Computer Components (Quiz #1)

A computer is built up from layers of components, like a CPU, logic circuits, logic gates, and transistors. Which of these is the best description of a CPU?

It receives input data, processes & stores it, and produces output.

Which device enabled sailors to calculate their latitude at sea?

an astrolabe

What was the earliest recognized device for computing?

the abacus

What was the gear-based calculating device, built by Gottfried Leibniz in 1694, was known as?

the step reckoner

In what way was the Analytical Engine different from all other computational devices before it?

"general-purpose computer"

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

"Brain" of the computer that performs instructions defined by software

4 things common to all computers

input, storage, processing, output

Herman Hollerith's "electro-mechanical" tabulating machine, which was used during the 1890 census, stored data on a series of _____________.

punched cards

Computer Case (Tower)

A case that holds all of the components of the PC, usually with extra space for things like fans, LED lights, etc. It also keeps volatile electrical components safe from static electricity and other environmental hazards.

Power Supply

A device that provides power to a computer.

Which English mathematician is often considered the world's first programmer?

Ada Lovelace

Wireless Network

Any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind.

How does a computer store numbers in memory?

Computers represent numbers in memory using the binary number system.

Binary Code

Groupings of 1's and 0's that makes information that a computer can understand.

Shir wants to know how powerful her computer is. It says her computer has 16 GB of memory. What can her computer do with that memory amount?

Her computer can remember 16GB worth of instructions and data at any time, shared by all the open applications.

A computer is built up from layers of components, like an integrated circuit, logic gates, and transistors. Which of these is the best description of a transistor?

It converts an electrical signal into a 0 or 1 based on the amount of voltage going through it.

A computer is built up from layers of components, like a CPU, logic circuits, logic gates, and transistors. Which of these is the best description of a logic gate?

It outputs 0 or 1 based on input values and a Boolean function.

Hardware

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

Motherboard

Printed circuit board on which the CPU, RAM chips and other electronic circuit elements of a digital computer are frequently located.

Software

Set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. It is what guides the hardware and tells it how to accomplish each task.

Operating System (OS)

Software used to control the computer and its peripheral equipment.

Peter wants to make a computer, but doesn't have the money to buy a CPU. He only has the money for a keyboard, RAM (Random Access Memory), and monitor. Why is the CPU important?

Without a CPU, the computer can't process the data that comes from the keyboard.

computer application (app)

a computer software program that executes on a computing device to carry out a specific function or set of related functions

Computer Ports

a connection point or interface between a computer and an external or internal device

In what way did militaries first apply computing to complex problems?

calculating range tables

The "computer" is a high-level abstraction, and a computer can be implemented using other lower-level abstractions. Which of these lists correctly sorts abstractions from high-level to low-level?

computer, logic circuit, logic gate, bit

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)

A computer is built up with layers of components, from the lowest level components to the highest level components. Which of these lists correctly sorts components from high-level to low-level?

CPU, logic circuit, logic gate, transistor

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

Back in 1995, the Windows 95 computer came with 4 MB of RAM (Random Access Memory). These days, most Windows computers come with at least 8 GB of RAM. That's 2000 times more RAM. What becomes possible with that increase in memory?

The computer can run more applications at once since it can store their instructions in memory.

Mouse - Input

a hand-operated electronic device that controls the coordinates of a cursor on your computer screen as you move it around on a pad

In the early days, what was a "computer"?

a person who did calculations

RAM

a type of data storage used in computers. It is generally located on the motherboard. It is the main memory used by a computer. A volatile type of memory, meaning that all information that was stored is lost when the computer is turned off.

Input Device

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

Let's think of a computer like a person. Just like we have 5 senses to take in the world around us, a computer has _______________, to take in data from the human world, like a ______________ .We use our brains to process that data, but a computer uses a ______________. We display our reactions using our voice or bodies, whereas a computer shows results using an __________ like a ______________.

input devices, microphone, CPU, output device, speaker

After a computer receives data from an ____________ device, like a keyboard or mouse, it goes to the ____________ for processing. The data is stored as ____________. When it's done processing the data, the computer sends it to an ____________ device, like a monitor or printer.

input, CPU, binary data, output