Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

GCSE Computing > Computing > Flashcards

Computing Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
GCSE Geography - AQA flashcards GCSE Religious Studies - Edexcel Route B flashcards GCSE Religious Studies - Eduqas Route A flashcards GCSE Religious Studies - Edexcel Route A flashcards GCSE Religious Studies - Eduqas Route B flashcards
1
Q

Computer

A

An electronic, programmable data processing machine

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Computer system

A

A collection of hardware and software that work together to achieve data processing tasks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

System

A

A collection of parts that work together for a defined purpose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

System boundary

A

How a system is separated from the outside world

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is a system boundary often called?

A

Interface

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Importance of computer systems

A

Improve quality of manufacturing
Cheaper manufacturing
Faster access to information
New ways of doing business

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Types of computer systems

A

General-purpose
Dedicated
Control
Embedded
Expert
Managment information

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

General-purpose systems

A

Personal computers that are designed to perform multiple tasks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Dedicated systems

A

Systems that are specially produced to perform a single function or set of functions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Control systems

A

Computers systems that control machinery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Embedded systems

A

Computer systems that are part of a larger system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Expert systems

A

Systems designed to behave like a human expert

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Management information systems

A

Systems that bring together the information from all parts of an organisation so that managers can make sensible decisions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Data integrity

A

Data being accurate and consistent throughout its life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

De facto standards

A

Standards that develop over time because of common usage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

De jure standards

A

De facto standards that have become so unviersally accepted that they have to be adhered to or communication is impossible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Proprietary standards

A

Owned by an organisation. Ensure compatibility between the company’s products

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Industry standards

A

Set by recognised non-commercial organisations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Open standards

A

Publicly available
Produced collaboratively
Not dominated by any one interest group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Examples of open standards

A

HTTP
WAP
HTML
XML

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Ethical act

A

An act that is morally “right”.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

A legal act

A

An act that does not break any laws.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Data protection

A

Laws that intend to protect the privacy of data of individuals on computer systems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Hardware

A

The physical components of a computer system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Hardware components

A

Input
Output
Storage
Processing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

The central processing unit

A

Carries out the processing in a computer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

The arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)

A

Carries out all of the arithmetic and logical operations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

The control unit

A

Uses electrical signals to control the flow of data within the CPU

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

The fetch-execute cycle

A

Fetch
Decode
Execute
Fetch

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

The boot sequence

A

A sequence of processes that contains all the information and instructions to start the computer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Boot loader

A

A program that starts the boot sequence when the computer is switched on

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

CPU clock speed

A

The speed of the fetch-execute cycle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Cache memory

A

Very expensive
Contains recently used data

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Types of memory

A

Virtual memory
Flash memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Virtual memory

A

Part of the hard drive
Used as an extension to RAM

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Flash memory

A

A type of ROM that can be rewritten
Used as a portable medium for storing data

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

Example of input devices

A

Mouse – controls a pointer on screen that can be opened, dragged or controlled by clicking buttons on the mouse

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

Output device example

A

Monitor - the most common way of displaying text, images and video

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Secondary storage

A

Needed to store data and programs when the power is switched off

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

Types of secondary storage

A

Magnetic hard disk
Optical disk
Flash memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

Magnetic hard disk properties

A

Reliable
High capacity
Low cost

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

Optical disk properties

A

Good capacity
Low cost
Lightweight
Portable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

Flash memory properties

A

Good capacity
Used in hand held device
More expensive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

Software

A

The programs we run and data we use on our computers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

Multi-purpose computers

A

Computers that store their software on a secondary storage medium

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

A

Uses icons to represent resources, files, programs and actions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

Types of memory management

A

Virtual memory
Peripheral management
Fragmentation and defragmentation
Device drivers
Multitasking

48
Q

Directory

A

A logical grouping of files, also called folders

49
Q

File extensions

A

These are parts of the file name that indicate what type of file it is

50
Q

Attributes

A

Files can be given different attributes, which provide extra information about the file

51
Q

Viruses

A

Viruses are programs that replicate themselves. They attach themselves to legitimate programs

52
Q

Authentication

A

Operating systems usually allow the authentication of users. This normally involves users having a user ID and a password

53
Q

Privileges

A

The rights assigned to users and groups

54
Q

Encryption

A

Files are transformed in such a way that an unauthorised person cannot understand them

55
Q

Types of programming software

A

Editors
Linkers
Interpreters

56
Q

Editors

A

They allow text to be created, saved, read and changed

57
Q

Applications

A

Are the programs that people use to read-world jobs

58
Q

Utilities

A

Software tools that help make maintaining the system easier

59
Q

Custom written software

A

Software specially commissioned for a particular customer

60
Q

Off the shelf software

A

Ready immediately
Extensively tested
There will be lots of forums online where users can help each other

61
Q

Open source software

A

Software that has been placed in the public domain by the programmers

62
Q

Bit

A

A binary digit

63
Q

Units

A

8 bits = byte, 4 bits = nibble

64
Q

Converting from denary to binary

A

Repeated division by 2, recording the remainder each time.

65
Q

Hexadecimal numbers

A

Numbers that are easily converted from binary and easy to remember or recognize

66
Q

Database

A

A persistent organised store of data on a computer system

67
Q

Persistent (database)

A

It is saved on secondary storage for the future

68
Q

Organised (database)

A

A structure that can be easily processed

69
Q

The importance of databases

A

Accurate
Up to date
Available to those who need to use them
Protected from those who should not have access

70
Q

Data security

A

Refers to keeping data safe

71
Q

Data integrity

A

Data reflects reality

72
Q

Validation

A

The process of checking data when it is input

73
Q

Validation methods

A

Length check
Type check
Range check
Presence check

74
Q

Verification

A

Checking that the data entered is correct

75
Q

CRUD

A

Standard operations on databases are sometimes listed under the term CRUD:
Create Read Update Delete

76
Q

Data matching

A

Compares different databases to look fo particular relationships

77
Q

Data mining

A

A process that looks in many different unrelated databases

78
Q

Flat file database

A

This is just rows and columns such as would be suitable for an address book

79
Q

Relational database

A

It is the most useful model and consequently most common type of database

80
Q

DBMS

A

Database Management System

81
Q

Transactions

A

When a change takes place in a database

82
Q

Multi-user databases

A

Most commercial databases are multi-user. This can be a conflict. To avoid this, most DBMSs use record locking

83
Q

Commons tools provided by a DBMS

A

Tables
Linking tables
Data types
Forms
Reports

84
Q

LAN

A

Confined to one site
Connected using equipment owned by the organisation
Maintained by the organisation

85
Q

WAN

A

It is a wide area of network. It covers a large geographical area which may be a city or even the world

86
Q

Functions of WAN

A

They often connect LANs together
They make use of publicly available telecoms facilities
They allows a business to function from any location

87
Q

Network hardware

A

Special hardware is needed to connect computers to:
Network interface controller (NIC)
Cables
Hubs
Switches

88
Q

Types of network

A

Client-server network
Peer-to-peer network

89
Q

Client-server network

A

One or more servers provide services to many clients machines where the users work

90
Q

Peer-to-peer network

A

In a peer-to-peer network, all computers are equal. Each computer serves the needs of the user as well as carrying out networking functions

91
Q

Network topologies

A

The layout of the network components: the cabling and the position of the nodes

92
Q

Protocols

A

A set of rules that covers data communication

93
Q

Flowcharts

A

It is a diagrammatic representation of the data flow and structure for the solution. Flowcharts use a standard set of shapes to define different actions

94
Q

Pseudocode

A

Structured form of English used to define the steps needed to solve a problem

95
Q

Programming languages

A

Machine language
Assembly language
High-level language

96
Q

Integrated development environment (IDE)

A

Translators usually include an IDE. Features of IDE: - source code editor - error diagnostics - run-time environment - translator - automation tools

97
Q

Comparison operators

A

Used to compare two values

98
Q

Array

A

A set of variables with the same name and an index number to identify the different variables

99
Q

Syntax errors

A

Errors in the use of the language rules and these are often identified by the IDE

100
Q

Logic errors

A

Generated by variables not taking the values expected or decisions that not allow the program to complete

101
Q

Features of a DBMS

A

Applications won’t damage existing data structures
New applications can be written without restructuring the data
Data can be more easily shared between applications

102
Q

RAM

A

Volatile
Contains OS
Stores programs and data being used by the computer

103
Q

ROM

A

Non-volatile
Contains boot program
Porgrammed during computer manufacture

104
Q

Advantages of LAN

A

Users can communicate with each other
Computer use can be easily monitored
Expensive peripherals can be shared

105
Q

Operating system

A

The core software that allows a computer to run as an useful device. Manages the hardware, the user interface and all other software running on the computer

106
Q

Converting hexadecimal to binary

A

Split binary number into two nibbles
Convert each to get hex equivalent

107
Q

Converting binary to hexadecimal

A

Convert binary into denary, then denary into hex

108
Q

Converting hexadecimal to denary

A

Multiply first symbol by 16
Multiply second symbol by 1
Add both symbols

109
Q

Converting denary to hexadecimal

A

Divide by 16 and record remainders until result = 0

110
Q

Compression

A

Reducing the size of a file

111
Q

Types of compression

A

Lossy
Lossless

112
Q

Lossy compression

A

Removes some of the data from the file
The data removed cannot be recovered

113
Q

Lossless compression

A

Does not store repeated detail
Allows the original file to be reconstructed exactly

114
Q

Database Management System

A

An application designed to control all aspects of a database

115
Q

DBMS functions

A

Creating an empty database
Deleting an entire database
Creating and deleting tables
Inserting new records into tables
Updating and deleting records

GCSE Computing (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions