Anatomy of a Computer

1. What is an Input? An Input is when you are keying using a keyboard, pointing and clicking a
mouse, pointing a stylus, or speaking into a microphone.
2. What is an Output? Something you might see on a screen, something you hear or something
you ask the computer to print
3. What is meant by Processing? Is the data you input? It adds multiple, divides, finds, or
manipulates data or text to complete a task you have given it.
4. What is Hardware? Is any part of a computer you can touch? There are two categories of
hardware.
5.

Inside a computer
Name:

Summaries:

Power Supply:

Brings the electricity to the computer through

the power cord.
The main circuit board of the computer to
which all components are attached.
The main computer chip that processes
instructions, data and manages the flow of
the information in the computer.
Is used for high-speed storage of recently
used information.
Memory that is inside the CPU that if the first
place the CPU looks to find recently used
data.
Sockets in the motherboard into which
expansion cards can be added for additional
memory
A disk drive that holds, read from, and writes
to the hard disk, which is the memory storage
space in the computer.
Spaces in the computer case where disk
drives are housed.
A set of conductor wires that transports data
among the components of the computer
through an electronic path.
(Random access memory) also called user
memory. Is a temporary memory that stores
information for length of time a computer is
left on or a program is left running.
(Read only memory) also called factory
memory. Is computer memory on which
information has been stored at the time of
manufacture.

Mother Board:
CPU:

External Cache:
Internal Cache:

Expansion Slots:

Hard Drive:

Storage Devices:
Bus:

RAM:

ROM:

6. Fetch: the CPU gathers fetches the code for an instruction and places it in the Instruction
Cache.
Decode: Interprets the instruction in an area of the CPU chip called the Decode Cache and
determines which functions are to be performed.
Execute: Processes, carries out or executes the instructions and sends the result to their proper
destination.
Store: sends the results of the instructions to the proper memory location to be retained, stored
for further instructions.
7. Why do computers use binary code? Computers only understand two states, off and on which
are represented by 0s and 1s. Everything entered into a computer has to be digitally encoded
as 0s and 1s for the computer to understand it.

Peripheral Devices
1. What are peripherals? Give three examples.
Devices that are plugged into a special sockets at the back or side of a computer. Some examples
are a keyboard, speakers and a modem
2. What is the purpose of expansion slots? Give an example of how you might use them.
Sockets on the motherboard into which expansion cards can be added.
3.

Types of Pointers
Name:

Description :

Joysticks:

Are levers that movie in all directions and

control the movement of a pointer or other
display symbol
Sends infrared signals to a receiver attached to
the computers mouse port.
Use low-power radio signals to send
information to the computer

Infrared Mice:
Radio Mice:

4. How can mice communicate with a computer without a cable?

It can be connected by low-power and radio signals.

Computer Storage
Storage Option

Maximum Capacity in Cost in $

GB
(round to nearest
( 1TB=1000GB)
dollar)

Cost per GB
(Cost/Capacity)

Internal Hard Drive

3000

$156

Solid State Hard Drive

External Desktop Hard
Drive
External Portable Hard
Drive
DVD (digital video disc)
USB thumb/stick/key
drives

1000
8000

$500
$320

$0.05/GB
(5 cents / GB)
$5.00/GB
$0.04/GB

4000

$200

$0.05/GB

1000
0.125

$30.00
$40.00

$0.03/GB
$0.32/GB