Hardware

Question 1

Hardware vs. Software

Answer 1

• hardware refers to the physical parts of the computer
• software refers to the code that runs on the computer

Question 2

Chip

Answer 2

• finger-sized silicon
• can contain billions of transistors
• e.g. CPU chips, memory chips, flash chips

Question 3

Transistor

Answer 3

• works like an amplifying valve for a flow of electrons
• “solid state” device, meaning it has no moving parts
• basic building block used to construct more complex electronic compnents

Question 4

Moore’s Law

Answer 4

• Gordon Moore, Intel co-founder
• states that the density of transistors on a chip doubles about every 2 years or so (sometimes listed as every 18 months)
• technology increases as cost decreases

Question 5

CPU

Answer 5

• Central Processing Unit
• referred to as the “brains” of the computer
• does the active “running” of code, manipulating data, while the other components have a more passive role, such as storing data

Question 6

Byte

Answer 6

• unit of information storage
• 1 byte can hold 1 letter, e.g. “b” or “X”
• Megabyte (MB) = about 1 million bytes
• Gigabyte (GB) = about 1 billion

Question 7

RAM

Answer 7

• Random Access Memory
• working scratchpad memory the computer uses to store code and data that are being actively used
• relatively fast, able to retrieve the value of any particular byte in a few nanoseconds
• 1 nanosecond = 1 billionth of a second
• considered “volatile”, not “persistent”

Question 8

Hard Drive and Flash Drive

Answer 8

• hard drive reads and writes magnetic patterns on a spinning metal disk
  
  • a.k.a. “hard disk”
  • high pitch spinning sound computer makes
• flash drive consists of silicon flash chips with tiny groups of electrons to store the bytes
  
  • a.k.a. “Solid State Disk (SSD)”
  • slower than RAM
  • faster and uses less power than hard drive storage, but significantly more expensive per byte
  • found in USB thumb drives, camera SD cards, and built-in storage inside tablets and phones

Question 9

File System

Answer 9

• the hard disk or flash disk is formatted with a “file system” which organizes the bytes into the familiar pattern of files and directories
• tracks information about the bytes such as: how many there are and the time they were last modified
• Microsoft uses NTFS file system
• Apple uses HFS+ file system

Question 10

Arduino Board

Answer 10

• microcontroller chip
• open source
• useful for art projects involving switches, sensors, and lights

Question 11

What does Moore’s law say?

Answer 11

The number of transistors which can fit on a chip doubles every 18-24 months

Question 12

What hardware component provides persistent storage (i.e. maintained when the power is off)?

Answer 12

Hard Drive

Question 13

What hardware component is the active “brain” doing the computation in the computer?

Answer 13

CPU

Question 14

What hardware component provides temporary byte storage during a computation, but is erased when the power is turned off?

Answer 14

RAM