Chapter 4– Review Questions

Volts are a measure of what characteristic of electricity?
Electrical pressure differential (potential differential)

What is the normal voltage of house electricity in the United States?
110 volts

Hot wires in home wiring are normally colored ____ and ground wires in computer are normally colored____?
Black, Black

What is the difference between a transformer and a rectifier? Which are found in a PC power supply?
Transformer: a device that changes the ratio of current to voltage
Rectifier: a device that converts AC to DC
Both are found in a PC power supply

What are the five voltages produced by an ATX or BTX power supply?
+/- 5V, +/- 12V and 3.3 V

What is the purpose of the 4-pin auxiliary connector on a motherboard?
To provide an additional 12V of power

How many pins does the main power connector on a BTX board have?
24

What form factor for the case and power supply does a NLX motherboard have?
ATX

Describe the purpose of the ground line in a house circuit. What is the electrical symbol for ground?
Ground lines prevent uncontrolled electricity from continuing to flow indefinitely.


What is the basic electronic building block of an integrated circuit?
The transistor

Why is a power supply dangerous even after the power is disconnected?
The capacitors inside maintain their charge long after the current is no longer present.

What is the symbol for diode?



What is s simple way to detect EMI?
Use an AM radio. Turn the tuning dial away from a station and all the way down into a low-frequency range

What is an unintended high current, closed connection between two points in a circuit called?
Short circuit

Which form factor uses a riser card on the edge of the motherboard?
NLX

List four types of computer case form factors. What is the most popular type of form factor for PCs today?
Desktop, mini-tower, full-size tower and notebook. Midi-towers are most popular.

List three advantages an ATX system has over a Baby AT system.
Adding and removing components is easier. Provide greater support for I/O devices and processor technology. Less expensive.

List four computer symptoms that indicate faulty power supply.
System hangs, reboots, gives intermittent errors or does not boot at all

According to ACPI (Advanced Configuration & Power Interface) standards, the S1 mode causes what two devices to stop using power.
The hard drive and monitor

What is another name for the ACPI standard S4 mode?
Hibernation

What power management standard is older than ACPI and has mostly been replaced by ACPI?
Advanced Power Management (APM)

How can you easily tell if a computer is designed to comply with Green Standards?
They have the US Green Star

What unit of measure is used to describe the amount of work a surge suppressor can do before its tops protecting the circuit from an electrical surge?
Joules

Why is it important to have an indicate light on a surge suppressor?
It indicates the device is protecting equipment from over-voltages

What are the two types of uninterruptible power supplies?
Stand by and inline

How does a smart UPS differ from one that is not smart?
Smart UPS can be controlled by software from a computer

If you are asked to identify the form factor of a motherboard, what are the criteria you can use to help identify the board?
Power connector, shape, size, orientation of CPU to expansion slots

What are three motherboard form factors that can be used with a compact case?
NLX, LPX or Mini-LPX

What is one thing you can regularly do to prevent a computer system from overheating?
Use compressed air or vacuum to remove dust from power supply and vents

Which type of case form factor is best designed to keep a system cool?
BTX