1.1 Binary Systems Flashcards
what is a computer
an electronic machine for processing data
what does it mean when the computer processes the data
the computer transforms the data into something more useful, this usefel output is called information
what is a processor
an electronic component within a computer which stores and processes information
how does the processor store information
using electrical switches which are either on or off
what is RAM
randon access memory, the area of the computer processor where data is stored
list all the metric conversions of bytes
kilobyte = 1024 bytes
Megabytes = 1024 kilobytes
gigabyte = 1024 megabytes
how does RAM affect computer speed
the processor can make changes to RAM very quickly, this is called processing data, data can be fetched from RAM very quickly
if RAM is full then what happens to computer speed
then data is stored elsewhere and is slower to fetch, slowing down computer speed
what is short term memory
a data store where data is stored only for a short period of time to be used only for a short period of time, for example editing a file
what is long term memory
memory which is stored permanently for uses again and again
what are registers
a small area of memory where data that is ready to be processed is copied from the RAM into a register
how are registers measured
by the amount of bits they can hold, for example an 8 bit or 32 bit register
is there only one type of register is a processor
there are several types of registers in a processor, all used for a different purpose, computers with large registers can work on more data at a time
