PPSC Subject Specialist Test Current Affairs & Basic Computing Syllabus

Where is the headquarters of the United Nations, and where is the International Court of Justice located?

The UN headquarters is in New York City (USA); the International Court of Justice is in The Hague (Netherlands).

Which UN specialized agency deals with global public health, and where is it headquartered?

The World Health Organization (WHO), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

What is NATO and what is the core principle of its Article 5?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance; Article 5 establishes collective defence — an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all.

What does BRICS stand for in terms of its original member countries?

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (the bloc has since expanded to additional members).

Which organization administers global trade rules and resolves trade disputes between nations?

The World Trade Organization (WTO), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

What is the term length of the UN Secretary-General and how is the position selected?

A 5-year renewable term; appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

What is ASEAN and roughly how many member states does it have?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional bloc of 10 Southeast Asian member states promoting economic and political cooperation.

In sports, what is the difference between the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in terms of frequency?

Each is held once every four years, but they are staggered so that an Olympic event (summer or winter) occurs every two years.

In cricket, how many runs does a batsman score for a century, and what is a 'hat-trick'?

A century is 100 runs by a single batsman in one innings; a hat-trick is a bowler taking three wickets on three consecutive deliveries.

Which trophy is awarded to the winner of the FIFA World Cup, and how often is the tournament held?

The FIFA World Cup Trophy; the tournament is held every four years.

What is the highest individual Test cricket score record holder's name and team?

Brian Lara of the West Indies, who scored 400 not out against England in 2004.

In athletics, what is the standard distance of a marathon race?

42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards).

Which country has won the most ICC Cricket World Cup titles in men's ODI cricket?

Australia, with the most titles (six championships).

What is the difference between hardware and software in a computer system?

Hardware refers to the physical, tangible components of a computer (e.g., CPU, RAM, keyboard); software is the set of programs and instructions that tell the hardware what to do.

What does CPU stand for, and what are its two main functional units?

Central Processing Unit; its two main units are the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and the Control Unit (CU).

What is the difference between RAM and ROM?

RAM (Random Access Memory) is volatile, temporary read/write memory that loses data when power is off; ROM (Read Only Memory) is non-volatile and permanently stores firmware that is mostly read-only.

Convert the following: how many bytes are in 1 kilobyte, and how many bits are in 1 byte?

1 byte = 8 bits; 1 kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes.

What is the difference between an input device and an output device? Give one example of each.

An input device sends data into the computer (e.g., keyboard, mouse); an output device displays/produces results from the computer (e.g., monitor, printer).

What is an operating system, and name three common examples?

System software that manages hardware and software resources and provides services for programs; examples include Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.

What is the difference between system software and application software?

System software (e.g., the OS, device drivers) manages and runs the computer itself; application software (e.g., MS Word, browsers) performs specific tasks for the user.

In MS Excel, what does a formula always begin with, and what does the SUM function do?

Every formula begins with an equals sign (=); the SUM function adds a range of numbers, e.g., =SUM(A1:A10).

In MS Word, what is the default file extension for documents in modern versions?

.docx

In MS Office, what is the file extension for an Excel workbook and a PowerPoint presentation?

Excel workbook: .xlsx; PowerPoint presentation: .pptx

What is the keyboard shortcut to copy and to paste in most operating systems and MS Office?

Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste (Cmd + C / Cmd + V on macOS).

What does URL stand for, and what does the 'http' in a web address mean?

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator (the address of a web resource); HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the protocol used to transfer web pages.

What is the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW)?

The Internet is the global network of interconnected computers (the infrastructure); the World Wide Web is a service of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet using browsers.

What does IP address stand for, and what is the difference between LAN and WAN?

IP stands for Internet Protocol address (a unique numeric identifier for a device); a LAN (Local Area Network) covers a small area like an office, while a WAN (Wide Area Network) covers large geographic areas, e.g., the Internet.

In email, what is the difference between the 'CC' and 'BCC' fields?

CC (Carbon Copy) sends a visible copy to additional recipients whom all can see; BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) sends a copy whose recipient addresses are hidden from everyone else.

List the five generations of computers by their core defining technology.

1st generation: vacuum tubes; 2nd generation: transistors; 3rd generation: integrated circuits (ICs); 4th generation: microprocessors (VLSI); 5th generation: artificial intelligence / ULSI.

Who is regarded as the 'father of the computer', and which early machine is associated with him?

Charles Babbage, credited as the father of the computer for designing the Analytical Engine and the Difference Engine.