Q 01/05

Silicon Valley corresponds roughly to the geographical area of which county's namesake valley?

A) Santa Clara

B) Napa Valley

C) San Joaquin

D) San Mateo

Answer · why

A) Santa Clara

It sits in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, with San Jose as its largest city.

Q 02/05

Until the 1960s the region was the world's largest fruit-packing area. What was its nickname?

A) The Orchard Coast

B) The Valley of Heart's Delight

C) The Garden of the West

D) Apricot Valley

Answer · why

B) The Valley of Heart's Delight

It once had 39 fruit canneries before the orchards gave way to office parks.

Q 03/05

Which journalist is credited with popularising the name Silicon Valley in a 1971 article?

A) Walter Mossberg

B) Steven Levy

C) Don Hoefler

D) John Markoff

Answer · why

C) Don Hoefler

His piece "Silicon Valley U.S.A." ran in the trade paper Electronic News after he heard visiting marketing people use the term at lunch.

Q 04/05

The "silicon" in Silicon Valley refers to the element used in what?

A) Solar panels

B) Glass fibre optics

C) Computer casings

D) Transistors and chips

Answer · why

D) Transistors and chips

The name did not become widespread until the early 1980s, around the launch of the IBM PC.

Q 05/05

Which Stanford engineering dean, who urged graduates to start companies, is called a father of Silicon Valley?

A) Frederick Terman

B) David Starr Jordan

C) Leland Stanford

D) Vannevar Bush

Answer · why

A) Frederick Terman

Terman spearheaded the creation of Stanford Industrial Park in 1951 and found venture capital for start-ups.