- 1. Early counting and calculating tools. People used fingers, stones, tally sticks, and the abacus to perform arithmetic. Writing systems and numbers were developed during this period.
A) Electromechanical Age (1840 – 1940):
B) Pre-Mechanical Age (3000 BC – 1450 AD):
C) Mechanical Age (1450 – 1840):
- 2. The invention of mechanical calculators, gears, and early computing machines. Key developments included slide rules, mechanical calculators, and the Jacquard loom which used punch cards for pattern weaving — an early precursor to programming.
A) Electromechanical Age (1840 – 1940)
B) Electronic Age (1940 – Present)
C) Mechanical Age (1450 – 1840)
- 3. The use of electricity and relay switches in computing. Early telephone switchboards, tabulating machines, and electromechanical computers emerged. Binary mathematics (Boolean algebra) was developed by George Boole.
A) Mechanical Age (1450 – 1840)
B) Electromechanical Age (1840 – 1940)
C) Electronic Age (1940 – Present)
- 4. The invention of the vacuum tube, transistor, integrated circuit, and microprocessor. This age brought us the first electronic computers, personal computers, laptops, and smartphones.
A) Pre- mechanical Age
B) Mechanical Age
C) Electronic Age (1940 – Present)
- 5. Earliest known calculating tool. A frame with beads that slide on rods, used for arithmetic operations. Inventor with Sumerians/Chinese
- 2700 BC
A) Napier's Bones
B) Slide Rule
C) Abacus
- 6. Numbered rods used for multiplication and division by aligning rods to see results.1617
A) Napier's Bones
B) Slide Rule
C) Pascal's Calculator
- 7. 1622
Logarithmic scales for multiplication, division, and scientific calculations. Used for over 300 years.
A) Slide Rule
B) Abacus
C) Napier's Bones
- 8. 1642
First mechanical adding machine for addition and subtraction using gears and wheels.
A) Jacquard Loom
B) Difference Engine
C) Pascal's Calculator
- 9. 1673
Improved calculator that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Introduced the stepped drum mechanism.
A) Jacquard Loom
B) Difference Engine
C) Leibniz Wheel
- 10. 1804
Used punch cards to control weaving patterns — a direct precursor to computer programming.
A) Hollerith Tabulating Machine
B) Analytical Engine
C) Jacquard Loom
- 11. 1822
Automatic calculating machine for polynomial functions. Never fully built in Babbage's lifetime.
A) Abacus
B) Difference Engine
C) Analytical Engine
- 12. 1837
Concept of a general-purpose programmable computer with memory, processor, and input/output. Designed by Babbage, programmed by Ada Lovelace.
A) Difference Engine
B) Analytical Engine
C) Pascal's Calculator
- 13. 1890
Used punch cards to tabulate the US census data in just 2.5 years. Company later became IBM.
A) Hollerith Tabulating Machine
B) Analytical Engine
C) Pascal's Calculator
- 14. Technology: Vacuum tubes were used for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory.
Characteristics: Very large (room-sized), expensive, generated enormous heat, consumed huge amounts of electricity, and frequently broke down.
Programming: Machine language only (binary code).
Examples: ENIAC (30 tons, 18,000 vacuum tubes), UNIVAC (first commercial computer), EDVAC, EDSAC.
A) First Generation (1940–1956) — Vacuum Tubes
B) Second Generation (1956–1963) — Transistors
C) Third Generation (1964–1971) — Integrated Circuits
- 15. Technology: Transistors replaced vacuum tubes.
Characteristics: Smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient, and more reliable than first-generation computers.
Programming: Assembly language and early high-level languages like COBOL and FORTRAN.
Examples: IBM 1401, IBM 7090, UNIVAC 1107.
A) Third Generation (1964–1971) — Integrated Circuits
B) Fourth Generation (1971–Present) — Microprocessors
C) Second Generation (1956–1963) — Transistors
- 16. Technology: Integrated circuits (ICs) — multiple transistors on a single silicon chip.
Characteristics: Even smaller, faster, more affordable, and more efficient. Keyboards and monitors replaced punch cards as input/output devices.
Programming: High-level languages flourished: BASIC, Pascal, C, and operating systems emerged.
Examples: IBM System/360, PDP-8, Honeywell 6000 series.
A) Third Generation (1964–1971) — Integrated Circuits
B) First Generation (1940–1956) — Vacuum Tubes
C) Fifth Generation (Present & Beyond) — AI & Quantum Computing
- 17. Technology: Microprocessors (CPU on a single chip). Intel 4004 was the first.
Characteristics: Personal computers became affordable and widely available. Laptops, smartphones, and tablets emerged.
Programming: GUI-based operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux) and modern programming languages (Java, Python, JavaScript, C++).
Examples: IBM PC, Apple Macintosh, Intel-based PCs, smartphones.
A) Fifth Generation (Present & Beyond) — AI & Quantum Computing
B) Fourth Generation (1971–Present) — Microprocessors
C) Third Generation (1964–1971) — Integrated Circuits
- 18. Technology: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, neural networks, natural language processing.
Characteristics: Computers that can learn, reason, and make decisions. Parallel processing and quantum bits (qubits) allow solving problems impossible for classical computers.
Applications: Self-driving cars, medical diagnostics, voice assistants (Siri, Alexa), facial recognition, language translation.
Examples: IBM Watson, Google Quantum AI, GPT models, autonomous vehicles.
A) Fifth Generation (Present & Beyond) — AI & Quantum Computing
B) Second Generation (1956–1963) — Transistors
C) First Generation (1940–1956) — Vacuum Tubes
- 19. Proposed the Universal Machine concept (Turing Machine). Created the Bombe to crack the Enigma code during WWII. Father of theoretical computer science and AI.
A) Bill Gates
B) Ada Lovelace
C) Alan Turning
- 20. Designed the Difference Engine (1822) and Analytical Engine (1837) — the first concept of a programmable general-purpose computer.
A) Johnvon Newman
B) Tim Berners Lee
C) Charles Babbage
- 21. Wrote the first algorithm intended for execution on a machine (the Analytical Engine). Recognized as the world's first computer programmer.
A) Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
B) Tim Berners Lee
C) Ada Lovelace
- 22. Developed the stored-program concept (Von Neumann Architecture) where instructions and data share the same memory — the foundation of most modern computers.
A) Johnvon Newman
B) Alan Turning
C) Ada Lovelace
- 23. Developed the first compiler (A-0). Pioneered COBOL. Helped popularize the concept of machine-independent programming languages.
A) Tim Berners Lee
B) Grace Hopper
C) Bill Gates
- 24. Invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989 — forever changing how we access and share information.
A) Charles Babbage
B) Ada Lovelace
C) Tim Berners Lee
- 25. Co-founded Apple and popularized the personal computer with the Apple II and Macintosh. Jobs drove innovation in smartphones (iPhone) and tablets (iPad).
A) Charles Babbage
B) Steve Jobs $ Steve Wozniak
C) Bill Gates
- 26. Co-founded Microsoft. Developed MS-DOS and Windows operating systems, bringing personal computing to millions of homes and businesses.
A) Bill Gates
B) Johnvon Newman
C) Alan Turning
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