Demo. An invented family, made-up minutes, nobody's real child. The quizzes work: pass a round and watch the clock change.

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💻 How Computers Work

Years 6 to 10 · Read up first

10 questions. Get 8 right to earn 10 minutes. All 10 right = +5 bonus. They start easy and get harder as you go, so treat the first few as a warm-up. Every one you miss comes back with the answer and why.

1. What is an operating system?

A folder for storing photosA type of internet cableA single computer gameThe main software that manages a computer's hardware and runs other programs

2. What is a hard drive (or an SSD) mainly used for?

Connecting a mouse and keyboardStoring files and data long term, even when the computer is offDisplaying graphics on the screenCooling the computer down

3. What does DNS mainly do?

Translates human-friendly website names into the IP addresses computers useBlocks all adverts on every websiteSpeeds up a computer's processorStores backup copies of your files

4. What does 'software' mean?

A type of network cableThe physical parts of a computerA folder used only for photosThe programs and instructions that tell hardware what to do

5. A single pixel in a digital image usually stores what kind of information?

The file size of the whole imageIts colour, usually as numbersThe name of the photographerThe exact date the photo was taken

6. Why do computer programs sometimes have 'bugs'?

Computers occasionally decide to behave randomlyHuman-written instructions can contain mistakes that produce unexpected resultsBugs only happen in very old computersBugs are a type of virus that arrives from the internet only

7. Why is a network of just two directly connected computers still called a network?

A network simply means devices connected together to share data, regardless of how manyA network needs at least ten connected devices to countOnly wireless connections between computers count as a networkTwo computers connected together is called a server instead

8. Why do computers group bits into bytes rather than working with single bits at a time?

Bytes make a computer use less electricity overallA single bit is too large for a computer to processGrouping into bytes gives a practical unit for storing a full character or a small piece of dataGrouping is only done for very old computers

9. Why does a computer need an operating system instead of running programs directly on the hardware?

Hardware cannot be manufactured without one built in permanentlyThe operating system manages shared resources like memory and storage so multiple programs can run without conflictingPrograms are physically unable to run without an operating system installed anywhereOperating systems only exist to display the desktop background

10. Why do large language models sometimes state confidently wrong information?

It is a rare fault that only happens in the very first version of any modelThey only make mistakes when asked about mathsThey deliberately try to trick people whenever possibleThey generate text based on patterns in their training data, and don't check facts against the real world before answering

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