Test your basic knowledge |

Technology In Action - 2

Subjects : it-skills, literacy
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. A small - joystick-like nub that enables you to move the cursor with the tip of your finger.






2. 'System that is used to control many 'back office' operations and processing functions such as billing - production - inventory management - and human resources management.'






3. 'A section of a hard drive platter - wedge-shaped from the center of the platter to the edge.'






4. A nonimpact printer known for quick and quiet production and high quality printouts.






5. The application of computer systems and techniques to gather potential legal evidence; a law enforcement specialty used to fight high-tech crime.






6. Cables made of copper wires that are twisted around each other and are surrounded by a plastic jacket (such as traditional home phone wire).






7. 'A mini-application that runs on the desktop - offering easy access to a frequently used tool such as weather or a calendar item.'






8. An output device for sound.






9. A software program or hardware device designed to prevent unauthorized access to computers or networks.






10. 'An operating system by Microsoft that incorporates a user-friendly - graphical interface.'






11. 'A form included in many productivity applications that provides the basic structure for a particular kind of document - spreadsheet - or presentation.'






12. 'The steady and constant pace at which a computer goes through machine cycles - measured in hertz (Hz).'






13. A computer that is intended for use at a single location. A desktop computer consists of a case that houses the main components of the computer - plus peripheral devices.






14. 'A physical address - similar to a serial number on an appliance - that is assigned to each network adapter; it is made up of six 2-digit characters such as 01:40:87:44:79:A5.'






15. The process by which great amounts of data are analyzed and investigates to spot significant patterns or trends within the data that would otherwise not be obvious.






16. A small circuit board that holds a series of random access memory (RAM) chips.






17. A device such as a monitor - printer - or keyboard that connects to the system unit through ports.






18. The set of techniques used in processing and retrieving information.






19. The actual speed of data transfer that is achieved. It is usually less than the data transfer rate and is measured in megabits per second (Mbps).






20. 'The result of an action - such as a keystroke - mouse click - or signal to the printer - in the respective device (keyboard - mouse - or printer) to which the operating system responds.'






21. 'A type of hard drive that uses much thinner cables - and can transfer data more quickly - than IDE drives.'






22. System software that controls hardware devices.






23. About a billion bytes






24. 'A wireless standard established in 1997 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; also known as WiFi (short for Wireless Fidelity) - it enables wireless network devices to work seamlessly with other networks and devices.'






25. A measure of the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black colors that a monitor can produce. If the contrast ratio is too low - colors tend to fade when the brightness is adjusted to a high or low setting.






26. The time it takes a storage device to locate its stored data.






27. An expansion card that is installed inside a system unit to translate binary data ( the 1s and the 0s the computer uses) into the images viewed on the monitor.






28. 'The technology that enables the operating system - once it is booted up - to recognize automatically any new peripherals and configure them to work with the system.'






29. The part of the system unit of a computer that is responsible for data processing ( the 'brains' of the computer); it is the largest and most important chip in the computer. The CPU controls all the functionsperformed by the computer's other componen






30. An operating system (OS) that enables more than one user to access the computer system at one time by efficiently juggling all the requests from multiple users.






31. The instructions programmers write in a higher-level language.






32. A method of optical storage for digital data - developed for storing high-definition media. It has the largest storage capacity of all optical storage options.






33. The clearness or sharpness of an image - whcih is controlled by the numberof pixels displayed on the screen.






34. A set of memory chips - located on the motherboard - which stores data and instructions that cannot be changed or erased; it holds all the instructions the computer needs to start up.






35. A specially designed computer that can perform comples calculations extremely rapidly; used in situations in which complex models requiring intensive mathmatical calcualtions are needed (such as weather forecasting or atomic energy research).






36. A common output device that creates tangible or hard copies of text and graphics.






37. A computer running a specialized operating system that enables it to host Web pages (and other information) and provide requested Web pages to clients.






38. A type of network that uses servers to deliver services to computers that are requesting them (clients).






39. An active topology (meaning that data is retransmitted) in which the nodes connect to a central communications device called a switch. The switch receives a signal from the sending node and retransmits it to the node that should receive it.






40. 'The process of identifying a computer user - based on a login or username and password. The computer system determines whether the computer user is authorized and what level of access is to be granted on the network.'






41. A temporary storage area on the hard drive where the operating system 'swaps out' or moves the data or instructions from random access memory (RAM) that have not recently been used. This process takes place when more RAM space is needed.






42. A concentric circle that serves as a storage area on a hard drive platter.






43. The technology used in flat-panel computer monitors.






44. A picture on a computer display that represents an object such as a software application or a file or folder.






45. A drive that plugs into a universal serial bus(USB) port on a computer and stores data digitally. Also called USB drive - jump drive - or thumb drive.






46. Impact of read/write head against magnetic platter of the hard drive; often results in data loss.






47. A hardware device that uses lasers or light to read from - and maybe even write to - CDs - DVDs - or Blu-ray discs.






48. An application program for creating dynamic slide shows such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote.






49. 'Software that handles requests for information - Internet access - and the use of peripherals for the rest of the network nodes.'






50. A Windows utility that enables you to schedule tasks to run automatically at predetermined times with no interaction necessary on your part.