section 1- components of a computer system

Question 1

what is a computer?

Answer 1

a machine that processes data

Question 2

What is a computer system?

Answer 2

hardware and software that work together to process data/complete tasks

Question 3

What is hardware? Give examples

Answer 3

physical stuff that makes up your computer system
e.g CPU, motherboard, monitor & printer

Question 4

What is software? Give examples

Answer 4

programs or applications that a computer system runs
e.g operating system, word processor & video game

Question 5

What are general purpose or dedicated systems computers? Give examples

Answer 5

general purpose - designed to perform many tasks (PCs & tablets)
dedicated systems - designed for one particular function (controlling traffic lights/ aeroplane )

Question 6

What are embedded systems?

Answer 6

computer built into other devices e.g dishwashers, microwaves & TVs

Question 7

What are control systems?

Answer 7

systems that monitor and control machinery to achieve a desired result

Question 8

What factors makes embedded systems better than a general purpose computer?

Answer 8

because they’re dedicated to a single task =
cheaper to produce
more efficient at doing their task
easier to design
general purpose computer»»»»embedded systems

Question 9

What does the power supply, case cooling fan & CPU heat sink & cooling fan & CPU do?

(main hardware components of a computer - in typical desktop PC)

(visualize parts in your head & check flashcard)

Answer 9

Power supply- supplies power to motherboard, optical, hard rives & other hardware
Case cooling fan- extracts hot air from computer case
CPU heat sink and cooling fan- keeps CPU at steady temperature (generate lots of heat)
CPU- most important component does all processing (hidden under the heat sink)

Question 10

What does the optical drive, RAM sticks motherboard & hard disk drive do?

(main hardware components of a computer - in typical desktop PC)

(visualize parts in your head & check flashcard)

Answer 10

optical drive- for read/ writing of optical disks
RAM sticks- computer memory
Mother board- main circuit board in computer where hardware is connected
Hard disk Drive- internal secondary storage

Question 11

What is the CPU?

Answer 11

CPU is brain of computer system
processes all data & instructions that makes the system work

Question 12

What does the processing power of the CPU depend on?

Answer 12

clock speed
number of cores
cache size

Question 13

What does the CPU architecture describe?

Answer 13

main components of CPU
how they interact with each other
& interaction with other parts of computer system

Question 14

What is the control unit (CU)? (what does it do?)

Answer 14

overall unit of CPU
fetches, decodes & executes program instructions (via. fetch-execute cycle)
controls flow of data in CPU ( to registers ALU, cache) & outside the CPU (main memory & input/output devices)

Question 15

What is the arithmetic logic unit (ALU)? (what does it do?)

Answer 15

does all the calculations
simple addition, subtraction, comparing size of numbers & multiplications/division (using repeated addition & subtraction)
performs logic operations (AND, OR, NOT) & binary shifts
contains accumulator register

Question 16

What is the cache? (what does it do?)

Answer 16

very fast memory in the CPU (slower than registers but faster than ram)
stores regularly used data so CPU accesses it quickly when needed
CPU

Question 17

What are the CPU’s various registers jobs?

Answer 17

they temporarily hold tiny bits of data needed by the CPU
super-quick to read/write to -> quicker than any other form of memory

Question 18

What are disadvantages of Caches?

Answer 18

low capacity
expensive when compared to RAM & secondary storage.

Question 19

What are the different levels of cache memory?

Answer 19

L1 (quickest but lowest capacity)
L2 (slower than L1, but holds more)
L3 (slower than L2 but holds more)