Computer Science 102: Fundamentals of Information Technology Ch 2. Computer Hardware & Software

Motherboard

Holds all of the circuitry that ties the functions of the computer components together

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Brains of the computer

Cache

Temporary memory where things you are working on sit for a quick interpretation by the CPU

Random Access Memory (RAM)

• Volatile, or temporary, memory

• Temporary and holds data and instructions for software currently in use

• disappears when a computer is turned off

• the data that contains instructions for processing computer operations

Read-Only Memory (ROM)

• Permanent, or non-volatile, memory and holds start-up instructions for the operating system

• does not go away when a company is shut down

Hard drive

• Stores the software you’ve installed

• Data files those programs have created and used

• Where programs and data are stored until specifically removed

Video card

• Process images so you can see them on your monitor

• Used to convert signals and process instructions so we can see images on the monitor

Sound card

• Lets us hear from an internal speaker

• Used to send sound through to speakers or headphones, or to receive input from microphones

Optical drive

• Read and written with a laser

• CD, DVD, and BluRay

Peripheral devices

• Sit around the system unit

• Components located around the system unit such as monitors, keyboards, mouse and speakers

Power

Receptacle that provides the electricity to the entire system unit

NIC

Network interface card, used to hardwire your system unit to a network

Wireless Card

Most commonly used for accessing wireless internet

_____ is used when computer programs are turned on. It is cleared once the machine is shut off.

1. The network interface

2. The optical disk

3. Random Access Memory (RAM)

4. Read Only Memory (ROM)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

_____ is used to plug peripherals into the system unit.

1. A USB port

2. An audio card

3. A video card

4. A flash drive

A USB port

What is the main function of the motherboard?

1. It processes the instructions given to a computer

2. It allows a computer to display video

3. It connects a computer to the internet

4. It ties together all of the functions of a computer

It ties together all of the functions of a computer

Brenda needs a _____ in order to see images on her computer screen.

1. network connection

2. hard drive

3. sound card

4. video card

video card

Which of the following is used to store programs installed on a computer?

1. CD drive

2. DVD drive

3. Video card

4. Hard drive

Hard drive

gigahertz (GHz)

is used to measure the speed of a computer

‘giga’

indicates a billion

hertz

the basic measurement of speed in a computer, indicating one cycle per second

CPU core

the key component of the CPU; it drives the tasks being performed

cache memory

volatile memory that, like RAM, the computer dumps when it shuts down

_____ is used to begin the start-up process for your computer.

1. ALU

2. CPU

3. RAM

4. ROM

ROM

Which of the following best describes the CPU?

1. It is the heart of the computer.

2. It is the brain of the computer.

3. It is the centrifugal processed unit.

4. It holds the volatile memory.

It is the brain of the computer.

Eight (8) gigahertz is how many cycles per second in a CPU?

1. 8 million

2. 8,000

3. 8 billion

4. 800,000

8 billion

Which of the following is also known as volatile memory?

1. USB

2. CPU

3. ROM

4. RAM

RAM

Which of the following provides a CPU with the quickest access to memory functions?

1. RAM

2. Bus selectors

3. Cache memory

4. ROM

Cache memory

computer memory

technically any type of electronic storage

What best describes computer memory?

1. Electronic storage

2. ROM

3. CPU

4. Virtual information

Electronic storage

When powered off, what does the computer do with the random access memory (RAM) used?

1. Deletes externally stored data

2. Saves to disk

3. Copies it to ROM

4. Wipes it

Wipes it

CPU stands for _____

1. Central programming unix

2. Central programming unit

3. Central processing unit

4. Computer processing unit

Central processing unit

RAM stands for _____

1. Read again memory

2. Random access machine

3. Random access memory

4. Random archived memory

Random access memory

Virtual memory is used to _____

1. Grant access to more memory than is available in RAM

2. Prevent multitasking

3. Add storage space to the hard disk

4. Increase available ROM

Grant access to more memory than is available in RAM