Chapter B3: Hardware and Software Basics Review Questions

What is the relationship between hardware and software?

Hardware consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system. Software is the set of instructions that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks.

What is information technology (IT)?

Information technology is any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support the information and information-processing needs of an organization

Identify the different types of output devices that are monitors

- Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT): a vacuum tube that uses an electron gun (cathode) to emit a beam of electrons that illuminates phosphors on a screen as the beam sweeps across the display repeatedly - Liquid Crystal Display (LCD): low-powered displays used in laptop computers where rod-shaped crystal molecules change their orientation when an electrical current flows through them - Light-Emitting Diode (LED): tiny bulb used for backlight to improve the image on the screen - Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED): displays use many layers of organic material emitting a visible light and therefore eliminating the need for backlighting

What are some of the advantages supercomputers have provided?

- Clustering, which allows companies to chain together thousands of PCs to build mass-market systems -Parallel Processing, which provides the ability to run two or more tasks simultaneously and is viewed as the chip industry's future. - Mosaic Browser, which morphed into Netscape and made the web a household name.

Identify the different types of automated input devices

- Image Scanner: captures images, photos, graphics, and text that already exist on paper. - Bar Code Scanner: captures information that exists in the form of vertical bars whose width and distance apart determine a number -Biometric Scanner: captures human physical attributes such as a fingerprint or iris for security purposes - Optical Mark Reader: detects the presence or absence of a mark in a predetermined place (popular for multiple choice exams) - Optical Character Reader: converts text into digital format for computer input - Digital Still Camera: digitally captures still images in varying resolutions - Digital Video Camera: digitally captures video - Webcam: digitally captures video and uploads it directly to the Internet - Microphone: captures sounds such as a voice for voice-recognition software - Point-Of-Sale (POS): captures information at the point of a transaction, typically in a retail environment

Identify the different types of output devices that are printers

- Ink-Jet Printer: printer that makes images by forcing ink droplet through nozzles - Laser Printer: printer that forms images using an electrostatic process, the same way a photocopier works - Multifunction Printer: printer that can scan, copy, fax, and print all in one device - Plotter: printer that uses computer-directed pens for creating high-quality images, blue prints, schematics, etc. - 3D Printer: printer that can produce solid, three-dimensional objects.

Identify the different types of manual input devices

- Keyboard: provides a set of alphabetic, numeric, punctuation, symbol, and control keys - Mouse: one or more control buttons housed in a palm-sized case and designed so that one can move it about on the table next to the keyboard - Touch Pad: form of a stationary mouse on which the movement of a finger causes the pointer on the screen move; typically found below the space bar on laptops - Touch Screen: allows the use of a finger to point at and touch a monitor to execute commands - Pointing Device: devices used to navigate and select objects on a display screen - Game Controller: devices used for games to obtain better control screen action

List and identify the computer categories

- Smartphone: - Personal Digital Assistant (PDA): - Handheld (ultra portable, pocket) Computer: - Laptop (portable, notebook) Computer: - Tablet Computer: - Personal Computer (microcomputer): - Desktop Computer: - Workstation Computer: - Minicomputer (server): - Mainframe Computer: - Supercomputer:

Software components include:

- System Software: controls how the various tools work together along with application software - Operating System Software: Windows; Mac OS; Linux - Utility Software: Antivirus; screen savers; data recovery - Application Software: performs specific information processing needs - Word Processing Software: Microsoft Word - Spreadsheet Software: Microsoft Excel

What are the hardware components of a Computer System?

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU): The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together. 2. Primary Storage: The computer's main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), the cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the central processing unit (CPU) 3. Secondary Storage: Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (diskette, CD, DVD, memory stick) 4. Input Devices: Equipment used to capture information and commands (mouse, keyboard, scanner) 5. Output Devices: Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information processing requests (monitor, printer, microphone) 6. Communication Device: Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another (modern, wireless card)

Identify factors that determine CPU speed.

1. Clock Speed - the speed of the internal clock of a CPU hat sets the pace at which operations proceed within the computer's internal processing circuitry 2. Word length - number of bits (0s and 1s) that can be processed by the CPU at any one time. Computers work in terms of bits and bytes using electrical pulses that have two states: on and off. 3. Bus Width - the size of the internal electrical pathway along which signals are sent from one part of the computer to another. A wider bus can move more data, hence faster processing. 4. Chip Line Width - the distance between transistors on a chip. The shorter the chip line width the faster the chip since more transistors can be placed on a chip and the data and instructions travel short distances during processing

What is a computer?

An electronic device operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory that can accept, manipulate, and store data.

List and identify the types of Operating System Software

Figure B3.11

List and identify the types of Utility Software

Figure B3.12

List and identify the types of Application Software

Figure B3.13

What does the number of CPU cycles per second determine?

The number of CPU cycles per second determines how fast a CPU carries out the software instructions; more cycles per second means faster processing, and faster CPUs cost more than their slower counterparts. CPU speed is usually quoted in megahertz and gigahertz. Megahertz (MHz) is the number of millions of CPU cycles per second. Gigahertz (GHz) is the number of billions of CPU cycles per second.