Test your basic knowledge |

Comptia A +: Hardware

Subjects : certifications, comptia-a-+, it-skills

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. Number of Pins for Drives: 1. PATA - ATA - IDE - or EIDE
Coaxial
Pin Grid Array
40 or 80
VGA/SVGA monitor

2. An example of firmware.
3
USB Type A
BIOS
the CPU

3. Before sending a power supply to the recycling facility...
discharge the capacitors by touching and connecting the phase with the ground plug and then the neutral to the ground plug with an insulated screwdriver or pliers.
Cache
5.25
Joystick

4. Both Parity and _______ decrease efficiency - but increase reliability in RAM.
144
DB-15
ECC
DB-15

5. Components from many different manufacturers are interchangeable. As long as the component meets the standards - you can be reasonably confident that it will work in the system.
CMOS
1024 x 786
Standardization
240

6. 10Base-2 Ethernet uses this cable.
Hardware
1. jumper 2. dip switch 3. push button switch 4. and configured with a separae SCSI BIOS
Coaxial
3

7. The process of sending data to the computer. These devices include: - Mouse - Keyboard - Touchscreen
Input
detects and fixes corrupt data in RAM.
Cache
the CPU

8. External modems most commonly connect to this port.
Processing
Serial
ECC
video ram for the use of the Graphic Processing Unit (GPU). Not related to Virtual RAM.

9. Surge
Too much voltage
RJ-11
Output
CMOS

10. Hard Drives mount at 3.5 or 2.5 - Optical Drives mount at _____.
Random Access Memory (RAM)
a mini DIN Tip Sleeve Ring (TSR) 3.5 millimeter jack
TRS
5.25

11. Number of Pins for Drives: 4. FDD
they plug into the motherboard to allow further expansion. 1. Magnetic Disk 2. Tape 3. Laser 4. Solid State Flash
34
the motherboard
240

12. What do the type types of Hard Drive acronyms stand for?
RAMBUS Inline Memory Module - Comes in 184 and 232-pin slot
Error Correction Code.
Cathode Ray Tube
DSD and SSD (DSD - Dynamic State Drives SSD - Solid State Drives)

13. How many pins is a SODIMM DDR DIMM?
Single Inline Memory Module - has 30 or 72 contacts on only one side.
Cathode Ray Tube
Standardization
144

14. Multicore CPUs share a common ____ _____ _____. Which can cause traffic bottlenecks as competing cores communicate on the main system bus.
DB-25
Front Side Bus.
removable chips on the motherboard
PCIe - PCI - AGP - ESIA - and ISA

15. The actual speed of the CPU is governed by a _______ setting called the clock rate.
Firmware
Networking and Communications
Radial Lines
BIOS

16. An area of memory that holds recently-accessed data.
Cache
PS/2-style mouse
CMOS
ECC

17. What is the formal name of the 'headphone jack'?
a mini DIN Tip Sleeve Ring (TSR) 3.5 millimeter jack
Small Outline DIMM
Serial
B-9 serial

18. What does CRT stand for?
Cathode Ray Tube
Output
Pin Grid Array
9-pin serial

19. SCSI code is set by a 4 things - what are they?
1. jumper 2. dip switch 3. push button switch 4. and configured with a separae SCSI BIOS
Hardware
they plug into the motherboard to allow further expansion. 1. Magnetic Disk 2. Tape 3. Laser 4. Solid State Flash
Processing

20. A dime sized component of the camera head into which light enters and is converted into and electronic or video signal
DB-25
Cache
34
charged coupled device (CCD)

21. How many pins is a DDR2 DIMM?
discharge the capacitors by touching and connecting the phase with the ground plug and then the neutral to the ground plug with an insulated screwdriver or pliers.
ATX - BTX - Micro ATX - ITX - NLX - and LPX
240
Pin Grid Array

22. How many pins is a DDR DIMM?
Front Side Bus.
184
1024 x 786
Storage

23. Joystick or MIDI device (game port) - High Density DB-15 - VGA/SVGA monitor - 6-pin Mini-DIN - PS/2-style keyboard or mouse - By convention - purple connectors are used for the keyboard - and green connectors are used for the mouse.
5.25
200
DB-15
3

24. Speaker or microphone - Common color codes for connectors are: Red = Mic In - Blue = Line In - Green = Line Out
TRS
DB-15
CMOS
PCIe - PCI - AGP - ESIA - and ISA

25. What is DVD-RAM? and how is it used?

26. What does SODIMM stand for?
Small Outline DIMM
CMOS
Error Correction Code.
RJ-11

27. Networking is a specialized form of input and output that entails using media (cable) and devices (routers - switches) to link multiple computers into an interconnected unit.
4
Networking and Communications
DB-25
CMOS

28. LGA stands for ______.
144
Firmware
Volatile
Line Grid Array

29. What are the 6 form factors of motherboards?
RJ-11
ATX - BTX - Micro ATX - ITX - NLX - and LPX
240
Too little voltage

30. RAID stands for _________.
Redundant Array of Independant (Inexpensive) Disks.
CMOS
3
200

31. UXGA is _____x_____
Processing
1600 x 1200
Firmware
Too little voltage

32. Printers
Standardization
DB-25 parallel
50 - 68 - or 80
144

33. PGA stands for
Very brief time (milliseconds) of too little voltage
240
Pin Grid Array
detects and fixes corrupt data in RAM.

34. SDRAM sands for _______.
Synchronous Dynamic RAM. Data transfer is timed to the system clock. DDR replaced 168 SDRAM
Coaxial
DB-25 parallel
video ram for the use of the Graphic Processing Unit (GPU). Not related to Virtual RAM.

35. What does ECC stand for?
144
Error Correction Code.
800 x 600
3

36. An example of a device that uses a low-density (two-row) male DB-15 connector.
Volatile
Speaker
Zero Insertion Force. a physical interface that lets you set the CPU into the array - and then use actuate a lever to make actual contact.
Joystick

37. What are the 5 Expansion Slot types - Daughter Boards or Riser Boards?
Input
PCIe - PCI - AGP - ESIA - and ISA
2048 x 1536
Error Correction Code.

38. DSD or Dynamic State Drives are organized into Tracks or Rings - and sectors or _____.
9-pin serial
Radial Lines
VGA/SVGA monitor
Input

39. SVGA is ____ x_____
RJ-11
BIOS
800 x 600
Volatile

40. How many pins is a DDR3 DIMM?
1024 x 786
240
PS/2-style mouse
Networking and Communications

41. The BIOS is stored on the _______ chip that is on the motherboard.
34
PCIe - PCI - AGP - ESIA - and ISA
CMOS
Complex -Instruction - Set - Chips - Used in General Purpose PCs

42. Level two cache is located on _______.
34
Line Grid Array
Error Correction Code.
the motherboard

43. ZIF stands for ______.
Zero Insertion Force. a physical interface that lets you set the CPU into the array - and then use actuate a lever to make actual contact.
verifying data integrity.
Single Inline Memory Module - has 30 or 72 contacts on only one side.
DSD and SSD (DSD - Dynamic State Drives SSD - Solid State Drives)

44. What are the two types of RAM?
9-pin serial
2048 x 1536
Dynamic and Static - Dynamic - loses info in the absence of power. Static - retains info like a hard drive.
BIOS

45. A special RAM chip powered and maintained by a small battery that holds basic configuration data a computer needs to start.
184
PS/2-style mouse
Synchronous Dynamic RAM. Data transfer is timed to the system clock. DDR replaced 168 SDRAM
CMOS

46. This device converts a visual input into a binary stream through an analog-to-digital conversion (ADC)
50 - 68 - or 80
PS/2-style mouse
7 or 15 (powered)
CMOS

47. Internal modem or telephone
RJ-11
Firewire 6-pin
Volatile
5.25

48. Number of Pins for Drives: 2. SCSI
DB-15
50 - 68 - or 80
Storage
Small Outline DIMM

49. Number of Pins for Drives: 3. SATA
Network communications
7 or 15 (powered)
Serial
DB-25 parallel

50. Software that has been permanently placed in a hardware component. An example is a BIOS chip.
34
PS/2-style mouse
Firmware
Network communications