Computer Hardware & Architecture – 50 One-Liner Q&A
Basics of Hardware
Q.1. What is computer hardware?
Ans. The physical components of a computer system.
Q.2. What are the two main parts of a computer system?
Ans. Hardware and Software.
Q.3. What are the main hardware units of a computer?
Ans. Input Unit, Output Unit, CPU, Memory, Storage.
Q.4. CPU stands for?
Ans. Central Processing Unit.
Q.5. Which is called the brain of the computer?
Ans. CPU.
CPU & Architecture
Q.6. CPU is divided into which two main parts?
Ans. Control Unit (CU) and Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU).
Q.7. What is the function of ALU?
Ans. Performs arithmetic and logical operations.
Q.8. What is the function of Control Unit (CU)?
Ans. Directs the flow of data and instructions.
Q.9. What are registers in CPU?
Ans. High-speed storage locations inside CPU.
Q.10. What is system bus in computer architecture?
Ans. Communication pathway between components (Data, Address, Control buses).
Memory & Storage
Q.11. What are the two types of computer memory?
Ans. Primary (RAM, ROM) and Secondary (HDD, SSD).
Q.12. RAM stands for?
Ans. Random Access Memory.
Q.13. ROM stands for?
Ans. Read Only Memory.
Q.14. Which memory is volatile?
Ans. RAM.
Q.15. Which memory is non-volatile?
Ans. ROM.
Q.16. What is cache memory?
Ans. High-speed memory between CPU and RAM.
Q.17. Which memory is faster – cache or RAM?
Ans. Cache Memory.
Q.18. What is virtual memory?
Ans. Using part of hard disk as RAM.
Q.19. What is secondary storage?
Ans. Permanent storage (HDD, SSD, CD/DVD).
Q.20. Example of optical storage device?
Ans. CD, DVD, Blu-ray.
Input & Output Devices
Q.21. Examples of input devices?
Ans. Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner, Microphone.
Q.22. Examples of output devices?
Ans. Monitor, Printer, Speakers, Projector.
Q.23. Which type of monitor is most widely used today?
Ans. LED/LCD Monitor.
Q.24. What are the two main types of printers?
Ans. Impact and Non-impact Printers.
Q.25. Example of an impact printer?
Ans. Dot Matrix Printer.
Q.26. Example of a non-impact printer?
Ans. Inkjet, Laser Printer.
Q.27. OCR stands for?
Ans. Optical Character Recognition.
Q.28. MICR stands for?
Ans. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.
Q.29. OMR stands for?
Ans. Optical Mark Recognition.
Q.30. Barcode reader is an example of?
Ans. Input Device.
Motherboard & Components
Q.31. What is a motherboard?
Ans. Main circuit board of a computer.
Q.32. What is BIOS?
Ans. Basic Input Output System (firmware in ROM).
Q.33. What is chipset?
Ans. Collection of ICs controlling data flow between CPU, memory, peripherals.
Q.34. What is expansion slot?
Ans. Socket on motherboard for additional cards (e.g., graphics card).
Q.35. What is power supply unit (PSU)?
Ans. Converts AC to DC for computer components.
Q.36. What is CMOS in computers?
Ans. Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor – stores BIOS settings.
Q.37. What is a heat sink?
Ans. Device to dissipate heat from CPU/GPU.
Q.38. What is a GPU?
Ans. Graphics Processing Unit – handles graphics & parallel processing.
Q.39. What is a NIC?
Ans. Network Interface Card – connects computer to network.
Q.40. What is a sound card?
Ans. Expansion card for audio input/output.
Architecture Concepts
Q.41. What is computer architecture?
Ans. Design and organization of computer system components.
Q.42. Who proposed the stored-program computer model?
Ans. John von Neumann.
Q.43. What are the main units in von Neumann architecture?
Ans. CPU, Memory, Input/Output.
Q.44. What is instruction cycle?
Ans. Process of fetching, decoding, executing instructions.
Q.45. What is pipelining in computer architecture?
Ans. Overlapping execution of instructions to improve speed.
Q.46. What is RISC?
Ans. Reduced Instruction Set Computer.
Q.47. What is CISC?
Ans. Complex Instruction Set Computer.
Q.48. What is multiprocessor system?
Ans. A computer with two or more CPUs.
Q.49. What is parallel processing?
Ans. Simultaneous execution of tasks using multiple processors.
Q.50. What is bus width in computer architecture?
Ans. Number of bits transmitted simultaneously (e.g., 32-bit, 64-bit).
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