Computer Science: Hardware, Networking, and Binary Fundamentals

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering binary-decimal conversions, hardware and software components, file compression formats, and computer networking principles.

Binary $1010$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $10$.

Binary $1101$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $13$.

Binary $1001$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $9$.

Binary $0110$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $6$.

Binary $1111$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $15$.

Binary $1100$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $12$.

Binary $10100$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $20$.

Binary $101$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $5$.

Binary $0010$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $2$.

Binary $1000$

The binary representation equal to decimal value $8$.

Hardware

The physical parts of a computer.

Input Device

A hardware component that allows users to send data, instructions, or control signals to a computer or digital system, such as a keyboard, mouse/touch-pad, or microphone.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The primary component of a computer that performs processing tasks; abbreviated as CPU.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

The part of the computer that temporarily stores data while programs run.

Output Device

The hardware used to get output generated by a computer, such as a monitor/display, printer, or speaker.

Software

A collection of instructions, data, and programs that tell a computer or digital device how to perform specific tasks.

Permanent Storage

Hardware components that store data permanently, specifically secondary storage devices (like Hard Drives and SSDs) and ROM (Read-Only Memory).

Motherboard

The part of the computer that connects all components together.

Operating System (OS)

Software that acts as a bridge between computer hardware, application programs, and users, managing resources and providing core services (unlike applications such as MS Word, MS Excel, MS Office, or Adobe Photoshop).

Lossy Compression

A data reduction method that permanently removes redundant data to shrink file sizes; typically used for multimedia files like images, audio, and video (such as JPG/JPEG, AAC, MKV, MP3, and MP4).

Lossless Compression

A compression method that reduces file size by removing data redundancy without deleting original source information, allowing exact and reversible reconstruction of original data (examples include FLAC for audio, PNG for images, and ZIP or RAR files for documents and archives).

ARPANET

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network; the first version of the internet, created in the 1960s as a fault-tolerant military and scientific communication network.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

The person credited with inventing the World Wide Web.

Intranet

A private computer network restricted to a limited group of authorized users.

Internet Protocol (IP)

The set of rules that gives every device a unique address and routes digital messages to their correct destination.

IP Address

A numeric label that identifies a device's general location and internet service provider, identifying devices on a network and providing the location addressing needed to route data packets between them.

Redundancy

The inclusion of extra components, multiple alternative pathways for data to travel, or duplicated critical systems and hardware so operations continue safely if a failure happens.

Fault Tolerance

The ability of a system (such as a computer, network, or cloud cluster) to continue operating without interruption when one or more of its hardware or software components fail.

Domain Name

A human-readable web address that people type into a browser to visit a website (associated with numeric IP addresses like 192.0.2.1).

Local Area Network (LAN)

A smaller local version of the internet used by businesses or schools.

Bandwidth

The capacity of a network connection over a given amount of time; the data transfer rate.

Computing Device

A smart appliance that can store data, program, and operate without human assistance.

Computing Network

A system of connected computing devices that communicate and share data, hardware, and resources with each other.

Computing System

A combination of hardware, software, and data working together to accept input, process it, store information, and produce an output.

Computer Path

An address that tells your computer exactly where a specific file or folder is located.

Protocol

An established set of rules that governs how data is formatted, transmitted, and received between electronic devices or software programs.