Computer MCQs for Competitive Exams

Correct answer: Both A & B. Hydrophytes (water plants) have little mechanical tissue and have aerenchyma (air spaces) to float.

Background: Hydrophytes grow in or on water.

• Absence of mechanical tissue: Absence of mechanical tissue is only one of the characters.
• Presence of aerenchyma: Aerenchyma is only one of the characters.
• Presence of well-developed vascular system: Hydrophytes have a poorly developed, not a well-developed, vascular system.

Did you know? Examples are water lily and Hydrilla.

Memory trick: Water plants: soft + air spaces.

Correct answer: SMTP & POP. SMTP is used to send e-mail and POP is used to receive it.

Background: IMAP is another protocol for receiving e-mail.

• POP & FTP: FTP is used to transfer files, not e-mail.
• SMTP & FTP: FTP is used to transfer files, not e-mail.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because SMTP and POP are correct.

Did you know? SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.

Memory trick: SMTP sends; POP picks up.

Correct answer: Slide Show view. Slide Show view displays the slides full screen, without the menus and other elements.

Background: You can start it by pressing F5.

• Normal view: Normal view shows the editing tools.
• Outline view: Outline view shows only the text outline.
• Notes view: Notes view shows the speaker notes.

Did you know? Press Esc to leave Slide Show view.

Memory trick: Slide Show = full screen, no tools.

Correct answer: All of these. A Turing machine is a model of computation that is used in the theory of problem solving and is a foundation for ideas in AI.

Background: Alan Turing described it in 1936.

• AI: It is used for AI, but this is not the only use.
• Modeling computation: It is used for modeling computation, but this is not the only use.
• Problem solving: It is used for problem solving, but this is not the only use.

Did you know? A Turing machine reads and writes symbols on an endless tape.

Memory trick: Turing machine = model of computing.

Correct answer: Reduce file size. Data compression reduces the size of a file so it takes less space and sends faster.

Background: ZIP is a common compression format.

• Increase file size: Compression decreases, not increases, file size.
• Slow down process: Compression usually speeds up transfers.
• Damage data: Compression does not damage data (lossless) or damages it only slightly (lossy).

Did you know? JPEG and MP3 use lossy compression.

Memory trick: Compress = make smaller.

Correct answer: Limiting networking accessibility. Cloud computing offers broad network access, so limiting network accessibility is not a characteristic.

Background: Cloud services are available over the network.

• On-demand self service: On-demand self-service is a cloud characteristic.
• Resource pooling: Resource pooling is a cloud characteristic.
• Rapid elasticity: Rapid elasticity is a cloud characteristic.

Did you know? Cloud also uses “measured service”, so you pay for what you use.

Memory trick: Cloud = open access, not limited.

Correct answer: Regression Test. Regression testing checks that new changes have not broken existing features.

Background: Regression tests are rerun after every update.

• Unit test: Unit testing checks small parts of code.
• Integration test: Integration testing checks that modules work together.
• Smoke test: Smoke testing is a quick basic check of the build.

Did you know? “Regression” means going back to check old features.

Memory trick: Regression = check old still works.

Correct answer: Record. A row in a database table is called a record.

Background: Each record holds all the information about one item.

• Field: A field is a column.
• Header: A header is the label at the top of a column.
• Range: A range is a group of cells in a spreadsheet.

Did you know? A table is made up of records (rows) and fields (columns).

Memory trick: Row = Record; Column = Field.

Correct answer: WWW. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989–91.

Background: He worked at CERN in Switzerland.

• Email: E-mail was invented earlier, in 1971.
• Linux: Linux was created by Linus Torvalds.
• Space X: SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk.

Did you know? The Web is not the same as the internet.

Memory trick: WWW = Berners-Lee.

Correct answer: Local only access. Cloud computing offers access over networks, not local-only access.

Background: The main cloud characteristics are on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.

• Rapid elasticity: Rapid elasticity is a characteristic of cloud computing.
• Resource pooling: Resource pooling is a characteristic of cloud computing.
• Broad network access: Broad network access is a characteristic of cloud computing.

Did you know? Cloud services can be reached from anywhere with an internet connection.

Memory trick: Cloud = reach from anywhere.

Correct answer: Speech recognition. Speech recognition converts spoken words into text or commands.

Background: Voice assistants use speech recognition.

• Data mining: Data mining finds patterns in large data sets.
• Robotics: Robotics deals with building machines.
• Image processing: Image processing works on pictures.

Did you know? Examples are Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa.

Memory trick: Speech = speech recognition.

Correct answer: Bug. An error in a program is called a bug.

Background: Removing bugs is called debugging.

• Chip: A chip is an electronic component.
• CPU: The CPU is the processor.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because bug is correct.

Did you know? The term became popular after a moth was found in a Harvard computer in 1947.

Memory trick: Bug = error.

Correct answer: SpaceX & Tesla. Elon Musk is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla.

Background: He also owns the social media platform X.

• Facebook: Facebook is led by Mark Zuckerberg.
• Lenovo: Lenovo is a Chinese computer company.
• Motorola: Motorola is an electronics company.

Did you know? SpaceX builds rockets and Tesla builds electric cars.

Memory trick: Musk = SpaceX + Tesla.

Correct answer: DHCP. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) automatically gives IP addresses to devices.

Background: A router usually acts as the DHCP server at home.

• FTP: FTP transfers files.
• HTTP: HTTP transfers web pages.
• SMTP: SMTP sends e-mail.

Did you know? Without DHCP, IP addresses would have to be set manually.

Memory trick: DHCP = Dynamic IP.