Social Science - Quiz 09 - Pg. 23-24

Who designed the architecture of the Manchester Baby?

• Frederic Williams

• Maurice Wilkes

• John von Neumann

• Max Newman

• J. Presper Eckert

Answer explanation

The Manchester Baby used the von Neumann architecture outlined in von Neumann’s First Draft. [23,1]

Max Newman contributed to Great Britain’s World War II effort as a(n)

• aeronautical engineer

• codebreaker

• satellite imagery scientist

• radio technician

• firing table computer

Answer explanation

Max Newman, like many other British computer scientists, first worked with electronic computing devices during the war as a codebreaker. [23,1]

Which subject did Max Newman teach?

• physics

• electrical engineering

• mathematics

• computer science

• mechanical engineering

Answer explanation

Before working on the Manchester Baby, Max Newman was a mathematics professor at Manchester University. [23,1]

At which university did Max Newman teach immediately following World War II?

• Oxford University

• Manchester University

• Durham University

• Imperial College London

• Cambridge University

Answer explanation

Max Newman was a professor at Manchester University. The university would give its name to two of Newman’s computers, the Manchester Baby and the Manchester Mark 1. [23,1]

Max Newman believed that the MAIN technical impediment to creating a stored-program computer was the

• control unit

• power supply

• logic unit

• instruction representation

• memory system

Answer explanation

Max Newman believed the primary technical barrier preventing a stored-program computer was creating reliable memory storage. [23,1]

Which of the following people worked with Max Newman on the Manchester Baby?

• Herman Goldstine

• John Mauchly

• Maurice Wilkes

• J. Presper Eckert

• Frederic Williams

Answer explanation

Max Newman consulted with Frederic Williams to create a memory system for the Manchester Baby. Williams created the Williams tube, a type of cathode-ray tube. [23,1]

Which type of memory did the Manchester Baby have?

• cathode-ray tube

• magnetic drum

• magnetic tape drive

• core memory

• delay line

Answer explanation

Frederic Williams created the Williams tube, a type of cathode-ray tube, for the Manchester Baby. [23,1]

How did the Manchester “Baby” get its name?

• The project was abandoned in its early stages.

• “Baby” was a wartime codename for the project.

• It had immature, restricted capabilities.

• It was the first ever general-purpose computer.

• It only operated for a short time before later computers made it obsolete.

Answer explanation

The Manchester Baby was somewhat of a proof of concept for stored-program computers and had very basic functionality. [23,2]

The world’s first stored-program computer was the

• ENIAC

• Manchester Baby

• EDVAC

• EDSAC

• Manchester Mark 1

Answer explanation

Although it was severely limited technically, the Manchester Baby was the first working stored-program computer. [23,2]

At which university did Maurice Wilkes work?

• Cambridge University

• Manchester University

• Oxford University

• Imperial College London

• Durham University

Answer explanation

Maurice Wilkes was a physicist at Cambridge University, where he would eventually construct the EDSAC. [23,3]