IC3 - Digital Literacy Hardware and Software Concepts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the difference between SSD and HDD storage?
- SSDs use magnetic platters while HDDs use flash memory
- SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts while HDDs use spinning magnetic disks (Correct answer)
- SSDs are always larger in capacity than HDDs
- There is no functional difference between them
Correct answer: SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts while HDDs use spinning magnetic disks
SSDs store data on flash memory chips with no moving parts, offering faster speeds and greater durability. HDDs use spinning magnetic platters read by a mechanical arm.
SSDs and HDDs use fundamentally different technologies. HDDs store data magnetically on spinning platters read by a moving actuator arm. SSDs store data on interconnected flash memory chips with no mechanical components. SSDs are 5-20x faster, more durable, silent, and use less power, but cost more per gigabyte.
Question 2: What is virtualization technology?
- A type of video game graphics
- Running multiple virtual computers on a single physical machine using software (Correct answer)
- A method of increasing internet speed
- Converting physical documents to digital format
Correct answer: Running multiple virtual computers on a single physical machine using software
Virtualization uses software (a hypervisor) to create multiple virtual machines on a single physical computer, each running its own operating system and applications independently.
Virtualization creates abstract versions of hardware resources, allowing multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical host. A hypervisor manages the allocation of physical resources to each VM. Benefits include better hardware utilization, cost savings, easy backup and recovery, and testing environments.
Question 3: What is the purpose of an operating system's task manager or activity monitor?
- To schedule calendar appointments
- To view and manage running processes, CPU usage, memory consumption, and system performance (Correct answer)
- To download software updates
- To organize files and folders
Correct answer: To view and manage running processes, CPU usage, memory consumption, and system performance
Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (macOS) provides real-time information about running processes, resource usage, and system performance, and allows users to end unresponsive applications.
Task Manager and Activity Monitor are built-in system utilities that display real-time information about system resource usage. They show running processes with their CPU, memory, disk, and network usage, startup program management, and allow force-quitting unresponsive applications.
Question 4: What is firmware and how does it differ from regular software?
- Firmware is another name for antivirus software
- Firmware is permanent software embedded in hardware that controls basic device functions (Correct answer)
- Firmware only exists on mobile phones
- Firmware is software that has been deleted
Correct answer: Firmware is permanent software embedded in hardware that controls basic device functions
Firmware is specialized software permanently stored on a hardware device's memory chip that provides low-level control for the device's specific hardware functions.
Firmware is embedded directly into hardware devices on non-volatile memory chips. It provides the essential instructions that control how a device operates at the most basic level. Examples include BIOS/UEFI on motherboards, router firmware, and printer firmware.
Question 5: What is the role of cache memory in a computer system?
- It permanently stores user files
- It provides ultra-fast temporary storage for frequently accessed data to speed up processing (Correct answer)
- It backs up data to an external drive
- It manages internet browsing history
Correct answer: It provides ultra-fast temporary storage for frequently accessed data to speed up processing
Cache memory is a small, extremely fast memory located close to or within the CPU that stores copies of frequently accessed data to reduce the time needed to fetch them from slower main memory.
Cache memory is high-speed SRAM positioned between the CPU and main memory. Modern CPUs have three levels: L1 (smallest, fastest, per-core), L2 (medium, per-core), and L3 (largest, shared across cores). Cache hits dramatically reduce access time compared to fetching from RAM.
Question 6: What does 'open source software' mean?
- Software that is always free of charge
- Software whose source code is publicly available and can be viewed, modified, and distributed (Correct answer)
- Software that only runs on open networks
- Software that has no copyright protection
Correct answer: Software whose source code is publicly available and can be viewed, modified, and distributed
Open source software has publicly available source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and redistribute, typically under a license that defines how it may be used and shared.
Open source software is released under a license that grants users the right to view, modify, and distribute the source code. Common licenses include MIT, Apache, GPL, and BSD. Notable projects include Linux, Firefox, LibreOffice, and WordPress. Open source and free are not synonymous.
IC3 - Digital Literacy Hardware and Software Concepts 2
What is the difference between SSD and HDD storage?