Exam 2: The System Unit: Processing and Memory

____________________ are collections of electronic circuits containing microscopic pathways along which electrical current can travel.

Most CPUs today are ____________________ CPUs; that is, CPUs that contain the processing components or cores of multiple independent processors on a single CPU.

The numbering system we commonly use is called the decimal numbering system because it uses ____ symbols to represent all possible numbers.

Most computers today can process more than one piece of microcode at one time-a characteristic known as ____________________, or being able to process multiple instructions per cycle (IPC).

Memory refers to the amount of long-term storage available to a PC.

In order to synchronize all of a computer's operations, a ____-a small quartz crystal located on the motherboard-is used.

Because of its large size, when audio data is transmitted over the Internet it is often encrypted to shorten the download time.

Explain the difference between multiprocessing and parallel processing.

To convert analog sound to digital sound, several thousand samples-digital representations of the sound at a particular moment-are taken every second.

Several of the original ports used with desktop computers-such as the parallel ports traditionally used to connect printers-are now considered standard ports.

____ are very small pieces of silicon or other semiconducting material onto which integrated circuits are embedded.

Text-based data is represented by fixed-length binary coding systems specifically developed for text-based data-namely, ASCII, EBCDIC, and ____________________.

The decode unit coordinates and controls the operations and activities taking place within the CPU.

With pipelining , a new instruction begins executing as soon as the previous one reaches the next stage of the pipeline.

As large documents are stored, retrieved, and then stored again, they often become ____________________-that is, not stored in contiguous (adjacent) storage areas.

A computer ____ is the amount of data (measured in bits or bytes) that a CPU can manipulate at one time.

A ____ is equal to 1,024 bytes.

Keyboards and mice are typically connected to a computers using parallel ports.

____________________ are tiny, hollow tubes made up of carbon atoms.

____ consists of nonvolatile memory chips that can be used for storage by the computer or the user.