Motherboard, Memory & System Architecture is one of 10 topics in the Grade 11 Information Technology CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. What is the central purpose of the motherboard in a computer system?
To connect every other component so they can communicate and function as a single system
To permanently store all of the user's files
To convert alternating current to direct current only
To display visual output to the user
Answer: To connect every other component so they can communicate and function as a single system — The motherboard is the main circuit board that connects the CPU, RAM, storage devices and expansion cards so they can all communicate and work together.
Easy
2. Which motherboard component runs a small startup program that initialises hardware before the operating system loads?
The BIOS/UEFI firmware chip
The RAM slot
A network interface card
The CPU socket
Answer: The BIOS/UEFI firmware chip — The BIOS/UEFI firmware chip runs a small startup program that initialises hardware and locates the operating system before the computer fully boots.
Medium
3. Name the electrical pathways along the motherboard that carry data between components such as the CPU, RAM and storage.
Answer: buses — Data moves between motherboard components along electrical pathways called buses; a wider or faster bus can transfer more data per second.
