CSci 1001 Practice Exam 1


This is a practice exam for the Computer Science 1001 class - Introduction to Computers. Please answer the following questions by clicking on the box that most closely represents your answer.
When you have answered every question, click on the "Evaluate" button.

  1. The basic difference between data and information is:
    1. data is information arranged in a meaningful way.
    2. data are numeric while information is characters.
    3. data are "raw facts" while information is data organized in a meaningful way.
    4. information cannot be represented in machine readable form, but data can.

  2. The first machine which could be called the prototype for the modern computer was the:
    1. weaving loom.
    2. Pascal's calculator.
    3. analytical engine.
    4. slide rule.

  3. Second generation computers used
    1. printed circuits.
    2. vacuum tubes.
    3. transistors.
    4. silicon chips.

  4. Third generation computers
    1. used transistors.
    2. contained core memory.
    3. exclusively used assembly language.
    4. contained silicon chips as internal components.

  5. The decimal number 33 is equivalent to the following binary number:
    1. 1111111111111111111111111111111111
    2. 11011
    3. 100001
    4. none of the above

  6. The decimal equivalent of the binary number 1100100 is:
    1. too big -- does not have an equivalent
    2. 121
    3. 33
    4. 100

  7. Which of the following is non-volatile memory?
    1. RAM
    2. magnetic core memory
    3. semiconductor memory
    4. ASCII

  8. Which of the following is NOT an example of an operating system?
    1. DOS
    2. IBM PS/2
    3. UNIX
    4. All of the above are operating systems.

  9. Debugging is the process of
    1. correcting program errors.
    2. cleaning insects out of the computer circuits.
    3. a machine frustrating the heck out of a user.
    4. correcting data inconsistencies in a database.

  10. Which of the following levels of computer language is closest to the bits in the computer?
    1. high-level language
    2. assembly level
    3. natural language processing
    4. machine language

  11. Which is NOT part of the addressing scheme for accessing data on a magnetic disk?
    1. surface number.
    2. bit number.
    3. track number.
    4. sector number.

  12. Registers are
    1. devices used to collect and total up purchases in stores.
    2. external storage devices.
    3. part of the Random Access Memory.
    4. small and fast memory devices which are part of the CPU.

  13. Computers that operate exclusively with measurable quantities are called
    1. digital computers.
    2. hybrid computers.
    3. special purpose computers.
    4. analog computers.

  14. A megabyte is closest to
    1. 1000K bytes.
    2. 1 million bytes.
    3. a very large byte.
    4. 100K bytes.

  15. Which of the following steps is NOT done when an instruction is executed?
    1. copy.
    2. decode.
    3. encode.
    4. store.

  16. Which of the following is NOT a direct access storage device?
    1. a magnetic tape.
    2. a floppy disk.
    3. a magnetic hard disk.
    4. none of the above are direct access devices.

  17. If a computer user in Minneapolis, Minnesota wanted to send an electronic message to a person in Long Beach, California, which of the following would most likely by used?
    1. AT&T Bell Labs.
    2. a WAN.
    3. DOS.
    4. a LAN.

  18. If a computer can perform 53 different operations (such as add, move, jump, etc.), then the number of bits in the opcode part of the computer instruction must be:
    1. 8
    2. 4
    3. 6
    4. 5

  19. If a computer has 4K bytes of memory and each memory cell can contain 1 byte, how many hexadecimal digits are necessary to represent each cell address:
    1. 212
    2. 12
    3. 3
    4. 40

  20. Internet was originally developed
    1. to help university researchers collaborate on scientific projects.
    2. by AT&T as an extension of the phone service.
    3. to be a secure medium for communication.
    4. to allow communication between authorities after a nuclear war.