question 8 practice exam

kevinmac1961

Question 8 asks what type of connector a vga or svga monitor uses, 2 of the choices are db15 male or female however it doesnt specify whether the connector is on the monitor or the pc. In reality, if it is on the pc it is female and if it is on the monitor it is male, yet your answer specifies female. please explain this to me.

RussS

Ok - we look at the question and analyse it ..

8. What type of connector is used for VGA and SVGA monitors?
a. 15-pin, three-row, female DB connector
b. 9-pin, two-row, male DB connector
c. 15-pin, three-row, male DB connector
d. 15-pin, two-row, female DB connector
e. 13-pin, three-row, female DB connector

When reading the various technical publications for A+ we find that universally when referring to a VGA/SVGA connection we are dealing with the connection on the computer and not the monitor itself.

This is the way that a Comptia question would be phrased, so that would be why the question is asked that way.



Answer(s): a. 15-pin, three-row, female DB connector

kavanagh

Why do Comptia not just leave out the gender options altogether in this question? It's recognition of the connector that's required.

bellboy

they specify the sex of the connector as not all connectors are the same sex.

Webmaster

trick000, it is like RussS explained. For example the mouse you connect to the mouse port on the computer, same goes with keyboard, and monitor. I believe the only question about connectors on a cable itself are those relate to network media.

I hope this helps,

Johan

mxedisn

Question:
8. What type of connector is used for VGA and SVGA monitors?

Although Comptia questions generally default to the computer,
IN THIS PARTICULAR QUESTION, the question specifically refers to the monitor.

What type of connector is used for a monitor?

A 3-Row DB15 male.

What type of connector is used for a video card?

A 3-Row DB15 Female.

The ambiguity could be removed by either changing the preposition "for" to "on": "What type of connector is used on VGA and SVGA monitors"; or by changing the question to: "What type of connector do VGA and SVGA monitors plug into."

As it stands, though, this question still strikes me as a bit ambiguous.

mxedisn

David Whitcombe -- A+ Course instructor, Colorado Mountain College
Math Teacher, Rifle High School

RussS

As it stands, though, this question still strikes me as a bit ambiguous

And that is the very problem with many Comptia questions on the real exams. I have viewed some awesomly accurate practice exams, but guys who have used them said that when they came to the real thing they couldn't figure out what the heck was being asked. Most question writers try to follow a similar style to Comptia questions without giving the 'exact' question.

Webmaster

The ambiguity is also in the use of the word 'connector' instead of 'port'. If it would be 'port' there wouldn't be any doubt, this way it makes you think. It might even throw you off, and that is exactly what CompTIA does with their exams.

The ambiguity could be removed by either changing the preposition "for" to "on"

That would make it another question... it says 'for' for a reason.

"What type of connector is used for VGA and SVGA monitors?"

IN THIS PARTICULAR QUESTION, the question specifically refers to the monitor

yes, it refers to what type of connector on the computer is used for VGA and SVGA monitor. Yeah I know I can easily say that: I wrote it, but like you said yourself: "Comptia questions generally default to the computer"

Not only from a CompTIA point of view, also from a practical point of view, it's more likely that someone asks where to connect a monitor to, than what's on the end of the cable on a monitor. (Where do I plug this in?)

The primary exception is network cabling, for which usually the specifications of the connector on the cable are more important than the port it's plugged into.

As it stands, though, this question still strikes me as a bit ambiguous.

That's what it's supposed to do.

Thanks for your comments!

ashadep

kevinmac1961 wrote:

Question 8 asks what type of connector a vga or svga monitor uses, 2 of the choices are db15 male or female however it doesnt specify whether the connector is on the monitor or the pc. In reality, if it is on the pc it is female and if it is on the monitor it is male, yet your answer specifies female. please explain this to me.

I agree the question was rather confusing

Sag

Not only from a CompTIA point of view, also from a practical point of view, it's more likely that someone asks where to connect a monitor to, than what's on the end of the cable on a monitor. (Where do I plug this in?)

I am getting ready to write the exam in a couple of days and this question struck me as confusing too. This is why I am here. The above quote is what made it understandable. I will take this information with me into the exam, I just hope you're right. I have seen my share of contradictory / confusing information out there.

Thanks.

lancebukkake

kavanagh wrote:

Why do Comptia not just leave out the gender options altogether in this question? It's recognition of the connector that's required.

thats a good question...let me try to explain...im a broadcast engineer and deal with connectors all the time...if i need someone to give me a male BNC connector or a female BNC it's easier to ask for a male or a female BNC instead of saying..."i need a round connector that turns"...same thing with computer connectors as well...male to female DB-15 connectors for extending the monitor cable...the recognition is very important as well as the terms..."female DB-15 connector" is easier to say than "a connector with 15 holes and is shaped as a d." hope this helps a little

Crickett

I agree with most here that the question is ambiguous as written. However I must agree with the others when they say that CompTIA exams can be vague and you really have to stop and think "What the heck are they trying to ask?".

OT:
In contrast, I've found that the Microsoft certs do not have this problem.

Webmaster

Crickett wrote:

OT:
In contrast, I've found that the Microsoft certs do not have this problem.

Cisco, Novell, CWNP, Checkpoint, and many others neither.

ddw301276

When you think about it there is actually nothing wrong with the question. they are asking what type of Connector is used for VGA and SVGA monitors.

This triggers one to envisage a monitor, cable and the connector at the end of it. The question basically asks what standard type of connector is used for monitors of that particular technology. We already know that the computer itself must have a port for the VGA/SVGA but it is the connector type on the monitor end that is in question..ie, sex, pins, etc...I guess so that if you ever had to replace a monitor connector you would know what one looked like.

Maybe I'm wrong, there is ambiguity but that can be removed with a bit of reasoning and logical process of elimination.

jdwclemson

My monitors always have female connectors on BOTH the PC AND the MONITOR. The CABLE has MALE ends on BOTH sides. Its strange that they would refer to the PORT as a CONNECTOR, since its the cable that actually makes the CONNECTION, therefore since the cable is MALE on BOTH ends, it would seem that video CONNECTORS are MALE DB-15. What am I missing here? Are connector and port synonymous terms?

mustwork02

Hello all,

I am currently studying to take the A+ and I got this one wrong because I was thinking ok this one is easy it's 15-pin male. So, my question is, are the Comptia exams still ambiguous?

TXOgre

mustwork02 wrote: »

Hello all,

I am currently studying to take the A+ and I got this one wrong because I was thinking ok this one is easy it's 15-pin male. So, my question is, are the Comptia exams still ambiguous?

I took the A+ exams a few weeks ago, and yes, some of them are ambiguous. The one that sticks out the most in my head was a question about an RJ-11 connection asking how many pairs are available in an RJ-11. The answer is 3 pair, since a pair of wires is 2 wires. However, 3 was not an option, but 6 was an option, as well as 2, 4, and 8 I believe. Some of the questions were poorly worded, but you should still be able to pass if you miss them, as long as you know the material.

mustwork02

TXOgre wrote: »

I took the A+ exams a few weeks ago, and yes, some of them are ambiguous. The one that sticks out the most in my head was a question about an RJ-11 connection asking how many pairs are available in an RJ-11. The answer is 3 pair, since a pair of wires is 2 wires. However, 3 was not an option, but 6 was an option, as well as 2, 4, and 8 I believe. Some of the questions were poorly worded, but you should still be able to pass if you miss them, as long as you know the material.

Thanks for your feedback. I am studying my behind off, so it's like you said, as long as I know the material I should be ok. Well on to more studying

rmanuel

I absolute agree. I have gotten this question wrong just for the simple fact that I assume the question refered to the actual monitor.