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Chapter 1. Introduction to Computers > Answers and Explanations
Answers and Explanations
| 1. | C. The 8088 was an early model PC powered by the integrated circuit. Colossus and ENIAC are much older computers powered by vacuum tubes. |
| 2. | B. John Atanasoff is credited with the patent for the first computer known as the Atansoff-Berry computer. |
| 3. | A and C. The control unit and the arithmetic unit make up the CPU in the von Neumann computer model. The CPU is the processor. The memory is separate and has a different function. |
| 4. | A. Cache memory, a special type of memory that resides on or in the processor, alleviates the problem of the von Neumann bottleneck by allowing the processor faster access to important data. |
| 5. | A, C, and D. The five groups in the von Neumann architecture are CPU, working storage, permanent storage, input devices, and output devices. Monitors are just one type of output device. Keyboards are just one type of input device. |
| 6. | A, C, and D. The three main connectors in a transistor are the gate, source, and drain. N-type silicon creates a path for the current to flow. The gate and drain are both metal conductors, but the conductor itself is not the connection. |
| 7. | D. The MOSFET is the most common type of transistor that takes the place of vacuum tubes. When transistors are grouped together in unison, it is known as an integrated circuit or IC. The most powerful ICs are CPUs. |
| 8. | C. Millions. For example, the Intel Core I7 processor incorporates 731 million transistors into on integrated circuit. |
| 9. | A. The 8088 Intel CPU could address 1MB of memory. The 8088 processor ran at 4.77MHz. |
| 10. | B. Moore’s law stated that processing performance and disk storage capacity would double every one and a half to two years. |
| 11. | B and D. Intel and AMD are the two companies most responsible for the advancement of CPUs in PCs. Toshiba and Samsung are among the top five semiconductor companies. |
| 12. | C. Microsoft was the first big supplier of operating systems for IBM starting with MS-DOS. |
| 13. | C. Intel. The majority of computers have Intel CPUs and the majority of motherboards have Intel chipsets. |
| 14. | C. The power supply feeds power to the internal components of the PC. Although the motherboard has some minor power connections, it is not the device in charge of feeding power to internal components such as hard disk drives, CD-ROMs, and so on. However, the motherboard does control the flow of data to those devices. The AC outlet powers the power supply, which in turn powers the internal components. |
| 15. | B and C. Keyboards and mice are examples of input devices. The hard disk drive is an example of permanent storage. The monitor is an example of an output device. |
Case Study 1 Solution
| 1: | A typical computer in a home or at a school would most likely be a PC that runs Windows (either Windows XP, Windows 7, or Windows Vista). The most common manufacturer of the CPU would be Intel. The motherboard could be of Intel make, or perhaps another manufacturer. This depends on what type of computer it is, either by a manufacturer such as Dell or HP, or a white-box.
A typical computer might have the following typical components, categorized using the five von Neumann groups:
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