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Computer Science > Section 3 Hardware > Flashcards

Section 3 Hardware Flashcards

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1
Q

What are embedded systems?

A

Systems which involve a micro-processor which is a CPU on a smaller scale which is dedicated to a specific purpose e.g. sat nav in a car

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2
Q

What is biometric data?

A

Data containing biological properties

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3
Q

How do digital cameras work?

A

Takes a photo by collecting light and projecting it onto a light detector surface which is then stored as data for each pixel

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4
Q

How does a keyboard work?

A

When a key is pressed, there is a button which sends data of a letter which is then outputted on the screen

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5
Q

How does a microphone work?

A

Converts sound energy to electrical energy

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6
Q

How does an optical mouse work

A

A computer mouse which detects movement which then sends data to the computer which moves the mouse on the screen

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7
Q

How does a touch screen(capacitive) work?

A

The screen is covered with electrical charge, so when the screen is touched some of this charged is transferred to us which leads to a change in electricity and can be detected. Will allow multiple touches at once

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8
Q

How does a touch screen (resistive) work?

A

There are two layers of screen, so when one of them is pressed down to the other there is an electrical connection which leads to changes in electrical current being detected

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9
Q

How does a touch screen(infrared) work?

A

beams of infrared light are sent, but when the finger touches the screen, some of the light beams do not reach the infrared detectors causing interruptions

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10
Q

What different types of touch screens are there?

A
  • Infrared
  • capacitive
  • resistive
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11
Q

What is an actuator?

A

It is a component that outputs an action,
often a type of movement,

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12
Q

What is an inkjet printer?

A

An Inkjet printer is a computer peripheral that produces hard copies of a text document or photo by spraying droplets of ink onto paper

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13
Q

What is a laser printer?

A

A type of computer printer that uses a non-impact technology. Uses a laser beam, electrostatically charged toner and a heated fuser to transfer the toner onto the page

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14
Q

What is a LED

A

LED (Light emitting diode) is a semiconductor device which can emit light when an electric current passes through it

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15
Q

What is an acoustic sensor

A

A sensor which measures the level of sound in an environment

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16
Q

What are the:

4 different types of storage

A
  • Primary - Can be directly accessed by the CPU
  • Secondary - HDD and SDD
  • Off line - USB drives and disks
  • Cloud storage
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17
Q

What are the different components of:

primary storage

A
  • RAM - Random access memory - where information is stored before entering the CPU and contains instructions for the execute-decode-execute cycle. Volatile, menaing it only stores data and programs currently in use. This can be increased by adding more components and has continuoslly changing components.
  • ROM - Read only memory - stores the program that boots the computer, usually has fixed contents that can be changed, but in a very complicated process. Non-volatile
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18
Q

What are the main components of:

Secondary storage

A
  • Magnetic
  • Optical
  • Solid-state storage
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19
Q

How does:

Magnetic storage work?

A
  • Circular plates called platters that spin allowing data to be read and written
  • electromagnet can magnetise dots on each platter
  • Magnetised stores 1 and demagnitised stores 0
  • HDD for example
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20
Q

How does:

Optical storage work?

A
  • This uses lasers to read and write data from a circular disk.
  • The disk spins and a read/write head moves across the surface allowing data to be read or written.
  • Data is written by a laser burning pits into the surface of the disk.
  • A laser is used to read the pits which reads the data stores.
  • Common examples of this are CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays.
  • This is not commonly used today and is mainly in archives.
    They had moving parts, so it made them vulnerable leading to the formation of Solid-state drive
21
Q

What is a:

Register

A

An internal memory location within the CPU that temporarily holds data and instructions during processing. They are used to move data and instructions into and around different components of the CPU.

22
Q

CPU

A

The main processing unit of the system. Also known as the processor.

23
Q

ALU

A

This is an internal part of the CPU that carries out calculations on data. The arithmetic part uses +, -, * and /. The logic part carries out comparisons such as =, < and >.

24
Q

Accumulator

A

The register that is used for arithmetic and logic calculations.

25
Q

CU

A

Control unit is the internal part of the CPU and it controls the flow of data through the CPU. It also controls the interactions between the different parts of the CPU. It instructs different components how to respond to instructions.

26
Q

CIR

A

Current Instruction Register (CIR) contains the current instruction being processed in the CPU.

27
Q

PC

A

Program counter (PC) is a register contains the address of the next instruction to be executed.

28
Q

IAS

A

Immediate access stores (IAS) is the memory found inside a CPU and is used to hold not only data but also the instructions needed to process that data. It is also more commonly known as the CPU memory. The CPU needs to hold the data and instructions here before processing.

29
Q

Address bus

A

A bus that carries signals relating to addresses between the processor and the memory. It is uni-directional (signals travel in only one direction).

30
Q

Data bus

A

A bus that sends data between the processor, the memory unit and the input/output devices. It is bi-directional (data travels both directions).

31
Q

Control bus

A

A bus that carries signals relating to the control and coordination of all activities within the computer. It is both uni-directional and bi-directional due to internal connections within the computer).

32
Q

Fetch-decode-execute cycle

A
  1. The PC (program counter) contains the address of the next instruction to be fetched.
  2. The address contained in the PC (program counter) is copied to the MAR (memory address register) via the address bus.
  3. The instruction is then copied from the memory location contained in the MAR (memory address register) and is placed in the MDR (memory data register).
  4. The entire instruction is then copied from the MDR (memory data register) and placed in the CIR (current instruction register).
  5. The value in the PC (program counter) is then incremented so that it points to the next instruction to be fetched.
  6. The instruction is finally decoded and is then executed.
33
Q

primary memory

A

A computer’s internal storage. Data is stored in primary memory when it is waiting to be processed. Capacity is quite small. Primary memory is separated into Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM).

34
Q

RAM

A

RAM is primary memory that holds data to be processed and programs that are in use. This means that RAM is storage that data can be written to and read from. Data stored here is volatile and will be erased when the computer is switched off. RAM can range in capacity from a few bytes to gigabytes.

35
Q

ROM

A

ROM is primary memory that can be read from but not written to. Unlike RAM, ROM does not lose its contents when the computer’s power is switched off. It is non-volatile. There are three main types of software on ROM; firmware, bootstrap and EPROM. ROM tends to be much smaller in capacity.

36
Q

Secondary storage

A

Secondary Storage is where software and data is stored when it is not in use by the computer. It is stored on a more permanent basis and can be over-written as necessary. Secondary Storage is not directly accessible to the processor – data first has to be transferred into RAM. It is slower to read data from and write data to as it needs to be transferred to RAM. Can be up to terabytes in capacity. Three main types: Magnetic, Optical and Solid State.

37
Q

HDD

A

Hard Disk Drives consist of several disks known as platters. These can be made from metal or glass. They have a magnetised coating on which the data dots are stored. These are the most common form of secondary storage.

38
Q

Magnetic storage

A

Magnetic storage devices read, write and erase data by using electromagnets and magnetic fields to control tiny magnetic dots of fata. The dots represent binary.

39
Q

CD

A

CD are an early, but still used, optical medium. It uses a red laser to read the land and pits of the disc. It operates by:

  • Red laser is used.
  • Laser shines onto the surface of the disk.
  • It is rotated at a constant speed to be read.
  • Surface is covered in a track (that spirals from the centre)
40
Q

DVD

A

DVD devices use a higher frequency laser than CD devices. The higher frequency allows the pits and land to be packed together onto the tracks. This allows more data to be stored. DVDs have more than one reflective layer on which data can be stored.

(digital video/versatile disc)

41
Q

Blu-ray

A

Blu-Ray devices use a blue-violet laser that operates at a shorter wavelength than the red lasers used in CD and DVD devices. This give more precision when writing to and reading from a disk. This means that data can be packed even closer together than when using a DVD device. Blu-Ray Discs have more than one reflective layer on which data can be stored.

42
Q

Optical storage

A

Optical storage devices read data by shining a laser beam onto the surface of plastic disks. The disks are coated with aluminium to make them reflective. Data is written on the track by using a laser to make indetations known as pits. These pits represent binary data. The areas in between pits are known as land.

43
Q

SS storage

A

Solid State Storage has no moving parts. Instead, it uses high-speed flash memory. They are physically quite small in size but have the highest transfer rate of data. They are expensive to produce.

44
Q

SSD

A

A solid-state equivalent of a hard disk drive.

45
Q

SD card

A

A solid-state card used to store and transfer data.
(secure digital)

46
Q

Offline storage

A

Off-line Storage is any non-volatile storage device that is discnonnected, or removed, from a computer. Typical examples would include CD, DVD, Blu-Ray Disc, USB RAM sticks, External Hard Drives and Magnetic Tape.

47
Q

What is an:

ADC

A

analog to digital converter

48
Q

What is an:

LCD

A

Light Crystal display - electronic display using properties of liquid crystals

Computer Science (9 decks)

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