Sample questions for CS 1011 Midterm 2 (Spring 2003).

NOTE: the actual midterm will have 30 six point multiple choice questions
and nine 15-20 point short answer questions.  The questions below are samples
of questions you might see on the midterm.


MULTIPLE CHOICE (6 points each) - circle the LETTER of the single BEST answer:

1. A turnaround document ____________________.

    (a) Describes how a product purchased can be returned
    (b) Is often a bill
    (c) Usually includes a bar code
    (d) (b) and (c)
    (e) (a), (b) and (c)

2. Dot pitch ____________________.

    (a) Measures the distance between pixels
    (b) Measures the size of the dots on the screen
    (c) Should be at most .29 centimeters to reduce eye fatigue
    (d) (a) and (c)
    (e) all of the above

3. RAID ____________________.

    (a) Stands for Redudant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks
    (b) Allows mirroring of data
    (c) Allows striping of data
    (d) (b) and (c)
    (e) (a), (b) and (c)

4. Multitasking on a computer ____________________.

    (a) Involves having several tasks running at once
    (b) Involves having one application in the foreground and others in the background
    (c) Is the same thing as multiprocessing
    (d) (a) and (b)
    (e) (a), (b) and (c)

5. TCP/IP ____________________.

    (a) Breaks data into packets
    (b) Stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
    (c) Is used exclusively by the Internet
    (d) (a) and (b)
    (e) (a), (b) and (c)

6. A firewall ____________________.

    (a) Provides security for the data on your computer
    (b) Provides security for the network connection on your computer
    (c) Provides security for the hard disk on your computer
    (d) (a) and (b)
    (e) (a) and (c)

7. On a web page a thumbnail ____________________.

    (a) Is used to show animation
    (b) Is a small version of a larger picture
    (c) Contains an abstract representation of a large idea
    (d) Is a picture of someone's thumbnail
    (e) None of these

8. E-commerce ____________________.

    (a) Is sometimes called C-business (Computer Business)
    (b) Is any business involving computers
    (c) Usually involves financial business (wall street, etc.)
    (d) Involves transactions carried out over electronic networks
    (e) None of these

9. Online banking ____________________.

    (a) May allow you to access your bank account online
    (b) Includes banks that do not have any storefronts
    (c) Often lets you pay bills and transfer money electronically
    (d) (a) and (c)
    (e) (a), (b) and (c)

SHORT ANSWER (15-20 points each) - briefly answer the following:

10. Describe (in as much detail as you can muster) how a flatbed
    scanner works.

11. Describe (in as much detail as you can muster) how an ink-jet
    printer prints a page.

12. How does storage (such as on a hard disk or floppy disk) differ
    from memory? How does the term volatile relate to this difference?

13. What are the parts of a floppy disk?

14. How is data read from a CD-ROM?

15. Describe the sequence of steps taken to start up your
    computer.

16. What are some of the key features of an operating 
    system?

17. Describe a ring network.  How is information communicated on this
    type of network?

18. Describe three different methods for transmitting data
    between computers, at least one of which does not involve wires.

19. How does an email message get from its sender to its
    designated recipient?

20. Describe three possible revenue streams that might be
    available to the creator of a web site?