MASTERS DEGREE & PG COLLEGE SANGAREDDY

BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS

(Common For All Streams 2nd Semester B.Sc/B.Com/BBA)

Important Questions with Answers

Long Answer Questions

Q1. Discuss in detail about components of a computer

system

Ans:
A computer system contains the following components:
1. Input Unit
2. CPU
3. Output Unit

1. Input Unit

All the data received by the computer goes through the input unit.
The input unit contains different devices like a mouse, keyboard, scanner,
etc. The computer accepts the raw data in binary form. It then processes
the data and produces the desired output.The purpose of input unit is to
connect the user and the computer.

2. CPU – Central Processing Unit

Central Processing Unit or the CPU, is the brain of the computer. The CPU
conducts all the arithmetical and logical operations in the computer.
Components of CPU
a. Control Unit
b. Arithmetic and Logical Unit
c. Memory Unit
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 a. CU – Control Unit
The control unit is the controller of all the activities/tasks. It
checks whether the program is executed correctly or not. It controls the
input and output devices.

b. ALU – Arithmetic Logic Unit

It performs Arithmetic and Logical operations. Performs the basic
arithmetical operation like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division.
The unit is also responsible for performing logical operations like
AND, OR, Equal to, Less than, etc.

c. Memory Unit
It contains all the data stored on the computer. It provides the
data to the computer whenever necessary. The memory unit works in
sync with the CPU.
There are two types of computer memory-
Primary memory –The data stored in this is temporary. It can get
erased once the power is switched off. Therefore, is also called
temporary memory or main memory.
Secondary memory –For permanent storage purposes, secondary
memory is used. It is also called permanent memory. The hard disk is
an example of secondary memory. Even in a power failure data does
not get erased easily.

3. Output
All the information sent to the computer once processed is received
by the user through the output unit. Devices like printers, monitors, projectors,
etc. all come under the output unit.
The output unit displays the data either in the form of a soft copy or a hard
copy. The printer is for the hard copy. The monitor is for the display.

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Q2. Explain Input, Output, Storage devices of a computer
System
Ans:
Input Devices: Input Devices are used by the computer to accept input from
the user. These devices accept the input and provide it to the computer. They
convert the high-level language input into machine level language.
Some of the input devices are
a. Keyboard
b. Mouse
c. Scanner
d. Microphone

a. Keyboard:
It is used to provide text input to the computer. It contains the
following types of keys
1. Alphabets ( A,B,C…….)
2. Numbers (1,2,3………)
3. Functional Keys (F1, F2, F3…….)
4. Navigational Keys (UP, Down, Left, Right)
5. Combinational keys (ALT, SHIFT, CTRL)
b. Mouse:
It is an input device used to point anywhere on the monitor. It is
controlled using an arrow symbol called as cursor. Every mouse
contains three buttons LEFT CLICK, RIGHT CLICK and
SCROLLER. There are two types of mouse:
1. Mechanical Mouse
2. Optical Mouse
c. Scanner:
It is an input device which converts hard copies of documents into
soft copies. It is used to send documents as email or save any
document on the computer.
There are two types of Scanner
1. Flat bed scanner
2. Automatic Document Feeder.
d. Microphone:
It is an input device used to accept audio input by the computer.
Microphone is used to record voice, songs, audio and store it in the
computer. It is also used to conduct video conference and audio
conference.

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2. Output Devices: Output Devices are used by the computer to provide
output to the user. They convert machine level language into high level
language.
Some of the Output devices are
a. Monitor
b. Printer
c. Speaker
d. Projector

a. Monitor: Monitor is an output device which is also known as VDU i.e.

Visual Display Unit. It forms images using tiny dots, called pixels that
are arranged in a rectangular form.
Types of Monitor:
1. Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT): CRT’s Screen display is made up of
small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels the
better the image clarity or resolution. CRT is the large bulky
sized monitor. It has high power requirement.
2. Liquid crystal display(LCD): LCD contains liquid crystals in
between two plates of the screen. The plates are made by
either glass or plastic. Liquid crystals are charged
electronically to display the content.
3. Light emitting diode(LED): LED contains multiple small bulbs.
The contents are displayed by turning the bulbs “on” and “off”.
Initially it was used only for simple digital displays like in
calculator, digital watch, etc. At present it is also used in
television, desktop PC, laptop, etc

b. Printer: Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on

paper. The printed output produced by a printer is called a hard copy,
which is the physical version of an electronic
Types of Printers
1. Laser Printers: These are non-impact page printers. They use
laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the characters
to be printed on a page. They have vert high speed, very high
quality output but expensive.
2 Inkjet Printers: Inkjet printers are non-impact character
printers based on a relatively new technology. They print
characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet
printers produce high quality output with presentable features.
It can print both colored as well as black ink output.
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 c. Speakers: This is output device used to generate audio output. It is
generally used with the computers to play music or sound. Two way
speaker, surround sound speaker are different types of speakers
available.
d. Projector: A projector is a device that allows users to project their output
onto a large area, such as a screen or a wall. It magnifies texts, photos,
and movies using light and lenses. As a result, it’s an excellent output
device for giving presentations or teaching big groups of people.

3. Storage Devices: These devices are used to store information and

instructions in the computer. There are two types of storage:
a. Primary Memory: These devices are directly connected to the
processor.
i) RAM: Random Access Memory is a temporary memory used to store
temporary results. All the data on a RAM is lost when
the computer is turned OFF,
ii) ROM: Read Only Memory are used to store Boot up instructions
which are needed when the computer is turned ON. The
data on a ROM is permanent and cannot be edited.
b. Secondary Memory: These devices are not connected to the processor,
rather they are connected to the primary memory
i) Magnetic Disks: Used to store large amount of data permanently on
the computer. Hard disk is an example of Magnetic disk
ii) Optical Disk: These devices use light to read and write data. Compact
Disk (CD), Digital Video Disk(DVD) are some examples.

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Q3. What is E- mail? Explain the process of sending and
receiving an E-mail. Explain basic operations on E-
mail.

E-mail:
Email stands for Electronic Mail. It is a method to send messages
from one computer to another computer through the Internet. It is mostly
used in business, education, communication. It allows communicating with
people all over the world. It involves a sender and receiver.
Example: Gmail, Outlook, yahoo mail, Zoho etc..
Architecture of an Email:

i) Compose: In this step the email is written in the message box. Here
we provide the TO address and subject of the email. In compose
step all the text related to email is typed.
ii) Send: Once the mail is written, it is sent to the receiver. The email
provider will find the receiver address and deliver the email to his
inbox,
iii) Report: The report step is when the sender receives a feedback
saying “ The mail has been sent successfully “
iv) Display: The receiver of the email will get a new mail notification. He
can read the email download the files in the mail as per his wish.
v) Disposition: Once the email is read, the user can dispose it either by
deleting it or forward it or archieve the email

Process of Sending an email

Step 1: Open your email inbox by logging into your email account
Step 2: Click on COMPOSE MAIL button
Step 3: Write the email address of receiver in TO column
Example: TO: [email protected]
Step 4: Provide a subject to your email.
Step 5: Type the matter of the email in the BODY Section

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 Step 6: Provide Signature at the end of the mail
Example: Mohan K
Asst. Manager
Abc Company
Telangana. Phone :9123456789
Step 7: Attach files if any are to be sent along with the email
Step 8: Click on SEND button to send the email.
Basic Operations on Email
1. Creating an email account
2. Composing and sending email
3. Replying to email
4. Forwarding the email
5. Deleting the email
Creating an email: This is 1st step to use an email. There are various email
service provider available such as Gmail, hotmail, ymail, rediff mail etc. We
have to visit the website of the email service provider and SIGNUP to create
an email account by providing details like name, date of birth, Username,
Password

Composing and Sending Email: Before sending an email, we need to

compose a message. When we are composing an email message, we specify
the following things:
1. To address
2. Cc (if required)
3. Subject of email message
4. Text
5. Signature
6.
Reading Email: Every email program offers you an interface to access email
messages. Like in Gmail, emails are stored under different tabs such as
primary, social, and promotion. When you click one of tab, it displays a list of
emails under that tab.

Replying Email: After reading an email, you may have to reply that email. To
reply an email, click Reply option shown at the bottom of the opened email.

Forwarding Email: It is also possible to send a copy of the message that you
have received along with your own comments if you want. This can be done
using forward button available in mail client software.

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Q4. How can you create, Open and save and Print
Microsoft Word Document?
Microsoft Word: MS word is an application software for word processing
developed by MICROSOFT. It is used to create, manipulate, save a
document.

Create a new Microsoft Word Document:

TO create a new Microsoft word document:

1. Click on the START BUTTON on the Task bar
2. It will show the start menu
3. Click on ALL PROGRAMS → Select Microsoft Office
4. Now click on Microsoft Office WORD 2007
5. A new blank ms word document will appear on the screen

Open an existing Microsoft Word Document:

To open an existing Microsoft Word Document:

1. Click on OFFICE button
2. Select OPEN option (Shortcut: CTRL + O)
3. Browse for the existing file on the computer.
4. Click on the file and Click on the OPEN button
5. The existing file will be Opened successfully.

Saving a Microsoft Word Document: Saving is the process of storing the data
on the file permanently on the HARD Disk

To Saving a Microsoft Word Document:

1. Click on OFFICE button

2. Select SAVE option (Shortcut: CTRL + S)
3. A save dialog box will appear → enter the file name and a location
4. Click on SAVE button to save the file

Printing a Microsoft Word Document:

To Print a Microsoft Word Document:

1. Click on OFFICE button

2. Select PRINT option (Shortcut: CTRL + P)
3. A Print dialog box will appear → Select Margin, Paper size, copies as
per the requirement
4. Click OK to PRINT the document

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 Q5. Explain various parts of MS Power Point Window

Microsoft Power Point: Microsoft Power Point is part of Microsoft Office

Suite. It is used by business organization toto conduct business meetings,
sales managers to generate sales reports, educational institutions to create
lecture notes, seminars etc..

Parts of MS Power Point Window

1. Title Bar: It contains the title of the window, name of the file. Other resizable
button like Minimize, Maximize, Close.
2. Office Button: It contains Office LOGO and contains file options like NEW,
OPEN, SAVE, PRINT, CLOSE
3. Menu Bar: It contains menu options like HOME, INSERT, DESIGN,
SLIDESHOW.
a. HOME TAB: It contains the basic options like BOLD, Italic, Underline,
Font, Size, Alignment, Cut, Copy, Paste, NEW SLIDE
b. INSERT Tab: It contains options like INSERT TABLE, Picture, Shapes
c. Slide Show: This tab is used to start slide show from beginning or from
current slide
4. Home Ribbon: The ribbon contains the menu options for the selected menu
5. Slides: It shows the slides as small Thumbnails.
6. Current Slide: This area shows the current slide in the power point. It has the
title and sub title of the slide
7. Notes page: This part contains the Notes page related to the slide

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Q6. Explain various functions and formulas in MS EXCEL

Function: A function is a predefined formula that performs calculations using

specific values in a particular order. Excel includes many common functions that
can be used to quickly find the sum, average, count, maximum value, and
minimum value for a range of cells. Every function in Excel starts with an Equal
to sign (=).

Types of Functions:

1. Statistical Functions
2. Math Functions
3. Date and Time Functions

1. Statistical Functions:
a. SUM( ) : This function calculates the addition of given set of numbers
Example: =SUM(12,6,8,2) is 26.
b. AVERAGE( ) : This function calculates the Average of given set of
numbers
Example: =average(12,6,8,2) is 7
c. MAX( ) : This function calculates largest of given set of numbers
Example: =MAX(12,6,8,2) is 12
d. MIN( ) : This function calculates largest of given set of numbers
Example: =MIN(12,6,8,2) is 2
e. COUNT( ) : This function calculates the count of the non empty cells in a
given range.
Example: =COUNT(12,6,8,2) is 4

2. Mathematical Functions:
a. ABS( ): This function calculates the absolute value of a given number.
Example: =ABS(-9) is 9
b. Round( ): This function is used to round off a given decimal number upto
certain decimal places.
Example: =round(25.1457, 2) is 25.14
c. MOD( ): ): This function is used to find the remainder when two given
numbers are divided.
Example: =mod(9, 2) is 1 ; =mod(9,3) is 0
d. LOG( ): This function returns the logarithmic value given the base and the
number.
Example: =log(10, 10) is 1

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e. FACT( ): This function returns the factorial of a given number.
Example: =fact(3) is 6
f. SQRT( ): This function returns the Square root of a given number.
Example: =SQRT(16) is 4
3. Date and Time Functions:

a. TODAY( ): This function gives the current system date

Example: =today( ) is 01/05/2024
b. NOW( ): This function gives the current system date and Time.
Example: =NOW( ) is 01/05/2024 10:50:06

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Short Answer Questions

1. Define Computer?

Computer: A computer is an electronic device which accepts input from the

user, process the data and produces the output.
A computer contains input devices like Keyboard, Mouse, Microphone and
output devices like Monitor, Printer, Projector etc..
A computer is used in:
1. Educational institutions
2. Business
3. Government Organizations
4. Health care
5. Accounts
6. Finance etc..

2. Define Hardware and Software

Hardware: A hardware is any part of the computer which we can touch and
feel. It exists in real life. It consists all the physical parts of the computer. The
hardware of a computer is needed for the software to be used.
Example: CPU, Keyboard, Mouse, Printer etc..
Software: Software is a group of programs written to execute a given task by
the computer. A software requires the services of hardware in order to run and
execute the given task.
Example: MS Word, Calculator, Tally, MS Power Point, Whatsapp..
Software and Hardware are complimentary to each other

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 3. What is Computer network. Define LAN and WAN in
computer Networks

Computer Network: A network is a group of devices

interconnected to each other in order to share data
and enable communication.

Local Area Network (LAN): A local area network

(LAN) is a collection of devices connected
together in one physical location, such as a
building, office, or home. A LAN Network has a
range of 100 meters to 500 meters

Wide Area Network (LAN): A WAN network is a

group of LAN networks interconnected together
to form a large network. It can cover a state,
country, continent or across the world. It uses
satellite and wireless technology to enable WAN
network

4. What is Word Processor

Word processor is a software which is used for creating documents, editing
documents, manipulating documents, formatting and printing text based
documents. These documents also include images, graphics, tables,
animations, pictures.
Word Processor allows users to change size of the text, text color, Font style,
text alignment. Create tables, save documents on the hard disk
Example: Microsoft Word

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 5. What is World Wide Web (WWW)?
World Wide Web is a storage of information containing all the websites
all over the world. It was developed by CERN laboratories. WWW uses client
server architecture where the client uses a browser to access the files stored
on the server.
The web consists of many millions of web pages that use text, graphics,
sound, animations etc.. Whenever a user wants to access a web page on the
web they need to type the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of that page.

6. What is a Web Browser

A Web browser is an application software used to locate and display
information on world wide web(WWW). They are used to open websites on
internet and browse the website. They display the data on the website like
text, graphics, videos, animations etc.. Web browsers provide advanced
features like Bookmarks, History, Tabbed browsing, save passwords, etc..
Some of the mostly used browsers are:
1. Google Chrome
2. Mozilla Firefox
3. Internet Explorer (Microsoft Edge)
4. Safari
5. Opera Browser

7. What is Operating System

An operating system is a system software that controls the computer
hardware. It acts as interface between the user and hardware. It provides
platform for running applications

User OS Hardware

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 An operating system has the following two main functions:

1. OS as a resource manager: OS manages all the system resources

like CPU time, memory, file storage space, Input and output devices
2. OS as a User Inteface: OS contains various components like
buttons, menus, cursor, windows which enable the user to interact
easily with the system.

8. Explain about Desktop on Windows 7 OS

Desktop: It is the first screen which appears after the computer is turned ON.
It is very important part of Windows 7 OS. It contains the following
components:
Task Bar It is present at the bottom of the desktop and contains the
list of all the tasks which are currently open
Start Button It is on the bottom left of the desktop. It is used to access
the start menu by clicking on it
ICONS Desktop contains many icons which look like small
pictures. Double clicking on the icon will open its
application
My Computer This icon looks like a computer symbol. It is used to access
the hard disk and all the files present on the computer
Recycle Bin It contains all the files which have been deleted from the
computer earlier.

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