WorksheetsHistory of Computers - Part 1: Pre-1940s
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 10mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
What is the modern definition of the word computer?
a)
A machine that makes calculations
b)
An electronic device that stores and processes data
c)
A person that makes calculations
d)
A device with sliding beads used for making calculations
2.
When did Babbage begin construction of the Difference Engine?
a)
1823
b)
1907
c)
1765
d)
1890
3.
What was the first calculator?
a)
ENIAC
b)
Stepped Reckoner
c)
TI-84
d)
Abacus
4.
On tabulating machines, metal pins would pass through holes in a punch card and make contact with a vial of _____ , completing an electrical circuit.
a)
Water
b)
Mercury
c)
Aluminum
d)
Electrons
5.
How long did it take to complete the 1880 Census?
a)
23 years
b)
14 weeks
c)
7 years
d)
3 years
6.
The Stepped Reckoner was the first device that could...
a)
Read punch cards
b)
Print calculations
c)
Add, Subtract, Multiply, & Divide
d)
Add decimals
7.
The Difference Engine was...
a)
mechanical
b)
electronic
c)
electromechanical
d)
None of these
8.
What was the definition for the word computer in the late 1800s?
a)
A machine that makes calculations
b)
An electronic device that makes calculations
c)
A person that makes calculations
d)
A device with sliding beads used for making calculations
9.
What was the first design of a machine that had memory and could be programmed?
a)
Hollerith's Tabulating Machine
b)
Difference Engine
c)
Harvard Mark I
d)
Analytical Engine
10.
The Tabulating Machine Company eventually became what company in 1923?
a)
Computing & Tabulating Inc.
b)
Tabulations 'R' Us
c)
Computing-Recording Company
d)
International Business Machines
11.
What calculating device was created by Gottfried Leibniz?
a)
Stepped Reckoner
b)
Havard Mark I
c)
Tabulating Machine
d)
Analytical Engine
12.
Hollerith's Tabulating Machine was the first to...
a)
Add, Subtract, Multiply, and Divide
b)
Use the Leibniz Wheel
c)
Use punch cards
d)
Be programmable
13.
Babbage never finished building his Difference Engine because...
a)
The British government pulled funding
b)
Precise metal parts were hard to get
c)
Babbage ran out of money
d)
All of these
14.
Hollerith founded the Tabulating Machine Company in what year?
a)
1823
b)
1896
c)
1908
d)
1944
15.
What gear inside the Stepped Reckoner was an important invention?
a)
The IBM Gear
b)
The Leibniz Wheel
c)
The Incremental Gear
d)
The Hollerith Drum
16.
What device was created to speed up the 1890 Census?
a)
Hollerith's Tabulating Machine
b)
ENIAC
c)
Stepped Reckoner
d)
None of these
17.
Was the Difference Engine ever built?
a)
Yes, it was fully built and worked!
b)
No, it was only partially built due to lack of money.
c)
Not fully built. Only part of the machine was made.
d)
It was just a design, never actually built.
18.
What was the definition for the word computer in the 1600s?
a)
A machine that makes calculations
b)
An electronic device that makes calculations
c)
A person that makes calculations
d)
A device with sliding beads used for making calculations
19.
Who is known as the Father of Computers?
a)
Herman Hollerith
b)
Charles Babbage
c)
Gottfried Leibniz
d)
John Fleming
20.
Hollerith's Tabulating machines were...
a)
mechanical
b)
electronic
c)
electromechanical
d)
None of these
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