Failed A+ Core Exam

Bravo5

I took the Core exam this a.m. and failed with a score of 490. I was a little upset . I saw some questions I understood but I didn't understand the answers. : I blamed the books at first but when I checked them later they had the answers ! So this was my learning experience and I am thankful. I now have a good feel for what I need to study now that I have "seen the elephant".
The good news is that I realize I have a good grasp on the subject matter but need to take it to the "next level".
Questions I had problems with :
Full and Half- Duplex Transmission. I freaked on this one! A duplex? What the hell is a duplex? I thought they were houses!

IEEE1284. Never heard of it! Looked in my Exam Cram 2 (I knew they didn't mention it in there) and ......ooops! There it is..."commonly called a parallel printer cable.....". What a shmuck !

To ESD or to unplug, that is the question. I think I chose ESD first. Not a good idea.

That's it for now. I am setting a time frame of two weeks. to try it again. I would appreciate any brow beating and or advice. Thanks.

bellboy

first of all, sorry to hear about your fail, but now you know what to expect and realise some areas you need to brush-up on. if you study well, i am sure you will pass the next time.

have you downloaded the exam objectives from the comptia website? i would sugges doing this and marking against the objectives that you are less-sure of, and working on them. take some good practise tests and print off another copy of the objectives marking what you answered poorly on. over a period of a few weeks you will find you are marking less, if at all!

half-duplex is where data can only travel in one direction at a time (say a network cable), whereas full-duplex is where data can travel in both directions at the same time.

or, with soundcards. a half-duplex can not record at the same time as it plays sound.

Bravo5

have you downloaded the exam objectives from the comptia website?

Yes and I have already marked the ones I need to work on. Thanks. More to follow.

tzoellick

One of the best analogies that I've heard to explain Full and half duplex:

Say you're talking with your friend.
half duplex is like talking over walkie-talkie - only one of you can speak at a time.
full duplex is like talking over a telephone - you can both speak at the same time - although this is rude!

I'm studying for both A+ tests and have ordered my vouchers...I wish you luck on your next try!