CSCE 101 – Spring 2008
Test 1 Study Guide
Please refer to all material relevant to the topics below in your
textbook, lecture slides, and notes. I have supplied some sample
questions for some of the topics. These questions in addition to
questions on the lecture slides and at the end of every chapter in your
textbook are good examples of the questions you will see on the test. If
you do not have notes on some of the topics covered on the slides,
please get notes from a classmate or lookup the material on the Web,
or discuss your doubts with me in person. Replying in detail to
conceptual questions via e-mail is not practical.
Chapter 1
What does being computer savvy mean? (pp 3-4)
Be able to give a few examples of how IT has changed different
aspects of life (e.g. education, health, etc.) (pp 5-13)
Categories of computers: know their components (if applicable),
applications, advantages, and disadvantages (pp 21-23)
Roles of computers (client/server vs. P2P model): define each
role (client, server, peer) and describe the advantages and
disadvantages of each model (Ch 1 slides)
How computers work (3 concepts) (pp 25-26)
Define hardware and software (pg 25) and be able to classify
items as either hardware or software
The difference between system and application software (pp 32-
33)
Trends in IT (pp 34-36)
Moore’s Law (Ch 1 slides). Be able to define the law and discuss
the questions on the slide.
Chapter 2
The difference between the Internet and the Web, know in which
year and by whom the Web was invented (Ch 2 slides)
The purpose of modems (Ch 2 slides)
Digital data units including conversions (Ch 2 slides)
Given a quantity in one set of units, be able to convert it to
another set of units (e.g. 8MB ? Kb)
Data transmission concepts (packet (pg 62), bandwidth (pg 52),
upload/download (pg 53)) (also in Ch 2 slides)
Why do we need packets?
