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Compact Discs (CDs) Trivia Quiz

How much do you know about these data storage discs?

A multiple-choice quiz by TonyTheDad. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
TonyTheDad

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
29,255

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
3423

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. How big is the standard CD? Hint

15 cm

12 in

12 cm

4 in

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Question 2 of 10

2. When they were first introduced, how many minutes of music could be stored on a CD? Hint

120

109

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Question 3 of 10

3. How many tracks of data are on a CD?

Answer: (a number)

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Question 4 of 10

4. In what 'direction' is data stored on a CD? Hint

outside to inside

inside to outside

random access

first out to in, then in to out

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Question 5 of 10

5. If the data track of a CD were stretched out in a line, how long would it be? Hint

98.6 km

10 km

5.6 km

18.2 km

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Question 6 of 10

6. For standard music replay, how fast does a CD spin when being read? Hint

200 - 500 rpm

40 - 100 rpm

1200 - 3000 rpm

78 rpm

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which of the following substances is NOT a part of a CD? Hint

acrylic

trimethylxanthine

aluminum

polycarbonate plastic

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Question 8 of 10

8. How thick is a CD? Hint

1.2 mm

0.5 microns

2.56 cm

3.14159 furlongs

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Question 9 of 10

9. Approximately how many bytes of data could be stored on the original CDs? Hint

0.75 gigabytes

0.5 gigabytes

1.5 gigabytes

6 gigabytes

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Question 10 of 10

10. What is used to read the data off the data track of a CD? Hint

sonar

magnetic pickup

needle

laser

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. How big is the standard CD?

Answer: 12 cm

2. When they were first introduced, how many minutes of music could be stored on a CD?

Answer: 74

3. How many tracks of data are on a CD?

Answer: 1

Trick question! It's one track, 0.5 microns wide, that spirals from hub to edge.

4. In what 'direction' is data stored on a CD?

Answer: inside to outside

A CD has a single spiral track of data, circling from the inside of the disc to the outside. The fact that the spiral track starts at the center means that the CD can be smaller than 12 centimeters if desired, and in fact there are now plastic baseball cards and business cards that you can put in a CD player. CD business cards hold about 2 megabytes of data before the size and shape of the card cuts off the spiral. (From 'HowStuffWorks')

5. If the data track of a CD were stretched out in a line, how long would it be?

Answer: 5.6 km

6. For standard music replay, how fast does a CD spin when being read?

Answer: 200 - 500 rpm

The drive motor is precisely controlled to rotate between 200 and 500 RPM depending on which track is being read.

7. Which of the following substances is NOT a part of a CD?

Answer: trimethylxanthine

A CD is a fairly simple piece of plastic, about 1.2 millimeters thick. Most of a CD consists of an injection-molded piece of clear polycarbonate plastic. During manufacturing, this plastic is impressed with microscopic bumps arranged as a single, continuous, extremely long spiral track of data. We will return to the bumps in a moment. Once the clear piece of polycarbonate is formed, a thin, reflective aluminum layer is sputtered onto the disc, covering the bumps.

Then a thin acrylic layer is sprayed over the aluminum to protect it.

The label is then printed onto the acrylic. (BTW, trimethylxanthine is also known as caffeine.)

8. How thick is a CD?

Answer: 1.2 mm

9. Approximately how many bytes of data could be stored on the original CDs?

Answer: 0.75 gigabytes

A CD can store up to 74 minutes of music, so the total amount of digital data that must be stored on a CD is: 44,100 samples per channel per second * 2 bytes per sample * 2 channels * 74 minutes * 60 seconds per minute = 783,216,000 bytes

10. What is used to read the data off the data track of a CD?

Answer: laser

Source: Author TonyTheDad

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor rossian before going online.
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