Social Science - Quiz 12 - Pg. 28-28

Which processor part in Zuse’s first computer did the much faster, more efficient vacuum tubes replace?

• telephone relays

• microchips

• delay lines

• transistors

• disks

Answer explanation

Telephone relays were used in Zuse’s early computers as a processing part. Vacuum tubes, however, replaced telephone relays, since they were immobile and much faster. [28,0]

A vacuum tube does NOT

• use a minimal amount of energy

• create rapid electrical pulses

• modulate flow in a circuit

• imitate arithmetic functions

• act as a binary switch

Answer explanation

The vacuum tube modulated electrical circuits by acting as a binary “on/off” switch, which created quick electrical pulses and allowed for processors to complete arithmetic. This required a lot of power and energy, however. [28,0]

In comparison to vacuum tubes, transistors

• store more information

• die faster

• are older

• are smaller

• use more energy

Answer explanation

Transistors usurped vacuum tubes as parts in the central processing unit because they were smaller, more efficient with power, and lasted longer. [28,1]

What is a microchip?

• a flat, circular aluminum material attached to an integrated circuit

• a switchboard of copper circuits with vacuum tubes

• a block of silicon combining multiple transistors

• a metal tube containing columns of mercury

• a small, ring-shaped magnetic material with crossed wires

Answer explanation

Noyce and Kilby created the microchip, or the integrated circuit, a block of silicon with multiple transistors. Though the microchip functioned similarly to transistors, it was much more compact. [28,2]

Which processing part did Eckert and Mauchly use in the ENIAC?

• telephone relays

• vacuum tubes

• transistors

• microchips

• Williams tubes

Answer explanation

Eckert and Mauchly used vacuum tubes in the ENIAC because of their speedy ability to modulate electrical circuits. Transistors and microchips were not invented until after the creation of the ENIAC. [28,0]

Who invented the microchip?

• Fred Brooks and Paul Ceruzzi

• Konrad Zuse and Alan Turing

• Max Newman and Frederic Williams

• J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly

• Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby

Answer explanation

Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby invented the microchip in the late 1950s. [28,2]

Which processing part was MOST common in commercially sold computers in the late 1950s?

• transistors

• magnetic tape drives

• vacuum tubes

• microchips

• telephone relays

Answer explanation

Though transistors were invented in the late 1940s, they were not reliable enough to be sold in commercial computers until the late 1950s. [28,1]

When did integrated circuits become the MOST common processing part in commercial computers?

• the 1930s

• the 1940s

• the 1950s

• the 1960s

• the 1970s

Answer explanation

Integrated circuits and transistors coexisted in computer models through the 1960s. It wasn’t until the 1970s that integrated circuits completely replaced transistors in all computer models. [28,2]

Which of the following statements is NOT true of telephone relays?

• They contained moving parts.

• They operated slower.

• They were replaced by vacuum tubes.

• They were invented in the 1940s.

• They were used in Konrad Zuse’s computers.

Answer explanation

Telephone relays were used in computers in the early 20th century. Because they contained moving parts, they operated more slowly, and were eventually replaced by vacuum tubes. [28,0]

Bells Labs was a subsidiary of

• IBM (International Business Machines Corporation)

• UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer)

• CDC (Control Data Corporation)

• GE (General Electric)

• AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph Company)

Answer explanation

Bells Labs was a subsidiary of AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph Company). Researchers at Bells Labs developed and invented the transistor. [28,1]