What is an information system?
A sociotechnical system that collects, processes, and stores data and provides users with information.
What does an algorithm provide for a type of problem?
A general solution.
How must an algorithm’s instructions be expressed?
As an unambiguous sequence of executable instructions.
What does an algorithm transform into output?
Well-described input.
What makes an algorithm a program?
It is represented in a form a computer can execute.
What does abstraction show about a system?
Its external properties.
What does abstraction hide about a system?
Its internal operation and structure.
What does abstraction separate relative to a goal?
Essential features from details.
What must exist for a computer to solve a problem type?
An executable algorithm.
What is a bit used to represent in computing?
Data.
What values can a bit take?
0 or 1.
What values does Boolean algebra operate on?
Boolean values such as true and false.
What is a byte?
A group of eight bits stored in a memory cell with a unique address.
What does a memory cell’s address identify?
Where data is stored.
Where do CPU registers and cache, RAM, and SSDs or hard disks store data?
Registers and cache are on or in the CPU; RAM holds data in current use; SSDs and hard disks store files and programs permanently.
How does mass storage differ from working memory in volatility?
Mass storage is non-volatile, while working memory is typically volatile.
How does mass storage compare with working memory in capacity and cost per bit?
Mass storage usually has greater capacity and lower cost per bit.
What is a bitmap?
A sequence of bits that encodes an image’s pixels.
How many bits represent each pixel in an uncompressed black-and-white image?
One bit.
How do you convert a positive decimal integer to binary using repeated division?
Divide by 2 repeatedly, record each remainder, then read the remainders in reverse order.
What does the most significant bit indicate in two’s-complement notation?
The sign.
What does two’s-complement notation use to represent signed integers?
A fixed number of bits.
What three fields divide a floating-point bit pattern?
A mantissa, an exponent, and a sign bit.
What does data compression reduce?
The storage space required for data.
What does lossless compression preserve?
All information.
What does lossy compression discard?
Some information.
What does the CPU contain and coordinate?
Circuits that process data and coordinate computer operations.
What happens during a memory read operation?
Data is copied from working memory to the CPU using an address and a read signal.
What happens during a memory write operation?
Data is transferred from the CPU to working memory using an address and a write signal.
What is a machine instruction?
A bit pattern that a CPU can recognize and execute.
How do RISC and CISC instruction sets differ in size and complexity?
RISC uses a small set of simple instructions, while CISC uses a larger set of more complex instructions.
What are the three stages repeated by the machine cycle?
Fetching, decoding, and executing one machine instruction.
What can change the machine cycle’s sequential instruction order?
A jump.
What does business informatics study about organizations?
How information systems support organizational management and performance.
When and where is the course’s programming part delivered, and what language does it use?
In guided sessions using Python in Dodona.
During which teaching weeks does the course’s theory part take place?
The first three teaching weeks.
What are the course’s three evaluation components and their weights?
Two non-period programming tests worth 2/20, a period theory exam worth 12.6/20, and a period practical test worth 5.4/20.
What does the term software collectively include?
Programs and the algorithms they represent.
What quantity does Euclid’s algorithm find?
The greatest common divisor.
How does Euclid’s algorithm update the pair of values?
It replaces the pair with the smaller value and the remainder.
When does Euclid’s algorithm stop, and what is the GCD?
It stops when the remainder is zero; the last nonzero divisor is the GCD.
Where is solution-finding intelligence embodied in an algorithm?
In its instructions.
What can a computer do with algorithm instructions without understanding their purpose?
Execute them.
What base does the binary numeral system use?
Base 2.
What bit pattern represents an exclamation mark in ASCII?
00100001.
Which Boolean operator resembles multiplication?
AND.
Which Boolean operator resembles addition?
XOR.
How many bits does a flip-flop store?
One bit.
What does endianness describe?
The order in which the bits or bytes of a multi-part value are arranged.
How can a 16-bit pattern be stored in memory cells?
In two consecutive eight-bit memory cells.
How many bits are in a nibble, and how many hexadecimal digits represent a byte?
A nibble has 4 bits, and a byte uses two hexadecimal digits.
How many bytes are in one decimal kilobyte?
1,000 bytes.
How many bytes are in one binary kibibyte?
1,024 bytes.
What access delays can affect mechanical disk access?
Head-seek time, rotational latency, and data-transfer time.
How are magnetic disk tracks arranged, and what does formatting lay down?
Tracks are concentric, and formatting lays down tracks and sectors.
What is the approximate storage capacity of a CD?
About 700 MB.
How does Blu-ray capacity compare with DVD capacity?
A Blu-ray disk can store about five times as much as a DVD.
What is flash memory?
Non-volatile mass storage without moving mechanical components.
What access method does flash memory support?
Random access.
How many bytes per pixel does a common RGB color-image representation use?
Three bytes.
How many samples per second can digital audio use?
44,100 samples per second.
How many bits can each digital audio sample use?
16 bits.
How many bits does one minute of uncompressed 44,100-sample-per-second, 16-bit stereo audio require?
84,672,000 bits.
How much storage does one minute of uncompressed 44,100-sample-per-second, 16-bit stereo audio require?
About 10 MB.
What is the representable range of 32-bit two’s-complement notation?
−2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
How do you negate a positive two’s-complement value at a fixed bit width?
Complement the bits and add 1.
How is 2.75 represented in the course’s eight-bit floating-point example?
01101011.
How are the 32 bits allocated in the course’s single-precision format?
1 sign bit, 8 exponent bits, and 23 mantissa bits.
Which formats are examples of lossless compression?
ZIP files, FLAC, and PNG.
Which formats are examples of lossy compression?
MP3 and MP4.
How does run-length encoding compress repeated symbols?
It records each symbol and its repetition count.
How does dictionary encoding represent frequent longer patterns?
It stores them in a catalog and refers to them instead of repeating them.
What perceptual properties can lossy compression exploit?
It can reduce blue-image detail, compress high sound frequencies more, or omit nearly unchanged video regions.
What operations does the Arithmetic/Logic Unit perform?
Mathematical and logical operations on data.
What does the Control Unit coordinate?
The computer’s activities.
What is a register used for during processing?
Temporarily storing data being processed.
What does a bus transfer between the CPU and working memory?
Bit patterns.
How does von Neumann architecture store programs in working memory?
In the same way as data, allowing programs to be treated as data.
What does machine language comprise?
The machine-instruction types recognized by a CPU.
What are three operation categories included in machine instructions?
Data transfer, arithmetic and logic, and control operations.
In the illustrative machine language, how many bytes long is each instruction?
Two bytes.
In the illustrative machine language, how is an instruction divided into fields?
A 4-bit opcode followed by a 12-bit operand field.
What does a memory-to-register LOAD instruction do?
It copies a memory cell’s contents into a register.
What does a literal-form LOAD instruction do?
It places a literal bit pattern directly into a register.
What does the program counter hold?
The address of the next instruction to be executed.
What does the instruction register hold?
The bit pattern of the instruction currently being executed.
How much does the program counter increase per sequential instruction in the illustrative machine?
By 2.
In what unit is clock speed measured?
Hertz.
How many machine cycles per second correspond to one hertz?
One machine cycle per second.
How many bits does ASCII use?
7 bits.
Answer 28 questions on Data Storage and Processing.
1. Which description best defines an information system?
2. How is the course divided between its theory and programming components?
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