Computer History

Name:

Date:

Instructions: Journey through the evolution of computers from room-sized machines to pocket devices

1.
What was ENIAC, completed in 1945, considered to be?
A
The first personal computer
B
The first laptop
C
The first transistor
D
One of the first general-purpose electronic computers
2.
Who is often called the 'father of the computer' for his work on the Analytical Engine?
A
John von Neumann
B
Blaise Pascal
C
Charles Babbage
D
Alan Turing
3.
What did the term 'bug' in computing originate from in 1947?
A
A software glitch
B
A circuit board defect
C
A programming language error
D
An actual moth found in a computer relay
4.
Which company introduced the IBM Personal Computer (PC) in 1981?
A
Hewlett-Packard
B
IBM
C
Apple
D
Microsoft
5.
What programming language, created in 1959, was designed for business data processing?
A
FORTRAN
B
BASIC
C
Pascal
D
COBOL
6.
Who co-founded Apple Computer in a garage in 1976?
A
Larry Page and Sergey Brin
B
Bill Gates and Paul Allen
C
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
D
Michael Dell and Kevin Rollins
7.
What was the name of the first commercially successful personal computer, released in 1977?
A
IBM PC
B
Commodore PET
C
Altair 8800
D
Apple II
8.
What replaced vacuum tubes in computers, making them smaller and more reliable?
A
Capacitors
B
Resistors
C
Transistors
D
Diodes
9.
Who is credited with creating the World Wide Web in 1989?
A
Tim Berners-Lee
B
Vint Cerf
C
Robert Cailliau
D
Marc Andreessen
10.
What was the name of the first widely used graphical web browser, released in 1993?
A
Internet Explorer
B
Mosaic
C
Netscape Navigator
D
Lynx
11.
Which operating system, created by Linus Torvalds in 1991, is open-source?
A
macOS
B
Unix
C
Windows
D
Linux
12.
What does the acronym 'RAM' stand for in computing?
A
Remote Access Management
B
Random Access Memory
C
Rapid Application Module
D
Read Access Memory
13.
Ada Lovelace is celebrated as the world's first what?
A
Database administrator
B
Web designer
C
Computer programmer
D
Computer engineer
14.
What storage medium, popular in the 1980s and 1990s, came in 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch sizes?
A
Floppy disk
B
CD-ROM
C
USB drive
D
Zip drive
15.
Moore's Law predicted that the number of transistors on a microchip would do what approximately every two years?
A
Triple
B
Double
C
Stay the same
D
Halve

Answer Key

Question 1

D. One of the first general-purpose electronic computers

Question 2

C. Charles Babbage

Question 3

D. An actual moth found in a computer relay

Question 4

B. IBM

Question 5

D. COBOL

Question 6

C. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

Question 7

D. Apple II

Question 8

C. Transistors

Question 9

A. Tim Berners-Lee

Question 10

B. Mosaic

Question 11

D. Linux

Question 12

B. Random Access Memory

Question 13

C. Computer programmer

Question 14

A. Floppy disk

Question 15

B. Double

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