CMPSC 101: CH. 1 VOCAB QUESTIONS
& ANSWERS 100% CORRECT!!
Program - ANSWER-a set of instructions that a computer follows to perform a task
Software - ANSWER-what programs are commonly referred to as
-essential to a computer because it controls everything the computer does
-the programs that run on a computer
-everything a computer does is under the control of software
-2 general categories of software: system software and application software
Programmer or software developer - ANSWER-a person with the training and skills
necessary to design, create, and test computer program
Hardware - ANSWER-the physical devices (components) that a computer is made of
The central processing unit (CPU) - ANSWER-is the part of a computer that actually
runs programs
microprocessors - ANSWER-today, CPUs are small chips known as this
main memory - ANSWER-this is where the computer stores a program while the
program is running, as well as the data that the program is working with
random-access memory (RAM) - ANSWER-main memory is commonly known at this
-usually a volatile type of memory that is used only for temporary storage while a
program is running.
Secondary storage - ANSWER-a type of memory that can hold data for long periods
of time, even when there is no power to the computer
disk drive - ANSWER-the most common type of secondary storage device
-a traditional disk drive stores data by magnetically encoding it onto a spinning
circular disk.
Solid-state drives - ANSWER-store data in solid-state memory, are increasingly
becoming popular
-has no moving parts and operates faster than a traditional disk drive
Floppy disk drive - ANSWER-records data onto a small floppy disk, which can be
removed from the drive.
USB drives - ANSWER-small devices that plug into the computer's USB (universal
serial bus) port and appear to the system as a disk drive.
-also known as memory sticks and flash drives
, binary numbering system (binary) - ANSWER-all numeric values are written as
sequences of 0s and 1s
-example: 10011101
-usually called "binary"
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) - ANSWER-a set of
128 numeric codes that represent the English letters, various punctuation marks, and
other characters
Unicode - ANSWER-an extensive encoding scheme that is compatible with ASCII,
but can also represent characters for many of the languages in the world
flash memory - ANSWER-USB drives store data in a special type of memory known
as this
input - ANSWER-any data the computer collects from people and from other devices
input device - ANSWER-the component that collects the data and sends it to the
computer
output - ANSWERany data the computer produces for people or for other devices
output device - ANSWER-data is sent here, which formats and presents it
system software - ANSWERthe programs that control and manage the basic
operations of a computer
operating system - ANSWERthe most fundamental set of programs on a computer
utility program - ANSWERperforms a specialized task that enhances the computer's
operation or safeguards data
software development tools - ANSWERthe programs that programmers use to
create, modify, and test software
application software - ANSWERprograms that make a computer useful for everyday
tasks
binary digit (bit) - ANSWEReach byte is divided into 8 smaller storage locations
known as bits
-term bit stands for binary digit
two's complement - ANSWER-negative numbers are encoded using this
technique/encoding scheme
floating-point notation - ANSWERreal numbers are encoded in this encoding scheme
digital - ANSWER-can be used to describe anything that uses binary numbers
digital data - ANSWER-data that is stored in binary
& ANSWERS 100% CORRECT!!
Program - ANSWER-a set of instructions that a computer follows to perform a task
Software - ANSWER-what programs are commonly referred to as
-essential to a computer because it controls everything the computer does
-the programs that run on a computer
-everything a computer does is under the control of software
-2 general categories of software: system software and application software
Programmer or software developer - ANSWER-a person with the training and skills
necessary to design, create, and test computer program
Hardware - ANSWER-the physical devices (components) that a computer is made of
The central processing unit (CPU) - ANSWER-is the part of a computer that actually
runs programs
microprocessors - ANSWER-today, CPUs are small chips known as this
main memory - ANSWER-this is where the computer stores a program while the
program is running, as well as the data that the program is working with
random-access memory (RAM) - ANSWER-main memory is commonly known at this
-usually a volatile type of memory that is used only for temporary storage while a
program is running.
Secondary storage - ANSWER-a type of memory that can hold data for long periods
of time, even when there is no power to the computer
disk drive - ANSWER-the most common type of secondary storage device
-a traditional disk drive stores data by magnetically encoding it onto a spinning
circular disk.
Solid-state drives - ANSWER-store data in solid-state memory, are increasingly
becoming popular
-has no moving parts and operates faster than a traditional disk drive
Floppy disk drive - ANSWER-records data onto a small floppy disk, which can be
removed from the drive.
USB drives - ANSWER-small devices that plug into the computer's USB (universal
serial bus) port and appear to the system as a disk drive.
-also known as memory sticks and flash drives
, binary numbering system (binary) - ANSWER-all numeric values are written as
sequences of 0s and 1s
-example: 10011101
-usually called "binary"
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) - ANSWER-a set of
128 numeric codes that represent the English letters, various punctuation marks, and
other characters
Unicode - ANSWER-an extensive encoding scheme that is compatible with ASCII,
but can also represent characters for many of the languages in the world
flash memory - ANSWER-USB drives store data in a special type of memory known
as this
input - ANSWER-any data the computer collects from people and from other devices
input device - ANSWER-the component that collects the data and sends it to the
computer
output - ANSWERany data the computer produces for people or for other devices
output device - ANSWER-data is sent here, which formats and presents it
system software - ANSWERthe programs that control and manage the basic
operations of a computer
operating system - ANSWERthe most fundamental set of programs on a computer
utility program - ANSWERperforms a specialized task that enhances the computer's
operation or safeguards data
software development tools - ANSWERthe programs that programmers use to
create, modify, and test software
application software - ANSWERprograms that make a computer useful for everyday
tasks
binary digit (bit) - ANSWEReach byte is divided into 8 smaller storage locations
known as bits
-term bit stands for binary digit
two's complement - ANSWER-negative numbers are encoded using this
technique/encoding scheme
floating-point notation - ANSWERreal numbers are encoded in this encoding scheme
digital - ANSWER-can be used to describe anything that uses binary numbers
digital data - ANSWER-data that is stored in binary
