CH 1 : Types and components of a computer system

Question 1

what is meant by hardware ?

Answer 1

they are the physical components of a computer system such as motherboards , memory , monitors , keyboards , soundcards etc.

Question 2

what is meant by software ?

Answer 2

they are the programs for controlling the computer’s operations or for the processing of electronic data

Question 3

what are the internal hardware devices ?

Answer 3

• motherboard
• RAM ( random access memory )
• ROM ( read-only memory)
• Graphics card
• Sound card
• internal Hard disk drive

Question 4

what are some of external hardware devices ?

Answer 4

• monitors
• keyboards / mouses
• external storage devices
• speakers / headphones
• scanners
• printers

Question 5

what does software consists of ?

Answer 5

• a set of instructions that tells the computer’s hardware what to do , software is written in a quite few different languages , without software the hardware is useless

Question 6

what are the two main types of software ?

Answer 6

• Application software

- System software

Question 7

what are applications software ?

Answer 7

• they are programs that carry out certain operations for a particular application
• note :
  application software cannot run on its own it is dependent on system software

Question 8

what does applications software include ?

Answer 8

• word processing
• spreadsheets
• database management software
• measuring software
• graphics manipulation software
• photo-editing software
• video editing software
• control software
• applets and apps

Question 9

what are system software ?

Answer 9

• system software are programs that control the hardware directly by giving it a step by step instruction that tell the computer’s hardware what to do.

Question 10

what does System software include ?

Answer 10

• operating systems
• device drivers
• compilers
• linkers
• utilites

Question 11

what is an operating systems ?

Answer 11

• it is a software that controls the hardware and is used to run applications software.

Question 12

what are compilers ?

Answer 12

compiler converts the whole program from the programming language to binary in one go .

Question 13

Device driver ?

Answer 13

• driver software can control a printer/scanner

Question 14

what are linkers ?

Answer 14

they are usually a part of the compiler , it takes care of linking between the code that the programmer wrote and other resources so that the computer can read the code.

Question 15

what are utilties ?

Answer 15

• part of the system software that perform a specific task such as :
• creating / deleting files
• removing and checking for viruses
• burning CDs and DVDs ( saving data on them)
• formating a disk ready to use

Question 16

what are the main components of a computer ?

Answer 16

• Input devices ( mouse , keyboard .etc)
• processing and internal memory
• output devices ( monitor , speakers . etc)
• backing / secondary storage ( hard disk , DVD- R / W drive . etc)

processing and internal memory includes the CPU , ROM , RAM and the internal hard disk.

Question 17

what is the role of a CPU in the computer system ?

Answer 17

• it controls the step by step running of the computer system
• it performs all of the calculations and logical operations
• it deals with the storage of data and programs in memory

Question 18

what are the roles / tasks of an operating system ?

Answer 18

• it provides security and prevents unauthorized access to the computer system
• it helps the user to interact with the computer via a user-interface
• it saves , deletes, finds and organizes files
• resolves error occurring

Question 19

what are the properties of a ROM ?

Answer 19

• the programs and the instructions are stored permanently
• the computer can only read the contents of the ROM
• non-volatile meaning that when the power is turned off the data is retained
• used to store the BIOS program which is used to boot the computer up when power is turned on

Question 20

what are the proporties of RAM ?

Answer 20

• data and program instructions are stored temporarily
• can read and write new contents
• volatile meaning data is lost when power is turned off
• stores application software details that are currently being used

Question 21

what is meant by BIOS ?

Answer 21

• ( basic input / output system ) stored in ROM and it holds instructions to boot( start) the computer up when first switched on

Question 22

what is meant by an operating system ?

Answer 22

• an operating system is a system that gives the computer step-by-step instruction on what to do