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Olympiad (Class 6) Computer fundamentals, history and generations — practice questions

Explore 51 free Computer fundamentals, history and generations questions in Olympiad (Class 6) Computer Science. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Computer fundamentals, history and generations questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–30 of 51.

Which of these is NOT a hardware part of a computer?Read the answer and worked solution →Which unit decodes program instructions and sends signals to other parts?Read the answer and worked solution →The control unit, ALU and registers together make up which part?Read the answer and worked solution →A computer multiplies 7 by 8 while you play a game. Which part does the multiplication?Read the answer and worked solution →A power cut switches off a computer. Which memory still keeps its contents?Read the answer and worked solution →Which memory holds the start-up program called the BIOS?Read the answer and worked solution →One byte has 8 bits. How many different values can one byte hold?Read the answer and worked solution →A number needs three consecutive bytes of memory. How many bits is that?Read the answer and worked solution →A byte stores only non-negative whole numbers. What is the largest it can hold?Read the answer and worked solution →What does the word bit stand for in computing?Read the answer and worked solution →Which of these is NOT one of the four main components of a general-purpose computer?Read the answer and worked solution →Which storage is the fastest for the CPU to read and write?Read the answer and worked solution →Which one sits between registers and main memory in speed?Read the answer and worked solution →Which of these is an output device?Read the answer and worked solution →Which pair contains only input devices?Read the answer and worked solution →What was most likely the earliest counting device?Read the answer and worked solution →The Antikythera mechanism, about 100 BCE, was built to work out what?Read the answer and worked solution →Who invented the slide rule around 1620 to 1630?Read the answer and worked solution →A slide rule multiplies by sliding scales. What kind of computer is it?Read the answer and worked solution →Who is called the father of the computer for conceiving a programmable machine?Read the answer and worked solution →Babbage planned to feed programs to his analytical engine using what?Read the answer and worked solution →Government funding for Babbage's engine stopped. What happened?Read the answer and worked solution →Who built the Z3, the first working programmable, fully automatic digital computer?Read the answer and worked solution →Early electromechanical digital computers did their calculations using what?Read the answer and worked solution →Colossus was built in the 1940s to break which German coded messages?Read the answer and worked solution →Colossus Mark I had 1,500 valves and Mark II had 2,400. How many more did Mark II have?Read the answer and worked solution →Colossus used which part as its main switching part?Read the answer and worked solution →What does ENIAC stand for?Read the answer and worked solution →How was a program set into the ENIAC?Read the answer and worked solution →ENIAC added 5000 times a second, 1000 times faster than rivals. Rival speed?Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Which of these is NOT a hardware part of a computer?

  1. A keyboard
  2. A motherboard
  3. A power supply
  4. A web browser
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: D. A web browser

A browser is a program, which is software; the other three are physical parts you can touch.

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Which unit decodes program instructions and sends signals to other parts?

  1. Arithmetic unit
  2. Cache memory
  3. Monitor screen
  4. Control unit
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: D. Control unit

The control unit reads and decodes instructions and turns them into control signals for the other parts.

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The control unit, ALU and registers together make up which part?

  1. Main board unit
  2. Hard disk drive
  3. Central processor
  4. Power supply
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: C. Central processor

These three together are known as the CPU, the processing core of a computer.

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