ITPEC IP April 2019 Question 23
Which of the following is a computer that is used for tasks such as global scale environmental simulations and DNA analysis, and was developed with the objective of processing large amount of calculations at ultra high speed?
Explanation
Super computer — the computer built to process huge volumes of calculation at ultra high speed, for work such as global climate simulation and DNA analysis.
A supercomputer links thousands to millions of processor cores that calculate in parallel, and its performance is measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS). It serves science and engineering: weather and climate models, genome analysis, fluid dynamics, drug discovery. Japan's K computer and its successor Fugaku are examples.
Answer (b)
Why not others:
- •(a) Virtual computer — a computer emulated by software on a physical host (a virtual machine); it adds no computing power of its own
- •(c) General purpose computer — designed to handle a wide range of business and scientific jobs, such as a mainframe, not specialised in ultra-high-speed calculation
- •(d) Microcomputer — a small computer built around a microprocessor, typically embedded in appliances and machines to control them
Key rule: Match each type of computer to its purpose: supercomputer for massive scientific calculation, general purpose computer (mainframe) for broad business processing, microcomputer for embedded control, virtual computer for running several machines on shared hardware.
Computer Component · AI-written, may contain errors
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