Microsoft Digital Literacy

Computer Basics
Test Item File Answer Key
Lesson 1: Introduction to Computers
Objective 1.2: Identify the main parts of a computer.
1. Angelina buys a new printer. She wants to connect it to her home computer.
Which of the following parts of the computer can she use to connect the printer to the
computer? Select two.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Graphics card
Modem
FireWire
Parallel port (Correct Answer)
Universal serial bus (USB) port (Correct Answer)

2. Jim creates a science project on his school computer. The project includes some
documents and two graphics. He wants to work on these files on his home computer.
Jim wants to use a storage device to save the project files and take them home.
Which of the following devices will he use to save the files?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Monitor
Compact disc (CD) (Correct Answer)
Printer
Speaker

3. Bob uses his computer to create his monthly household budget.

Which part of his computer will perform the calculations for his budget?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Monitor
Digital versatile disc (DVD)
Central processing unit (CPU) (Correct Answer)
Hard disk

4. The computers in your office are connected to a network.

Which part of the computer is used to connect the computer to the network?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Monitor
Network interface card (NIC) (Correct Answer)
Headphone
Memory

Objective 1.3: Identify the steps for starting and shutting down a computer.
5. You want to use your computer to create a document.
When you turn on the computer, which of the following software will start first?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Operating system (Correct Answer)

Word processor
Calculator
Media player

6. Sam wants to use his computer to create a presentation for his office meeting.
In what order will Sam perform the following steps when he starts working with the
computer to create his presentation?
List the steps below in the order in which Sam will perform them.
Steps:
A. Log on to the computer.
B. Create the presentation.
C. Turn on the computer.
D. Save the changes.
E. Start the presentation program.
Correct Order:
C. Turn on the computer.
A. Log on to the computer.
E. Start the presentation program.
B. Create the presentation.
D. Save the changes.

7. Sally completes all of her office tasks for the day and is ready to leave for home.
List the steps below in the order in which Sally will perform them to securely turn off the
computer.
Steps:
A. Close the program.
B. Save her work.
C. Turn off the monitor.
D. Log off from the network.
E. Shut down the computer.
Correct Order:
B. Save her work.
A. Close the program.
D. Log off from the network.
E. Shut down the computer.
C. Turn off the monitor.
8. Your niece does not know how to start Microsoft Paint. She asks you for help. How
will you help her to start the program?
List the steps below in the order in which you will perform them to start Paint.
Steps:
A. Click All Programs.
B. Click Paint.
C. Point to Accessories.
D. Click Start.
Correct Order:
D. Click Start.
A. Click All Programs.
C. Point to Accessories.
B. Click Paint.
9. You create a business report on your office computer. You want to take a break for five
minutes.
Before you leave your computer, what will you do to ensure that your recent changes are
not lost?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Shut down the computer.

Turn off the monitor.
Save the report. (Correct Answer)
Print the report.

Objective 1.4: Identify the different keys on a keyboard.

10. Nick buys a new computer. He wants to know which group of keys on the keyboard
he can use to move the insertion point up, down, right, and left in a document.
Which of the following groups of keys will Nick use to move the insertion point?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Navigation (Correct Answer)

Function
ENTER or RETURN
Alphanumeric

11. Julia creates a document by using a word-processing program. She wants to type text
in a new line in the document.
Which of the following groups of keys will Julia use to create a new line?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ENTER or RETURN (Correct Answer)

Function
Alphanumeric
Command

12. You type an e-mail message. You want to erase some redundant text from the message
before you send it to your manager.
You select the text that you want to erase. Which of the following keys on the keyboard
can you use to remove the unwanted text that you selected? Select two.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

PAGE UP
DELETE (Correct Answer)
SHIFT
BACKSPACE (Correct Answer)
ALT
CTRL

13. You type a job application by using a word-processing program.

Which of the following groups of keys on the keyboard will you use to add punctuation
marks in the application?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Special (Correct Answer)

Command
Navigation
Function

14. Angelina wants to write a letter to her friend by using a word-processing program.
Which of the following groups of keys will she use to type the name of her friend in the
letter?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Alphanumeric (Correct Answer)

Numeric
Function
Command

Objective 1.5: Perform different tasks by using a mouse.

15. You create a graphic in Microsoft Paint, and you want to change parts of the graphic.
Which of the following input devices will you use to draw lines and other shapes in
Paint?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Keyboard
Web cam
Microphone
Mouse (Correct Answer)

Lesson 2: Common Computer Terminology

Objective 2.1: Identify the primary hardware components of a computer.
16. You buy your favorite music CD and want to listen to it on your computer. When you
reach home, you see your sister is sleeping in the computer room.
Which of the following hardware components will you use to listen to the CD without
disturbing your sister?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Web cam
Speaker
Microphone
Headphones (Correct Answer)

17. Samantha wants to use her computer to record her voice.

Which hardware component of the computer will she use to do this?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Speaker
Microphone (Correct Answer)
Headphones
Scanner

18. You are paying for your visit to a doctor in a hospital. You ask for a payment receipt.
Which hardware component can produce your payment receipt on paper?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Microphone
Display adapter
Scanner
Printer (Correct Answer)

19. You want to type text to create a story in a word-processing program.

Which of the following hardware components will you use to do this?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Keyboard (Correct Answer)

Printer
Modem
Web cam

20. Julia creates a project that includes several illustrations. She draws the illustrations in
a notebook. She needs to capture the illustrations from the notebook and save them on her
computer.
Which of the following hardware components will she use to capture the illustrations?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Microphone
Modem
Speaker
Scanner (Correct Answer)

Objective 2.2: Explain an operating system.

21. Betty prepares for her computer exam. She does not understand the concept of an
operating system. She calls you for help.
How will you define "operating system" for Betty?
A.
B.
C.
D.

An electronic device that is connected to your computer

A storage device in your computer
A program that controls and manages the computer (Correct Answer)
A circuit board that connects the input, output, and processing devices

22. Bill buys a new computer that has an operating system on it. He wants to know about
the operating system and its functions.
Which of the following explanations will you use to describe the functions of an
operating system to Bill? Select two.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Takes pictures
Manages hardware and software (Correct Answer)
Scans images
Provides a user interface (Correct Answer)
Prints documents

Objective 2.3: Explain programs and data.

23. Ken wants to know about the term program.
Which of the following explanations will you use to explain the term program?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Physical components of a computer system

A piece of information
Instructions that make hardware work (Correct Answer)
Rules that enable computers to connect with one another

24. You notice that your friend is using a calculator on his computer.
In which of the following categories does the calculator belong?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Program (Correct Answer)

Hardware
Operating system
Data

25. You open Microsoft Windows Media Player on your computer to play some music.
Windows Media Player prompts you to provide a music file as input.
How will you categorize this music file?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Operating system
Hardware
Data (Correct Answer)
Application

26. You create a monthly expense report on your computer by using a spreadsheet
program. You then save this report on a floppy disk.
Which of the following options represents data in this case?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Calculator
Report (Correct Answer)
Floppy disk
Spreadsheet program

27. You list the birthdays of your friends in Microsoft Notepad.

What type of data do you enter to make this list?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Audio
Video
Graphic
Text (Correct Answer)

Objective 2.4: Describe a network and the types of networks.

28. All of the computers in your office are connected to a network. Several devices are
connected to your computer, and you want to share the devices with the other computers
on the network.
Which of the following devices can you share with other computers on the network?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Headphones
Printer (Correct Answer)
Mouse
Microphone

29. Your school has 20 computers in your computer lab. All of the computers in this lab
are connected by using cables.
What type of a network does your computer lab have?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Local area network (LAN) (Correct Answer)

Wide area network (WAN)
Satellite
Virtual

30. Your uncle sets up a new office that includes 10 computers. He wants the computers
and their associated devices to be linked together so that they share files and resources,
such as printers and scanners.
What is this arrangement of computers called?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Network (Correct Answer)

Internet
Server
Workstation

31. Lisa starts a small business. She wants to set up a computer network in her new office
so that her employees can share documents. She needs to identify the components that are
required for the network.
Which of the following components does Lisa need to form the network? Select two.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Web cam
Two or more workstations (Correct Answer)
Communication channel (Correct Answer)
Scanner
CD

Objective 2.5: Explain the terms Internet, World Wide Web and intranet.
32. Your grandfather watches you working on your computer at home. He recently heard
about the Internet and wants to know what it is.
How will you define the Internet to him?
A.
B.
C.
D.

A program installed on a computer

An electronic device for printing documents
A worldwide collection of various computer networks (Correct Answer)
A power backup source

33. Nina works on medical research. She finds some useful information about the causes
of a disease. Nina wants to publish her findings so that people around the world can
access it and benefit from it.
Which of the following options must Nina use to publish her findings on the World Wide
Web?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Internet (Correct Answer)

Ethernet
Local area network (LAN)
Metropolitan area network (MAN)

34. You are using your computer at home to chat with your friend. Your friend lives in
another country.
Which network enables the transfer of messages to your friend's computer?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Intranet
Internet (Correct Answer)
Metropolitan area network (MAN)
Ethernet

Lesson 3: Computer Performance and Features

Objective 3.1: Compare the features of different types of computers.
35. You will go camping next week. You want to bring information about the location that
you found on the Internet. You want to use a small portable handheld device to carry this
information.
Which of the following devices will you use?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Laptop computer
Personal digital assistant (Correct Answer)
Desktop computer
Microsoft Tablet PC

Objective 3.2: Explain the role of memory.

36. You need to create a report that shows the progression of memory units from smallest
to largest. The following list provides the basic memory units of measure that you need to
complete the report.
Arrange the units of measure in the following list in the order of their size, starting with
the smallest unit at the top of the list.
Values:
A. Megabyte
B. Terabyte
C. Bit
D. Gigabyte
E. Kilobyte
Correct Order:
C. Bit
E. Kilobyte
A. Megabyte
D. Gigabyte
B. Terabyte
37. Adventure Works is an advertising company that uses hundreds of high-quality
photographs every week. The company stores all these photographs on a computer.
What memory size will you choose for the hard disk of the computer that stores all these
photographs?
A.
B.
C.
D.

100 Kilobytes
100 Megabytes
100 Gigabytes (Correct Answer)
100 Bits

38. You modify a document that is saved on your computer.

Where are the changes stored until you save the document?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Random access memory (RAM) (Correct Answer)

Read-only memory (ROM)
Compact disc (CD)
Floppy disk

39. Many computer devices use a form of volatile memory that cannot hold data after the
device is turned off.

Which of following options is an example of volatile memory?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Flash memory
Hard disk
Compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)
Random access memory (RAM) (Correct Answer)

Objective 3.3: Explain the basics of computer performance.

40. Your friend sends you a computer game. After installing the game on your computer,
you realize that it plays very slowly. You know that the CPU speed and hard disk for your
computer are the same as they are in your friend's computer.
What could be the reason for this slow performance?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Your computer has less random access memory. (RAM). (Correct Answer)
You have a slow Internet connection.
Your friend has an advanced keyboard.
Your friend has an advanced mouse.

41. You open five programs at the same time on your computer. After opening the
programs, you realize that the speed of the computer is considerably slower.
What is the reason for the slowness of your computer?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Nonfunctional keyboard
Nonfunctional mouse
Insufficient random access memory (RAM) (Correct Answer)
Low monitor speed

42. You see your friend playing a game on his computer. You want to play the same game
on your computer, so you borrow the game CD from him. However, the game runs
slowly on your computer.
Which of the following components will you change to increase the speed of your
computer?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Random access memory (RAM) (Correct Answer)

Monitor
Keyboard
Universal serial bus (USB) port

Objective 3.4: Describe the types of productivity programs and their uses.
43. Your parents need to plan the budget for next month. To do this, they record the daily
expenses of the current month and then calculate the total expenses for various
categories, such as groceries, medical expenses, and clothes.
Which of the following programs will they use to maintain the expense records and
calculate the total of each category?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Publishing program
Spreadsheet program (Correct Answer)
Database program
Presentation program

44. You visit Woodgrove Bank to ask about your account balance. The teller gives you
details within a short span of time.
Which of the following programs does the bank use?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Publishing program
Graphics program
Database program (Correct Answer)
Presentation program

45. Your friend sends you a photograph of his son. You want to enlarge the photograph.
Which program type will you use to make this modification?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Presentation program
Graphics program (Correct Answer)
Word-processing program
Spreadsheet program

46. Your colleague wants to quit her job. She wants to type her resignation letter.
What kind of program will she use to do this?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Presentation program
Graphics program
Word-processing program (Correct Answer)
Spreadsheet program

Objective 3.5: Describe the types of communication programs and their uses.
47. Your brother wants to know about e-mail. He asks you to explain simply the use of
sending e-mail messages.
Which of the following options is a benefit of e-mail that you will mention?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Exchange text and pictures with people. (Correct Answer)

Send cash to people.
Send couriers to people.
Scan pictures.

48. Your friend is in another part of the world, and you want to have a real-time
conversation with him.
Which of the following options will help you do this?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Presentation program
Courier service
Postal service
Instant messaging (Correct Answer)

49. You are communicating with your friend by using instant messaging. Both computers
have a microphone and a Web cam.
Which of the following options are possible? Select three.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

Print documents.
View your friend during the communication. (Correct Answer)
Send a fax
Hear your friend during the communication. (Correct Answer)
Scan images
Send photographs. (Correct Answer)

50. Sam is traveling and wants to keep in touch with you over the Internet. He wants to
interact with you in real time.
Which of the following programs will let the two of you communicate in real time?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Presentation program
Chat program (Correct Answer)
Word-processing program
Spreadsheet program

Lesson 4: Computer Operating Systems

Objective 4.1: Explain the common functions of an operating system.
51. Joe uses Microsoft Windows Vista on his office computer. He wants to control the
access rights to his computer. Therefore, he specifies a user name and password to log on
to the computer.
Which of the following processes does the operating system perform to confirm his logon
information?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Computation
Initialization
Authentication (Correct Answer)
Authorization

Objective 4.2: Identify the components of the Windows Vista GUI.

52. Your friend is on a holiday trip. She sends you an e-mail message that includes
photographs of the places that she visited. You want to use one of these photographs as
wallpaper on your computer screen.
Which part of the Microsoft Windows Vista user interface will display the wallpaper?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Title bar
Desktop (Correct Answer)
Taskbar
System tray

53. You are using Microsoft Windows Vista on your office computer. You need to go
to a meeting soon and want to check the exact time on your computer.
Where will the Microsoft Windows Vista user interface display this information?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Scroll bar
Taskbar
System tray (Correct Answer)
Start menu

54. You have Microsoft Windows Vista installed on your computer. You are working
on a document in Microsoft Office Word 2007. You open your Web browser to find

information on the Internet. After you copy some information on an Internet site, you
want to return to your document to paste the information that you copied.
Which components of the Microsoft Windows Vista user interface will you use to
return to your document?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Word button on the taskbar (Correct Answer)

Word command on the All Programs menu
Word icon on the desktop
Word option in the Run command

55. You join a new office. Your manager asks you to verify that Microsoft Office
Outlook 2007 is installed on your computer. You want to open the Programs menu to
check this.
Which component of the Microsoft Windows Vista user interface will you use to open
the Programs menu?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Start button (Correct Answer)

System tray
Taskbar
Scroll bar

Objective 4.3: Explain the options that are available in the Windows Vista Start Menu.
56. You want to open your computers default e-mail program to check your mails.
Which of the following sections in the Start menu will you use?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Top-right
Top-left (Correct Answer)
Middle
Bottom-right

57. You want to change the date, time and time zone for your computer.
Which of the following options in the Start menu will you use?
A.
Connect To
B. Control Panel (Correct Answer)
C Network
D.
Computer
Objective 4.4: Work with the Windows Vista GUI within programs.

58. Ken opens a document that is named ProductList.

Which of the following components of the open window will display this name?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Menu bar
Toolbar
Title bar (Correct Answer)
Status bar

Objective 4.5: Manage files and folders in Windows Explorer.

59. You want to open the file that you worked on last.
In Microsoft Windows Explorer, which view will you choose to help you find the most
recently saved file on your computer?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Icons
Thumbnails
List
Details (Correct Answer)

60. You select a file that you want to move from its original folder to a new folder.
Which of the following commands will you choose from the Organize menu in this case?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Clear
Replace
Cut (Correct Answer)
Delete

61. You saved a file on drive C of your computer. You want to find and open the file.
Which of the following programs will you use to find the saved file?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Spreadsheet program
Microsoft Windows Explorer (Correct Answer)
Word-processing program
Notepad

Objective 4.6: Perform basic file operations.

62. You start Microsoft Paint and create a graphic. On the File menu, you click Save to
save the file, and you do not change the location option that appears in the dialog box.
In which folder will the file be saved by default when you perform this basic operation to
save your file?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Documents
Computer
Desktop
Pictures (Correct Answer)

63. You change a document that is saved on your computer by cutting text from the
document.
What happens to the text when you perform this file operation?
A.
B.
C.
D.

It is permanently deleted.
It goes to the Recycle Bin.
It goes to the Clipboard. (Correct Answer)
It remains in its original location.

64. You create an article in Microsoft Office Word 2007. You save the document on your
desktop by using the name Business.
In which of the following file formats will the document be saved?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Business.docx (Correct Answer)

Business.jpg
Business.exe
Business.wma

Lesson 5: Career Opportunities

Objective 5.1: Describe how computers have become a central part of everyday life.
65. You have a new computer and an Internet connection.
Which of the following activities can you perform by using your computer? (Select
three.)
A.
B.
C.

Withdraw cash from your bank account.

Check your bank account balance. (Correct Answer)
Buy clothes. (Correct Answer)

D.
E.
F.

Fuel your car.

Listen to music. (Correct Answer)
Service your car.