Test your basic knowledge |

Comptia A + Certification

Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Aka thumb drive.






2. A device installed at the end of a SCSI chain to absorb signals so they do not bounce back along the cable.






3. A pen-sized tool that has a plunger at one end. When pressed - the plunger causes small - hooked prongs to extend from the other end of the tool for retrieving dropped objects from inside a computer.






4. A type of display device that includes a touch-sensitive face to accept input from the user.






5. Erasable programmable read-only memory. A ROM chip that is erasable and reprogrammable through the use of specialized software.






6. A standard for interconnecting electronic musical instruments to communicate with computers and among themselves.






7. Aka interrupt request line.






8. Memory that can only be read and that contains program code. ROM is also called firmware.






9. The use of two or more video adapters (hence the term "GPU") to drive a single display for the purpose of increasing performance.






10. A version of the FAT file system used by MS-DOS for hard drives - using a 16-bit file allocation table.






11. A value assigned to a process that controls the order in which the program code is executed in relation to other code.






12. A type of printer that uses solid - rather than liquid - ink.






13. A technology for ROM that can be reprogrammed using special software.






14. A memory module (stick) that installs into matching DIMM sockets found on many motherboards. The word "dual" refers to the separate pins or connections on both sides of the module and socket.






15. A group of tests - stored in the BIOS and performed as a PC boots up - to check for the presence and function of system components.






16. Aka S-Video.






17. A type of printer that uses a matrix of pins striking paper through an ink ribbon to create dots on the paper - forming alphanumeric characters and graphic images.






18. A connection point on a device or computer - sometimes called a socket.






19. A virus that is self-replicating.






20. A metal strip used to cover an empty slot in order to preserve the correct air flow and keep dust out.






21. Aka microcode.






22. A double-sided - single-layer digital versatile disc (DVD) that stores 9.4 GB of data - or over four hours of video.






23. A specialized type of scanner that reads bar codes - which are patterns of bars of varying widths printed on labels or directly on items. The bar pattern is converted into a numeric code that is transmitted to a computer as data.






24. A drive that can be safely installed and removed while a computer is up and running without damaging the data stored on the drive.






25. A printer that includes one or more other functions - such as a scanner and fax machine.






26. Signals broadcast through the air.






27. A setting on an LCD display that adjusts the viewable area of the display horizontally.






28. In reference to a memory module - how much information the processor can access from or write to memory in a single cycle.






29. Aka cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor.






30. The act of covertly obtaining information broadcast from wireless devices using the Bluetooth standard.






31. Local area networking using radio waves - with the most common based on the IEEE 802.11 group of standards (802.11a - 802.11b - 802.11g - and 802.11n).






32. The logical structure on disk that allows the operating system to save and retrieve files. Examples of file systems are FAT and NTFS. Both of these file system have different versions - such as FAT12 - FAT16 - FAT32 - and NTFS 4.0 and NTFS 5.0.






33. Aka dual inline memory module (DIMM).






34. An LCD display characteristic that indicates the amount of time in milliseconds (ms) it takes for a single pixel to go from the active to the inactive state and back again.






35. Aka wireless access point.






36. An automated software installation that does not require a person be present to respond to prompts for information.






37. Memory chips that provide much slower access than SRAM chips but that can store several megabytes of data on a single chip (or hundreds of megabytes - or even gigabytes - when they are packaged together on a "stick").






38. One of the two main protocols of the TCP/IP protocol suite - TCP breaks the data into chunks - called datagrams. Each datagram also contains information - stored in a header - which is used by the TCP protocol on the receiving end to reassemble the c






39. A power management standard that includes all the power states of APM - plus two more. It also supports soft power.






40. A CPU power-saving mode that allows a CPU to reduce its speed without losing its place so it does not stop working altogether. SMM also allows the CPU to trigger power saving in other components.






41. Aka double-data rate (DDR) SDRAM.






42. A printer that uses a light beam (laser) in the printing process.






43. Aka Serial Attached SCSI.






44. An arrangement of pins on a processor in which the pins are offset in a way that allows for a higher pin density than PGA.






45. In an IP configuration - the address of the local router that acts as a gateway from the local network to other IP networks.






46. In a CPU - special memory that resides within the CPU's core and is used to temporarily store instructions and data in order to increase the processing speed. Also called L1 cache.






47. Aka root key.






48. Software installed on a computer without permission that collects information about a user in order to display targeted advertisements - in the form of either inline banners or pop-ups. Inline banners are advertisements that run within the context of






49. Aka Wireless Fidelity.






50. A laptop is a small - easily transported computer - generally weighing less than 7 pounds and with roughly the same dimensions as a 1- to 2-inch-thick stack of magazines. Laptops computers have an all-in-one layout in which the keyboard - and often t