COMPUTER STUDIES

NAME:………………………………………….…………….ADMNO:………….CLASS…….

1. State two reasons for the increased use of laptop computers in government offices. (2 marks)
 They are small and fit in a small storage space.
 They are light weight hence can be carried to areas where their services are required.
 The monitor, system unit, keyboard units are attached together hence making its use to be
convenient.
 Rechargeable / backup battery. (any 2*1)
2. (a)Give three ways in which operating system are classified (3marks)
 Number of users
 Number of tasks
 user interface
(b)Give four advantages of graphical user interface over command line interface (4marks)
 User friendliness
 one does not need to master any commands
 easy to learn & use even by those who do not have much knowledge about them
 it is faster to work with than command line interface as it only relies on clicking the icons by
use of a pointing device
3. State three measures that should be put in place in a computer laboratory to safeguard users’
health. (3 marks)

 All power cables must be insulated and hidden from users.

 The furniture used must be of standard computer furniture.
 The room should be lit with adequate lighting.
 The room must be ventilated.
 Computer monitor should be fitted with antiglare to filter excess light rays emanating from
the monitor.
 Avoid slippery floors/cemented floors.
 Controlling dust. (any 3*1)

4. State two ways in which barcode readers may be used in schools.(2 marks)

 To take inventory of items in the school.

 To keep track of employee login log out.
 Used to transact business in the library.
 Used to keep track of movement of goods. (any 2*1)
5. State three advantages of flat panel monitors over cathode ray tube monitors as used in
computers. (3 marks)

 … They are compact and light weight;

 They consume less power;
 They do not suffer from geometrical distortions;
 They do not cause eye fatigue.
 They support many advanced technologies;
 They can be made in almost any size and shape; they support higher resolution.
 Low heat radiation. (any 3*1)
6. State three possible reasons for the elimination of daisy wheel printers in the market. (3 marks)

 They supported one font size and font face;

 They were monochrome printers;
 They produced noise while printing;
 They were very slow;
 Did not print graphics.
 Had poor print quality. (any 3*1)
7. The illustrations below represent two orientations of a very important part of a desktop computer.
Study them to answer the questions below:

A
(a) Name the object represented in the above images.
(1 mark)

 System unit

(b) Identify the orientations represented in orientations A and B.

 A Tower type orientation B Desktop orientation
© Give six components that are housed inside the object represented in the above images
(3marks)………
  Random Access MEMORY
 Central Processing Unit
 CMOS battery
 Expansion slots
 Hard disk
 Drives
 Power supply unit (any 6*1/2)
8. A law firm prefers to use hard copy output over soft copy output when handling documents for
legal matters. State two reasons for this preference. (2 marks)

 They are acceptable as exhibit in cases of litigation.

 Can be used without a computer.
 They are difficult to change without leaving any trace.
 They can be used without power.
 One may need to sign a document, for example a letter.
 One may need to read the work away from the computer.
 In anticipation of a power blackout.
 It is necessary for physical record keeping.
 One may want to scan, photocopy or fax a document.
 Some users have difficulties reading from the monitor, they experience eyestrain.
 Hardcopies are important backups in case the softcopy gets corrupted or the computer
system crashes.
 They can be used without the experience of computer usage (any 2*1)

9. State the hardware technological differences between the second generation and the third
generation computers (2 marks)

 The 2nd generation use transistor in its logic circuit while the 3rd generation used
integrated circuit.

10. Define the term ‘computer laboratory’. (2 marks)

 A computer laboratory is a room that has been specially prepared to facilitate

installation of computers, and provide a safe conducive environment for teaching &
learning of Computer studies.
11. (a) State two reasons why a computer needs to be connected to a stable power supply

(2 mark)

 To prevent damage to the computer’s secondary storage media

 To avoid damage and loss of important data or information such as application
software stored on the media
  Prevent loss of data/ information that had not been saved before the failure (any 2*1)

12. Identify three facilities that will ensure proper ventilation in a room. (3
marks)

 Having large windows

 Having windows and vent area opened Using air conditioning equipment
 Providing spacious seating arrangement/Avoid overcrowding
 Installing fans (any 3*1)

13. Computers are classified using three criteria namely, functionality, purpose and physical
size. In each of these classes, name and describe:
(a) Three types of computers under classification by functionality.
 Analog computers
 Digital computers
 Hybrid computers

(b) Three types of computers under classification by purpose.

 General purpose
 Special purpose
 Dedicated purpose
14. State three reasons for warm booting your computer. (3 marks)

 During the installation of hardware for the drives to be activated.

 During the installation of a new software for the installation to complete.
 When a program encounters an error.
 When a computer hangs or fails to respond.
 When switching between operating systems(any 3*1)
15. ) Give three reasons why a mobile phone is regarded to be a computer
(3marks)

 It is electronic * uses electric energy to operate

 It has a display unit (screen)
 It has a keypad
 It has a memory for storage
 It is programmable(ANY 3*1)
16Give two reasons why smaller computers like laptops tend to be more expensive than desktop
computers. (2 marks)

 The technology of producing smaller devices is expensive.

 Convenience because of their portability........................................................................................
17. State six functions of the operating systems (6marks)

 Job scheduling
 Memory management
 Error handling
 Interrupt handling
 Resource allocation
 Input/output handling
 Network management (any 6*1)
18. State four factors to consider when selecting an input device for use in a computer room

(4 marks)

 Compatibility with the existing system

 Cost of the device
 The extra features in the device
 The purpose of the device
 The speed in which input of data is required
 The nature of data to be captured (any 4*1)

19. State three functions 0f Un-interrupted power supply (UPS). (3 marks)

 Protects devices against high or too low voltage.

 Provides temporary power supply in case of sudden power outage/power backup
 Processing wave form distortion.
 Stabilizing the frequency
 Surge protection.
 Suppress transverse mode noise. (any 3*1)

20 What do the following acronyms mean in full:

(4mks)
i) VDU
= Video Display Unit
...............................................................................................................................................................
ii) LCD

= Liquid Crystal Display

...............................................................................................................................................................
 iii) VGA
Video Graphics Adapter

...............................................................................................................................................................
iv) XGA.
……………… Extended Graphics Array

21. State three factors to consider when selecting an operating system to install in a computer (3
marks)

 The hardware configuration of a computer

 The type of computer in terms of size and make
 User friendliness of the operating
 Number of users it can support
 Number of processors and hardware it can support
 Reliability and security provided by the OS. (Any 3*1)
22. Differentiate between analogue data and digital data as used in computers. (2 marks)

 Analogue data uses values that change continuously between two instances while Digital
data are values that change from one value to the next in a step by step sequence.

23. Discuss the following disk management activities carried out by the operating system
(8marks)

(a)disk formatting

 To prepare a new disk so that files can be stored on it/to create sectors &tracks for the
storage of data.

(b)Disk partitioning………………………………………………………………………………

 It’s the process of subdividing a large physical disk into two or more
partitions/volume…………………………………………………………
(c) Disk backup……………………………………………………………………………
  making duplicate copies of data or programs from the hard disk into storage
media so that incase the system fails or original are corrupted or lost, the data
can be reconstructed from back ups

(d) Disk defragmentation

 Rearranging scattered related files /folders closer to each other on the surface of
a storage unit

24. Give four factors to consider when buying a printer (4mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………

 Print quality
 Initial cost
 Running cost
 Speed
 colour printing(any 4*1)
25. List four resources that are managed by the operating system (4marks)
……………………………………………………………………………………………

 Processor
 memory(RAM)
 secondary storage devices
 input/output devices …
 communication devices (any 4 *1)

26.

(a)Give four differences between Primary and Secondary storage (4marks)

Primary secondary
 It holds data temporarily It holds data permanently and semi-
permanently

It is directly accessed by the CPU It is not directly accessible by the CPU

It is a fixed storage It is removable

Offer limited storage Offer higher storage capacity

(b) List four types of ROM (4marks)

 Mask ROM
 Programmable read only memory (PROM)…
 Erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM)…
 Electrically erasable programmable read only memory…(EEPROM)
27 give four examples of secondary storage devices (4marks)
……………………………………………………………………………………………

o zip disks
 Jaz disks
 Floppy disks
 magnetic tapes
 Cds
 Dvds
 memory cards
 flash disks
 Sd cards (any 4*1)……