Chapter 1. Fundamentals of Computer
(+1. Computer Application Questions and answers from text book)
1. Raw facts and figures are known as ______ .
Ans. Data
2. Processed data is known as _______.
Ans. Information
3. Which of the following helps us to take decisions?
(a) data
(b) information
(c) knowledge
(d) intelligence
Ans. b
4. Manipulation of data to get information is known as _______.
Ans. Output
5. Arrange the following in proper order:
Process, Output, Storage, Distribution, Data Capture, Input
Ans. Data Capture,Input,Storage,Process,Output,Distribution
6. Pick the odd one out and give reason:
(a) Calculation
(b) Storage
(c) Comparison
(d) Categorization
Ans. d
7. Why do we store information?
8. Information may act as data. State True or False.
Ans. True.
9. Which is the final stage in data processing?
Ans. Distribution of information
10. What is a source document?
11. Who proposed the model of modern computers?
Ans. John Von Neumann
12. Name the components of CPU.
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit (CU) and registers
13. Which of the functional units of the computer is not directly involved in data processing?
14. What is meant by 'execution of an instruction'?
A program is made up of a set of instructions. When the program is executed, the instructions are loaded into the main memory. The instructions are fetched to the CPU based on the Program Counter (PC). ... Execution of an instruction refers to the events from instruction fetch to instruction commit.
15. Which part of a computer can be compared to the human brain?
CPU
16. Number of symbols used in a number system is called ____.
Ans.Base or Radix
17. Pick invalid numbers from the following
i) (10101)8
ii) (123)4
iii) (768)8
iv) (ABC)16
Ans.iii
18. Define the term ‘bit’.
Each digit of a binary number is called bit. A bit stands for binary digit. The binary number system is also a positional number system where place value of each binary digit is power of 2. Consider an example (1101)2.
19. Find MSD in the decimal number 7854.25.
Ans. 7
20. The base of hexadecimal number system is _______.
Ans.16
21. Write 28.756 in mantissa exponent form.
Ans. 0.28756*10^2. ,0.28756 is mantissa and 2 is the exponent
22. ASCII stands for_____________.
Ans. American Standard Code for information Interchange
23. Represent -60 in 1's complement form.
Binary of 60 in 8 bit form : 00111100
1's complement form of -60 : 11000011
24. Define Unicode.
Using 8-bit ASCII we can represent only 256 characters. This cannot represent all characters of written languages of the world and other symbols. Unicode is developed to resolve this problem. It aims to provide a standard character encoding scheme, which is universal and efficient. It provides a unique number for every character, no matter what the language and platform be. Unicode originally used 16 bits which can represent up to 65,536 characters. It is maintained by a non-profit organisation called the Unicode Consortium.
25. List any two image file formats.
Ans. BMP (Bitmap file format), TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
26. Which is the MSB of representation of -80 in sign and magnitude method?
7 bit binary equivalent of 80 :1010000
so -80 is represented as 11010000
MSB is 1 that is a sign other bits are magnitude 1010000
27. Hexadecimal number system uses ______symbols and octal number system uses ________ symbols.
Ans. 16 and 8
28. EBCDIC stands for _______.
Ans. Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
29. Name the coding system that can represent almost all characters used in the human languages in the world.
Ans. Unicode
30. In sign and magnitude form, if the number is negative, sign bit is ______ and if number is positive, sign bit is ____.
Ans. 1 and 0
31. Distinguish between data and information.
Data Information
• Raw facts and figures • Processed data
• Similar to raw material • Similar to the finished product
• Cannot be directly used • Adds to knowledge and helps in taking
decisions
• Does not give precise and clear sense • Clear and meaningful D
32. How is a computer superior to human in data processing?
Computers are more superior to humans in terms of work which a normal human being can't keep up to it or beat the speed of a computer. Moreover humans are also superior why because Humans has the knowledge, IQ and others thecomputer was made with our knowledge .
33. Explain the role of storage in data processing activities.
In many cases, the amount of data given to the computers will be large. Besides, the data entry may not be completed in a single session or a day. In the case of admissions, the data of lakhs of applicants is input to the computer. It usually takes a few weeks to complete the data entry. So the data input at different times should be stored then and there. The processing will start only after the entire data is stored. The information obtained as a result of processing is also stored in the computer. This stored data and information can be used in future for various purposes.
34. List down the functions of input unit of a computer.
1. Accepts instructions and data from the outside world.
2. Converts these instructions and data to a form acceptable to the computer.
3. Supplies the converted instructions and data to the computer for processing.
35. Is secondary storage essential for a computer? Justify your answer.
yes. It is also known as auxiliary storage and it takes care of the limitations of primary storage. It has a huge storage capacity and the storage is permanent. Usually we store data, programs and information in the secondary storage, but we have to give instruction explicitly for this. Hard disk, CDs, DVDs, memory sticks, etc. are some examples.
36. Write down the role of control unit in a computer?
The functions of CPU are performed by the components.Control unit is one of the component. Each of the functional units has its own function, but none of these will perform the function until it is asked to. This task is assigned to the control unit. It invokes the other units to take charge of the operation they are associated with. It is the central nervous system that manages and co-ordinates all other units of the computer. It obtains instructions from the program stored in the memory, interprets the operation and issues signals to the unit concerned in the system to execute them.
37. How does the memory unit help CPU to perform its function?
It holds the data and instructions that the Central Processing Unit (CPU) needs. Before a program can run, the program is loaded from some storage medium into the memory. This allows the CPU direct access to the computer program. Memory is needed in all computers.
38. "Computers are slaves, humans are masters". Do you agree with this? Give reasons.
39. List down the characteristics of computers.
Speed: A computer can perform millions of operations in a second or in fraction of second. It can do in a minute, as much work as a man do taking months and years.
Accuracy: A computer can perform arithmetic operations with a very high degree of accuracy. By accuracy, we mean fewer errors in the output and precision with which computations are performed.
Diligence: Since computer is a machine, it can operate for long hours untiringly. Unlike human beings, it will not show any emotion or disobey you. Hence computers are best suited for routine jobs.
Versatility: Computer can be used to perform many different kinds of processing tasks. It is a general purpose data processing machine.
Huge memory: Computer has enormous memory capacity. Huge volume of data can be stored in its memory for processing. The storage capacity can also be increased as per requirement
40. Computer is a versatile machine. How?
Computers are versatile machines and are capable of performing any task as long as it can be broken down into a series of logical steps. The presence of computer scan be seen in almost every sphere – Railway/Air reservation, Banks, Hotels, Weather forecasting and many more
41. What is meant by the term diligence, the characteristic of a computer?
Diligence: Since computer is a machine, it can operate for long hours untiringly. Unlike human beings, it will not show any emotion or disobey you. Hence computers are best suited for routine jobs.
42. Define the term data representation.
Computers process different types of data such as numbers, characters, images, audios and video. We know that computer is an electronic device functioning on the basis of two states - ON and OFF. The two-state operation is called binary operation. Hence the data given to computer should also be in binary form. Data representation is the method used internally to represent data in a computer.
43. What do you mean by a number system? List any four number systems
A number is a mathematical object used to count, label and measure. A number system is a systematic way to represent numbers. The number system we use in our day to day life is the decimal number system that uses ten symbols or digits. The number 289 is pronounced as two hundred and eighty nine and it consists of the symbols 2, 8 and 9. Similarly there are other number systems. Each has its own symbols and method for constructing a number. A number system has a unique base, which depends upon the number of symbols. The number of symbols used in a number system is called base or radix of a number system
Decimal number system
Binary number system
Octal number system
Hexadecimal number system
44. What are the methods of representing characters in computer memory?
a. ASCII
The code called ASCII (pronounced “AS-key”), which stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, uses 7 bits to represent each character in computer memory. The ASCII representation has been adopted as a standard by the U.S. government and is widely accepted. A unique integer number is assigned to each character. This number called ASCII code of that character is converted into binary for storing in memory. For example, ASCII code of A is 65, its binary equivalent in 7-bit is 1000001. Since there are exactly 128 unique combinations of 7 bits, this 7-bit code can represent only128 characters. Another version is ASCII-8, also called extended ASCII, which uses 8 bits for each character, can represent 256 different characters.
b. EBCDIC
It stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code. This is similar to ASCII and is an 8 bit code used in computers manufactured by International Business Machine (IBM). It is capable of encoding 256 characters. If ASCII coded data is to be used in a computer which uses EBCDIC representation, it is necessary to transform ASCII code to EBCDIC code. Similarly if EBCDIC coded data is to be used in a ASCII computer, EBCDIC code has to be transformed to ASCII.
c. ISCII
ISCII stands for Indian Standard Code for Information Interchange or Indian Script Code for Information Interchange. It is an encoding scheme for representing various writing systems of India. ISCII uses 8-bits for data representation. It was evolved by a standardisation committee under the Department of Electronics during 1986-88, and adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Nowadays ISCII has been replaced by Unicode.
d. Unicode
Using 8-bit ASCII we can represent only 256 characters. This cannot represent all characters of written languages of the world and other symbols. Unicode is developed to resolve this problem. It aims to provide a standard character encoding scheme, which is universal and efficient. It provides a unique number for every character, no matter what the language and platform be.
45. Write short notes on ASCII and ISCII.
he code called ASCII (pronounced “AS-key”), which stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, uses 7 bits to represent each character in computer memory. The ASCII representation has been adopted as a standard by the U.S. government and is widely accepted. A unique integer number is assigned to each character. This number called ASCII code of that character is converted into binary for storing in memory. For example, ASCII code of A is 65, its binary equivalent in 7-bit is 1000001. Since there are exactly 128 unique combinations of 7 bits, this 7-bit code can represent only128 characters. Another version is ASCII-8, also called extended ASCII, which uses 8 bits for each character, can represent 256 different characters.
ISCII stands for Indian Standard Code for Information Interchange or Indian Script Code for Information Interchange. It is an encoding scheme for representing various writing systems of India. ISCII uses 8-bits for data representation. It was evolved by a standardisation committee under the Department of Electronics during 1986-88, and adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Nowadays ISCII has been replaced by Unicode.
46. Briefly explain the significance of Unicode in character representation
Using 8-bit ASCII we can represent only 256 characters. This cannot represent all characters of written languages of the world and other symbols. Unicode is developed to resolve this problem. It aims to provide a standard character encoding scheme, which is universal and efficient. It provides a unique number for every character, no matter what the language and platform be. Unicode originally used 16 bits which can represent up to 65,536 characters
47. Binary number system is used for data representation in computer memory. Why?
Binary number system is based on two digits 1 and 0. The electric state ON can be represented by 1 and the OFF state by 0 as shown in Figure 1.8 Because of this, computer uses binary number system as the basic number system for data representation.
48. Explain the method of representing a floating point number in a 32 bit computer
A real number is represented in 32 bit word length computer. Here 24 bits are used for storing mantissa (among these the first bit for sign) and 8 bits are used for storing exponent (first bit for sign) . Assumed decimal point is to the right of the sign bit of mantissa. No separate space is reserved for storing decimal point. Consider the real number 25.45, that can be written as 0.2545×102 , where 0.2545 is the mantissa and 2 is the exponent. These numbers are converted into binary and stored in respective locations. Various standards are followed for representing mantissa and exponent. When word length changes, bits used for storing mantissa and exponents will change accordingly.
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