TYPES & COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS

Question 1

What is hardware?

Answer 1

general term for the physical components that make up a typical computer system.

Question 2

List examples of internal hardware

Answer 2

• motherboard
  -central processing unit (CPU)
  -random access memory (RAM)
  -read only memory (ROM)
  -graphics card
  -sound card
  -network interface card (NIC)
  -internal storage devices (HDD & SDD)

Question 3

Motherboard -

Answer 3

-printed circuit board found in all computers
- allows the processor and other computer hardware to function and communicate with each other
- acts as a kind of ‘hub’ which other computer devices connect to
- consists of a sheet of non-conductive material
-thin layers of copper or aluminuim are printed onto this sheet
- these form the circuits b/w various components
-contains several circuits and slots to connect to other components.

Question 4

RAM

Answer 4

• internal chip where data is temporarily stored when running applications
  -this memory can be written to and read from
  -contents lost when power to the computer is turned off
  -referred to as volatile or temporary memory
  -stores the data, files or part of the operating system currently in use

Question 5

CPU

Answer 5

• electronic circuit board in a computer that can execute instructions from a computer program.
• two main components are ;
  
  • arithmetic & logic unit (ALU) where arithmetic and logical operations are carried out
  • control unit (CU) which takes instructions, decodes and then executes those instructions

Question 6

ROM

Answer 6

• used to store information that needs to be permanent.
  -used to contain configuration system for a computer system.
  -chips can’t be altered and can only be read from.
  -information stored on the ROM chip is not lost even when power is turned off to the computer.
  -often referred to as non-volatile memory

Question 7

NIC

Answer 7

• a component that allows a computer or any other device to be connected to a network, it can be wired or wireless
  -hard-coded with a unique MAC address code

Question 8

HDD/SDD

Answer 8

• HDD are magnetic in nature and one of the main methods of storing data, files and most of the system and applications software.
  -SDDs have the same function, they are more faster.

Question 9

Sound Card

Answer 9

-integrated circuit board that provides a computer with the ability to produce sounds.
-these sounds can be heard by the user either through speakers or headphones.
-also allow a user to record sound input from a microphone connected to the computer, and manipute sound stored on a disk.

Question 10

Graphics Card

Answer 10

-allows the computer to send graphical information to a video display such as a monitor, TV, or a projector.
-usually connects to the motherboard
- usually made up of ;
- processing unit
- memory unit (RAM)
- cooling mechanism
- connections to a display unit

Question 11

what is software?

Answer 11

general term used for the progams that control the computer system and process data.

Question 12

what are application softwares?

Answer 12

provides the services that the user requires to solve a given task.

Question 13

what is system software?

Answer 13

designed to provide a platform on which all other software can run

Question 14

word processing (app soft)

Answer 14

• used to manipulate a text doc
  -text entered using a keyboard

Question 15

spreadsheet (app soft)

Answer 15

used to organize and manipulate numerical data
numbers are organized on a grid of lettered columns and numbered rows

Question 16

control and measurement software (app soft)

Answer 16

designed to allow a computer or microprocessor to interface with sensors
- measure physical quantities in the real world
-control applications by comparing sensor data with stored data and sending out signals and process parameters

Question 17

database management ( app soft)

Answer 17

used to organize, manipulate and analyse data
- typical database is made up of one or more tables
-tables consist of rows and columns
-each row is called a record
-each column is called a field
-provides basic structure for the organisation of the data within the database

Question 18

apps and applets (app soft)

Answer 18

applets are small applications that perform a single task on a device
apps referred to software which can perform a fairly substantial task.

Question 19

computer aided design (CAD)

Answer 19

used to help in the creation, manipulation, modification and analysis of a drawing/design.
can be used to produce 2D or 3D diagrams
- can be rotated to view the drawing from any angle
-can produce full dimensions
- can be used to estimate manufacturing costs of the final product
- predict any structural problems

Question 20

graphics editing software (app soft)

Answer 20

allows bitmap and vector images to be changed.
bitmap images are made up of pixels which contain information about image brightness and color.
editors can change the pixels to produce a different image.

Question 21

audio editing software

Answer 21

allows a user to edit, manipulate and generate audio data on a computer

Question 22

video editing software

Answer 22

• allows a user the ability to manipulate videos to produce a new video.
  enables the addition of titles, color correction and altering/adding sound to the original video

Question 23

compiler (syst soft)

Answer 23

• computer program that translates a program written in a high-level language (HLL) into a machine code (code that is understood by the computer) so that it can be directly used by the computer to perform a required task.
  original program is called the source code and code after compilation is called the object code.

Question 24

linkers (syst soft)

Answer 24

computer program that takes one or more object files produced by a compiler and combines them into a single program that can be run on a computer

Question 25

device driver (syst soft)

Answer 25

name given to software that enables one or more hardware devices to communicate with the computer’s operating system.
w/o drivers, a hardware device would be unable to work with the computer

Question 26

utilities (syst soft)

Answer 26

software that has been designed to carry out specific tasks on a computer.
programs that help to manage, maintain and control computer resources.

Question 27

operating systems (syst soft)

Answer 27

software that runs in the background of a computer system
manages many of the basic functions.
without OS most computers would be very user unfriendly

Question 28

what is digital data

Answer 28

computers only understand data which is in a binary format
referred to as digital data because it can only have discrete, discontinous values.

Question 29

what is analogue data

Answer 29

analogue data is physical data that changes smoothly from one value to the next, and not in discrete steps as with digital data.

Question 30

what to do when analogue data is being sent to a computer

Answer 30

it must first be converted into digital data
done by hardware software known as an analogue to digital converter (ADC)
if the computer is controlling a device then the digital output from the computer needs to be converted into analogue form.
done by a digital to analogue converter (DAC)

Question 31

BIOS

Answer 31

ROM contains some coding known as the boot file. this code tells the computer what to do when it first starts up.
often referred to as BIOS - Basic Input/Output System
when computer is turned on, BIOS carries out a hardware check to find out if all the devices are present and whether they are functional.
then it loads the operating system into the RAM.

Question 32

CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor

Answer 32

The BIOS stores the data, time and system configuration in a non-volatile chip called a CMOS.
this is usuallty battery powered

Question 33

RAM

Answer 33

temporary memory device
volatile memory
can be written to and read from
used to store data, files and programs, part of the OS currently in use
can be increased in size to improve operational speed of a computer