View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Shannon showed that it was theoretically possible to overcome any amount of signal noise by what action?

2. What word book by James Murray was first published in 1879?

3. The telegraph invented by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail was based on what function?

4. What was the small device intended to replace bulky vacuum tubes perfected by Bell Laboratories called?

5. What is a bit?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Claude Shannon create from examining the statistical makeup of the English language?

2. What culture developed the earliest known method of writing language with the use of pictures to represent things?

3. What was the purpose behind the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary?

4. Who invented the "first" telegraph?

5. Who first conceived the idea of a machine that could think and under what circumstances?

6. What were examples of the use of mathematics in the Babylonian culture?

7. Who developed the Principia Mathematica and what did it provide?

8. By reducing information to its elemental form, Claude Shannon opened up a new field of scientific inquiry that proved to have applications not only in communications, but in what other fields?

9. While working on plans for this "analytical engine," Babbage struck an acquaintance with what young woman?

10. What innovative device did Charles Babbage design and build?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the work of Charles Babbage. What was the purpose of his machine, the "difference engine" and how did it function? What contribution did the Babylonians make to mathematics and how was it relevant to knowledge sharing?

Essay Topic 2

Provides descriptions and the functionality of the "Differential Analyzer" and the "Principia Mathematica." How did early technological advancements lead to the merging of math and logic which lead to modern computing.

Essay Topic 3

Why did the telephone replace the telegraph as the most advanced form of communication? What advantages did the telephone have to the general public? Contrast the differences between the telephone an the telegraph.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 705 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample