WGU D684 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER
SCIENCE EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2026 TEST
PAPER QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS GRADED
A+
◉ American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII).
Answer: a standard encoding system for text characters that uses
numeric values to represent letters, numbers, and symbols
◉ bandwidth. Answer: the maximum rate of data transfer across a
network or communication channel, usually measured in bits per second
◉ binary. Answer: a numerical system that uses only two digits, zero
and one, to represent data in computing
◉ Boolean expression. Answer: a logical statement that can only be true
or false and uses operators like AND, OR, and NOT
◉ character. Answer: a single letter, digit, or symbol used in writing text
,◉ character set. Answer: a collection of characters that a computer can
recognize and process, like ASCII or Unicode
◉ compression ratio. Answer: the ratio of the original data size to the
compressed data size, indicating how much the data has been reduced
◉ control structure. Answer: constructs in programming that control the
flow of execution, such as loops and conditional statements
◉ data. Answer: raw facts and figures that can be processed to produce
meaningful information
◉ data compression. Answer: the process of reducing the size of data to
save space or transmission time
◉ data types. Answer: categories of data that define what kind of value
can be stored, like integers, floats, and strings, and how it can be used
◉ declaration. Answer: a statement in programming that specifies the
name and type of a variable or function without assigning a value
◉ digital data. Answer: data represented using discrete binary values
(zeroes and ones)
,◉ floating point. Answer: a way to represent real numbers that can have
fractional parts using a format that includes a base and an exponent
◉ Huffman encoding. Answer: a compression technique that uses
variable-length codes for data representation based on frequency of
occurrence
◉ information. Answer: data that have been processed or organized in a
meaningful way to be useful
◉ integer. Answer: a whole number
◉ keyword encoding. Answer: a method of data compression that
replaces frequently occurring patterns with shorter codes
◉ lossless. Answer: a type of data compression where no information is
lost and the original data can be perfectly reconstructed
◉ lossy. Answer: a type of data compression that reduces file size by
permanently eliminating some information, which may affect quality
◉ numeric. Answer: any value that is a number
, ◉ overflow. Answer: a condition in which a calculation exceeds the
maximum value that can be represented within a given number of bits
◉ pulse-code modulation (PCM). Answer: a method used to digitally
represent analog signals
◉ radix point. Answer: the decimal point in a number system that
indicates the separation between integer and fractional parts
◉ real. Answer: a data type representing numbers that can have
fractional parts, often called floating-point numbers
◉ reclocking. Answer: the process of refreshing the timing signals in
digital data to ensure accuracy and synchronization
◉ run-length encoding. Answer: a simple compression technique that
replaces sequences of repeated characters with a single character and a
count
◉ scientific notation. Answer: a method of representing very large or
very small numbers by using powers of 10
◉ signed-magnitude representation. Answer: a way of encoding positive
and negative numbers where one bit represents the sign and the
remaining bits represent the magnitude
SCIENCE EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2026 TEST
PAPER QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS GRADED
A+
◉ American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII).
Answer: a standard encoding system for text characters that uses
numeric values to represent letters, numbers, and symbols
◉ bandwidth. Answer: the maximum rate of data transfer across a
network or communication channel, usually measured in bits per second
◉ binary. Answer: a numerical system that uses only two digits, zero
and one, to represent data in computing
◉ Boolean expression. Answer: a logical statement that can only be true
or false and uses operators like AND, OR, and NOT
◉ character. Answer: a single letter, digit, or symbol used in writing text
,◉ character set. Answer: a collection of characters that a computer can
recognize and process, like ASCII or Unicode
◉ compression ratio. Answer: the ratio of the original data size to the
compressed data size, indicating how much the data has been reduced
◉ control structure. Answer: constructs in programming that control the
flow of execution, such as loops and conditional statements
◉ data. Answer: raw facts and figures that can be processed to produce
meaningful information
◉ data compression. Answer: the process of reducing the size of data to
save space or transmission time
◉ data types. Answer: categories of data that define what kind of value
can be stored, like integers, floats, and strings, and how it can be used
◉ declaration. Answer: a statement in programming that specifies the
name and type of a variable or function without assigning a value
◉ digital data. Answer: data represented using discrete binary values
(zeroes and ones)
,◉ floating point. Answer: a way to represent real numbers that can have
fractional parts using a format that includes a base and an exponent
◉ Huffman encoding. Answer: a compression technique that uses
variable-length codes for data representation based on frequency of
occurrence
◉ information. Answer: data that have been processed or organized in a
meaningful way to be useful
◉ integer. Answer: a whole number
◉ keyword encoding. Answer: a method of data compression that
replaces frequently occurring patterns with shorter codes
◉ lossless. Answer: a type of data compression where no information is
lost and the original data can be perfectly reconstructed
◉ lossy. Answer: a type of data compression that reduces file size by
permanently eliminating some information, which may affect quality
◉ numeric. Answer: any value that is a number
, ◉ overflow. Answer: a condition in which a calculation exceeds the
maximum value that can be represented within a given number of bits
◉ pulse-code modulation (PCM). Answer: a method used to digitally
represent analog signals
◉ radix point. Answer: the decimal point in a number system that
indicates the separation between integer and fractional parts
◉ real. Answer: a data type representing numbers that can have
fractional parts, often called floating-point numbers
◉ reclocking. Answer: the process of refreshing the timing signals in
digital data to ensure accuracy and synchronization
◉ run-length encoding. Answer: a simple compression technique that
replaces sequences of repeated characters with a single character and a
count
◉ scientific notation. Answer: a method of representing very large or
very small numbers by using powers of 10
◉ signed-magnitude representation. Answer: a way of encoding positive
and negative numbers where one bit represents the sign and the
remaining bits represent the magnitude
