Free CLEP Information Systems Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the CLEP Information Systems practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A spreadsheet cell C3 contains =A3*$B$1. The formula is copied one row down to C4. What formula results?

   1. A.=A3*$B$1
   2. B.=A4*$B$1Correct answer: B
   3. C.=A4*$B$2
   4. D.=A3*$B$2

   Explanation: The Calc documentation says, "But be careful if you are copying a formula since in that case only the relative references will be adjusted, not the absolute references." A3 moves down to A4; $B$1 stays fixed.

   Reference: Addresses and References, Absolute and Relative — Relative Addressing; Absolute Addressing; When to Use Relative and Absolute References

2. 2A company gives selected suppliers access to part of its internal network. What is this extended private network commonly called?

   1. A.An intranet
   2. B.An extranetCorrect answer: B
   3. C.A public website
   4. D.A personal area network

   Explanation: IBM explains, "An extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company." The suppliers are external users with selected access.

   Reference: Identity Management Advanced Design for IBM Tivoli Identity Manager — Extranet-facing DMZ

3. 3Malware disguises itself as a normal file to persuade a user to download it. What type is this?

   1. A.TrojanCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Worm
   3. C.Spyware
   4. D.Adware

   Explanation: CISA defines a "Trojan: a type of malware that disguises itself as a normal file to trick a user into downloading it in order to gain unauthorized access to a computer." The disguise and download match that mechanism.

   Reference: Malware Tip Card — Types of Malware

4. 4Which component is normally used as a computer’s main working memory for data actively used by the CPU?

   1. A.Random access memoryCorrect answer: A
   2. B.A solid-state storage drive
   3. C.An optical storage disc
   4. D.A magnetic tape cartridge

   Explanation: IBM states, "Random access memory (RAM) temporarily holds data that the CPU actively uses, enabling faster program execution." Storage drives retain files for longer-term storage.

   Reference: What is computer hardware? — Internal computer hardware

5. 5Which development model organizes work as a series of cascading linear steps?

   1. A.WaterfallCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Agile
   3. C.Spiral
   4. D.Rapid application development

   Explanation: IBM describes waterfall as "a traditional software development model that sets a series of cascading linear steps from planning and requirements gathering through deployment and maintenance." Its distinguishing feature is sequential flow.

   Reference: What is software development? — Waterfall

6. 6What is the primary purpose of a data warehouse?

   1. A.Combine data from multiple sources for querying and analysisCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Record each individual sale as the transaction occurs
   3. C.Keep copies solely to restore systems after failure
   4. D.Archive inactive files without integrating them for analysis

   Explanation: IBM states, "A data warehouse aggregates data from various sources into a central data store optimized for querying and analysis." This supports the analytical purpose.

   Reference: What is a data warehouse? — What is a data warehouse?

7. 7A company hires an outside provider to perform a business process, without specifying where the provider operates. Which arrangement is necessarily described?

   1. A.Business process outsourcingCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Offshoring to another country
   3. C.In-house service delivery
   4. D.Internal process automation

   Explanation: IBM states, "BPO entails contracting an external service provider to fulfill a business function or process." The outside provider performs the contracted process.

   Reference: What is business process outsourcing (BPO)? — What is BPO?

8. 8A company has scanned paper invoices as image-only files and needs their printed text in a machine-readable form. Which technology addresses this need?

   1. A.Optical character recognitionCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Optical mark recognition
   3. C.Speech recognition
   4. D.Text-to-speech synthesis

   Explanation: IBM explains that "Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that uses automated data extraction to quickly convert images of text into a machine-readable format." This matches the printed text in the scanned invoices.

   Reference: What is optical character recognition (OCR)? — What is OCR?

9. 9What does a search engine crawler do when gathering web content?

   1. A.Analyze and store information from retrieved pages
   2. B.Use automated software to download page contentCorrect answer: B
   3. C.Return ranked results for a user’s query
   4. D.Create the original web pages to be searched

   Explanation: Google describes crawling: "Crawling: Google downloads text, images, and videos from pages it found on the internet with automated programs called crawlers." This is the collection stage.

   Reference: In-depth guide to how Google Search works — Introducing the three stages of Google Search

10. 10Which malware type quietly gathers a user’s sensitive information and reports it to unauthorized parties?

    1. A.Adware
    2. B.SpywareCorrect answer: B
    3. C.Ransomware
    4. D.Worm

    Explanation: CISA defines "Spyware: a type of malware that quietly gathers a user’s sensitive information (including browsing and computing habits) and reports it to unauthorized third parties." That collection and reporting is the described behavior.

    Reference: Malware Tip Card — Types of Malware