Gr 11 1.1 – HARDWARE

Question 1

BIOS

Answer 1

Basic Input Output System – the essential start-up
instructions of a computer, in ROM chips on the
motherboard, and representing the lowest level of
programming firmware.

Question 2

BUS

Answer 2

A set of electrical paths etched on a motherboard, used to
transfer data between different parts, e.g. between an
expansion card and RAM.

Question 3

Caching

Answer 3

A method used to compensate for the loss of efficient, or
‘bottleneck’, that becomes inevitable when a faster medium
tries to communicate with a slower medium.

Question 4

CMOS

Answer 4

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor – the type of
memory that stores the BIOS settings that can be updated or
changed. This memory is kept ‘alive’ by a small battery on
the motherboard.

Question 5

CPU

Answer 5

Central Processing Unit – a chip that can contain more than
on ‘core’ (complete processor) and which connects to the
motherboard using the ZIF socket. Responsible for all the
processing.

Question 6

CPU Cache

Answer 6

Special type of high-speed memory built into the CPU, used
to maximise CPU productivity.

Question 7

DIMM

Answer 7

Dual Inline Memory Module – thin rectangular electronic
boards, which contain banks of RAM chips; inserted into
DIMM slots on the motherboard, and the means whereby
the memory of a computer is upgraded.

Question 8

Disk cache

Answer 8

A certain amount of high-speed memory built into every
hard drive. Used to cache data from the (slower) disk, and
thereby speed up subsequent calls for the same ‘chunk’ of
code or data.

Question 9

EEPROM

Answer 9

Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory –
a type of ROM that can be erased electronically, after which
a new ‘image’ of upgraded contents can be written back.

Question 10

Expansion slots

Answer 10

Slots on the motherboard for attaching additional circuit
boards in order to ‘expand’ the capabilities of the computer
– mostly dedicated video and sound cards for high-end
gaming and design work.

Question 11

External connectors

Answer 11

Situated both at the back and the front of the casing, e.g USB
ports, VGA port for monitor, RJ45 port for Ethernet network
cabling, speaker and microphone jacks, ect.

Question 12

Firewire

Answer 12

A type of port that can transfer data faster that USB. It
usually used where high speed data transfer is desirable,
such as videos from a video camera, and data to or from an
external hard drive.

Question 13

Firmware

Answer 13

Software that is permanently installed, or ‘hard-coded’ on a
ROM chip, and used to control the basic operation of a
device, e.g a printer.

Question 14

Flashing the ROM

Answer 14

The process whereby the existing contents of firmware is
wiped and replaced with an updated version – always to be
performed with great care.

Question 15

GPU

Answer 15

Graphics Processing Unit – dedicated graphics processor on
a graphics card, used to provide extra processing power.

Question 16

IQR

Answer 16

Hardware interrupt. A dedicated communication channel, or means, whereby a device can request the immediate attention of the CPU, in
order to process a given function, e.g a mouse click or a
keystroke.

Question 17

Machine cycle

Answer 17

Steps taken by the CPU in carrying out instructions:
 Fetching instructions and data from the
memory (RAM)
 Decoding the instructions
 Executing the instructions
 Transferring data back to the memory

Question 18

Modular design

Answer 18

A computer design philosophy, which incorporates a variety
of separate ‘modular’ components, thereby facilitating
upgrades and maintenance.

Question 19

Motherboard

Answer 19

A large electronic circuit board with slots and connectors for
attaching different components and peripherals.

Question 20

Point to point connections

Answer 20

Dedicated connection between two components (e.g
between RAM and CPU that is not shared with other
components.

Question 21

POST

Answer 21

Power On Selft Test – start-up test performed by the Bios to
ensure that all essential hardware (RAM, keyboard ect) is
present and in working order.

Question 22

RAM

Answer 22

Random Access Memory – temporary, volatile storage area
for all running programs and data being processed.

Question 23

ROM

Answer 23

Read Only Memory – permanent, non-volatile memory
associated with Firmware, typically found in the ROM chip,
which holds the start-up instructions (BIOS) of the computer.

Question 24

SATA Connectors

Answer 24

Connectors on the motherboard for attaching cables for
storage devices, such as hard drives and optical drives. [Serial Advanced Technology Attachment]

Question 25

Storage

Answer 25

Storage provides a place where a computer can keep data
instructions permanently.

Question 26

System clock

Answer 26

A small quartz crystal that pulses at a regular frequency
measured in GHz; used to coordinate activates on a
motherboard.

Question 27

Thunderbolt

Answer 27

A new superfast connection technology, which can support
multiple simultaneous connections.

Question 28

USB

Answer 28

Universal Serial Bus – the most widely used connection
option for attaching devices to a computer, via a USB port.

Question 29

Video/Graphics card

Answer 29

Hardware component that generates the images – both
graphic and text – displayed on the monitor. Either
integrated on the motherboard or supplied as a separate
card plugged into a PCIe expansion slot.

Question 30

Web caching

Answer 30

The process of storing recently accessed web pages locally
on the relatively much faster hard drive so that they are
quicker to retrieve the next time they are needed. Retrievals
from local storage are much faster than Internet downloads.

Question 31

ZIF socket

Answer 31

Zero Insertion Force – a type of socket on the motherboard
for connecting a CPU.