Welcome to the Computer Science Department's Windows Lab! The lab has 27 PCs which run the Windows 7 operating system. Installed software includes Microsoft Office 2010 (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, and Outlook), Firefox, Chrome, and Adobe Dreamweaver.
Create a Microsoft Word 2010 document named "Lab1.docx" in which you answer the questions below. Always include the question with your answer. Save your document on the H drive. It is mounted from a university server and your files should be available to you on any other lab machine on campus. Always save your work to the H drive.
Using Notepad, create a file "Bytes.txt" with only the characters "CSCI 101 ftw!". You can run Notepad by accessing it through Start / All Programs / Accessories, or by clicking Start and typing "notepad" in the search textbox. Save the file. Using Windows Explorer (the application that lets you view files and folders), right-click on the file, select properties, and note the size in bytes. (Q1) What is the size? Experiment a bit with changing the contents of the file and looking at the new size. (Q2) How does the file size relate to the contents of the file?
Read the Wikipedia article on "Algorithm", skimming the more technical parts. (Q3) Using at least two sentences define the term "algorithm" in your own words.
In the Algorithm article, look at the high-level description of the algorithm for finding the largest number (under the "Examples" section). (Q4) How would you change the algorithm to find the smallest number?
(Q5) How much RAM does the computer you're using have? You can determine this by running the "System Information" application. You can find it under Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools. (Q6) Also, what is the name of the CPU (central processing unit)?
You can determine the capacity of a hard drive the same way you determined the size of a file. Look at the properties of the H drive. (Q7) What is the capacity of the drive? (Q8) Assuming the average size of a song is 4 MB, how many songs could the drive hold? Show your calculations.
We've seen the definition of the term abstraction. Look it up on a site like thefreedictionary.com to ensure you understand its meaning, particularly in relation to computer science. (Q9) Give an example of how you used abstraction today (it doesn't have to involve computers).
Submit your "Lab1.docx" file by following these submit instructions. Be sure you have included the questions with the answers!