IS117 Computing and Word Processing

Assessment 1 – Work Package 2

Answer sheet

Task 1
Question # Answer
1 A system clock is a small crystal quartz circuit that generates regular electronic pulse, or
ticks that control the timing of a computer
2 1.Speed of the system clock 2.Type of processor chip 3.Amount of cache 4.Memory
access time 5.Bus width 6.Bus clock speed
3 The binary system is a number system used by a computer that has just two unique
digits, 0 and 1, called bits
4 A bit is the smallest unit of the data a computer process where as a byte is made up of 8
bits grouped together as a singular unit
5 Memory cache are frequently used instructions and data stored by the computer to help
speed up its running processes
6 L1 cache has a very small capacity of 8 KB to 128 KB than L2 cache which has a larger
capacity of 64 KB to 16 MB
7 1.Flash memory cards 2.USB flash Drives 3.PC cards 4. ExpressCard modules
8 The removable flash memory devices are different in terms of their various types of
computer slots and ports
9 1.System bus 2.Expansion bus
10 Buses transfer bits from input devices to memory, from memory to the processor, from
the processor to memory, and from memory to output or storage devices

Task 2
Question Answer Question Answer
# #
1 True 6 True
2 False 7 False
3 False 8 False
4 False 9 True
5 True 10 False

Task 3
Question # Term Definition
1 Processor B
2 Memory module D
3 U3 smart drive F
4 IrDA C
5 Bay E
Task 4
Answer
Touchpad

Touchpads are common features of a laptop computer. Also known as trackpad, glide pad or glide
point, a touchpad is a small flat, rectangular pointing device that is sensitive to pressure and motion. It
is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the movement
and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on the operating system that is made visible to the
screen. This device is very sensitive to finger touch and pressure. Introduced in the early 90’s, touchpad
are now a common feature found on most laptops in alternation toward using a mouse.

Invented by George E. Gerpheide in 1988, was the first touchpad. The first laptops to be introduced
with touch pads were made by Olivetti and Triumph-Adler in 1992. In 1994 Cirque introduced a
touchpad called the Glidepoint. Apple company was the first to license and use the touch pad first
using Cirque’s GlidePoint technology but later used their own technology in both its Apple-developed
PowerBook laptops and MacBook laptops. Various names such as; glide point, touch sensitive input
device, touchpad, trackpad, and pointing device were given to the device in the early 1990’s as people
were confused on what the product should be called.

Where desk space is limited, touchpad is substituted for using a mouse. The purpose for this sensitive
input pad is that it gives advantage to a user on the move, it’s faster or quicker, and there is no need to
carry an extra external pointing device. In alternation toward using a mouse, it is preferable for using
the touchpad. Scrolling and selecting of files and items in a laptop is much faster rather than hand
reaching for a mouse. With built in interface, it does not require a flat surface for use.

Mostly used in self- contained portable laptop computers, it is adjacent to the keyboard. Touchpads
are found in MacBook, PowerBook, Windows Notepads, and even found used on smartphones.
Touchpads also exist integrated for desktop computers or as an external peripheral, although rarely
seen. Tactile senses allow for convenient clicking and dragging. Selecting of a file or multiple selection
of files, with clicking and releasing the pressure while dragging over the required selection items.
Developed today with the ease of capacitive sensing, they will not sense the tip of a pencil or any other
non-conducting implement apart from finger gestures.

The touchpad is relatively an alternate option for a computer mouse. Uniquely integrated for mobile
use of laptop computers, the gadget substitutes a mouse for a user on the go. With inbuilt senses, the
tactile device detects finger or virtual ground motion and transmits informative responses for monitor
display. Touchpads have now become the dominant laptop pointing device as most laptops produced
during this period and beyond include only touchpads, displacing the pointing stick.
Reference:

 Shelly, G.B., Cashman, T.J., Vermaat, M.E. (2008) Chapter 5-Input and output. Discovering
Computers: Fundamentals Fourth Edition. (pp. 170). Thomson Course Technology, 25 Thomson
Place, Boston MA 02210, USA.
 Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. (n.d.) Touchpad. Retrieved March 28, 2018, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchpad
 TechTarget:Search Mobile Computing.(n.d.) Definition- touchpad
http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/touch-pad
 Wikipedia( n.d.) Touchpad. Retrieved March 28, 2018, from
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchpad

Group Names:

1. Adrian. Tinabar – BS1 (ID-180146)

2. Malcolm. Tumana – BS1 (ID-180148)