Data is defined as what in this material?

• A. Information that is unorganized
• B. Processed information
• C. A program
• D. A computer's memory

Answer: (A)

Data are raw facts and figures that haven’t been organized or interpreted yet. In this material, data are described as unprocessed information—facts without context. When you process and organize that data, you turn it into information, which has meaning. So data being unorganized information fits best: it’s information that hasn’t been arranged or analyzed.

A program is a set of instructions for the computer, not data itself. A computer’s memory is the place where data and programs are stored, not the definition of data. Processed information is information after it has been interpreted or summarized.