24. The Story of Semiconductors

According to the essay, what is the defining property of a semiconductor?
1. It generates its own electrical current.
2. It is the best known conductor of electricity.
3. It can control the flow of electricity.
4. It is a perfect insulator, like rubber.
What was the significance of the "cat's whisker" detector mentioned in the essay?
1. It was the first device to use a vacuum tube.
2. It was the invention that created Bell Laboratories.
3. It was the first practical use of a semiconductor.
4. It was a type of early transistor.
How did the invention of the transistor revolutionize electronics, according to the passage?
1. It was the first device to convert radio waves into sound.
2. It allowed thousands of transistors to be placed on a microchip.
3. It replaced large, inefficient vacuum tubes with something tiny and fast.
4. It was the first material that could act as both a conductor and an insulator.
What was the primary purpose of developing the Integrated Circuit (IC), or microchip?
1. To act as a simple diode in early radios.
2. To combine many transistors onto a single piece of silicon.
3. To replace the need for semiconductors entirely.
4. To generate more power than vacuum tubes.
The essay suggests that the progression from early semiconductors to modern microchips has led to which major outcome?
1. The end of all scientific research into new materials.
2. The ability to make electronics more powerful and portable.
3. A decrease in the number of transistors used in devices.
4. The replacement of silicon with other crystal materials.