Why digital hardware has two states
Name:
Date:
Class:
A
Quick Questions
Shade in the A or B circle for each question.
1. What is a transistor in digital hardware?
2. Which pair shows the two states of one switch?
3. A switch has no electric current flowing. Which bit does it hold?
4. How many bits can ONE transistor switch hold?
5. How does digital hardware handle large amounts of data?
B
Match the Pairs
Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.
| Left column | Right column | |
|---|---|---|
| 1transistor | ANo current flowing through a switch (off) | |
| 20 | Bcurrent = on = 1 | |
| 3A switch that has current flowing is in the on state, which stores the bit 1 | CThe values are swapped. No current is 0 and current is 1. | |
| 4A chip joins millions of two-state switches, so each one holds one bit | D1 transistor = 1 bit | |
| 5A transistor has ten states, 0 to 9 | EA transistor has only two states, off and on. Ten states is how denary works, not how digital hardware switches work. | |
| 6no current = 1, current = 0 | FA tiny electronic switch inside a chip that is either off or on, so it holds exactly one bit |
C
Definitions
transistor
D
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.
1.
IF current = _ THEN state ← "off"
2.
IF current = _ THEN state ← "on"
3.
bitsPerTransistor ← _
4.
totalBits ← switchCount _ bitsPerSwitch
5.
FOR EACH transistor __ chip
bitCount ← bitCount + 1
E
Spot the Error
Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.
Question 1
A
transistor = "off"
B
bit = 0
C
if transistor = "on":
D
bit = 1
E
print(bit)
Question 2
A
current = False
B
if current
C
bit = 1
D
else:
E
bit = 0
Question 3
A
switches = 4
B
states = 2 * switches
C
print(states)
Question 4
A
current = True
B
bit = 0
C
if current:
D
bit = 2
E
print(bit)
Question 5
A
switches = [0, 1, 1, 0]
B
on = 0
C
for s in switches:
D
on = on + switch
E
print(on, "switches are on")
Answer Key
Why digital hardware has two states
Section A: Quick Questions
Q1
A — A tiny electronic switch that is off or on
Q2
B — Off (0) and on (1)
Q3
A — 0
Q4
A — Exactly one bit
Q5
B — Millions of switches work together
Section B: Match the Pairs
Q1
transistor → A tiny electronic switch inside a chip that is either off or on, so it holds exactly one bit
Q2
0 → No current flowing through a switch (off)
Q3
A switch that has current flowing is in the on state, which stores the bit 1 → current = on = 1
Q4
A chip joins millions of two-state switches, so each one holds one bit → 1 transistor = 1 bit
Q5
A transistor has ten states, 0 to 9 → A transistor has only two states, off and on. Ten states is how denary works, not how digital hardware switches work.
Q6
no current = 1, current = 0 → The values are swapped. No current is 0 and current is 1.
Section C: Definitions
Q1
transistor — A tiny electronic switch that is either off (0) or on (1), so it holds exactly one bit. Digital hardware joins millions of them to work with data.Section D: Fill in the Blanks
Q1
IF current = 0 THEN state ← "off"Q2
IF current = 1 THEN state ← "on"Q3
bitsPerTransistor ← 1Q4
totalBits ← switchCount * bitsPerSwitchQ5
FOR EACH transistor IN chip
bitCount ← bitCount + 1Section E: Spot the Error
Q1
C — A single = assigns a value. To check whether the transistor is on, the condition needs the comparison operator ==.
Q2
B — An if line must end with a colon. It should be: if current:
Q3
B — Each switch has 2 states, so the number of combinations is 2 to the power of the switches. It should be 2 ** switches, which gives 16, not 8.
Q4
D — A transistor is either off or on, so it can only hold the bit 0 or 1. When current flows, the bit should be 1.
Q5
D — The loop variable is called s, so switch does not exist and causes an error. It should be on = on + s.