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The Hindu
The Hindu
Technology
Vasudevan Mukunth

Science Quiz | What computers need to compute: Logic gates

Q: A logic gate is a device that performs a logical operation on the inputs it receives. E.g., the value of 1 OR 0 is 1 and the value of 1 AND 0 is 0. Name the branch of algebra that deals with such combinations and their underlying theory.

A: Boolean algebra

Q: Very large scale integration, or VLSI, refers to the technology by which billions of metal-oxide semiconductor transistors are combined in a single chip. Name the two logic gates most commonly used in these setups.

A: XOR and AND

Q: Name the two logic gates that are deemed to be functionally complete – i.e. each capable of recreating the functions of any other logic gate (AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR, and XNOR) by being combined in different ways.

A: NOR and NAND

Q: The most common type of transistor in modern digital circuits is the MOS. ‘MOS’ stands for metal-oxide semiconductor. What does ‘FET’ stand for?

A: Field effect transistor

Q: A quantum computer also uses logic gates to execute different types of calculations. Its basic computational unit is the qubit. When a qubit is composed of two basis states, the ________ gate produces a quantum superposition of these states. Fill in the blank.

A: Hadamard gate

(Source: Public domain)

Q: This image shows three NOR gates mimicking the operation of which other gate?

A: AND gate

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