2. What did Shannon call the units of information that he was able to measure in a message?
(a) Bits.
(b) Microns.
(c) Bytes.
(d) Data.

3. Eliminating noise in Shannon's model meant looking at language in terms of what factor?
(a) Probability.
(b) Possibility.
(c) Randomness.
(d) Frequency.

4. What culture grouped characters in categories such as tools, weapons, plants, animals, and buildings?
(a) The Inca Culture.
(b) The Chinese.
(c) The Italians.
(d) The Egyptians.

5. How did sub-Saharan African tribes communicate over long distances?
(a) By drums.
(b) By smoke signals.
(c) By messenger.
(d) By witchcraft.

6. Why did Lovelace publish her mathematical arguments anonymously?
(a) She wasn't sure her arguments were correct.
(b) She didn't want to appear more intelligent than Babbage.
(c) Women were not expected to engage in scientific or academic efforts.
(d) She didn't want to embarrass her father.

7. What was Claude Shannon fascinated with?
(a) Cryptograms.
(b) Electronics.
(c) Communications.
(d) Computing.

8. What did the written language provide that helped to progress the intellect of mankind?
(a) Education.
(b) Records.
(c) Permanence.
(d) Books.

9. Each square of Turing's imaginary machine would have what coding?
(a) A 0 or a 1.
(b) Circuitry.
(c) Programming.
(d) Relay switches.

10. Who first defined the concept of "bandwith"?
(a) Samuel Morse.
(b) Harry Nyquist.
(c) Albert Einstein.
(d) Alexander Graham Bell.

11. How did the drummers of Africa differentiate between similar words?
(a) The drummer added short descriptive phrases.
(b) The drummer had to let those receiving the message figure out the right words.
(c) The main drummer was assisted by another drummer.
(d) The drummer added special emphasis.

12. What code did Claude Shannon apply to relay switches which could either be open or closed?
(a) 1 and 100
(b) 0 and 1.
(c) 2 and 4
(d) .1 to .5

13. What new word did Claude Shannon, a mathematical researcher at Bell Labs, introduce in the in-house journal called "A Mathematical Theory of Communication"?
(a) The bit.
(b) The circuit.
(c) The transistor.
(d) The relay.

14. What were the benefits of the early logarithm tables?
(a) Made work easier.
(b) Eliminated calculations.
(c) Cut down on errors and allowed for quicker calculations.
(d) Provided solutions.

15. All known alphabets are based on the original alphabet that emerged about 1500 B.C. in what area?
(a) South America.
(b) Egypt.
(c) Asia.
(d) The Mediterranean region.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Shannon able to theoretically compute by measuring a message in bits? By measuring information in bits, he could theoretically compute the maximum amount of information that could be transmitted through a given channel.

2. In what field was Charles Babbage an early pioneer?

3. In his graduate paper, to what did Claude Shannon apply the binary logic of George Boole?

4. Why did businessmen immediately take to the telegraph?

5. What was the main form of communication in the late 1940s?

(see the answer keys)

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