STUDENT TEST BOOKLET
Open Response Scoring Breakdown: 4 = 50/50, 3 = 45/50, 2 = 30/50, 1 = 20/50
This test section contains TWELVE multiple-choice and ONE open-response (short-answer)
questions. Please mark your answers for the multiple-choice questions in the spaces provided on
your Student Response Booklet. Mark only one answer for each question. If you do not know the
answer, make your best guess. DO NOT WRITE ANY ANSWERS IN THIS TEST BOOKLET.
WHEN YOU FINISH, DO NOT WORK ON ANY OTHER TEST SECTION.
1.
Randy recently accepted a position with Bowling Green Automotive as a computer
technician. Randy was required to sign several papers before beginning his job but
one really stood out in his mind. The paper was titled Required Safety Procedures
and one of the main topics was Electrostatic Discharge. Why is electrostatic
discharge a major concern for computer technicians?
Electrostatic discharge can cause a component on a computer to receive power
A.
and become active causing an unsafe working environment.
Electrostatic discharge causes components to run above there recommended
B.
potential and thus causes devices to overheat.
Electrostatic discharge causes major damage to the human body but has little
C.
effect on computer components
Electrostatic discharge causes major damage to voltage sensitive electronics
D.
such as computers even though a human may feel nothing
2.
Brad has decided to disassemble his computer system in an attempt to diagnosis a
continuing power problem. Which of the following would not be a recommended
procedure for Brad to follow?
A.
Standing on an antistatic mat
3.
B.
Working with a non-magnetized screwdriver
C.
Wearing an ESD strap while the computer is on
D.
Working on a bare uncarpeted floor
As a safety control officer at Seven Street Motherboards, Mike has been asked to
implement safety procedures for all workers in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of
ESD affecting the motherboard design process. Which of the following would not be
an appropriate way to help reduce the likelihood of ESD?
Use wrist straps when working on computer parts, except when working on
A.
monitors
B.
Wear wool socks to help ground the individual to the floor
C.
D.
Keep the humidity between 20 to 30 percent
Touch unpainted grounded metal parts of the computer frequently to lower the
static energy of the body.
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4.
Betty recently purchased a new Motherboard to install within her 5 year old Dell
workstation. After receiving the UPS package Betty then opened the box to find the
Motherboard sealed within which of the following components?
A.
Styrofoam
B.
Anti-Static bag
C.
Bubble Wrap
D.
Newspaper
5.
After looking at numerous computer cases for his custom PC, Brett has decided on a
case with a 600-watt power supply. Why should consumers and computer builders
both be concerned about the wattage of a power supply?
Each powered component of a computer system pulls from the power supply. If
A.
the supply does not have enough watts to supply power to all components then
the system will no function correctly.
The wattage should be matched with the national power standards as in the
B.
United states all power supplies should be kept under 200 watts, while in
Europe all power supplies must be under 300 watts.
If a power supply has to much power then devices will not function correctly
C.
because they will receive to much power.
The lower the wattage the better the power supply will perform with high end
D.
computer systems such as gaming PC’s or programming PC’s.
6.
Jim is planning on building his dream computer from scratch. While searching
through Tigerdirect.com Jim located a motherboard for $129.99 and on sale for 40%
off. After his discount is applied how much will Jim pay for his motherboard?
7.
A.
$82.99
B.
$80.75
C.
$72.40
D.
$77.99
Eddie has been asked to disassemble a PC. Which of the following components
should be removed while Eddie has removed his ESD strap?
A.
Power Supply
B.
RAM
C.
Hard Drive
D.
Video Card
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8.
9.
Kelly has been asked to develop a plan to backup all data from the three computers
at Sun Tan City. Kelly has interviewed all workers and reviewed the stored data on
the machines finding over 90% of the data is Microsoft Word documents. The owners
have requested the most portable backup medium to be selected. Which of the
following backup mediums would best fit the needs of Sun Tan City?
A.
A fourth computer system
B.
A spindle of CD’s to burn off back up data each day
C.
A DVD burner
D.
A flash drive
Craig has been tasked with finding the problem within a customer’s computer at
Computers Plus. Craig diagnoses the problem as a faulty Motherboard and orders a
new motherboard at the cost of $225.00. During the repair process Craig spends 3.5
hours working on and repairing the PC. If Computers Plus charges $45 an hour for
labor what will the customers total be for parts and labor?
A.
$225.00
B.
$157.5
C.
$370.75
D.
$360.00
Motherboard Quality: How to Find a Good Motherboard
Motherboards can be confusing to shop for; they have lots of parts and all look about the same. How do you
know you are getting a good motherboard? Here are a few things that you can check for a good sense of
what you are getting.
The Thing that Connects Everything
The Motherboard is probably the easiest computer component to ignore when budgeting for your new
computer build or when you are trying to upgrade. Yet as the component that connects everything together
it is one of the most important components you have. Having a good quality motherboard is essential to
your computer's speed and connectivity as well as the life of the computer. But most importantly, the
identity of your PC is tied to your Motherboard--you don't need to get a new version of Windows until you
get a new motherboard since Microsoft attaches your Windows serial key to the motherboard. This means
you can keep upgrading your computer until you replace the motherboard; then it's like getting a new
computer.
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But what do you look for in a motherboard? For the person without a ton of knowledge (What is a
northbridge? How do I know a good chipset?) you can do a couple easy things to check your motherboard
quality:
1) Price
As simple as it seems, price is a decent enough indicator of motherboard quality. The retailers will always
keep their new and better models more expensive. So I'd say spending a bit more money will help you out
right away. But don't just rely on price; it's just a place to start.
A decent price range for a motherboard as of this writing would be $150-$400 depending on your budget.
2) Reviews
Again, this sounds simple but looking at the reviews for a motherboard will get you a better sense of quality
and durability than pretty much anything else. Websites like Newegg, Tiger Direct, or Amazon all have good
review systems with lots of users who will let you know if there are any major issues with the motherboard
or whether it is high quality. Keep in mind that any computer component has a certain number of failures
and problems. Just because there are a few people complaining their MB was DOA (dead on arrival)
doesn't mean you can't get it. But if those DOA make up a disproportionate amount of the reviews (I'd say
more than 5%) then I'd probably be wary.
3) Components
To get a sense of the beefiness (but not necessarily the quality or durability) of the board, take a look at its
components. Here are things you want to note in the components
1. CPU Compatibility: Your MB will determine what processors you can use. Make sure it can use a
good one and that you have space for future upgrades.
2. Memory Standard: Again, this is determined by your motherboard. The faster the speed the quicker
your computer will run. At least get a motherboard with DDR3. Just keep in mind you'll have to spend
more for your RAM but its totally worth it.
3. Number of Connections: How many SATA connectors are there? Is it enough for your needs? How
many PCI slots are there? Is your video card going to fit? Also, how many connections are build into
the external portion of the motherboard (USBs particularly)? Is this going to be enough?
4) Look up the Chipset
If you really want to know more detailed info on the quality of the motherboard then you might want to look
up reviews and features for different chipsets. There are two parts to the chipset of any motherboard, the
northbridge and the southbridge. As people with the old XBox 360s know, the chipset can determine a lot
about durability and quality (the old chipset is why 360s red ringed so much). But how do you know if a
chipset is any good? The best way to do it is to just search for it and look for reviews. The great thing about
the internet is that there are some people out there with the technical knowledge sufficient to give you a
good sense of its quality
10.
Use the above article to answer questions 10 - 12
Which statement below best describes the term Motherboard?
A.
the main circuit board of your computer
B.
the location where power is converted from AC to DC
C.
the location where non-volatile data is permanent stored
D.
the processing unit where all decisions are made
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11.
What is the main idea of this passage?
Motherboards are very expensive and should be purchased after the CPU is
A.
purchased.
Motherboards can easily be transferred from one computer to another computer
B.
for only a small amount of cost.
Motherboards work well in most computers but other computer systems need
C.
more advanced circuit boards that are called Fiberboard’s.
Motherboards are devices with many different operations that flow through
D.
them and motherboards can make or break an entire computer system.
12.
Who is the intended audience for this article?
A.
Software Engineers
B.
Motherboard Designers
C.
Custom PC Buyers
D.
CPU Developers
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OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTION
Read all parts of the open-response question before you begin. Write your answers to the openresponse question in the space provided on your Student Response Booklet. DO NOT WRITE ANY
ANSWERS IN THIS TEST BOOKLET.
So Many Selections……..
Within the technology market numerous options exist, not just a basic color
option for the case of a laptop but numerous options that can cost or save lots
of money for the purchasing entity. Careful selection and thought must be
given each time a new product is selected to ensure that it best meets the
needs and specifications of the individual or business.
13.
A. Describe three forms of backup mediums that an individual or business can select
from in today’s marketplace.
B. Explain three computer safety procedures that one should follow when repairing or
upgrading a PC.