Chapter 1 study guide
Chapter 1 Study Guide
1. What numbering system is used in most electronic devices? (4)
Computers record the ideas they work with electronically, as bits, and these bits represent either a 1 or a 0
2. Define the following:
a. Bit – The smallest unit of data stored in a computing device, representing a single binary digit of value 1 or 0
b. Byte – A unit of data in a computer, it is made up of 8 bits
c. Word – Two bytes of computer memory, or 16 bits
d. Double Word – Two words of computer memory, or 32 bits
3. List a few of the common terms used to define data that is organized in large groups of bytes. (5)
Kilobyte
Megabyte
Gigabyte
Terabyte
4. What is RAM? (5)
It is one of the most fundamental ways that a computer temporarily stores bits
5. How does the computer identify the location of data stored in RAM? (5)
To identify the location in RAM, RAM uses an address for each unique memory location where a byte can be stored
6. Explain the basic concept of storing bits on a RAM device. (7)
The chip stores a 1 or 0 by storing a different electrical charge in a capacitor
7. Define character set? (9)
A list of the characters that can be used in a given language or languages, mapped to corresponding unique binary codes and published as a convention or standard so that computers can use a consistent set of binary values to represent text values. (ex ASCII, ANSI, and Unicode)
AKA: character encoding scheme
8. Explain and demonstrate the process for binary to decimal conversion. (10)
1 – In each of these eight columns, multiply the decimal digit value times the binary value
2 – Add the eight numbers found in the previous step (the bottom row in the table)
Bit Positions: 8 Bit Binary Number
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Decimal
0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Binary
0 64 32 16 8 0 2 1 Products
Add Bottom Row
9. Explain and demonstrate the process for decimal to binary conversion. (11)
1 – If the countadown is less than the decimal digit value:
1. What numbering system is used in most electronic devices? (4)
Computers record the ideas they work with electronically, as bits, and these bits represent either a 1 or a 0
2. Define the following:
a. Bit – The smallest unit of data stored in a computing device, representing a single binary digit of value 1 or 0
b. Byte – A unit of data in a computer, it is made up of 8 bits
c. Word – Two bytes of computer memory, or 16 bits
d. Double Word – Two words of computer memory, or 32 bits
3. List a few of the common terms used to define data that is organized in large groups of bytes. (5)
Kilobyte
Megabyte
Gigabyte
Terabyte
4. What is RAM? (5)
It is one of the most fundamental ways that a computer temporarily stores bits
5. How does the computer identify the location of data stored in RAM? (5)
To identify the location in RAM, RAM uses an address for each unique memory location where a byte can be stored
6. Explain the basic concept of storing bits on a RAM device. (7)
The chip stores a 1 or 0 by storing a different electrical charge in a capacitor
7. Define character set? (9)
A list of the characters that can be used in a given language or languages, mapped to corresponding unique binary codes and published as a convention or standard so that computers can use a consistent set of binary values to represent text values. (ex ASCII, ANSI, and Unicode)
AKA: character encoding scheme
8. Explain and demonstrate the process for binary to decimal conversion. (10)
1 – In each of these eight columns, multiply the decimal digit value times the binary value
2 – Add the eight numbers found in the previous step (the bottom row in the table)
Bit Positions: 8 Bit Binary Number
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Decimal
0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Binary
0 64 32 16 8 0 2 1 Products
Add Bottom Row
9. Explain and demonstrate the process for decimal to binary conversion. (11)
1 – If the countadown is less than the decimal digit value: