Business 4: IT Fundamentals Flashcards
List the five main components of IT.
- People
- Data
- Hardware
- Software
- Networks
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What is a CPU (central processing unit)?
Control center of the computer system
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What are the two principal components of a CPU?
1) Processor
2) Primary storage
In a CPU, what does a processor do?
- Interprets program instructions
- Coordinates input, output, and storage devices (the control unit)
- Performs arithmetic calculations (the arithmetic logic unit)
In a CPU, what is the purpose of primary storage?
- Main memory
- Used to store program instructions and data until program instructions can be executed
For personal computers, what is primary storage (main memory) further divided into?
- RAM (random access memory)
- ROM (read-only memory)
What does RAM (random access memory) do?
- Stores data temporarily while it is being processed
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What is a CPU (central processing unit)?
Control center of the computer system
What does RAM (random access memory) do?
- Stores data temporarily while it is being processed
What does ROM (read-only memory) do?
Used to permanently store data needed to power the computer
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
Give an example of a secondary storage device.
- Hard drive
- Magnetic disk
- Flash drive
- CD-ROM discs
- Optical discs
- Magnetic tape
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
Secondary storage devices are a means to do what?
To permanently store programs and data
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What is often used for disk storage currently?
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What is the basic idea of RAID?
- To combine multiple inexpensive disk drives into an array of disk drives to obtain performance, capacity and reliability that exceed that of a single large disk drive
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What is the basic idea of RAID?
- To combine multiple inexpensive disk drives into an array of disk drives to obtain performance, capacity and reliability that exceed that of a single large disk drive
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What do you call devices that transfer data to or from the CPU but that do not take part in the actual processing of the data?
Peripherals (which include input and output devices)
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What do input devices do?
Supply the data to be process
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
Give an example of an input device.
- Keyboard
- Mice
- Scanner
- Magnetic ink character readers (MICR)
- Touch sensitive screens
- Microphones
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What do output devices do?
Transfer data from the processing unit to various output media
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
Give an example of an output device.
- printers
- speakers
- cathode ray tubes
- graphic printers
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
Give an example of an output device.
- printers
- speakers
- cathode ray tubes
- graphic printers
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What does MIPS stand for?
Millions of instructions per second
Components of Computerized Systems - Hardware.
What does MIPS stand for?
Millions of instructions per second
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
Software can be divided into what three broad categories?
1) System software
2) Programming languages
3) Application software
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
What does system software consist of?
Programs that run the computer and support management operations
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
What does system software consist of?
Programs that run the computer and support management operations
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
What type of system provides the interface b/w the user and the hardware?
Operating system
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
What type of system controls all input and output to main memory?
Operating system
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
What does DBMS stand for?
Database management system
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
In organizations that employ mainframe and midrange computer systems, why is having a database management system software package important?
B/c it controls the development, use and maintenance of the databases used by the organization
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
In organizations that employ mainframe and midrange computer systems, why is having a database management system software package important?
B/c it controls the development, use and maintenance of the databases used by the organization
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
Define bit w/r/t data storage.
a binary digit (0 or 1) with which all computer data is stored
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
Define byte w/r/t data storage.
group of normally 8 bits that can rep a number or a letter, with the specific form dependent on what internal representation format is being used
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
Sometimes bytes are called what?
Characters
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
How many bytes is 1KB?
1KB = 1,000 bytes
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
How many bytes is 1MB?
1MB = 1 million bytes
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
How many bytes is 1GB?
1GB = 1 billion bytes
Components of Computerized Systems - Software.
How many bytes is 1TB?
1TB = 1 trillion bytes