Exam 2: The System Unit: Processing and Memory

The control unit takes the instructions fetched by the prefetch unit and translates them into a form that can be understood by the control unit, ALU, and FPU.

Each machine language instruction in a CPU's instruction set is broken down into several smaller, machine-level instructions called supercode .

Each location in memory has an address.

ROM (read-only memory), also called main memory, is used to store the essential parts of the operating system while the computer is running.

USB ports are used to connect a computer to a phone outlet via telephone connectors.

One measurement of the speed of a CPU is the ____, which is rated in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).

Benchmark tests typically run the same series of programs on several computer systems that are identical except for one component (such as the CPU) and measure how long each task takes in order to determine the overall relative performance of the component being tested.

MIDI ports are used to receive wireless transmissions from devices.

Describe how Hyper-Threading Technology works.

Unlike ASCII, Unicode is a universal coding standard designed to represent text-based data written in any language, including those with different alphabets.

Each pixel in a monochrome graphic can be only one of two possible colors (such as black or white).

Most recent software programs, including the latest versions of Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Microsoft Office, use ASCII .

The number of bits being transmitted at one time is dependent on the bus width.

The ____________________ chip is estimated to be 100 times faster than silicon.

____________________ is a special group of very fast memory circuitry located on or close to the CPU.

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-2 Jack has a computer at home that he uses to access the Internet, store and edit personal photos, and create and edit documents. Recently, he has come to realize that in order to keep the computer performing at its best, he needs to carry out regular system maintenance on the computer. Since Jack has a Windows system, he can right-click a hard drive icon in Windows Explorer, select Properties, and then select the ____ option on the Tools tab to check that hard drive for errors.

Most network cards contain a port that accepts a(n) ____, which looks similar to a telephone connector but is larger.

Like graphics data, ____-such as a song or the sound of someone speaking-must be in digital form in order to be stored on a storage medium or processed by a PC.

A ____ is an electronic path over which data can travel.

A USB ____ is a device that plugs into your PC's USB port to convert one port into several USB ports.