Course 1 Week 1

Question 1

What is Information Technology?

Answer 1

The use of digital technology like computers or the Internet to store and process data into useful information.

Question 2

What is a computer?

Answer 2

a device that stores and processes data by performing calculations

Question 3

What is the QWERTY keyboard layout called?

Answer 3

Cordelia

Question 4

What was one of the earliest computers and when was it invented?

Answer 4

Abacus, invented in 500 BC to count large numbers

Question 5

When was the mechanical calculator invented?

Answer 5

17th century by Blaise Pascal

Question 6

When was the programmable loom invented?

Answer 6

1800s by Joseph Jacquard using punch cards

Question 7

What were punch cards?

Answer 7

A sequence of cards with holes in them to automatically perform calculations instead of manually entering them by hand

Question 8

Who invented the difference engine and analytical engine?

Answer 8

Charles Babbage

Question 9

Who developed the first algorithm for the analytical engine?

Answer 9

Ada Lovelace

Question 10

What is an algorithm?

Answer 10

A series of steps that solve specific problems

Question 11

What is cryptography?

Answer 11

the art of writing and solving codes

Question 12

What replaced punch cards and when?

Answer 12

Magnetic tape in the 1950s

Question 13

What is a compiler?

Answer 13

a computer program that translates code written in one programming language often into the machine’s native language.

(translates source code into machine code)

A compiler is a program that translates a computer language that is easy for a programmer to understand to a series of bits (representing instructions) for the hardware

Question 14

What is binary system? How does a computer use it? And what is it also known as?

Answer 14

The binary system is a computer’s way of representing data using 0s and 1s.

computer uses binary system to communicate

(binary digits (bits) grouped into 8 numbers )

Also known as base-2 numeral system (power of 2)

Question 15

What is a group of 8 bits called?

Answer 15

a byte

Question 16

What does base-2 system mean?

Answer 16

two to the eighth

Question 17

Each byte can store how many characters?

Answer 17

1

Question 18

What’s the maximum value we can have with 8 bits in a byte?

Answer 18

256

Since there are 8 bits with two values each, the highest number of possible values is 2 to the power of 8, or 256.

(the #’s are only 0-255 which is 256 values)

Question 19

What is the highest decimal value a byte can represent?

Answer 19

255

There are 256 values in a byte, from the decimal number 0 to 255, which is the highest value since the count starts at 0.

Question 20

Why did UTF-8 replace the ASCII character-encoding standard?

Answer 20

UTF-8 replaced the ASCII character-encoding standard because it can store a character in more than a single byte.

Question 21

What is character encoding?

Answer 21

assigning binary values to characters so we can read them

(dictionary for us for computer speak)

Question 22

What is abstraction?

Answer 22

To take a relatively complex system and simplify it for our use

Question 23

What is ASCII? What does it represent?

Answer 23

The oldest character encoding standard used is ASCII. It represents the English alphabet, digits, and punctuation marks

Question 24

What is the decimal-form base 10 system?

Answer 24

The decimal number system has 10 possible numbers you can use ranging from 0-9

The base of a number system tells us how many unique digits are used to form a number in that system.

(others like binary, hexadecimal, dozenal, octal use others)

Question 25

What is Linux OS? Where is it most used?

Answer 25

Linux is one of the largest open source operating systems used heavily in business infrastructure and in the consumer space

Question 26

What are logic gates?

Answer 26

Electrical components that tell a computer how to perform binary calculations (by allowing transistors to do more complex tasks)

Allow transistors to do more complex tasks, like decide where to send electrical signals depending on logical conditions

Question 27

What is open source?

Answer 27

This means the developers will let other developers share, modify, and distribute their software for free

Question 28

What is a transistor?

Answer 28

In a microchip, it’s an electrical current that acts as a switch.

If it lets current through it represents binary digit 1, cuts it off it’s a 0.

Question 29

What is the NOT gate?

Answer 29

only has 1 input signal, and outputs a signal with an opposite binary state.

Question 30

What is the AND gate?

Answer 30

2 input signals. Outputs an “on” signal only when both inputs are “on”.

Question 31

What is the OR gate?

Answer 31

2 input signals, outputs an “off” signal only when both inputs are off.

Question 32

What is the XOR gate?

Answer 32

2 input signals, “on” signal when only one of the inputs are “on”.

Question 33

What is the NAND gate?

Answer 33

2 input signals, if both inputs are “on” then output is “off”

Question 34

What is the XNOR gate?

Answer 34

2 input signals, “on” only when both are the same on or off input.

Question 35

Are logic gates physical electrical components?

Answer 35

Yes, plug them into circuit board

Question 36

What is a circuit?

Answer 36

electrical system that perform the binary calculations of the logic gates linked together

Question 37

How do you link logic gates? 2 answers

Answer 37

1. letting output from one gate serve as input for another gate
2. by using same inputs for multiple gates

Question 38

What is an example of a decimal number?

Answer 38

330, 250, 44 million, etc

Question 39

What’s an example of abstraction?

Answer 39

Driving a car, don’t know how to operate what’s under the hood but we can drive it because it hides complexity by providing a common interface (wheel, pedals, etc)

different cars operate the same way even if engine is different

OR

error message, don’t have to dig into the code

Question 40

What are the four main layers a computer can be cut into?

Answer 40

1. OS
2. Hardware
3. Software
4. User