01 - Computer Basics | 02. Important Hardware

Question 1

What does CPU stand for?

Answer 1

Central Processing Unit

Question 2

What does a CPU do?

Answer 2

A Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions based on an input of binary data (0’s and 1’s).

Question 3

What are the three main components of a CPU?

Answer 3

• Control Unit (CU)
• Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
• Registers (Immediate Access Store)

Question 4

T/F Data, to our hardware, is a series of binary on and off, electrical pulses.

Answer 4

TRUE

Question 5

Through hardware, where do electrical pulses run through and why do we need it?

Answer 5

Wires, semiconductors, and components as a means to process and return data that is usable by the software

Question 6

What does CU stand for and what does it do?

Answer 6

The Control Unit (CU) is the overseer of the CPU, responsible for controlling and monitoring the input and output of data from the computer’s hardware. The Control Unit is the component receiving instructions from the software and running the show.

Question 7

What is the primary job of the Control Unit?

Answer 7

Its primary job is making sure that data is sent to the right component, at the right time, and arrives with integrity.

Part of this job is keeping all the hardware working on the same schedule. It does this with a clock, which sends out a regular electrical signal to all components at the same time to coordinate activities.

Question 8

What does ALU stand for and what does it do?

Answer 8

The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) is where all the processing on your computer takes place. Even as you scroll this text box, the ALU is calculating pixel changes on the screen and sending that output to the monitor.

Question 9

T/F The ALU is not a fundamental building block of the CPU?

Answer 9

FALSE - It is a fundamental building block, nearly all functional processing occurs in this chip.

Question 10

The ALU’s functions can be divided into which two primary functions?

Answer 10

As the name implies, the ALU’s functions can be divided into two primary areas:

1. Arithmetic operations that deal with calculating data (e.g. 5 * 4 = 20)
2. Logic operations that deal with comparisons and conditionals (e.g. 25 > 10)

Question 11

What is a register?

Answer 11

The register, or immediate access store, is limited space, high-speed memory that the CPU can use for quick processing. Registers are small pieces of memory right on the CPU.

Question 12

What is another name for an immediate access store?

Answer 12

A register

Question 13

Why are register(s) important for the CPU?

Answer 13

They provide the CPU with a place to store and access values that are crucial to the immediate calculations the ALU is processing.

Question 14

T/F A register is dynamic in number and defined in the Instruction Set Architecture?

Answer 14

FALSE - It is fixed in number and defined in the Instruction Set Architecture.

Question 15

What are typical counts of register(s)?

Answer 15

There are typically 8, 16, 32, or 64 registers depending on the architecture and are also fixed in size based on the size of the number it can hold.

Question 16

T/F RAM is considered primary volatile memory

Answer 16

TRUE

Question 17

What does RAM stand for and what does it do?

Answer 17

Random Access Memory, or RAM, is additional high-speed memory that a computer uses to store and access information on a short-term basis. In general, a computer’s performance can be directly correlated to the amount of RAM it has available to use. RAM is considered primary volatile memory, which means it loses whatever is stored on it as soon as power is disconnected.

Question 18

What does RAM stand for and what does it do?

Question 19

What does primary volatile memory mean? What is an example?

Answer 19

It means that it loses whatever is stored on it as soon as power is disconnected. RAM is an example.

Question 20

What is a bus in hardware?

Answer 20

A bus is an engineering term for a job-specific high-speed wire. These wires are often group together in bundles and will transfer electrical signals either in parallel or in serial, that is many signals at once or one pulse at a time.

Question 21

What are the groups of functions for buses?

Answer 21

Buses can be grouped into three functions: data buses, address buses, and control buses.

Question 22

What do data buses do?

Answer 22

Data buses carry data back and forth between the processor and other components. Data buses are bidirectional.

Question 23

T/F Data buses are unidirectional?

Answer 23

FALSE - Data buses are bidirectional, which means that they transfer data both to and from other locations.

Question 24

If a bus is “bi-directional” what does that mean?

Answer 24

It means that they transfer data both to and from other locations.

Question 25

What do address buses do?

Answer 25

Address buses carry a specific address in memory and are unidirectional. We can visualize all of our memory like a village with each house representing a package of data. Every house/data has an address. When our computer tells a program or component what data to use, it sends the address and then the component knows where to find the data when it needs it.

Question 26

What do control buses do?

Answer 26

Control buses are also unidirectional and are responsible for carrying the control signals of the CU to other components as well as the clock signals for synchronization.

Question 27

T/F A control bus is unidirectional?

Answer 27

TRUE

Question 28

T/F Hard Disks and Hard Drives are synonymous terms

Answer 28

TRUE

Question 29

What does non-volatile memory mean? What is an example?

Answer 29

That it will retain its information when we shut down our computer. Hard drives are an example of this.

Question 30

What are hard disks responsible for?

Answer 30

Hard disks, or hard drives, are responsible for the long-term, or secondary storage of data and programs.

Question 31

T/F Mainboard and Motherboard are not synonymous terms

Answer 31

FALSE - They are synonymous

Question 32

What is the motherboard, what does it do?

Answer 32

The mainboard, or motherboard, is a printed circuit board that houses important hardware components via ports. Hardware such as the CPU, the hard drive, various USB devices, and more are connected through ports on the mainboard. The mainboard allows these components to communicate easily.

Question 33

What is a port, what does it do?

Answer 33

A port is a physical outlet used to connect outside, IO (Input/Output) devices to a computer. A computer typically contains multiple ports. This connection allows for communication between the IO device and our computers. Examples of IO devices include keyboards, mice, and monitors.

Question 34

T/F A computer typically contains a single port

Answer 34

FALSE - Computers typically contain multiple ports.