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Questions and Answers
What is the main function of a program in relation to a computer?
What is the main function of a program in relation to a computer?
What is the role of a software developer in relation to computer programs?
What is the role of a software developer in relation to computer programs?
What are the typical major components of a computer system?
What are the typical major components of a computer system?
What is the function of the central processing unit (CPU) in a computer?
What is the function of the central processing unit (CPU) in a computer?
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What is another name for main memory in a computer system?
What is another name for main memory in a computer system?
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What type of memory is used for temporary storage while a program is running?
What type of memory is used for temporary storage while a program is running?
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Where does a computer store a program while it is running?
Where does a computer store a program while it is running?
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What are microprocessors?
What are microprocessors?
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What is the function of an interpreter in a high-level language program?
What is the function of an interpreter in a high-level language program?
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In what modes can the Python interpreter be used?
In what modes can the Python interpreter be used?
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What is the purpose of the .py file extension in Python?
What is the purpose of the .py file extension in Python?
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What is IDLE in the context of Python programming?
What is IDLE in the context of Python programming?
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How are statements saved in a Python program for later execution?
How are statements saved in a Python program for later execution?
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What happens when Python is started in interactive mode?
What happens when Python is started in interactive mode?
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What type of memory is characterized by having no moving parts and storing data in solid state memory?
What type of memory is characterized by having no moving parts and storing data in solid state memory?
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Which type of device collects data from people and other devices, including examples like keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, scanner, and camera?
Which type of device collects data from people and other devices, including examples like keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, scanner, and camera?
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What is the function of application software?
What is the function of application software?
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How is data stored in binary form as numeric codes?
How is data stored in binary form as numeric codes?
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What is the role of a compiler or interpreter in high-level languages?
What is the role of a compiler or interpreter in high-level languages?
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What is the purpose of the fetch-decode-execute cycle in a computer program?
What is the purpose of the fetch-decode-execute cycle in a computer program?
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What is the main difference between assembly language and high-level languages?
What is the main difference between assembly language and high-level languages?
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How are characters stored in binary form?
How are characters stored in binary form?
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What is the main advantage of using named constants in programming?
What is the main advantage of using named constants in programming?
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What is a named constant in programming?
What is a named constant in programming?
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How do named constants help prevent typographical errors in programming?
How do named constants help prevent typographical errors in programming?
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What is a 'magic number' in programming?
What is a 'magic number' in programming?
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What do named constants contribute to code readability and maintenance?
What do named constants contribute to code readability and maintenance?
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Which of the following best describes the purpose of pseudocode?
Which of the following best describes the purpose of pseudocode?
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What is the main purpose of a flowchart in programming?
What is the main purpose of a flowchart in programming?
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What does the petrol example algorithm involve?
What does the petrol example algorithm involve?
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What are the three steps involved in the process of a computer?
What are the three steps involved in the process of a computer?
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What is the function of the print function in Python?
What is the function of the print function in Python?
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Which function can be used to convert a string to an integer in Python?
Which function can be used to convert a string to an integer in Python?
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What is the purpose of the modulus operator (%) in Python?
What is the purpose of the modulus operator (%) in Python?
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When converting mathematical expressions to programming statements, what might be required for clarity?
When converting mathematical expressions to programming statements, what might be required for clarity?
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What is the purpose of the line continuation character (") in Python?
What is the purpose of the line continuation character (") in Python?
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Why is it recommended to assign magic numbers to variables with descriptive names in programming?
Why is it recommended to assign magic numbers to variables with descriptive names in programming?
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What is the most important part of the program development cycle?
What is the most important part of the program development cycle?
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What is an algorithm in the context of program development?
What is an algorithm in the context of program development?
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What is the role of a software developer in relation to computer programs?
What is the role of a software developer in relation to computer programs?
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In what order does the program development cycle occur?
In what order does the program development cycle occur?
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What is the function of application software?
What is the function of application software?
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Study Notes
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Secondary storage: holds data for long periods, programs are stored here and loaded to main memory as needed
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Disk drives: data is magnetically encoded onto a spinning circular disk
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Solid state drives: faster than disk drives, no moving parts, data is stored in solid state memory
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Flash memory: portable, no physical disk, data is stored in electrical charges
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Input devices: data is collected from people and other devices, examples include keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, scanner, and camera
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Disk drives are input devices as they load programs into the main memory
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Output devices: produce data for other people or devices, examples include video display and printer
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Disk drives and USB drives can be considered output devices as data is sent to them to be saved
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Software: controls everything a computer does
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Application software: makes a computer useful for every day tasks, examples are word processing, email, games, and web browsers
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System software: controls and manages basic operations, examples are the operating system and utility programs
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Software development tools: used to create, modify, and test software programs
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Data in a computer is stored as binary sequences of 0s and 1s
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A byte is a unit of data that can store a letter or small number, and is made up of eight bits
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Each bit can hold a positive or negative charge, and their on/off pattern represents data
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Computers use binary numbering system, with each digit representing a power of 2, and each byte can hold values between 0 and 255
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Characters are stored in binary form as numeric codes, with ASCII and Unicode being common coding schemes
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Advanced number storage techniques include encoding negative numbers using two's complement and real numbers using floating-point notation
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Digital data, such as images and music, are stored as binary numbers representing pixels and samples respectively
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A program works by the CPU performing simple operations on data and understanding instructions in machine language
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Each program must be copied from secondary memory to RAM each time it is executed and goes through the fetch-decode-execute cycle
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Assembly language is easier for programmers to work with as it uses short words for instructions instead of binary numbers
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High-level languages allow for simple creation of powerful and complex programs without needing to know how the CPU works
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Keywords, operators, and syntax are used to write programs in high-level languages and are translated into machine language by compilers and interpreters.
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The
input()
function in programming reads user input from the keyboard and returns the data as a string. -
Users are prompted to enter a value with a given instruction.
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The
input()
function always returns a string, but it can be converted to other data types using built-in functions. -
The
int()
andfloat()
functions can be used to convert a string to an integer or a floating-point number, respectively. -
Type conversion only works if the input string is a valid numeric value; otherwise, an exception is thrown.
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When performing calculations, Python follows a specific order of precedence, and parentheses can be used to force the order of operations.
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The exponentiation operator (**), the exponent operator, and the remainder operator (%), also called the modulus operator, are used for raising numbers to a power and for converting times and distances, respectively.
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When converting mathematical expressions to programming statements, multiplication operators might need to be added, and parentheses might be required for clarity.
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Variables can reference different values while the program is running, and data type conversions can be performed during reassignment.
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In situations where long statements are hard to read, they can be broken into multiple lines using the line continuation character () or the parentheses.
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The
print()
function is used to display output on the screen, and it has various special arguments for customizing the output format, such as delimiters, separators, and format specifiers. -
Formatting numbers can be done using the
format()
function, which allows controlling the display of precision, data type, and various other formatting options. -
Magic numbers are unexplained numeric values that appear in the code. They can lead to confusion and make the code harder to maintain. It is generally recommended to assign magic numbers to variables with descriptive names instead.
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Description
Test your knowledge of the basics of computers, programming, hardware, software, and the Python language with this introductory quiz.