IGCSE COMPUTER SCIENCE
TERMINOLOGY EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
ISP (internet service provider) - Answer-company charging monthly fee that provides
internet access
HTML Structure - Answer-essential parts of document including semantics and
structural markup
HTML Presentation - Answer-how the document looks/sounds
CSS - Cascading Style Sheet - Answer-contains everything that controls webpage
presentation
HTTP - hypertext transfer protocol - Answer-a set of rules which must be followed when
transferring files across the internet
web browser - Answer-software that allows a user to display a webpage on their screen
- they interpret html code and show the result
URL - uniform resource locator - Answer-used to find/identify a webpage on the internet
cookies - Answer-packet of information sent from web server to web browser - creates
anonymous user profile, and used in advertising
actuator - Answer-used in many control operations involving sensors and ADC/DACs.
Electromagnetic device eg. motor that outputs result of sensor operation
loudspeaker - Answer-output device that produces sound using voltages at different
levels which vibrate a cone in speaker housing
LED - Answer-Used for backlighting a monitor/tv - they are thin, produce a white light,
and do not require much power
CCFL - Answer-Old technology used for backlighting - took time to warm up, and
produced yellow-ish lighting + required a lot of power
LCD - Answer-used in projectors - high intensity light beam was passed through display,
then onto screen
OLED - Answer-new technology used for tv/monitor screens, using a cathode and
anode. Flexible, no backlighting required.
, DLP - Answer-light projector using mirrors to produce 1024 different grey shades. A
bright white light source passed through colour filter allowing 16million colours to be
created.
RAM - Answer-a type of memory that is read-write and volatile. Used for main memory
ROM - Answer-memory that is hard coded at time of manufacture. Stores start-up
programs and BOOTSTRAP
volatile - Answer-memory that loses its contents when the power is off eg. main memory
non-volatile - Answer-memory that doesn't lose its contents when the power is off e.g.
hard disk
secondary memory/storage - Answer-long-term, non volatile storage media e.g. hard
disk
off-line storage - Answer-storage that can be physically moved away from a device and
stored somewhere else e.g. CD, USB stick, DVD
virtual memory - Answer-part of the hard disk that is programmed to work as an
extension of main memory
DRAM - Answer-type of RAM where each chip consists of transistors and capacitors.
Not too expensive to manufacture, has high storage capacity, and doesn't consume too
much power. Needs refreshing every 15s
SRAM - Answer-type of RAM that has 'flip flops' to hold each bit of memory. Does not
need constant refreshing.
bootstrap - Answer-the first program loaded from ROM by BIOS; loads operating
system from secondary storage
magnetic media - Answer-secondary storage with mechanical parts which move over
the surface to read and write data magnetically e.g. a hard disk, tape or floppy disk
optical media - Answer-secondary storage that is read using lasers e.g. CD, DVD
solid state/flash memory - Answer-secondary storage with no moving parts; used in
memory sticks, cameras and phones
FAT - file allocation table - Answer-a map of where each file is and which sectors on the
magnetic disk are free
TERMINOLOGY EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
ISP (internet service provider) - Answer-company charging monthly fee that provides
internet access
HTML Structure - Answer-essential parts of document including semantics and
structural markup
HTML Presentation - Answer-how the document looks/sounds
CSS - Cascading Style Sheet - Answer-contains everything that controls webpage
presentation
HTTP - hypertext transfer protocol - Answer-a set of rules which must be followed when
transferring files across the internet
web browser - Answer-software that allows a user to display a webpage on their screen
- they interpret html code and show the result
URL - uniform resource locator - Answer-used to find/identify a webpage on the internet
cookies - Answer-packet of information sent from web server to web browser - creates
anonymous user profile, and used in advertising
actuator - Answer-used in many control operations involving sensors and ADC/DACs.
Electromagnetic device eg. motor that outputs result of sensor operation
loudspeaker - Answer-output device that produces sound using voltages at different
levels which vibrate a cone in speaker housing
LED - Answer-Used for backlighting a monitor/tv - they are thin, produce a white light,
and do not require much power
CCFL - Answer-Old technology used for backlighting - took time to warm up, and
produced yellow-ish lighting + required a lot of power
LCD - Answer-used in projectors - high intensity light beam was passed through display,
then onto screen
OLED - Answer-new technology used for tv/monitor screens, using a cathode and
anode. Flexible, no backlighting required.
, DLP - Answer-light projector using mirrors to produce 1024 different grey shades. A
bright white light source passed through colour filter allowing 16million colours to be
created.
RAM - Answer-a type of memory that is read-write and volatile. Used for main memory
ROM - Answer-memory that is hard coded at time of manufacture. Stores start-up
programs and BOOTSTRAP
volatile - Answer-memory that loses its contents when the power is off eg. main memory
non-volatile - Answer-memory that doesn't lose its contents when the power is off e.g.
hard disk
secondary memory/storage - Answer-long-term, non volatile storage media e.g. hard
disk
off-line storage - Answer-storage that can be physically moved away from a device and
stored somewhere else e.g. CD, USB stick, DVD
virtual memory - Answer-part of the hard disk that is programmed to work as an
extension of main memory
DRAM - Answer-type of RAM where each chip consists of transistors and capacitors.
Not too expensive to manufacture, has high storage capacity, and doesn't consume too
much power. Needs refreshing every 15s
SRAM - Answer-type of RAM that has 'flip flops' to hold each bit of memory. Does not
need constant refreshing.
bootstrap - Answer-the first program loaded from ROM by BIOS; loads operating
system from secondary storage
magnetic media - Answer-secondary storage with mechanical parts which move over
the surface to read and write data magnetically e.g. a hard disk, tape or floppy disk
optical media - Answer-secondary storage that is read using lasers e.g. CD, DVD
solid state/flash memory - Answer-secondary storage with no moving parts; used in
memory sticks, cameras and phones
FAT - file allocation table - Answer-a map of where each file is and which sectors on the
magnetic disk are free
