Alphabet Soup Trivia Quiz

Answer: Basic Input Output System

BIOS is responsible for providing your computer with instructions for its basic functions. One of the tasks BIOS performs is the POST or "Power On Self-Test" to make sure all the hardware is working together properly. You can find the BIOS chip on your motherboard.

Answer: Universal Serial Bus

USB is the standard for cables and connectors for computers, phones, tablets and their peripherals. Most Android devices use USB chargers, but iOS devices do not. So if you have an iPhone and all that's available is an Android (USB) charger you're out of luck.

Answer: Hypertext Markup Language

HTML is a markup language or code which is considered one of the basic "building blocks" of most web sites and applications. It provides instructions for text for headers, paragraphs and "hot links" among other things.

An example: if you see #FC1111 in a segment of HTML code, that means the text will be a certain shade of red. #FCF711 is code for yellow and #11C6FC is blue.

Answer: Complementary Metal-oxide Semiconductor

Spelling is everything! The CMOS battery is that shiny little disk you see on your motherboard. Some of its functions are your computer's basic hardware, time and date settings.

Answer: Digital Subscriber Line

DSL is a form of technology that transmits digital data over copper telephone lines. It became widely used by consumers during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. While more expensive than the analog dial up technology it is still cheaper than fiber optic transmission.

Answer: Wireless Fidelity

WIFI refers to wireless local area networking. It allows laptop and desktop computers, tablets, phablets, smartphones, digital cameras and other devices to connect to the Internet without a telephone cord or ethernet cable. While it is convenient for the user it can sometimes be less secure than a wired connection as well as unreliable and subject to cross talk. Wireless Fidelity is not the official name for Wi-Fi, but very few people would appreciate this, and it has been used in advertising for the system.

Also, there is no such US AM radio frequency as 530 kHz. The lowest legal AM frequency for a US radio station is 540 kHz.

Answer: Blue Screen Of Death

The Blue Screen of Death refers to an error screen seen on Windows computers after a system crash. Common causes are poorly written device drivers, hardware or memory issues. While it does not always mean the computer is "dead" it does mean it cannot operate safely until the situation is remedied.

The man credited with inventing the computer mouse was Douglas Englebart, not Brinsley Schwarz. Brinsley Schwarz is the name of a 1970s British rock band.

Answer: World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is an information system that allows users to "surf" from one web page to another by use of electronic hyperlinks. It is part of the internet.

A bit of TV trivia: Walter HARTWELL White was the protagonist of AMC's "Breaking Bad," not Walter Whitman White.

Answer: iPhone Operating System

Apple, Inc. introduced the iPhone Operating System (IOS) for its mobile devices starting in 2007. It is also used with the iPad, iPad Mini and iPod Touch. Its main competitor is Google's Android operating system.

Also, Pythagoras, not Socrates, developed the Pythagorean theorem.

Answer: Lithium-Ion

Lithium-Ion is a type of rechargeable battery used in most computing devices. While Li-Ion batteries are more expensive they are also smaller, lighter and charge faster than the commonly-used nickel-cadmium battery. While Livermore, California did have at least one railway station during the early 21st century, it did not connect to the city of Oxnard, California.