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A program reads text but shows strange symbols instead of letters. What is the most likely cause?

medium📝 Analysis Q6 of Q15
Intro to Computing - How Data is Represented
A program reads text but shows strange symbols instead of letters. What is the most likely cause?
AThe computer has no RAM
BText encoding mismatch between ASCII and Unicode
CThe text file is empty
DThe keyboard is broken
Step-by-Step Solution
Solution:

  1. Step 1: Understand encoding mismatch

    If a program expects ASCII but the text is Unicode (or vice versa), characters may display incorrectly.

  2. Step 2: Eliminate unrelated hardware/software issues

    No RAM or broken keyboard would cause different problems; empty file shows no text.

  3. Final Answer:

    Text encoding mismatch between ASCII and Unicode -> Option B

  4. Quick Check:

    Encoding mismatch causes garbled text [OK]
Quick Trick: Encoding mismatch causes strange symbols [OK]
Common Mistakes:
MISTAKES
  • Blaming hardware instead of encoding
  • Assuming file is empty
  • Ignoring encoding differences

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