Paper 1, section 1

Question 1

Hardware

Answer 1

Physical stuff that makes up computer system eg CPU, Motherboard and Monitor

Question 2

Software

Answer 2

Programs or applications that a computer system runs eg operation system

Question 3

Embedded system

Answer 3

Computes that built into other devices eg dish washer, used to control systems

Question 4

Power supply

Answer 4

Supplies power to motherboard, optical hard drives etc

Question 5

Case cooling fan

Answer 5

Extracts hot air from the computer

Question 6

CPU heat sink and cooling fan

Answer 6

keeps the CPU at steady temperature

Question 7

CPU

Answer 7

~ the brain of the computer.
~ processes instructions and data.
~ processing power of a CPU depends on clock speed/ number cores/cache size.

Question 8

Optical drive

Answer 8

For read/writing of optical discs

Question 9

RAM

Answer 9

Computer Memory

Question 10

Motherboard

Answer 10

The main circuit board, where the hardware is connected

Question 11

Hard Disc Drive

Answer 11

Internal secondary storage

Question 12

CPU 3 main parts

Answer 12

1) Control Unit
2) Arithmetic Logic Unit
3) Cache

Question 13

The Control Unit

Answer 13

~ overall control of the CPU.
~ job to manage fetching, decoding and execution of program instructions
~ controls flow of data inside and outside the CPU.

Question 14

The Arithmetic Logic Unit

Answer 14

~ does all calculations.
~ performs logic operations AND, OR, NOT and binary shifts.
~ contains accumulator.

Question 15

The Cache

Answer 15

~ very fast memory, slower than the register , but faster than RAM.
~ stores regularly used data, CPU can use it quickly.
~ checks the Cache first to see if the data is there, if not it will fetch it from RAM.
~ has low capacity.
~ expensive compared to RAM.

provides fast access to frequently used instructions and data

Question 16

The Von Neumann architecture

Answer 16

Describes system where CPU runs programs stored in memory.

Question 17

The Von Neumann architecture, Program Counter

Answer 17

Holds the memory address of the instruction for each cycle

Question 18

The Von Neumann architecture, Accumulator

Answer 18

Stores immediate results of calculations in the ALU

Question 19

The Von Neumann architecture, Registers, MDR ( Memory Data Register )

Answer 19

Holds actual data or instructions

Question 20

The Von Neumann architecture, Registers, MAR ( Memory Address Register )

Answer 20

Holds any memory address about to be used by the CPU.

Question 21

Fetch- Decode Cycle

Answer 21

All a CPU does is carry out instructions

Question 22

Fetch instruction

Answer 22

~ copy memory address from Program Counter to MAR.
~ copy the instructions stored in the MAR address to the MDR.
~ Increment ( increase ) the Program Counter to point to the cycle address of the next instruction, ready for the next cycle.

Question 23

Decode instruction

Answer 23

~ instructions in the MDR decoded by the CPU.
~ CU prepare for the next step ( by loading values into the MAR or MDR ).

Question 23

Execute instructions

Answer 23

~ instructions performed, could be: load data from memory, write data to memory, do a calculation or logic operation, change the address in the PC , or halt the program.

Question 24

RAM

Answer 24

Is used as the main memory in a computer. It can be written and read to. RAM is volatile. ~ loads the operating system is copied from secondary storage to RAM. ~ RAM is slower than the CPU cache, but much faster than secondary storage. ~ Virtual memory is secondary storage used as EXTRA RAM.

Question 25

Volatile

Answer 25

Memory is temporary memory. It requires power to retain its data.

Question 26

Non-volatile

Answer 26

Is permanent memory - it keeps its contents even when it has no power

Question 27

ROM ( Read Only memory )

Answer 27

~ non-volatile memory. ~ can only read.

Question 28

Clock speed

Answer 28

~ number of instructions a single processor core can carry out per second (Hz). ~ higher clock speed = greater the number of instructions can be carried out.

Question 29

Number of cores

Answer 29

~ each core in a CPU can process data independently of the rest. ~ more cores = more instructions.

Question 30

Cache size

Answer 30

~ Is data storage inside the CPU that’s much faster than RAM. ~ a larger CPU cache = more data it needs to process.

Question 31

Primary storage

Answer 31

~ refers to memory that the CPU can access quickly, like CPU registers, cache, ROM, and RAM. It fast read/write speeds and is mostly volatile. - volatile ( data lost when power off ) - very fast - small capacity - stores data programs currently in use - RAM, ROM - expensive

Question 32

Secondary storage

Answer 32

~ refers to slower, non-volatile memory used for long-term data storage, like hard drives, SSDs, CDs, and DVDs. It has slower read/write speeds but retains data when powered off. - non-volatile (data retained without power - slower - larger - stores data and programs long-term - HDD, SSD, USB Flash drives, CD/DVD - Less expensive

Question 33

Hard disc drives

Answer 33

~ traditional internal storage. ~ made up of magnetised metal disks that spin thousands of times a second. ~ moving arm can access these areas and read and write data.

Question 34

Solid Disk Drives

Answer 34

~ storage devices with no moving parts. ~ SSD use a type of flash memory. ~ SSD have significantly faster read/write times than HDDs.

Question 35

Hard Disk Drive, Advantages

Answer 35

~ cheaper. ~ higher capacity. ~ longer read/write than SSD.

Question 36

Solid State Drive, Advantages

Answer 36

~ faster. ~ don’t need defragmenting. ~ shock-proof than HDDs. ~ SSDs are silent, HDDs make some noise.

Question 37

Operative Systems

Answer 37

Complex piece of software found on most computer systems.

Question 38

Main functions of Operating system

Answer 38

~ communicate with external and internal hardware via the device drivers. ~ provide interface and platform. ~ allow the computer to multi-task. ~ manage the security of the system ( through user accounts )

Question 39

Defragmentation

Answer 39

~ files are stored on a hard disk. ~ files are moved, deleted and charge size. ~ over time disk becomes more fragmented. ~ software takes the fragmented files and rearranges the segments so that they run contiguously. | defragmentation software recognises data on the hard drive to put fragmented files back together.

Question 40

Compression

Answer 40

~ reduces the size of files by permanently or temporarily removing data from them. ~ lesser disk space + quicker to download.

Question 41

What is the purpose for CU?

Answer 41

Keep internal components of the CPU synchronised

Question 42

What is purpose for RAM?

Answer 42

A temporary store for instructions and data

Question 43

Describe a classic von Neumann Architecture

Answer 43

There is a common system bus for data and instruction transfer More than one clock cycle may be required to execute a single instruction

Question 44

Control Unit one purpose of it is:

Answer 44

Sends signals to control how data moves around in the CPU