The term GHz is the indicator of which feature of the computer?
- (a)Number of Pixels
- (b)Resolution
- (c)Speed
- (d)Storage
Correct — C, Speed.
The letters GHz stand for gigahertz: hertz is the unit of frequency (one cycle per second) and giga means a thousand million. A 3 GHz processor ticks about three billion clock cycles every second, so the figure describes how fast the chip works. The keyed option is Speed.
The idea to carry away: the base unit tells you the feature. Hertz counts cycles per second, so any figure in Hz, MHz or GHz is a rate. Bytes (GB, TB) measure capacity, and pixels measure picture detail.
Clock speed is one input to performance, not the whole of it. Core count, cache and chip design also matter, so a newer 2.5 GHz processor can outperform an older 3 GHz one.
- (a)Number of Pixels — A pixel count is a plain number of picture elements, so it is quoted as a count or in megapixels (MP), as on a camera sensor sold as 12 MP. Hertz counts cycles per second, not picture elements.
A screen's total pixel count and its resolution are closely related; both are pixel measures, and neither is a frequency.
- (b)Resolution — Resolution is stated in pixels: width by height for a screen, such as 1920 × 1080, or dots per inch (dpi) for a printer or scanner. It describes detail, not a rate, so it takes a pixel-based unit rather than hertz.
A monitor does carry a figure in hertz, its refresh rate (60 Hz, 144 Hz), but that is how often the screen redraws each second, and it is plain hertz, not gigahertz.
- (d)Storage — Storage capacity is measured in bytes and their multiples: GB and TB for a hard disk or SSD. The prefix giga is shared with GHz, which is where the confusion starts, but the base unit differs: bytes hold data, hertz counts cycles.
Every computer specification pairs a number with a unit, and the unit fixes what is being measured. Frequency units (Hz, MHz, GHz) express a rate of cycles per second and are used for processor clock speed. Byte units (KB, MB, GB, TB) express capacity.
Pixel-based figures express image or screen detail.
The SI prefixes do not change from one unit to the next: kilo is 10^3, mega 10^6, giga 10^9, tera 10^12. So 'giga' alone says nothing about the feature; the letter that follows it does.
Reading a specification line correctly is a practical skill. '3.2 GHz, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 1920 × 1080' names a processor speed, a memory size, a storage size and a screen resolution, in that order. The question tests whether you attach each unit to the right feature.
The same unit turns up outside the processor. Wi-Fi commonly uses the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands, and a monitor's refresh rate is 60 Hz or 144 Hz. In each case hertz still means cycles per second; what differs is the thing that is cycling.
- Hertz (Hz) is the SI unit of frequency, defined as one cycle per second.
- 1 GHz equals 10^9 cycles per second; 1 MHz equals 10^6 cycles per second.
- Processor clock speed is quoted in GHz; a 3 GHz CPU completes about three billion clock cycles each second.
- Storage and memory capacity are measured in bytes and their multiples: KB, MB, GB, TB.
- Screen resolution is written as pixel width by height, for example 1920 × 1080, which is Full HD.
- Printer and scanner resolution is quoted in dots per inch (dpi); screen pixel density in pixels per inch (ppi).
- The unit is named after Heinrich Hertz, the German physicist who demonstrated electromagnetic waves in the 1880s.
- Wi-Fi commonly uses the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands; there the unit measures radio frequency, not processor speed.
- A monitor's refresh rate is measured in hertz (60 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz): how many times per second the screen redraws.
- In storage the prefix is sometimes read in the binary sense (giga as 2^30), which is why a drive sold as 1 TB shows about 931 GB in Windows.
- Consumer desktop processors crossed the 1 GHz clock mark in 2000.
Hertz counts cycles per second, so GHz is a speed; bytes and pixels measure capacity and detail.
- Matching on the shared prefix: GHz and GB both begin with giga, but hertz measures a rate and bytes measure capacity; the letter after the prefix decides the feature.
- Treating clock speed as the whole of performance: two chips at the same GHz can differ widely in real speed because of cores, cache and design.
- Mixing up resolution (pixel width by height, e.g. 1920 × 1080) with pixel density (ppi or dpi); both are pixel measures, neither is a frequency.
- Seeing Hz beside a display and concluding it is resolution: a 60 Hz or 144 Hz refresh rate is a frequency, but it describes redraws per second, not detail.
The stem names a unit or abbreviation (GHz, GB, dpi, Mbps) and asks which feature of a computer it describes. The inverse form names the feature, such as hard-disk capacity or processor speed, and asks for its unit.
A spec-sheet version lists several figures from one machine and asks which of them is the clock speed, the RAM or the storage. Each figure carries its own unit, so the answer is read straight off the letters.
No eligible match among this question's citable set.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A laptop is advertised as: 2.8 GHz processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 1920 × 1080 display. Which figure states the processor's clock speed?
- (a)2.8 GHz
- (b)16 GB
- (c)512 GB
- (d)1920 × 1080
Answera — GHz is a frequency unit, cycles per second, and is the processor's clock speed. 16 GB is memory (RAM) capacity in bytes; 512 GB is storage capacity, also in bytes; 1920 × 1080 is the display resolution in pixels. - practice — not a real PYQ
One gigahertz (1 GHz) is equal to how many cycles per second?
- (a)One thousand
- (b)One million
- (c)One billion (10^9)
- (d)One trillion (10^12)
Answerc — giga is the SI prefix for 10^9, so 1 GHz is one billion cycles per second. One thousand is kilo (kHz), one million is mega (MHz), one trillion is tera (THz). - practice — not a real PYQ
Which unit is used to express the storage capacity of a hard disk drive?
- (a)GHz
- (b)dpi
- (c)TB
- (d)Mbps
Answerc — capacity is measured in bytes, and the terabyte is the multiple used for hard disks. GHz is processor clock speed, dpi is printer or scanner resolution, Mbps is a data transfer rate. - practice — not a real PYQ
The unit hertz, used to state processor clock speed, is named after which scientist?
- (a)Heinrich Hertz
- (b)James Watt
- (c)Alessandro Volta
- (d)Michael Faraday
Answera — Heinrich Hertz, the German physicist who demonstrated electromagnetic waves. Watt's name goes to the unit of power, Volta's to the unit of electric potential (volt), Faraday's to the unit of capacitance (farad).