CompTIA Tech+Free Certified Tech Professionals practice test

Correct answer: B. 7

Binary is a base-2 numbering system that uses only the digits 0 and 1. Each position in a binary number corresponds to a power of 2. Starting from the rightmost position, the place values are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128. In 00000111, the three rightmost bits are set to 1, so the value equals 1 + 2 + 4 = 7 in decimal.

Correct answer: C. Hexadecimal and decimal

The digits 1 and 9 are valid in both hexadecimal and decimal systems, but not in binary or octal. Decimal (base 10) uses digits 0 through 9. Hexadecimal (base 16) uses digits 0 through 9 plus letters A through F. Binary (base 2) only allows 0 and 1, so 9 is invalid there. Octal (base 8) only allows 0 through 7, so 9 is also invalid there. ASCII is a character encoding standard, not a number system.

Correct answer: C. Hexadecimal

The "0x" prefix is a widely used convention indicating that a value is written in hexadecimal (base 16). For example, 0xFF in hexadecimal equals 255 in decimal. An alternative convention is to append a lowercase or uppercase "h" to the end of the value (e.g., FFh). Neither binary, decimal, nor octal use the 0x prefix.

Correct answer: B. Information

Data refers to raw, unprocessed material such as the binary digits stored on a disk. When that data is processed and presented in a meaningful, human-readable form — like a digital book — it becomes information. Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) is a technique used to create visual effects in media. A processor (CPU) is the hardware component that executes instructions and transforms data into information.

Correct answer: D. Attempting to power it on

After a battery-powered device is exposed to water, it is strongly recommended to wait at least 72 hours before attempting to power it on. Turning it on too soon risks short-circuiting wet components. Removing the battery, carefully disassembling the device, and letting parts air dry are all appropriate first-response steps.

Correct answer: D. Rice

Placing a wet device in a sealed bag of uncooked dry rice is a commonly recommended technique because rice effectively absorbs ambient moisture. Salt, sand, and flour are not suitable for this purpose and could introduce additional contaminants or cause damage to the device.

Correct answer: D. 7

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange, pronounced "ask-ee") encodes each character using 7 bits, allowing it to represent up to 128 distinct characters. That character set includes uppercase and lowercase English letters, digits 0 through 9, various punctuation marks, and control codes. Note that while ASCII data is often stored in an 8-bit byte, the encoding itself defines only 7 bits of meaningful content.

Correct answer: C. Storage

Serial ATA (SATA) is an interface standard primarily used to connect storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs) to a motherboard. Storage devices retain data for later use. Input devices (e.g., keyboards), output devices (e.g., monitors), and processing devices (e.g., CPUs) do not use SATA connections.

Correct answer: B. Printer

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black — the four ink colors used in color printers. A technician installing a CMYK cartridge is therefore working on a printer, which is an output device. Hard drives and tape drives are storage devices, and a network router is a network device that forwards data between networks; none of these use ink cartridges.

Correct answer: B. 8,000,000

One megabyte (MB) is approximately 1,000,000 bytes. Since each byte contains 8 bits, multiplying gives 8 × 1,000,000 = 8,000,000 bits. One million bits would equal only 1 MB if bits and bytes were the same size, which they are not. One billion bits would represent about 125 MB.