Module 8 Review: Mobile Devices

Consolidate Your Learning

A review of the core concepts of mobile devices, from their integrated hardware and wireless radios to their unique power management and troubleshooting challenges.
Author

Chuck Nelson

Published

November 16, 2025

1 Purpose

This document provides a comprehensive review of the key concepts covered in the Mobile Devices module. Through a series of active learning exercises and review questions, you will solidify your understanding of the unique hardware, software, and security considerations that differentiate mobile devices from traditional desktops.

2 What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this review session, you will have:

  • Reinforced your knowledge of mobile hardware, ports, and wireless technologies.
  • Practiced applying diagnostic concepts to a common mobile device scenario.
  • Tested your ability to recall the purpose of key command-line tools for managing mobile hardware.

3 Active Learning and Engagement

NoteSubmitting Your Work

For all the exercises and questions in this review document (except for the partner-based “Peer Instruction”), you are to record your work on a new page in your Microsoft Teams Student Notebook. This will be the official record of your review process.

3.1 Exercise 1: Concept Mapping

Using a digital tool like draw.io, create a concept map that connects the following terms. Draw lines between related concepts and write a short phrase on the line to describe the relationship. Export your finished map as an image and insert it into your notebook page.

  • SoC (System on a Chip)
  • SODIMM
  • Digitizer
  • USB-C
  • Thunderbolt
  • Docking Station
  • Wi-Fi (WLAN)
  • Bluetooth (WPAN)
  • NFC
  • GPS
  • Swollen Battery
  • BMS (Battery Management System)
  • upower
  • nfctool
  • cgps

3.2 Exercise 2: Scenario Challenge

Read the following scenario and write your answers to the questions in your Microsoft Teams Student Notebook.

A user complains that their 3-year-old company laptop has two main problems:

  1. The battery life is terrible; it only lasts about an hour, even after being charged all night.
  2. When they get to their desk at the office, they have to plug in three separate cables: the power adapter, an HDMI cable for their monitor, and a USB-A cable for their keyboard/mouse hub.

You inspect the laptop and notice it has a port with a small “lightning bolt” symbol next to the USB-C icon.

  1. What is the most likely reason the battery life is so poor after three years of use?
  2. What command-line tool could you use on Fedora to get a detailed report on the battery’s long-term health (capacity) to verify your theory?
  3. What single piece of equipment could solve the user’s complaint about plugging in multiple cables?
  4. What specific port on their laptop enables this single-cable solution?

3.3 Exercise 3: Peer Instruction

This exercise is for discussion and does not need to be written down. Find a partner or a small group and choose one of the tabbed sections below. Each person should choose a different topic (A, B, or C) and take a turn explaining it to the others.

Person A explains: The difference between a mobile SoC and a traditional desktop CPU.

Person B explains: The danger of a swollen battery and what physical signs to look for.

Person C explains: The difference between a docking station and a simple port replicator (or hub).

Person A explains: The difference in purpose between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Person B explains: How a “keyboard wedge” device (like a barcode scanner) works and why it doesn’t need special drivers.

Person C explains: The difference between the information you get from acpi versus upower.

4 Review Questions

Answer the following questions in your Microsoft Teams Student Notebook.

  1. What component in a modern smartphone integrates the CPU, GPU, and other controllers into a single chip?
    1. Motherboard
    2. SODIMM
    3. SoC (System on a Chip)
    4. BMS
  2. What is the name for the smaller RAM modules typically used in laptops?
    1. DIMM
    2. SODIMM
    3. M.2
    4. vRAM
  3. Which port uses a USB-C connector but provides significantly more bandwidth for high-speed devices like external GPUs and advanced docking stations?
    1. HDMI
    2. USB 3.0
    3. Thunderbolt
    4. DisplayPort
  4. Which wireless technology is designed for very short-range communication, such as for contactless payments?
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Wi-Fi
    3. Cellular
    4. NFC
  5. What is the most dangerous and visually obvious sign of a critical internal battery failure?
    1. Low capacity
    2. A swollen or bulging case
    3. Device running hot
    4. Inaccurate percentage reading
  6. On Fedora, which command-line tool provides the most detailed report on a battery’s long-term health and capacity?
    1. acpi
    2. lsusb
    3. upower
    4. dmesg
  7. What is the primary command-line tool for interacting with Bluetooth devices?
    1. nmcli
    2. bluetoothctl
    3. bt-scan
    4. rfkill
  8. A simple USB barcode scanner that requires no special drivers is most likely emulating what type of device?
    1. A network card
    2. A serial port
    3. A keyboard
    4. A webcam
  9. What is the modern, text-based client for the gpsd service?
    1. gpsmon
    2. gps-info
    3. cgps
    4. xgps
  10. What command would you use to see a list of available Wi-Fi networks?
    1. nmcli connection show
    2. nmcli device wifi list
    3. iwconfig scan
    4. ip link show

5 Reflect and Review

ImportantFinal Reflection: 3-2-1

You’ve reached the end of the module review. Take a final moment to synthesize your thoughts. In your Microsoft Teams Student Notebook, on a new page for this review, write down:

  • 3 concepts from this module that you feel most confident about now.
  • 2 topics that you found most interesting or surprising.
  • 1 area you still want to review or a question you plan to ask.
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