Transistors and Moore’s Law Task

Work your way through the Moore’s Law movie and find the answers to the questions below.

1. In which year was the transistor first invented?

In 1947

2. Write down the names of three electronic devices that you own which contain transistors

iEntertaimentiiPersonal ComputingiiiGa,es

3. List at least three advantages that transistors have over valvesiExtremely smalliiFastiiiUses very little power

4. The first CPUs contained around 2,000 transistors. How many might you find on a CPU today?

2.000.000.000

5. Which is smaller, the tip of a human hair or a transistor?

0.06 micrones across

6. Transistors can act as a digital switch inside the CPU. They can be either …. or …..

On or Off

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7. Briefly explain how transistors can represent binary data

Binary 1 could be same as switch being OFF and binary 0 could be same as switch ON

8. Transistors can be combined within the CPU to do different jobs. Give two examples of jobs they might do.

iProcess DataiiStore Data

9. Gordon Moore made an observation that was so accurate it became known as Moore’s Law. What does Moore’s Law say?

The number of transistors in a computer chip was doubling roughly every two years, and predicted that it would carry on.

10. What is the problem with Moore’s Law in the future?

As transistors shrink towards atomic sizes,they will no longer work properly.

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