NOTE: There are 9 Questions in all.
· Question 1 is compulsory and carries 20 marks. Answer to Q. 1. must be written in the space provided for it in the answer book supplied and nowhere else.
· Out of the remaining EIGHT Questions answer any FIVE Questions. Each question carries 16 marks.
· Any required data not explicitly given, may be suitably assumed and stated.
Q.1 Choose the correct or best alternative in the following: (2x10)
a. The language that the computer can understand and execute is called
(A) Machine Language. (B) Application Software.
(C) System Program. (D) Assembly language.
b. The three sequential function of CPU operation are
(A) Decode, fetch, execute. (B) Execute, decode, fetch.
(C) Fetch, execute, decode. (D) Fetch, decode, execute.
c. Which of the following Register is loaded with the content of the memory location pointed by the program counter
(A) Memory address register. (B) Memory buffer register.
(C) Instruction register. (D) Accumulator.
d. The operating system that uses write through cache is
(A) UNIX (B) DOS
(C) ULTRIX (D) XENIX
e. Moving process from a main memory to a disk is called
(A) Scheduling (B) Caching
(C) Swapping (D) Spooling
f. The digitising technology that uses an electric field radiation from the tablet and picked by user is
(A) Raster (B) Electrostatic.
(C) Sonic (D) Detector
g. Preparing a magnetic disk for data storage is called
(A) Booting. (B) Formatting.
(C) Debugging. (D) Commissioning.
h. While running DOS on a PC, the command that is used to duplicate the entire diskette?
(A) COPY (B) DISK COPY
(C) CHK DISK (D) TYPE
i. If data is processed as it arrives, this type of data processing is called
(A) Real time processing. (B) Batch processing.
(C) Off line processing. (D) Distributed processing.
j. Client/Server architecture can be used in
(A) LAN (B) WAN
(C) MAN (D) All of these.
Answer any FIVE Questions out of EIGHT Questions.
Each question carries 16 marks.
Q.2 a. Write about the various memory technologies employed in the five generations. (6)
b. Write a short note on ‘distributed computing systems’. (4)
c. Raw input data is converted into information by the user. Explain the processes involved in this conversion. (6)
Q.3 a. Give the steps in the execution of the instruction by the CPU during program execution. (6)
b. What is a register? What is the length of a register? Name and explain the
three registers that are not used by the CPU during the execution of an instruction. (1+1+1+3)
c. Give the units of measuring the processing speed of a workstation, minicomputer, supercomputer and a mainframe computer. (4)
Q.4 a. Differentiate between: (4+2)
(i) Static RAM and dynamic RAM.
(ii) Instruction cache and Data cache.
b. Name and explain the three types of data buses. (4)
c. What is system software? What are the functions of system software? Give four examples of commonly known system software. (1+4+1) (4)
Q.5 a. Calculate the disk storage capacity for a very high-density 3½ inch diskette having 80 tracks, 36 sectors per track and 512 bytes per sector. (4)
b. Explain about the access mechanism that is employed in reading/recording
of data in an optical disk. (6)
c. Write a short note on drive interface standards to interface secondary storage devices to the computer system. (6)
Q.6 a. Explain the working of a trackball and touch screen. (4)
b. What are the two limitations of an image scanner? Explain how an optical recognition device (OCR) is used to overcome these limitations. (2+4)
c. What is an icon? Explain the five commonly seen icons on the desktop. (2+4)
Q.7 a. Name and explain the two file access methods at the operating system level.(6)
b. Explain with a neat diagram how an output is displayed on a CRT screen. (10)
Q.8 a. What is an operating system? Explain how throughput, turnaround time and
response time are used to measure the overall performance of a computer
system. (6)
b. Explain the paging mechanism used in external fragmentation of a memory with
the help of an example. (6)
c. Write a short note on the user interfaces supported by various operating
systems. (4)
Q.9 a. Give the comparison between relative cell addresses and absolute cell
addresses. (4)
b. What is justification? Explain the different types of justification. (2+4)
c. What is a spreadsheet package? Give the areas where the spreadsheet packages are mostly used. (2+4)