Unit 2A: Hardware, The CPU & Storage

Question 1

Circuit

Answer 1

closed pathway which conducts electricity

Question 2

Vacuum Tubes

Answer 2

use circuits to facilitate flow of electrons (replaced by transistor)

Question 3

Transistor

Answer 3

switch that can be flipped millions of times per second, part of integrated circuit

Question 4

Integrated Circuit

Answer 4

all parts of circuit on silicon chip

Question 5

Microchip

Answer 5

stores and processes data

Question 6

Microprocessor

Answer 6

miniaturized circuitry of CPU

Question 7

System Unit

Answer 7

case that contains computer’s components

Question 8

Binary System

Answer 8

computer language 0s and 1s

Question 9

Measuring Capacity

Answer 9

Bit
Byte
Kilobyte
Megabyte
Gigabyte
Terabyte
Petabyte
Exabyte

Question 10

ASCII

Answer 10

7-8 bits per character, 256 characters

Question 11

Unicode

Answer 11

16 bits per character

Question 12

EBCDIC

Answer 12

8 bits per character

Question 13

Bay

Answer 13

opening used for installation of electrical equipment

Question 14

Power Supply

Answer 14

converts AC to DC to run computer

Question 15

Surge Protector

Answer 15

protects computer from power spikes

Question 16

UPS

Answer 16

Uninterruptible Power Supply

Question 17

Motherboard

Answer 17

main system board

Question 18

Chipset

Answer 18

interconnected chips on motherboard

Question 19

Multicore Processor

Answer 19

more cores means more speed

Question 20

2 Parts of CPU

Answer 20

1) Control Unit
2) Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)

Question 21

2 Types of Memory

Answer 21

Primary - main memory, RAM, volatile
Secondary - flashdrives, etc.. non volatile

Question 22

RAM

Answer 22

Random Access Memory, volatile, holds software instructions

Question 23

ROM

Answer 23

Read-Only Memory - non-volatile, fixed instructions on how to load operating system

Question 24

CMOS

Answer 24

powered by battery, contains time, date and boot password

Question 25

Flash

Answer 25

nonvolatile, used in newer PCs

Question 26

Cache

Answer 26

speeds up processing, seeing as CPU is faster than RAM and must wait for information

Question 27

Level 1 Cache

Answer 27

part of microprocessor, faster than Level 2

Question 28

Level 2 Cache

Answer 28

external

Question 29

Level 3 Cache

Answer 29

part of motherboard on very high-end computers

Question 30

Buses

Answer 30

data roadways that transmit bits between CPU and other motherboard components

Question 31

Frontside Bus

Answer 31

connects CPU within itself and main memory

Question 32

Expansion Bus

Answer 32

connects CPU with expansion slots

Question 33

Firewire

Answer 33

similar to USB but for special use

Question 34

RAID

Answer 34

way of storing same data in multiple hard drives or SSD to protect data

Question 35

Used to connect PC graphics cards, sound cards, modems and high speed network cards

Answer 35

PCI bus

Question 36

PCI Express

Answer 36

doubles speed of PCI

Question 37

Transfers data via infrared light

Answer 37

IrDA

Question 38

MIDI

Answer 38

Musical Instrument Data Interface

Question 39

eSATA

Answer 39

hard disk with fast transmission

Question 40

Serial Port

Answer 40

transmits data slowly, 1 bit at a time

Question 41

Parallel Port

Answer 41

transmits data quickly, 8 bits at a time

Question 42

What does it mean when a disk has more platters?

Answer 42

more memory

Question 43

Nanotech

Answer 43

Create nano circuits

Question 44

Optical Computing

Answer 44

Lasers & light, no electricity

Question 45

DNA Computing

Answer 45

DNA to store data

Question 46

Quantum Computing

Answer 46

uses particle states

Question 47

Better Batteries

Answer 47

wireless charging

Question 48

Higher Density Discs

Answer 48

perpendicular

Question 49

Molecular Electronics

Answer 49

subatomic level

Question 50

Optical Discs

Answer 50

CDs & DVDs

Question 51

What has more data, CD or DVD?

Answer 51

DVD

Question 52

Types of CDs

Answer 52

- CD-ROM: compact disc ROM - CD-R: compact disc reusable - once - CD-RW: compact disc rewritable - multiple times

Question 53

Types of DVDs

Answer 53

- DVD: Disc w/ high capacity - DVD-R: recordable only once - DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+RM: reusable - Blu-ray: record & play HD video

Question 54

Control Unit

Answer 54

deciphers instructions in CPU and carries it out

Question 55

Machine Cycle

Answer 55

4 Operations 1. Fetch 2. Decode 3. Execute 4. Store

Question 56

ALU

Answer 56

Arithmetic and Logical Operations control speed of these operations

Question 57

Arithmetic Operations

Answer 57

fundamental math (multiplication, division, etc.)

Question 58

Logical Operations

Answer 58

Comparison of 2 pieces of data ( >, <, =)