BCS-CMW-4. Students will
describe the major hardware and
software components of a
computer and their interactions.
Ms. Stewart
Computing in the Modern World
Southwest High School
What is a computer?
• A programmable machine that can
execute (carry out) a programmed list
of instructions and respond to new
instructions that it is given.
Hardware
• Physical parts of the computer
system.
Identify and define the key functional components (input
devices, output devices, processor, operating system, software
applications, memory, storage, etc).
• Input Devices
– Devices that allow you to enter/input
information into the computer.
– Examples: keyboard, mouse, keypad,
scanner, microphone, joystick, digital
camera, webcam
Input Devices
Identify and define the key functional components (input
devices, output devices, processor, operating system, software
applications, memory, storage, etc).
• Output Devices
– Devices that deliver information back to
the user (you).
– Think of the senses (can you see it, hear
it, touch it?)
– Examples: printer, monitor, speakers,
headphones
Output Devices
Identify and define the key functional components (input
devices, output devices, processor, operating system, software
applications, memory, storage, etc).
• Processor
– Also referred to as the CPU
– Manufacturers: printer, monitor,
speakers, headphones
Identify and define the key functional components (input
devices, output devices, processor, operating system,
software applications, memory, storage, etc).
• Operating System – the overall
program that controls all the other
software programs and allows
hardware devices to work properly.
Identify and define the key functional components (input
devices, output devices, processor, operating system, software
applications, memory, storage, etc).
• Software – a set of instructions that
make it possible for your computer to
perform tasks.
• Also referred to as applications or
programs.
Identify and define the key functional components (input
devices, output devices, processor, operating system,
software applications, memory, storage, etc).
• Memory
– Read – only memory (ROM): permanent
– Random access memory (RAM):
temporary
– Storage devices
Understand the terms and units that are used to describe major
hardware components (RAM, ROM, GHz, GB, MB, MHz, CD,
DVD, RW, etc).
• Megabyte (MB) – a measure of
computer storage capacity equal
to 1 million bytes
• Gigabyte (GB) – a measure of
computer storage capacity equal
to 1 billion bytes
Understand the terms and units that are used to describe major
hardware components (RAM, ROM, GHz, GB, MB, MHz, CD,
DVD, RW, etc).
• Megahertz (MHz) – computer
processing speed – one million
cycles per second.
• Gigahertz (GHz) – computer
processing speed – one billion
cycles per second.
Understand the terms and units that are used to describe major
hardware components (RAM, ROM, GHz, GB, MB, MHz, CD,
DVD, RW, etc).
• Compact disk (CD) – optical disk on
which a program, data, music, etc. is
digitally encoded for a laser beam to
scan, decode, or transmit back to a
playback system.
Understand the terms and units that are used to describe major
hardware components (RAM, ROM, GHz, GB, MB, MHz, CD,
DVD, RW, etc).
• Digital Video Disk (DVD) an optical disk
that can store a very large amount of digital
data, as text, music, or images.
• Rewritable (RW) – allows a user to write
(burn), erase, and rewrite data on them,
just as it can be done with magnetic drives
and media.
Sound card
• Facilitates the input and output of
audio signals to and from a computer.
Heat sink/fan
• Piece of metal with cooling fins that
can be attached to or mounted on an
integrated chip (such as the CPU) to
dissipate heat.
Modem card
• Device used to connect the computer
to a telephone line, often for the
purpose of connecting to on-line
services.
Network card
• An expansion card that is installed in
an available slot in a computer so that
it may connect and communicate to
another computer.
Port
• Specialized outlet on a piece of
equipment to which a plug or cable
connects.
Power supply
• Converts the power from a wall outlet
into the lower voltages required
internally in the computer.
System unit
• Main body of a desktop computer, typically
consisting of a metal or plastic enclosure
containing the motherboard, power supply, cooling
fans, internal disk drives, and the memory modules
and expansion cards that are plugged into the
motherboard.
BIOS
• Stands for "Basic Input Output System"
gives the computer a little built-in starter
kit to run the rest of software from floppy
disks (FDD) and hard disks (HDD). The
BIOS is responsible for booting the
computer by providing a basic set of
instructions.
Optical drive -Uses a laser and lens
to read and write data.
Hard drive – device used to
store large amounts of data in
a computer system.
Motherboard – Main circuitry
board of the computer.
Describe the interaction between functional components in the
execution of a software application.
• To make the computer do something
useful, you must give it instructions
in either of the following two ways:
– Write a program that tells a computer
what to do, step by step, much as you
write out a recipe.
– Buy a program that someone else has
already written that tells the computer
what to do.
Describe the interaction between functional components
in the execution of a software application.
• A program does nothing more than tell
the computer how to:
– accept some type of input,
– manipulate that input, and
– spit it back out again in some form that
humans find useful.
Type of Program
Input
What the Program Does Output
Word processor
Characters you type from Formats the text; corrects Displays and prints
the keyboard
spelling
neatly organized text
Game
Keystrokes or joystick
movements
Calculates how fast and
far to move a cartoon
figure on-screen
Moves a cartoon figure
on-screen
Stock-market predictor
Current and past prices
for stocks
Tries to recognize trends
in a stock's price
fluctuations
Predicts the future price
of a stock
Missile guidance program Current location of the
missile and the target
Calculates how to make Corrects the trajectory so
the missile's location and that it stays aimed at the
the target's location
target
coincide
Optical character
recognition (OCR)
Text from a scanner
Recognizes shapes of
characters
Web browser
HyperText Markup
Language (HTML) codes
on other computers
Converts the HTML codes Displays Web pages oninto text and graphics
screen
Converts scanned text
into a text file that a word
processor can edit