Hardware Exam Answers

1 2 Describe three ways your daily life is influenced by ICT systems. Online shopping, the stock control system in the supermarket you shop at, and e-mail. Describe the similarities and differences between data and information. Information = data + meaning. Information and data may superficially look the same but we do not know how to interpret data whereas we know the meaning of information. 3 Explain what is meant by hardware. Hardware is equipment and devices making up a computer system. It is hard and you can touch it. 4 Explain how a PDA user can benefit from having an external keyboard. If a PDA has a keyboard, it will have very small keys and be difficult to use. An external keyboard is likely to approach full size and this will make it easier to touch type. 5 Mainframe computers are not mass-produced. Give reasons for this. Mainframe computer tend to be very large and powerful and built for a specific use. 6 Mouse is an input device. Describe three other ways to input data and describe what they are used for. A keyboard is used to type in data. A microphone is used to record sound, including speech. A webcam is used to record video; for example, for visual communication using Skype. 7 List the advantages and disadvantage of an inkjet printer and a laser printer to a home user. A laser printer takes longer to print the first page but will print long documents faster than an inkjet. A colour laser printer is likely to be much more expensive to purchase than a colour inkjet printer. Laser printers usually produce higher-quality printouts than inkjet.

Explain why a computer needs speakers. So that users can listen to sound being output; for example, as part of a downloaded video.

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Name two other output devices and describe what they are used for. A printer and a monitor. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an LCD monitor compared with a CRT monitor. LCD monitors take up less space on the desk than CRT monitors. CRT monitors tend to generate static, whereas LCD monitors do not.

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Describe the advantages and disadvantages of multi-function devices that combine a printer, scanner and fax. A multi-function device is likely to take up less space on the desk than three separate devices. If a separate printer breaks down then only that device is out of use and needs to be repaired or replaced. If it is part of a multi-function device then the whole device is affected.

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An ICT system carries out a task in three main stages. The first stage is input. What are the other two stages? Processing Output. Name four items of hardware that make up a desktop computer system. Monitor Keyboard Speakers Printer. Desktop Laptop Notebook Hand-held Palmtop.

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Name three types of microcomputer.

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Name three different types of printer. Dot matrix printers Laser printers Inkjet printers

Data Collection Methods

OMR

What does OMR stand for and explain what it does. Optical Mark recognition and Interprets pencil marks on paper instead of entering it in saving time and money. It must be printed accurately so printing cost is more.

MICR

What does MICR stand for? Magnetic ink character recognition. What is a common Use of MICR? Bank cheques, identifies data printed using a special magnetic ink. Give TWO advantages: Forms can be pre-printed with data which can be read by a computer. This can save time as otherwise all the data on the form would have to be typed in using a keyboard.

OCR - Optical Character Recognition

Describe how OCR works, give an advantage and disadvantage Identifies printed or written text characters by a computer. Printed text is scanned and input to the computer, which attempts to recognize the characters in it. These are then stored as text that can be word processed. Can also be used to read handwriting. Advantages is that text printed on paper can be converted to electronic form and edited. This is especially useful for creating electronic versions of books printed before computers were available. Disadvantages is that it is not always accurate and the electronic text has to be checked carefully.