CSP Semester Exam SG
A video-streaming Web site keeps count of the number of times each video has been played since it was first added to the site. The count is updated each time a video is played and is displayed next to each video to show its popularity. At one time, the count for the most popular video was about two million. Sometime later, the same video displayed a seven-digit negative number as its count, while the counts for the other videos displayed correctly. Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the error? A The count for the video became larger than the maximum value allowed by the data type used to store the count. B The mathematical operations used to calculate the count caused a rounding error to occur. C The software used to update the count failed when too many videos were played simultaneously by too many users. D The software used to update the count contained a sampling error when using digital data to approximate the analog count.
A
An online gaming company is introducing several new initiatives to encourage respectful communication between players of online games. Which of the following best describes a solution that uses crowdsourcing? A The company allows individual players to endorse fellow players based on courteous interactions. Once a player receives enough endorsements, the player is given free rewards that can be used during gameplay. B The company eliminates chat from gameplay and sets the default chat policy to off. Players must actively turn on chat to converse outside of gameplay. C The company introduces software that monitors all chats. Inappropriate conversations are identified, and players involved in the conversations are banned from the game. D The company updates the acceptable content guidelines to explicitly describe appropriate and inappropriate behavior. All players must electronically sign an agreement to adhere to the guidelines.
A
Which of the following best describes a challenge involved in using a parallel computing solution? A A parallel computing solution may not be appropriate for an algorithm in which each step requires the output from the preceding step. B A parallel computing solution may not be appropriate for an algorithm in which the same formula is applied to many numeric data elements. C A parallel computing solution may not be appropriate for an algorithm that can be easily broken down into small independent tasks. D A parallel computing solution may not be appropriate for an algorithm that searches for occurrences of a key word in a large number of documents.
A
Which of the following best exemplifies the use of keylogging to gain unauthorized access to a computer system? A A user unintentionally installs a program on their computer that records all user input and forwards it to another computer. A few weeks later, someone else is able to access the user's computer using the recorded data. B A user has a very common password for an online banking account. Someone else guesses the password after a few attempts and gains access to the user's account. C A user logs into an unsecure Web site. Someone else is able to view unencrypted log-in information as it is transmitted over the Internet. The user has the same username and password for multiple accounts, so the user's log-in information for multiple systems may be compromised. D A user receives an e-mail that claims to be from the user's bank. The e-mail instructs the user to click on a link to a Web site and enter a username and password to verify an account. Shortly after following the steps, the user discovers that the Web site is fraudulent and that the user's username and password were stolen.
A
Which of the following best explains how symmetric encryption algorithms are typically used? A Symmetric encryption uses a single key that should be kept secret. The same key is used for both encryption and decryption of data. B Symmetric encryption uses a single key that should be made public. The same key is used for both encryption and decryption of data. C Symmetric encryption uses two keys that should both be kept secret. One key is used for encryption, and the other is used for decryption. D Symmetric encryption uses two keys. The key used for encryption should be made public, but the key used for decryption should be kept secret.
A
Which of the following is a true statement about the use of public key encryption in transmitting messages? A Public key encryption enables parties to initiate secure communications through an open medium, such as the Internet, in which there might be eavesdroppers. B Public key encryption is not considered a secure method of communication because a public key can be intercepted. C Public key encryption only allows the encryption of documents containing text; documents containing audio and video must use a different encryption method. D Public key encryption uses a single key that should be kept secure because it is used for both encryption and decryption.
A
Which of the following is an example of an attack using a rogue access point? A An unauthorized individual gains the ability to view network traffic by connecting to a network router that uses weak or no security measures. B An unauthorized individual physically disconnects an exposed network router, making the network unavailable to some users. C An unauthorized individual poses as a network administrator and attempts to trick a user into providing personal information. D A group of unauthorized individuals overwhelms a network router with traffic, making it unavailable to some users.
A
Which of the following research proposals is most likely to be successful as a citizen science project? A Collecting pictures of birds from around the world that can then be analyzed to determine how location affects bird size B Monitoring a group of cells in a laboratory to determine how growth rate is affected by exposure to varying temperatures C Using a simulation to determine which one from a set of chemicals causes the most significant change to local animal and plant life D Using specialized equipment to perform three-dimensional scans of complex proteins found in human cells
A
A group of students take hundreds of digital photos for a science project about weather patterns. Each photo file contains data representing the level of red, green, and blue for each pixel in the photo. The file also contains metadata that describes the date, time, and geographic location where the photo was taken. For which of the following goals would analyzing the metadata be more appropriate than analyzing the data? Select two answers. A Determining the chronological order of the photos B Determining the number of clouds in a particular photo C Determining whether a photo is suitable for printing in black-and-white D Determining whether two photos were taken at the same location on different days
A and D
A certain social media application is popular with people across the United States. The developers of the application are updating the algorithm used by the application to introduce a new feature that allows users of the application with similar interests to connect with one another. Which of the following strategies is LEAST likely to introduce bias into the application? A Enticing users to spend more time using the application by providing the updated algorithm for users who use the application at least ten hours per week B Inviting a random sample of all users to try out the new algorithm and provide feedback before it is released to a wider audience C Providing the updated algorithm only to teenage users to generate excitement about the new feature D Testing the updated algorithm with a small number of users in the city where the developers are located so that immediate feedback can be gathered
B
A program developed for a Web store represents customer account balances using a format that approximates real numbers. While testing the program, a software developer discovers that some values appear to be mathematically imprecise. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the imprecision? A The account balances are represented using a fixed number of bits, resulting in overflow errors. B The account balances are represented using a fixed number of bits, resulting in round-off errors. C The account balances are represented using an unlimited number of bits, resulting in overflow errors. D The account balances are represented using an unlimited number of bits, resulting in round-off errors.
B
A sorted list of numbers contains 128 elements. Which of the following is closest to the maximum number of list elements that can be examined when performing a binary search for a value in the list? A 2 B 8 C 64 D 128
B
A state government is attempting to reduce the digital divide. Which of the following activities has the greatest potential to contribute to the digital divide rather than reducing it? A Providing programs that focus on technology literacy at local libraries B Requiring applicants for government jobs to apply using an online platform C Working with technology companies to offer computing devices at discounted prices to individuals with reduced incomes D Working with telecommunications companies to build network infrastructure in remote areas
B
The author of an e-book publishes the e-book using a no-rights-reserved Creative Commons license. Which of the following best explains the consequences of publishing the book with this type of license? A The contents of the e-book will be encrypted and can only be decrypted by authorized individuals. B Individuals can freely distribute or use the contents of the e-book without needing to obtain additional permissions from the author. C Individuals will be legally prevented from sharing the e-book on a peer-to-peer network. D Individuals will be legally prevented from using excerpts from the e-book in another published work.
B
Which of the following best explains how an analog audio signal is typically represented by a computer? A An analog audio signal is measured as input parameters to a program or procedure. The inputs are represented at the lowest level as a collection of variables. B An analog audio signal is measured at regular intervals. Each measurement is stored as a sample, which is represented at the lowest level as a sequence of bits. C An analog audio signal is measured as a sequence of operations that describe how the sound can be reproduced. The operations are represented at the lowest level as programming instructions. D An analog audio signal is measured as text that describes the attributes of the sound. The text is represented at the lowest level as a string.
B
Which of the following best explains how data is transmitted on the Internet? A Data is broken into packets, which are all sent to the recipient in a specified order along the same path. B Data is broken into packets, which can be sent along different paths. C All data is transmitted in a single packet through a direct connection between the sender and the recipient. D Multiple data files are bundled together in a packet and transmitted together.
B
Which of the following statements about the Internet is true? A The Internet is a computer network that uses proprietary communication protocols. B The Internet is designed to scale to support an increasing number of users. C The Internet requires all communications to use encryption protocols. D The Internet uses a centralized system to determine how packets are routed.
B
A binary number is to be transformed by appending three 0s to the end of the number. For example, 11101 is transformed to 11101000. Which of the following correctly describes the relationship between the transformed number and the original number? A The transformed number is 3 times the value of the original number. B The transformed number is 4 times the value of the original number. C The transformed number is 8 times the value of the original number. D The transformed number is 1,000 times the value of the original number.
C
A store uses binary numbers to assign a unique binary sequence to each item in its inventory. What is the minimum number of bits required for each binary sequence if the store has between 75 and 100 items in its inventory? A 5 B 6 C 7 D 8
C
In which of the following situations would it be most appropriate to choose lossy compression over lossless compression? A Storing digital photographs to be printed and displayed in a large format in an art gallery B Storing a formatted text document to be restored to its original version for a print publication C Storing music files on a smartphone in order to maximize the number of songs that can be stored D Storing a video file on an external device in order to preserve the highest possible video quality
C
Which of the following best describes a direct benefit in using redundant routing on the Internet? A Redundancy enables messages to be transmitted with as few packets as possible. B Redundancy enables network devices to communicate with as few network connections as possible. C Redundancy often allows messages to be sent on the network even if some network devices or connections have failed. D Redundancy prevents network communications from being intercepted by unauthorized individuals.
C
Which of the following best exemplifies the use of multifactor authentication to protect an online banking system? A When a user resets a password for an online bank account, the user is required to enter the new password twice. B When multiple people have a shared online bank account, they are each required to have their own unique username and password. C After entering a password for an online bank account, a user must also enter a code that is sent to the user's phone via text message. D An online bank requires users to change their account passwords multiple times per year without using the same password twice.
C
Which of the following is NOT a benefit of collaborating to develop a computing innovation? A Collaboration can decrease the size and complexity of tasks required of individual team members. B Collaboration can make it easier to find and correct errors during the development process. C Collaboration eliminates the need to resolve differences of opinion. D Collaboration facilitates multiple perspectives in developing ideas.
C
A local router is configured to limit the bandwidth of guest users connecting to the Internet. Which of the following best explains the result of this configuration as compared to a configuration in which the router does not limit the bandwidth? A The amount of time it takes guest users to send and receive large files is likely to decrease. B The number of packets required for guest users to send and receive data is likely to decrease. C Guest users will be prevented from having fault-tolerant routing on the Internet. D Guest users will be restricted in the maximum amount of data that they can send and receive per second.
D
A scientist wants to investigate several problems. In which of the following situations is using a simulation LEAST suitable for solving a problem? A When a scientific study requires performing a large number of trials that need to be conducted very quickly B When it is considered acceptable to make simplifying assumptions when modeling a real-world object or phenomenon C When performing an experiment that would be too costly or dangerous to conduct in the real world D When the solution to the problem requires real-world data inputs that are continually measured at regular intervals.
D
Individuals sometimes attempt to remove personal information from the Internet. Which of the following is the LEAST likely reason the personal information is hard to remove? A Internet users with a copy of the information might redistribute the personal information without first seeking permission. B There are potentially an extremely large number of devices on the Internet that may contain the information. C Automated technologies collect information about Internet users without their knowledge. D All personal information is stored online using authentication measures, making the information hard to access.
D
Which of the following best explains how devices and information can be susceptible to unauthorized access if weak passwords are used? A Unauthorized individuals can deny service to a computing system by overwhelming the system with login attempts. B Unauthorized individuals can exploit vulnerabilities in compression algorithms to determine a user's password from their decompressed data. C Unauthorized individuals can exploit vulnerabilities in encryption algorithms to determine a user's password from their encryption key. D Unauthorized individuals can use data mining and other techniques to guess a user's password.
D
Which of the following best explains the ability to solve problems algorithmically? A Any problem can be solved algorithmically, though some algorithmic solutions may require humans to validate the results. B Any problem can be solved algorithmically, though some algorithmic solutions must be executed on multiple devices in parallel. C Any problem can be solved algorithmically, though some algorithmic solutions require a very large amount of data storage to execute. D There exist some problems that cannot be solved algorithmically using any computer.
D
Which of the following best explains the relationship between the Internet and the World Wide Web? A Both the Internet and the World Wide Web refer to the same interconnected network of devices. B The Internet is an interconnected network of data servers, and the World Wide Web is a network of user devices that communicates with the data servers. C The Internet is a local network of interconnected devices, and the World Wide Web is a global network that connects the local networks with each other. D The Internet is a network of interconnected networks, and the World Wide Web is a system of linked pages, programs, and files that is accessed via the Internet.
D
Which of the following is an example of a phishing attack? A Loading malicious software onto a user's computer in order to secretly gain access to sensitive information B Flooding a user's computer with e-mail requests in order to cause the computer to crash C Gaining remote access to a user's computer in order to steal user IDs and passwords D Using fraudulent e-mails in order to trick a user into voluntarily providing sensitive information
D
