NAME       STUDENT NUMBER 

 

 

TEACHING ASSISTANT 

The test is out of 30 marks and the value of each question is provided; please use this information to manage your time effectively.

No aids are allowed.

The test is 50 minutes long.

There are 4 pages, including this one.

PART A - Definitions Compare and contrast the following pairs of terms. [6 marks - 2 each]

1. supercomputer / mainframe
2. terminal/microcomputer
3. GUI / Menu Driven Interface

PART B: How Many? [8 marks - 1 each] For each of the following questions give either an exact number, an approximate number or a numerical range as appropriate.

1. How many ALU's does a typical CPU (such as the one in the computers in your 104 lab) contain?    
2. How many bits are in a byte?    
3. How many fetch and execute pairs does a 75 MHz Pentium do every second?    
4. How many ENIAC computers were built?    
5. How many bits (minimum) are needed to store the value of a logical field in a database?    
6. How many in decimal is the binary number 00101101?    
7. On a 20 MHz machine with a disk access time of 20ms, how many instructions could the CPU process in the average time of one disk access?    
8. How many in binary is the decimal number 30?    

PART C Short Answers [10 marks]

1. Multi-user operating systems are more complicated than their single-user counterparts. Explain one function of the multi-user OS that is not required by a single-user OS. [2 marks]

2. Only a few years ago, most commercial software was purchased on diskettes. Explain the reasons why CD-ROMs have become the standard medium for this purpose. [2 marks]

3. Explain the purpose for CMOS (Complementary Metal oxide semiconductor) memory. [2 marks]

4. In class we learned about two main categories of software. The first was system software and the second was     . Identify a piece of software from each category that you have used in your csc 104 course work this term. [2 marks]

5. Explain the difference between rules and conventions governing filenames. Give an example of each. [2 marks]

PART D Short Essay [6 marks]
The separation of the content of a document from its format is an important issue in the design of word processors. Explain this idea using illustrations from software that we have used or discussed in this course. Use well-written sentences. Grammar and spelling are important.

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