Arizona State University - CIS 235 Midterm Exam Review. Latest 2021.Chapter 1 – Intro to IS, IS Jobs
1. What is an Information System?
Components
... [Show More] interact to produce information
2. What are the five components of Information Systems? (five component framework)
Hardware, software, data, procedures, people
3. Which one of the 5 components of IS serves as a bridge between the human side and the
computer side?
Data
4. Why are Information Systems created?
To secure, store, and manipulate big data
To improve organizational communication
To automate processes
To make faster and more accurate business decisions
5. Give an example for each of the five component of IS. Which component do the following
examples belong to? Words and sentences? Microsoft Excel? Keyboard? Monitor?
Hardware: Computer mouse
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Data: Information in a database
Procedures:
People:
6. What is the difference between IT and IS?
IT refers to any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and to
support the information and information-processing needs of an organization.
IS collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information for a specific
purpose
7. Know the various sizes of data
Value Symbol Name
1024 KB Kilobyte
10242 MB Megabyte
10243 GB Gigabyte
10244
TB Terabyte
10245
PB Petabyte
10246
EB Exabyte
8. What is Moore’s Law? What is the practical impact of Moore’s Law?
“The number of transistors per square inch on an integrated chip doubles every 18 months”
Cost of data processing and data storage is essentially zero
9. Why does everyone in an organization need to know about their IT department?
Because everyone in an organization will have interaction with IT at some point within their
jobs.
10. What are some of the primary responsibilities of an IT Department?
11. What is data vs. information? How do you make decisions using data? What is knowledge?
o Data in context and arranged is information
o When you understand information, it becomes knowledge
12. What characteristics of data are necessary for “quality information”?
o Timeliness
o Location
o Form
o Validity
Technology Guide 1 and 2 – Hardware, Software
1. How do computers work?
Computers consist of various devices, generally called hardware
Computers process data using sets of instructions called programs
Programs guide computers through orderly sets of calculations and other actions that are
specified by people known as programmers
These programs that run on a computer are referred to as software
2. What is the difference between hardware and software?
Hardware- Hardware is the physical equipment of the computer
Software- A set of computer programs that enable the hardware to process the data
3. What is a binary digit?
(aka bit) A 1 or a 0, the only data that a CPU can process
4. Explain, at a high level, some of the basic components of a “computer”
Input: Receiving- obtains info (data and computer programs) from input devices and places it at
the disposal of other units so it can be processed.
o Ex: keyboard, mouse
Output: Shipping- takes information that the computer has processed and places it on various
output devices to make it available outside the computer
o Ex: printer, computer screen
Control Unit (aka CPU): Administrative- coordinates and supervises the operation of the other
sections
Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU): Manufacturing- performs calculations such as addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division
Main Memory: On-Site Warehousing- retains information that has been entered through the
input unit, making it immediately available for processing when needed
o Information in the memory unit is volatile
o Ex: RAM
Secondary Memory: Off-Site Warehousing- the long-term, high-capacity warehousing section [Show Less]