Key Terms Chapter 4
1. AC Adapter: An external power supply.
2. Access Timer: The amount of time it takes the processor to read data,
instructions, and information from memory.
3. Adapter Card: A circuit board that enhances functions of a component of the
system unit and / or provides connection to the peripheral.
4. Analog: Human speech is analog because it uses continuous (wave form)
signals that vary in strength and quality.
5. Arithmetic Logic Unit: Component of the processor, which performs
arithmetic, comparison, and other operations.
6. Bay: An opening inside the system unit in which you can install additional
equipment.
7. Binary System: A number system that has just two unique digits, 0 and 1,
called bits.
8. Bit: The smallest unit of data the computer can process.
9. Bluetooth: Uses radio waves to transmit data between two devices.
10. Bus: Electric channels that allows the various devices both inside and attached
to the system unit to communicate with each other.
11. Byte: Eight bits grouped together as a unit.
12. Cache: Helps improving processing times.
13. Celeron: Less expensive, basic PCs use a brand of Intel processor in the
Celeron family.
14. Central Processing Unit (CPU): Interprets and carries out the basic
instructions that operate a computer.
15. Chip: A computer chip is a small piece of semi-conducting material, usually
silicon, on which integrated circuits are etched.
16. Clock Speed: The pace of the system clock which is measure by the number
of ticks per second.
17. Complementary Metal – Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS): CMOS
technology that provides high speeds and consumes little power.
18. Connector: Joins a cable to a peripheral.
19. Control Unit: Component of the processor that directs and coordinates most
of the operations in the computer.
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20. Core: Most high performance PCs today use a processor in the Intel Core
family.
21. Digital: Relating to or using signals or information represented by discrete
values (digits) of a physical quantity. Most computers are digital, the
recognize only two discrete states: on and off.
22. Drive Bays: Rectangular openings that typically hold disk drives.
23. Dual – Core Processor: Single chip that contains two separate processors.
24. eSATA port: Allows to connect an external SATA (Serial Advanced
Technology Attachment) hard disk to a computer.
25. Expansion Slot: A socket on the motherboard that can hold an adapter card.
26. ExpressCard Module: Used as a removable flash memory device, adds
memory, communications, multimedia, and security capabilities to computers.
27. ExpressCard Slot: A special type of expansion slot that holds a PC Card or
an ExpressCard Module.
28. FireWire Hub: A device that plugs in a FireWire port on the system unit and
contains multiple FireWire ports in which you plug cables from FireWire
devices.
29. FireWire Port: Similar to USB port that can connect multiple types of
devices that require faster data transmission speeds such as digital video
cameras, digital VCRs, color printers, scanners, digital cameras and DVD
drives to a single connector.
30. Firmwire: ROM chips that contain permanently written data, instructions or
information.
31. Flash Memory: A type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased
electronically and rewritten.
32. Flash Memory Card: Removable flash memory device, usually no bigger
than 1.5 inch in height or width, that you insert and remove from a slot in a
computer, mobile device or card reader or writer.
33. Gigabyte: Equals approximately 1 billion bytes.
34. Gigahertz: One gigahertz (GHz) equals one billion ticks of the system clock
per second.
35. IrDA port: Conform to standards developed by the IrDA (Infrared Data
Association), transmit data via infrared light waves.
36. Itanium: Processor that is ideal for workstations and low-end servers.
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37. Jack: Used to identify audio and video ports.
38. Kilobyte (KB or K): Equals to exactly 1,024 bytes.
39. Megabyte (MB): Equals to approximately 1 million bytes.
40. Memory: Consists of electronic components that store instructions waiting to
be executed by the processor, data needed by those instructions and the results
of processed data (information).
41. Memory Cache: Help speed the processes of the computer because it stores
frequently used instructions and data.
42. Memory Module: A small circuit board in RAM chips.
43. Memory Slots: Hold memory modules on motherboard.
44. MIDI port: A special type of serial port that connects the system unit to a
musical instrument such as an electronic keyboard.
45. Motherboard: Sometimes called as system board, the main circuit coard of
the system unit.
46. Multi – Core Processor: A chip with two or more separate processors.
47. Nanosecond: One billionth of a second.
48. Parallel Port: An interface that connects devices by transferring more than
one bit at a time.
49. PC Card: A thin credit card-sized removable flash memory device that
primarily is used today to enable notebook computers to access the Internet
wirelessly.
50. PC Card Slot: Slot that holds a PC Card or an ExpressCard Module.
51. Pentium: One of the most high performance processor (Pentium Family).
52. Peripheral: A device that connects t the system unit and is controlled by the
processor in the computer. Some examples are modems, disk drives, printers,
scanners and keyboards.
53. Plug and Play: The computer automatically can configure adapter cards and
other peripherals as you install them.
54. Port: The point at which a peripheral attaches to or communicates with a
system unit so the peripheral can send data or receive information from the
computer.
55. Power Supply: The component of the system unit that converts the wall outlet
AC power into DC power.
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56. Processor: It is commonly known as central processing unit (CPU), interprets
and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer.
57. RAM: Random Access Memory (main memory), consists of memory chips
that can be read from and written to by the processor and other devices.
58. Read – Only Memory (ROM): Memory chips storing permanent data and
instructions. The data on most ROM chips can’t be modified. It is nonvolatile.
59. SCSI Port: A special high-speed parallel port that allow to attach SCSI
peripherals such as disk drives and printers.
60. Serial Port: A type of interface that connects a device to the system unit by
transmitting data one bit at a time.
61. Sound Card: Enhances the sound generating capabilities such as sound and
video.
62. System Clock: The processor relies on a small quartz crystal circuit. It
controls the timing of all computer operations.
63. System Unit: A case that contains electronic components of the computer
used to process data.
64. Terabyte (TB): Equal to approximately 1 trillion bytes.
65. USB Hub: A device that plugs in a USB port on the system unit and contains
multiple USB ports in which you plug cables from USB devices.
66. USB Port: Short for universal serial bus ports can connect up to 127 different
peripherals together with a single connector.
67. Video Card: called as graphics card, converts computer output into a video
signal that travels through a cable to the monitor, which displays an image on
the screen.
68. Word Size: Number of bits the processor can interpret and execute at a given
time.
69. Xeon: Processors that are ideal for workstations and low-end servers.
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