CS 110 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED SOLUTIONS LATEST UPDATE 2026
Abstraction - Answers Reducing information and detail to focus on essential characteristics.
Miller's Law - Answers A person can only remember 7 things, plus or minus two
Information Hiding - Answers Where programs are kept independent from each other and their data
cannot be accessed by another program
First lady programmer - Answers Ada Lovelace
Colossus - Answers first electronic digital computer
Magnetic Drum - Answers Memory device that rotated under a read/write head, the cell with the
desired information would be accessed once it was underneath the drum (part of the first generation
of computers). Were replaced with magnetic tape
Magnetic Disk - Answers A direct access storage device (as each data had its own address) that
replaced the magnetic tape
Integrated circuits - Answers chips that contain large numbers of tiny transistors fabricated into a
semiconducting material called silicon
Transistor - Answers A small electronic device used in a circuit as an amplifier or switch.
Moore's Law - Answers the observation that computing power roughly doubles every two years.
When were personal computers available? - Answers Fourth generation
Parallel Architecture - Answers Where large problems are divided into smaller problems that are
executed simultaneously
RISC - Answers (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) A microprocessor designed for rapid and efficient
processing of a small set of simple instructions
SIMD (single instruction, multiple data) - Answers A process that allows the CPU to execute a single
instruction simultaneously on multiple pieces of data, rather than by repetitive looping.
Person A does Task A
Person B does Task A
Person C does Task A...
MIMD (multiple instruction multiple data) - Answers Different processors execute different
instructions on different pieces of data
File Server - Answers a server that stores and manages files for network users
LAN (Local Area Network) - Answers A connection of two or more computers in close proximity.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - Answers Protocol that connects
computers to the Internet. Tells computers how to exchange information over the Internet.
Machine Language - Answers The language made up of binary-coded instructions that is used directly
by the computer
Assembly Language - Answers a low-level symbolic code converted (or translated) by an assembler to
machine language.
Compiler - Answers A computer program created to read an entire program and convert it into a
lower-level language and ultimately to assembly language used by the processor.
Systems Programmer vs. Applications Programmer - Answers A systems programmer would develop
assemblers and translators that would be used by applications programmers to develop applications
Loaders - Answers Part of an operating system that is responsible for loading programs and libraries,
essential in starting a program, as it places machine-language programs into memory and prepares
them for execution
Linkers - Answers a computer utility program that takes one or more object files generated by a
compiler and combines them into a single executable file, library file, or another 'object' file
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Linker.svg/220px-Linker.svg.png
Time sharing - Answers Where each user gets a part of the computer processing power
Data-compression - Answers Reducing the amount of space needed to store a piece of data
Bandwith - Answers the capacity for transmitting information through an Internet connection
Types of compression - Answers lossy and lossless
Analog vs digital data - Answers Continuous vs discrete (broken into bits) representation of data
Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) - Answers converts analog to digital by:
1. Sampling the analog signal at regular intervals
2. Measuring the amplitude of each sample
3. Encoding (quantizing) the amplitude as binary data
Reclock - Answers The act of reasserting an original digital signal before too much degradation occurs
, Overflow - Answers error that results when the number of bits is not enough to hold the number
two's complement - Answers A method of representing negative numbers in the binary system,
where the number is inverted, and then one is added
How real numbers are represented in binary - Answers Sign mantissa base^exp
20.25 to binary - Answers 1) Convert 20 to binary
10100
2) Convert .25 to binary
.25 * 2 = 0.50
.50 becomes part of the next equation, and the 0 becomes part of the answer
0.50 * 2 = 1.00
Stop at 1.00
.25 = .01 in binary
Thus, 20.25 = 10100.01
Character set - Answers A list of the characters and the codes used to represent each one
Keyword encoding - Answers Replacing a frequently used word with a single character (such as $)
Run Length Encoding - Answers replacing a long series of a repeated character with a count of the
repetition (such as AAA with *A3)
Huffman Encoding - Answers Using a variable-length binary string to represent a character so that
frequently used characters have short codes
Each code is unique, and not the prefix for another code
Sampling - Answers Digitizing a sound wave
How is color stored as data? - Answers RGB
Pixel - Answers Short for "picture element" it is the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a
tiny square or dot which contains a single point of color of a larger image.
Vector graphics - Answers Type of graphic that does NOT lose quality when zoomed or resized, as it
uses lines, curves, and shapes to represent an image
Video Codec - Answers Methods used to shrink the size of a movie
Temporal Compression - Answers Movie compression technique based on differences between
consecutive frames (keyframes)
Spatial Compression - Answers Similar to run-length encoding, where pixels of similar color are
encoded as a group
Gate - Answers Performs a basic operation on electric signals, accepting one or more inputs and
producing one output
Circuit - Answers A combination of interacting gates designed to accomplish a single logical function
The Six Logic Gates - Answers NOT ('), AND (*), OR (+), XOR (⊕), NAND (AB)', and NOR (A+B)'
Symbols for Logic Gates - Answers
Combinatorial circuit - Answers digital circuitry in which the output is directly dependent on circuit
input signals
Sequential circuit - Answers A circuit whose output is a function of its input values and the current
state of the circuit
Circuit Equivalence - Answers The same output for each corresponding input-value combination for
two circuits (such as (A+B) and !(!(A+B))
Adders - Answers Electronic circuit that performs addition on binary values
Half Adder vs Full Adder - Answers Full Adder takes the carry bit as its own input
Clock - Answers A centrally generated series of electrical pulses that ensures all computer actions are
coordinated
Front Side Bus - Answers A set of wires that connects the computers processor to the system
memory (RAM) and other components on the motherboard
Bus Width - Answers The number of bits that can be transferred in parallel over the bus
Cache - Answers A small data-memory storage area that a computer can use to instantly re-access
data instead of accessing the FSB or by re-reading the data from the original source, such as a hard
drive
Random Access Memory - Answers A fast, chip-based volatile storage where each byte of memory
can be accessed directly, instead of starting at the beginning and waiting to get to the information
that you want
Components of Von Neumann Architecture - Answers Memory unit, input unit, output unit,
arithmetic/logic unit, and control unit
Abstraction - Answers Reducing information and detail to focus on essential characteristics.
Miller's Law - Answers A person can only remember 7 things, plus or minus two
Information Hiding - Answers Where programs are kept independent from each other and their data
cannot be accessed by another program
First lady programmer - Answers Ada Lovelace
Colossus - Answers first electronic digital computer
Magnetic Drum - Answers Memory device that rotated under a read/write head, the cell with the
desired information would be accessed once it was underneath the drum (part of the first generation
of computers). Were replaced with magnetic tape
Magnetic Disk - Answers A direct access storage device (as each data had its own address) that
replaced the magnetic tape
Integrated circuits - Answers chips that contain large numbers of tiny transistors fabricated into a
semiconducting material called silicon
Transistor - Answers A small electronic device used in a circuit as an amplifier or switch.
Moore's Law - Answers the observation that computing power roughly doubles every two years.
When were personal computers available? - Answers Fourth generation
Parallel Architecture - Answers Where large problems are divided into smaller problems that are
executed simultaneously
RISC - Answers (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) A microprocessor designed for rapid and efficient
processing of a small set of simple instructions
SIMD (single instruction, multiple data) - Answers A process that allows the CPU to execute a single
instruction simultaneously on multiple pieces of data, rather than by repetitive looping.
Person A does Task A
Person B does Task A
Person C does Task A...
MIMD (multiple instruction multiple data) - Answers Different processors execute different
instructions on different pieces of data
File Server - Answers a server that stores and manages files for network users
LAN (Local Area Network) - Answers A connection of two or more computers in close proximity.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - Answers Protocol that connects
computers to the Internet. Tells computers how to exchange information over the Internet.
Machine Language - Answers The language made up of binary-coded instructions that is used directly
by the computer
Assembly Language - Answers a low-level symbolic code converted (or translated) by an assembler to
machine language.
Compiler - Answers A computer program created to read an entire program and convert it into a
lower-level language and ultimately to assembly language used by the processor.
Systems Programmer vs. Applications Programmer - Answers A systems programmer would develop
assemblers and translators that would be used by applications programmers to develop applications
Loaders - Answers Part of an operating system that is responsible for loading programs and libraries,
essential in starting a program, as it places machine-language programs into memory and prepares
them for execution
Linkers - Answers a computer utility program that takes one or more object files generated by a
compiler and combines them into a single executable file, library file, or another 'object' file
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Linker.svg/220px-Linker.svg.png
Time sharing - Answers Where each user gets a part of the computer processing power
Data-compression - Answers Reducing the amount of space needed to store a piece of data
Bandwith - Answers the capacity for transmitting information through an Internet connection
Types of compression - Answers lossy and lossless
Analog vs digital data - Answers Continuous vs discrete (broken into bits) representation of data
Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) - Answers converts analog to digital by:
1. Sampling the analog signal at regular intervals
2. Measuring the amplitude of each sample
3. Encoding (quantizing) the amplitude as binary data
Reclock - Answers The act of reasserting an original digital signal before too much degradation occurs
, Overflow - Answers error that results when the number of bits is not enough to hold the number
two's complement - Answers A method of representing negative numbers in the binary system,
where the number is inverted, and then one is added
How real numbers are represented in binary - Answers Sign mantissa base^exp
20.25 to binary - Answers 1) Convert 20 to binary
10100
2) Convert .25 to binary
.25 * 2 = 0.50
.50 becomes part of the next equation, and the 0 becomes part of the answer
0.50 * 2 = 1.00
Stop at 1.00
.25 = .01 in binary
Thus, 20.25 = 10100.01
Character set - Answers A list of the characters and the codes used to represent each one
Keyword encoding - Answers Replacing a frequently used word with a single character (such as $)
Run Length Encoding - Answers replacing a long series of a repeated character with a count of the
repetition (such as AAA with *A3)
Huffman Encoding - Answers Using a variable-length binary string to represent a character so that
frequently used characters have short codes
Each code is unique, and not the prefix for another code
Sampling - Answers Digitizing a sound wave
How is color stored as data? - Answers RGB
Pixel - Answers Short for "picture element" it is the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a
tiny square or dot which contains a single point of color of a larger image.
Vector graphics - Answers Type of graphic that does NOT lose quality when zoomed or resized, as it
uses lines, curves, and shapes to represent an image
Video Codec - Answers Methods used to shrink the size of a movie
Temporal Compression - Answers Movie compression technique based on differences between
consecutive frames (keyframes)
Spatial Compression - Answers Similar to run-length encoding, where pixels of similar color are
encoded as a group
Gate - Answers Performs a basic operation on electric signals, accepting one or more inputs and
producing one output
Circuit - Answers A combination of interacting gates designed to accomplish a single logical function
The Six Logic Gates - Answers NOT ('), AND (*), OR (+), XOR (⊕), NAND (AB)', and NOR (A+B)'
Symbols for Logic Gates - Answers
Combinatorial circuit - Answers digital circuitry in which the output is directly dependent on circuit
input signals
Sequential circuit - Answers A circuit whose output is a function of its input values and the current
state of the circuit
Circuit Equivalence - Answers The same output for each corresponding input-value combination for
two circuits (such as (A+B) and !(!(A+B))
Adders - Answers Electronic circuit that performs addition on binary values
Half Adder vs Full Adder - Answers Full Adder takes the carry bit as its own input
Clock - Answers A centrally generated series of electrical pulses that ensures all computer actions are
coordinated
Front Side Bus - Answers A set of wires that connects the computers processor to the system
memory (RAM) and other components on the motherboard
Bus Width - Answers The number of bits that can be transferred in parallel over the bus
Cache - Answers A small data-memory storage area that a computer can use to instantly re-access
data instead of accessing the FSB or by re-reading the data from the original source, such as a hard
drive
Random Access Memory - Answers A fast, chip-based volatile storage where each byte of memory
can be accessed directly, instead of starting at the beginning and waiting to get to the information
that you want
Components of Von Neumann Architecture - Answers Memory unit, input unit, output unit,
arithmetic/logic unit, and control unit
