CompTIA A+ Depot Technician Quiz #16

[ramesh]

You need to clean the contacts on an expansion card on your motherboard. What would you use to accomplish this safely? Choose the best option(s) from those listed below.

a) An eraser
b) Denatured alcohol
c) A cotton swab
d) An emery cloth

[Skele Drew]

Errm... What's an emery cloth?

[ramesh]

emery cloth definition

emery cloth:
cloth coated with a mixture of powdered emery and glue, used for polishing and cleaning metal

http://www.yourdictionary.com/emery-cloth

Emery is a very hard rock type used to make abrasive powder. It largely consists of the mineral corundum (aluminum oxide), mixed with other species such as the iron-bearing spinels hercynite and magnetite, and also rutile (titania). Industrial emery may contain a variety of other minerals and synthetic compounds such as magnesia, mullite, and silica.

It is black or dark gray in color, less dense than translucent-brown corundum with a specific gravity of between 3.5 and 3.8. Because it can be a mix of minerals, no definite Mohs hardness can be assigned: the hardness of corundum is 9 and that of some spinel-group minerals is near 8, but the hardness of others such as magnetite is near 6.

Crushed or naturally eroded emery (known as black sand) is used as an abrasive — for example, on an emery board, as a traction enhancer in asphalt and tarmac mixtures, or as used in mechanical engineering as Emery cloth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emery_(mineral)


To clean the contacts on an expansion card you could use a lint free swab with some denatured alcohol on it. You should ensure they are lint free and not an ordinary cotton swab that can leave particles behind. You can also use a piece of emery cloth to clean the contacts. You should do so very gently to avoid eroding the contact surface.

Correct Option(s):

b) Denatured alcohol
d) Emery cloth

Incorrect Option(s):

a) An eraser - Although this is a common technique, it should not be used. Some erasers will actually leave more residue behind than they remove.
c) A cotton swab - You should never use a cotton swab inside the case. They can leave particles behind that can be just as bad as the dirt or dust you are trying to remove. Instead you should use lint free swabs when working inside the computer case.