Com Sci Final

Ada Lovelace is generally acknowledged as the world's first programmer, because of her work on Babbage's Analytical Engine.

True

Although they were large and expensive by today's standards, early computers such as the MARK I and ENIAC were comparable in performance (memory capacity and processing speed) to modern desktop computers.

False

Because transistors were smaller and produced less heat than vacuum tubes, they allowed for the design of smaller and faster computers.

True

The history of computers can be divided into generations based on advances in technology. Which of the following sequences correctly lists the technologies that defined generations 0 through 3 in chronological order?

electromagnetic relays --> vacuum tubes --> transistors --> integrated circuits

Bill Gates & Paul Allen

Microsoft

Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak

Apple

Mark Dean

IBM

Gordon Moore

Intel Corporation

Greek natural philosophy is often referred to as "pre-scientific," since it relied on contemplation and/or observations, but not experimentation.

True

The steps of the scientific method are Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction, and Algorithms.

False

A sequence of instructions for assembling a bookcase does not qualify as an "algorithm," as the instructions are not written in formal, mathematical notation.

False

Consider Algorithm 1 for finding the oldest person in a room (which lines up the people and asks each person their birthday in order). If it takes 20 seconds to ask and write down a person's name and age, how long would it take to find the oldest person in a room of 10 people?

200 seconds

Consider Algorithm 2 for finding the oldest person in a room (which repeatedly has the people pair up, compare ages, and have the younger sit down). If it takes 20 seconds for a round (simultaneous pair comparisons), how long would it take to find the oldest person in a room of 10 people?

80

For a precise, clearly stated problem, there can be only one algorithm that provides a solution.

False

When a Web page is loaded into a Web browser, JavaScript code in that page is executed by a JavaScript interpreter that is embedded in the browser

True

Suppose that you have been given an O(N) algorithm that processes student grades, where N is the number of grades. If it takes 1 minute to process 1,000 grades using the algorithm, how long would you expect it to take to process 4,000 grades?

4 minutes

Suppose you had a directory that listed each Creighton student (8,910 people), alphabetically by name. How many checks would be required to find a particular student, in the worst case, using binary search?

14

The three recurring themes that define the discipline of computer science are hardware, software, and theory.

True

Using public-key encryption, the sender and recipient of a message do NOT need to agree on a shared secret key before initiating secure communications.

True

The Turing Test was proposed by Alan Turing as a means of determining whether an artificially intelligent machine has been constructed.

True

Commercial software systems are thoroughly tested so that all programming errors are identified and fixed before the system is marked.

False

When using a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin to purchase goods, a person is required to clearly identify themselves so that the seller will know who is making the purchase.

False

Phishing is the act of obtaining sensitive information (e.g., credit card numbers, usernames, or passwords) by masquerading as a trusted entity in an email.

True

Which of the following would NOT provide evidence that information on the web was reliable

the authors is funded by the industry that the article supports

A semiconductor is a metal that can be manipulated to be either a good or bad conductor of electricity

True

To produce the incredibly small and precise circuitry on microchips, hardware manufacturers use light-sensitive chemicals to etch circuitry into layers of semiconductor materials.

True

Moore's Law dictates that integrated circuitry must be manufactured out of silicon, as opposed to other semiconductors such as germanium.

False

In contrast to digital signals, analog signals use only a discrete (finite) set of values for storing data.

False

ASCII code is a program written to convert binary numbers to their decimal equivalents.

False

What decimal value is represented by the binary number 11012.

13

Which of the following numbers (expressed in scientific notation) is not equivalent to 100.5?

1.005 x 10-2

Digital sampling is the process of converting an analog sound wave into digital values.

True

Lossless compression formats (e.g., GIF, PNG) tend to produce smaller files than lossy formats (e.g., JPEG).

False

Steganography is the practice of concealing a secret message in another message or object (e.g., embedding a text message in the pixels of an image).

True

A grayscale image is one in which each pixel can be white, or black, or various shades of gray in between. Assuming that there are 256 discernible shades of gray, how many bits would a bitmap require to represent a single pixel in a grayscale image?

8

Which of the following is NOT an analog representation of a sound recording?

CD

Women are represented in the tech workforce at roughly the same percentage as in the overall workforce

False

Algorithmic bias occurs when faulty assumptions and poor design practices lead to software that produces unfair consequences (such as facial recognition software that misidentifies black faces more often than white faces)

True

Deterministic Models

Use fixed equations to predict outcomes based on initial condition (same inputs will produce same outputs)

As computer programs can be complex and difficult to write, they are known as "hardware."

False

Nondeterministic models

Produce different outputs with the same inputs due to randomness, and external events

The three components that make up the von Neumann architecture are the CPU, memory and input/output devices.

True

A byte, which consists of 8 bits, can represent 256 (28) different values. How many different values can two bytes (16 bits) represent?

65,536

Which of the following kinds of memory is volatile (i.e., requires a constant power supply to maintain its contents)?

RAM

Which of the following is NOT a task carried out by an operating system

load and display the contents of Web pages

Which of the following claims about the Web is FALSE?

The most popular Web browser in the world today is Mozilla Firefox.

Which of the following best describes the role of the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)?

It specifies the format of messages sent between Web browsers and servers.

Which of the following best describes the role of a Web crawler, or spider?

They traverse the Web, cataloging Web pages for use by Web searches engines.

The World Wide Web was developed in the early 1970s, shortly after the development of the Internet.

False

There are currently more devices connected to the Internet (of Things) than there are people in the world.

True

The ARPANET, the precursor to today's Internet, was funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Defense.

True

Which of the following statements about transmitting messages on the Internet is FALSE?

Each packet follows the same preset path from the source computer to its destination.

Which of the following best describes the role of a domain name server.

It stores and distributes the IP addresses corresponding to domain names (e.g., www.creighton.edu).

In a centralized computer network, the failure of a single machine or connection can isolate large portions of the network.

True

In most Web browsers, cookies are used to save local copies of downloaded pages and files in order to save time when they are accessed again.

False