Computer Questions

Describe electricity.
Scientist’s definition: Electricity is only used to describe the process in which protons and neutrons produce a charge. I.E. Current/Quantity/Coulombs of electricity.
2. Standard definition: Electricity is the electromagnetic field that is given off by such things as generator and batteries.
3. School definition: The flow of charged electrons through a wire/circuit.
4. Other definition: Electricity refers to the imbalance of the number of protons and electrons.
What is a conductor? What is an insulator?
Conductors are materials that contain moving/movable positive and negative charges of energy. When the electrical potential difference is forced upon different parts of a conductor, the electrical charges inside of the conductors are forced to move. This creates an electrical difference, and an electric current between the two points appears according to Ohm’s law. In layman’s terms, A conductor is a material that actively conducts heat and electricity among other energies. They can also be used to transmit heat and/or electricity.
An insulator is a material that disallows an electrical current from running through it. The most common insulators are made of glass or rubber.
Describe voltage and how it works.
Voltage is a measure of the electrical potential. It can be kept track of by using a voltmeter that is running parallel to the main circuit. Voltage works by "pushing" a current through a circuit, the more voltage, the stronger the current.
What are the two internal voltages most commonly used by PC components?
Define current.
Current is the flow of electricity through a conductor, and is measured in Amperes (A).
What is the 1-10-100 rule?
The 1-10-100 rule is an example of how prevention of an accident is much easier then fixing the problem after it has occurred. For example, a company could spend one dollar to prevent an accident, or it could spend ten to rectify it after it occurs. And if the company didn’t fix the problem before they gave a customer the item with the problem, the cost would be 100 times more then if they had just prevented it in the first place.
How do you calculate the amount current running through a circuit?
Current (I)=Power (Watts) / Voltage (Volts)
I=P/V
Explain the differences between AC and DC.
The difference between the two is how the electricity flows. DC current works by placing an object that creates a magnetic field (I.E. magnet) beside a strip of wire. This forces the electrons to flow in one direction, since they’re negative charges are repelled by the negative end of the magnet and attracted by the polar opposite, also known as the positive end. This created an electric current, and a Directional Current (DC) was made, DC current was originally discovered by Thomas Edison. Nicholas Tesla invented AC (Alternating Current) current. The main difference between the two is that AC travels farther with less power loss and the power output can be manipulated. This is accomplished by spinning the magnet instead of leaving motionless.
Describe the human body's resistance capability.
The human body’s resistance capabilities vary wildly depending on the conditions of when an electrical shock is endured. For example, assuming the skin is clean and free of residue its conductivity is drastically reduced, so much so that a human can survive 20,000 volts of electricity. In tests in which scientists sprinkled water on a hand to simulate sweat, the body was susceptible to a much smaller amount of power, roughly 240V.
List 5 safety precautions you can take to avoid an electric shock.
Keep your skin dry and clean, the less residue on it, the higher your resistance will be.
Avoid using any electrical device near or in water.
Wear anti-shock gloves when handling potentially dangerous electrical devices or materials.
Try not to rub your feet on material such as carpet etc.
Turn off a device before unplugging it.
List 5 ways to prevent static build-up.
Make sure the area doesn’t get too dry, if it does, it becomes much easier for a static charge to build up.
You can buy anti-static bags etc. However, they are expensive.
Use dryer balls when drying your laundry, they absorb and dissipate the electric charge.
Avoid shuffling your feet, especially on carpet.
Don’t touch an electrode.
List 5 ways to prevent static discharge.
Rap your knuckles on a surface before touching it, it will release the static charge, but it won’t hurt as much as if it had left through your more sensitive fingers.
Wear leather shoes; in order to ground yourself.
Carry a coin and use it to test for a static charge.
Wear a metal thimble, it works best if it is contact with your skin.
If you regularly shock yourself, you can go one step further and wear a wristband with a wire that is attached to an electrical ground. With this on, the body is incapable of building up a charge.
Describe at least two components found in an ESD-prevention kit.
There are 2 wrist straps, 1 ground cord, 1 static-dissipating mat, 3 bauer bags, and three type II pouches.
What is the job of the PC power supply (besides delivering power)?
It also has a power surge protector to help prevent damage to the computer’s internal parts in the case of a power surge.
What are specific power supply requirements for: a motherboard, memory, CPU, hard drive, CD-ROM drive, and floppy drive? For which component of the PC does the Power_Good (or Power_OK) signal indicate? And why is it an essential part of the diagnostic start-up test?
Outline the differences between a Molex, Berg, and ATA power connector. What are they used for?
Molex: A term for "Pin and Socket" interconnection, it’s most usually used as a disk drive connector. First produced by Molex products company, it’s two-piece design eventually became an early computer industry standard. Originally used for home appliances, other companies and industries began integrating it into their machines. This included vehicles, mini computers, and even vending machines. This connector worked by using cylindrical spring metal pins that were made to fit into similarly shaped sockets. They typically had 2,3,4,5,6,9,12, or 15 circuits. A .062 pin is capable of carrying a maximum of 5 Amperes of current, while a .093 pin is able to carry 8.5 Amps.
Berg: The Berg connector is a type of electrical connector that is utilized in certain types of computer hardware. Manufactured by the "Berg Electronic Corporation" that’s based in St. Louis. There are many different kinds of berg connectors, the most familiar ones being the 4-pin berg, which is used to connect the floppy disc to the power supply. The next one is the 2-pin berg, which is used to connect the front panel lights, turbo switch, and the reset button to the computer’s mother board. Finally, there’s other 2-pin Berg, which is used as a jumper for a motherboard’s configuration.
ATA: Made mostly for the transfer of critical information between a computer and storage device, it features smaller wires that increase the wind flow, faster information transfer, the ability to hot swap, and improved
reliability

What are the two internal voltages most commonly used by PC components.
The average wattage used by personal computer components are 200W to 500W.
What is the relationship between electrical power and energy?
Electric power is measured at the rate which an electric current is sent through an electric circuit. This electricity is then used (Transformed) to produce varying forms of energy, including heat, light, and sound energy.
What are resistance and impedance and how are they different?
Resistance is a way of mesuring how much a given material will oppose and electrical current running through it, while impedance details a mesure of electrical opposition to a alternating current (AC). Impedance essentially expands on the theory of electrical resistance for an AC current, while resistence cover both AC and DC.
What are specific power supply requirements for: a motherboard, memory, CPU, hard drive, CD-ROM drive, and floppy drive?
A motherboard needs about 15-30 W of power, a mid-range CPU requires about 60 Watts, a RAM stick needs 7W for every 128 MB, an IDE hard drive needs 20 Watts, a CD-ROM needs about 15 watts, and a floppy drive needs 10 watts.