Scenarios: Peripheral Connection Types

Camila is a help-desk tech setting up a guest speaker in a conference room. The speaker's laptop has only USB-C ports. The wall plate offers an HDMI input that runs to the ceiling projector, and a separate VGA cable coiled on the table. Camila grabs a USB-C to HDMI adapter from the supply cabinet and connects the laptop to the wall plate.

Why is the USB-C to HDMI adapter Camila chose appropriate for this setup?

• It converts an analog signal to a digital signal natively

• It supplies the projector with power over the cable

• It bridges a digital source port to a digital display input

• It downgrades the resolution to match older projectors

Answer explanation

Both the laptop's USB-C and the wall plate's HDMI carry digital video, so a simple adapter passes the signal through. No analog conversion is needed.

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Blooms Level: Apply

If Camila had used the coiled VGA cable instead of the wall plate, what added hardware would the USB-C laptop require?

• A standard USB-C charging brick rated for displays

• An active adapter that converts digital output to analog

• A passive gender changer between the two connectors

• A second HDMI cable run between laptop and cable

Answer explanation

VGA carries an analog signal while USB-C outputs digital. Crossing that boundary requires an active adapter with conversion circuitry, not a passive plug.

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Blooms Level: Analyze

Name one advantage of using the wall plate's HDMI path over the VGA cable for this presentation, and explain why.

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Blooms Level: Apply

Omar works at a school IT desk. A teacher brings in a tablet with a mini-HDMI port and asks to mirror it to a classroom monitor that has one full-size HDMI input and one VGA input. Omar checks the parts bin and finds a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable, a VGA to VGA cable, and a USB-A hub. He hands the teacher the mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.

What makes the mini-HDMI to HDMI cable the correct choice from Omar's parts bin?

• VGA inputs accept any cable with a matching shell shape

• The cable steps the signal down from analog to digital

• Both ends carry the same digital signal in different sizes

• Mini connectors require boosted power from a USB hub

Answer explanation

Mini-HDMI and full-size HDMI carry identical digital signals; only the connector size differs, so a simple cable works without any conversion.

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Blooms Level: Understand

Why was the VGA to VGA cable in the parts bin not a usable option for the teacher's tablet?

• The tablet has no analog video output to drive VGA

• VGA cables cannot reach across a typical classroom

• VGA inputs on monitors are disabled by default in schools

• The cable would need a USB-A hub to negotiate a signal

Answer explanation

The tablet only exposes a mini-HDMI (digital) port. With no analog output available, a plain VGA cable has nothing compatible to plug into on the tablet side.

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Blooms Level: Analyze

If the classroom monitor only had a VGA input available, list two items Omar would need to get the tablet's video onto that screen.

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Blooms Level: Apply