes more memory when translating the program compared to an interpreter.

Question 33

Disadvantage of an interpreter

Answer 33

The high level language program needs to be translated into machine code every time the program is run.

Question 34

Firewall

Answer 34

Blocks attempts to access a device and filters incoming traffic

Question 35

Encryption

Answer 35

Data is encoded so that if it is intercepted it is unreadable

Question 36

Keys

Answer 36

Used to encrypt and decrypt data

Question 37

Brightness and standby mode

Answer 37

Two settings on a monitor which reduces energy use