Integrated Questions (Unit B)

Multiple Choice Questions

P0BM001
Which of the following is the reason for the wide usage of Redundant Array of Independent
Disks (RAID) in servers?
A. More disk storage space
B. Make backup easier
C. Faster data access
D. Fault tolerant
Answer
D

P0BM002
Which of the following interfaces supports the largest number of devices per port?
A. Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP)
B. Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)
C. Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
D. Universal Serial Bus (USB)
Answer
D

P0BM003
Tapes are usually used for backup purposes because
(1) they are usually cheaper than CD-Rs or CD-RWs.
(2) they are cheap and which make them suitable to be used for backup as the data
stored will not be retrieved usually.
(3) they are more reliable than CD-Rs or CD-RWs.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
Answer
B

P0BM004
Which of the following is the full name of a CD-R?
A. Compact Disk-Rewritable
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B. Compact Disk-Recordable
C. Compact Disk-Readonly
D. Compact Disk-Readmanywriteonce
Answer
B

P0BM005
Which of the following characteristics affects the quality of static images displayed on a
monitor the least?
A. Resolution
B. Contrast ratio
C. Refresh rate
D. Dot pitch
Answer
C

P0BM006
Which of the following storage media is volatile?
A. DVD
B. SATA hard disk
C. Flash disk
D. L2 cache
Answer
D

P0BM007
Which of the following statements about registers is/are correct?
(1) Registers are located inside the CPU.
(2) The performance of registers is poorer than that of RAM.
(3) The total capacity of registers is larger than that of RAM on a computer.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
Answer
A

P0BM008
Which of the following components is not present in a CPU?
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A. Arithmetic and logic unit
B. Control unit
C. L2 cache
D. BIOS
Answer
D

P0BM009
Which of the following statements about pointing devices is/are true?
(1) Trackballs are usually used in kiosks.
(2) Double-clicking action cannot be done on a touchpad.
(3) Touch screens are used for mobile devices only.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only
Answer
A

P0BM010
Arrange the following printers in ascending order of cost per paper printed.
(1) Laser printer
(2) Inkjet printer
(3) Thermal printer
A. (1) < (2) < (3)
B. (1) < (3) < (2)
C. (3) < (1) < (2)
D. (3) < (2) < (1)
Answer
C

P0BM011
Arrange the following secondary storage media in ascending order of cost per byte.
(1) DVD
(2) CD
(3) Flash memory
A. (1) < (2) < (3)
B. (1) < (3) < (2)
C. (2) < (1) < (3)
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D. (2) < (3) < (1)
Answer
A

P0BM012
Which of the following mappings is incorrect?
Storage medium Data access
A. Flash memory Sequential
B. Tape Sequential
C. ROM Direct
D. DVD Direct
Answer
A

P0BM013
Which of the following is a primary storage medium?
A. Hard disk
B. ROM
C. CD
D. DVD
Answer
B

P0BM014
Which of the following statements about user interface of operating systems (OS) is/are
correct?
(1) Computers become popular after graphical user interface (GUI) was invented.
(2) No training is required to use the OSs implementing GUI.
(3) The OSs using GUI requires more resources than those using command line
interface.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
Answer
D

P0BM015
Which of the following statements about DVD is/are correct?
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 (1) DVD drivers are used to access DVD-ROMs.
(2) DVD-RWs are rewritable.
(3) There are two kinds of DVDs only, namely DVD5 and DVD9.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
Answer
B

P0BM016
Which of the following statements about open source software is/are correct?
(1) Linux is an open source operating system.
(2) People can resell open source programs after modifying them.
(3) The creator(s) of each open source program has/have the obligation to provide
technical support online.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
Answer
A

P0BM017
Which of the following operating systems is single-user and multi-tasking?
A. UNIX
B. DOS 3.2
C. Windows 98
D. Linux
Answer
C

P0BM018
Which of the following is not supposed to be done by operating systems?
A. Device configuration
B. Virus prevention
C. Memory management
D. Network communication management
Answer
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B

P0BM019
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(1) Computer resources are highly utilized in batch processing systems.
(2) The idle time of batch processing systems concerning data entry is minimized.
(3) The running cost of a real-time system is high.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
Answer
D

P0BM020
Which of the following mappings is incorrect?
I/O device Unit
A. Printer cps
B. Scanner dpi
C. Digital camera ppm
D. Webcam fps
Answer
C

Long Questions

P0BL001
David has purchased a desktop computer with the following configuration:

Pentium Core 2 Duo E8400 (3GHz)

6 MB L2 cache
2  1GB DDR2 RAM
Intel Q35 chipset
500 GB hard drive (7,200 rpm)
64 MB video RAM
4X16X50X DVD writer
Standard keyboard

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(a) State two other input or output devices that are commonly equipped with a desktop
computer.
(2 marks)

(b) David finds that he cannot play a 3D video game smoothly. He wants to improve the
performance significantly. Which components mentioned above should be upgraded?
Explain your answer briefly.
(3 marks)

(c) There are RAMs on the motherboard.

(i) Why are RAMs needed in a computer set?
(2 marks)
(ii) David bought two modules of 1 GB RAM instead of one module of 2 GB RAM.
What is the advantage of doing so? Explain your answer briefly.
(2 marks)

(d) The description of the DVD writer is ‘4X16X50X’. What is represented by the ‘4X’?
(1 mark)
(e) What is L2 cache? Explain its function.
(2 marks)
Answer
(a) ● Mouse (1)
● Monitor (1)
(Or any reasonable answers)
(b) The display card. (1) As playing a 3D video game requires a high performance CPU, a
large amount of RAM and a high performance of display card. (1) In this case as, the
CPU and the amount of RAM used are adequate, he should upgrade the display card with
a faster Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and a larger amount of video RAM, say, 256
MB which is the bottleneck of the display performance. (1)
(c) (i) A CPU can only process instructions stored in RAMs. (1) The operating system of
the computer set has to be loaded into the RAMs first before users can use it. (1)
(ii) Most of the computers like the one mentioned here support the Dual Channel
Architecture (1) that doubles the memory throughput bandwidth by employing 2/4/6
RAM modules. Data transfer between CPUs and RAMs will be much smoother
since the data bus speeds of CPUs are usually faster than those of RAMs. (1)
(d) The writing speed for DVD+/-RW (1)

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(e) It is a fast static RAM located inside the CPU (1) that is used to store the frequently used
data so as to raise the performance of the CPU (1).

P0BL002
You are the chief IT technician of the SFX Primary School. An alumnus has donated ten
computers to your school.
(a) Although you have verified that the operating system of every computer can be initiated
properly and the basic word processing software can be used, teachers complain that
some software cannot be opened, especially those graphics handling software.
(i) What is the possible problem? Justify your answer.
(2 marks)
(ii) Suggest another kind of software that may not be run properly as well.
(1 mark)
(iii) How can you improve the situation without invlovingextra resources? Explain your
answer briefly.
(2 marks)
(b) The capacity of the original hard disk of each donated computer is 10 GB. This small
capacity arouses dissatisfaction of some users. Luckily, some times later, your school gets
another donation of ten 30 GB hard disks. When you put one of them into a donated
computer, the capacity of the new hard disk indicated by the operating system is around
20 GB.
(i) Explain why it is the case.
(2 marks)
(ii) Suggest one possible way to tackle this problem.
(1 mark)

(c) After the computers have been used for couples of months, your principal has received a
lot of complaints about the poor performance of the computers. Therefore, he decides to
upgrade the computers. Due to financial constraints, only new CPUs can be affordable.
He asks if this is feasible to upgrade the CPUs only. You disagree with him.
(i) Give two reasons for your disagreement.
(2 marks)
(ii) What else can be upgraded to improve the performance of the computers? Suggest
one possible way and explain your answer briefly.
(2 marks)

Answer
(a) (i) There may not be enough RAM (1) as graphics handling software requires a large
amount of RAM. (1)

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 (ii) Database software (1) (Or any reasonable answer)
(iii) It can be improved by setting a larger amount of virtual memory. (1) Although
virtual memory is slow, the software should still be able to be opened after a longer
period of time. (1)
(b) (i) The BIOS (1) of the computer can only support hard disks with a maximum
capacity of 20 GB. (1)
(ii) To update the firmware of the BIOS to the latest version (1)
(Or any reasonable answers)
(c) (i) ● The socket of a new CPU may not be compatible with the motherboard. (1)
● The other components of the computers may not be able to catch up with the
new CPUs. (1)
(Or any reasonable answers)
(ii) Replace the hard disks with the ones of less access time or faster disk rotational
speed. (1)
Since the OS and most of the software and files are stored on the hard disks, raising
the performance of hard disks can significantly raise the overall performance of the
computers. (1) (Or any reasonable answers)

P0BL003
Peter has a Pentium II (433 MHz) computer and wants to upgrade it.
(a) He considers replacing the CPU with a new one, such as Pentium Core 2 Duo E7300.
State one reason why it is not feasible.
(1 mark)
Currently, there are two kinds of hard disks available in the market, parallel ATA and serial
ATA. The computer Peter wants to buy supports both of them.
(b) (i) Describe the main difference between them.
(3 marks)
(ii) Which one should Peter buy? Justify your answer with two reasons.
(2 marks)
Peter is then told to buy the OEM version of the operating system he is going to use.
(c) (i) What is meant by OEM software?
(2 marks)
(ii) Why does the salesperson advise him to buy the OEM version instead of the normal
one? Suggest one reason.
(1 mark)
(iii) What is the limitation of the OEM version compared with the normal version?
(1 mark)

(d) Peter mentions that he usually opens a lot of applications at the same time. Which
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 component should be paid attention to? Explain your answer briefly.
(2 marks)
Answer
(a) The new CPU cannot be plugged into the socket on the old motherboard. (1)
(b) (i) Parallel ATA transmits data word by word (16 bits at a time for ultra ATA) (1),
while a serial ATA does that bit by bit (1).
(ii) SATA. (1) The data transfer rate is higher. (1) The maximum capacity of SATA hard

disks is higher than that of UATA. (1)

(c) (i) OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and OEM software refers to
software that is sold to computer builders and hardware manufacturers (OEMs) in
large quantities. (1) It will then be bundled with certain computers or hardware. (1)
(ii) It is cheaper. (1)
(iii) It is illegal to install it on other computers. (1)
(d) RAM (1) since each application occupies space in the RAM of the computer. (1)

P0BL004
Amy wants to implement an electronic textbook scheme in her school. She is considering the
type of computers for students to read the e-textbooks. She can choose between notebook
computers and PDAs.
(a) (i) Compare notebook computer and PDA in terms of cost, endurance and portability.
(3 marks)
(ii) Suggest one shortcoming of these kinds of computers compared with desktop
computers. Explain your answer briefly.
(1 mark)
(iii) Suppose the students use the computers to draw diagrams frequently. Which one is a
better choice? Explain your answer briefly.
(3 marks)

Amy then contacts some publishers for acquisition of e-textbooks. Most publishers suggest her
using the PDF format for the textbooks.
(b) State three reasons why PDF is more suitable than RTF.
(3 marks)
After the scheme is implemented, some students’ PCs are infected by viruses.
(c) (i) Suggest one utility to deal with this situation.
(1 mark)
(ii) Describe how the utility suggested in part (c)(i) is used to minimize the chance of
virus infection in the future.
(1 mark)
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Answer
(a) (i) Cost: Notebook computers are more expensive. (1)
Endurance: Notebook computers are less susceptible to physical damage due to their
strengthened casing. (1).
Portability: PDAs are more portable due to their smaller sizes. (1)
(ii) Their parts are more delicate than those of desktop PCs so that they may require
more maintenance services. (1) (Or any reasonable answer)
(iii) Notebook computers (1) since they have larger screens. (2)
(b) ● PDF files can be read without letting users edit them. (1)
● PDF is cross-platform that can be read on almost all platforms without the need of
alteration. (1)
● PDF files are usually smaller in size. (1)
(Or any reasonable answers)
(c) (i) Anti-virus program (1) (Or any reasonable answer)
(ii) Update the virus definitions regularly. (1)

P0BL005
Microsoft Windows XP is one of the most popular operating systems nowadays.
(a) State the kind of user interface used in Microsoft Windows XP.
(1 mark)
The predecessor of the Windows systems is Disk Operating System (DOS).
(b) (i) State the kind of user interface used in DOS.
(1 mark)
(ii) Compare these two operating systems by completing the following table.
Windows XP DOS
Single-user /multi-user
Single-tasking / multi-tasking
Resource required (high / low)
Start-up time (long / short)
Easy / difficult to learn
(5 marks)

The installation files of DOS were usually stored in floppy disks but they are no longer
used for Microsoft Windows XP anymore.
(c) (i) Explain why floppy disks are not used for Microsoft Windows XP.
(2 marks)
(ii) What storage medium should be used for the installation files of Microsoft
Windows XP?

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 (1 mark)
(d) Someone wants to open certain files created in the DOS environment on the
Windows XP platform, but he/she is not successful usually due to the incompatibility.
Suggest one way to deal with the situation and explain your suggestion concisely.
(2 marks)

Answer
(a) Graphical User Interface (GUI) (1)
(b) (i) Command line user interface (1)
(ii)
Windows XP DOS
Single-user / multi-user Multi-user Single-user
Single-tasking / multi-tasking Multi-tasking Single-tasking
Resource required (high / low) High Low
Start-up time (long / short) Long Short
Easy / difficult to learn Easy Difficult
(1 mark for each correct pair, 5 marks totally)
(c) (i) It is not feasible as numerous floppy disks will be required (1) to store the large
installation files of Windows XP. (1)
(ii) CD / DVD (1)
(d) DOS emulators. (1) They are programs that can be used to run certain DOS programs or
open certain DOS files on the Windows XP. (1)
(Or any reasonable answer)

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