8 CP 50 Essential Computer Science Terms

Bit

A binary digit—that is, a 0 or a 1.

Cyber

A prefix that means "computer" or "computer network"

cloning

making copies of a sprite

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. (ASCII)

A code for representing 128 English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127. This code is known as ASCII, which stands for____________ _____________ ________ _____ ______________ ___________________.

Server

A computer that serves information to other computers on a network

Power Supply

A device that provides electricity to a computer.

Motherboard

A printed circuit board containing the principal components of a computer or other device, with connectors into which other circuit boards can be slotted.

Algorithm

A procedure or formula for solving a problem, based on conducting a sequence of specified actions.

Encryption

A process of encoding messages to keep them secret, so only "authorized" parties can read it.

Virtual

A resource available on the internet or on software; not physical.

Cipher

A secret or disguised way of writing; a code.

Transistor

A semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power, and is the fundamental building block of modern electronic devices.

Binary

A simple code that computers use to send and receive data made from electrical signals and represented by 1s and 0s.

Flash Drive

A small data storage device that uses flash memory and has a built-in USB connection.

Firmware

A software program or set of instructions programmed on a hardware device. It provides the necessary instructions for how the device communicates with the other computer hardware.

Program

A specific set of ordered operations for a computer to perform.

variable

A symbol used to represent a quantity that can change

Bandwidth

A synonym for data transfer rate, the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period (usually a second).

RAM

A temporary place to store material that works quickly. Random Access Memory is erased when computer turns off.

Router

A type of computer that forwards data across a network.

Byte

An 8-bit word

Analog

Conveys data as electronic signals of varying frequency or amplitude that are added to carrier waves of a given frequency.

Information

Data that is processed, organized, structured, or presented in a context so as to make it useful.

Output Device

Device that projects images, gives sound, and basically gives out the info from the computer so the user can obtain it (ex: monitor, printer, projector, speakers)

Input Device

Device used to insert data into a computer or other device (ex: keyboard, mouse, microphone, scanner, voice recognition)

Monitor

Displays images and text on the screen.

Syntax

Each computer programming language uses a different ________. In computer programming languages, this serves the same purpose, defining how declarations, functions, commands, and other statements should be arranged. The structure and rules of a language.

Software

Instructions that tell the computer what to do.

Firewall

Limits the data that can pass through it and protects a networked server or client machine from damage by unauthorized users.

Cybersecurity

Measures taken to protect a computer or computer system against unauthorized access or attack.

Modem

Modulates outgoing digital signals from a computer or other digital device to analog signals for a conventional copper twisted pair telephone line and demodulates the incoming analog signal and converts it to a digital signal for the digital device. "Modulate/Demodulate"

Hardware

Physical elements of a computing systems (printer, circuit boards, wires, keyboard, etc)

Data

Raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed. It can be something simple and apparently random and useless until it is organized.

Malware

Software programs designed to damage ("mal"icious intent) or do other unwanted actions on a computer system.

Operating System (OS)

Software used to control the computer and its peripheral equipment.

conditionals

Statements that only run under certain conditions.

Hard Drive

Storage device that stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating rigid disks with magnetic surfaces. The device is either permanently installed within the computer case or can be portable

Protocols

Technical rules governing data communication, such as HTTP.

hypertext

Text that links to other information.

ASCII

The form in which text characters are handled in most computer systems and networks.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The part of a computer in which operations are controlled and executed, located on the motherboard.

coding

Transforming actions into a symbolic language

Network

When two or more computers connected to each other, you have a _________, with the purpose of sharing files and information between multiple systems.

Digital

__________ information is stored using a series of ones and zeros.

pseudocode

a high-level description of the actions of a program or algorithm, using a mixture of English and informal programming language syntax

Boolean logic

a system of symbolic logic devised by George Boole; used in computers

Computer

an electronic device that manipulates information or data

random

by chance, not planned or prearranged; irregular

statement

code that directs the program in a certain way

Iteration

repetition