3 Hardware Flashcards
What s the Internet of Things?
The connection of computer systems and everyday devices using the internet to allow data to be exchanged
What is a central processing unit (CPU)?
A component in a computer system that processes data and instructions
What is a microprocessor?
An integrated circuit that is able to perform many of the functions of a CPU, but on a more limited scale
What is an embedded system and what are examples?
A computer system designed to perform a specific function, like in a traffic light, a washing machine and a digital alarm clock
What is the fetch-decode-execute cycle and its main stages?
The cycle through which data and instructions are processed; fetch stage where instructions are fetched into CPU, decode stage where instructions decoded within CPU, execute stage where instructions executed by CPU
What is an architecture?
The design of a computer system, including the components it contains
What is an input device?
A device that allows data to be entered into a computer system
What is random access memory (RAM)?
A component in the CPU that holds data and programs currently in usee
What is the hard drive?
A storage device that stores data permanently until it is deleted by the user
When the user wants to open a file stored on the hard drive, where will the data be brought?
Into RAM
What is a program counter (PC)?
A component in the CPU that stores the address of the next instruction to be processed
What is the address the program counter (PC) stores?
A memory location in RAM
What is the memory address register (MAR)?
A component in the CPU that holds the address of the data or instruction to be located in RAM
What is the address bus?
Wires used for the transmission of addresses between components in a computer
What is the memory data register (MDR)?
A component in the CPU that holds the data or instruction that is fetched from RAM
What is the data bus?
Wires used for the transmission of data and instructions between components in a computer
What is the current instruction register (CIR)?
A register built into the control unit (CU) that holds the current instruction being processed in the CPU
What is the control unit (CU)?
The component in the CPU that controls all the operations in the CPU, telling all components in the CPU when to perform their different roles
What specifically happens in the fetch stage?
Address sent from PC to MAR using address bus; MAR sends address to RAM location using address bus; data in location sent to MDR using data bus; MDR sends data to CIR using data bus
What happens in the decode stage of the fetch-decode-execute cycle?
The control unit (CU) decodes the instruction using an instruction set
What is an instruction set?
A set of commands that can be processed by a certain CPU
What happens in the execute stage of the fetch-decode-execute cycle?
If mathematical or logical calculations required for instructions to be executed, data used in process sent to ALU which performs all calculations, interim values stored in ACC, actions for instruction then performed after calculations performed
What is the arithmetic logic unit (ALU)?
The component in the CPU that performs all the mathematical and logical operations required when processing data and instructions
What is the accumulator (ACC)?
A register built into the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that stores the result of any interim calculations
What is a control bus?
Wires used for the transmission of control signals between components in a computer
What does the CU use to send signals to all the components in the CPU?
The control bus
What are the main factors that can affect the performance of a CPU?
Number of cores, clock speed, size of the cache
What is a core?
The part of the CPU that contains all the components used to perform the fetch-decode-execute cycle
What is clock speed?
The number of cycles the CPU can perform per second (from internet, in book number of FDE cycles that can be performed per second)
What is a cache?
A type of data storage within the CPU which stores instructions and data the computer uses most, meaning the CPU doesn’t need to fetch it from RAM, just from the cache, which is quicker
What is an input device and examples?
A device that allows data to be entered into a computer system; examples are barcode scanners, digital cameras, keyboards, microphones, optical mouses, QR code scanners, scanners (2D and 3D), touch screens (resistive, capacitive and intra-red)
What is an output device and examples?
A device that can be used to obtain the results of data that has been processed; examples are inkjet printers, laser printers, light emitting diode (LED) screens, liquid crystal display (LCD) projectors, liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, speakers, 3D printers
What is a sensor and their features?
A type of input device that is used to capture analogue data from its immediate environment, normally at given time intervals
What is an automated system?
A system designed to operate without the need for any human intervention
What are the different types of sensors and the data they capture?
Acoustic, accelerometer, flow, gas, humidity, infra-red, level, light, magnetic field, moisture, pH, pressure, proximity, temperature
What does an acoustic sensor do?
Measures level of sound in an envrionment
