Computers and Their Business Application Essay

Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications Essay  98.Provideageneraldescriptiononhowtowriteacomputerprogram. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Towriteacomputerprogram,firstausermustknowwhatneedstobe done,andthenheorshemustplanamethodtoachievethisgoal,includingselectingthe rightlanguageforthetask.Manycomputerlanguagesareavailable;thelanguagetheuser selectsdependsontheproblembeingsolvedandthetypeofcomputerheorsheisusing. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Defineacomputersystem,anddescribeitscomponents. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.1 TOPICS:  Computerdefined KEYWORDS:  Remember DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 99.Discusssingleprocessorandmultiprocessorcomputers. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Somecomputershaveasingleprocessor;othercomputers,called multiprocessors,containmultipleprocessors.Multiprocessingistheuseoftwoormore CPUsinasinglecomputersystem.Generally,amultiprocessorcomputerperformsbetter thanasingle-processorcomputerinthesamewaythatateamwouldperformbetterthanan individualonalarge,time-consumingproject. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Defineacomputersystem,anddescribeitscomponents. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.1 TOPICS:  Computersystemcomponents KEYWORDS:  DATE CREATED:  DATE MODIFIED:  Remember 10/22/20191:26PM 10/22/20191:26PM Page46 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications 100.Explaintheeffectsofprocessorsizeandoperatingsystem(OS)oncomputerperformance. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Inrecentyears,32-bitand64-bitprocessorsandOSshavecreatedalot 32 ofinterest.A32-bitprocessorcanuse2 bytes(4GB)ofRAM;and,intheory,a64-bit 64 processorcanuse2 bytes(16EB,orexabytes)ofRAM.Soacomputerwitha64-bit processorcanperformcalculationswithlargernumbersandbemoreefficientwithsmaller numbers;italsohasbetteroverallperformancethana32-bitsystem.However,totake advantageofthishigherperformance,youmustalsohavea64-bitOS. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Defineacomputersystem,anddescribeitscomponents. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.1 TOPICS:  Computerdefined Computersystemcomponents KEYWORDS:  Remember DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  11/20/20197:27PM 101.Whatisamotherboard? ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Amotherboardisthemaincircuitboardcontainingconnectorsfor attachingadditionalboards.Inaddition,itusuallycontainstheCPU,BasicInput/Output System(BIOS),memory,storage,interfaces,serialandparallelports,expansionslots,and allthecontrollersforstandardperipheraldevices,suchasthedisplaymonitor,diskdrive, andkeyboard. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Defineacomputersystem,anddescribeitscomponents. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.1 TOPICS:  Computersystemcomponents KEYWORDS:  Remember DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 102.Discusstheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofgalliumarsenidechips. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Becausesiliconcannotemitlightandhasspeedlimitations,computer Page47 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications designershaveconcentratedontechnologyusinggalliumarsenide,inwhichelectrons movealmostfivetimesfasterthansilicon.Devicesmadewiththissyntheticcompoundcan emitlight,withstandhighertemperatures,andsurvivemuchhigherdosesofradiationthan silicondevices.Themajorproblemswithgalliumarsenidearedifficultiesinmass production.Thismaterialissofterandmorefragilethansilicon,soitbreaksmoreeasily duringslicingandpolishing.Becauseofthehighcostsanddifficultyofproduction,the militaryiscurrentlythemajoruserofthistechnology.However,researchcontinuesto eliminatesomeshortcomingsofthistechnology. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Easy REFERENCES:  Discussthehistoryofcomputerhardwareandsoftware. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.2 TOPICS:  Hardware KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 103.Describehowcomputerspeedismeasured. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Typically,computerspeedismeasuredasthenumberofinstructions performedduringthefollowingfractionsofasecond: a.Millisecond:1/1,000ofasecond b.Microsecond:1/1,000,000ofasecond c.Nanosecond:1/1,000,000,000ofasecond d.Picosecond:1/1,000,000,000,000ofasecond POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Explainthefactorsdistinguishingthecomputingpowerofcomputers. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.3 TOPICS:  Computingpower KEYWORDS:  Analyze DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 104.Explainhowdataisstoredinacomputer. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Computerscanstorevastquantitiesofdataandlocateaspecificitem quickly,whichmakesknowledgeworkersmoreefficientinperformingtheirjobs.In computers,dataisstoredinbits.Abitisasinglevalueof0or1,and8bitsequal1byte.A byteisthesizeofacharacter.Forexample,thewordcomputerconsistsof8charactersor8 bytes(64bits).Everycharacter,number,orsymbolonthekeyboardisrepresentedasa Page48 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications binarynumberincomputermemory.Abinarysystemconsistsof0sand1s,witha1 representing“on”anda0representing“off,”similartoalightswitch. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Explainthefactorsdistinguishingthecomputingpowerofcomputers. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.3 TOPICS:  Computingpower KEYWORDS:  Analyze DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 105.Discussthethreebasictasksperformedbycomputers. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Computerscanperformthreebasictasks:arithmeticoperations,logical operations,andstorageandretrievaloperations. Computerscanadd,subtract,multiply,divide,andraisenumberstoapower (exponentiation),asshownintheseexamples: A+B(addition):5+7=12 A–B(subtraction):5–2=3 A*B(multiplication):5*2=10 A/B(division):5/2=2.5 A^B(exponentiation):5^2=25 Computerscanperformcomparisonoperationsbycomparingtwonumbers.Forexample,a computercancomparextoyanddeterminewhichnumberislarger. Computerscanstoremassiveamountsofdatainverysmallspacesandlocateaparticular itemquickly.Forexample,apersoncanstorethetextofmorethanonemillionbooksina memorydeviceaboutthesizeofhisorherfist. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Summarizecomputeroperations. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.4 TOPICS:  Computerfunctions KEYWORDS:  Apply DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  11/20/20197:33PM 106.Describetouchscreens. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Atouchscreen,whichusuallyworkswithmenus,isacombinationof inputdevices.Sometouchscreensrelyonlightdetectiontodeterminewhichmenuitem hasbeenselected,andothersarepressuresensitive.Touchscreensareofteneasiertouse Page49 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications thankeyboards,buttheymightnotbeasaccuratebecauseselectionscanbemisreador mistouched. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Discussthetypesofinput,output,andmemorydevices. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.5 TOPICS:  Inputdevices KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 107.Whatarethemostcommonoutputdevicesforsoftcopy? ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Outputdisplayedonascreeniscalled“softcopy.”Themostcommon outputdevicesforsoftcopyarecathoderaytube(CRT),plasmadisplay,andliquidcrystal display(LCD).Soon,OLED(organiclight-emittingdiode)displayswillreplaceLCDs. OLEDscreensarebrighter,thinner,andconsumelesspowerthanLCDtechnology. However,theyaremoreexpensivethanLCDtechnology. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Discussthetypesofinput,output,andmemorydevices. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.5 TOPICS:  Outputdevices KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 108.Whatisthemostcommontypeofmainmemory? ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Themostcommontypeofmainmemoryisasemiconductormemory chipmadeofsilicon.Asemiconductormemorydevicecanbevolatileornonvolatile. Volatilememoryiscalledrandomaccessmemory(RAM),althoughyoucouldthinkofit as“read-writememory.”Inotherwords,datacanbereadfromandwrittentoRAM.Some examplesofthetypeofinformationstoredinRAMincludeopenfiles,theClipboard’s contents,runningprograms,andsoforth. AspecialtypeofRAM,calledcacheRAM,residesontheprocessor.Becausememory accessfrommainRAMstoragegenerallytakesseveralclockcycles(afewnanoseconds), cacheRAMstoresrecentlyaccessedmemorysotheprocessorisnotwaitingforthe memorytransfer. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate Page50 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications REFERENCES:  Discussthetypesofinput,output,andmemorydevices. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.5 TOPICS:  Storagedevices KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 109.Describethemaintypesofsecondarymemorydevices. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Thereareseveraltypesofsecondarymemorydevices: Magneticdisk:Amagneticdisk,madeofMylarormetal,isusedforrandom-access processing.Inotherwords,datacanbeaccessedinanyorder,regardlessofitsorderonthe surface.Magneticdisksaremuchfasterbutmoreexpensivethantapedevices. Magnetictape:Magnetictape,madeofaplasticmaterial,resemblesacassettetapeand storesdatasequentially.Recordscanbestoredinablockorseparately,withagapbetween eachrecordorblock,calledtheinterrecordgap(IRG).Magnetictapeissometimesused forstoringbackups,althoughothermediaaremorecommonnow. Opticaldisc:Opticaldiscsuselaserbeamstoaccessandstoredata.Opticaltechnologycan storevastamountsofdataandisdurable.ThreecommontypesofopticalstorageareCDROMs,WORMdiscs,andDVDs. Othersecondarymemorydevicesincludeharddisks,USBflashdrives,andmemorycards. Harddiskscomeinavarietyofsizesandcanbeinternalorexternal,andtheircostshave beendecreasingsteadily.Memorystickshavebecomepopularbecauseoftheirsmallsize, highstoragecapacity,anddecreasingcost.Flashmemoryisnonvolatilememorythatcan beelectronicallyerasedandreprogrammed.ItisusedmostlyinmemorycardsandUSB flashdrivesforstoringandtransferringdatabetweencomputersandotherdevices. Anothertypeofmemorydevicethatisgaininginpopularityisthesolid-statedrive(SSD). WithSSDs,similartoamemorystick,therearenomovingparts. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Discussthetypesofinput,output,andmemorydevices. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.5 TOPICS:  Storagedevices KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  11/20/20197:39PM 110.Describeflashmemory. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Flashmemoryisnonvolatilememorythatcanbeelectronicallyerased andreprogrammed.ItisusedmostlyinmemorycardsandUSBflashdrivesforstoringand transferringdatabetweencomputersandotherdevices. Page51 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Discussthetypesofinput,output,andmemorydevices. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.5 TOPICS:  Storagedevices KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 111.Explainhowaredundantarrayofindependentdisks(RAID)providesfaulttoleranceandimprovesperformance. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.ARAIDsystemisacollectionofdiskdrivesusedforfaulttolerance andimprovedperformance,anditistypicallyfoundinlargenetworksystems.WithRAID, datacanbestoredinmultipleplacestoimprovethesystem’sreliability.Inotherwords,if onediskinthearrayfails,dataisnotlost.InsomeRAIDconfigurations,sequencesofdata canbereadfrommultiplediskssimultaneously,whichimprovesperformance. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Discussthetypesofinput,output,andmemorydevices. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.5 TOPICS:  Storagedevices KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 112.Brieflydiscussdifferentclassesofcomputers. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Usually,computersareclassifiedbasedoncost,amountofmemory, speed,andsophistication.Usingthesecriteria,computersareclassifiedassubnotebooks, notebooks,personalcomputers,minicomputers,mainframes,orsupercomputers. Supercomputersarethemostpowerful;theyalsohavethehigheststoragecapabilitiesand thehighestprice. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Explainhowcomputersareclassifiedandtheirbusinessapplications. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES:  MIS.10e.2.6 Page52 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications TOPICS:  KEYWORDS:  DATE CREATED:  DATE MODIFIED:  Computertypes Understand 10/22/20191:26PM 10/22/20191:26PM 113.Brieflydiscussfaxservers,fileservers,andmailservers. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Aserverisacomputerandallthesoftwareformanagingnetwork resourcesandofferingservicestoanetwork. a.Faxservers:Faxserverscontainsoftwareandhardwarecomponentsthatenableusersto sendandreceivefaxes. b.Fileservers:Fileserverscontainlarge-capacityharddrivesforstoringandretrieving datafiles. c.Mailservers:Mailserversareconfiguredforsending,receiving,andstoringe-mails. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Explainhowcomputersareclassifiedandtheirbusinessapplications. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.6 TOPICS:  Servers KEYWORDS:  Understand DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 114.Describedesktoppublishingsoftware. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Desktoppublishingsoftwareisusedtoproduceprofessional-quality documentswithoutexpensivehardwareandsoftware.Thissoftwareworksona“whatyou-see-is-what-you-get”concept,sothehigh-qualityscreendisplaygivesauseragood ideaofwhatheorshewillseeintheprintedoutput. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Describethetwomajortypesofsoftware. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.7 TOPICS:  Applicationssoftware Software KEYWORDS:  Apply DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 115.Describefinancialplanningandaccountingsoftware. Page53 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Financialplanningsoftware,whichismorepowerfulthanspreadsheet software,iscapableofperformingmanytypesofanalysisonlargeamountsofdata.These analysesincludepresentvalue,futurevalue,rateofreturn,cashflow,depreciation, retirementplanning,andbudgeting.AwidelyusedfinancialplanningpackageisIntuit Quicken.Usingthispackage,youcanplanandanalyzeallkindsoffinancialscenarios.In additiontospreadsheetsoftware,dedicatedaccountingsoftwareisavailableforperforming manysophisticatedaccountingtasks,suchasgeneralledgers,accountsreceivable, accountspayable,payroll,balancesheets,andincomestatements. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Describethetwomajortypesofsoftware. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.7 TOPICS:  Applicationssoftware Software KEYWORDS:  Apply DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 116.Describeassemblylanguage. ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Assemblylanguageisthesecondgenerationofcomputerlanguages.It isahigher-levellanguagethanmachinelanguagebutisalsomachinedependent.Itusesa seriesofshortcodes,ormnemonics,torepresentdataorinstructions.Forexample,ADD andSUBTRACTaretypicalcommandsinassemblylanguage.Writingprogramsin assemblylanguageiseasierthaninmachinelanguage. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Listthegenerationsofcomputerlanguages. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.8 TOPICS:  Programminglanguages Software KEYWORDS:  Remember DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM 117.Describefifth-generationlanguages(5GLs). ANSWER:  Answerswillvary.Fifth-generationlanguages(5GLs)usesomeoftheartificial intelligencetechnologies,suchasknowledge-basedsystems,naturallanguageprocessing, visualprogramming,andagraphicalapproachtoprogramming.Codesareautomatically generatedanddesignedtomakethecomputersolveagivenproblemwithouta Page54 Module 02: Computers and Their Business Applications programmerorwithminimumprogrammingeffort.Theselanguagesaredesignedto facilitatenaturalconversationsbetweenauserandthecomputer.Imaginethattheuser couldaskhisorhercomputer,“Whatproductgeneratedthemostsaleslastyear?”The computer,equippedwithavoicesynthesizer,couldrespond,“ProductX.”Dragon NaturallySpeakingSolutionsisanexampleofNLP.Researchcontinuesinthisfield becauseofthepromisingresultssofar. POINTS:  1 DIFFICULTY:  Moderate REFERENCES:  Listthegenerationsofcomputerlanguages. QUESTION TYPE:  Essay HAS VARIABLES:  False STUDENT ENTRY MODE: Basic  LEARNING OBJECTIVES: MIS.10e.2.8 TOPICS:  Programminglanguages Software KEYWORDS:  Remember DATE CREATED:  10/22/20191:26PM DATE MODIFIED:  10/22/20191:26PM Page55