Components of a Computer system

Question 1

Embedded systems

Answer 1

Computers inside a larger system ie microwave or TV

Question 2

CPU

Answer 2

Where data and instructions are processed consisting of the control unit (CU), arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and Cache

Question 3

CU

Answer 3

Job is to manage the fetching, decoding and execution of program instructions within a CPU

Question 4

ALU

Answer 4

Completes calculations within a CPU ie arithmetic (+ or - etc) and logical (NOT, AND etc)

Question 5

Cache

Answer 5

Very fast memory that stores frequently used data by the CPU

Question 6

Program counter (PC)

Answer 6

Holds the memory address of the instruction for each cycle

Question 7

Accumulator

Answer 7

Stores intermediate results of calculations in the ALU

Question 8

Memory Address Register (MAR)

Answer 8

Holds any memory address about to be used by the CPU

Question 9

Memory Data Register

Answer 9

Holds the actual data or instruction to be used by the CPU

Question 10

RAM

Answer 10

Main memory for a computer and is volatile

Question 11

Secondary storage

Answer 11

Virtual memory used as extra RAM when full due to too many or too data expensive programs are open

Question 12

ROM

Answer 12

Non volatile used by the CPU to boot up

Question 13

Clock speed

Answer 13

The speed at which a processor can carry out instructions, the higher the better the CPU

Question 14

Cores

Answer 14

Each Core in a CPU can process data independently meaning more instructions can be performed

Question 15

Von Neuman bottleneck

Answer 15

A CPU can only perform one task at a time

Question 16

Hard disks/drives

Answer 16

Internal storage made up of magnetised disks read and written by a moving arm. Portable, durable and reliable

Question 17

Solid state drives (SSD)

Answer 17

Storage devices with no moving parts instead using flash memory or similar, faster read write times than hard rives with similar capabilities

Question 18

Optical disks

Answer 18

Such as CDs or DVDs lost use but cheap and portable though easily scratched

Question 19

Magnetic tapes

Answer 19

Used for archiving as has large storage capacity but very slow to find specific data

Question 20

Operating system (OS)

Answer 20

Provide an interface and a platform to run applications whilst helping to manage memory for the CPU and user accounts

Question 21

Utilities

Answer 21

Help to maintain or configure a computer

Question 22

Defragmentation

Answer 22

To reorganize separated fragments of related data on (a computer disk) into a contiguous arrangement