Chapter 3 Flashcards
System Unit
the main body of a computer that contains a motherboard, it contains the inner workings of a computer essential everything inside the box
Motherboard
the main part of the computer, power supplies, coolings fans, disk drives, primary memory, secondary memory, expansion cards, etc. are all plugged into the motherboard
Box
is called a case or chassis, encloses the main components of the computer, comes in a variety of sizes and configurations that are typically determined by the size and shape of the motherboard
Motherboard
is the primary “circuit board” that is a complex array of electronics that connect and help different components of the computer communicate with one another
Circuit Board
sometimes called printed circuit board (PCB) is a logical and economical way to replace loose wiring by applying copper wires directly to a sheet of non conductive plastic
Microprocessor
sometimes called a microprocessor chip is plugged directly into a slot on the motherboard and serves as the brains for the microcomputer
CPU (central processing unit)
interprets program instructions and processes data by performing arithmetic and logical operations, its what gives a microcomputer the ability to be programmed
Clock rate
how a microcomputers speed is measured, which is defined as the number of cycles per second that a computer can perform its most basic tasks, and is measured in gigahertz
RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)
architecture chips designed for efficiency and were the first 64 bit processor
Bus lines
are the pathways (the roads) that transfer data and power between components inside of a computer and sometimes between computers themselves
4 Bus types
PCI (peripheral component interconnect), AGP (accelerated graphics port, USB (Universal serial bus), and Firewire (high performance serial bus)
Binary number system
a two state number system on a computer that is used for the computer to understand the commands
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
coding scheme to represent bytes
PSU (power supply unit)
the part the supplies electricity, converts 100-120 volts or 220-240 of alternating current (AC) to a lower voltage direct current (DC) that can be used by the internal components of the system unit
Primary storage
volatile, faster to access data, doesnt save data
Secondary storage
non volatile, hard drive, saves data but takes longer to access but more important because it has it saved
ROM Chips (read only memory)
are preprogrammed, require no user intervention, and serve to perform specialized internal tasks likes starting the computer sometimes called firmware
Expansion Card
specialized circuit board that can be plugged into a motherboards expansion slot to add further functionality to a computer like enhancing a computers audio ability or to serve as a tv
Port
a specific outlet that serves as a connection enabling communication between the computer and devices like digital cameras, keyboards, printers, etc. similar to an electrical outlet
Machine language
a binary system of ones and zeros representing patterns of bits that represent instructions that a computers central processing unit is able to understand
Input
data and information that enters a computer system and is subsequently translated for processing
Output
data and information that exits a computer and is translated for human comprehension
Input device
a computer hardware apparatus that translates data and information that a person understands into the machine language that a CPU can understand and process
Stylus
a pen like device (apple pen)
Image scanners
are devices that analyze, convert, and translate images, printed text, or handwriting to a digital format
RFID
RFID reader and RFID tags are an input mechanism that can be used to label a product for identification and have the products information transmitted through radio waves
Input devices
Keyboard, mouses, touch pads (a mouse but only use your finger), stylus, microphone, digital cameras, video cameras, image scanners, OCRs, webcams, barcode readers, RFIDs
Output devices
Monitors, laser printers, ink jet printers, vector graphics printing device (plotters)
Pixels
the small dots that make up camera monitors
resolution
defined by the amount of pixels inside a defined dimension, “dots per inch”
