A computer receives instructions from a program, processes them, and produces a result. Which component is responsible for carrying out those instructions?

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) The hard drive The monitor The RAM chips

What is the key difference between hardware and software?

Hardware is the physical equipment; software is the programs and instructions that run on it Hardware is made by companies; software is made by individuals Hardware is expensive; software is always free Hardware processes data; software stores data permanently

A CPU runs at 3.5 GHz. What does 'GHz' measure?

How many billion operations the CPU can perform per second How many gigabytes of data it can store How many programs it can run simultaneously The voltage of electricity flowing through it

Which of the following is an INPUT device?

A microphone A speaker A monitor A printer

What does an operating system (OS) primarily do?

It manages the computer's hardware resources and lets other software run on top of it It stores all the user's files permanently It connects the computer to the internet It displays everything you see on screen

Why is the first modern computer, ENIAC (1945), considered revolutionary even though it filled an entire room?

It was the first general-purpose electronic computer that could be reprogrammed for different tasks It was the first computer to connect to a network It was the first computer to use a screen and keyboard It was the smallest computer ever built at the time

Which component is BOTH an input AND an output device?

A touchscreen A keyboard A webcam A printer

What replaced vacuum tubes in computers and made them dramatically smaller and more reliable?

Transistors Capacitors Resistors Diodes

A computer has 4 programs open, each needing 2 GB of RAM. The computer only has 6 GB of RAM. What will likely happen?

The OS will use part of the hard drive as slow temporary memory, making everything sluggish The computer will immediately shut down to protect itself The CPU will automatically double its speed to compensate The extra programs will share the leftover 2 GB equally with no performance loss

What does a computer's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) do when you press the power button?

It runs a startup test of hardware components and then loads the operating system It downloads the operating system from the internet It installs security updates before anything else runs It selects which user account to log into