Computer & Information Technology

423

Q10. Which is the largest data-storage unit among bit, byte, megabyte and gigabyte?

[RPSC Assistant Engineer GK & General Science 2013]

1. Byte
2. Bit
3. Gigabyte
4. Megabyte

Answer: C. Gigabyte

Explanation: A bit is a binary digit and eight bits commonly form a byte. A megabyte represents roughly one million bytes and a gigabyte roughly one billion bytes under decimal conventions. Thus the gigabyte is largest among the four choices.

Q9. What semiconductor material is most commonly used to manufacture integrated circuit chips?

[Chhattisgarh Police SI Prelims 2012]

1. Chromium
2. Iron oxide
3. Silicon
4. Silica

Answer: C. Silicon

Explanation: Silicon is a semiconductor extensively used in integrated-circuit fabrication. Transistors and interconnections can be patterned onto treated silicon wafers. Silica is silicon dioxide, whereas the elemental semiconductor silicon is the principal material intended in this question.

Q8. Which device was traditionally attached to a computer’s parallel port?

[Chhattisgarh Police SI Prelims 2012]

1. Printer
2. Monitor
3. Mouse
4. External hard disk

Answer: A. Printer

Explanation: The older parallel printer interface was widely used to attach printers to personal computers before USB and network printing became common. A parallel port could transfer multiple data bits concurrently using dedicated signal lines and a standard connector.

Q7. Under the traditional binary-based convention used in computer-memory questions, one kilobyte equals how many bytes?

[Chhattisgarh Police SI Prelims 2012]

1. 1000
2. 1024
3. 1048
4. None of these

Answer: B. 1024

Explanation: Traditional computing examinations often define one kilobyte as 1024 bytes because 1024 equals two raised to the tenth power. Strict modern SI notation uses kilobyte for 1000 bytes and kibibyte for 1024 bytes; the historical exam answer is 1024.

Q6. Who is commonly credited as the father of the computer?

[Uttar Pradesh PCS Preliminary Examination 2007]

1. Bill Gates
2. Bill Clinton
3. Charles Babbage
4. Guglielmo Marconi

Answer: C. Charles Babbage

Explanation: Charles Babbage proposed mechanical calculating machines, most notably the Analytical Engine, which anticipated many structural features of programmable computers. Bill Gates later co-founded Microsoft, while the other options are associated with politics and radio communications rather than early computing designs.

Q5. Consider the statements:
1. Adam Osborne introduced an early portable computer.
2. Ian Wilmut led work that produced the cloned sheep Dolly.

Which is correct?

[UPSC CSE Prelims 2004]

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Explanation: Adam Osborne introduced the Osborne 1 portable computer in 1981. Ian Wilmut led the research team associated with Dolly, the sheep cloned from an adult cell. Both statements identify notable pioneers, although their achievements belong to entirely different fields.

Q4. Assess these claims:
1. A smart card contains an embedded chip.
2. Satellite and fibre-optic systems are used for digital communication.
3. Digital libraries can only be accessed over the internet.

Which are correct?

[UPSC CSE Prelims 2004]

1. 3 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: B. 1 and 2 only

Explanation: Smart cards contain integrated circuits that can hold information or execute secure processing. Satellites and optical fibres carry digital communications. Digital libraries need not be exclusively internet-based, because collections can also be accessed over institutional or local electronic networks.

Q3. Which electronic circuit is commonly used as a basic storage element in computer memory and registers?

[SSC Combined Graduate Level Preliminary Examination 2002]

1. Rectifier
2. Flip-flop
3. Comparator
4. Attenuator

Answer: B. Flip-flop

Explanation: A flip-flop is a bistable digital circuit capable of storing one bit of binary information. Groups of flip-flops can form processor registers and certain memory structures. A rectifier converts alternating current, a comparator evaluates signals and an attenuator reduces signal strength.

Q2. According to this historical computer-awareness question, in which country was the digital computer developed?

[Uttarakhand PCS Mains 2002]

1. Russia
2. Britain
3. United States of America
4. Japan

Answer: B. Britain

Explanation: The original examination key identifies Britain, a country associated with early electronic digital computing such as the Colossus machines during the Second World War. Computer development involved parallel advances elsewhere, so the broad historical wording should be understood in its exam-specific context.

Q1. Who is widely known as the father of the computer for designing the Analytical Engine?

[Uttarakhand PCS Mains 2002]

1. Bill Gates
2. Charles Babbage
3. Narayana Murthy
4. Tim Berners-Lee

Answer: B. Charles Babbage

Explanation: Charles Babbage developed designs for the Difference Engine and the programmable Analytical Engine in the nineteenth century. The Analytical Engine’s conceptual architecture included memory, computation and control, earning him the familiar title father of the computer in introductory computer-history examinations.